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PODCAST

Beginnings

We all know the stories of how creative people get into the business of creating for a living, but how did they start using their imaginations in the first place? On the Beginnings podcast, writer and performer Andy Beckerman asks well-known and on-their-way-up comedians, musicians, writers, artists and thinkers about their earliest creative acts, their formative childhood experiences, and how they"ve developed both creatively and emotionally over the years. Beginnings is part therapy, part

arts performing arts

All Episodes

01:02:31

Episode 620: Juel Taylor

Beginnings ·

2024/02/09

On today's episode, I talk to writer and director Juel Taylor. Originally from Tuskegee, Alabama, Juel at first wanted to design video games, but in college he shifted his focus to filmmaking. He did different jobs in sound while he was waiting to break through, and in 2018, he co-wrote Creed II. Directing gigs on Boomerang and Twenties followed, as well as co-writing Space Jam: A New Legacy in 2021. This all culminated in Juel's first project as co-writer and director They Cloned Tyrone, which was

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59:51

Episode 619: ISMAY

Beginnings ·

2024/02/02

On today's episode, I talk to musician Avery Hellman AKA ISMAY. Originally from the Bay Area, Avery grew up surrounded by music - their grandfather founded the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival - but didn't think they would pursue making music professionally until a crisis propelled them in that direction. Their first album Songs of Sonoma Mountain was released in 2020, and their latest album Desert Pavement was just released last week, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe

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01:10:16

Episode 618: Jonathan Lethem

Beginnings ·

2024/01/26

On today's 14th Anniversary episode, I talk to MacArthur Genius Grant-winning author Jonathan Lethem. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Jonathan at first thought he was going to be a visual artist until some existential realizations about class and art in college in the early 1980s left him disillusioned. He dropped out, hitchhiked to California and started writing while he worked as a clerk in used bookstores. In 1994, Harcourt Brace published his first novel Gun, with Occasional Music, and since

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01:01:51

Episode 617: Arnold Dreyblatt

Beginnings ·

2024/01/19

On today's episode, I talk to composer and artist Arnold Dreyblatt. Originally from New York City, Arnold is part of the second generation of New York minimal composers, having studied with Pauline Oliveros, La Monte Young, and Alvin Lucier. His first album Nodal Excitation was released in 1982, and since then, he's recorded almost a dozen more, including 1995's Animal Magnetism, which was released on Tzadik. Based in Berlin since 1984, Arnold was Professor of Media Art at the Muthesius Academy of

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01:01:25

Episode 616: Evan Dando

Beginnings ·

2024/01/12

On today's episode, I talk to musician Evan Dando. Attending the CommonWealth School in Boston in the early 1980s, Evan met Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz, and in 1986, they formed The Lemonheads. The band released three great albums on Taang!, but it wasn't until after signing to Atlantic and releasing It's a Shame About Ray in 1992 that the band broke through. While there have been numerous ups and downs, personnel changes, a six-year hiatus, during which Evan released a wonderful album under his own

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01:00:31

Episode 615: Tanya Donelly

Beginnings ·

2024/01/05

On today's episode, I talk to musician Tanya Donelly. Originally from Newport, Rhode Island, Tanya founded not just one, but three, incredible 20th century bands. As a teenager in the 1980s, she formed Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh and performed with them through 1991. During this same time, she founded The Breeders with Kim Deal and co-wrote the first album Pod. Tanya left both groups though to form Belly, where she was the principal songwriter and frontperson. Their first album

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01:06:27

Episode 614: Doug Bielmeier

Beginnings ·

2023/12/22

On today's episode, I talk to composer Doug Bielmeier. Originally from Buffalo, Doug started out playing in indie rock bands before shifting his focus to composition, which he received both bachelors and masters degrees for. His music has been described as an "extension of Xenakis’s early electroacoustic tape pieces", and his albums include 2017's Betty and the Sensory World, 2018's Costa Mesa Rocking Chair, and 2019's Beast of Bodmin Moor. Doug also holds a PhD in education and is a professor at

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01:02:19

Episode 613: J. Blakeson

Beginnings ·

2023/12/15

On today's episode, I talk to filmmaker J. Blakeson. Originally from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, J. started out making low-budget shorts of his own. This eventually led to him being able to make a slightly larger film, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, in 2009, starring Gemma Arterton and Eddie Marsan. Over the next 14 years, J. wrote and directed many other films and TV shows; some highlights include the Gunpowder miniseries for BBC One/HBO and 2021's I Care a Lot for which Rosamund Pike won a

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01:10:28

Episode 612: Arone Dyer

Beginnings ·

2023/12/08

On today's episode, I talk to musician Arone Dyer. Originally from Willmar, Minnesota, Arone began writing songs in high school and even won a contest to perform at the Minneapolis Lilith Fair when she was 18-years-old. But soon after, she developed carpal tunnel syndrome and had to give up playing guitar for many years. After moving to New York, where she took up work as a luthier and bicycle mechanic, Arone met Aron Sanchez, and the two eventually formed the group Buke and Gase, which is named

