Canada’s Selfish Things has been making waves in music for a little over two years, and in the episode of Inside Music, we learn how they did it.
It is the dream of every artist to write a song that sends their career into the stratosphere. Every creative believes they are capable of creating something that changes everything in their life, but only a few discover they were right. Selfish Things is one of the lucky few who can claim life changed quickly, and today we’re going to discuss the band’s journey at length with the man who knows it better than anyone else, Alex Biro.
In just two short years, Alex Biro has made his van home and captured the attention of untold thousands around the world. Selfish Things, his musical brainchild, found an audience almost immediately, and life has not slowed down since he first shared music online back in 2017. Biro’s music speaks to the universal sense of sadness we all feel in our souls, and his choice to recognize what so many artists attempt to ignore has attracted people from all walks of life to support his vision of a more open global community.
Recently, Biro sat down with Inside Music host James Shotwell while in West Michigan to help the world understand Selfish Things. Biro told James about traveling North America, working on his debut album, and balancing family life with the demands of an ever-changing world.
Notable rock and roll star Tyler Bryant stops by Inside Music to discuss success and survival in the modern music business.
What makes someone a rockstar? Previous generations would say a rockstar is someone whose song is on the radio at all times of the day, whose face is plastered on bedroom walls of teenagers everywhere, and whose very existence often appears to straddle the line between reality and myth. Rockstars were, for a long time, more than human. They were Gods who blessed devoted rock listeners with songs meant to lift them from the mundanity of modern existence and give them a few minutes of sweet relief.
Today’s rockstars are a decidedly different breed. Rock is no longer the dominant force in music, and even the biggest stars of today must compete for airplay against the reigning champs of the genre. For every new group that finds themselves in rotation at a notable station, there are dozens of ‘must play’ catalog songs they have to compete against for airplay. The same goes for playlists, festivals, and touring.
Tyler Bryant is arguable the closest thing to a classic rockstar we have in the world of reasonably new music. Though he has been active since 2009, Byrant has consistently been labeled a ‘star on the rise’ by major publications around the world. He and his band, The Shakedown, have opened for everyone in the genre that matters. They’ve spent a year with Guns ‘N Roses, rubbed shoulders with Foo Fighters, and even found themselves mentioned by members of Aerosmith as being one of their favorite acts.
Furthermore, Tyler Bryant never slows down. If he’s not on the road, Bryant is in the studio, and as soon as he’s done in the studio he returns to the road. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown is an unstoppable force in a world where rock bands are often considered a dying breed, and they refuse to give up their passion no matter what cultural analysts and tastemakers claim.
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown’s latest release, Truth And Lies, celebrates the crossroads of rock and blues with a catchiness that is impossible to deny. It’s a fitting break from the repetition found throughout the industry, and it heralds the dawn of a return to form for rock purists everywhere.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, rock and roll savior Tyler Bryant stops by to discuss his decade-long career on the cusp of superstardom. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown have opened for every living rock legend, and along the way, they’ve learned how to build a lasting career in the treacherous world of entertainment. Host James Shotwell asks Tyler about his experiences, as well as his advice for the next generation of music stars.
Ruben Alvarez of Upon A Burning Body stops by the show to discuss ‘Southern Hostility’ and the ways your perspective on music can with age.
When Upon A Burning Body burst onto the international scene in 2010 they were heralded for delivering a crushing take on deathcore that combined unrelenting heaviness with a desire to have as much fun as possible. The Texas band sang about getting blackout drunk with their closest friends but also overcoming the things in life that held them down. Critics didn’t always get it, but the fans of the genre did, and the band continued to deliver similar material in the years that followed.
That is, until now.
Southern Hostility, Upon A Burning Body’s upcoming fourth studio album (out June 7 via Seek and Strike), finds the hard-partying antics of the group set aside in an attempt to showcase their metal chops. The band has doubled-down on their songs about surviving the struggle of existence, and in doing so the members have crafted what is undeniably their best work to date. Over the course of ten sizzling tracks, Upon A Burning Body aspires to inspire a generation of outliers to become more than they and their haters think is possible. They are, in their own unique way, trying to improve this often troublesome world.
