Secret Famous

When the higher power envisioned the best version of humanity, they had Abby and Kenny in mind. Top tier talents in their respective artistic roles: Abby as a singer/songwriter/keys player and Kenny as a drummer/vibe master. You will not meet more modest, down to earth, sweet, chill people: their self-awareness has a self-awareness of it’s own self-awareness. Whether the duo is backing up bands at Madison Square Garden or committing themselves to Herculean efforts to birth Abby’s musical, The Gunfighter Meets his Match, they have an ease, classiness and sense of humor that confounds the normal self-aggrandizing egotism of the modern entertainment professional. A pandemic check in, I try to crack their code, alas——they win this time and every time. We talk about how they balance demanding schedules with their relationship, how they are handling quarantine, who loves tennis more that Kenny Shaw aka K Lion aka Kennis and the exciting releases of new music they have planned. 

This Ohio-bred, official Brooklynite-living, piano-wielding, golden voice of the gods singer songwriter is a special human. His songs may make you dance and cry simultaneously. His social media presence makes me laugh out loud multiple times a day and in my group of friends: it’s common to say: didja see what Luke posted today. We hang in our own quarantines and share some beers. Diiiiiig.

Singer, Songwriter, Producer Stolar has co-written hits with Hall and Oates, Train, and Aloe Blacc. The LA based creative entrepreneur speaks of his daily creative practice, how he overcame his struggles with mental illness, his numerous other creative outlets, and how he’s holding up during quarantine. Jay is a a dear friend whom I consider a visionary. 

Emily Danger is an otherworldly singer: the kind that doesn’t even have to warm up, she can ‘go HAM at any hour.’ In addition to being a monster singer, she’s cool, smart, funny, talented (at all parts of music/art) and a super sweet, modest soul.  Usually people with a prodigious amount of talent have a questionable aesthetic; with Emily, that is not the case. She trained as an opera singer before turning to the world of singer/songer/beatmaker. She for real plays keys.  Emily is a work whipper, who loves the hustle and grind of being a working musician. We share some tequila with Topo Chico and lots of lime and find out about Emily growing up in Bakersfield, CA, studying music therapy, and her forthcoming new tunes: http://www.emilydangermusic.com

Jonathan Jetter is the ultimate audio professional. Comfortable shredding Mixing, Mastering, Engineering, Arranging, Composing, Guitar, Keys, Drums, Soundscapes IN ALL STYLES: hip hop, metal, classical, noise, pop, EDM, world. Jon is a close friend and one of my most important musical co-conspirators, who has worked on virtually every single thing I’ve ever released.  Jon—a beautifully clear thinker and lover of fine wine—and I hang and we get his take on what’s hip and happening in modern music, and how he got to be the complete audio shredder he is. https://www.jonathanjetter.com

Multi-talented, multi-media based artist Andy RINN Martinek released an album of soundscape sonics + visual art under the name RINN, called ‘Formed Trauma.’ Andy is modest and thought-provoking--we hang and talk of his creative process, inspirations in the Canadian Rockies in the middle of winter and the ‘work life vs artist life’ balance that challenges all NYC residents. He’s really good at making magic, so please enjoy this special soul open up. Don’t get scared at this music: he’s as sweet as jelly beans covered in sugar. Visit: www.rinn-noise.com

Coach Chris hosts a podcast called ‘The KookCast’—-I listen to it religiously: funny, informative, quick hits of stoke. In conjunction, he owns/runs/operates ‘The Surf Continuum,’ an online and in-person surf educational resource, primarily based out of Montauk, NY. I was fortunate enough to hang with the lord of shred on a sunny September day at Ditch and get the drop on what it’s like to really live a surfing life. 

Shredding instrumental guitarist + singer/songer David O’Neal has two albums out now and a new one forthcoming. His music has been featured on HBO’s ‘The Night Of’ and Amazon’s “Crisis in Six Scenes.”  He’s cool. He’s chill. He's very smart--he hipped me to ‘The Aquatic Ape’ theory and we didn’t even talk about it, but we talk about other cool stuff like guitars, his music and European dog behavior.

Benjamin Wagner is a superb songwriter, an art monster, thought provoking story teller and a hell of a hang. Here he talks about his latest record 'what's left behind'---available everywhere. 

Ryan Vaughn—drummer and percussionist slash music biz wizard—shares stories of how he originally wanted to start in LA, but the winds of fate brought him to NYC.  There, he discovered his voice as a sideman working the grind, literally never sleeping—that work ethic has carried over into his full time gig now as a music manger for Killphonic. Ryan shares so much music business insight that I myself am going to listen to this again and take notes. It's refreshing to hear a guy who has switched to the business side be such an ardent defender of the independent voice. If you have an interest in releasing your own music more effectively, this is for you.