hey how’s it goin? the newsletter

A Tell You What! Studios Newsletter

Welcome to issue no. 5 of “hey how’s it goin’?”
Podcast news, music related recommendations, and the scribblings of a mixed up music nerd.

Latest episode: Find out what “shoegaze-icana” music sounds like: check out the recent excellent record by the Austin band Why Bonnie. I sat down with songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Blair Howerton to talk about the songs on the album, her drum ambitions, bible stories and cool parents.

Are you on the social medias? Yes. Do you find it a soul-evaporating, embarrassing time suck? Yes. (I took the liberty of answering for you.)

Here is something to brighten your feeds: the account Dust-to-Digital presents clips of hard to find musical performances from around the globe; they are surprising, happy, awesome, and numerous.

A machine that plays drums by using 2000 marbles? The theme to Harry Potter on musical glasses from Venice? Turkish clarinet player performing Cumbia music? Sly Stone’s “Everyday People” played on Casio keyboard and sine wave generator? Yes, of course, and also some things you wouldn’t expect.

Here’s your mental health tip of the month: delete three accounts from your feed that bring you down and add this one.

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David Wax Museum are a creative, joyful, fun and smart band from the most excellent town of Charlottesville VA. Some of you may have seen them on the quarantine zoom concert we hosted, or seen (heard actually?) them at the fantastically weird and moving “concert in the blind” Susan facilitated at the yoga studio.

Anyway they have just released a fabulous new album, You Must Change Your Life, and here is a super fun video of the title track. A great tune and David definitely did not get the idea for the Epsom salt bath lyric from anyone we know who may be obsessed with said baths.

For Chicago area people, the band is playing this Wednesday, May 17 at the Golden Dagger, you will find us there, please join in the fun. It’s never too late!

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Do you write songs? Do you want to write songs? Have you thought about trying to want to write songs? You should certainly do/think/want all of these things.

It is great fun and here’s something: a talented songwriter, musician and teacher I happen to know is holding an online songwriting workshop this Saturday May 20 at noon eastern (that’s 11:00 AM for us Central folk). All are most definitely welcome.

Aside from doing a standout job as our daughter, Lucy has also excelled as my vocal and songwriting coach. She is a gifted facilitator: encouraging, enlightening, and entertaining to boot. Check out her IG post for more info, and I will see you at the workshop!

Have you ever heard the song “Baba O’Riley” by The Who? Of course you have. (Teenage wasteland…) But what if you just now heard it for the first time, and could experience the joy of its discovery all over again?

Joe Perra Talks With You is an excellent television series, featuring Joe in the role of a slightly eccentric, wonderfully soft spoken middle school choir teacher in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The episodes are short and each follows a theme: rocks, breakfast cereal, pumpkins, drives in the country. It is lovely and hilarious.

I now hereby instruct you to watch Season 1, episode 6, called “Joe Perra reads you the church announcements” on Comedy Central. Maybe you can yell into your tv remote and find it, I have seen people do this. Here is a link for online viewing, it may ask you to sign in with your tv provider, a bit of a hassle, but do you trust me? Yes, you do. So I am telling you that this is worth the effort to figure out how to watch this full episode, ask your kids to get you access.

There is a shorter version available on the youtube but you need to see the whole thing (11 minutes) to fully revel in its splendor.

I could write paragraphs trying to express in words what I mean by “the power of music” or “the joy of music”, phrases that I use a lot. But watching the Joe Perra character discover this song for the first time, his immediate obsession with it-he dances on furniture, he eats ice cream (right from the carton!), he needs to tell everyone about the song and how great it is-perfectly encapsulates and showcases the pure joy music brings us that we perhaps often take for granted.

So yeah, no long meandering essay this time, just watch the Joe Perra episode, then put on some Who or some Springsteen or Beyonce or ABBA or Motorhead or Taylor Swift or Shania Twain or whatever makes you rock out, and imagine you are hearing it for the first time, let it fill your brain with a powerful endorphin rush and lose yourself in the joyous moment. Eat some ice cream. Don’t let the dog eat your pizza though.

Thanks for reading this issue of hey how’s it goin? the newsletter. I encourage you to forward this along to anyone who might find it interesting. Was this forwarded to you? You can subscribe here.

Check out our spotify playlist Pork Chop Happy Hour, updated frequently with new music I come across that catches my attention.

Please drop me an email (just hit “reply”) with any thoughts, ideas, questions, complaints (not really). If you dare to include a mailing address, I will send along a fabulous Tell You What! sticker or two, no questions asked.

music is the best!

Mike