Episode 26: BJ Leiderman
Flies in the Kitchen
“Our theme music was composed by BJ Leiderman.” If you’ve tuned in to NPR over the last 44 years, the likelihood is pretty great that you have heard this on-air credit. It’s because when BJ sold his themes to NPR, he made it a part of his contract that he would receive spoken recognition for his work. Little did he know he’d become one of the most recognizable names on the network. BJ’s NPR credits include Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, Marketplace, Car Talk, and Science Friday. BJ has been in the music making business his entire life,...
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Special Episode: Poetry Share!
Flies in the Kitchen
Some of you may remember a few years back when I uploaded a reading of "The Velveteen Rabbit." That was a recording I had made for librivox.org, an online archive of literary works in the public domain, recorded by volunteers all over the world. Recently I recorded a few poems for an anthology they were putting together and I thought I'd share them with you. I hope you enjoy them! I've included the text below. The Indian Burying Ground - Philip Freneau In spite of all the learned have said, I still my old opinion keep; The posture, that we give the dead,...
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Episode 25: David Wilcox
Flies in the Kitchen
I've known about David Wilcox since I first heard "East Asheville Hardware" back in the mid 90's working at a summer camp. I was absolutely captivated and delighted at what I was listening to, and knew that this was something that I needed to pay more attention to, being a budding songwriter myself. What followed was a few decades of wonder and inspiration at the levels of depth to which a songwriter can go when it comes to communicating an idea. David is in a realm all to his own, and you get a good sense of this right off the bat in this episode. Please do yourself a favor...
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Episode 24: Paisha Thomas
Flies in the Kitchen
Y'all. This woman right here has a story to tell, and it is massive. I met with her a week ago today (as of the uploading of this episode), and we chatted about her brand new memoir "Looking for Innocence", as well as a whole lot of other things, and there were still topics we left out. So I encourage you to do your own research and find out as much as you can about Paisha, and follow what she's up to (spoiler - it's a lot). Here are a few things we talked about for you to check out: Edie Driskill's Podcast, American History Maker (And Paisha's Cousin's Aunt!) Also, Here are a...
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Episode 23: Eric Ahlteen
Flies in the Kitchen
Eric and I first crossed paths when I made my way to Espresso Yourself Music Cafe, in Powell, Ohio, for an open mic night shortly after moving to Ohio. I consider myself really fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience the community and great vibes from EYMC before it closed in 2012. Eric and I talk a good bit about all that, plus a lot more. I met up with him at his farmhouse just out of town, where he spends his days gardening and tending to his bonsai trees. Eric is a great songwriter with a great story, and I'm excited to share it with you. Not all...
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Episode 22: Dre Peace
Flies in the Kitchen
My first impression of Dre Peace was a wall of sound that almost knocked me over.. Which would have been embarrassing since I was sharing a stage with him at an event called Music in the Round. I had to know more about this guy just from the music and poetry coming from his mouth. Afterwards I learned a bit more about his story that locked it in for me. I had to get this guy on the show. So I am beyond excited to share this conversation with you. Here is a link to the Facebook Live video that Dre's manager was able to capture of his performance...
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Episode 21: TJ George
Flies in the Kitchen
TJ George has been very busy. He has been workin on a pretty epic project for, well, to hear him say it, several years now. It is finally coming to life, as of January 7, 2022. TJ is a songwriter here is Columbus, and his new album, "Heroes and Legends" will be an achievement that he has been working towards for a long time. We got to sit in my living room and chat about it, along with a bunch of other great stuff, including the magic of cul de sacs, being young and fearless, and following (or not following) one's dream. You can find TJ at, yep, you guessed it, . ...
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Remembering John: 12/31/1943 – 10/12/1997
Flies in the Kitchen
I was home from college on a fall break in 1997 when I found out John Denver had died in a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean. It wrecked me. This brief tribute will explain a little bit of why. Also, here is the video from the recording I shared in the episode, along with another one I filmed in my sister's treehouse last summer to the sounds of the forest choir.
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Episode 20: James Houston
Flies in the Kitchen
My old karate Sensei James Houston is a well versed Martial Artist, a stunt coordinator, actor and producer, for television and film, and a hero in his little hometown of Floyd Virginia. At least I like to think he is.
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Elemental Series, Episode 04: Gratitude
Flies in the Kitchen
For the fourth and final episode of my brief 'Elemental' series, I'm talking a little about gratitude, and what that looks like from the perspective of one guy (me) whose friend died the morning of recording, from being hit by a truck while running.
info_outline“Our theme music was composed by BJ Leiderman.”
If you’ve tuned in to NPR over the last 44 years, the likelihood is pretty great that you have heard this on-air credit. It’s because when BJ sold his themes to NPR, he made it a part of his contract that he would receive spoken recognition for his work. Little did he know he’d become one of the most recognizable names on the network.
BJ’s NPR credits include Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me, Marketplace, Car Talk, and Science Friday.
BJ has been in the music making business his entire life, and it encompasses much more than 30 second jingles (although he is damn good at them). In 2017, BJ released his debut album of original songs, entitled
“BJ”, although that wasn’t his first choice. “Natural Public Leiderman” didn’t sit all that well with NPR’s lawyers, so he went with the more eponymous title.
So much to share with all of you good folks! If you click on the album above (the NPR-approved version), you’ll be directed to his website where not only can you purchase this fine collection, he also has shared multiple fantastic videos of his songs, including a funky animated interpretation of “Walking Down The Street”, a boppy, upbeat song about getting dumped by his girlfriend and subsequently making his way to the top of the Empire State Building and jumping off the observation deck, plus all the adventures and observations on the way down. Yep, boppy.
We talk at length about the album, the personal investment in the songwriting, where they come from, and what they draw their life from. We also talk about the purpose of music in "moving the needle", so to speak. Good, good stuff. He really is a deeply thoughtful and intentional songwriter and you know right away where he stands when you hear it.
If you're an Ashvillian, check out the BJL in AVL group on Facebook that we chatted about. He's hoping to get the ball rolling for an in-person meet up -- mostly so he can get out from behind a computer screen and into the real world with real people!
Oh, and if you are still unsure if you’ve heard his music on the radio, enjoy this video he put together a few years back. The most creative self promotional media I believe I’ve ever seen!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4xr_i3aRxU]