What Am I Making Podcast

Matt Kadane and his brother Bubba knew they were destined to make music together by the time they had reached Middle School. Growing up in the small city of Wichita Falls, Texas, the brothers were raised in a musical family. Their grandmother was a terrific ragtime piano player. Their father was obsessed with jazz, pop, and the burgeoning outlaw country movement emanating from Austin, Texas. Music was a constant in their home, and as soon as they were old enough, the boys began music lessons.Eventually, the brothers would go on to form the great indie outfit Bedhead in the late 1980s. The band was slow, laconic, deliberate, and minimal. It was the perfect antidote to grunge, when that movement stormed the musical gates in 1991. Undaunted by the new sounds of that era, Bedhead doubled down on their commitment to slower songs and stripped back arrangements.During our discussion, Matt shares the story of building Bedhead from a band of brotherly love into a fully functional four piece that would garner critical acclaim, and allow the band to tour the world extensively. We talk about the ephemeral nature of shows that happened in an era before smart phones and social media. Those were nights that existed in a moment, and then were gone forever, making them seem all the more sacred.Bedhead were unfortunately lumped into a 1990s subgenre dubbed “slowcore” that also featured bands like Codeine and Low. Matt and I talk about the reductive nature of lazily lumping subcultures together based on nothing more than the most obvious parts of the music. That train of thought then leads us to a fulsome discussion of why we remember what we remember from a given era, often leading to just one or two artists from a movement being canonized, while the rest of the movement just fades away in time.We learn the lessons behind the ending of Bedhead as Matt began to pursue a Ph.D and a career in academia. Still, the songs kept calling, and Matt and Bubba soon mounted a new band they dubbed, The New Year. That outfit featured a new rhythm section, but carried on many of the same auditory hallmarks of Bedhead.Eventually, Matt secured his doctorate and began a teaching career as a history professor, leaving music on the backburner. Still, even when talking with Matt Kadane, Ph.D today, you can still feel the fires of indie rock burning bright within him.Come join me and Matt Kadane for a great chat about brotherly love, slowing things down, and a whole bunch more.Cheers,Matty COur work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com/. Now is a crucial time for new paid subscribers. Please step up and support the show.Please consider a contribution to our crowdfunding campaign for the live record with me and The Wild Honey Collective.You can email the show anytime at [email protected]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe

In 2016, Sarah Kendzior’s family began a series of vacations across the American continent. Sarah, her husband, and their two children embarked on a series of lengthy road trips over several years in an attempt to fully experience the beauty of America; its landscapes, and its people. Kendzior hoped that she could show her children the most beautiful and bizarre places that this nation has to offer before America is irrevocably changed by this current wave of fascism and oligarchy.This year, Kendzior published, The Last Great American Road Trip, a memoir of these family journeys and her family’s exploration of America. While these were joyous family vacations they were often tinged with darkness and a sense of the terror yet to come. In the book Kendzior “contemplates a love for country in a broken heartland”.During our discussion, Sarah and I dive into our fragile relationship with the beautiful place we call home. Sarah shares the feeling that she had when she discovered the American west with its open skies, snowy peaks, and craggy deserts. Upon discovering that I am a Michigander, Sarah espouses her affection for the Pictured Rocks lakeshore, and we ponder whether a National Park along the Lake Michigan lakeshore would have a net positive impact on the region.Sarah and I work to dispel the myth of the “Two Americas” idea, by sharing our own experiences of crisscrossing the country and interacting with folks who hold myriad viewpoints and beliefs, all while being mostly decent people. We talk about the cultural heft of the American south and the ridiculous notion of “letting the south go”. We also remember the heady days when oligarchs at least built libraries and opera houses instead of rockets.I extol the virtues of the $75 annual national park pass that I made the most of last year, while Sarah and I worry deeply about the future of the National Park system in the hands of the Trump administration. There is extensive talk of the verdant subcultures that populate every region of our enormous country. We discuss being in God’s train set at Glacier, feeling ourselves gasp at the Grand Canyon, and learning how to tell the truth about America, warts and all.Come travel the country, and maybe find the real America with me and Sarah Kendzior.Cheers,Matty C Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe

