Secret Famous

SF 018 - Nicholas Wells, songwriter + general boss work

Singer, Songwriter, Pianist Nicholas Wells is a Renaissance man: what began as a desire to write and sing songs, has evolved into a full sonic and visual in-production house, where Nicholas performs every skill for every role at every position. He cooks up ambitious ideas and then does all the work needed to make them happen. He’s invested in making himself the modern artist on the web by developing his covers game and live streaming content, all while being an insanely high level singer/songwriter and piano player. He does all of this for his own art while being the music director of Joe Scarborough’s band, backing up Adele and Five for Fighting, and doing voice-over work for Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Ryan Reynolds, Stanley Tucci, The Hunger Games, The Simpsons...YUP…names were dropped. That's Nicholas Wells...super talented, super hard worker, cool as hell and funny AF! Listen IN!

 

SF 017 - Brain Collazo, Singer + Smoothest Human Ever

B'ski aka Brain Collazo defines the word SMOOTH, in every way my mind knows how to break that concept down: being sonically, aesthetically, verbally, spiritually and social-situationally hip. ..while doing little to no work to appear this bad ass. You can be smooth like a duck, doing all the paddling underneath the water, but a real smooth cat is a swan: effortless chilling.  Damn it, you know smooth when you see it (especially because I'm the opposite: a loud and awkward mess). That is Brain Collazo beyond mortal comprehension: THE SMOOTH SWAN.  We tracked this podcast at 8am, which would unsettle a normal human, but he still crushes me in smoothness, smarts, and wits the whole goddamned time.

SF 016 - Caleb Hawley, Pop Star

WORLD PREMIERE OF THE NEW CALEB HAWLEY JOINT "JUST WANT TO BE LOVED." TUNE IN JUST TO BUMP THIS JAM. AGAIN AND AGAIN. A first in the tiny history of Secret Famous, we get a one day advance on this banger! Caleb Hawley is a Pop Star. He writes, sings, produces, dances, looks cooler than a Euro soccer star AND can straight cold shred guitars AND keys. On top of his historic skills in music, he is an absolute gem of a human being: sweet, smart, funny, cool, humble, vulnerable and an engaging storyteller. He tells stories of writing tunes in Mexico, his mission control station in Harlem, the difficulties of being an indie pop star and what his life in retirement might look like. This is a leveled up Secret Famous. 

SF 015 - Anthony Palencsar, Concierge/Performer

Trained dancer, singer and actor (see: triple threat aka monster talent) Anthony Palencsar graced the international stages for years before transferring his skills of improvisation and charisma into becoming one of NYC's premier concierges. His charm, wit and ability to entertain are all on full display as we get some NYC hot tips and what it feels like to be big in Japan, while hanging out at Sharadise.   

SF 014 - Seth Ondracek, Bassist

In a world that smashes people's dreams, it's refreshing to hear some stories from a human who's had their dreams come to fruition. Seth Ondracek lives the dream (by working his ass off), having arrived in New York six years ago from Omaha, Nebraska with nothing but a P Bass and the desire to make his living.  His stories of personal transformation are that of legend and all in the commitment of serving the music. He is now the bassist for some of the coolest bands in NYC: Motherfeather, Hollis Brown and America's Party Band, The Barnstorm (!).  We sit down with a Pamplemousse La Croix* (natch) and get the scoop on why he only has black basses and animals, why he made major lifestyle changes to improve on his music, and how he became the king of Omaha at age 21.

 

*I appresh the article about how they are getting sued and how it's toxic. Thank you for sending my way, loves. I'm WAY TOO FAR GONE. If La Croix is what does me in, just let me enjoy my remaining days with a few of them. Save yourself. 

SF 013 - Matt Krahula, Songwriter moving to Hawaii

Road Dog: someone who loves every part of the more extreme, touring RockNRoll lifestyle e.g., fixing the van, slinging merchandise after the show, eating Cracker Barrel more than once in a year and sleeping on floors while all your belongings stay in your shoes as you rest so you don't lose anything (tip for beginners): this is Matt Krahula, staple of the NYC songwriting/performing/crushing scene. Sad for us, happy for him: He is moving to Hawaii (!) after just releasing the third Nightmare River Band album, Stormville. Matt has toured the nation playing his own music relentlessly doing all the stuff that road dogs do: making friends in new cities, crushing house shows, drinking gas station coffee--Matt's love of the RockNRoll life is real and infectious. He's a heartfelt, compassionate, aware human who can also be a level 10 rager/life of the party/creator of the party...a dichotomy of personalities. I snagged this RIGHT BEFORE he left and everyone was like 'no going away party' nah baby, you gotta tune into secret famous to get the final hang with the Road Dog HOOGA. love this guy. he's got stories for dayzzzzz...

