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Beginnings

Beginnings

by Andy Beckerman

Latest episode
Episode 743: Aaron Dilloway

About this podcast

We all know the stories of how creative people get into the business of creating for a living, but how did they start using their imaginations in the first place? On the Beginnings podcast, writer and performer Andy Beckerman asks well-known and on-their-way-up comedians, musicians, writers, artists and thinkers about their earliest creative acts, their formative childhood experiences, and how they've developed both creatively and emotionally over the years. Beginnings is part therapy, part philosophy and almost all fascinating (95% according to FDA studies).

Episodes

The newest 50 of 785 episodes

  • Episode 743: Aaron Dilloway · 1 h 5 min · Episode 743On today's episode, I talk to musician Aaron Dilloway. Originally from Brighton, MI, Aaron began playing in bands in high school. In 1998, after moving to Ann Arbor, he…
  • Episode 742: Julia Holter · 1 h 19 min · Episode 742On today's episode, I talk to musician Julia Holter. Originally from Milwaukee, WI, Julia moved to Los Angeles at the age of six. She studied music from high school through grad…
  • Episode 741: Alex H. Fischer and Eleanor Wilson · 1 h 16 min · Episode 741On today's episode, I talk to married writers and directors Alex Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Originally from New Jersey and Adelaide, Australia respectively, Alex and Eleanor…
  • Episode 740: Imperial Teen · 59 min · Episode 740On today's episode, I talk to Will Schwartz and Roddy Bottum of Imperial Teen. While they grew up in different decades, both Will and Roddy cut their teeth in Los Angeles and…
  • Episode 739: Rob Crow of Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Goblin Cock, Thingy, Optiganally Yours · 1 h 18 min · Episode 739On today's episode, I talk to musician Rob Crow. Originally from New Jersey, Rob moved to San Diego when he was a teenager. In the early 1990s, he formed the band Heavy…
  • Episode 738: Chris Brokaw of Come and Codeine · 1 h 0 min · Episode 738On today's episode, I talk to musician Chris Brokaw. Originally from Scarsdale, NY, Chris attended Oberlin College, a scene that birthed much of the indie rock of the 1990s…
  • Episode 737: Evan Dorkin · 1 h 34 min · Episode 737On today's episode, I talk to Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comics creator Evan Dorkin. Originally from Brooklyn, Evan has been making comics since 1986. One of his earliest…
  • Episode 736: Hutch Harris of The Thermals · 1 h 3 min · Episode 736On today's episode, I talk to musician Hutch Harris. Originally from New York City, Hutch's family moved to San Jose, California when he was still a kid. After high school, he…
  • Episode 735: Sweeping Promises · 1 h 14 min · Episode 735On today's episode, I talk to musicians Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug AKA Sweeping Promises. Originally from Arkansas and Texas respectively, Lira and Caufield met in college…
  • Episode 734: David Rees · 60 min · Episode 734On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist and humorist David Rees. Originally from Chapel Hill, NC, David first gained acclaim during the Bush years with his comic strip Get Your…
  • Episode 733: Solex · 1 h 1 min · Episode 733On today's episode, I talk to musician Elisabeth Esselink AKA Solex. Originally from Voorschoten, Netherlands, Elisabeth eventually moved to Amsterdam and in the early1990s…
  • Episode 732: Elanor Moss · 1 h 6 min · Episode 732On today's episode, I talk to musician Elanor Moss. Originally from Lincolnshire, Elanor grew up in a very creative, devoutly Catholic family and began playing music at church…
  • Episode 731: Dan Friel of Parts & Labor · 59 min · Episode 731On today's episode, I talk to musician Dan Friel. Raised in Amherst, MA, Dan formed Parts & Labor with BJ Warshaw in 2002. In their decade together, the band released five…
  • Episode 730: Josh Olson · 1 h 17 min · Episode 730On today's episode, I talk to screenwriter and podcaster Josh Olson. Originally from Philadelphia, Josh got his start in showbiz as a PA on Masters of the Universe and in 2002…
  • Episode 729: Blockhead · 1 h 6 min · Episode 729On today's episode, I talk to musician and producer Tony Simon AKA Blockhead. Originally from Manhattan, Tony grew up in an artistic household and started making music when he…
