Bridge The Atlantic

Today on the show, we're joined by Jesse Epstein aka Imaginary Future. Jesse is a singer/songwriter who has toured worldwide, and his album "Fire Escape" has won him an army of dedicated fans. On "Fire Escape" Jesse is joined by independent singer/songwriter, his high school sweetheart and now wife, Kina Grannis on vocals. We chat with Jesse about his experiences on the road, his awesome music videos, and to find out what's coming next.   Highlights: You can pronounce Jesse's surname any way you want and he'll tell you it's right Our first question is way too awkward for Jesse We talk about how Jesse had to change his performing name from Imaginary Friend to Imaginary Future for legal reasons Jesse tells us about the making of the videos for April and Nothing Alone and the directors he works with Ross and Marcio tell Jesse how his video for April actually made us feel something for a salt and pepper shaker We discuss how important music videos are in the role of branding and promoting music "Be...  

Andy Rosen is an LA based producer and artist manager. Under the name Doctor Rosen Rosen, he has produced and co-written with singer/songwriters Meg Myers, Ofelia and Kay, and has remixed tracks for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Katy Perry and Britney Spears. We had a great time chatting with Andy about his work as a producer and artist manager, and heard all about his podcast, "Totally Beverages and Sometimes Hot Sauce." Highlights: Andy tells us how he got into remixing for artists, including Katy Perry and Britney Spears We hear how Andy started working with Meg Myers, and how he accidentally fell into the management role No profile picture = totally shady We get Andy's thoughts on when an artist should start working with a manager Most often, you shouldn't look for a manager - they should find you Andy tells us about the building a fanbase for Meg Myers, starting from 0 Andy jokes that he has been making the same music for the past 20 years (but we're totally cool with that) We...

Billy Grisack is a musician, music marketer and podcaster. Billy has been a full time musician for over 30 years, and is also the host of the Mad Music Marketing Minutes and Music Marketing Monday Podcasts. We chat with Billy about his long career in the industry, his latest project Big and Tall, and his music marketing podcasts.   Highlights: - We hear that Billy's family have spent around 100 years in the music business, and Billy has been in the industry for around 40 years - Billy tells us how when his son took him to Show & Tell it launched his children's music act, Mr Billy - We hear how Billy has released 28 albums, and released 12 albums in one year (2012) - We talk about quality vs quantity, and how there is a greater demand for regular content now - "What is perfection today is not perfection tomorrow" - What you release doesn't need to be perfect, it needs to be good enough... but your "good enough" has to be better than everyone else's perfection - Always give your fans something new... &

Roo Raymond is a musician, podcaster and digital marketer working within the Canadian music industry. Roo is part of the staff at Dale Speaking, a company that focuses on radio promotion and digital marketing. We spoke with Roo about how artists can best use social media, promote music videos online, and the importance of education vs experience when it comes to the music industry.   Highlights: - Roo tells us about being a “furry” - We talk owning music in physical formats and about how we all like to listen to albums from start to finish… are we alone here? - We discuss the debate of education vs experience in the music industry - Roo tells us about how things have changed in the music industry over the past 5 years - Roo describes social media as a fan club and how artists can use it as a way of building interaction and relationships with your audience - If you don’t like a particular social media platform, get someone else on your team to manage it for you - Roo gives us some tips on ways to...  

This week we are joined by singer/songwriter Janet Devlin. Since coming to the UK public’s attention in series 8 of The X Factor in 2011, Janet has built a loyal fanbase online (known as The Devlinators) and has released her debut album “Running With Scissors” and EP “Duvet Daze” independently. With her album now out in the US, we wanted to chat with Janet to ask her some of your questions and to find out more about her influences and plans for the future. Highlights: - Janet’s album “Running with Scissors” is now out in the US! - We learn that Janet is “kind of” addicted to energy drinks and is an ultimate fangirl for numerous musicians - Janet jokes that people should pick better heroes - We hear about Janet’s experience on X Factor and whether or not she would do it again - Janet tells us how she doesn’t venture out to the “outernet” very often - We discuss how reality shows can help to build your fanbase, but that too many people go into them for the wrong reasons - We talk about collaboration and the...

Heather Horton is a Canadian artist,  currently based in The Yukon Territory. Heather's work is part of private and corporate collections across the world, and her work is featured in the book "Back to the Wild." Her amazing work has awarded her opportunity to speak at universities and colleges in North America.   Highlights: - Marcio needed three attempts at this intro - Ross is always in awe of Marcio - Heather tells us how she has always followed her dreams, and is very proud of that - "You can get pretty far with a lot of drive, but not a lot of talent" - We talk about Heather's move from Ontario to the Yukon Territory - Heather tells us how she had an encounter with a black bear within the first 3 days of living in the Yukon Territory - We hear about the paintings Heather has done based on the photography of Christopher Mccandless for the book "Back to the Wild" - Heather tells us about the documentary she is featuring in, based on the book - We hear about the best commission Heather had...  Se

Jesse Cannon is a New York based producer, artist manager, author and podcaster. Jesse has worked with artists including Man Overboard, Transit, The Cure and Senses Fail, and is co-author of "Get More Fans: The DIY Guide to the Music Business." In addition to his production and management work, Jesse also hosts two podcasts - "Off The Record" with Zack Zarrillo, and "Jesse Cannon Talks To..."   Highlights: - Ross is 25% through reading Jesse's book: "Get More Fans: The DIY Guide to the Music Business" - Marcio is living in the past - Jesse is the best white dancer in Brooklyn.. this may or may not be true - Jesse tells us about managing Transit and Man Overboard, and how he played a part in getting them both signed to Rise Records - We hear that Jesse sometimes feeds the trolls - We talk about the transition a band goes through when changing management - Jesse tells us about working with The Cure and some of his favourite producers  - We hear how addictive creativity can be - We discuss the...  See