On this episode of Inside Music, Upon A Burning Body co-founder and guitarist Ruben Alvarez stops by to discuss Southern Hostility at length. Ruben tells host James Shotwell about how changes in his and other band members’ personal lives has given the group a different perspective on life. He also talks about the decision to join Seek And Strike, moving out of the city, and growing older in an industry that praises youthfulness above all else.
Inside Music is a podcast about the lives of professionals in the music business. Each week, host James Shotwell chats with an artist or industry tastemaker to learn how anyone can navigate the world of entertainment.
All Them Witches vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Charles Michael Parks discusses the fusion of hard rock and jazz on our latest podcast.
If there is one complaint the world of modern rock cannot escape it’s the notion that everything sounds the same. Bands may still be filling arenas with their anthems for the underdogs and working class, but can the average consumer separate one act from another? More importantly, is there any need for them to?
All Them Witches offer an alternative to the plague of repetition that has infiltrated rock over the last decade. The trio delivers an original take on hard rock that channels legendary acts such as Black Sabbath without once coming across as a watered-down version of their influences. Instead, All Them Witches strive to be original above all else, and that focus has made all the difference in the trajectory of the group’s career.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell sits down with Charles Michael Parks of All The Witches to discuss the intersection of hard rock and jazz. All Them Witches exist in a space where creativity is favored over perfection. Night to night, city to city, no two performances are the same. That kind of unpredictability may scare amateurs, but for All Them Witches it is the only way to live.
Inside Music is a podcast about the lives of professionals in the music business. Each week, host James Shotwell chats with an artist or industry tastemaker to learn how anyone can navigate the world of entertainment.
Aaron Pauley and Valentino Arteaga from Of Mice & Men discuss how their band is evolving to stay relevant in a quickly changing industry on our latest podcast.
Metalcore is a fickle genre where many acts rise and fall overnight. Of Mice & Men has endured the changing trends of the industry for more than a decade, and the group show no signs of quitting anytime soon. Their latest single, “How To Survive,” speaks to this mindset in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner. Check it out:
Name something that threatens to break bands and this group has not only faced it, but emerged on the other side of the storm stronger than before. Of Mice & Men know what it’s like to take to steps forward and one step backwards. They know how losing a member or two can threaten to undo everything that has been built. More importantly, they know how to use the lessons learned from the past to inform future decision making, and that has made all the difference in the trajectory of their career.
On this episode of Inside Music, host James Shotwell sits down with Aaron Paul and Valentino Arteaga from Of Mice & Men at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, MI to talk about all things music. Aaron and Valentino discuss their group’s recent recording efforts, the legacy of their band, and how they’re evolving to embrace changing trends in the industry at large. The pair also tell us about their new single, “How To Survive,” and how it relates to everything else the band has planned for the months ahead.
Hello, everyone! We are grateful to know you somehow found time in your busy schedule to spend a short while browsing our blog. Today’s interview is special, as it serves as the first feature to highlight someone who rose to notoriety almost entirely because of podcasting. Sit back and enjoy!
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
You have probably noticed this by now, but over the last several months there has been a surge in the number of music focused podcasts being discussed and promoted online. Even we have a show, and to be perfectly honest there have been discussions about whether or not we should launch another before the end of 2015. This post isn’t about that, however, it’s about the people who are currently making a place for alternative music fans in the world of podcasting. You’ve met some through interviews we’ve run in the past, but today’s featured talent can only be found through his incredibly weekly program.
Adam Santiago is the host of ‘Your Favorite Album,’ a podcast where influential individuals from around the world of entertainment come to discuss the albums that serve as the soundtrack to their lives. It’s a show so incredibly simple it’s almost hard to believe only one such program exists, but every week Adam finds a way to guide the conversation to an exciting and completely enthralling place. Each episode gives you a new appreciation for the guest being featured, as well as the music they claim to love. It’s incredibly entertaining, and today we’re going to learn how it all came together.
If you want to learn more about Adam and his podcast, please make it a point to visit the show’s official website. Additional questions and comments can be added at the end of this post.
H: Hey there! Before we begin, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself to our readers:
A: Hello, hello. My name’s Adam Santiago, and I host the “Your Favorite Album” podcast.
