Surprise Cast

Dear Rob, It was a real pleasure having you on Surprise Cast. I loved our talk about your supportive parents, early garage bands, formative concerts with your father, and your amazing new album. The episode dug into Oakland’s music life — the good, the rough edges, and the small venues that matter — and also highlighted your tremendous respect for Dandy Boy Records and label founder Bobby Martinez as a grassroots champion for a ...

Dear Ryan and Rebecca, Many thanks for joining me on Surprise Cast. I enjoyed our chat.  You traced your paths from childhood — eastern Los Angeles, Santa Cruz, and Marin —in an interesting way. I loved hearing about your musical influences, including Daryl Hall & John Oates, Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, and Skinny Puppy--so many bands that I love! It was cool learning how Halou formed in the early '90s and listening to your ...

Dear Grace and Eva, In this episode, I welcomed you for a lively return to Surprise Cast. The conversation began with playful Halloween icebreakers and costume memories before discussing the band’s recent UK tour, memorable onstage moments, and the variety of bands you played with, including indie legends Camera Obscura. Amazing!

The bulk of the episode focused on your sparkling self-titled debut album. You had mentioned producers ...

Dear James, I'm thankful that you returned to Surprise Cast for a third time; that means a great deal to me. I had a wonderful time celebrating the spirit of Halloween, as well as enjoying an old Maps tune and your new album, 'Welcome to the Tudor Gate'. 

You explained how the project began — moving into a new house near a "creepy" old inn, vintage photographs (from dad) that conjured spooky imagery, and a decision to build a conti...

Dear Jonathan, I loved our chat on Surprise Cast. Thank you for making it authentic and intimate. I learned a great deal about your craft regarding being a photographer and film writer--two things that you're quite good at doing. It was cool to learn about your path from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, early work with concert promoters, and long and collaborative relationship with Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.  

You provided wond...

Dear Sice and Tim, It was a fun, engaging, and relaxed conversation on Surprise Cast. I loved our playful icebreaker topics about childhood memories of Halloween traditions and horror movie favorites--and the Tigger outfit! It was cool hearing you reflect candidly on the making of the 1995 album, "Wake Up!" and its aftermath. Hearing you two recall studio tensions between ambition and execution, and how the radio-friendly song, "...

Dear Stefanos, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me on Surprise Cast for the third time. You're a great songwriter and bassist for the band. I had a wonderful time discussing many interesting topics with you.   I loved hearing about your influences, such as Nirvana, Ride, Depeche Mode, The Chameleons, and Interpol, also your musical upbringing in Greece, and how specific songs affected you during different phases o...

Dear Minaxi, What a great time I had speaking with all of you on Surprise Cast. I really enjoyed our conversation about technology, collaboration, and the making of your superb album, 'Z of A'.  I loved how we opened up our discussion about artificial intelligence, its creative limitations, and accountability. It was interesting to hear the varying opinions. 

Thank you for allowing me to use the educational framework to pose quest...

Dear Jem, I'm elated that we had the opportunity to chat. I really enjoyed hearing your reflections on so many interesting topics! We covered your experience of fatherhood and the important relationship with your son, which included how parenting reshaped priorities, lessons about supporting a sensitive teenager, navigating education, "failure" as a learning milestone, and how to balance encouragement with letting a child find the...

Dear Ian, Thank you for coming back to Surprise Cast! I truly enjoyed our chat about music, family, and the creative process behind your magnificent work. It was wonderful to hear about your sharp reflections on journalism and songwriting. I also appreciated hearing your perspective on the significance of Robert Redford's work. I didn't realize All the President's Men had such an impact on you, but that makes complete sense consid...

Dear Tim, I'm glad we finally connected and had a conversation about music and life on Surprise Cast. The discussion covered Jeff Tweedy's (Wilco) ideas about focusing on verbs rather than nouns, the importance of process, and the creative “lightning bolt” moments that happen when inspiration meets preparation. You shared your past struggles as a young musician, how parenthood and teaching influenced your work, and why you priorit...

Dear Chris, It was an exhilarating experience to have you on Surprise Cast! I loved learning about your upbringing in Brighton, family life, deep musical influences, and how dyslexia affected your life in both positive and negative ways. We discussed your formative years at art college and your extraordinary friendship with Vaughan Oliver and 4AD, along with behind-the-scenes stories from key album cover projects (Wolfgang Press, ...

Dear Vox, Thank you for participating in the Surprise Cast show. Our intimate conversation about life on the road, creative rebirth that manifested during Covid, and your sharp perspective on self-awareness/personal growth was such an honor to hear.  I loved listening to your musical influences, including T-Rex, The Fall, and The Beatles. Hearing your relationship to Manchester and how other cities shaped you was quite interesting...

Dear Highspire, Our episode did a solid job discussing the band's arc--from your Philly roots and many-year hiatus to the creation of your awesome new album, 'Crushed'. A must own! I enjoyed learning about your cinematic influences, including Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick. Our talk delved into music influences such as My Bloody Valentine, Stone Roses, The Charlatans, and more.  You spoke candidly about tremendous personal ...

Dear David, I had such a wonderful time connecting with you. We explored many important topics such as cultural trauma, family history (what a story), and of course, your everlasting love for music and business.   Hearing your personal reflections on how 9/11 affected you in both a positive and negative manner was quite interesting. Listening to your vulnerable story about being adopted and how it informed your approach to fatherh...

Dear Marina, I'm grateful for our conversation. Thank you for joining me on Surprise Cast. I had a great time discussing topics with you.  It was fun learning about how you were raised across multiple countries and the story behind your name. All of these things inform your artistic perspective. I enjoyed listening to your early musical memories, chanting along in your father's car and finding your energy by listening to musicians...

Dear Laura and Liam, Thank you for joining me for Part 2. I had a blast deep diving into the band James: their B-sides, priceless live moments, upcoming North America tour, and James Fanzone.  Listening to your numerous concert experiences, it's clear that their shows never feel the same twice, with different setlists each night, and spontaneous actions by band members on stage, which was amusing to hear.  The heartbeat of our co...

What a wonderful conversation! Thank you so much for sharing about your life and artistry. I love learning how family and great music influence your creative work. I appreciate how our discussion flows smoothly between music culture, visual art, and personal stories. And I truly value hearing your honest memories of your parents and how your father's work ethic and independence have impacted you. Your art is lively, innovative, and...