Sound for Thought

“I really think everybody can make cool songs... if they try.” Marcos Vaca joins the program for an excellent discussion of all things music. Marcos and I talk about how each of us met the great Jake Marino, the process of combining musical influences, what it means to have a signature sound, the idea of never being finished with a piece of art, and more. Marcos tells the story of his own musical journey, and most importantly, the reason why he makes music. Featured tracks: I Need You Now (More Than I Did Then) and Bastille Day. Listen to bonus content with Marcos and other great artists on our Patreon page.

“That’s the hater in me coming out…cause I just know I’m gonna hate it, and hate gives me enjoyment.” This episode features the incredibly talented, all around good guy, Jake Marino of Count Harriet! He’s also the host of a brand new podcast from Redefing Records called Trust the Process. Jake and I talk about the important things in life like the miracle of birth, SNL, and dogs. Jake tells us how and why he fell in love with playing guitar. And most importantly Jake explains why he makes music! Featured tracks: Tired Lies (world premiere!) and Stranger Things.

“There’s certain things and people and places… that make you feel more musical, that just make you want to intuitively spend more time in, or invest in.” Brooklyn-based ambient artist Corntuth joins the show for a wonderfully meaningful conversation. We chat about how he got into ambient music, his songwriting process, demo-itis, instruments as tools... and how they inform the music creation process, plus much more. Most importantly, Corntuth explains why he makes music! Featured tracks: E-004 and C-003.

“I’ve never felt like I’ve been making music truer to how I want it to sound until now.” Dream-rock singer-songwriter Chloe Gallardo stops by the podcast for an enchanting chat. We discuss all sorts of things like how growing up in Orange County with a very musically talented family impacted her sound, how she handles social media and self-promotion as an indie artist, how she breaks out of writer’s block, the inspirations behind her new single and upcoming album, and so much more. Most importantly, Chloe explains why she makes music! Featured tracks: Cutting It Close and Fool’s Keeper.

“When everything is gone for me, music will still be there.” The multitalented musician, actor and podcaster, Parker Wierling, joins the show and we dig deep. We chat about his new single “With A Little Love,” moving from ATL to LA back to ATL, the appeal and dangers of being a madgenius dedicated to one craft, his musical genesis story, a transformative Beatles listening experience, working at the edge of your comfort zone, his podcast On That Note, listening to albums in full and so much more. Most importantly, Parker explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: With A Little Love and Silver Words.

“When I'm working on songs and feeling really pumped about them, there really is no better feeling.” Strath, an indie synth-pop artist originally from Melbourne, but now based in LA, joins the show and we cover a lot of ground in our conversation. We chat about his ‘cliche’ experience of moving to LA to pursue music, how he was inspired to play the sax by Sesame Street, ‘mucking around’ on Logic Pro, NFTs, a transformative experience seeing Frank Ocean live in Sweden, his upcoming EP Soon Everything Will Be Perfect, cooking, Lebron James fandom and so much more. Most importantly, Strath explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: Watertight and I Like The Look Of Today.

“Bigger. Bolder. More silly shit. More of the stuff you love and less of the stuff that you don’t.” To celebrate the 5th anniversary of Redefining Records, our two podcast extraordinaires, John Pagliassotti and Andrew Shults did an Instagram Live session on June 1, 2021. That sesh included a listener Q&A and a merch giveaway! That live stream has now become this BONUS podcast episode. Some topics we covered: dream supergroup vs. nightmare supergroup, guilty listening pleasure, favorite love songs, types of guitar solos, random hypotheticals and so much more. We discuss the history and future of Redefining Records and our podcasts, how the process has changed our lives for the better and how we’d like to progress going forward.

“Music is the only thing that makes sense to me.” Sean Perry of The Shakes, an infectious indie-pop band from SoCal, joins the show and we talk about how he grew up in Seattle, how his parents and sister got him obsessed with music, his songwriting process, creating music that is both happy and sad, how retiring can be a good career move, shitty movies, baseball fandom, the pros and cons of social media and streaming, the future of music and so much more. Most importantly, Sean explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: Six Feet Below and I Just Want to Feel Something.

Hello, Soundseekers! Welcome to Sound for Thought, a podcast about why people make music. What’s the point of making music? Why do so many people spend so much of their time and energy writing songs? This show exists to answer those questions and so much more. Whether you're a musician yourself, a huge music nerd, or a casual listener, you can listen to this podcast for the same reasons you listen to music: to be inspired, to discover something new, and to get to know your favorite artists.

“I feel like music that you release is kind of like... a snapshot of what your life was like at that time.” Eliza Klatt of Australian indie pop-punk band Eliza & The Delusionals comes on the show and we talk about her musical origin story, how she accidentally started playing bass, the long reward process of making music, how she has evolved as a person since starting the band, learning from relationships that come and go while navigating the music industry, being proud of your songs, trusting your gut instincts, and so so much more. As always, and most importantly, Eliza explains why she makes music. Featured tracks: YOU and Sentimental.

