Songs From a Room

Jacqueline Hackett joined us on the podcast to discuss the evolution of both her music and the themes in her upcoming LP. She shares the inspirations she received growing up with a father engulfed in music.    For more from Jacqueline Hackett:  https://open.spotify.com/jacquelinehackett https://open.substack.com/pub/pollyannacowgrl https://www.instagram.com/jacquelinehackett/  

Selena is a Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter whose music is powerful, complex, and heartfelt. On the podcast, we discuss her writing style of play first and analyze it later, and how her work as a music teacher helps strengthen her musical skills and knowledge.  To learn more about Selena Tibert:  https://linktr.ee/Selena.tibert    

Mert Spalty is a singer/songwriter and prominent player in the independent music scene in New York City. He contributes his musical talents on numerous projects for artists all over the city while staying connected to his core group "Friendly Company." He shared his songs both soon to be released with Friendly Company and his own project, The Mert Spalty Trio.    For more from Mert Spalty:  https://www.instagram.com/MertSpalty https://mertspalty.bandcamp.com/  https://www.instagram.com/friendlycompanyworld/ https://linktr.ee/Friendlycompanyworld  

Lena has been playing music and writing songs since she was 11 years old. She shares her experiences from Chicago to New Orleans to becoming a prominent member of the singer-songwriter scene in New York City. Her new  album, "Strange Light," comes out June 3rd!    For more from Lena Fjortoft:  linktr.ee/lenafjortoft  

Evan Tanenbaum of Simple Son joined us on the podcast and shared how his background as a cellist and influences like Nick Drake and Joanie Mitchell influence his open tuned finger styled guitar playing.    For more from Simple Son:  https://www.instagram.com/the_simple_son https://thesimpleson.bandcamp.com/album/the-other-side https://open.qobuz.com/simpleson    

Jack Adams invites us into his home in Park Slope to share his music and tell us about the many projects he's been working on. From working on starting his own label, scoring music for live theater, to learning to record his own music on reel-to-reel, Jack stays busy yet finds time to be a prolific songwriter.    For more about Jack Adams:  https://www.jackfrancisadams.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jackfrancisadams/

Azure Brandi moved to New York from California during the peak of COVID, experiencing the city at its quietest. The long walks inspired songs that she has just begun putting to music and she's hit the ground running.    For more from Azure Brandi:  https://www.instagram.com/azurebrandi/

Adam Wedd joined the podcast while visiting from London. There, he is a jack of all trades, working in a recording studio while being his own songwriter, all while hosting a weekly radio show. He played songs that he's currently recording for his upcoming album.    For more information on Adam Wedd:  https://adamweddofficial.com/ https://www.instagram.com/adamwedd/  

Alex of Lovervoid joins the podcast to talk about the album he's been self-producing, along with learning to animate their own music videos. The inspirations for the album of love and war paranoia that fueled Marvin Gay's "In Our Lifetime" parallel today's political climate and the songs on Lovervoid's upcoming album.  For more information on Lovervoid:  https://lovervoid.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lovervoid888 https://www.youtube.com/ozymandusandcoranth

Jesse Torres has a long academic career in music as a former student and teacher. On the podcast, he discusses the meticulous choices in cord structures and time changes in his heartfelt and thoughtfully written music.  For more from Jesse Torres:  https://linktr.ee/JesseTorresMusic https://www.instagram.com/jessetorresmusic/

In this smaller episode Val of Small Talk was gracious enough to let me record his set at Pete's Candy Store on March 1st. He performed a heartfelt piece he's decided to name R.i.P. inspired by overdose. We learned about his life in El Paso Texas and Portland Maine that led him to New York City where he continues to write and record music.    For more from on Small Talk: https://soundcloud.com/smlltlk915   https://www.youtube.com/@smalltalk9994 https://www.instagram.com/rizzzzoart  

Cole Michael Coyer shares his experiences moving to Nashville for sound engineering and working as a gig musician while working on his own material. His individual experiences as a drummer, guitarist, and lyricist come together to when songwriting.    More info on Cole Michael Coyter: https://colemichaelcoyer.carrd.co/

Nihal Singh is a talented artist who found their way into music through their background in film, first scoring the music on a computer keyboard before learning to play the guitar. Originally born in Thailand, Singh came to Chicago for school and is currently living in New York, where he's been writing and recording his reflective and meditative music.  To find out more about Nihal Singh: https://nihalisalive.com

Zoe Firn discusses growing up in Brooklyn from a family of violinists. We listen to the touching story that inspired the words to "Memorial Day" and she shares one of her newest creations a call-to-action song "What's My Plan?"    For more on Zoe Firn:  Bandcamp: https://zoefirn.bandcamp.com/ New single "Memorial Day": https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/zoefirn/memorial-day Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoefirn  Sub Stack: https://zoefirn.substack.com  

Melody Stolpp of Sweetbreads came on the podcast to share and discuss the inspirations behind her songs "Satisfy" and "Open Mic."   For more from Sweetbreads music and to find them live click links below: https://sweetbreads.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sweetbreadsmusic/  

Keith Madden of Compatible Animals joins the podcast to discuss his ten-year hiatus from performing and the inspirations that led him to form the band Compatible Animals, return to the stage and begin releasing music.    For more info on Compatible animals you can check out their band camp and follow them on Instagram:  https://compatibleanimals.bandcamp.com/track/ive-been-weird https://www.instagram.com/compatibleanimals/

Nathan Xander's hardened folk voice was shaped by cigarettes and heroes like Kris Kristofferson. He shares music from his 2023 album "Three Waltzes" and plays a new piece for his upcoming album and what inspired them.  Links below for more on Nathan:  https://nathanxander.bandcamp.com/album/three-waltzes http://www.nathanxander.net/ https://www.instagram.com/natestradamus/  

Michael Francis (born Avishay) sits down to share songs from his upcoming album The Hour Of The Star. We talk about his roots playing with bands like Heathers and his recent loss of employment that inspired him to write and record his new album in under a month.    For more information on Michael Avishay and to stay tuned for this upcoming album:  https://hhheathers.bandcamp.com/ www.twitter.com/michaelavishay https://open.spotify.com/artist/3shDJdQHDcCTnCYL4VBb6n?si=xnXrtCyMTLq_-udmhaQvWg    

Recorded in January 2024, Bob Palos sat down with CW Headley in front of a live audience at Pete's Candy Store. They discussed growing up in Bethlehem Pennsylvania and CW's artistic start in comedy that led into music.  

