Performance Anxiety

Today’s guests, yes guests, are so uplifting. I’d like to welcome Cara Maurizi, Jim Standerfer, Alan Honeycutt, and eventually Ryan Groff; 4/5s of the band Modern Drugs. This band is so positive it’s almost too good to be true. And you know what they say about things that are too good to be true. They usually are. Or they’re Modern Drugs. But all the members of the band truly love and respect each other. They each talk about their trials and tribulations of being musicians before they all got together and the complicated story of how the band got together. At the center, even if he’s too modest to say so, is Ryan Groff. Just ask bass player Alan Honeycutt. That guy uprooted his life to play with him. But the band is actually quite democratic in nature. Nothing is precious when they’re working out their songs. Like drummer Jim Standerfer says, nothing means more to them than each other and their friendship.  Jim came up with the band name and talks about how it was chosen, but kind of keeps the meaning a bit of a mystery. Modern Drugs writes music by the same motto as comedy improv groups; Yes, and. Every idea gets a chance. So give them a chance! Check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, or wherever you get your music. Follow them on socials @moderndrugsband. Follow us @PerformanceAnx. Get some merch at performanceanx.threadless.com or send us coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. But for now, try some Modern Drugs on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is a blast from my past. Please welcome the multi-talented Esther Canata. Esther and I went to school together. We weren’t great friends (she was a freshman when I was a senior and you know how that goes), but we did know each other. She was definitely the “artsy” one in her class. You know every class has at least one.  We reconnected several years ago through social media, which is where I discovered all the different projects she’s involved in. I also found out that she had moved to Croatia. That was a surprise!  But before Croatia, there was acting in New York City, including a rock opera at the legendary Limelight. That’s also where her music career started. She also modeled in Miami and moved out to LA to get back into acting. But music was still lurking. Esther’s done some cool projects with Michael Madsen and many others and she shares some really great stories from that time. But after a bit of a dark period for her, she stepped back and refocused. That brought her to music licensing. That was exactly what she was looking for. That can also be said about her husband. After an unconventional introduction, they fell in love and started a family. But the story only gets wilder from there. They moved to Croatia which gave Esther a reason to concentrate on her visual arts in addition to her latest musical project, Liongale. And there’s a great project on the horizon. Check her out at Liongale on Spotify, @alottacanata on Instagram, and Esther Canata on Facebook. Follow her for info on everything she’s doing because she does not rest. Follow the show @PerformanceAnx. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send us coffee funds at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Check us out on the Gigaverse at Performance Anxiety Podcast. We will be doing some live streams there soon. Now get ready for some east coast via Croatia attitude & talent with Esther Canata on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest really brings me back. Welcome central Jersey’s finest, Kevin Shields of Detention and Bigger Thomas. Kevin was a founding member of the central New Jersey punk scene that birthed bands like Bouncing Souls and Vision. He talks about what the scene was like, how it developed, and how it changed. He also talks about life before punk. He was in the Coast Guard and traveled all over; which is how he discovered punk rock in San Francisco in 1979. After an honorable discharge, he moved back to Jersey, picked up a bass, and formed Detention. Their first gig was an eviction party that was shut down by the cops. Their second gig resulted in a ban. Despite, or maybe because of, that, they were championed by none other than Matt Pinfield. Detention was, and really still is, a DIY affair in the truest punk sense. They were working class and wanted to have some fun. Now Left For Dead Records is releasing a compilation of some of Detention’s material and it really is a time capsule. Check out Dead Rock ‘n Rollers on Left For Dead Records. Go to leftfordeadrecords.com or follow @leftfordeadrecs on Instagram. Follow us @performanceanx on socials. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send us coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. And check us out on the Gigaverse @theperformanceanxietypod. Now let’s have some fun with Kevin Shields of Detention on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is a sweet soul. Welcome Nikki O’Neill to the show. She’s a singer/songwriter steeped in classic soul music. But her story is not one of coming up in Memphis or Muscle Shoals, Detroit, or even Chicago, where she’s based, now. It’s LA to Sweden with a quick layover in Poland. But we don’t even start this episode discussing music. We find our first piece of common ground in home appliances. Part of the way through this episode, I have to move a refrigerator. But through the magic of editing, you don’t have to suffer through all of that. Nikki talks about her global journey; what it’s like being the new kid in an entirely different country, what brought her back to the States, her musical influences, how she found love (and a drummer) at NAMM, her career in music journalism, and how she started working on her own music. Her new album is called Stories I Only Tell My Friends and it’s out tomorrow. Go to nikkioneill.com or Bandcamp to order it. Follow her on social media. Follow us @PerformanceAnx. Our merch is through performanceanx.threadless.com. Keep me awake with coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. So grab you passport because Nikki O’Neill is global on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest makes me feel heavy. If you’re a fan of I Mother Earth, that’ll make sense to you. My guest is Edwin, I Mother Earth’s lead singer. This was such a great discussion, a long time in the making. Edwin talks about growing up in a pretty strict household where his first musical instrument was…the accordion. After ditching that, he started singing in cover bands, playing classic rock like Kansas & Journey. I don’t know about you but I’d love to hear the Edwin rendition of Don’t Stop Believin’! He met Jag Tanna from IME after moving back to Toronto from LA. Edwin talks about the really early days of IME when the initials didn’t stand for I Mother Earth yet. Their early shows were more like events, built to keep people coming back. It worked and he reveals some wild facts about their first demos.  Edwin is incredibly candid about why he left the band and how it affected him. He talks about what got him writing music again and how he started his solo career. We discuss all the ups and downs of his work post I Mother Earth, including how the supergroup Crash Karma came about, after a bit of sleight of hand by one of the members. Edwin tells me exactly how the reunion with I Mother Earth came about, the one-off show that kind of became the reformation of the band, including some strange shows with both IME singers. And Edwin breaks a bit of news about going into the studio with I Mother Earth to write new music this month. Follow Edwin on Facebook at Edwin Edwin and on Instagram @edwin99999. I Mother Earth’s account is @imotherearth. Follow us @PerformanceAnx on socials. Grab merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. Send coffee money at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Thanks, everybody, for listening. And ain’t it good to be alive, with Edwin on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices