Episode 724: Jeff Mueller of Rodan, June of 44 and Shipping News
Release Date: 06/05/2026
Episode 726: Matthew S, founder of Illegal Art
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician and academic Matthew S. Originally from Fresno, CA, Matthew founded the sample-based label Illegal Art in 1998 and ran it under the pseudonym Philo T. Farnsworth for 15 years. In that time, Illegal Art released music from Touch People, Junk Culture and perhaps the most acclaimed of the roster Girl Talk. In 2012, Matthew shut the label down to concentrate on his own music and work as a college professor, but this year he has decided to bring it back, and the first release is his own project Myth Math. Their debut EP Tongues just came out last week, and it...
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Episode 725: Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician and writer Jonathan Meiburg. Born in Baltimore, MD, Jonathan started playing music in the early 1990s in Austin and towards the end of the decade began playing keyboards in Okkervil River. A year later, he formed the band Shearwater with Okkervil's Will Sheff as an outlet for their quieter songs, though by their fourth album Palo Santo, it became primarily Jonathan's group. Since 1999, Shearwater has released almost two dozen albums and EPs on labels like Misra, Matador and Sub Pop. In addition to his musical pursuits, Jonathan has also had an impressive...
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Episode 724: Jeff Mueller of Rodan, June of 44 and Shipping News
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician Jeff Mueller. Originally from Louisville, KY, Jeff formed the band Rodan in 1992 with his friend Jason Noble, releasing the seminal album Rusty two years later on Quarterstick Records. After Rodan broke up, Jeff formed June of 44, and they put out almost an album a year until they stopped playing together in 1999. Rodan's break-up also blossomed into a new band for Jeff and Jason, Shipping News. Shipping News released numerous albums over the next fifteen years, many of them on Quarterstick, until Jason's death in 2012. Most recently, Solid Brass Records...
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Episode 723: Ron Regé Jr.
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to cartoonist Ron Regé Jr. Raised in Plymouth, MA, Ron began making minicomics in the late 1980s, and about a decade later, his first book Skibber Bee Bye was published by Highwater Books. For the next decade, he released comics and graphic novels through Drawn & Quarterly, but a frustration with comics changed his aesthetic focus, and starting with his next book The Cartoon Utopia, Ron began to be published by Fantagraphics. His most recent comic It's Over came out late last year on Parsifal Press. This is for Beginnings, , follow me...
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Episode 722: Dusty Reske of Rocketship
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician Dusty Reske of the band Rocketship. Born in San Francisco, CA, Dusty moved around a bit as a child before ending up in Sacramento where he formed Rocketship in 1993. Their first album A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness came out a few years later on Slumberland followed by Garden of Delights on 1999, Here Comes... Rocketship in 2006 and Thanks to You in 2019. This year is the 30th anniversary of A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness, and folks, it's just as good as the day it came out! This is for Beginnings, , follow me on . Check...
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Episode 721: Michael Edison Hayden
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to journalist and writer Michael Edison Hayden. Originally from Port Washington, Long Island, Michael started out his career as a playwright before transitioning to journalism during a trip to India. This led to becoming one of the few reporters at ABC News covering far-right extremism, and eventually Michael became a Senior Investigative Reporter and Spokesperson for Southern Poverty Law Center, a position he held until 2023. With Jared Holt, he hosts the political podcast Posting Through It, and most recently, his book Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore...
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Episode 720: Doug Gillard of Guided by Voices, Cobra Verde and Many More
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician Doug Gillard. Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Doug performed in a number of punk groups in high school, and in the early '80s joined the Cleveland rock band Death of Samantha. After their breakup in 1990, Doug became one of the original members of Cobra Verde, who then became Bob Pollard's backing band on Mag Earwhig!. This led to Doug joining Guided by Voices, who he performed with from 1997 to 2004 and then from 2016 to the present. This, of course, is just a small sampling of Doug's musical CV. On his own, Doug has been making albums since the mid-'80s, and...
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Episode 719: Felicia Douglass of Ava Luna, Dirty Projectors and Gemma
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musician Felicia Douglass. Originally from New York City, Felicia studied ballet for a long time before deciding that wasn't the path for her. Some of her old school chums had formed the band Ava Luna, and she eventually joined them. In the twenty years they've been together, Ava Luna has released over a dozen albums and EPs, and their latest self-titled album came out on Western Vinyl just last year. In 2018, Felicia became a member of Dirty Projectors, performing as part of the Song of the Earth ensemble, and few years earlier, she and...
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Episode 718: Josh Margolin
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to filmmaker Josh Margolin. Originally from Los Angeles, Josh always aimed his life in the direction of acting and filmmaking. He majored in theater, did improv, including performing in "One Night Stand: An Improvised Musical", which toured all over including an Edinburgh Fringe run, but since he was a kid, filmmaking seemed to be the thing. While Josh has written a number of shorts, webseries and a feature-length horror-comedy, his first film as writer and director, Thelma, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and it is easily one of the best films of 2024! ...
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Episode 717: Big Harp
Beginnings
On today's episode, I talk to musicians Stefanie Drootin and Chris Senseney of Big Harp. Originally from the San Fernando Valley and the Sandhills of Nebraska respectively, Stefanie and Chris met two decades ago, when they became both romantic and creative partners, getting married, having two children and performing together as Big Harp. In 2011, they released their first album White Hat, followed by Chain Letters in 2013 and now thirteen years later, they've released their third record Runs to Blue on Saddle Creek, and it is fantastic! This is for Beginnings, , follow...
info_outlineOn today's episode, I talk to musician Jeff Mueller. Originally from Louisville, KY, Jeff formed the band Rodan in 1992 with his friend Jason Noble, releasing the seminal album Rusty two years later on Quarterstick Records. After Rodan broke up, Jeff formed June of 44, and they put out almost an album a year until they stopped playing together in 1999. Rodan's break-up also blossomed into a new band for Jeff and Jason, Shipping News. Shipping News released numerous albums over the next fifteen years, many of them on Quarterstick, until Jason's death in 2012. Most recently, Solid Brass Records released Jeff and Jason's first high school group King G & the J Krew, which is somewhere in-between Rodan and the Beastie Boys, and it is a delight!
This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here!
Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!