You can hear the raw and unguarded version of today’s guest when you listen intently to The Bootleg Recordings Of Marshall Crenshaw. This new collection of Crenshaw originals, which was released on Record Store Day of this year, was culled from a trove of work tapes recorded while making his third and fourth albums. These recordings afford listeners and fans the opportunity to hear a host of unvarnished material, exposing the blood and bone of the songs.Marshall Crenshaw grew up in the leafy post-war suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Although Motown, The MC5, and the glitter of the big city were just minutes away by car, the Crenshaw family largely stuck to the safety of the streets near their home, eschewing all that Detroit had to offer, except on the rare occasion of a ball game or a trip to see holiday lights.After high school, Crenshaw found himself with dwindling prospects at home and hit the road for New York and then eventually Los Angeles. He auditioned for bands, performed in the touring company for Beatlemania, and shopped his songs to any producer or label that would take the time to listen. Eventually, Crenshaw landed a deal with the small Imprint Shake Records which released his debut single, “Something’s Gonna Happen” in 1981. On the strength of that single and a few other demo recordings, Crenshaw inked a deal with Warner Bros. Records.Marshall Crenshaw’s first two albums, Marshall Crenshaw and Field Day found both critical and commercial success, and landed Crenshaw in a pair of Hollywood roles. He appeared first in Francis Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married as part of the wedding band that is prominently featured in the film. Later in the same year, Crenshaw appeared in La Bamba as the ill-fated first wave rocker, Buddy Holly.During our conversation, Marshall and I discuss his childhood in Detroit and his urge to get out once he had reached adulthood. We cover his early days in both New York and LA, including a riveting story about a compromised producer that inadvertently gave Crenshaw the confidence to produce his own records. We talk about being in over your head, and learning to swim your way out. Plus, we cover helping to maintain the legacy of another great power pop band of the 80s and 90s. It’s a great conversation with a truly unique artist still working at a very high level.Let’s get into it.Cheers,Matty C-------------------------End CreditsThanks so much to Marshall for joining me. You can find out all about him and his work at https://marshallcrenshaw.com/The What Am I Making podcast is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.Our theme music was written and recorded by David J. Baldwin.You can subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. Please be sure to like, rate and review the show if you enjoy it.Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com/. Now is a crucial time for new paid subscribers. Please step up and support the show.You can email the show anytime at [email protected]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe

Eef Barzelay has seen the peaks and valleys of the music industry. In the course of a lifetime playing music, Barzelay has toured the world as a solo performer and in his longtime outfit, Clem Snide. He has had his songs used in motion pictures, and major TV commercials. He’s written original songs and scores for independent films, while also continuing to tour and release new music regularly.Barzelay has also suffered through a painful divorce, had his house in foreclosure, and was even forced to declare bankruptcy at one point. More than one time he was sure he had reached the end of his career in music. Still, he forged ahead, beieving that better days would arrive.During our conversation, Eef and I cover a great deal of ground. We delve into his birth and early upbringing in Israel before his family moved to New Jersey while Eef was an elementary schooler. Barzelay talks about his spiritual path and even parses out his complicated relationship with the country of his birth. We also cover Eef’s long and winding path to today which has also included crowd funding his records, writing bespoke original songs for his fans, and embarking on a series of house concert tours.Eef openly discusses the economic realities of the music business in 2026, while also wondering if perhaps the business is as egalitarian as it has ever been. We talk about being “jazz famous”, and the concept of freedom over fame. There is discussion about the cinematic nature of Eef’s songwriting, and the ways in which we can use songs to explain our own experience.Let’s get into it.Cheers,Matty C-------------------------End CreditsThanks so much to Eef for joining me. You can find out all about him and his work at https://www.clemsni.de/The What Am I Making podcast is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.Our theme music was written and recorded by David J. Baldwin.You can subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. Please be sure to like, rate and review the show if you enjoy it.Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com/. Now is a crucial time for new paid subscribers. Please step up and support the show.You can email the show anytime at [email protected]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe

Every record is something like a sonic quilt; a pastiche of songs and sonic ideas laid out as a single product. That quilt might be stitched together with mechanical precision or it might have been hand-sewn by a grandmother with shaky hands. The squares of fabric used for our quilt might be of uniform shape, or they could be a collection of misshapen rags.Jason P. Woodbury’s newest album, Jason P. Woodbury & The Night Bird Singing Quartet plays like a bespoke seamstress setting to work with both precision and playfulness. Astute listeners of the album are likely to pick up notes of My Morning Jacket, Fruit Bats, Michael Penn, and Woods, but Woodbury is anything but a copycat. Treading a line that dips into alt-folk, cosmic-country, and neo-Americana, Woodbury and his collaborators have stitched a quilt perfect for crisp fall evenings.In addition to his terrific recorded work, Jason spends most of his days at the esteemed indie music blog, Aquarium Drunkard. He also has a terrific Substack called Range and Basin, where he writes and podcasts about music and culture. This work, in addition to his musical pursuits, gives Jason an interesting perspective on the state of today’s musical ecosystem. We talked openly about the role of the curator and critic in a world where we can access any music we want to hear at a moment’s notice.During our conversation, we talked about Jason’s childhood in rural Arizona and covered some of the Phoenix and Tempe music scenes that soared in the 1980s and 90s, and ultimately influenced him and his work. Jason shared his early experiences singing with others in church, and the profound impact it made on his young mind. We also hit upon the best ways to wear your influences as an artist. We got into the ragged nature of songwriting, and we discussed the necessity of making difficult choices in your art.Let’s get into it.Cheers,Matty C-------------------------End CreditsThanks so much to Jason for joining me. You can find out all about Jason and his work at https://jasonpwoodbury.com/The What Am I Making podcast is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.Our theme music was written and recorded by David J. Baldwin.You can subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. Please be sure to like, rate and review the show if you enjoy it.Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com/. Now is a crucial time for new paid subscribers. Please step up and support the show.You can email the show anytime at [email protected]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe