My Youth on Record

Guest host Stephen Brackett (Flobots) joins Mona for a conversation with David Boyd, the lead singer of Danish alternative rock band, New Politics. David shares his experience growing up immersed in B-Boy culture in Copenhagen, training hours a day with his crew, and how that experience instilled within him the discipline and drive to forge a successful music career.

Can you imagine winning a karaoke competition at just 4 years old? Damian McGinty can, and he hasn’t looked back since. As the youngest member of Celtic Thunder, Damian had a crash course in the entertainment industry. By learning the self-discipline many adults even struggle with, he was able to build a name for himself. We delve into the mind of Damian as he shares the importance of work ethic, what it was like winning the Glee Project and more.

Jami Duffy is an artist by heart and trade. The emotional build-up of the pandemic allowed her to step out of her comfort zone and try a new medium.

Creative placemaking strategist Brian Corrigan reflects on the beauty of the slow pace and connection to nature in rural towns, and how he thinks Denver could benefit a bit from the "stop and smell the roses" mentality.

Amy Fitz Doyley made the move to China to teach English shortly before the pandemic hit. What has life been like for her since? Amy discusses the move, the pandemic, and how she's managed to find solidarity despite the ban on protesting.

DJ Alf of 93.3 KTCL and Forty Five Plus One shares a creative new way he found to connect during social distancing- reading bedtime stories online.

Songwriter and musician Jenny LaJoye wrote a series of one minute long "gentle songs" that changed their perspective on their songwriting process.

Fashion designer Mona Lucero shares how she shifter her business and creativity to cater to the new health and safety needs Coronavirus brought.

Virgil shared over 500 jars of free Kimchi, making new friends, gathering treasures, and finding inspiration along the way.

Guitarist El Javi may have lost live gigs for a while, but he's gained a new purpose.

Oscar, aka Opiuo is an electric DJ. who grew up in the beautiful country of New Zealand, and has become a well-known artist with a fan base that spans far beyond his homeland. He took time out of his busy schedule to chat with us about the people who helped him celebrate his authentic self and follow his dreams.

You might know her as the drummer for the hit indie rock band The Decemberists. Rachel Blumberg was seemingly born with an affinity for music. This affinity has carried her through classical music concerts to DIY rock shows, all the way to the successful career she has today.

Meet JJ Italiano. JJ grew up right here in Colorado, and is now a well known producer, artist manager and producer. After being expelled one too many times knew he needed to take things into his own hands to craft an alternative lifestyle where he could thrive. We’ll discuss where he found support in the process, where it led him, and how music became a driving force in it all.

Thomas Gobena aka Tommy T. is a bassist known for his work in Gogol Bordello. He joined us to chat about the birth of his passion for bass while growing up in Ethopia and how it led him to the career he has now. He also touches on the danger of putting too much value on someone's taste in music.

Acclaimed jazz drummer, composer and dhol player Sunny Jain is most recently known for his work in the band Red Baraat. He took the time to join us in the studio today to discuss what it was that sparked his passion for the drums at age 10 and what he did to keep it going.

Dan Cummins experienced some changes in his young life that caused a lot of anger. His anger showed up in crime...until he found comedy.

Underground rapper and record label CEO Sage Francis joined us to share how his lonely journey as a hip hop fan fueled his passion for cultivating a successful career in music. As a special bonus he shares one of his first songs, a Mother's Day rap he created at age 10.

The legendary guitarist and activist Tom Morello performed at the Gothic Theater last October where our team was able to talk with him in a brief remote interview. This episode is short but still packed with stories and advice from one of the world's most well known guitarists. Listen in to hear about Tom’s introduction to activism, how he felt called to playing guitar and how his mothers support empowered him to pursue his passion.

The multi-talented Jade Simmons is well-known for inspiring people across the nation and we were lucky enough to have her stop by our studio to share her wisdom and story with us. Listen in to hear how Jade has been conquering life since she was a young girl and is still to this day, continuing to find ways to grow. She shares with us what it looks like to bring your whole self to the table every single time and how magical that can be.

Welcome to Season 2 of My Youth on Record. Today’s episode brings us into the creative mind of a man who’s been writing and performing since the 7th grade. Tune in for a glimpse into how this top artist found his roots as a kid, and never let his artist dream go.

Gary Steuer is a Denver arts champion, a national arts guru, and an all around good guy. He’s spent his life in and around the arts, as a fan, and advocate, and a champion of creative expression as the tie that binds communities together. In this interview, Gary talks with our hosts about how his early life promoting musicians and engaging with the arts has fueled a vibrant, transformative career.

We sent our amazing co-hosts to Grandoozy to capture stories about what music meant to festival goers when they were teens. From stories of redemption and healing, to learning more about the self through lyrics that touched their lives, our guests and hosts shared tales about the human spirit one sunny day in Denver at the largest festival the state of Colorado has ever seen.

Ben Wysocki has been gigging semi-professionally since the sixth grade. His audience, at the time, was his church congregation on Sunday mornings. Ben’s musical pallet expanded when he went from a private Christian school to a public high school, where formed several bands and made music with pals who would later become The Fray. The rest, as they say, is history.

Our good friend Dan Aid stopped by the studio today. Dan is an artistic force - beginning his life as a musician in the 6th grade, and now making his television debut on Showtime’s SMILF. He has a special way of bringing us all into the heart of each story he tells. As he reflects on his early days of punk rock, we get a sense that there’s nothing this artists can’t and won’t accomplish

We’re back with the forever funky, always entertaining Kalyn Herffernan of Wheelchair Sports Camp. We didn’t want our conversation with Kalyn to end, and in part two of our interview we learn about her teenage life, and about how music and activism have worked to heal this Colorado legend.

We spoke with the amazingly rebellious and talented Kalyn Heffernan, frontwoman and creator of the indie political hip-hop jazzy funk ensemble, Wheelchair Sports Camp. Kalyn is a natural comedian, artist, activist, and teacher. An avid storyteller, Kalyn gives us her take on growing up with hip hop, and her early life as a queer rapper. She challenges the able-bodied community to examine their privilege. Just how accessible (or inaccessible) are our schools, our communities, and the music industry? Kalyn knows first hand.

It’s no question that Big Gigantic is….well….BIG. The music they make now didn’t exist when they were teens. So, in a sense, they began building the future of music before most of the world caught on. As they shared their earliest song with us, and memories about their early years of learning to use computers, we began to see just how ahead of the curve these two friends really were.

When Ben walks into the room, it’s almost as if his heart is on the outside of his body. Just by being around him, you feel the depths of his emotions. He’s raw. He’s real. And truth telling matters to him. This year he’s been sharing his story of his own encounters with sexual abuse in the Catholic church. But as we learned in this interview, he’s been attempting to tell this story through his music since he was a teen. He shares that music with us in today’s episode. In true Ben style, to content of the music is very real and somewhat graphic, and is intended for audiences who have the maturity to hear the story.

Some of us have high school teachers we never forget for all the right reasons. The Lumineers vocalist, cellist, and pianist - Neyla Pekarek - tells us about that teacher, and how his influence changed her professional course. Tune in also to hear some early work from her Barbershop Quartet “Vogue,” and for a personal account of just how challenging it still is to be a women in the male-dominated music industry. (Neyla lest the Lumineers after this episode was recorded to pursue personal projects).

Today’s episode is like a virtual hug for anyone who proudly, or otherwise, felt like a nerd in high school. The lead emcee of denver-based Flobots takes us deep into his high school “nerdery,” a gives of a inside view of his never-ending quest for artistic improvement.