Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers

Cellist, Creator and Collaborator, Alex Cousins

My guest is cellist, creator and collaborator Alex Cousins.  A classically trained musician and Peabody Conservatory graduate, Alex has performed as a soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, played with a variety of original alternative bands, and been seen and heard in venues from Western New York to Italy.  But what sets Alex apart is his passion for the electric cello, a unique instrument that he employs in his quest to stretch the envelope and challenge the notion of what a 21st century musician can be.  Alex is a musical seeker whose tastes run from Bach to Alternative rock, and so many genres in between. Today, he’ll tell us his story, and introduce us to the magical world of the electric cello. Take it away, Alex!

Musician and DJ, Chelsea O’Donnell

Today on Why Music Matters, my guest is musician and DJ Chelsea O’Donnell. Chelsea began her career in radio as host of the local show on 107.7 FM Alternative Buffalo, where she helped that station celebrate the rich variety of local and regional indie rock from Western New York. These days, you can hear Chelsea on WBFO The Bridge, where she hosts The Scene, a show focusing on original independent music from Western New York and Southern Ontario, every Sunday. Concurrent with all of this, Chelsea writes, records, performs and tours with her indie rock band, Stress Dolls. This immersion in independent music has granted Chelsea a unique perspective on Why Music Matters - to cities, to scenes, and to each of us individually. 
Join us! 

Super-Fan Ray Wawrzyniak, on Why RUSH Music Matters Most

Today on Why Music Matters, I have a conversation with Ray Wawrzyniak. Ray is a devout music lover. Musicologist, author and collector whose main passion in life aside from his family, of course, is the Canadian progressive rock trio RUSH. Ray joined me to chat about our shared love for that band, about RUSH co-founder Geddy Lee's new memoir, and about why All music matters but in Ray's world, RUSH music matters most.
 

A Conversation With Barron Ryan

Today on why music matters, my guest is composer, author, storyteller, and Recording Academy 2023 class member, Barron Ryan. Whether he's working on commissioned compositions to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, collaborating on music meant to help us deal with personal loss, or ruminating on music's ability to help us discover and present the beauty we're uniquely positioned for, Barron has significant insight into why music matters.

A Conversation With Fernanda Lastra of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Today on Why Music Matters, I spend some time with Fernanda Lastra of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. 
Hired as Conductor Diversity Fellow by the Orchestra in September of 2022, Fernanda quickly made her mark, combining her fiery presence at the podium with a passion for community engagement, overseeing the BPO Kids and Music for Youth programs, working as cover conductor for Maestro JoAnn Falletta, and serving as a member of the BPO Diversity Council. 
In recognition of her abundant talent, the BPO extended Fernanda’s contract as Diversity Fellow and promoted her to Assistant Conductor of the Orchestra in October of this year. 
Born and raised in Argentina, and a graduate of the Penn State School of Music, Fernanda has led orchestras around the US, in Argentina and in Brazil. Along the way, she’s gained keen insight into the power music holds to connect us and speak to our better selves. 
Welcome to Why Music Matters, Fernanda Lastra!

Willie Nile, Rock ’n’ Roll Poet

Today on Why Music Matters, I’m hanging out with my old friend, singer, songwriter, and true believer in the power of rock ’n’ roll to lift our spirits and enrich our lives, Willie Nile. Praised by The New York Times as “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to have emerged rom the New York scene,” Nile was born in Buffalo, but moved to New York City decades back, where he launched a  career that would eventually make fans of the likes of Bono from U2, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend of The Who, and Lou Reed, many of whom Nile has shared the stage with over the years. Join us as Willie shares stories from a life that, in many ways, reads like a rock ’n roll fairytale.

Peter Conners on Getting Shown the Light in the Strangest of Places

Today on Why Music Matters, my guest is Peter Conners, musicologist, novelist, Grateful Dead scholar and a hero of mine for the way he has devoted his life to exploring the connection between the majesty of music and the power of the written word.Whether it’s his nonfiction works, like Growing Up Dead: The Hallucinated Confessions of a Teenage Deahead, Cornell 77: The Music, the Myth and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead’s Concert at Barton Hall, and White Hand Society: The Psychedelic Partnership of Timothy Leary & Allen Ginsberg, or his recent novel, Merch Table Blues, Peter’s writing reads like my favorite music sounds.Join us as Peter shares some insight on getting shown the light in the strangest of places!

Dan Dunleavy: Buffalo Sabres Play-by-Play Announcer & Serious Music Lover

Today on Why Music Matters, I’m joined by Buffalo Sabres play-by-play announcer Dan Dunleavy.In addition to his considerable game-calling skills, Dan is a died-in-the-wool music lover with an enduring passion for artists as diverse as Elvis Presley and Eddie Van Halen, the Tragically Hip and AC/DC.Throughout our chat, Dan offers some insight on the connections between music and sports, a lifetime’s worth of musical obsessions, and how music has helped him through his darkest days.Welcome to Why Music Matters, Dan Dunleavy!

Mike Gantzer of Aqueous

This week on Why Music Matters, I get to hang out with my friend Mike Gantzer, guitarist and vocalist with indie jam-rock quartet Aqueous, as well as side project Death Kings - with Ryan Stasik of Umphrey's McGee and Ryan Nogle of Funktional Flow. Mike has spent the past decade on the road, and during that period, Aqueous has grown from a Buffalo band to a major player in the world of jam-based music, performing across the country and at prime annual music festivals like The Peach Festival, Electric Forest and Summer Camp. With Aqueous embarking on a hiatus, Gantzer reflected on the band's first ten years, the significance of the friendships that birthed the band, and the role that music plays in his day-to-day life. Welcome to Why Music Matters, Mike Gantzer!

A Conversation With SZA Bassist (And Guy I Know Pretty Well), Declan Miers

Today on Why Music Matters, I get to spend some time with one of my favorite musicians, with the added bonus that he happens to be my son.Declan Miers is a bassist, producer, composer and guitarist who is currently on the road with alternative R&B superstar SZA. He’s performed and recorded with a host of Neo-soul, R&B, pop and jazz artists, including Mac Ayres, Renee Rapp, Brass Tracks, Cautious Clay, Cisco Swank, Gene Coye, Mikki Howard, Ava Max, and Alex Isley.But in my eyes, he’s still that little kid who fell in love with music when he was still crawling around on the floor in front of the stereo, my longtime concert buddy, and the kid who left home at 16 to attend the Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship, and then headed out into the world to pursue his musical dreams.Declan was raised to speak his mind, and he does so here, in a conversation that touches on the mentorship he received from the Buffalo gospel, jazz, rock and funk music communities, the life of a young touring musician, and the role that music can play in teaching us all how to speak less and listen more.Welcome to Why Music Matters, Declan Miers. Let’s have some fun!