  • Episode 728: Emperor X · 1 h 20 min · Episode 728On today's episode, I talk to musician Chad Matheny. Raised in Jacksonville, FL, Chad began recording music as Emperor X in 1998. Though he had a deep interest in science and…
  • Episode 727: Daniel Bessner · 1 h 6 min · Episode 727On today's episode, I talk to historian and journalist Daniel Bessner. Danny is a true renaissance man, but not in the Danny DeVito sense. As an academic, he is the Anne H.H. and…
  • Episode 726: Matthew S, founder of Illegal Art · 1 h 10 min · Episode 726On today's episode, I talk to musician and academic Matthew S. Originally from Fresno, CA, Matthew founded the sample-based label Illegal Art in 1998 and ran it under the…
  • Episode 725: Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater · 1 h 13 min · Episode 725On today's episode, I talk to musician and writer Jonathan Meiburg. Born in Baltimore, MD, Jonathan started playing music in the early 1990s in Austin and towards the end of the…
  • Episode 724: Jeff Mueller of Rodan, June of 44 and Shipping News · 1 h 18 min · Episode 724On today's episode, I talk to musician Jeff Mueller. Originally from Louisville, KY, Jeff formed the band Rodan in 1992 with his friend Jason Noble, releasing the seminal album…
  • Episode 723: Ron Regé Jr. · 1 h 4 min · Episode 723On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Ron Regé Jr. Raised in Plymouth, MA, Ron began making minicomics in the late 1980s, and about a decade later, his first book Skibber Bee…
  • Episode 722: Dusty Reske of Rocketship · 1 h 11 min · Episode 722On today's episode, I talk to musician Dusty Reske of the band Rocketship. Born in San Francisco, CA, Dusty moved around a bit as a child before ending up in Sacramento where he…
  • Episode 721: Michael Edison Hayden · 1 h 12 min · Episode 721On today's episode, I talk to journalist and writer Michael Edison Hayden. Originally from Port Washington, Long Island, Michael started out his career as a playwright before…
  • Episode 720: Doug Gillard of Guided by Voices, Cobra Verde and Many More · 59 min · Episode 720On today's episode, I talk to musician Doug Gillard. Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Doug performed in a number of punk groups in high school, and in the early '80s joined the Cleveland…
  • Episode 719: Felicia Douglass of Ava Luna, Dirty Projectors and Gemma · 1 h 10 min · Episode 719On today's episode, I talk to musician Felicia Douglass. Originally from New York City, Felicia studied ballet for a long time before deciding that wasn't the path for her. Some…
  • Episode 718: Josh Margolin · 1 h 10 min · Episode 718On today's episode, I talk to filmmaker Josh Margolin. Originally from Los Angeles, Josh always aimed his life in the direction of acting and filmmaking. He majored in theater…
  • Episode 717: Big Harp · 1 h 7 min · Episode 717On today's episode, I talk to musicians Stefanie Drootin and Chris Senseney of Big Harp. Originally from the San Fernando Valley and the Sandhills of Nebraska respectively…
  • Episode 716: John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants · 1 h 25 min · Episode 716On today's episode, I talk to John Flansburgh of the band They Might Be Giants. Originally from Lexington, MA, John met John Linnell in high school, and they formed They Might Be…
  • Episode 715: John McEntire of Tortoise · 1 h 0 min · Episode 715On today's episode, I talk to musician and producer John McEntire. Originally from Portland, OR, John started playing drums as a preteen and eventually went to school at The…
  • Episode 714: Fatal Farm · 1 h 20 min · Episode 714On today's episode, I talk to writers and directors Zachary Johnson and Jeffrey Max of Fatal Farm. Zach and Jeffrey grew up in Dallas, TX and became interested in film in high…
  • Episode 713: Connor Armbruster · 1 h 6 min · Episode 713In 2023, they recorded their first full-length album Revival of a Friend at Tiny Telephone, and it will be released on Exploding In Sound Records at the end of the month! This…
  • Episode 712: Julia Steiner of Ratboys · 1 h 15 min · Episode 712On today's episode, I talk to Julia Steiner of the band Ratboys. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Julia started Ratboys in college at Notre Dame with Dave Sagan. In 2015…