H: It’s great to have you with us, Adam. How is life in New York treating you today?
A: Thanks for having me! Can’t complain, New York City is always a hectic place but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
H: I want to talk about your show, but I also want people to know the real you. Care to share the regular job you hold down when not doing the podcast?
A: I’m the print production manager for a media company. We produce a number of magazines geared to the engineering community, and it’s my job to make sure everything goes smoothly from the beginning of the process to the moment they are shipped off to the printers.
H: Would you like to make the show your full time gig? I know there are more and more podcasts trying to not only monetize, but to monetize to such an extent it complete supports the host(s) and covers their expenses.
A: It would be pretty awesome if I was able to make the show my main gig. I enjoy my job but when it gets busy, it kind of takes priority over any other hobbies/projects. So when it’s crunch time, I’m not free to schedule guests and/or record, which then leaves me sometimes going a week or two without an episode. I’ve thought about different ways to monetize the podcast (sponsors, donations, merchandise) but I didn’t really start the show for money, it was just something I wanted to do. Maybe I’ll look into it again in the near future.
H: Maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves. I mean, we haven’t really told people about your podcast. For those unaware, please explain the premise of your show:
A: At the start of every episode, I ask a guest what their favorite music album is, and then let the conversation go from there.
H: What I love about your show is that it reads simple, but in execution it’s far more complex. Did you expect your conversations to go as deep as they have?
A: Why thank you, that makes me sound like a really skilled host haha. I will talk about music any chance I get, and am always up for learning about something new. While I was nervous at first as to how the conversations would flow, or if they would lack substance, all that went away two minutes into the recording of the first episode… it all just felt right.
H: Backing up just a bit, what goals did you have when launching the show?
A: To be honest, I was just looking for something to do and get myself out of a slump that I had been in for a few months. I had done a pop culture podcast called NerdGeekDork with one of my best friends, and thought it’d be fun to do one on my own. I figured why not make it about something I love like music, and then include a bunch of my friends in on the fun? I get to talk about music with people and hear some interesting stories, I dig it. I was just curious as to if people would enjoy listening to it.
H: I think it’s good to keep expectations low, but from what I have seen the admiration people have for your efforts has been growing at an alarming rate. What are your thoughts on the success you’ve seen so far?
A: It’s pretty mindblowing. I thought guests would mainly be my friends and whatnot, but people have contacted me asking if they could be on the show, which I think is cool and I’m game for. I’ve managed to land people I wouldn’t have expected, like this rapper named Random who also goes by the name MegaRan that I’ve been a fan of for years. I reached out to Bob Nanna from Braid to be on the show and he not only was down, but mentioned he had been checking out the show since episode one… I totally spazzed out when I learned that. There have even been times where I’ll be in conversation with a group of people, the show will come up and someone will mention having checked it out and being a fan not even knowing that it was my show. I don’t get a big head about it, but it does make me smile.
H: the podcast market is growing at an alarming rate. What kind of marketing and/or advertising do you do to make people aware of your show?
A: To be honest, this is one area where I could probably do A LOT more. Pretty much all of the exposure for the show has come from word of mouth. I initially put the word out to a bunch of my friends on Facebook, and then as episodes would come out, guests would post about their appearances and bring the show to the attention of all new people. Also, say if someone sees an episode is about a specific album, they’ll show it to a friend who feels the same way about said album. The show does its own networking, it’s weird… but yeah, I should probably look into more ways to get the word out.
H: have you tried any marketing efforts in the past that didn’t work that you could tell us about?
A: I’ll let you know when I try one haha.
H: Perhaps you have been asked this before, but what do you think makes something that type of record that it could become someone ‘favorite’?
A: That’s a tough one to narrow down. Sometimes it’s that the album was somewhat of a shoulder to lean on, or maybe it just reminds you of a great time in your life, then again it might just be the best thing you’ve ever heard. I guess a favorite album is in the ears of the beholder or something clever like that.
H: Have you chosen your favorite record? You should definitely do a reverse episode and have yourself in the hot seat at one point.
