Dan sits down with Jamie Salvatore and Morgan Russo of Jamie and the Guarded Heart in person (woohoo!). Jamie and Morgan talk about growing up in working class suburbs of Philly (Conshohocken and Norristown respectively), Jamie wanting more than his day job as a cover musician, Morgan giving him the push he needed, and Jamie drafting Morgan into the band from the start. And as a huge bonus, they play a song live in the studio, something that's been sorely missed on the show for the past year or so. Jamie and the Guarded Heart have a new single out called "I Don't Love You", available wherever you get digital music.
Dan talks with Lindo, a Philly born poet, spoken word artist, teacher, and activist, about his work, how he uses multimedia to get his work out there, Black Lives Matter, and how starting a chess club in middle school was his first taste of how to change things for the better. Follow Lindo on his Instagram at @lindoyes.
Dan talks to Kitzy, producer of the Left Of The Dial podcast and video series, established in early 2020 and going strong as ever. They talk about striving to be consistent when it comes to creating content, wanting to improve other podcasts' audio, Kitzy's production work on the new Erin Fox LP, and the growth of Left Of The Dial as a whole. You can buy the live recordings of all of their sessions at their Bandcamp, it supports both the bands and LOTD.
Dan and Sean talk about Sean's journey from New Jersey to New Orleans to Philly, getting comfortable in the Philly scene, his work with Spring Garden Records at Community College of Philadelphia, Ortleib's (obviously), and why streaming algorithms lump him in with The Beatles and Leonard Cohen.
Dan talks with Becca of famed Philly jamtronica band Solar Circuit. Becca hips Dan to the finer points of the genre, how her expansive synth rig works, choosing who to get involved with as a band, being a woman in the jam band world, and what the band's been up to during the pandemic. Solar Circuit has a new LP, 'Pulling at the Source', available everywhere you get digital music.
Dan talks to Brianna about DIY spaces, safety and consent at music venues, and her multiple Emmy awards. Brianna directed and produced the upcoming documentary, 'Safe x Sound', a film about safe spaces in DIY music with Brian Walker (A Day Without Love).
Dan talks with Phil and Eric of Philly psych rockers Lito and the Shepherds, and it's the first in person conversation on the show since Match of 2020. It's a great time, they talk guitars, their new record 'Never Thought I'd See The Day', getting back out to play some shows, and much more. You can get their new LP at their Bandcamp and anywhere you get digital music.
Dan talks to Matt Scottoline of Philly power-pop masters Hurry about the new record, 'Fake Ideas', the pocketbook that goes with it, album aesthetics, how it's hard to practice guitar when you're a kid, the early days of the Drexel music business program, and how Matt learned that the best way to write a Hurry record was the same ol' way he's written every other Hurry record. 'Fake Ideas' is out now on Lame-O Records, and available everywhere you get music.
Summer is here, live music is happening, and that means a lot of music has been dropping over the last month or so. Dan puts together a playlist of top-notch Philadelphia bands and artists that have new music out now, and you can view the whole playlist complete with links over at 25oclockpod.com. Featuring Hurry, Grace Vonderkuhn, Omar's Hat, Kississippi, Bad Shapes, and more.
Dan interrupts Matt Taglang's New England vacation to talk about Athensville, their new record, 'Undressing Minds for Show', and the loaded term 'Dad band'. Matt talks about his days in his Penn State bar band, traveling the world as a teacher, meeting the Athensville guys later in life, and helps put to bed the old notion that you get more conservative as you get older. 'Undressing Minds for Show' is out now and available wherever you get digital music.
Dan takes the advice of a past guest (Susan Werner) and talks with slide guitar master Mike Brenner. Dan and Mike talk about his 90s band, The Low Road, Mike's countless credits (Songs: Ohia, Magnolia Electric Company, Marah, Wild Pink, John Train, etc.), his anticipation of upcoming shows, and his time in India where he studied the chaturangui (an Indian slide guitar). Mike is out on tour with Wild Pink this fall in support of their new record, 'A Billion Little Lights'.
