GRRL004: producing at home and music as a full-time job featuring Alex Capella of Bakkuda

Alex Capella of Bakkuda joins me for Grrl on Grrl’s fourth episode! Bakkuda is a solo synth project, self-produced right from her bedroom.

We talk about how her music is a full-time job, taking music classes (both good and bad), and the trendiness of vinyl and cassette.

You can check out the Bakkuda website for links to all her social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Personally, I follow her Twitter and Instagram, both of which are a mix of personal and project news. I highly recommend following her!

If you liked this episode, please rate us on iTunes. And as always, feel free to leave a comment, email me, follow me on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening!

Listen Here

Download Grrl on Grrl episode four [~52MB 54 mins]

Show Notes

• [2:00] The meaning behind the name Bakkuda
• [4:00] The timeline between her EP releases and the balance of making music and promoting it
• [7:00] Bakkuda – Skills
• [15:50] Music as a full-time job
• [18:00] Is there a physical release coming soon? And “boring” music business stuff.
  • Is vinyl and cassette just a trend?
• [20:00] Netta – Momma Knows Best
  • Video on YouTube
  • Soundcloud vs. Bandcamp
• [27:30] Learning music production
  • Dealing with bad teachers
• [34:30] I go into a tangent about San Diego band Fistfights with Wolves
• [35:30] Purity Ring – Sea Castle
• [40:00] Seeing more women musicians self-producing/doing-it-themselves
• [42:00] Musical inspiration: Lorde, FKA Twigs, Kanye West
• [45:00] Holiday Mountain – My Body
  • Body positive message
  • Energetic live show and great stage presence

Other Notes & Thanks!

Thank you to all the artists who gave me permission to play their songs and to Alex for agreeing to be uncomfortable in a stool and hot bedroom.

Special thanks to: Sullen Ray who graciously allows me to use their song “Get Up Got It” as the Grrl on Grrl podcast intro and outro–listen to and buy their album Blue Minor on Bandcamp; Greg Guiliano for his financial support; and Gary Hankins for filling in for Lety Beers–who is going on a European tour with her band The Little Richards–and doing a way more awesome job than I could have done.

And to all my friends who have been so supportive of this project, I love you!

Coming Soon and Upcoming Show: San Diego’s Bakkuda

Can you believe Grrl on Grrl has been running for nearly two months now? Next Sunday the 27th, I’ll be featuring Alex Capella’s solo synthpop project Bakkuda.

And guess what? If you’re in San Diego and want to check her out before the episode 4 release, you can join us at Soda Bar on El Cajon Blvd this Thursday the 24th. It’s going to be an amazing lineup with Bakkuda, Heavenly Beat, and Teen Daze.

Here’s the Facebook event page. Please come! And you can even say hi to Grrl on Grrl’s lovely host… ME!

GRRL003: media whitewashing and the New York music scene featuring Nina Herrera Merkur of My Own Confusion

About the Episode

For episode 3, Nina of the bicoastal punk band My Own Confusion joined me over Skype to talk about the perils of gentrification, the difficulty of promoting shows in New York City, and whitewashing in the media.

Thank you all in advance for sticking through some of the spotty sections of the interview. Unfortunately, a poor Internet connection on either or both ends of a Skype call definitely creates some turbulence throughout the episode! I tried to clear it up as best as possible before sending the audio over to Lety, so… what I’m trying to say is, blame her if it still sounds bad. (Lety, I love you and thank you!)

You can check out My Own Confusion on their Facebook, Tumblr, and listen to three of their tracks on Bandcamp.

If you liked this episode, please rate us on iTunes. And as always, feel free to leave a comment, email me, follow me on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.

I hope you enjoy, and thanks for listening!

Listen Here

Download the podcast [~55MB 57 mins]

Show Notes

• [2:10] Songwriting process
• [3:50] My Own Confusion – “Truth Be Told” (Bandcamp)
• [8:15] Sub/Mission in San Francisco
• [9:00] Nina’s involvement in the Queens music scene and learning about bands
  • Taking Back Queens
  • Suburban Decay Records
• [9:40] Tall Boys – A defunct band of tall boys playing music
  • Their song “Doing Magic Mushrooms at Cracker Barrel” on Bandcamp
• [11:30] Is it true that the NYC music scene is unsupportive of each other?
• [13:25] The logistics of having two bands for the same project
• [15:25] Our thoughts on Pay-to-play (tl;dr It’s bullshit)
• [22:00] Month-related names and Japanese onomatopoeia
• [27:40] Freya Wilcox & The Howl – “Bury Me” (Bandcamp)
• [38:00] Making snacks in a hot car
• [39:40] Gentrification in San Francisco and New York
• [41:45] White washing in the media, including Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Racebending.com
• [44:45] “Hard to find yourself in the media” as Asian Americans and Latinas
• [50:00] The beauty of The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show
• [51:30] Cutters – “Young Gods” (Bandcamp)

Other Notes & Thanks!

Thank you to all the artists who gave me permission to play their songs and to Nina for joining me early on in the recording process. (She was guest #2, although I decided to release her interview third.)

Special thanks to: Sullen Ray who graciously allows me to use their song “Get Up Got It” as the Grrl on Grrl podcast intro and outro–listen to and buy their album Blue Minor on Bandcamp; Greg Guiliano for his financial support; and Lety Beers for her help with audio editing and knowledge.

And to all my friends who have been so supportive of this project, I love you!

Coming soon: Nina Herrera Merkur of My Own Confusion

Are we already coming up on episode 3? The months are going too fast!

This Sunday, September 13, you’ll get to hear the active Nina Herrera Merkur from the band My Own Confusion. Nina started My Own Confusion at a lonely time of her life but has since built it into a bi-coastal project–New York during the school year and California during her breaks. Both bands give her songs a different spin while still letting her voice and personality shine.

If you’re impatient, feel free to give episodes one and two a listen while you wait!

Asbury Park’s very first UkeFest

If you’re close enough to Asbury Park in New Jersey, then you should definitely check out the very first UkeFest hosted by The Saint at 601 Main Street. The fest is organized by Devon Moore of Fun While You Wait. Does the name sound familiar? Well, duh! Devon was kind enough to be Grrl on Grrl’s first guest. (You can find that episode here.)

If you need more ukulele in your life… or feel like you need to be converted to the ukulele ways, you must go! And take pictures to send to me, because I’m all the way on the west coast. Wah, wah.