In 2017, I appeared on a Brian Huntress’s podcast. We talked over the phone and recorded our conversation which lasted roughly 1.5 hours. Although the podcast only takes a snapshot of it, I still feel like it is worth sharing. One thing that stood out to me during our conversation was comparing our artistic mediums, higher education experiences, and our fields in general. For those who don’t know, Brian is a visual artist of many mediums as well as a singer-songwriter with incredible lyrical ability. While I am (as the title states) a “Jazz Bandit”, I’ve known Brian for roughly 7 years now and I’m lucky to have found a friend in them. Their way with language is apparent in their spontaneous interviewing style and they’ve never failed to make me think with their inquiries.
In a statement regarding the podcast Brian states, "I am very interested in learning from conversations. In my personal life, some of the greatest lessons I have learned are from a small conversation with a friend, a one on one with a councilor, a group discussion, or even eavesdropping at a coffee shop. And though a lot of performers have a strong ability to express themselves and share ideas in a fun, articulated way on stage, on camera, or through art and music, I think that dialogue ends when the audience cannot respond. In some ways, its a one sided conversation. In this audio series, I have collected mostly phone call conversations in which me and the guest simply talk. A light hearted, off the cuff, and sometimes personal conversation where no questions are prepared, there is no post production, and it is totally unfiltered and mostly unedited. I choose the subjects very carefully. These are people that I believe in, have high hopes for, and that I thought had a perspective that is worth sharing."
In addition to my interview, Brian also interviewed other local musicians such as Bob Tracy, Justin Arena, Nathan Calcagno and many others. Please support Brian and check out their music on Bandcamp. More recently Brian’s been releasing music with Boxer’s Jaw. I’ve always been a fan of the cathartic style.
Stay tuned as I will appear on Joel Mongeon’s Folk podcast very soon.