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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

01:06:08

Episode 460: David Sirota

Beginnings ·

2020/11/13

On today's episode I talk to journalist David Sirota. In David's long career, he has done a great deal of work both inside politics and outside, reporting on politics. In the early aughts, he worked as a political strategist and campaign advisor on a number of progressive campaigns, soon after transitioning to journalism, which included everything from a nationally syndicated newspaper column to investigative reporting. His work has garnered him a number of awards including the prestigious Izzy

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01:16:06

Episode 459: Diane Cluck

Beginnings ·

2020/11/06

On today's episode I talk to musician Diane Cluck. Originally from Lancaster, PA, Diane began playing music in grade school. She started to perform publicly in New York in the early 2000s, in the same LES folk scene that included Jeffrey Lewis, Regina Spektor and Kimya Dawson, and since then has recorded and released over a dozen albums and compilations. Her latest Common Wealth was just released in June, and it's just wonderful! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts,

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01:05:27

Episode 458: Thurston Moore

Beginnings ·

2020/10/30

On today's episode I talk to musician Thurston Moore. Originally from Coral Gables, Florida, Thurston eventually ended up in New York in the late-70s, just as a vibrant musical scene was exploding, which included post-punk, new wave, no wave, jazz and numerous other styles. After playing in a few different bands, he met Kim Gordon and they eventually formed Sonic Youth in 1981. Over the next three decades, Sonic Youth released 15 amazing albums and became one of the most well-known indie rock bands

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01:16:47

Episode 457: Silas Howard

Beginnings ·

2020/10/23

On today's episode I talk to writer and director Silas Howard. Silas is an award winning director and writer whose recent work includes executive producing and directing on FX’s Emmy-nominated series Pose. Other TV credits include directing on multiple seasons of Amazon’s Emmy award-winning Transparent, NBC’s This Is Us, HBO’s High Maintenance, Netflix’s Tales of the City, Apple TV's Dickinson, as well as the new Josh Thomas show Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. In addition to all of his directing work,

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01:10:20

Episode 456: Owen Pallett

Beginnings ·

2020/10/09

On today's episode I talk to musician Owen Pallett. Since the age of three, Owen has been playing violin, and as a young teenager, he composed his first piece. This started him on the path to making music for a living. On his own, he's written and recorded a number of great albums both as Final Fantasy and under his own name. Additionally, Owen's written for and toured with a number of great bands including Jim Guthrie, The Hidden Cameras, Beirut and perhaps most notably Arcade Fire for their

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01:02:58

Episode 455: Tim Smith of Midlake and Harp

Beginnings ·

2020/10/02

On today's episode I talk to musician Tim Smith. From 1999 to 2012, Tim was the singer, guitarist and principal songwriter for the indie rock band Midlake. During his tenure, the band recorded a number of EPs and three highly-regarded albums Bamnan and Slivercork, The Trials of Van Occupanther, and The Courage of Others. In 2012 though, Tim left the band to pursue his own projects, and since then has been recording under the name Harp. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple

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01:08:54

Episode 454: Psalm One

Beginnings ·

2020/09/25

On today's episode I talk to rapper Psalm One AKA Cristalle Bowen AKA Hologram Kizzie. Originally from the Southside of Chicago, Cristalle was set to be a chemist before creating a hip hop album for her junior Creative Writing project. That album led to some meetings, and eventually she signed with Minneapolis indie hip hop label Rhymesayers. They released her album The Death of Frequent Flyer in 2006, but after a number of years, Cristalle parted ways with them. She started releasing music on her

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01:09:40

Episode 453: Brian Gallivan

Beginnings ·

2020/09/18

On today's episode I talk to TV writer Brian Gallivan. Originally from the Boston area, Brian was a middle school language arts teacher before taking a risk to perform and write for a living, starting first with Boston's Improv Asylum and then, after moving to Chicago, with Second City. Since moving to Los Angeles, Brian has written for a number of shows including Happy Endings, Future Man, Splitting Up Together and created the CBS series The McCarthys. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe

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01:10:04

Episode 452: Shirley Collins

Beginnings ·

2020/09/11

On today's episode I talk to musician Shirley Collins MBE (Yes, Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire!). Shirley is an English folk singer, song collector and perhaps the greatest living embodiment of the musical threads that connect England with its history. In 1959, she assisted Alan Lomax on his famous folk song collecting trip in the Southern US, and as a significant presence during the Second English Folk Revival in the 1960s, Shirley formed a duo with her sister Dolly, who

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01:06:54

Episode 451: Josh Radnor

Beginnings ·

2020/09/04

On today's episode I talk to actor and musician Josh Radnor. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Josh got his start in New York theater before being cast as the lead in the wildly-successful CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother in 2005. He has written and/or directed two films, Happythankyoumoreplease and Liberal Arts, and starred in two series since How I Met Your Mother ended: Mercy Street and Rise, and is currently part of the ensemble cast of Amazon's new show Hunters. In addition to all of this, Josh

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01:08:37

Episode 450: Mac McCaughan

Beginnings ·

2020/08/28

On today's episode I talk to musician Mac McCaughan. Mac is a singer, songwriter and the co-founder of Merge Records, one of the most influential labels in indie rock. As a performer, he's the lead singer and guitarist of the genre-defining indie rock group Superchunk, who have released 11 albums since 1989, including the most recent 2018's What a Time to Be Alive. On his own, he's released numerous albums as both Portastatic and under his own name, and in addition to all of this, he also scores

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01:12:32

Episode 449: Sabrina Ellis of Sweet Spirit and A...

