New Podcast: “Hey Human,” with Susan Ruth

New Podcast: “Hey Human,” with Susan Ruth

I love doing podcasts. There’s list of the ones I’ve done so far here, and I’ve made a Spotify playlist of about 14 hours (so far) of me talking my talk, if you’re planning a long drive to hell, lol. You never know what’s going to happen when the host, most likely a stranger, hits the red light. You could call it “just a conversation,” but it’s a little more loaded than that; it’s more like improvisation, knowing that an audience will eventually be inserted, and maybe even entertained. So, it’s extra-great when you get on a roll w the interviewer, especially when they are also fans of “Contact,” the best sci fi film ever made. Long way of saying: Thanks Susan Ruth, and Hey Human podcast E304 Hey Human podcast available now: “Mike Errico is a recording artist, educator (teaching songwriting at Yale, Wesleyan, the New School, and NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music), journalist, and author. His book; “Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter,“ is in its second printing.  He was recently on the show Billions, and has had numerous song placements in film and tv. We discuss the importance of threes, the movie Contact, the “X” factor, and more!” Find it on iOS and Android podcast apps, Spotify, Google podcasts, iHeartRadio, HeyHumanpodcast.com or iTunes:...
Design Observer Podcast: “What Design Sounds Like”

Design Observer Podcast: “What Design Sounds Like”

In the new Design Observer podcast, The Observatory, Jessica Helfand and Michael Beirut discuss highlights from the “What Design Sounds Like” symposium. My contribution was “Dancing About Architecture” – the interplay between sound, architecture, composition and meaning. I spoke and spun J.S.Bach, AC/DC and FKA Twigs. I think it made sense. Other stories include: • It’s Nice That’s Rob Alderson on TED and Design Indaba • Roy Choi • Sindiso Khumalo • Interactive videos by Yoni Bloch: Like a Rolling Stone; Pretend to Be Happy • The Christmas party scene from Kramer vs. Kramer • CBC on Spocking the Canadian $5 bill Bonus: Check out Lena Dunham’s concept for a graphic design web series featuring Jessica and...
“Setlist for a Drunk Birthday Girl,” (w/Podcast)

“Setlist for a Drunk Birthday Girl,” (w/Podcast)

Every other week, I’m releasing a new story that comes with music, playlists, podcasts, and photos. I call it “The Solo Show.” NEW: “Setlist for a Drunk Birthday Girl“ In honor of the cold snap that has gripped much of the country, here is “Miracle on Ice,” if the “ice” were a barroom floor in Indianapolis and the “miracle” were a drunk birthday girl who *really loves* AC/DC. BONUS: Download a live version of this story on the Mike Errico Podcast (free) Indiana had been battered with a cold front that had cleared the roads of most everyone but emergency vehicles and me. The weather drove sideways into rows of houses along I-80 and scratched against my windshield like coarse sand. I had a gig at a club called Birdy’s, and had driven across two states, stopping only for peanuts and gas… read on… Setlist for a Drunk Birthday...
New, Deluxe Editions of the Mike Errico Catalog. Pay What You Want.

New, Deluxe Editions of the Mike Errico Catalog. Pay What You Want.

Hey everyone, I’ve just completed a semester teaching songwriting at Yale University, and thanks in part to the conversations I had with guest speakers Amanda Palmer, Ryan Miller and Jonathan Coulton, I’ve decided to try an experiment: you can pay what you want for new, deluxe editions of my recordings. IT’S ALL HERE: http://mikeerrico.bandcamp.com/ Q: Why? Also, are you crazy? No. It’s because I want you to have it for the amount you think it’s worth. For instance, the other day I put $2 in an open banjo case after listening to a bluegrass duo; gave a dollar to a mariachi band that wandered into my subway car; and purchased the new Queens of the Stone Age album on iTunes. I didn’t have to (it’s not like the mariachi band would have stopped playing), but somewhere in my reptilian brain I have made calculations that music has value. I bet you have, too, but if you feel that it should be free, I don’t want that to stop you from listening. I’m aware that, to some, this puts me in a certain camp, and I don’t like being in any camp. My work is still available at all fine digital retailers and you can buy it there, too. And as I said, this is an experiment. If it doesn’t go well, we’ll just tweak the experiment. Q: What are other people doing? You’d be amazed. It varies, of course, but overall, you’ve decided the music is worth MORE than the standard “iTunes price” — in some cases, by a lot. To me, it means that you understand what is...
The Mike Errico Podcast, Episode 8: Ken Rich/You Shook Me

The Mike Errico Podcast, Episode 8: Ken Rich/You Shook Me

“Wander Away” producer Ken Rich talks record making, Russian prostitutes, happy marriages, and bad props in one of my all-time favorite films, “Contact.” Also: A spontaneous “You Shook Me All Night Long” with Justin Trawick, Andy Zipf, Sierra Noble, Adam Levy, Matt Simons, Jesse Ruben, John Schmitt, and Christine Hoberg (City Winery, NYC, 10/17/11). Download it for free on iTunes or...