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PODCAST

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers

Welcome to the Why Music Matters podcast. I’m your host, music journalist and musician Jeff Miers. Throughout my life in and around music, I’ve often asked myself the question - Why does music matter? This podcast attempts to answer that question, with the help of musicians, members of the music industry, and music-lovers like you. Join us!

music music interviews

All Episodes

23:00

12/8/80 (In the Name of Love)

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/12/08

Hey there, everyone.I’d like to welcome you to a special edition of the podcast - a joint creation between Why Music Matters and The Buffalo History Museum. This episode, which we’ve named 12/8/80 (In the Name of Love), was created with my good friend Anthony Greco, Director of Exhibits at The Buffalo History Museum, and creator and host of the Museum’s podcast. The episode explores an evening that changed the world for the worse. And it turns out that there’s an interesting Buffalo angle to the

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37:14

Musician and live music entrepreneur Evan Laedke

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/12/04

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives.I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, my guest is Evan Laedke, a musician with an impressively broad skill-set, one that has made him a first-call keyboardist for a wide variety of WNY bands, one-off gigs and sessions. Currently playing keys for Tsavo Highway, the Little Mountain Band, and others, Evan somehow found time in his busy schedule to take on the role of Music Director at

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53:03

Podcaster and WNY music historian ‘Rockabilly’ Greg...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/11/13

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers.Today, my guest is podcaster and Western New York music historian Greg Hennessey. Through his weekly podcast, In the Flamingo Lounge with Rockabilly Greg, Hennessey shines a necessary light on Buffalo music, celebrating our region’s rich musical history, and honoring the best of the current generation of bands and artists living and working in Western New

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59:10

Welcome back, Letter to Elise

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/10/23

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m excited to welcome back to Why Music Matters my friends Elliott Hunt and Chris Lillis, two fifths of the rising indie-alternative band Letter To Elise. The last time Elliott and Chris sat down with me here at 678 Main Studio, we talked about their earliest influences, their lives in music, and their then-just released

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40:20

Ulithian Vibes: From Micronesia to Buffalo, With Love

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/09/25

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Let’s start today’s podcast with a little anecdote. The text from my friend Jennifer Brazill, President of the Borderland Festival, arrived about 18 months back. “Are you interested in producing, mixing and mastering an album for a reggae-based band from Micronesia, through a grant from National Geographic?” “Um… well, *** yes, I’m interested

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33:25

Ani DiFranco talks about the importance of ‘showing...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/08/21

The iconic independent artist talks about the importance of ‘showing up’ in these unprecedented timesHey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today’s episode is a very meaningful one for me, because it features a musician, poet, activist, and independent music icon whose life’s work was an inspiration for the creation of this podcast. If anyone can stand as a

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43:37

The Water Dogs

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/08/07

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today’s guests are siblings Maria, Grace and Jarrett Brzykcy, who together perform and record as The Water Dogs. The Brzykcy siblings are multi-instrumentalists, whose early love of the Beatles and their daily life in a music-loving household grew into a desire to form a family band. After the band formed in 2014, Maria emerged as the

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38:35

Goo Goo Dolls Bassist Robby Takac Returns

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/07/24

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. On today’s episode, we’re celebrating the Goo Goo Dolls, and in particular, the 30th anniversary of their mainstream breakthrough album, A Boy Named Goo. Though the band had already been around for a decade by the time they released this album, which would go on to reach double platinum sales status, A Boy Named Goo pushed the band

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46:20

Rush super-fan Ray Wawrzyniak Redux

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/06/19

Hey there, music-lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Way back on episode 12 of the podcast, I was joined by my friend, the musicologist, writer, historian and archivist Ray Wawrzyniak. Ray’s main passion in life, aside from his family, is the beloved Canadian progressive music trio Rush. As fellow Rush freaks, Ray and myself became fast friends after meeting about a decade

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37:37

Jamie Holka, Eternal Student of Music

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/06/05

Hey now, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, my guest is the legendary guitarist, performer and band-leader Jamie Holka. As a musician whose name is mentioned in hushed, reverential tones by his peers, Jamie has earned a reputation as a virtuosic guitarist and a fearless improvisor, whether he’s playing blazing electric blues, fiery progressive rock, or

