Dry Paint Signs Presents: The Next Round

Elizabeth Ziman invites me into her Brooklyn apartment for tea and ravioli. A New York native, Ziman talks about growing up in Greenwich Village and explains how a landlord battle forced her to reexamine a stack of old journals she found during the move. Combining their contents with imagery from fever dreams, she fashioned the songs for Elizabeth & the Catapult's fourth LP, Keepsake. She also discusses having an ex for a producer, why she still busks in the subway, and why it's important to acknowledge the real world while she's onstage. elizabethandthecatapult.com drypaintsigns.com

Matthew Logan Vasquez revisits a changing Brooklyn as he joins me for a drink at the Williamsburg Hotel's lobby bar. After a decade of fronting Delta Spirit, Vasquez has been steadily releasing music as a solo artist since 2015's Austin EP. On his second album, Does What He Wants, Matt does just that, taking the listener on a stylistically diverse journey through rock and roll. MLV tells why he had to "strike out on his own" in order to keep making music for a living, and how he strategized his son's birth around touring. matthewloganvasquez.com drypaintsigns.com

Americana artist Caleb Caudle joins me for a drink at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side before his show downstairs. Now sober, Caleb explains how his previous partying lifestyle had informed many of his lyrics in the past, but how he's looking forward to tackling new subject matter. Last year, he released his seventh LP, the critically acclaimed Carolina Ghost, which he describes as all love songs. With the woman from those songs now his wife, what will the tunes on his upcoming Crushed Coins be about? calebcaudle.com drypaintsigns.com

Mike Savino a.k.a. Tall Tall Trees has a quick beer with me at The Magician in Manhattan's Lower East Side before his show at Rockwood Music Hall. Savino tells how he originally went to school to be a doctor before dropping out to pursue his true passion. He also explains why and how he built his trademark "Banjotron 5000," a Swiss Army knife of an instrument that allows him to create sounds you never thought you'd hear coming from a banjo. Having recording his first two albums as a band, Mike describes what it was like to write and record his third LP, Freedays, as a solo project. talltalltrees.com drypaintsigns.com

Katy Frame and Marie Cecile Anderson of country comedy group Reformed Whores chat with me over handcrafted cocktails at the Shanty in Williamsburg. The bawdy duo explain why they gravitated to their unconventional instruments (accordion and ukulele), reveal how they relentlessly researched other comedy bands' careers as a blueprint for their own, and recount the whirlwind recording session at the legendary RCA Studio A in Nashville for their second album, Don't Beat Around the Bush. reformedwhores.com drypaintsigns.com

Cris Jacobs knocks back a bourbon to stave off a cold before his show at American Beauty in NYC. After noodling around on acid in his backyard with friends in high school, Cris dedicated his college years to practicing bluegrass guitar for five hours a day. It paid off, with Jacobs spending a decade in Baltimore jamband The Bridge before going solo. Cris explains how becoming a father influenced his stunning sophomore effort, Dust to Gold, and shares his plans for an upcoming LP with Ivan Neville. crisjacobs.com drypaintsigns.com

R&B songstress Emily King has a quick drink with me at YN in Manhattan, NY. Her debut record, East Side Story, was nominated for the 2007 Best Contemporary R&B Album, but she was dropped by her label the following year. Having just released the deluxe edition of her second full-length, The Switch, King discusses navigating the music business, the main difficulty she has when writing songs for someone else, and why it's important for her to keep performing in spite of the troubling times we're living in.   emilykingmusic.com   drypaintsigns.com

Funk icon George Clinton has a beer with me directly following his concert with Parliament-Funkadelic at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas.  Clinton gives an overview of his six decades in the music business, from his early days of auditioning for Motown to his current struggles in attempting to regain the copyrights to many of his classic works.  He explains why the hard-rocking Funkadelic has taken the forefront in recent years, and how having his grandchildren in the band has influenced their latest record, First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate. georgeclinton.com drypaintsigns.com

Pop Etc's Chris Chu and I go on a Cobble Hill bar crawl, stopping for drinks at the Long Island Bar and Henry Public.  Chu reveals how seeing Elliott Smith in concert made him realize that an artist's success isn't necessarily tied to their own happiness.  Instead, Chris' hope is that people will listen to Pop Etc and bond their personal experiences to it, which is why the band's latest album is called Souvenir.  With a tune in the final scene of the final Twilight movie and couples asking him to use his songs for their weddings, he's getting his wish. popetcetera.com drypaintsigns.com