A: On an earlier episode of the show, I did just that, and it was pretty fun. I’ve got a few favorites, but the one I chose for the episode is an album that I have close ties to. The album is called “You’re Always On My Mind” by the band A Great Big Pile of Leaves. The band and I are close friends, and I actually took a road trip with them and was there for the entire recording process of the album. There’s more to it, and I get into it in further detail on the episode. I feel like I’d want to do a few more episodes where I’m on the hot seat to talk about some others. What I do enjoy is that sometimes a guest will pick one of my favorites, and I’ll get to really nerd out with them.
H: Hopefully you enjoy listening to podcasts as much as making them. Do you have any shows you would ask our readers to check out?
A: When I’m working, I like to listen to Star Wars Minute, Feliz Navipod, and Art of Wrestling. I tend to check out random episodes of other podcasts as well based on recommendations, or if someone I know/enjoy is on as a guest.
H: Beyond the podcast, do you have any other music-related gigs or hobbies you want to tell us about?
A: Got a few actually! I do another music podcast called Alphabeatical, which is me and three of my friends going over every official Beatles studio release in alphabetical order from 12 to Y, it’s an 85 week long project.
Me and a friend are also in the midst of launching a new podcast/radio show called SpamSongs that we’re pretty excited about. Every month or so, we’ll post a new title, pulled from the subject line of an email in our spam folder. We then ask people to make an original song with that subject line as the title, and send us a link to it. At the end of the month, we’ll take a bunch of the submissions and release them as a radio-show-style podcast episode. The artists maintain ownership, and we’ll give them proper credit as well as a brief plug every time we play one of their songs. We’ve already gotten people interested in participating, so it should be a lot of fun.
Other than those two shows, I’m getting back into playing bass again. One of my goals in life was to play at least one show with friends. I haven’t been in a band for over 13 years and back then, we never got past jamming out in the basement before college and other priorities put that all on indefinite hiatus.
H: Who is your dream guest? What do you think would be their favorite record?
A: I tell people that Vanilla Ice is my dream guest, but I think that’s mainly because I have loved the hell out of his album “To The Extreme” since I was a little kid and would get a kick out of talking to him about it. I never really thought about what his favorite album would be, but now I’m really interested to find out. I’m pretty sure I could come up with a few other dream guests, but he’s the first one that usually pops into my head, probably because I always mention his album on the show.
H: If you could offer one piece of advice to people considering starting their own podcast, what would you say?
A: I’d say do it, but also make sure that it’s something you’re going to enjoy. When I started the show, I didn’t think of what premise would attract listeners, I thought about what I would enjoy doing, and went from there. If your heart’s not in it, you’re gonna get bored quick and be miserable if the show doesn’t do astronomically well. If I only had 23 listeners, I’d still be doing the show because I’m having fun doing it, and I think that comes across to the audience, that I’m really having a blast. That being said, once I dip below 23 listeners, I quit.
H: where do you see yourself in five years time? Is the show still around?
A: Happy and alive! I’d be stoked if the show was still going in five years time, I’m eager to keep doing it. It’s opened a lot of doors for me in terms of networking, so if it were to lead to other opportunities, that would also be awesome.
H: I’m running out of questions, but is there any chance you can tell us about some of the guests you have lined up for the coming weeks?
A: I’ve got a few guests ready to go, but my day job has been insanely busy the past two months, so finding time to record has been difficult. Since you’re interviewing me, I feel it’s only fair that I return the favor and get you to talk about your favorite album. So that’s one future guest right there haha. I’ve also got a few musicians lined up, such as Matt Fazzi (Happy Body Slow Brain), Pete Weiland (A Great Big Pile of Leaves), Shawn Harris (The Matches), Tom Ryan (Young Statues) and some other awesome friends. What’s great about this show is that anyone’s take on their favorite album is gonna be pretty interesting and worth listening to, because it’s something everyone can relate to. I love having my friends on the show, and while they might not be known for anything specific, there stories end up being just as interesting as those of a guest that might be famous or more well-known.
H: Thanks so much for talking to us today, Adam. Before I let you go, are there any final thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers?
A: Thanks for having me, this was fun, hope I didn’t ramble. As for final thoughts or comments, I’ll just say that music is out there, so keep an open ear, and an open mind. Also enjoy what you do, and remember… there’s always money in the banana stand.
