My guests this week are Josh Kuderna and Mike Moran. Josh and Mike are Baltimore-based comedians who host the long-running Digression Sessions podcast. We first met when I appeared on a live episode of their show, and I was excited to have them on my show this time around.
They tell me how they met while busing tables, and how their day jobs led to Mike attending a Landmark Forum retreat. They talk about their earliest standup experiences, and how they sharpened their skills through the years. They tell me how Digression Sessions started, and we swap notes on the podcasting game.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Three Times Dope’s Original Stylin’. This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.
http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-46-josh-kuderna-and-mike-moran-dog-wearing-pants-routine

This is the first all-music episode in a while. It’s a mix of songs by people that have appeared on the podcast, and acts that I played with on this recent rap round robin tour.

Boogie Boy Metal Mouth – Downstairs Neighbor (Ode to Koala)
Sandman the Rappin’ Cowboy – The Cowboy’s Life Is a Very Dreary Life
Shark Tank – Nighttime Men Pt. 2
Passalacqua – Long Hair Anthem
Doc Waffles and Eddie Logix – After ‘The Ruiner’
Ed Schrader’s Music Beat – Radio Eyes
PT Burnem – Kng Dck
Kate Ferencz – Worshipping the Devil
Paulie Think w/ DMLH – Ride Wit’ Me
Lil Cake and Jack Toft – Somebody Call in a Bomb Threat (My Baby Just Broke Up With Me)
Height Keech – Bring Your Soul (To the Function)
Brzowski – I’m The Atlantic

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to How Ya Like Me Now, by Kool Moe Dee. This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-45-height-spinning-tunes-4

 

 

My guest this week is Neal Tyson, aka The Plural MC. He’s been releasing albums since 2003, including a full-length collaboration with Chris Freeland of Beat Babies / Oxes / Frenemies. We’ve been friends since high school, and he made his debut on my first solo album in 2000.
We talk about his days as a high school hip-hop bootlegger, and how this secret hustle widened his musical palette. He tells me about putting his early albums together, and how starting to work with Chris Freeland led him to finding a unique voice. We discuss balancing the passion to make music with the hassle of promoting it.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Tone-Lōc’s Lōc-ed After Dark, which itself is an homage to Donald Byrd’s A New Perspective. This episode is hosted by Splicetoday.com.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-44-the-plural-mc-is-tony-danza-an-mc

My guest this week is Sara Autrey. Sara plays in Wing Dam, Which Magic and Glittoris. We first met when we played a show together in Shepherdstown, WV, and we stayed in touch when she came to Baltimore. We conducted this interview in the winter, as Wing Dam was about to hit the road.

She reminisces on the exhilaration she felt when playing in a rock band for the first time, and the loneliness she felt after leaving that band. I ask her about the origins of her different projects, and how she ended up with three different bands. We talk about the forthcoming Wing Dam album, and the new path they’re forging.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Rebel Soul, by Isis. This episode is hosted by Splice Today.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-43-sara-autrey-too-chill-to-be-true

My guest this week is Jordan Weeks. Jordan is a member of the bands South Seas Sneak, Thin Sketch, OC Feef, AA Arm and Vox Robotica. He’s also been a touring drummer in Height With Friends, and he produced part of my Versus the Continental MC’s album. For years, he’s been a guiding force in my quest for music knowledge.

He talks about discovering hip-hop through an episode of Sesame Street, and trying to cultivate a hip-hop scene as a fifth-grader in Bolton, MA. He breaks down the difficulty he faced in trying to connect to the Boston music scene, and the more supportive network he found upon moving to Pittsburgh. We discuss the confusion of making music in the internet age, and his uncertainty about how to grind in 2015.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Das EFX’s Dead Serious. This episode is hosted by splicetoday.com.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-42-jordan-weeks-pro-look-a-must

CORRECTION: The group we’re referring to at 1:10:25 is called Icona Pop, not Lacona Pop or Iona Pop.