Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

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Erika Wennerstrom Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

Erika Wennerstrom joins Rhett from Mount Hood, Oregon to talk about the latest Heartless Bastards record, the intricacies of her creative process, and the concept of “music as medicine”. They discuss the importance of self-awareness and challenging oneself, and Erika shares the details of writing the epic, powerfully soulful song “Revolution”.

Erika Wennerstrom is a singer-songwriter from Dayton, Ohio. She is the leader of the Ohio-based band Heartless Bastards, and she also has a career as a solo artist. Heartless Bastards have released six studio albums since they formed in 2003, and Erika released her debut album Sweet Unknown in 2018. She’s currently working on a follow-up. The upcoming Heartless Bastards album, A Beautiful Life, comes out on September 10th and you can pre-save it here.

Wheels Off is brought to you by Osiris Media. Hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Co-produced by Kirsten Cluthe in partnership with Nick Ruffini (Revoice Media). Editing by Justin Thomas. Production Assistance by Matt Bavuso. Music by OLD 97’s. Episode artwork by Katherine Boils. Show logo by Tim Skirven.

Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

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Sarah Hepola Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

Author Sarah Hepola joins Rhett from her home in Dallas, Texas to talk about her writing career, which began unofficially when she wrote a Shawshank Redemption-inspired story in 7th grade and sold a copy to a fellow classmate. Sarah tells Rhett about the importance of freeing her mind in order to be creative, and what she does to achieve the meditative state that allows her to write. The two discuss struggling with one’s inner monologue and whether self-doubt can be a useful tool, and Sarah’s got some wardrobe advice for her 21-year old self.

Sarah Hepola is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Blackout, an unblinkingly honest memoir about her past history with alcohol. She has written articles and essays for the New York Times Magazine, Elle, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian, Salon, and Texas Monthly. She also contributes short personal essays to NPR’s Fresh Air. Sarah is currently working on a podcast for Texas Monthly about the cultural impact of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which will be released this fall.

Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nidhi Chanani Jul 20, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Wheels Off, illustrator and author Nidhi Chanani joins Rhett from her home in San Francisco to talk about the creative projects that she’s currently working on, and her career as an artist. You’ll hear Nidhi talk about the inspiration behind her new graphic novel Jukebox, why freelance work suits her artistic style and allows her to balance multiple projects at once, the connection between art and nature, and much more. Nidhi shares the story of how she untethered herself from her academically regimented adolescence, and when she realized that being an artist was a viable career path.

Nidhi Chanani is a freelance artist, author, and illustrator from Kolkata, India. She moved to Southern California when she was 4 months old, and received her degree in literature from the UC Santa Cruz. After that she attended art school for a year and a half, but dropped out after feeling artistically limited by instruction methods. She’s gone on to illustrate and author a multitude of children's books, many of which depict everyday familial problems and showcase female characters of color dealing with issues of identity. Her inspiring and empowering work has won her several awards, and earned her a Netflix adaptation of her best selling graphic novel Pashmina.

Her most recent book, Jukebox, is available here. She also created a Jukebox Playlist for the episode, which you can listen to on Spotify.

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Ida Mae Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

This week, musicians Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean of the Delta-blues inspired duo Ida Mae join Rhett to talk about their upcoming album, Click Click Domino. Phoning in from the English countryside, you’ll hear them talk about touring in America, the duality behind their songwriting process, and why Chris thinks that their latest album contains some of the best songs that they’ve ever written. They also discuss meeting when they were college students, how their agreeable musical tastes translate into their songwriting, and when they knew that their voices “clicked” when they started singing together.

Ida Mae is an acoustic alt-folk duo consisting of husband and wife Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean. Hailing from Norfolk, U.K., the group creates Americana and blues-influenced music saturated with deep textures, and overlaid with gorgeous vocal harmonies. After extensively touring in support of their 2019 debut LP, Chasing Lights, the group finished up Click Click Domino during lockdown. In this conversation you’ll hear them talk about the process of writing and recording during the pandemic, and working together as a team to create music that they love.

Click Click Domino will be available on July 16th, and you can pre-save it here.

Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Songwriter/Producer Jeff Barry Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Wheels Off, legendary songwriter and record producer Jeff Barry joins Rhett from his home in Laurel Canyon for a captivating conversation filled with wonderful nuggets of songwriting advice. Jeff and Rhett discuss Jeff’s simplified songwriting formula, the early days of his career as a songwriter, how he learned to write great material, the sky-high success of Red Bird Records, and much more. Jeff shares the riveting story of providing the music for Sam Cooke’s first single with RCA, and reveals fantastic tips for songwriters that only a master could articulate.

Jeff Barry is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from Brooklyn, best known for his songwriting and production work with all-time great acts including The Monkees, The Shangri-Las, and Neil Diamond. He has written timeless classics with his former wife Ellie Greenwich and fellow songwriting partner Phil Spector, and together the three helped define the “Girl Group” sound. They produced hits like “Be My Baby,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," "River Deep - Mountain High," and many other chart-topping tunes. Jeff went on to compose for T.V. and movies, and wrote the theme songs for One Day at a Time and The Jeffersons, as well as the score for the movie The Idolmaker.

