BIG EGO Tapes

Guitarist, songwriter, and sideman for Califone, Alex Dupree, and others, Max Knouse talks about how seriously everyone takes music, knowing what you're good at by how others react, finding inspiration in gear, and being a guitar-for-hire after the pandemic. 

Guitarist, songwriter, and conceptualist Josh Ottum talks about the power of sound, if proficiency is the enemy of the creative process, honest passions vs. post-modern irony, and the effects of listening to Patrick O'Hearn's album Between Two Worlds in the late 80's.

Alto saxophonist, arranger, and composer Alex Sadnik talks about his newest album Flight, contending with Charlie Parker, the difference between working for yourself and others in the recording studio, and defining success as an artist.

Drummer, percussionist, and studio denizen Ryan Jewell talks about why some drummers sound different even when they're playing the same thing, loving Weird Al Yankovic, and dissecting Al Jackson Jr.'s drum parts for Al Green limb by limb.

A rambling solo start to the fourth season of BIG EGO Tapes featuring a general wellness check, an update on the future of the studio, the voice of Stewart Copeland, album release news, photography talk, and other meanderings.

Prodigious drummer & composer Chad Taylor discusses his time spent playing alongside Pharaoh Sanders and Marc Ribot, cutting Sam Prekop's self-titled album, why Stereolab took Chicago Underground Duo on tour, and William Parker's admonition that "The music doesn't care whether you think it's good or bad."

Maria Elena Silva talks about the trust and telepathy of Eros, touring the album, getting COVID, touring again, the American Dream prescription, and balancing her creative and maternal selves. 

Guitarist, singer/songwriter, and Guma mastermind T.J. Masters talks about the recording his newest album, "A List of Sightings" before and after the pandemic, how different the record would be if he hadn't shown up for mixing, and the possibility that his next collection of songs will be entitled, "Workingman's Guma."

Astral Spirits owner Nate Cross pours the sotol and talks about why he still listens to unsolicted demos, releasing 30 albums a year, how record labels are modern day record stores, and being the home for a potential Peter Brötzmann disco album.

Bassist, composer, and improviser Steuart Liebig talks about quitting Les McCann's band in 1979, founding the avant-pop group BLOC with Nels Cline, joining Julius Hemphill's JAH Band, auditioning for Oingo Boingo, and why he won't hire drummers younger than 37.

Engineer, photographer, and musician Devin O'Brien has been at the center of BIG EGO from the very beginning. For the last few years Devin balanced his time playing in Cherry Glazerr with jumping into dozens of sessions; documenting both sight and sound with a unique, unified vision.

Alicia Walter sold her belongings, bought a car, and left New York to record her newest album with a live band of musicians she'd never met in California. In this conversation she talks about the transformative nature of art, fighting perfectionist tendencies, and the ruthlessness of pop music.

Jerry David DeCicca on his preferred BLT composition, producing Will Beeley's first album in 40 years, the singularity of "the voice that fell from outer space," computers hiding humanness, and working security at a Rush concert.

Equally at home leading a slow dance or a blazing honky-tonk, Katie Jo talks about living out of her van during the pandemic, shooting a video at her childhood roller rink in Wichita, and the dual journeys that lead to the release of her album, "Pawn Shop Queen".

Drummer and percussionist Danny Frankel on growing up in Cleveland, playing CBGB's with Urban Verbs in the late 70's, recording demos with Brian Eno, working with producers Steve Lillywhite and Hal Willner, and what retirement means for a musician.

Singer / songwriter Alisha Westerman on the recording studio as a holy space, group flow state, paranoia, processing trauma, and the spiritual visitation from Ikey Owens that led to the making of her album "Ego Trip".

Bassist, composer, and bandleader Anthony Shadduck talks about why Charlie Haden sitting in with the Minutemen was a pivotal moment, shouldering the burden of the song, discovering music in the 21st Century, and the loss of artist mythology via social media.

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon on the euphoria and ambition of recording his debut album Namesake, how "Almost Heaven" died and came back to life, why an artist sings a song, and escaping the star-maker machinery of American Idol.