Beginnings ·

2020/08/21

On today's episode I talk to musician Sabrina Ellis. Originally from Houston, Sabrina has been a mainstay of Austin indie rock for years. In 2008, they formed the indie rock band A Giant Dog, and since then, the band has released five albums, including a full-length cover of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. Sabrina also co-founded the bands Heart Bones, with Har Mar Superstar, and Sweet Spirit. Sweet Spirit have released three albums, and their latest, Trinidad, was just released on Merge a few months ago

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01:08:15

Episode 448: Andrew Becker

Beginnings ·

2020/08/17

On today's episode I talk to musician Andrew Becker. Andrew began his musical career with the post-Faraquet Dischord Records band Medications, drumming on their first few records before moving to New York to form the band Screens. But it was with his move to Los Angeles that Andrew began recording mostly on his own under the moniker Human Potential. He's released four albums under this name. I'm Glad You're Alive, his most recent, produced by Woods' Jarvis Taveniere, was just released earlier this

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01:00:50

Episode 447: Sam Prekop

Beginnings ·

2020/08/14

On today's episode I talk to musician Sam Prekop. Sam grew up in Chicago and while he went to art school, forming the band Shrimp Boat sent him off in a completely different direction. When the band broke up in the early '90s, he formed The Sea and Cake with Archer Prewitt of The Coctails and Tortoise's John McEntire, and over the last two and a half decades, they've released 11 albums, the most recent being 2018's Any Day. As a solo artist, Sam has released four albums, all on Thrill Jockey, and

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56:22

Episode 446: Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods

Beginnings ·

2020/08/07

On today's episode I talk to musician Jason Williamson. Originally from Grantham, Lincolnshire, Jason spent several years pursuing music unsuccessfully both with various groups and as a solo singer-songwriter and working as a session musician with a number of bands including Spiritualized. It was when Jason met Andrew Fearn though and they formed Sleaford Mods that things started to take off. Since 2007, they've released ten albums to much acclaim, and their latest All That Glue (a collection of

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01:22:37

Episode 445: David Hill

Beginnings ·

2020/07/31

On today's episode I talk to writer Dave Hill. Dave is originally from Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he was raised in a family of carnies, gamblers, hell-raisers and story-tellers. He spent over a decade traveling the United States and Canada as a union organizer before settling down in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and three children. He was a regular contributor to Grantland and a writer for the UCB Theater in New York City, and his work has been featured on This American Life, in New York

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01:02:10

Episode 444: Shamir

Beginnings ·

2020/07/24

On today's episode I talk to musician Shamir Bailey. Originally from North Las Vegas, Shamir's music career took off relatively quickly after signing to XL Recordings at the age of 19. The push and pull between what Shamir wanted to do and what the label wanted him to do though eventually ended with them dropping him a few years later. After a psychiatric hospitalization, Shamir began making the music he wanted to make, and his latest album Cataclysm, just released in March, is incredible. This

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01:30:55

Episode 443: Greg Saunier of Deerhoof

Beginnings ·

2020/07/17

On today's episode I talk to musician, producer, composer and founding member of Deerhoof, Greg Saunier. After graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1991, Greg formed the band Nitre Pit, which a few years later became Deerhoof, and in the last 25 years, the band has released 15 albums on labels like Kill Rock Stars and Joyful Noise. Outside of Deerhoof, Greg has played with many bands, including Nervous Cop with Zach Hill and Joanna Newsom, and Rolling Stone called Greg, Zach and

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01:21:35

Episode 442: Ben Passmore

Beginnings ·

2020/07/03

On today's episode I talk to cartoonist Ben Passmore. Originally from Massachusetts, Ben has been writing and illustrating comics since he was a child. He's created comics like Daygloayhole, the Eisner Award-nominated and Ignatz Award-winning comic collection Your Black Friend, and BTTM FDRS with Ezra Claytan Daniels, which was published by Fantagraphics last year. In addition, he is a regular contributor to the daily satirical publication The Nib.. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on

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01:12:07

Episode 441: Dan Levy

Beginnings ·

2020/06/26

On today's episode I talk to writer and stand-up Dan Levy. Originally from Stamford, CT, Dan has been performing comedy since he was nine years old, and while in college, performed stand-up as much as possible. This lead to him winning "Funniest College Comedian in America" at the 2001 Aspen U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, which jumpstarted his career. He's hosted shows on MTV, has his own Comedy Central Presents special, and has written for numerous shows including Whitney, Mulaney, and The Goldbergs

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