Lissie chats with me over a drink in the backyard of Muldoon's Irish Pub in Midtown Manhattan. Originally hailing from Rock Island, IL, she explains how she received an early confidence boost from G. Love, which inspired her to move out to California to pursue her music career.  She recently bought a farm in Iowa, but her latest album, My Wild West, focuses on her times back in the Golden State.  Lisse reveals that she views songwriting as a form of therapy, and how this LP represents a shift away from her typical song fodder, romantic relationships. lissie.com drypaintsigns.com

All five members of Philadelphia's haze-pop band Cheerleader have a drink with me in the basement of Mercury Lounge in Manhattan before they go onstage.  They explain why playing the late show feels like a graduation of sorts, and how radio has been quite beneficial to them even in today's streaming industry.  The guys tell me why it's okay to listen year-round to their summery debut LP, The Sunshine of Your Youth, and share their feelings on the record a year after its release. cheerleadersounds.com drypaintsigns.com

Brian Bonz has an IPA with me in the downstairs bar at Bowery Ballroom before opening for Nightmare of You.  Bonz explains how being an opener provides him with a priceless connection to new fans, which proved especially helpful when it came to crowd-funding his latest LP, Misophonia.  Although the title refers to a hatred of certain sounds, Brian reveals why he didn't mind the intrusion of construction noises during the recording process. brianbonz.com drypaintsigns.com

Growing up in Yorkshire, England, Findlay Brown played Army games in the woods with his friends.  Once he'd reached his teenage years, he had his enlistment papers ready to go, but a chance encounter with LSD and a copy of Electric Ladyland changed his life forever.  Over a beer in the backyard of Troost in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Brown tells this story and how other major events have inspired his three albums.  He explains how his most recent record, Slow Light, came to be as a result of his forays into minimalism and shamanic ceremonies. findlaybrown.com drypaintsigns.com

Whilst sipping a tequila at a sidewalk table at Epstein's in New York's Lower East Side, Rayland Baxter demonstrates how to write poetic lyrics that are open to interpretation, a trick that his father learned from playing with Bob Dylan. Baxter's sophomore album, Imaginary Man, is full of such lyrics, and he explains how his questions about human existence inspired many of the LP's tracks. raylandbaxter.com drypaintsigns.com

Erin Rauch-Sasseen, her twin sisters Katie and Anna, and friends Matthew Langner and Jamie DiTringo make up the NJ/NY indie pop group Hey Anna. Erin has a drink with me at Oak & Iron in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to discuss how the band built its Japanese fanbase, where they meet to practice, and why they crowdfunded their debut LP, Run Koko. Rauch-Sasseen also explains the importance of music videos and makes her case for a Hey Anna West Coast tour. heyannamusic.com drypaintsigns.com

Sergio Rios and Adryon de León of L.A. funk band Orgone have some drinks with me in the spacious green room of Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas.  Rios traces the group's origins on the Venice Beach boardwalk, explains what it takes to be in the Orgone family, and reveals how they came to find de León on YouTube.  Adryon discusses her first performance with the band and why it took a little liquid courage to record a certain cover for their 8th album, Beyond the Sun. orgonespace.com drypaintsigns.com

Gill Landry has a beer with me while he eats his pre-show pizza at Benson's in NYC's Lower East Side.  After serving years as a sideman in Old Crow Medicine Show, Landry decided it was time to fully pursue his solo career with his self-titled third LP.  Gill talks about his goal to make the album for fewer than $5000, how spending his 20s in New Orleans affected his songwriting, and his contributions to the touring documentary, Austin to Boston. gilllandrymusic.com drypaintsigns.com

Dave Monks and I have some non-Canadian brews at Sugarburg in Brooklyn, NY.  Known by many as the bassist and singer of Tokyo Police Club, Monks explains how a move to NYC inspired him to write the songs for his first solo EP, All Signs Point to Yes.  Dave also reveals the differences in recording TPC's Champ and Forcefield albums, and teaches me the correct pronunciation of Toronto. davemonksmusic.com drypaintsigns.com  

Young Buffalo's Jim Barrett and Ben Yarbrough have some drinks with me in the backyard of One Mile House before their show at Bowery Ballroom.  Barrett started Young Buffalo in high school as a senior project, which he actually failed.  If only his teacher could see him now, the band having finally released their debut album, House, after several lineup and label changes.  Jim and Ben share what it was like growing up in the college town of Oxford, MS and what the band listens to in the van. youngbuffaloband.com drypaintsigns.com

Robert Ellis joins me for a beer at Cheese Grille before a show next door at NYC's Rockwood Music Hall.  Robert explains why he dropped out of high school to play music in Houston, and how that city's variety of music styles influenced him.  Ellis also reveals how playing Katy Perry songs at weddings helps him as a performer, what it's like collaborating via text message, and the story behind Traveller, his latest side project with Jonny Fritz and Cory Chisel. robertellismusic.com drypaintsigns.com