The Musicians Guild with Steve Choi
Writing music and touring with my band RX Bandits for 20 years has allowed me to meet tons of amazing and fascinating people all involved with music in various ways. I'm the person who asks all of my friends those weird and esoteric questions because I have a genuine interest in psychology and what makes people do what they do. Join me for my wide ranging conversations with my musical friends and peers as every episode hopes to be an expedition into the experiences, feelings, processes and perspectives of humans involved with music.
Episodes
December 22, 2023 • 119 mins
This week we are joined by Josh Staples a bassist/vocalist who plays in The Velvet Teen, The New Trust and sometimes Loma Prieta. In addition to being an all around lovely human, one of Josh's powers is having a conductivity of creative energy through his sense of humor, knowledge and humility. He makes everyone around him better at what they do. Josh makes cool stuff and is a cool dude. In this conversation we chat about The New T...
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December 15, 2023 • 81 mins
We are honored to have Summer Swee-Singh with us for this episode. Summer is a highly skilled pianist and composer who has everything from a law degree to playing on stage with one of your favorite indie bands on her resumé. Summer is very humble and kind beyond what one could expect of someone with her level of skill and training, but it's not all technical, Summer can shred from her soul. In this conversation we talk about playin...
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November 28, 2023 • 106 mins
So nice to be back with all of you. This week we catch up with Nick Reinhart as he returns to chat with us not long after his return from being on tour with DeathGrips for a couple months. He catches us up on how he's been decompressing and getting back into home mode. In this episode we discuss his tour with DeathGrips, coyotes in his neighborhood, his favorite fried chicken sandwich at the moment, his busy year on the road which ...
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October 12, 2023 • 99 mins
This week we welcome Gunnar Olsen of Puscifer to The Musicians Guild. Gunnar is a drummer/musician that has recorded/toured with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Big Data and many others. We've known each other for over 20 years since our bands met at a random show in Poughkeepsie, NY. Following that meeting RX and his band at the time,The Exit, did a fair amount of touring together and I'm honored to remain a friend and contemp...
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September 27, 2023 • 99 mins
This week we caught up with Tim and Brittany of the Philadelphia based band Catbite. We chatted on a relaxed Sunday evening and had a lovely time. Catbite does a really legit modern take on two-tone ska that also conjures punk, soul & new-wave with top-notch musicianship. Whether it's your thing or not, you can't really deny the vitality in their musical aesthetic and they will easily expose those who can dance and those who can't....
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September 7, 2023 • 101 mins
This week we have Jeff Schroeder of The Smashing Pumpkins joining us in the hall of discussion. We caught up with Jeff on a day off while in New Mexico on a headlining tour. It was great getting to have such a down to earth chat with someone playing in one of the biggest rock bands of not only our generation, but arguably in the history of modern rock. As always, we really enjoy getting to chat with someone as humble and real as Je...
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July 27, 2023 • 113 mins
This week we are blessed to have Casey Cavaliere of The Wonder Years join us at The Musicians Guild. Casey plays guitar in the band and also has his own pod called The Record Process. In addition to being a musician Casey is also an engineer/producer and also is involved with managing artists through the Lesser Matters entity. Casey is a humble and earnest musician dedicated to his craft and one of my favorite types of people to ch...
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June 15, 2023 • 129 mins
This week we are honored to have Alex Estrada who owns and operates Pale Moon Ranch studio with us at The Musicians Guild. Alex is an engineer, producer and musician. He has made recordings for bands such as Joyce Manor, Touché Amoré, NAILS, and Xibalba among many others. Alex is also a legit vegan cook and walks the talk as he is a strong reference point for great plant based recipes and meals. Alex approaches his musical work and...
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June 8, 2023 • 106 mins
This week we have with us a bandmate, collaborator and brother to me by the name of Rich Balling. Many of you will know Rich as leader of The Sound Of Animals Fighting but he has also has created projects such as Pyramids and Hospital Gown. In addition to being a musician/producer Rich is also an educator by trade, devoted family man, and high level film buff specifically in the horror genre. After finishing our last TSOAF shows of...
