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The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life

The Drunken Odyssey with John King: A Podcast About the Writing Life

722 episodes — Page 8 of 15

Ep 372372: Arielle Haughee!

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In this week's show, I talk with the fiction writer, children's book writer, and revision guru Arielle Haughee. Picture by Sona Photography. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES This episode is sponsored by Scribophile. TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount. Check out my debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame. Episode 372 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Jun 22, 20191h 4m

Ep 371371: C.H. Hooks!

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In this week's show, C.H. Hooks and I sit down with some questionable red wine to discuss Florida, Florida literature, and the uses we make of writing. Photo by Miriam Berkley. TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES This episode is sponsored by Scribophile. TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount. Check out my adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Jun 15, 20191h 14m

Ep 370370: A Discussion of Cory Doctorow's Down & Out in the Magic Kingdom

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This week, we go to Walt Disney World with Nathan Holic and David James Poissant in order to discuss Cory Doctorow's science fiction novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.

Jun 8, 20191h 31m

Ep 369369: Deborah Landau!

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In this week's episode, I talk to the poet Deborah Landau about her wonderful new poetry collection, Soft Targets, [caption id="attachment_24396" align="alignnone" width="4288"]Deborah Landau reading at AWP 2019. Photo by John King.[/caption] plus I share Copper Canyon's poetry reading from the 2019 AWP Conference, which featured Javier Zamora, Ellen Bass, Deborah Landau, and Jericho Brown. TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES This episode is sponsored by Scribophile. TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

Jun 1, 20191h 44m

Ep 368368: Mitchell S. Jackson!

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In this week's episode, I talk to Mitchell S. Jackson about finding joy in voice while dwelling on painful material in a memoir and novel. [caption id="attachment_24376" align="alignnone" width="1000"]Mitchell S. Jackson by John Ricard.[/caption] TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES This episode is sponsored by Scribophile. TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

May 27, 201943 min

Ep 367367: A Discussion of Eudora Welty's "Place in Fiction"

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In this week's episode, Vanessa Blakesleeand I discuss Eudora Welty's "Place in Fiction" (1955). TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES This episode is sponsored by Scribophile. TDO Listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go herewhile still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount. * Check out my adventure novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame. And check out Vanessa's books, too.

May 20, 20191h 6m

Ep 366366: Mixtape #10!

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In this week's episode, I share my first mixtape in almost 2 years. Happy writing. Let me know what you think below. NOTES Please buy me.

May 11, 20191h 13m

Ep 365365: Campbell McGrath

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In this week's episode, I talk with poet Campbell McGrath about his his new book, Nouns & Verbs, from a luminous lobby in Portland. Photo by Freesia McKee. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out my previous interview with Campbell from 3 years ago, back on episode 203. If a literary adventure might be your jam, please consider buying my exciting new novel.

May 4, 201947 min

Ep 364364: Elisa Gabbert!

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In this week's episode, I talk with poet and essayist Elisa Gabbert about the excitement of short-form essays, the glories of book design, not reading Moby Dick, and other literary confessions. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES If you are into literary adventure stories, please pick up a copy of my debut novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame.

Apr 27, 201950 min

Ep 363363: John King?

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In this week's episode, David James Poissant turns the tables on John King and interviews him about the miraculous release of his epic novel, Guy Psycho and the Ziggurat of Shame. TEXT DISCUSSED Here is the original Guy Psycho short story.

Apr 20, 201950 min

Ep 362362: Whither, Life Balance? (An AWP Panel)

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In this week's episode, Chelsey Clammer, David James Poissant, Rion Amalcar Scott, and I discuss how to survive in the writing life before an AWP audience in Portland, Oregon. NOTES If you are anywhere near Miami, check out the O, Miami Poetry Festival. Please review this show on iTunes. My novel comes out next week.

Apr 13, 20191h 8m

Ep 361361: Sara Batkie!

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In this week's episode, I go back to Jack Kerouac's house to talk to fellow fiction writer and NYU alum Sara Batkie about Realism, Magic Realism, historical fiction, the composition of a story collection, NYU's MFA program, the upsides of reading for literary magazines, and our evolutions as writers. TEXT DISCUSSED

Apr 6, 20191h 9m

Ep 360360: Poetry Jazz BBQ at jack Kerouac's Place!

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In this week's episode, Karen Price, Erik Deckers, Terry Ann Thaxton and I read Jack kerouac's poetry to the accompaniment of Ben Deckers's walking bass. Breaking down the show. Photo by Steve Erwin.[/caption] TEXTS DISCUSSED Episode 360 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Mar 30, 201945 min

Ep 359359: Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman!