Esme White visits the podcast one week after returning to New York City, her place of birth, after five years of living in London. She shares songs inspired by her father and her relationship overseas.  To listen to more of her work follow her Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZMVd3ODQ7fyFDQI7QCCCH?si=Wf0Q7eLURVCYayCqwm8SFQ

Christian Rutledge is a Canadian-born musician who has spent over two decades in New York as a sound engineer and a rock drummer who finds himself writing and performing music with roots in folk inspired by the modern city. He shares his songs and stories.  For more information about Christian Rutledge, you can follow his Instagram handle @xtianrut 

Brett Horten sits down and shares his life being from Oklahoma and traveling around the world playing music. We get to hear the new song's he's been working on and how they came to be.  For more work from Brett use the links below.  bretthorton.bandcamp.com williecryrecords.bandcamp.com

Bryn Eva talks to us about her songs "Come Over" and "Closing In On Me" and the combination of social commentary and raw emotion that inspire them. 

Nadia Kazmi sits down and plays music from her fourth album Manufactured Dream and talks about the logistics of touring as a single artist coordinating musicians. 

Taro aka shutupkozou plays their music for us and talks about their experience growing up in both Japan and the United States. 

A Craven sits down and discusses his switch from indie home recording to performing live solo as a singer/songwriter and the songs that he's written since the switch. 

Arthur Darien talks about moving from Wisconsin to pursue songwriting and we explore his literary writing style. 

Adam Ochs a.k.a afriend plays for us while visiting New York City from his country home outside Knoxville Tennesse. 

We sit down with GIO in his apartment in Spanish Harlem and we learn about his time in Puerto Rico during the pandemic where he recorded his music while achieving master's degree. 

Sophia Berger is visiting from Berlin and playing out for the first time without a band as a singer/songwriter in New York City. 

Nik Westman joins the podcast via video conference to share his songs with us while isolating during the Covid pandemic. He talks about his projects while in quarantine. Releasing The Corona Tapes a compilation project of independent artists as well as his own EP Nimble Minds. 

Julie talks about being home schooled in Lancaster Pa, her time living on a commune, and other experiences that inspired her music. 

Stephen Artemis Jr tells us about growing up in rural New York and how visiting the country side inspires his music. We also talk about recording his albums with his own independent recording label. 

Josh Savage was in New York City just in time to share with us his journeys from Berlin to Mexico and perform music inspired by his adventures.

 Lorraine Leckie joins us on the podcasts. She talks about her start in music after years as a successful make up artists and how she starts the Greenpoint Songwriter exchange, a weekly meet up for songwriters to workshop their new material in an open community oriented atmosphere. 

Doo Crowder has performed music in Denver, LA, and across the country. Getting by on music and teaching music to children in a detention center. He shares his personal stories that inspire the music for his upcoming albums as well as inspirations for his more recent work. 

Benji Mark is a singer/songwriter and musical therapist currently living in New Paltz. He shares with us his experience teaching music to children and the spiritual and romantic journeys that inspired his music. 

We sit down and talk to Hoagie about the songs he gathered for his up coming album Other Folks. A rock opera about growth and learning to work with others. 

Morton Millen shares his music with us and talks about growing up in England and living in the East Village then shares us a touching song about losing his horse. 

We talk to Peter Siegmann aka The Lowliest One. He tells us how his journey that brought him into becoming a singer songwriter and using a pseudonym to separate the music from the man.   

Ben Pagano sits down and shows  shares with us the songs working toward his next album currently in the works. 

This episode features Rebecca Tilles from her apartment in the upper east side. She share's with us some of her new music, writing her dual citizenship between Sweden and America. 

Ben Schapiro returns to the podcast and tells us about meditation and how it's helped him grow as a songwriter. 

Kristen Merritt was born in Detroit and spend her younger years moving around the south before presiding in Williamsburg.  We learn about her life here in New York and learning how to write songs on her own after playing and writing with a band. 

We sit down with California native and New York resident Jack Adams. He talks a little about what led him into music and gearing up for his album release show at the Gutter. 

We continue on conversation with Emily Fenton. She tells us about her life before music and how writing music helped her express her emotions. 

Emily Fenton tells us how she got into music through comedy, growing up in Arkansas, and performs her song, Midtown Psychic. 

This episode we talk to Emily Frembgen about her lives in Denver, Baltimore and New York City and her quest to Indiegogo the funds to make her latest album Flower/Weed.  

We sit down with Steven Murillo, singer/songwriter and member of Someone In A Tree. He shows use his Suzuki Omnichord and plays us his McCartney inspired song "And I Will Walk Across The Way." 

Jason Trachtenburg sits down and talks about his many lives in New York City, Seattle and from being a singer/songwriter leading his family band Trachtenburg Family Slide Show Players to writing and performing in his very own musical "Me and Lee" based of the memoirs by Judith A Vary Baker

Gemma Laurence sits and talks with us about growing up with dual citizenship  between England and Maine. Being an English major in college introduced her to the amazing poets that's influenced her work including the title track to her debut album Crooked Heart.