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Allison Russell Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

This week on Wheels Off, talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Allison Russell joins Rhett from her new home in Nashville to talk about her debut solo album Outside Child, which was released in May. Allison reflects on taking the leap to release a solo album, and why she felt compelled to tell her own story. She discusses the transformative experience of raising her daughter, Ida, and recalls one of her “clearest and first memories” - a deep expression of love through her mother’s piano playing.

Allison Russell is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter from Montreal. She is a founding member of the acclaimed groups Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters, the latter of which she discusses in-depth with Rhett. Allison's first ever solo album, Outside Child, is a musical and thematic wonder that explores beautifully genuine sonic textures, and heartfelt subject matter that points towards healing, compassion, and empowerment.

Upcoming episodes of Wheels Off include producer & songwriter Jeff Barry, musical duo Ida Mae, and more. Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paget Brewster Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Actress Paget Brewster joins Rhett from her home in Los Angeles to talk about her career as an actor, and the immense gratitude she holds for the artistic journey she’s on. Paget and Rhett talk about why voice excites her, how pre-performance nerves are a blessing in disguise, why it’s fun to die in a movie as an actor, and much more. Paget is incredibly thoughtful in the way she analyzes her work, and her exuberance about her art is refreshing and inspiring.

Paget Brewster is an actor, voice actor, and singer from Concord, Massachusetts. She gained initial recognition for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of Friends, and broke through to widespread acclaim when she played Emily Prentiss on Criminal Minds. Paget currently voices Birdgirl on the Adult Swim comedy series Birdgirl, which she and Rhett discuss in the episode.

Upcoming episodes of Wheels Off include singer-songwriter Allison Russell, producer & songwriter Jeff Barry, musical duo Ida Mae, and more. Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

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Author Lily Brooks-Dalton Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

This week on Wheels Off, author Lily Brooks-Dalton joins Rhett from her home in Los Angeles to talk about her creative endeavors as a writer. Lily and Rhett discuss adapting her books into film, the experience of releasing a memoir when she was just 25 years old, and memorizing her favorite books before she even knew how to read. Lily tells Rhett about the unique method she uses to get inside the minds of her favorite authors, and shares some advice for aspiring writers.

Lily Brooks Dalton'snovel, Good Morning, Midnight (Random House, 2016), has been translated into 17 languages and is the inspiration for the film adaptation, The Midnight Sky. Her memoir, Motorcycles I’ve Loved (Riverhead, 2014), was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award.

Upcoming episodes of Wheels Off include actress Paget Brewster, singer-songwriter Allison Russell, producer & songwriter Jeff Barry, and more. Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Please leave us a rating or review on iTunes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Densmore Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

This week, legendary drummer John Densmore joins Rhett to talk about his life with The Doors - “we had a kamikaze maniac as a lead singer” - and the other characters he’s written about in his new book The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists). Rhett and John discuss the importance of silence, the wonders of transcendental meditation, and talk about the house that Rhett lived in that may have had some Doors magic in the air.

John Densmore is a musician, songwriter, author and actor from Los Angeles, California, best known as the rhythmic engine of The Doors. Responsible for some of the most famous beats in rock history, Densmore founded the rock band and was the drummer from 1965 to 1973. In fact, he was the only drummer in the Doors’ history and appeared on every recording made by the band. Densmore is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has also written three books, and explored avenues of creativity in filmmaking and acting. Densmore’s latest book, The Seekers, is available here.

Upcoming episodes of Wheels Off include author Lily Brooks-Dalton, actress Paget Brewster, singer-songwriter Allison Russell, producer & songwriter Jeff Barry, and more.Revisit Season One of Wheels Off with Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please leave us a rating & review on iTunes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Phair Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

In this episode of Wheels Off with Rhett Miller, singer-songwriter Liz Phair joins Rhett from her home in LA to talk about her creative journey as a musician. The two discuss how being home during the pandemic has changed their lives, why social interaction is crucial for creative inspiration, and dig into her memoir Horror Stories. Liz explains why you “just have to go for the ride” in order to conquer feelings of self-doubt and shares a few other savvy insights gleaned from her extraordinary career.

Liz Phair is a two-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from Chicago who came to prominence in the early 90’s, thanks to the emotional authenticity of her lyrics and the lo-fi instrumentation in her music. She has been a recording artist and touring performer for over twenty-five years, paving the way for countless music artists, particularly women, who cite her among their major influences. Her 1993 debut studio album, Exile in Guyville, is ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her 7th studio album, Soberish, will be released on Friday, June 4.

This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like this podcast, please leave us a rating or review on iTunes. Upcoming episodes of Wheels Off include The Doors’ John Densmore, author Lily Brooks-Dalton, actress Paget Brewster, and more. Revisit Season One of Wheels Offwith Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Will Forte, Lydia Loveless, Allison Moorer, Ted Leo, Paul F. Tompkins, Jen Kirkman, and more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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