It's Giving

This week on It's Giving, Ingela sits down with Lawrence Rothman on the heels of their brand new album Here Lies Love / Sawdust to Stardust. This episode is rooted in the question ‘what if being your most authentic self is its own form of activism’? Lawrence talks about refusing to hide, on stage or off, and what that refusal has cost them over the course of their career.One of the prime examples Lawrence talks about is an experience back in 2010 during an Interview magazine spread that advertisers pulled out of because of how they dressed. But they also talk about why they wouldn't water down "LAX," a song about abusing laxatives, knowing others were struggling in silence.Lawrence also makes the case that entertainers have a responsibility to drop the filters and show the human behind the performance, and calls for a culture that's less judgmental and more forgiving of people still growing into themselves."The freedom to be oneself. A lot of artists before me have paved that way for me to be myself, but there's still a lot of work to be done."If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!

This week on It's Giving, we're doing something a little different. Ingela is talking to to not one but FOUR musicians for a special extended episode about Contra-ICE Vol. 1: ICE OUT. It's a massive multi-genre benefit album dropping October 2, and all proceeds go to grassroots organizations on the front lines of the fight for immigrants' rights.The backstory: after the 2024 election, artist and activist Dali Colorado and her best friend since sixth grade, Uli Bella of Ozomatli, got to talking about the defiant music and art that came out of the Reagan era. That conversation turned into a compilation of more than 30 artists, including Kathleen Hanna, Fred Armisen, and Tom Morello. Uli walks us through how it all came together and what ICE raids have looked like in his own neighborhood. As he puts it, "If they can do this to the immigrants, then the next step is going to be, 'Hey, you got a copy of that book?'"Adrian Quesada of Black Pumas talks about growing up in a Texas border town and watching a longtime bandmate get profiled. Gretchen Parlato shares the story behind "Call in the Angels," her song with poet Jasmine Becerra Green, and describes what daily life in LA feels like right now. And DJ and host Luxxury traces the history of benefit records and explains why the uncomfortable conversations are worth having. For Ingela, a Canadian who has called the US home for nearly 13 years, this one is personal.The best thing you can do after listening is pick up the album when it drops, and check out the organizations it supports, including Unión del Barrio and National Day Laborer Organizing Network.If you loved this episode, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more conversations about music and advocacy!

This week on It's Giving, things get a little personal. Ingela's co-director at This Must Be The Place (and, as he graciously continues to identify, her husband) William Perry is back on the mic to break down the Macklemore and Ed Sheeran fiasco that's taken over everyone's feeds.The recap: Macklemore takes the stage in Philly and speaks up for Palestine, the same way he has at every show for years. Days later, stadium owners, reportedly led by Robert Kraft, want him off the tour. Macklemore steps down, the other openers walk in solidarity, and Ed responds with a both-sides statement and a teleprompter apology that manages to make it all about Ed. Perry, who once watched Macklemore pull a Palestinian flag out of his bag backstage at Innings Festival, has thoughts. Many of them. Including that Ed Sheeran is "essentially the Wonder Bread of the music industry."Two of the amazing pieces written about this are an Op-Ed by Roxanne Gay in the New York Times and Naaman Zhou’s story in the New Yorker. Make sure you read them both, since those are two people much smarter than either Ingela or Perry! If you loved this episode, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more conversations about music and advocacy! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!

This week on It's Giving, Ingela sits down with Johanna Samuels, an LA-based singer-songwriter who's no stranger to turning her platform toward community organizing and mutual aid.A big part of this episode centers on the digital festival Johanna helped organize during the 2020 Georgia Senate runoffs. Alongside Ben Lee and promoter Sid the Cat, she pulled together artists for a virtual show that raised $10,000 for Fair Fight, in a moment that finally felt like doing something.She's candid about how that's shifted since - a heavier fear of visibility, more reluctance from fellow artists when she later tried organizing an ICE benefit, and the quiet shame she's noticed comes with speaking up, especially for women.Plus, Johanna opens up about the less political side of her advocacy: volunteer nights cooking at LA's Downtown Women's Center, her steady monthly gift to Amnesty International, and why she believes the small, tangible acts matter just as much as the loud ones."My personal stance toward it is just to turn toward the thing, and try to walk the line of honesty — but with grace and kindness."If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!

This week on It’s Giving, Ingela sits down with Adam Lazzara, frontman of Taking Back Sunday. With over two decades of touring under their belts, Adam reflects on how the band uses their platform to give back through personal, community-driven causes.  Adam shares how his religious upbringing and early scene roots instilled a deep responsibility to look out for others – a familiar through line shared by many guests on the show like Medium Build, Michigander and Logan Lynn.A big part of this show centers on Adam explaining why supporting the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is so deeply personal to them: filling the critical gap for touring artists facing health crises, mental health struggles, and a lack of safety nets on the road.  He dives into the evolving conversation surrounding mental health in the music industry, the hidden isolation of life on tour, and the band's partnership with Concerted.live - an initiative that trades community service hours for concert tickets to rebuild real-world connection.  Plus, Adam opens up about why he chooses to focus on shared humanity rather than divisive politics, and his hope that Taking Back Sunday’s legacy is rooted in bringing people together and making listeners feel seen. “When you're there and doing the thing, none of that matters. It's people connecting and all getting lost in the same thing at the same time, which creates this real powerful, real-world magic.I hope people look back and think, man, they helped people feel seen.”  If you loved this interview, please leave a rating, drop a review, and subscribe to support the show so I can bring you even more artist interviews! Don't miss next Wednesday's episode, where I'll introduce another incredible musician leveraging their platform for meaningful advocacy!