#09 Interview with Tal Haslam (Grey Glass, Idiot Kid + Tal Haslam)

Ete's guest this week is Carsiano.

Carsiano, a rapper from Heber City, UT, is by far the youngest guest we've had on the show. He's 18. He's just graduated high school. He's got the infectious energy, optimism, and charm of youth. He's got big dreams. In a few weeks he's headed out to Santa Cruz to start his music career. He plans to become the rap voice of his generation.

Unlike the seasoned artists we've talked to throughout the episodes, Carson is pretty new to his craft. He's only been rapping seriously for about 6 months. He started rapping his junior year in high school to win a bet with his girlfriend. His first attempt at studio recording ended after being assaulted by a day old buffalo hot wing. He looks up to Logic. He despises "Mumble Rappers." He's learning the difficulty of performance and recording and the joy of looking at his finished work and thinking, "I did this."

It sounds like the story of your typical teenage musician. But then we come to the music he's making. Take a listen to what he's actually created and you realize there's something different here. His work speaks for itself. Check out his two currently available tracks: C.A.L.L (labeled explicit), and My Day. There's no question both his catalog and his abilities will only grow. And as they do, who knows where his career may take him. He just may become a voice of his generation. We hope he does.

In this episode, Ete speaks with Becca Wilhite.

Becca Wilhite is a mother of four, a high school teacher, writer, and author. She has published four romance novels and has a new historical novel coming out in 2021. She is also part of a group that writes romance fiction under the pen name Brenna Jacobs.

Becca is a big believer in the idea that every single person has a creator within. She emphasizes that creation, making, is a human need. It's a drive that we all have and we all need to honor. She feels that we as individuals, and as a society, we would all benefit from focusing a little more on "honoring" the "small pieces," appreciating any forward momentum however small, instead of obsessing about "finished products." Becca reminds us to allow ourselves "grace" and to not let fear stop us from making. "You have permission. Do a thing," she says.

In this interview, Becca also talks extensively about the impact that outside influences can have on her writing. From readers' reactions, to navigating the constantly changing and rather fuzzy, unspoken rules of "acceptable" writing set by the national social climate, to expectations that come with working within a certain genre, writing for an audience can be complicated. And it certainly takes some courage. In one especially difficult experience, a novel of Becca's was subject to a particularly negative–and somewhat personal–critique by Publisher's Weekly, one of the very publications she'd dreamed of being featured in since the beginning of her writing career. She describes working through the disappointment and the fallout of that ordeal, a lesson all of us can learn from. And just as importantly, the experience helped her to develop the mindset contained in a pretty profound statement she makes at the end of the interview, "My purpose revolves around creation whether or not that creation is honored by other people."

Books available at King's English
Books available on Amazon
Books by Brenna Jacobs
Becca Wilhite on Facebook

When I had the idea to start this show Chase was one of the first people who came to my mind. When I think about creatives and people who are obsessed with art and driven, I think of Chase. He is both a musician and an artist (and he is amazing at both).

Back in 2007 his punk band, Dear and Glorious Physician, rocked the Gainesville, FL scene. In a short amount of time they released 2 albums (Grenada Records) and became a regional band. Chase pays attention to every detail in his music and as he says in this interview he knows he was at times difficult to work with and has some regrets about being hard on his bandmates (siblings). The band consisted of siblings Andy, Robin and Jill. In this interview Chase talks a lot about the importance of working with his siblings and how the band would never have become what it was without them. In his mind it was because of their belief in him, and their patience with him, that D&GP was able to become the band that it became. I also talk about the "dormancy" of the band as I hint many times that the band is just "dormant" right now.

For the past many years Chase has been focusing on his art as the main source of his creativity. His art is gritty, conflicted, and full of symbolism and very moving. In one of his projects "Control" he was able to work with Julian Dorio (founding drummer of the Whigs). Julian was the drummer touring with Eagles of Death Metal and was playing onstage at the moment the Bataclan in Paris was attacked by terrorists. Many were killed and the scene was extremely violent. Chase asked Julian to write a short drum piece to express what it was like. Chase and his team captured this performance on video and it is powerful! As I listened to Chase telling the story of this process I got the chills.

Visit his website to view and experience some of his other art. Chase has been traveling the country doing lectures, exhibits and curating other exhibitions.

Talking with Chase is enlightening and I wish we had had more time. This way by far the longest interview that I have done yet and it still felt short to me. He has a lot to say and I love hearing him say it.

Towards the end Chase shares some regrets and some gratitude with us. He attributes all of his success to his wife (Amber), his mother (Susan), his father (Chuck) and the rest of his family.

As you will see in this interview, I have so much respect and admiration for Chase. He truly is a creator and an amazing human being.

https://www.facebook.com/dearandglorious/
http://www.charlesawestfall.com/

(Update: my dyslexia shows in this episode.  There Is a song called O.C.D and in this episode I refer to it as COD and DOC. Sorry Tal and Grey Glass!)

Tal grew up in the San Diego area back when the punk scene was alive and thriving. His family also helped him have a great love for bands like The Beatles, The Eagles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. This may explain why he is able to write such great high energy rock songs but also some really pretty acoustic songs as well.