Photo by Ron Adelberg
Dan talks to Brian Walker (A Day Without Love) about his upcoming documentary, 'Safe x Sound', filmed during his 2019 Storytellers tour by Briana Spause. They discuss the themes like safe spaces, consent, acceptance, community, as well as DIY touring, sponsorships, and the future of DIY booking now that live shows are starting to happen again. Check out the trailer here, the film release is July 27th, and more info can be found at BS Productions.
Dan celebrates his 200th episode with a very special guest: Helen Leicht of WXPN and Philly music champion of many, many years. Helen got her start at KYW news, worked at WIOQ, and came to XPN in the early 90s where she featured Philly artists and helped strengthen the growing music community. Dan and Helen talk about helping break Tom Petty at WIOQ, hearing folk like Amos Lee and Melody Gardot for the first time, her love of The Beatles, and so much more.
On the eve of the 200th episode, Dan takes yet another opportunity to highlight some great Philly music. Featuring new tunes from Dave Cope and the Sass, Emily Drinker, Ali Awan, Sophie Coran, Erin Fox, and more. Check out the clickable playlist at 25oclockpod.com with all the artists links.
Dan talks to Niyonu about growing up in Newark during the 60s and the Civil Rights Movement, coming from a musical household, how her activism grew, teaching, Quaker Meetings, community engagement, her past singing group Tribe 1, touring as a means to learning about the rest of the country, and so much more. She has a new single out now called 'Kiss Me (Bobbi's Song)', available wherever you get digital music.
Dan talks with Bel (Isabel Furman) about regional Connecticut highways, her parents' Grateful Dead cover band, the music they've been listening to over the last year, studios vs non studio spaces, School of Rock (the actual school, not the movie), and her new single, 'Amelia", available everywhere you get digital music.
Photo by Julia Leiby
Brett Talley has been a part of the Philadelphia music community since he was old enough to go to open mics. Brett and Dan talk about his growing up in Mayfair, the Coffee Connection and the open mic scene, joining Ike and The Caulfields (and how he and Caulfields frontman John Faye are inseparable now), his love of Rush and Bowie, 80s and 90s power pop, producing in his studio, and his new record, 'Nonlinear', available now anywhere you get digital music.
Barney and Dan talk The Kinks, honesty in songwriting, Barney's days in the band Nicos Gun, the joys of demoing at home, and getting outside more. Barney has a new single out called "Playboys In Hell", available anywhere you get digital music.
This past year was quite a boon for music releases, and 2021 is already gearing up to be no exception. Dan highlights a handful of Philly artists like Bel, Rob'n Delaine, Roberta Faceplant, Bad Sleeper, Riverby, and more. Special highlight of the new Philly Loves You compilation, featuring over two dozen love songs, and all in support of famed Philly small venue Ortlieb's.
Jared's been releasing singles all summer and fall, and his new album, 'Love Is An Obstacle' is finally out. Dan and Jared talk about how the record came together, his sudden life change from business school to Berklee, playing cabaret sets, and his non-profit, loveandbefree.org.
Emily created Philly Live, a music blog that features Philly bands, as well as writes for WXPN's The Key, works with Will Yip's Memory Music record label, and does PR for No Earbuds PR. Dan and Emily talk about how to keep your work life from swallowing you whole, how she got her first jobs as a music writer, and all the amazing women she's become close with through the Philly music community.
Erin Fox talks with Dan about growing up playing in her mom's cover band, writing songs and playing with her drummer sister (and the joys of working with your sibling), getting nervous before everything, and her new single 'Pictures' and the forthcoming release ('Fuzzy Logic'). Features two acoustic performances from Erin, as well as a quick meet and greet with her dogs, Rudy and Peach.
Dan talks with Frankie DeRosa and Robbie Simmons of ThebandIvory about their new record, 'Anthropocene', and how the pandemic got them to slow down enough to finish it at all. They talk about coming from different parts of Florida, meeting in North Carolina, going to Berklee and some of the remarkable world music ensembles there, moving to Philly and making their home at Bridgeset Sound, and how they write songs and make music together.
Joe talks to Dan about how he "accidentally" started Philly Music Lessons, his desire to never have a regular job, and how he grew his business slowly over the years. Amidst the pandemic, Joe has pivoted the school into the online world, and talks about the ups and downs of staying afloat over the past year. Dan and Joe also get into music they love (The Beatles, Phish and the Dead definitely come up), and the never ending quest to "stay even".