Meet the outrageously talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Cherimondis J.   She's a classically trained concert pianist among many other things.  We dig into her music background, her songwriting process, what it's like being a Black musician in the classical world, and the album she put out last year, Dove Archer.  You'll find that Cherimondis thinks very deeply about both music and life, and she has quite a lot of introspective things to say about how her art relates to her life. Why does she…

Kyleen Downes is a professional musician, and our music community here in the Dayton area is better off for having her here.  I truly enjoy seeing her play live, I like her songs, and I'm sure you'll agree after you hear this conversation that she has an infectious enthusiasm.  She has benefitted from the encouragement of others in her career, and is passing that on by teaching a new generation of folks here in Dayton how to play rock and roll.   Kyleen tells us about how she got started making music, who…

…la manière oú j'ai changé la manière de penser que j'avais, ça s'est fait en parallel avec… j'ai commencé à penser en anglais…

Ce fois, je parle avec Maxime Cholley en français.  Il est batteur professionel qui vient de Savoie, mais qui habite maintenant en New York.  Il se considère un citoyen du monde. Comment est-ce qu'il a pris la décision de venir aux Etats-Unis pour étudier la musique?  Qu'est-ce que c'était son défi avec la langue anglaise?  Qu'est-ce que c'est son but primodial dans la musique…

The perfect first New York experience of looking at a place that doesn't make any sense…

Maxime Cholley is from Savoie, but his travels in music have taken him to Berklee in Boston, to New York, and now he plays all over the world. (In fact, today, as this episode gets released, Maxime is on tour in India.)

You'll learn how Maxime got started playing drums in this conversation, as well as what it's like being a professional musician in New York City. What was it like adjusting to the different pace of life…

It fascinates me how people have such different backgrounds, but we still come together... and we make music together as one unit...

Simona Smirnova is from Lithuania, but currently based in New York City.  She's a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, teacher, generally interesting person, and true music professional. She specializes in the kanklés, which is a traditional Lithuanian instrument.  (I'd tell you more here, but I want you to listen to Simona talk about it.)

Simona has just…

It is a very hard thing to do the thing that you want to do.

There I am on Polywork, and I see a posted opportunity from a company looking for people who want to learn piano.  I took piano lessons a few years ago, but once I got enough knowledge to use it as a composition tool, I stopped.  I'd like to learn more.  I responded to the opportunity, which was posted by Vlad Georgescu.  Shortly thereafter, Yue Deng-Wu reached out to me.

Vlad and Yue are cofounders of Spacenotes, a startup company looking…