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In this week's episode, I talk to Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman about classical music, social class, memoir, and authenticity. Photo by Vanessa Borer. TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES TDO will be sharing a table with Black Fox Literary Magazine at AWP at table T14104, plus I am moderating a panel on life-balance, which I clearly know nothing about. Also, my novel has a release date of April 16, 2019.

Mar 23, 201952 min

Ep 358358: Mark Blake, Part 2!

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In this week's episode, I talk again with Mark Blake, biographer of Peter Grant, about what happened to Led Zeppelin after Led Zeppelin. Photo by Ross Halfin.[/caption] TEXT DISCUSSED

Mar 16, 20191h 4m

Ep 357357: Mark Blake, Part 1!

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In this week's episode, I talk to music writer Mark Blake about his new biography of Peter Grant, the man who empowered Led Zeppelin to become the most popular rock band of all time. Photo by Ross Halfin.[/caption] TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES I will be at AWP. Leave a comment if you are attending and would like a TDO meet and greet.

Mar 9, 20191h 5m

356: Chad Anderson!

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In this week's episode, I talk to fiction writer Chad Anderson near the end of his residency at The Kerouac House here in Orlando, Florida. We spoke about the importance of memories, including lost ones, in the creation of our realities (and the fictions representing those realities), the complications of family, the glory of a long residency, and Washing DC as a writer's city. [caption id="attachment_24050" align="alignnone" width="4288"]Chad Anderson at The Kerouac House, photographed by John King.[/caption] NOTES Read Chad Anderson's Katherine Anne Porter Award winner, "Maidencane," here. [caption id="attachment_24110" align="alignnone" width="4032"]Chad Anderson, Greg Proops, and moibackstage at the Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios, Orlando, in the apex of show business moments for your humble Drunken Odyssey.[/caption] Check out Whose Live Anyway, in which the Whose Line is it Anyway cast improvs the hell out of a stage near your, probably, eventually. Or Check out this farewell reading from Eleanor Matthews, the resident before Chad. https://youtu.be/ODhjl3zHvRY The application period for next year's Kerouac residents ends on March 10th. Apply here. Come hear me pontificate with some wiser writers than I am at AWP!

Mar 2, 20191h 10m

Ep 355355: Teresa Carmody!

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In this week's episode, I talk to fiction writer Teresa Carmody about the joys of making books, the patterns needed for experimental work, and approaching the musicality of writing like meditation. Photo by Jared Alan Smith.

Feb 23, 20191h 6m

Ep 354354: Todd James Pierce!

In this week's episode, I talk to Todd James Pierce about his new biography of Ward Kimball from an epic corridor of The Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out Todd's site and podcast, The Disney History Institute. Check out my previous interview with Todd back on Episode 218.

Feb 16, 201956 min

353: A Discussion of Two Classic French Post-structuralist Essays!

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In this week's episode, Vanessa Blakeslee and I survive reading Roland Barthes's "The Death of the Author" and "What is an Author?" by Michel Foucault. TEXTS DISCUSSED Check Out Vanessa's Books! NOTES Suggested donation: $20, which comes with a glass of wine and food. Go herefor more details.

Feb 10, 20191h 5m

Ep 352352: Terry Ann Thaxton

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In this week's episode, I chat with my friend Terry Ann Thaxton about poetry, parents, mortality, yard work, mud, and the underrated useful of writing prompts for professional writers. We were tired, but we laughed a lot. John King and Terry Ann Thaxton at Jack Kerouac's house in Orlando. Jared Silvia is saying something behind us. Photo by Katherine J. Parker. TEXTS DISCUSSED

Feb 2, 20191h 7m

Ep 351351: Elliot Ackerman!

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In this week's episode, I speak with the war veteran, journalist, and novelist Elliot Ackerman about composition and revision strategies, and the emotional access points from our own experience to the stories we tell. [caption id="attachment_23972" align="alignnone" width="4416"]Photo by Huger Foote.[/caption] TEXTS DISCUSSED

Jan 27, 201953 min

Ep 350350 Eleanor Matthews!

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In this week's episode, I speak with the Kerouac House's fall 2018 resident, Eleanor Matthews about Victorian novels, characterization and plots, and the connections between physical activity and creative writing.

Jan 20, 201954 min

349: A Craft Discussion of The Birth of Tragedy!

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In this week's episode, I croak with Vanessa Blakeslee and Mark Pisczek about the Apollonian and Dionysian origins of storytelling as explored in Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES If you live in Orlando, come hear Mark and his band, Strange Angels, play jazz at the Imperial at Washburn Imports this Thursday, January 17, 2019, 8-11 PM. 1800 N Orange BLVD / Orlando, FL 32804. https://www.facebook.com/events/2187842224789407/

Jan 13, 20191h 11m

Ep 348348: Ben Fountain, Celeste Ng, & Gary Shteyngart!