Tal moved to Utah for college and shortly after he decided to go full time with music. We discuss the amazing run he had in Utah with bands like Grey Glass and Idiot Kid. They blew up fast and soon began to draw large crowds locally.

We talk about the end of Grey Glass and what the Idiot Kid project was all about. He has been working with Jordan Clark and Joel Pack (two amazing Utah musicians/producers) and they have put out three awesome songs (with hopefully more to come) in the last year.

On the new solo record "Kill Me slower" (set to release on March 13th) Tal teamed up with Utah local legend producer Nate Pyfer. It was recorded and mixed in June Audio (Provo) and at Nate's studio (Provo Ut).

Tal shares how he brings songs to life and his thought process behind it. He believes that songs already exist and it's the musicians job to grab them and bring them to life. We talk about his faith in God and how that can play a role in the music that he creates.

Not only is Tal an incredible guitarist, vocalist and songwriter but he's just a great guy to be around and to chat with.  The new song "Kill me slower" is my favorite thing that Tal has worked on yet and I am very excited to hear the new album.

Ete's Favorites:

Grey Glass: Seconds, Fall (asleep), O.C.D
Idiot Kid: Virtue Signals
Tal Haslam: Kill me slower, Make Me Yours, How to Disappear Completely Radiohead cover)

https://www.facebook.com/talhaslammusic/

I had a blast sitting down with Chuck and Nate from the band Brother.
These guys have accomplished a lot over the past 3+ years and there is no sign of slowing down. They leave for tour again this March (which will take them down to Los Angeles and over to Texas for SXSW). They have a huge local fan base and over the past year have begun to expand that into a national fan base.

We talk about Chucks magical "toilet songs", playing shows in London and New York, Brother (the printer manufacturing company), lighting things on fire in St. George, The Flash, Back to the Future and also the music of Brother.

The band shares how their songs come to life. They talk about their chemistry, inspirations, and why they do what they do.

Their third album should be release later in 2020 and at this time will be titled "Volume 3".

These guys are not only a blast to hang with but incredible musicians and creators. The music is great and their live show is awesome. I am expecting big things from these guys.

*Ete's Favorites - "Don't Worry", "1985", "Without it", "Blunders"

http://www.brotherofficial.net/home

Rob Sepiser writes great songs that are catchy, melodic and fun. He moved from Wyoming to Idaho to find a larger music scene and to form a band. After some time in Idaho he decided to move to Provo, UT to pursue music in a larger way.  He teamed up with some local musicians ( Melissa Alexander, Sam Prestwich, Brad Lord) and they formed a new project called "The Bright Slide". The latest release " Lost it at day One" is an album full of heart, honesty and depth. With Songs like "Headache", "Ground Zero" and "Difficult Time" there is something for everyone. In this episode we talk about the songs and how they all came together.

Rob and I discuss the hardships and the Joys of being a songwriter, the work it takes to create, produce and release an album and how important honesty is in writing music. We also talk about the power of music and songwriting in helping us cope with our personal issues and heal from life's trials.


https://www.thebrightslide.com/epk

https://www.facebook.com/thebrightslide/

https://thebrightslide.bandcamp.com/

Milton is a songwriter/film maker originally from New Zealand and currently living in Oahu, HI. When I asked to interview him he said "ok, I do not have an interesting story" but this interview will prove otherwise.

He began in the family band playing bars at 8 years old (NZ), has been a performer for the show at the Polynesian Culture Center for over 25 years, tours the world with the PCC touring show to countries like Japan and Europe, and is currently producing a short film and writing the music for it.

Link to his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/cinjyn

* The short film "Tala" hopefully will be released in late 2020

**There is some background noise on this episode as we recorded in Hawaii (birds, wind, and some table tapping) so please forgive that. This episode was a blast for me and his music is amazing

I had a chance to sit down with Die Shiny in their home studio and discuss being a full time musician, a struggling artist, and finding out what makes these guys tick.

Zac and Callie are incredible musicians who have been writing, performing, and recording music full time for the past 10 years+. They have a new project "Die Shiny" and some new music coming out in the next few months....

UPDATE: After the interview they showed me a few of the new songs coming out this spring and let me say they were amazing! I have been following these guys in other projects for years and the stuff they are about the release is by far the best. I wish them the best and hope the release is well received. 

Many great insights and thoughts for new musicians in this interview. 



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClQoHSsybhAWZhsQVY-d6Bg

Tom Ryan has spent the last many years touring the world, playing in all kinds of bands and in all kinds of roles. In this interview we discuss the ups and downs of international touring, making music a career, creating the 2013 Endor Endor album and hanging with Sir Paul McCartney.

In this episode we go deep into the new album "Reveiller la Machine" by Awaken the Machine. Robb is an incredible musician who has been creating music for over 20 years. He has played in many different bands over the years and has had some incredible opportunities (like warped tour). Robb talks about what motivates him to continue to stay in music, the struggle of his recent divorce and making time to create music even when life is busy.

https://awakenthemachine.com/