Andy Lykens

Music Lessons Podcast #005: Listening to Your Inner Voice with Abraham Alexander

August 4, 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 Tina Schlieske, the Minnesota native who’s amazing live performances are a must-see.

Abraham Alexander is a Greek-born singer-songwriter with West African roots. As a child, he moved to Ft. Worth Texas where a knee-injury sidelined a burgeoning soccer career. By happenstance, he picked up a guitar and has been touring non-stop, while his new album SEA/SONS is making waves in AAA radio. He’s recently toured with The Lumineers, Lucius, Mavis Staples, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ani DiFranco, Shakey Graves and Gary Clark Jr.

Abraham Alexander heads out on his first headline tour across the U.S. this fall, kicking off October 13 in Austin with stops in New York City, Los Angeles, Denver and more. See here for a complete list of Abraham Alexander tour dates. You can also find him on Instagram, YouTube, and even more via his website. His new album SEA/SONS is available on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you stream music.

Abraham and I had a great conversation about his path from Greece to the US, and how listening to his inner voice became instructive for him as he move through his journey to the debut of his album SEA/SONS. We talk about his approach to music and how it mirrors his experience as a soccer player, and get deep into the weeds on how he put his team together in the Dallas Fort-Worth community of songwriters.

Please enjoy my conversation with Abraham Alexander!

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

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe & rate the Music Lessons Podcast here:

Have a favorite quote? Let me know on Twitter!

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

Music Lessons Podcast #004: Vulnerability & Trust with Tina Schlieske

June 21, 2023 by Andy Leave a Comment

Tina Schlieske has been paving her own way in music for nearly three decades. She has fronted diverse bands, from the wildly popular Minneapolis Americana-Rock band, Tina and the B-Sides to groups that range from rock, to classic R&B to punk. Tina has shared the stage with St. Vincent, Patty Griffin, Robert Ellis, Jeff Bridges, Doors Guitarist Robbie Krieger, Etta James and Double Trouble just to name a few. Tina has been called a “smart, sensitive, earthy singer-songwriter with a superb voice” and is one of my favorite live music performers – no matter what genre she’s exploring or what type of venue she’s in.

In this conversation Tina and I discuss her early learnings about vulnerability, where her confidence comes from, and how she thinks about building trust when performing live – and so much more! You can find more out about Tina including her upcoming shows and album releases at TinaSchlieske.com.

Please enjoy my conversation with Tina Schlieske!

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 Podcast: #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…

[Read more…]

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 Podcast: #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