“Just keep going, nobody runs out of ideas, there’s no harm in sharing new things.” Danny and Wil of Husbands, a pop-rock n’ roll band from OKC, join the show and bring a bunch of good stuff to the table. We chat about how they got into music, how they become a band, Taco Bell, mall aquariums, their favorite and least favorite original songs and so much more. Most importantly, the bandmates explain why they make music, and talk about each other's talents and creativity. Featured tracks: Mexico and Try Not to Worry.

“Just be yourself and create something unique… If you’re creating something different and it’s coming from you… people are gonna see that and they’re gonna appreciate it a lot more.” Donna Borges of ALTANGELES and cool mom mgmt comes on the show and we talk about how she got into music, how she started Altangeles and cool mom mgmt, how to be original and unique, the necessity of building a brand and using social media to interact with your audience, the importance of creating a more inclusive and safe environment in the music scene, and much more. Most importantly, Donna explains the point of making and listening to music! Featured tracks: Joy II by Joynoise and On & Off by Modern Color.

“It’s gonna be your boys, your favorite dudes in the world sending it just like only they know how to.” This 25th episode of Sound for Thought is a special one. Fellow podcast extraordinaire, John Pagliassotti of Bands, Beers & Buzzwords joins the show for a (very late) recap of 2020. He and host Andrew Shults each bring 5 noteworthy albums to the table to dissect. Future Generations, Chon, Star Parks, Mac DeMarco, HAIM, Khruangbin, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Tame Impala and The Strokes are all discussed. We also give shoutouts to our Creative Cult members Delta Dagger, The Judd Zingle Project, Vaudeville Revival, Carny and Magic ~ Fingers. We give an elevator pitch for John’s new podcast and play a miniature version of his game on this show. There’s more good stuff in here than at an ampm. Featured track: Time Well Wasted.

“We can go through life together on the hunt to try and figure out, what is cinnamon? And why is it a stick?” New kid on the Spotify block, VHS King, joins the Sound for Thought family. Some of you might know him better as Andres Montiel, titan of the film industry. We had a wonderful discussion about cinnamon (and lots of other amazing things like the UCSB music scene, Hawaii, the frustrations of recording, overcoming self-sabotage and doubt, 80s music, strange times in Seattle, etc.) Most importantly, Andres explains why he makes music. He also turns things around and hits me with some tough questions of his own. Featured tracks: Tinder Girls and Prom Song.

“The point now is really just havin’ a good time.” The prolific Doc Martian, otherwise known as Gerran Brown, joins the show and brings the good vibes! Our chat covers everything from his job hunt to his college football career, the true cliches of studying abroad, having fun making fun music, creativity as a choice, collaborating and so much more. Most importantly, Gerran explains why he makes music. We also play another game of Soundtrack to Your Life! Featured tracks: Ran Into You and Moonlight.

“I’m officially done trying to sound like I have anything smart to say.” Tyler Blue Broderick of Diners comes on the show and says literally a bunch of smart things! Our wonderful conversation ranges over topics like bread, coping without live music, making your own inspiration, the joys of making juice, having no taste in music, skateboarding, touring with pets, taking care of plants, skateboarding, and the World Series! We talk about how Tyler got into music from a young age and most importantly, Tyler explains why they make music! Featured tracks: Cup of Coffee and Good Zone.

“I just hit it really fast and hard.” The large majority of San Francisco based punk-rock band, Pork Belly joins the show to jibber-jabber about all the music things: how they got started individually and as a band, how they mesh their very different musical tastes together, which of them is the most talented and creative of the bunch, which of them is most likely to fall off the wagon, all that good stuff. Plus VHS collecting, skateboarding, pet geckos, and more. Most importantly, Nick, Nick, and Junior explain why they make music. Featured tracks: Jinx and Chew.

“Around the time I was 8 or 9, I saw School of Rock and I was like fuck piano! Let’s go play some fucking guitar.” Henry, Jacob, and Jordan of Wax Charmer stop by the show (virtually) to talk about all sorts of super spectacular stuff such as School of Rock, the formation of their band, and beginnings as Jubilo Drive, the music that made them, their hobbies, and so much more! Most importantly, these charming fellows explain why they make music. Featured tracks: Downstairs and Emblem.

“My life has been pretty uneventful compared to most people.” Mapache Lazer Disco, often referred to as ‘Kevin’ by human beings who know him, is our guest this time around. We talk about We The Beat, Kevin’s musical journey, our first concert-going experiences, Kim Gun Mo, the process of finding your own taste in music, the IV music scene, DIY shows, fishing, golfing, and so much more. Most importantly, Kevin explains the point of making music. Featured tracks: We (OUI) by Jeebonoff ft. sogumm and Wondering by Becky and the Birds.

“I learned piano as a kid because I’m Asian and that’s just what we do.” My dear friend Eugene Cheng, the infamous redseaturtle, stars in the latest episode of Sound for Thought. We are joined by another dear friend, Aidan Dansey of The Judd Zingle Project and we share stories of our old band Frisson, discuss finding songwriting inspiration during quarantine, the creation process of EDM, the great SoundCloud apocalypse, guilty listening pleasures, The Needle Drop vs. Pitchfork, Instagram ads, our latest Spotify saves, philosophy, hypothetical plagiarization and more! Most importantly, Eugene explains why he makes music. Featured tracks: jbly and fake gods plan.