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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

01:10:02

Episode 660: Sunroof

Beginnings ·

2025/01/17

On today's episode, I talk to Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones of Sunroof. Daniel and Gareth have had long, varied careers for decades - as musicians, music producers and more. Daniel is the founder of Mute Records, which has released albums from numerous groups including Depeche Mode, New Order, Wire, Nick Cave and many others. And as a producer, Gareth has worked with many of those same bands and more including Interpol, Grizzly Bear, Madness and that's just a small sampling. The two began

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01:10:19

Episode 659: Brian Blomerth

Beginnings ·

2025/01/03

On today's episode, I talk to illustrator and comics creator Brian Blomerth. Brian grew up in Newport News, Virginia, and in college started to move towards making art for a living. Some of his early work was for Vice, as well as making tour posters for bands like Phish or album artwork for musicians like Ryley Walker. Since 2019, he's been working on a series of books about 20th century psychonauts starting with Bicycle Day, about the discovery of LSD, and the follow-up, Mycelium Wassonii, about

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01:05:56

Episode 658: Jason Aaron

Beginnings ·

2024/12/20

On today's episode, I talk to comics writer Jason Aaron. Originally from Piney Woods, Alabama, Jason started writing comics professionally after winning a Marvel Comics talent search contest in 2001. This opened the door for him, and soon after in 2006, Vertigo published his first major work The Other Side, which netted him an Eisner Award. Since then, Jason has written acclaimed runs on both mainstream and his own creator-owned comics, some of which include Wolverine and the X-Men, The Punisher,

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57:25

Episode 657: Ed Herro

Beginnings ·

2024/12/13

On today's episode, I talk to TV writer Ed Herro. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Ed fell in love with improv in middle school. He started doing comedy in college and moved to New York where he performed on house teams in the early days of UCB. Eventually realizing that one couldn't make a living yes and-ing, he became a touring stand-up and then a TV writer, writing on shows like Jeff & Some Aliens, American Housewife, and The Neighbors. Most recently, he created, with his writing partner Brian

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01:13:23

Episode 656: Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives

Beginnings ·

2024/12/06

On today's episode, I talk to rapper and musician Brian Ennals and Tariq Ravelomanana AKA Infinity Knives. Originally from Annapolis, Maryland and Tanzania respectively, Brian and Tariq made music separately for years, and after reading about Brian in the Baltimore Sun, Tariq reached out to him and eventually asked Brian to feature on his album Dear, Sudan. This led to their debut Rhino XXL in 2020. While the album was a local hit, it did not prepare them for the reception their second album King

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01:20:28

Episode 655: Fred Thomas

Beginnings ·

2024/11/22

On today's episode, I talk to musician Fred Thomas. Originally from Ypsilanti, Michigan, Fred started playing music as a teenager, and in 1994 founded the math rock band Chore. The band broke up two years later, and he joined the brilliant His Name Is Alive, and in 1999 started the well-known indie rock band Saturday Looks Good to Me. They would release eight albums, mostly on Polyvinyl, before Fred retired the band in 2013. As a solo artist, Fred has been recording albums since 2002, and his 14th

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01:07:51

Episode 654: Jake Xerxes Fussell

Beginnings ·

2024/11/15

On today's episode, I talk to musician Jake Xerxes Fussell. Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Jake is the son of folklorist Fred Fussell, and as a teenager began playing and studying with elder musicians in the Chattahoochee Valley, apprenticing with Piedmont blues legend Precious Bryant, with whom he toured and recorded. In 2015, Jake released his debut self-titled album composed entirely of adapted folk and blues songs on Paradise of Bachelors, his home for his next three albums: What in the

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01:16:18

Episode 653: John Pham

Beginnings ·

2024/11/08

On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist John Pham. Born in Saigon, John's family immigrated to the US towards the end of the Vietnam War. In the year 2000, John received a self publishing grant from the Xeric Foundation for his comic Epoxy, and later in the aughts, Fantagraphics published his books Sublife vol. 1 and 2, the latter of which was nominated for multiple Ignatz Awards. In between books, John works as an art director on some of your favorite cartoons including Lucas Bros Moving Co, Axe

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01:14:11

Episode 652: Tsunami

Beginnings ·

2024/11/01

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson of the band Tsunami. Tsunami formed in Arlington, VA in late 1990, when Jenny and Kristin were housemates at Arlington, Virginia’s legendary punk-activist Positive Force house. Over the next seven years, Tsunami wrote and recorded prolifically, releasing three full-length albums (Deep End, The Heart's Tremolo and A Brilliant Mistake) and over a dozen seven-inch singles and EPs, most on their own Simple Machines label. And next

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01:07:55

Episode 651: Roy Montgomery

Beginnings ·

2024/10/18

On today's episode, I talk to guitarist and composer Roy Montgomery. Originally from London, Roy grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and his first band, The Pin Group, was part of the forefront of the New Zealand post-punk scene in the early-1980s, that, along with bands like The Clean and The Chills, centered around Flying Nun Records. After this, he began recording on his own, and he began to draw acclaim by his second solo album, Temple IV, which was released on Kranky. Since then, he has