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This week has Miami Book Fair International conversations with Ben Fountain,Celeste Ng, and Gary Shteyngart! Ben Fountain and beverages in the Confucius Institute at Miami Dade College. TEXTS DISCUSSED

Jan 5, 20191h 10m

Ep 347347: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Billy Collins!

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Episode 347 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download. This week is a cornucopia of poetry conversation with Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Juan Felipe Herrera, and Billy Collins! Juan Felipe Herrera Billy Collins TEXTS DISCUSSED

Dec 29, 20181h 12m

346: A Bootlegged Xmas Gift!

Here's a present, something I acquired when collecting bootlegs in the 1990s. I hope you enjoy it while I get over this damned cold.

Dec 22, 20181h 23m

Ep 345345: Chip Kidd!

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In this week's episode, I share a conversation I had with author, editor, comic book fan, and book designer Chip Kidd, from about 40 feet away from Biscayne Bay. We spoke about the DC/Marvel divide, the sublime art of Alex Ross, how art springs from our need to see the work we want to enjoy the most, and how so many areas of the book business intersect, if you are paying attention. TEXTS DISCUSSED

Dec 15, 201849 min

Ep 344344: Loose Lips December 2018

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In this week's episode, I share a recording of Loose Lips, the monthly current events literary thing run by Burrow Press, who selected Katherine J. Parker to curate and host this installment. Katherine J. Parker by Jared Silvia. Joshua Begley by by Jared Silvia. Whitney Paige Hamrick by Jared Silvia. John King by Jared Silvia. Karen Price by Jared Silvia. Tom Lucas by Jared Silvia. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out John's previous appearances on Loose Lips: Episode 301 Episode 282 Episode 250 Episode 219

Dec 8, 201856 min

343: A Very Italian Christmas!

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In this week's episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about the new story anthology, A Very Italian Christmas, from New Vessel Press. In our discussion, we manage to talk about yuletide loneliness, poverty, despair, prostitution, elk herds, Christmas, fascism, prostitution, friendship, Paul Auster's screenplay for Smoke, and David Sedaris's classic essay, "Dinah the Christmas Whore." TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out Vanessa and I talking about A Very French Christmas from last year. Check out my interview with Davis Sedarisback on episode 50.

Dec 1, 20181h 18m

342: Linda Buckmaster!

In this week's episode, I talk to poet and memoirist Linda Buckmaster about how our subjects sometimes choose us, the wondrous weirdness of Florida, and how the find form in the flux of composition. TEXT DISCUSSED

Nov 24, 201857 min

341: The Interplanetary Acoustic Team!

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In this week's episode, I talk to Brian Turner & Jared Silvia about making a beautiful, experimental poetic album of space ballads and duets. Episode 341 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Nov 17, 20181h 4m

Ep 340340: LaTanya McQueen!

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In this week's episode, I talk to creative nonfiction writer LaTanya McQueen about how our stories sometimes choose us, how to write a really good footnote, and how to try to talk about history and race in America. TEXT DISCUSSED

Nov 10, 201847 min

Ep 339339: Kimberly Lojewski!

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In this week's episode, I talk to fiction writer Kimberly Lojewski! TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES Check out my interviews with Tony Hoagland back on episode 40and 132.

Nov 3, 201857 min

Ep 338338: Horror Movie Poetry Night V!

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In this week's episode, I am joined by Joshua Begley, AC Warner, Katherine Parker, Elise McKenna, Tom Lucas, Amy Watkins, Joshua Dull, Dianne Turgeon Richardson, and Vincent CramptonCount Orlock for Horror Movie Poetry Night V!

Oct 27, 20181h 7m

Ep 337337: A Roundtable About Stephen King's Danse Macabre!

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In this week's episode, I am joined by Dale Lucas, Tom Lucas, and Elise McKenna for a deep dive into Stephen King's 1981 treatise on the horror genre, Danse Macabre. Photo by Katherine J. Parker. TEXT DISCUSSED Photo by Katherine J. Parker. NOTES Check out Don Peteroy's amazing essay on how to read the entire Dark Tower series while still having a life.

Oct 20, 20182h 6m

Ep 336336: Sean M. Conrey!

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In this week's episode, I talk to the poet Sean Conrey about poetry, religion, trees, and our long ago time at Purdue University.

Oct 13, 20181h 7m

335: Jane Ridgeway!

In this week's episode, I talk to fiction writer Jane Ridgeway about our stories and characters choosing us instead of the other way around, the delicious problem of historical fiction, and what teenagers today like to read, among other topics. [caption id="attachment_23534" align="alignnone" width="2048"]Jane Ridgeway by Steve Erwin.

