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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

01:12:29

Episode 580: Rachel Brown of thanks for coming &...

Beginnings ·

2023/04/21

On today's episode, I talk to musician Rachel Brown. Originally from Chicago, Rachel attended NYU where they studied film and television. However, instead of ending up in TV, Rachel's life took a different path, and they became enmeshed in the New York music scene. As thanks for coming, they've released dozens of albums, and their latest, You Haven't Missed Much, was released late last year on Danger Collective Records. As half of Water From Your Eyes, Rachel has released six albums, and their

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40:34

Episode 579: Satomi Matsuzaki

Beginnings ·

2023/04/14

On today's episode, I talk to musician Satomi Matsuzaki. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Satomi moved to San Francisco in 1995 to study film production, but within a week of immigrating, she joined the nascent rock group Deerhoof, and has been a member ever since. In the intervening years, the band has released over two dozen albums, EPs and live albums on labels like Kill Rock Stars and Polyvinyl, among many others, and their latest, Miracle-Level, was released at the end of March on Joyful Noise

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59:55

Episode 578: Jerry Minor

Beginnings ·

2023/04/07

On today's episode, I talk to actor and comedian Jerry Minor. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Jerry came up doing comedy at Second City in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto before joining Mr. Show for the fourth season. This was followed by stints at SNL, Primtetime Glick, The Daily Show as well as appearances on basically every great comedy from the last two decades: Delocated, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, Arrested Development, Community, Detroiters, Special and honestly, more than I have time to

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01:01:57

Episode 577: Oren Ambarchi

Beginnings ·

2023/03/31

On today's episode, I talk to musician Oren Ambarchi. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Oren began playing free jazz as a drummer in the late '80s, eventually moving from there to New York, where he became integrated in the experimental and jazz scene. Oren's collaborations and albums are too numerous to mention here, but he's played with everyone from Sunn 0)) to John Zorn to Jim O’Rourke to Phill Niblock, and released albums on labels like Kranky, Tzadik and his own, Black Truffle. Oren now lives

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01:17:07

Episode 576: Stimmerman

Beginnings ·

2023/03/24

On today's episode, I talk to musician Eva Lawitts AKA Stimmerman. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Eva has been playing music for most of her life. She played in the band Sister Helen for 14 years, and when they broke up she formed Stimmerman in 2017. As Stimmerman, she's recorded a number of albums and EPs, and her latest Undertaking will be released this May, and it's incredible! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy

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01:04:02

Episode 575: Kate Fagan

Beginnings ·

2023/03/17

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kate Fagan. Growing up in Wisconsin and then outside DC, Kate made many more stops before ending up in Chicago in the late '70s and early '80s. There she became the Founder and frontwoman of long-running Chicago second wave ska trailblazers Heavy Manners, and on her own, she recorded and self-released the new wave single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool, ” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. 35 years later,

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01:06:58

Episode 574: Farel Dalrymple

Beginnings ·

2023/03/03

On today's episode, I talk to comics creator Farel Dalrymple. Originally from Tulsa, OK, Farel Dalrymple has been creating comics for over two decades. While attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, he was one of the founders of the Meathaus Collective, who published the Meathaus comics anthology. And since then, he's written and illustrated a wide range of comics, worked with Jonathan Lethem on Omega the Unknown and created numerous creator-owned books like The Often Wrong, Proxima

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01:07:41

Episode 573: Avey Tare

Beginnings ·

2023/02/24

On today's episode, I talk to musician Dave Portner AKA Avey Tare of Animal Collective. Originally from Baltimore County, Dave met his future bandmates Josh, Brian and Noah in high school where they played music together, but it wasn't until they all found themselves in New York in the early-aughts that they officially became Animal Collective. The first album as Avey Tare, Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished, also doubles as the first Animal Collective album, and since its release on

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01:09:08

Episode 572: Emma Paetz

Beginnings ·

2023/02/17

On today's episode, I talk to actress Emma Paetz. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Emma realized she wanted to act for a living while au pairing in Paris. She moved to London where she studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and was primarily a theater actor for a long time. While she's had roles in shows like The Looming Tower and Gentleman Jack, her first starring role was as Martha Kane in the canceled-too-soon show Pennyworth, all three seasons of which you can still watch on HBO Max

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01:22:36

Episode 571: Elina Löwensohn

Beginnings ·

2023/02/10

On today's episode, I talk to actress Elina Löwensohn. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Elina emigrated to the US as a child under somewhat harrowing circumstances. She studied acting and started performing in theater productions in New York and was hired by Hal Hartley after he saw her in play. She starred in a number of his films including Simple Men, Amateur and Flirt, and in the last 30 years, has acted in everything from Schindler's List to Seinfeld to Basquiat to A Very Long Engagement, and

