Music On Your Own Terms 150 - This Mad Desire - Operators Are Standing By Joining me for this episode is Mackenzie Kristjón, a Hamilton, Ontario based musician that I met through Indie Week earlier this year, and contributed some background vocals to his upcoming album. We chat about This Mad Desire, Mac's musical project, his recording experience using free studio time through Hamilton public library, and singing in front of the children's section, in a glass room. Mac also shares a troubling story about being brutally assaulted, his love of collaboration with other musicians, and how he stri ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 149 - Gemma - Music From The Stars Hailing from the Greek island of Crete, Gemma is an electronic, post-rock, band who mix various genres with Greek lyrics. I chat to Apostolis (percussion and lyrics), and Anastasis (bass) about their sound, songwriting, and what their music is all about. We also discuss how the band got in contact with my good friend Ria from One.Woman.Company for their PR, how writing in Greek is more of a challenge, and why music is a universal language that connects us all. Click here for the main show notes page! Gemma on Facebook - https://www.fac ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 148 - Rob Balducci - Transcending A Violet Horizon Rob Balducci is a guitarist I've been listening to since the early 2000s, participating on his website forum, and downloading his lick of the week mp3s when they came out. Rob joins me in this episode to talk about how he began his professional musical journey, working at Relativity Records when Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien was released, and how Joe gave him pointers on the demos that became his first album Balance. We also hear about the gear companies that inspired him early on, many of whom he has had long s ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 147 - Ronda Ray - Guitars, Harleys, & Texas Sized Rock N Roll In this episode I chat to Ronda Ray, a Dallas/Fort Worth local artist that recorded her first EP in historic Muscle Shoals, and is gearing up to release her latest album early in 2022. Ronda talks about what she has learned from starting at a local open mic night, to becoming a full time gigging musician, with sponsorships, and some great industry relationships. She also talks about some negative experiences that prompted her to become more aware of toxic attitudes, the resources that have helped her in t ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 146 - Kate Schutt - A Grief Casserole Kate Schutt exemplifies everything this podcast is about, a professional singer and musician, a guitar player with some sweet gear and awesome chops, a life coach that concentrates on mindset and mental health, all wrapped up with an attitude of continuous improvement and one that adapts to constant change. Kate shares her journey of switching from pursuing a literary degree at Harvard, to studying at Berklee and back again, then diving headlong into a music career that has seen her explore the jazz scenes in various cities around n ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 145 - Leon Todd/Ragdoll - Guitars, Gear, & Storytime With Uncle dUg I discovered this week's guest on Youtube whilst searching for videos of one of the amps I own, really appreciating the content he is putting out, as well as our common love for the band Kings X. Leon Todd is a guitar player, Youtuber, and teacher from Perth, Australia, who tours with his band Ragdoll, teaches clinics at guitar festivals, and has a ton of great information on guitar gear, most notably the Fractal Axe FX. We discuss Leon's history, how he has built his Youtube channel, as well as his ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 144 - Pete Mohr - Blue Grass & Shoe Business Joining me this episode is Toronto based entrepreneur, business coach, and bluegrass musician, Pete Mohr. Pete talks about his early teen experiences with his cousins in the bluegrass scene, and his history as an entrepreneur. We learn how the business experiences Pete has had, influenced him in running his former "hobby" bands as businesses, that went on to play large festivals, and make enough to cover both expenses and recording several CDs. Finally Pete shares a great deal of useful tips, that musicians can use to imp ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 143 - Matt Gardiner/Ground Level Falcons - Questioning Who I Am Drawing on 60s psychedelia, 90s grunge and grandiose prog concept albums, Canada's Ground Level Falcons are a band whose sound is hard to pinpoint. Vocalist, guitarist, and main songwriter Matt Gardiner, takes us on a journey through the conception, creation, and recording of their new album "Skyline", along the way discussing the band's history, his own musical beginnings, as well as what has been driving his endeavors in and out of music since he began his journey. Make sure you also check out Matt's podc ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 142 - Elementals, Intercontinentals, & Thunderpetz Hailing from Italy and Turkey, attending Berklee and the Musicians Institute, and now based in Los Angeles, Thunderpetz are truly a fusion of many styles and cultures, both musically and otherwise. In this inspiring conversation, I chat to brothers Dandy on guitar and Lorenzo on drums, as well as Guney on synths, about this brand new project that takes 80s virtuoso rock and merges it with a modern electronic sound to create Thunderpetz. The guys talk about their history of moving to the US to go to school, the vario ..read more

Music On Your Own Terms 141 - Steph Belcher - Take The Money And Run In this episode I talk to Steph Belcher, owner of When Songs Mean Business, that teaches independent musicians how to manage their finances and formulate a plan for their business. Steph talks about a few different tax filing statuses that artists might have to think about when claiming both income and expenses, across several years, as well as some different categories of partnerships a musician might encounter when working with cowriters and producers. Finally we talk about the role that music has played in Steph's life, fr ..read more