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01:09:05

Episode 650: Meredith Scardino

Beginnings ·

2024/10/11

On today's episode, I talk to comedy writer Meredith Scardino. Originally from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Meredith first got into the business of show as an animator before landing her first writing job on Best Week Ever in 2004. This led to a series of gigs including Late Night with David Letterman, Human Giant and the Daily Show before she landed at The Colbert Report, which she wrote on for six years, netting a handful of Emmy Awards for her work. Meredith's streak continued writing for SNL,

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01:08:40

Episode 649: Rose Melberg of The Softies

Beginnings ·

2024/10/04

On today's episode, I talk to musician Rose Melberg. Originally from Sacramento, California, Rose has been a performing musician since high school in the early '90s. While only lasting a year, her first band Tiger Trap garnered a cult following and put out a self-titled album on K Records. Her next band Go Sailor lasted from 1994-1996, but in that short time, recorded a number of albums and singles for Slumberland and Lookout! At the same time, Rose formed The Softies with Jen Sbragia. While it was

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01:16:35

Episode 648: Angry Blackmen

Beginnings ·

2024/09/27

On today's episode, I talk to rappers Brian Warren and Quentin Branch AKA Angry Blackmen. Both living in Chicago in the mid-20-teens, Brian and Quentin met through a mutual friend and eventually a few years later began making music together. Brian asked Quentin to form a duo saying, "I was looking at probably like, OutKast or something, and I was like, 'If they can do it, we can do it'." Their first album TALKSHIT! in 2019 netted them an online following, and subsequent albums were released on

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01:05:42

Episode 647: Kishi Bashi

Beginnings ·

2024/09/20

On today's episode, I talk to musician Karou Ishibashi AKA Kishi Bashi. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Karou grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and although he wanted to make music professionally, it wasn't until he flunked out of college that he began to pursue it in earnest. In 2003, he formed the band Jupiter One, and they were together for a decade and released three albums. Also, during this time, he was a member of Of Montreal for a number of years. In 2011 though, Karou released his first

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01:00:59

Episode 646: Los Bitchos

Beginnings ·

2024/09/13

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Josefine Jonsson and Agustina Ruiz of Los Bitchos. Originally from Sweden and Uruguay respectively, Josefine and Agustina formed the London-based Los Bitchos in 2017 along with Serra Petale and Nic Crawshaw. Their first album Let the Festivities Begin! was released in 2022 to widespread acclaim, and their latest Talkie Talkie just came out at the end of August on City Slang Records, and folks, it's a delight! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on

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01:06:00

Episode 645: Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings

Beginnings ·

2024/09/06

On today's episode, I talk to musician and academic Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings. Originally from Stevens Point, WI, Dylan is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. As an academic, he received his Masters from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and is currently completing his PhD. He's also on the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board and is associate director of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College. As a

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01:03:49

Episode 644: Lia Kohl

Beginnings ·

2024/08/30

On today's episode, I talk to cellist and composer Lia Kohl. Growing up in the Bay Area, Lia began playing the cello when she was eight-years-old and is trained as a classical musician. However, after moving to Chicago in the early 20-teens, she began improvising and making her own music. Her first full album Too Small to be a Plain was released in 2022 on Shinkoyo, which was followed by The Ceiling Reposes in 2023 on American Dreams Records, and her latest Normal Sounds is out now on Moon Glyph

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01:09:23

Episode 643: Matt Bors

Beginnings ·

2024/08/23

On today's episode, I talk to Eisner-winning comics editor and two time Pulitzer Prize Finalist in cartooning Matt Bors. Originally from Canton, Ohio, Matt attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he first began drawing editorial cartoons for the student newspaper. At 23, his work became syndicated by Universal Features, making him the youngest syndicated cartoonist in the country at that time. Since then, his comics have appeared in The Nation, The Guardian, Village Voice, CNN, The

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01:11:08

Episode 642: Mabe Fratti

Beginnings ·

2024/08/16

On today's episode, I talk to musician Mabe Fratti. Originally from Guatemala, Mabe studied cello from a young age, but was on a path to become a journalist before a Goethe Institute residency took her to Mexico to work on her music. There she got involved in the Mexico City improvisational music scene. Mabe produced her first album Pies Sobre La Tierra in 2019, which was followed by Será Que Ahora Podremos Entendernos in 2021, Se Ve Desde Aquí in 2022, and her latest Sentir Que No Sabes was just

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01:15:22

Episode 641: Asher White

Beginnings ·

2024/08/09

On today's episode, I talk to musician and artist Asher White. Originally from Evanston, Illinois, Asher has built an immense discography since she was a teenager, recording over a dozen self-released albums since 2015. Starting with 2023's New Excellent Woman, the wonderful label Ba Da Bing began putting out Asher's music, and her latest Home Constellation Study was just released at the end of June, and like everything else Asher's done, it's excellent! This is the

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