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01:28:19

Episode 570: Damian Abraham of Fucked Up

Beginnings ·

2023/02/03

On today's episode, I talk to musician Damian Abraham. Originally from Toronto, Damian has been playing in punk bands since he was a tween. In 2001, he formed Fucked Up with Mike Haliechuk and has been the lead singer ever since. They've recorded six albums and dozens and dozens of EPs and other recordings on labels like Arts & Crafts, Merge and Matador. Damian is also the host of the interview podcast Turned Out a Punk, which has featured many of the same wonderful guests you've heard on

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01:09:15

Episode 569: Terence Winter

Beginnings ·

2023/01/27

On today's 13th anniversary episode, I talk to Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award winning TV and film writer Terence Winter. Originally from Brooklyn, Terry became a lawyer before giving it all up to move to LA to pursue a career in screenwriting. Starting on shows like Xena: Warrior Princess and sitcoms like Sister, Sister, Terry eventually became a writer for The Sopranos, which he wrote on for most of its run. Since then, he created the wonderful HBO show Boardwalk Empire, wrote the

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01:24:31

Episode 568: Jim Zub

Beginnings ·

2023/01/20

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comics creator Jim Zub. Jim began his comics career making webcomics starting in the early aughts, but it was with his Image book Skullkickers, which allowed him to break through to a wider audience. Since then he's written other creator-owned work for Image like Wayward and Glitterbomb, as well as numerous books for DC and Marvel including most notably The Avengers and Thunderbolts. Speaking of Thunderbolts, Jim is currently writing

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01:23:28

Episode 567: ALMA

Beginnings ·

2023/01/13

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Alba Torremocha, Melissa Carter, and Lillie McDonough AKA the band ALMA. Hailing from all over the world, the New York-based trio officially formed in 2019 out of a shared delight in harmonizing and experimentation. Later that year, they were named an NYFA Fellow for their genre-pushing work and the following year, were awarded an Awesome Foundation Grant. Then in 2021, they released their first album MOSAIC to acclaim! This is the

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01:32:44

Episode 566: Daniel Wyche returns

Beginnings ·

2023/01/06

On today's episode I talk to musician and scholar Daniel Wyche. Daniel is a visiting assistant professor in Albion College's religious studies department and a brilliant guitarist - his album Earthwork was one of my favorites in 2021, and after his first appearance on the show back in episode 514, we've become friendly. As a former philosophy professor and current philosophy dilettante, I thought it might be fun to go off-topic-ish for an episode and have an actual PhD on to bounce my well-thought

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01:06:46

Episode 565: Sheldon Epps

Beginnings ·

2022/12/30

On today's episode, I talk to theater and TV director Sheldon Epps. Originally from Compton, CA, Sheldon's decades-long career in entertainment has spanned both the stage and television. He was a co-founder & the associate artistic director of the off-Broadway theater The Production Company, conceived and directed the Duke Ellington musical Play On!, which received three Tony Award nominations, and was the artistic director at the Pasadena Playhouse for two decades. For television, Sheldon has

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01:04:10

Episode 564: Cliff Chiang

Beginnings ·

2022/12/16

On today's episode, I talk to comics creator Cliff Chiang. Originally from New Jersey, Cliff wasn't sure of his direction in life, but wanted to give his dream of making comics a try and got an editorial job at DC/Vertigo after college. This led to drawing anthology stories and single issues which led to higher profile gigs on books like Human Target and Wonder Woman. In 2015, Cliff co-created the Eisner Award-winning series Paper Girls with Brian K. Vaughan, which was turned into a

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01:23:20

Episode 563: Breeda Wool

Beginnings ·

2022/12/09

On today's episode, I talk to actor Breeda Wool. Originally from Urbana, Illinois, Breeda moved to New York City after college to pursue acting, where she did everything from sketch comedy to guerilla theater to acting in indie films. This all led to roles in more mainstream work like Vice Principals, The Affair, GLOW, and The Walking Dead, as well as regular roles on shows like Mr. Mercedes and UnREAL. Breeda is also one of the stars of the new Disney+ show National Treasure: Edge of History, which

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01:05:11

Episode 562: Kurt Wagner of Lambchop

Beginnings ·

2022/12/02

On today's episode, I talk to musician Kurt Wagner. Originally from Nashville, TN, Kurt was an artist and musician working a day job. But through the late '80s into the '90s, his band Lambchop began to become popular, assisted in some part by Vic Chesnutt enthusiastically talking about them in the press. Since 1990, Lambchop has released almost 20 albums, most of them on Merge Records, and their latest The Bible, came out at the end of September, and like everything else Kurt makes, it's wonderful!

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01:04:39

Episode 561: Jerry Stahl

Beginnings ·

2022/11/18

On today's episode, I talk to writer Jerry Stahl. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jerry won a Pushcart Prize early in his writing career before taking a detour into writing erotica and for magazines like Hustler. This led to another detour writing for TV and movies, although "detour" here might be incorrect, considering this has been a large chunk of his professional career. Jerry penned scripts for ALF, Thirtysomething, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks, CSI, Maron, Escape at Dannemora as well as

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