Andy Lykens

Music Lessons: #003 Community and AI with Alan Wilkis (aka Big Data)

May 24, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

Music Lessons is a podcast where we explore the analogous principles of music and growth by interviewing top musicians. In this episode, my guest is Alan Wilkis, otherwise known as Big Data:

Alan Wilkis, otherwise known as “Big Data,” is an accomplished artist, producer, and composer. His hit single, “Dangerous (feat. Joywave),” reached #1 on the 2014 Billboard Alternative chart and has since been RIAA-certified platinum. His work as Big Data is beat-driven and technology-themed, featuring collaborations with the likes of Kimbra, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Dragonette, and Jamie Lidell, and he has performed across the globe.

As a songwriter and producer, Wilkis has worked with a broad range of artists, including Channel Tres, NomBe, Atlas Genius, MNDR (pronounce?), and Moontower. In recent years, he has pivoted his unique hybrid sound into composing for film, TV, and advertising, including his score for the 2020 breakout comedy, “Drunk Bus,” multiple campaigns for Apple, and a reworking of the theme for NCIS:LA. He is currently scoring a documentary called, “Left Behind,” about dyslexia in the NYC public school system.

In this episode, Alan and I talk about AI and music, creating music for a community, and how pizza-making and music creation are similar. I had a great time asking Alan about how he thinks about his work as a composer and artist, and speculating on where AI is going.

Please enjoy!

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, and on other podcast platforms.

Or subscribe to the podcast here

Have a favorite quote? Let me know on Twitter!

See the show notes by clicking “read more” below…

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Music Lessons: Playlist from #002 Gretchen Parlato

May 19, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

In addition to her own music, Gretchen Parlato has performed with a lot of amazing artists. In fact, listening to Gretchen led me to some of my other current favorite listens.

We mentioned a lot of artists and music in our conversation including Lionel Loueke, Wayne Shorter, Leon Mobley and many more.

I created a playlist of all of the artists mentioned, choosing the corresponding tracks in most cases. You can listen to the playlist on the following platforms:

Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music

You can see the show notes if you want to see a list of all the topics and music that came up.

Music Lessons: #002 Active Listening with Gretchen Parlato

May 16, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

Music Lessons is my podcast where we explore the analogous principles of music and growth by interviewing top musicians. In this episode, my guest is Gretchen Parlato:

Gretchen Parlato has been described as having a voice like honey, with a captivating style that fuses elements of jazz, Brazilian, and African rhythms, and a touch of pop and electronic influences that create a sound that is entirely her own. Personally, she is one of my favorite vocalists to listen to with her impeccable phrasing, emotive storytelling, and collaborative spirit. Parlato has become a visionary in the contemporary jazz scene. Her 2021 album Flor hit #1 on the iTunes Jazz chart and received a Grammy nomination, was #3 in the Jazzwise Critics Poll, #5 for best album from Jazzwise in 2021, and #5 on The Guardian’s Top 10 jazz albums for 2021. She has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, and many, many more. You can find all things about Gretchen at GretchenParlato.com.

Gretchen’s newest album Lean In, a collaboration with her long-time friend Lionel Loueke, comes out May 19th.

Find Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke’s NEW album Lean In here (vinyl too), or listen on:

Apple Music
Spotify (linking to her artist page until the album releases)

In this episode, Gretchen and I talk about her background, where inspiration strikes and her way of getting her work into the world, and a great deep dive on musicology. Plus, we hear about her new album Lean In with long-time friend & collaborator Lionel Loueke.

Please enjoy!

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, Stitcher and other podcast platforms.

Have a favorite snippet? Let me know on Twitter!

Show Notes [Read more…]

Music Lessons: Playlist from Episode #001 Ben O’Neill

May 12, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

One of my favorite things about diving into conversations with musicians is that inevitably, other musicians come up.

Ben and I chatted about a variety of artists across a spectrum of jazz, gospel, blues, and more.

You can see the show notes if you want to see a list of all the topics and music that came up.

See here for a playlist of the music – all of the artists are mentioned, but I chose the corresponding tracks in most cases:

AppleMusic, Spotify, Amazon Music

Music Lessons: #001 Curiosity & Craft with Ben O’Neill

May 10, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

Music Lessons is my new podcast where we explore the analogous principles of music and growth by interviewing top musicians. In this first episode, my guest is Ben O’Neill:

Grammy nominated artist, Ben O’Neill (@BenOneillGuitar on Instagram) (guitarist, singer-songwriter, teacher), has played with some of the best known names in Pop, Hip Hop and R&B including John Legend, Jill Scott, Common, Sting, Kanye West, Christina Aguilera, Kid Cudi, and more. He has performed and co-written songs with Tye Tribbett and his “Soundcheck” band which redefined gospel music. Ben has contributed to many RnB, Gospel and Pop recordings and served as a governor of the Philadelphia chapter of the Recording Academy. He is currently a member of the guitar faculty at The University of The Arts where he teaches lessons, ensembles and recording. His artistic releases range from eponymous singer/songwriter works to solo guitar compositions to his band of 20 years, the soul jazz organ trio, The Mini Q’s.

In this episode Ben and I discuss his framework for the 3 avenues of music in his life, the importance of cultivating curiosity, what he learned from hall-of-fame baseball player Chase Utley, consistency and touring, and so much more.

Please enjoy!

You can also listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast, Amazon Music, and on other podcast platforms.

Have a favorite quote? Let me know on Twitter!

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Stage fright

April 29, 2023 by Andy 2 Comments

One day my trombone teacher and I had a conversation about my stage fright. Stage fright can manifest both mentally and physically. Shorter breathing and quivering appendages are not great when you need to breath and blow with good posture. It’s not a pleasant experience. Perhaps the worst part though, is the non-stop thinking about whether you’ve practiced enough and what the people in the audience will think if you make a mistake (or twelve).

So it’s important to know two things – first, you can control how much you prepare and second, you cannot control what people in the audience think. But despite the fact that you cannot control what people think, what you need to be aware of is your assumptions. You’re assuming the people are thinking the worst things and that they’re thinking them about you and your performance. And, just like most situations in life, you are almost certainly wrong about those assumptions.

Unlike most situations in life, when you put yourself out there – whether its on a stage performing, or on the court playing, or in the meeting presenting – not only are the people not thinking bad things about you – most of them are rooting for you.

If you do well, they will be excited to tell people they know you. They’ll love the impact you have on them. They’ll remember your idea and how you executed it. They’ll be inspired to do their own thing.

So when you’re not sure, when you’re second-guessing, when you’re afraid – remember that if you’ve prepared, you are as ready as you can be.

And when you look into the audience, as the self-doubt starts to creep in, just remember: we’re rooting for you.