Oct 6, 20181h 38m

334: Ben Gwin!

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In this week's episode, I talk to novelist Ben Gwin about postmodern satire, addiction, whether MFAs ruin or sustain writers, and for some reason I insist that he needs to write poetry, plus I talk to Jared Silvia about synth music, Woody Guthrie, the vagaries of how folk music gets recorded, and Jared's annual recording project every Labor Day.

Sep 29, 20181h 5m

Ep 333333: Peter Kuper!

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In this week's episode, I talk to Peter Kuper about Kafka, the remarkable art form of comic books, the indie comic book scene in the late 1980s, Spy Vs. Spy, finding your Muse when it leaves the marketplace, and so much more. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out Brian Turner, Jared Silvia, recordings of Elise Kusnetz, and others in a performance of The Interplanetary Acoustic Team at the Timucua White House in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday, September 25th. Check out Kyle Eagle's impeccable new jazz podcast, The Major Scale. If you search the iTunes store, you can find it there as a free download you can and should subscribe to. Leslie Salas reviewed Peter Kuper's adaptation of The Metamorphosis for the Drunken Odyssey back in 2013. Details from Kafkaesque:

Sep 22, 20181h 8m

Ep 332332: A Craft Discussion of Chuck Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction

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Episode 332 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download. In this week's episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about Chuck Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories. Episode 332 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Sep 15, 20181h 5m

Ep 331331: A Celebration of Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums

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In this week's episode, I host a party in honor of the 60th anniversary of the publication go my favorite Jack Kerouac work, The Dharma Bums.

Sep 8, 20181h 7m

330: Kurt Vonnegut Roundtable!

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In this week's episode, I am joined by Chris Lafave, Erik Deckers, and David James Poissant for a discussion of Kurt Vonnegut. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES When in Indianapolis, visit the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. If you are in Orlando, that is, the City Beautiful, this Wednesday, come celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Dharma Bums at the house where Jack wrote it. Here is our On the Road show from last year. https://youtu.be/Dg_V4amBlJo

Sep 1, 20181h 18m

Ep 329329: Blair Hurley!

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In this week's episode, I chat with novelist Blair Hurley about our experiences in NYU's MFA program, how to plot novels, religion, and how to really dress like a writer. TEXTS DISCUSSED NOTES Check out Brian Turner's album, featuring recordings by his late wife, Ilyse Kusnetz.

Aug 25, 20181h 9m

328: Dale Lucas!

This week, I interview Dale Lucas, the author of the Fifth Wardand Doc Voodooseries of novels about exploring ethics in long-form narrative, world-building (and when to stop), how to keep writing the novel in maddening isolation, and other stuff, too. Books Discussed NOTES Check out Dale's essayabout having Simon Vance perform the audiobook of his novel, The Fifth Ward: First Watch.

Aug 18, 20181h 11m

Ep 327327: Adrian Todd Zuniga!

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In this week's episode, I interview Adrian Todd Zuniga, the host of Literary Death Match, about how to plot a novel, and how he plotted his novel, Collision Theory. TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES Check out my previous convo with Adrian back on Episode 190.

Aug 11, 20181h 0m

Ep 326326: Patrick Greene!

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In this week's episode, I talk with the Orlando legend, Patrick Greene, about the power of being an autodidact, the importance of curiosity outside of one's area of expertise, and the struggles of trying to live the life of a writer. NOTES To get some idea of Pat Greene's influence, here's a video featuring his 60th birthday celebration at the gallery earlier this year. https://youtu.be/CYXqonaFaAQ

Aug 4, 201847 min

Ep 325325: Abraham Smith!

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In this week's episode, I talk with the poet Abraham Smith about his latest release, the book-length work, Destruction of Man. TEXT DISCUSSED

Jul 28, 20181h 8m

324: Vanessa Blakeslee!

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In this week's episode, I talk with Vanessa Blakeslee about short story writing over the long haul, and about her brand new book, Perfect Conditions. Plus James Chapin writes about how the King James Bible changed his life. TEXTS DISCUSSED

Jul 21, 20181h 6m

Ep 323323: Emily Wilson!

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In this week's episode, I chat with the classicist and translator, Emily Wilson, whose translation of the Odyssey feels both superbly magical and contemporary. [caption id="attachment_23399" align="alignnone" width="1001"]Emily Wilson by Ralph Rosen.[/caption] TEXT DISCUSSED NOTES Check out this new funky, psychedelic audio soundscape project featuring Brian Turner, Ilyse Kusnetz, and Jared Silvia, among others.

Jul 14, 20181h 12m