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59:32

Carbon Leaf’s Barry Privett and Terry Clark

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/05/15

Hey there, music-lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. On today’s episode, I’m joined in the studio by two members of a band that has spent the last 30-plus years embodying the very definition of “indie” music. Barry Privett and Terry Clark are two-fifths of Carbon Leaf, the Richmond, VA band that has spent the past three decades crafting a body of work that blends elements of rock,

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01:30:29

Why Music Matters: The Van Halen Roundtable

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/04/24

Hey there, friends. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, we’ve got a special “Music Nerd” edition of the podcast, featuring a roundtable discussion with two friends of mine, who also happen to be deeply talented musicians with long tenures in the music business. During a recent episode of Why Music Matters, I spent some time with the great Dweezil Zappa. Naturally, we discussed

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45:31

Singer/Songwriter Marc Scibilla: From Buffalo, to...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/04/10

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. My guest to day is the singer/songwriter MarcScibilla. Born in Buffalo, NY, and raised in a musical environment, Marc packed his belongings and headed south to Nashville, TN, when he was fresh out of high school, with dreams of becoming a songwriter living and working on the fabled Music Row dancing through his head. This brave

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01:05:35

Elliott Hunt and Chris Lillis of indie-pop buzz band...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/03/27

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m excited to welcome two members of Letter To Elise, a young indie band that has already left a mark on the Western New York music scene, and is poised to take its soaring, anthemic sound out into the broader world. Vocalist, songwriter and band founder Elliott Hunt and keyboardist/vocalist Chris

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01:03:47

Dweezil Zappa: Return of the Son Of…

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/03/13

Hello, music lovers! Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, I’m beyond thrilled to welcome a longtime musical hero of mine, the guitarist, bandleader and songwriter Dweezil Zappa. Growing up with the late composer and guitarist supreme Frank Zappa as a father meant that Dweezil was exposed to some of the bravest and most adventurous music of the 20th century on a daily basis, from a very

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51:49

The FAR Trio on the power of improvisation

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/02/13

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today, my guests are three musicians who seemed destined to end up playing together. Guitarist/vocalist Drew Azzinaro, bassist/vocalist Eamon Rayhn and drummer Ethan Fox all hail from Buffalo, NY, and they met in the music department at the State University of New York at Fredonia a decade back. It would take them a few years and a handful of varied musical

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01:04:35

Songwriter Sam Marabella on Bob Dylan, Nietzsche’s,...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/01/16

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m lucky enough to spend some time with my friend Sam Marabella, a musician, songwriter, local music advocate, and co-owner of the legendary Buffalo, NY, live music venue Nietzsche’s. A veteran of beloved Buffalo indie-jam band Sweatin’ Like Nixon, and a leading light in Buffalo’s roots music scene, Sam is

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55:49

Brian Higgins: Politics, passion, and the power of music

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2025/01/02

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m happy to welcome former Congressman and current President of Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, Brian Higgins. After growing up in Buffalo, and graduating from Buffalo State College and Harvard University, Brian worked his way from the Buffalo Common Council through the New York State Assembly

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01:20:56

Josh Holtzman & Grace Vesneske: Buffalo Iron Works...

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2024/12/05

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. More than a decade back, I hopped on the bus as an embedded reporter, covering a Northeast jaunt for then up-and-coming indie band Aqueous. I’d never met any of the band members, or their manager, Josh Holtzman, previous to that road trip. By the end of that mini-tour, I knew that I’d laid the ground work for some friendships

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40:35

Jae Skeese: Putting Buffalo Hip-Hop on the Map

Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers ·

2024/11/13

Hey there, music lovers. Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. I’m your host, Jeff Miers. Today on the podcast, I’m psyched to welcome a cutting edge artist whose work represents a major step forward for both Buffalo hip-hop in particular, and contemporary national hip-hop in general. Jae Skeese grew up in Buffalo, and from the get-go, he displayed an indelible talent for the authentic, gritty realism and deft, poetic

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