From Sundance, I had the chance to interview the pioneer, the survivor, the badass, Joan Jett. Along with Kevin Kerslake, the director of the film on her life, Bad Reputation, Joan tells of the obstacles for women in rock 'n' roll...then and now. Listen in! This pod is inspiring as much as it is informative. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv .
In one of my most intimate interviews, Glen Hansard dishes on life, love, his music and writing process, playing with Bono on Christmas, when to see a shrink and his favorite breakfast at Chicago's Kitsch'n in Roscoe Village. This never before released full interview was recorded at the Hideout just before Hansard came out with "Rhythm and Repose".
For more information and to see the video interview, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
In an intimate corner of Chicago’s Third Coast Café, Grammy Award Winning Jazz Vocalist Kurt Elling shared his thoughts on jazz, spirituality, the creative work process and being in the moment. Grab a snack and belly up as Kurt has some powerful things to say about the life of an artist and life on the road. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
To know him is to love him...and I do! Grab a snack and listen up, as I dish on life, love and music with blues musician, Nicholas Barron. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
How do you get your start in music? If you are Grammy-winning Saxophonist Frank Catalano, a gun, a stolen car, Miles Davis, a little luck and gobs of talent comes to mind. Enjoy this intimate conversation with musician-entrepreneur Frank Catalano as he explains how he got his start playing Sax in some of the coolest clubs around, back in the day in Chicago, when he was just 16!
Grab your favorite snack and listen in to The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano with featured guest, Frank Catalano. For more information, visit http://TheDinnerParty.tv/podcast .
PS Given the story-telling nature of this interview, this podcast has a bit of a different format. Enjoy!
Imagine: you are a street busker, playing your original songs, hoping people throw some loose change into your guitar case, and then, one day, one of your tunes sells millions!
On the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano, songwriter/musician Mike Rosenberg, better known as Passenger, joins me to from the green room of The Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Mike’s song “Let Her Go”, which was released in 2012, has recently gone six times platinum, and his current album, "Young as the Morning, Old as the Sea", with its hit single, "Anywhere", debuted in England, New Zealand and Australia at number one. Not too bad for a street busker!
Mike was born in England, and I figured I should bring along my very favorite beer to help welcome him to Los Angeles for yet another sold out show. So grab your own favorite drink and listen in to my intimate chat with Mike Rosenberg of Passenger.
For the full video interview, visit, http://thedinnerparty.tv/mike-rosenberg-of-the-one-man-band-passenger/ .
Ever have a great melody in your head and you wonder how to turn it into a song? Singer-songwriter Steve Dawson of Dolly Varden joins me on the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party with Elysabeth Alfano. Steve and I dish on everything from the power of a good teacher and the musicality of language to how some of the best songs might just flow to you on your way to work! Demystifying the process and conveying that anyone can do it, Steve makes songwriting accessible even to those who haven't taken music lessons.
It is no wonder that Steve's classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago sell out continually. For those who can't get into his classes, his book, Take It To The Bridge: Unlocking the Great Songs Inside You, written with Mark Caro, is out now on Amazon.
So grab a beer, listen in and get ready to take some notes as Steve Dawson takes the fear out of songwriting!
In an intimate conversation at the Sunset Marquis, Sophie Tweed-Simmons and I dish on her songwriting process, her stance on social media, her work with Refinery29 and Adoreme.com on positive body image and just what she thinks about this crazy election. Listen in! For more information, visit Http://TheDinnerParty.tv and http://TheDinnerParty.tv/sophie-simmons/ .
On the most recent episode of The Celebrity Dinner Party, violin virtuoso Joshua Bell joins host Elysabeth Alfano at the Sunset Marquis in Los Angeles. Over food and wine, the two dish on Joshua's relationship with his 1713 Stradivarius, the balance between intellectual and emotional playing, his well-known subway "experiment", composers who have marked him, and the best snacks before he performs.
So grab a glass of Kendall-Jackson wine and listen in!