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01:03:11

Episode 611: Nina Nastasia

Beginnings ·

2023/12/01

On today's episode, I talk to musician Nina Nastasia. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Nina began writing songs in 1993 but initially had no real ambitions to be a professional musician. She ended up recording many of those songs with Steve Albini, and they became her debut album Dogs, which was released in 2000. Albini sent the record to John Peel, who championed it on his radio show, and Nina began to garner both fans and acclaim. Since then, she's recorded and released seven albums on labels like

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01:03:21

Episode 610: Jordan Morris

Beginnings ·

2023/11/24

On today's episode, I talk to writer and comedian Jordan Morris. Originally from Mission Viejo, Jordan attended UC Santa Cruz, where he met his future podcasting partner Jesse Thorn, and in 2007, the two started one of the longest-running podcasts still going, Jordan, Jesse, Go! on the Maximum Fun network. As a writer, he's worked on everything from @midnight to Earth to Ned, and has also penned two graphic novels. The first, the Eisner-nominated Bubble, was based on his scripted podcast series of

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53:16

Episode 609: Matt Fraction

Beginnings ·

2023/11/17

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner Award-winning comics writer Matt Fraction. Originally from Chicago, Matt started out in comics writing for publishers like IDW in the early 2000s and broke into wider recognition with his 2006 series Casanova. This led to both more creator-owned work like Sex Criminals, Satellite Sam, and November as well as stints on Marvel books like Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man, Fantastic Four and a defining run on Hawkeye with David Aja. Matt also works in television, and most

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01:15:14

Episode 608: Mike Sweeney

Beginnings ·

2023/11/10

On today's episode, I talk to Emmy-winning comedy writer Mike Sweeney. Since childhood, Mike wanted to be in showbiz, but family issues prevented him from pursuing stand-up until his late 20s. Stand-up led to writing on shows like Short Attention Span Theater and Politically Incorrect, and in 1995, he joined the writing staff of the then two-year-old Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In 2002, Mike became the head writer for Conan and stayed with the show through its transition to the Tonight Show in

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55:00

Episode 607: Marnie Stern

Beginnings ·

2023/11/03

On today's episode, I talk to musician Marnie Stern. Originally from New York City, Marnie didn't start out trying to pursue music professionally, and her first album In Advance of the Broken Arm came out in 2007 on Kill Rock Stars when she was 30-years-old. It instantly garnered acclaim, and was followed by This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That in 2008, a self-titled album two years later and The Chronicles of Marnia in 2013

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55:44

Episode 606: Derek M. Ballard

Beginnings ·

2023/10/27

On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Derek M. Ballard. Originally from Mobile, AL, Derek was an artist from the jump. As a storyboard artist, he's written for shows like Adventure Time and The Midnight Gospel, and as a cartoonist, he wrote comics for the wonderful and sadly defunct site The Nib. Most recently, he created a zine called The Shape of Comics to Come, and his first graphic novel Cartoonshow was just published by Oni at the end of the summer! This is the

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01:07:59

Episode 605: Will Butler

Beginnings ·

2023/10/20

On today's episode, I talk to musician Will Butler. Originally from Floriston, California, Will mostly grew up in Texas, and after college moved to Montreal to join his brother's band Arcade Fire. The band was a sensation: their debut Funeral is widely considered by music critics to be one of the greatest albums of the 2000s, and all of Arcade Fire's studio albums have received Grammy nominations. However, Will left the band in 2021 to pursue other projects. As a solo artist, Will has released three

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01:04:36

Episode 604: A. Savage

Beginnings ·

2023/10/13

On today's episode, I talk to musician and painter Andrew Savage. Originally from Denton, TX, Andrew began playing music seriously when he formed the band Teenage Cool Kids in college in 2006. By the time the group officially disbanded in 2011, Andrew had already been writing music in a new band, Parquet Courts, which he started with his college friend Austin Brown. Since that time, they've released seven albums on labels like What's Your Rupture? and Rough Trade, and Andrew was even nominated for a

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01:09:22

Episode 603: Greg Rucka

Beginnings ·

2023/10/06

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner Award-winning comics writer Greg Rucka. Originally from San Francisco, Greg grew up in Salinas, California, AKA "Steinbeck Country", and worked a number of jobs - EMT, fight choreographer - until his writing career took off. His first published novels were his Atticus Kodiak books, which were published by Bantam starting in the mid-'90s. Soon after, Greg began writing comics, creating Whiteout, Queen & Country and Stumptown for Oni, writing things like 52 and

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58:53

Episode 602: Fat Tony

Beginnings ·

2023/09/29

On today's episode, I talk to musician Fat Tony. Originally from Houston, Texas, Anthony Obi started his musical career performing with a number of different rap groups in high school, but it wasn't until his early 20s that he began writing and releasing albums under the name Fat Tony. Since 2010, he's released over a dozen albums and EPs on labels like Young One and Don Giovanni, and his latest I Will Make a Baby in This Damn Economy was just released on Carpark Records at the end of August, and

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57:04

Episode 601: Rod Argent of The Zombies

Beginnings ·

2023/09/22

On today's episode, I talk to musician Rod Argent. Originally from St. Albans, Rod became the founder, keyboard player and one of the principal songwriters of the seminal 1960s British rock band The Zombies at the age of 16. While the band only stayed together a little more than half a decade, they became international stars, and their final album Odessey and Oracle is both one of the most acclaimed albums of the 1960s and of all time. After The Zombies broke up, Rod formed the brilliant prog band

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