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June 1, 2023 • 105 mins
Greetings to all of you esteemed members of The Guild. This week we are honored to have Lizzie Killian from Teens In Trouble with us. Teens In Trouble are signed to Asianman Records and they have been working hard af. We catch up with Lizzie right after she returned home from one tour while getting prepared to leave for another run of shows. In addition to being a musician Lizzie owns and operates her own PR firm, so naturally we d...
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May 25, 2023 • 80 mins
Good to be back. This week we have Issac Bolivar joining us in the study. Isaac is a guitarist/musical director from California who has played shows with a diverse list of artists including Seal, Taking Back Sunday and Harry Hudson among others. The two of us have known each other a long time, and even in collecting photos for this episode Isaac sent me a photo of the two us together in Australia back in 2010 while both doing the S...
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May 2, 2023 • 35 mins
A Field Report from friend of the pod Brian Diaz last summer while he was working with Bush, on tour with Alice In Chains. While he is in the middle of Arkansas he took the time for a chat and we thank him for his Field Report.
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March 9, 2023 • 156 mins
This week we are featuring a nice long conversation with Aaron Carnes and Adam Davis from In The Defense Of Ska podcast. This is one of the longer conversations we've had inside The Guild so if you're on a long drive or have a full day of work this might be a good episode for that. Aaron is author of the book also titled In the Defense of Ska which came before the podcast. These two fine humans were kind enough to come to my home a...
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February 23, 2023 • 34 mins
This week we have a Field Report from my fellow Korean-American brother Dave Jun soon after arriving home from a run in South America with Miley Cyrus. He fills us in on an emergency landing their jet had to make upon being struck by lighting in a bad storm, their festival run, zig-zagging across the continent and sketchy bad weather stages. Thank you to Dave and thank you esteemed members of this guild.
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February 16, 2023 • 56 mins
Greetings wonderful humans. In this episode I take you through vibes and sounds of this last T.S.O.A.F. tour we just finished a couple weeks ago. You'll get a peak inside my routines, habits, and preferences on tour in a style similar to an amusement ride, meaning you just sit back and take it all in at the pace already set. You'll also get to be a fly on the wall for different conversations during the tour; you'll be listening fro...
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January 3, 2023 • 18 mins
...And 3 days before I leave for tour, we are back! Today's session includes introducing our new 'Field Reports' series and reintroducing myself to your time and attention which I always appreciate. Just in this episode you'll be with me In a dressing room, walking through a forest, and in a Van in NYC. More long from conversations and Musicians Digest coming along with plenty of Field Reports with former guests and new friends of ...
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February 18, 2022 • 185 mins
This week we are very happy to have radio personality and host Megan Holiday with us. Although Megan is on the other side of the aisle from us musicians, she is part of the crucial balance I speak of where musicians and non-musicians need each other to maintain the balance of the industry as we know it while it quickly and continuously changes. People like Megan are true advocates for music and musicians so her way of approaching h...
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February 4, 2022 • 28 mins
Another installment of editorial ramblings. I sort out some thoughts on the RE-20 regarding new technologies around music, positions in the music industry, interpersonal band dynamics and Get Back, the film about The Beatles and their recording/rehearsal sessions. This episode feels very music nerdy, could be extra boring. Thank you for listening. Be excellent to each other.
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January 21, 2022 • 127 mins
This intro was a bit longer and I feel like I didn't necessarily do the subject justice. But I'll just keep trying to improve! Toki has made a new bed near my recording desk and has been present for all of the making of this episode.
This week we are very honored to welcome innovative musician, righteous guitarist, and legit-ass human Nick Reinhart to the hall of discussion. You might know Nick from his band Tera Melos who were lab...
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January 7, 2022 • 117 mins
"Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret beauty to people - the beauty within themselves." - Langston Hughes
The Earth is changing rapidly. Will we change quick enough with it?
No no I haven't totally gone past the point of no return, I just like to inject random thoughts and ideas wherever I can. A Public notepad if you will. Very stoked on this week's guest, a musician's musician and righteous human by the name of Matt ...
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