The Trap Set with Joe Wong

Latest Episodes:

243: Joan Wasser (Joan As Policewoman) Mar 21, 2020

Show notes

Joan Wasser began her career as a session musician for artists like Elton John, Lou Reed, John Cale, and Sparklehorse. It wasn't until she was in her 30s, that Joan began writing her own, highly-acclaimed material as Joan As Policewoman. She and Joe spend an hour discussing the songwriting process and how personal loss pushed them both to discover their creative voices.

242: Sean Tillmann (Har Mar Superstar, Heart Bones) Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

Sean Tillmann and Joe met when Sean played in Joe's basement in the late '90s. Sean tells Joe about: his early love of community theater; the origins of his ambitious nature; creating his Har Mar Superstar alter ego; losing his way in LA; why he decided to get sober; and how a series of coloring books can help those in need.

During the age of social distancing, we're recording remotely and releasing daily episodes.

241: Buzz Osborne (Melvins) Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

For nearly 40 years, The Melvins have been an astounding live band and peerless in their prolific ability to create a consistently adventurous body of work--a musical universe unto itself. Buzz Osborne discusses: his childhood in WA; feeling comfortable around firearms; being too smart to enjoy school; writing his memoir; the discipline required to maintain a career as a professional musician; dogs; his songwriting process, and more!

Because we're in lockdown due to the Corona virus outbreak. We're recording by phone and bringing you new episodes of The Trap Set every day for the foreseeable future.

240: Meshell Ndegeocello Mar 17, 2020

Show notes

Because many of you are on lockdown due to the Corona virus outbreak. We're bringing you new episodes of The Trap Set every day for the foreseeable future.

Today's episode features the inimitable Meshell Ndegeocello. Meshell has charted a wildly adventurous artistic course over the past 30+ years, and throughout it all, she has retained a unique creative fingerprint.

Meshell and Joe talk about: achieving a balance between honoring one's own creative vision and facilitating that of others; Meshell's rich inner world, which she first developed during childhood; the DC go-go scene; becoming a professional musician while caring for a baby; and reconciling the call of the muse with the desire to entertain a crowd.

239: Laura Veirs Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

Life has slowed down as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, so we're using the extra time at home as an opportunity to create and release a new episode of The Trap Set everyday until further notice. We'll record by phone, and--by necessity--experiment with a more raw and immediate production style. It's our hope that these daily episodes will give you a sense of community amidst the larger social distance.

Today's guest is Laura Veirs. Laura is a songwriter with over ten albums to her name, both as a solo artist and as a member of the supergroup Case, Lang, Veirs. Laura and Joe talk about how they met during a Fred Armisen comedy show; how they helped each other creatively; and how Laura is experiencing a post-divorce creative renaissance.

Touring is on hold, so please make sure to support Laura by purchasing her albums!

238: Mike Post (Rockford Files, A-Team, Van Halen, Dolly Parton, etc.) Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

Mike Post started out as a studio guitarist, recording on hits such as Sunny and Cher's "I Got You Babe." As a producer, he won a Grammy for "Classical Gas" in 1968 and worked with artists ranging from Sammy Davis Jr., to Dolly Parton (on her smash 9 to 5 album), to Van Halen.

But Mike is best known as the preeminent television composer of his generation. Often in conjunction with his longtime composing partner, the late Pete Carpenter, Mike crafted thematic earworms that reside in the collective consciousness. The A-Team, Doogie Howser, Quantum Leap, LA Law, Hill Street Blues, The Greatest American Hero, and the entire Law & Order Franchise represent just a slice of a body of work comprising thousands of hours of television music.

Mike discusses his decades spanning career, and he and Joe recall the unusual way they became friends.

237: Jeff Friedl (Beta Machine, Devo, A Perfect Circle, etc.) Feb 26, 2020

Show notes

Jeff Friedl drums with well-considered precision and a soulful groove. Jeff and Joe were born in the same year and discovered some interesting similarities in their respective life trajectories. Jeff discusses being raised in Tuscon by a visual artist and a pharmacist; how drumming kept him from making bad life choices; and how his life changed in 2008.

236: Jason Sutter (Cher, Marilyn Manson, Foreigner, etc.) Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

Jason Sutter is a consummate professional with a command of the craft of drumming that has allowed him to thrive in seemingly disparate situations ranging from Cher to Marilyn Manson. Jason grew up in upstate NY, but through a strange twist of fate, he and his cousin were friends with Joe's next door neighbors in Milwaukee. Jason talks about growing up with an artist father; the business of getting gigs; striving for greatness during formal training; and his side business as a real estate agent.

235: Money Mark (Beastie Boys, Beck, Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group, Solo) Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Creative polymath, Money Mark, visits The Trap Set to discuss: working as a carpenter at a film studio; why his parents' bi-racial marriage forced them from their home state; occasionally sleeping in his car after attending LA punk shows; how touring with The Beastie Boys forced him to give up a job remodeling kitchens; his invention--the Echolodeon; and how empathy is a practice rather than a trait.

234: Hunt Sales (Hunt Sales Memorial, Tin Machine, Iggy Pop) Jan 29, 2020

Show notes

Hunt Sales discusses his itinerant childhood (his father was legendary comedian, Soupy Sales); being mentored by Shelly Manne; beginning his professional career at age eleven; overcoming addiction; and why he doesn't have a desire to listen to legendary albums he made decades ago.

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