SF 012 - Kaitlyn Rosati, Performer/World Traveler

Kaitlyn Rosati is a full time entertainment machine that goes to eleven: a party of ONE, world traveler, born story teller, feminist icon, force of fashion, talented musician, a hard-ass willing to cut you with a knife while simultaneously being sweet AF and willing to move mountains to help the people she loves out. She is a singular being of awesomeness. If I had to choose one human to blast into space for aliens to get the gist of what humanity is, I'd select Rosati because she is living life deeper, faster and hungrier than anyone I know. All those inspirational memes people blast all over the place? Yeah, they are written about Kaitlyn Rosati. When you are hanging with Kaitlyn, it feels like you're on the back seat of a supersport mortocycle going 190mph down 6th avenue: she's pouring drinks, writing ten songs, dealing with businesses and dancing/laughing/crying/screaming the whole time. The fearless traveler has been to 27 countries, most of them ALONE. Read her blog (http://nomannomad.net)  A dear friend and artist worthy of your time, she's preparing to leave NYC to become a full time Nomad. Listen in--she will make you smile and re-think all your upcoming travel plans. real talk. STFBD!

 

SF 011 - Paul Loren, Lifestyle Expert/Musician

Paul Loren is a life expert: not only a timeless talent for his fronting, singing, songwriting, producing and entertaining, but also a well-read, interested, and interesting multi-dimensional human with great depth of character who knows what he loves. The legend of his talents are all true. You’ve seen him on Instagram listening to classic records and pouring espressos: this is also who he is IRL. Paul embodies the spirit of the late 50s and early 60s in a genuine way. Ever the host, we hung on the 21st floor balcony with a Queens view of all of metropolitan New York over espresso and biscotti, which then turned into a Negroni (natch) and an antipasti plate. I'm confident that this is a real Secret Famous podcast, as Paul will become an Oprah or Jimmy Buffet-level brand. Hell, I spent an hour with him, left, and immediately went to get some Campari, sweet Vermouth, and local gin so I could continue the party...

SF 010 - Jeff Tuohy, Singer/Songwriter

Jeff Tuohy is a dynamo of live entertainment: what most mortals can muster in a weekend, he does in a day. His songwriting fuses rock, pop, country, poetry and Bourbon Street with the voice and training of a Broadway superstar and the perception of a therapist. He is a rare breed who can be the classic front man, the singer-songwriter with a guitar, or take center stage and become Archibald Craven of the musical Secret Garden. I recently sat down with Jeff at the Woodbury Brewing Company over Lord Hobo's Glorious Ale (not a made-up name) and got the 2E real talk. His zest for life and people and experiences is palpable. Not to mention, he has the little mentioned music skill of having a serious sense of basic business acumen.  He also makes me laugh like I am in 6th grade hearing a 10th grader talk again (lil'superfan, I am) ---so Jeff + beer = me laughing a lot. Please enjoy with a side of lil'rich BOYS.

SF 009 - Sam Blakelock, Social Media Mogul/Guitarist

I met New Zealand native Sam Blakelock back in the pit of an off Broadway show, where he was warming up on bass, playing Charlie Parker heads at break neck speed. After some light conversation, he mentioned that he is actually a guitar player and has 800 Instagram followers. In the years since, he has built an online empire: his business page Pickup has 400k followers, PickupJazz has 100k and his personal page has 80k. He is THE guitar tastemaker on the Internet. After hanging with Sam for 5 minutes, you're not surprised that he has accomplished such a feat: talented, smart, hardworking, cool, funny, incredibly disciplined and modest to a fault. He's been able to turn his social media savvy into a burgeoning business by helping mega artists develop and curate online communities, and he can help you and everyone else too--there is much to learn from Pickup's Sam Blakelock. Cold shower anyone?