  • Episode 711: Amelia Fletcher of Heavenly · 1 h 4 min · Episode 711On today's episode, I talk to Amelia Fletcher of the band Heavenly. Raised in Oxford, Amelia started playing in bands in the mid-1980s. Her first major group was Talulah Gosh…
  • Episode 710: Mort Burke · 1 h 32 min · Episode 710On today's episode, I talk to comedian and actor Mort Burke. Originally from St. Louis, Mort came up in the Chicago comedy scene before moving to Los Angeles. He's acted on…
  • Episode 709: cub · 1 h 9 min · Episode 709On today's episode, I talk to Lisa Marr and Lisa Gertrud, two-thirds of the band cub. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Lisa Marr and Robynn Iwata formed cub in 1992 and…
  • Episode 708: Mary Lattimore · 1 h 5 min · Episode 708On today's episode, I talk to harpist Mary Lattimore. Originally from Asheville, North Carolina, Mary began playing the harp as a tween and eventually attended the Eastman School…
  • Episode 707: Julianna Barwick · 1 h 6 min · Episode 707On today's episode, I talk to musician Julianna Barwick. Originally from Louisiana, Julianna ended up in New York in the early aughts and self-released her debut EP, Sanguine, in…
  • Episode 706: Elliott Kalan · 1 h 53 min · Episode 706On today's 16th anniversary episode, I talk to Emmy Award-winning TV and comic writer and podcaster Elliott Kalan. Originally from Millburn, NJ, Elliott started as a PA at The…
  • Episode 705: Jen Bender of Cusp · 1 h 5 min · Episode 705On today's episode, I talk to Jen Bender of Cusp. Originally from Long Island, Jen and her bandmates formed Cusp a little over five years ago in Rochester, before moving to…
  • Episode 704: Steven Brown of Tuxedomoon · 1 h 1 min · Episode 704On today's episode, I talk to musician Steven Brown. Originally from Chicago, IL, Steven moved to San Francisco in the 1970s, where he eventually joined the artist collective and…
  • Episode 703: Kassie Carlson of Guerilla Toss · 1 h 3 min · Episode 703On today's episode, I talk to musician Kassie Carlson. Originally from Cape Cod, Kassie began performing in an early incarnation of Guerilla Toss after her hardcore band Western…
  • Episode 702: Amy O · 1 h 4 min · Episode 702On today's episode, I talk to musician Amy Oelsner AKA Amy O. Originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, Amy has been recording and releasing albums since 2004. In 2017, she began…
  • Episode 701: Claire Rousay · 1 h 8 min · Episode 701On today's episode, I talk to experimental musician and composer Claire Rousay. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Claire grew up in San Antonio, Texas and began playing piano…
  • Episode 700: Brian Michael Bendis · 1 h 19 min · Episode 700On today's episode, I talk to comics writer Brian Michael Bendis. Originally from Cleveland, OH, Brian knew from an early age he wanted to make comics. His late teens and…
  • Episode 699: Marc Hollander · 1 h 3 min · Episode 699On today's episode, I talk to musician Marc Hollander. Born in Geneva, Switzerland right after WWII, Marc was raised in Brussels and started the band Aksak Maboul in 1977 when…
  • Episode 698: David J. Roth · 1 h 31 min · Episode 698On today's episode, I talk to journalist and writer David J. Roth. Raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, David started out his writing career writing and editing content for the backs…
  • Episode 697: Thalia Zedek of Come, Live Skull and Thalia Zedek Band · 1 h 7 min · Episode 697On today's episode, I talk to musician Thalia Zedek. Originally from Washington DC, Thalia attended college at Boston University for one semester before dropping out to pursue a…
  • Episode 696: Gina Birch of The Raincoats · 58 min · Episode 696On today's episode, I talk to musician Gina Birch. Originally from Nottingham in the UK, Gina formed the seminal art-punk band The Raincoats with Ana da Silva in 1977. They…
  • Episode 695: Joelton Mayfield · 60 min · Episode 695On today's episode, I talk to musician Joelton Mayfield. Originally from the Marble Falls/Granite Shoals area of Texas, Joelton grew up in a family where music was intertwined…
  • Episode 694: Julia Kugel of The Coathangers · 1 h 9 min · Episode 694On today's episode, I talk to musician Julia Kugel. Originally from Belarus, Julia and her family immigrated to Atlanta, GA when she was a child. In 2006, she formed The…

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