My guest this week is Neal Tyson, aka The Plural MC. He’s been releasing albums since 2003, including a full-length collaboration with Chris Freeland of Beat Babies / Oxes / Frenemies. We’ve been friends since high school, and he made his debut on my first solo album in 2000.
We talk about his days as a high school hip-hop bootlegger, and how this secret hustle widened his musical palette. He tells me about putting his early albums together, and how starting to work with Chris Freeland led him to finding a unique voice. We discuss balancing the passion to make music with the hassle of promoting it.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Tone-Lōc’s Lōc-ed After Dark, which itself is an homage to Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective. This episode is hosted by Splicetoday.com.
Episode 43 - Sara Autrey /
My guest this week is Sara Autrey. Sara plays in Wing Dam, Which Magic and Glittoris. We first met when we played a show together in Shepherdstown, WV, and we stayed in touch when she came to Baltimore. We conducted this interview in the winter, as Wing Dam was about to hit the road.
She reminisces on the exhilaration she felt when playing in a rock band for the first time, and the loneliness she felt after leaving that band. I ask her about the origins of her different projects, and how she ended up with three different bands. We talk about the forthcoming Wing Dam album, and the new path they’re forging.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Rebel Soul, by Isis. This episode is hosted by Splice Today.
Episode 42 - Jordan Weeks /
My guest this week is Jordan Weeks. Jordan is a member of the bands South Seas Sneak, Thin Sketch, OC Feef, AA Arm and Vox Robotica. He’s also been a touring drummer in Height With Friends, and he produced part of my Versus the Continental MC’s album. For years, he’s been a guiding force in my quest for music knowledge.
He talks about discovering hip-hop through an episode of Sesame Street, and trying to cultivate a hip-hop scene as a fifth-grader in Bolton, MA. He breaks down the difficulty he faced in trying to connect to the Boston music scene, and the more supportive network he found upon moving to Pittsburgh. We discuss the confusion of making music in the internet age, and his uncertainty about how to grind in 2015.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Das EFX’s Dead Serious. This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.
CORRECTION: The group we’re referring to at 1:10:25 is called Icona Pop, not Lacona Pop or Iona Pop.
Episode 41 - Justin Barnes (Reverse Interview) /
My guest this week is Justin Barnes. Justin is the man behind the band Which Birds, and he’s also been a member of Nuclear Power Pants and (my band) Height With Friends. When I invited him to be a guest, he said he would rather interview me, so that’s what we did.
This interview went down over three sessions. In part one, he asks about my early albums and my early influences. In part two, we talk about my albums Baltimore Highlands and Bed Of Seeds, and the collaborative approach I took to making those records. In part three, he asked about the sense of urgency he heard on my newest album, and I try to explain why it’s there.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Critical Beatdown, by Ultramagnetic MC’s.This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.
Episode 40 - Kate Ferencz /
My guest this week is Kate Ferencz.. Kate is a songwriter/performer originally from White Plains, NY and now residing in Philadelphia. I got turned onto her music when I played the release party for her Dumb Hearts, Dumb Flowers album, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
We discuss her four solo albums, as well as her band, Evil Sword. We talk about the difference between Philly and Baltimore’s music scenes, and she makes the case for Philly being a better place for avant-garde music (I can’t see it.) She talks about trying to figure out what she wants her show to feel like, and whether or not she’s out to rock the party.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to J.J. Fad’s Supersonic. This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.