Amy Zarah is a photographer based in London and Bedfordshire. We chat with Amy about her work as a photographer, the debate of education vs experience, and digital manipulation.   Highlights: - Amy is a perfectionist, loves pizza and is her own worst critic - Ross reveals he is always hungry - We talk about how it feels to make money from what you’re passionate about - We discuss the question of education vs experience and the role education plays in photography - Amy tells us how she (controversially) prefers digital over film - We discuss digital manipulation and the ways that it can be used and how it can be used in a negative way resulting in giving people unrealistic expectations of how they should look - Amy describes a photoshoot where she had to resolve a model’s wedgie situation…   More: - View the full show notes at http://bridge-the-atlantic.com - Follow us on Twitter at @bridge_atlantic  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week on Bridge the Atlantic, we're joined by Nick Thomas (of the Nick Thomas Band, and formerly The Spill Canvas). With The Spill Canvas, Nick toured the US and the UK, playing with artists including the Goo Goo Dolls, Motion City Soundtrack and One Republic. The band released 7 albums and 5 EPs between 2002 and 2012. Nick’s latest project is the Nick Thomas Band, who recently released their first album Shadowars which debuted at #13 on the iTunes Alternative chart. We chat with Nick about The Spill Canvas, the Nick Thomas Band and learn how to unlock a frozen padlock using a warm bodily fluid...   Highlights: - We learn that Nick really enjoys cartoons - Nick tells us about the pressure The Spill Canvas were under to fulfil their contractual obligations with Warner Bros - Ross fanboys over Nick (The Spill Canvas were one of his favourite bands when growing up) - Ross tells Nick about a time that he and his friend Carly acted out one of their songs in the middle of a party - Nick and Marcio...  

Lee Safar is a singer/songwriter and music entrepreneur based in Sydney, Australia. We talked with Lee about her experience with Twilight fans, lessons learned in the music industry, and her music entrepreneurship platform, The Music Spring. Can you count the F-bombs?   Highlights:   - Lee tells us how music was the trigger for changing her life completely - Lee drops numerous F-bombs - We hear how Lee’s music was almost featured on the Twilight soundtrack and everything that happened around it, and how hilarious it was that after everything, she wasn’t included - Lee describes first-hand the power of the retweet! - We hear about Lee’s ambitious new album project where her fans are going to co-write the new record, “Love and Other Delusions” - Lee tells us how she came up with the idea for her music entrepreneurship platform, The Music Spring - Marcio and Ross share how the idea for Bridge the Atlantic was sparked (thanks, MusicBizCast!) - Lee talks about how she thinks passion is going to be...  Se

We were joined by Vietnamese American director, writer, producer, and co-founder of Studio APA, Steve Nguyen for this episode of Bridge the Atlantic. We chat with Steve about his early acting experiences, his production company and the time he met Pharrell. Lots of insight and advice shared in this episode - enjoy!   Highlights: - We learn that Steve is obsessed with cereal and requires at least two bowls a day - Ross admits that he has never watched Seinfeld - Marcio and Steve discuss the differences between acting for TV and movies - Steve discusses how he used acting more as a networking tool as he knew he wanted to be a writer/director - Steve tells us how it was difficult when he was younger for Asian actors to be cast in a variety of roles - We hear about Steve’s writing process and how it has developed over time - We talk about the conception of Steve’s production company Studio APA - Steve tells us about the Studio APA produced documentary Hibakusha about a woman who survived the atomic...  

We were joined by New York-based Australian singer/songwriter Tamara Hansson (aka Tam) for a laughter-filled episode of Bridge The Atlantic. We chatted about accents, her new EP "The Apartment Sessions" and the challenges of deciding what merch to sell when you're not a metal band. Enjoy!   Highlights:  - We discuss the differences between New York, Brisbane and London. - Tam tells us about her new EP “The Apartment Sessions” and how she’s playing in people’s apartments to promote it - Tam demonstrates a variety of accents for us - Marcio tries to do a Scottish accent… but fails (every time!) - We all agree that food is awesome and we find out that Tam has a lot to say about scones - Marcio is getting better at the art of the segue - We discuss creative merch options and Tam enlightens us to what a beer stubbie is - We talk about Tam’s video “One Day I’ll Come Home” which since recording has won the Australian Creative Community Challenge for Australians in New York Award - Ross and Tam educate...  

Dan Fila is the drummer of Canadian metal band Varga. To date, Varga have released 6 albums and played with some of the biggest names in metal, including Metallica and Rob Zombie. After parting with their label and a hiatus, Varga released two albums independently: Enter the Metal and Return of the Metal. We spoke with Dan about the new records, Varga's major label experience, the importance of community in music and his fear of snakes...   Highlights:   - We learn that Dan has a terrible fear of snakes - Dan tells us how becoming a dad changed his outlook on life - We hear about how Dan got involved in music, citing KISS as an early influence - Dan tells us about playing with Metallica and Rob Zombie - We talk about the pros and cons of signing to a major label, and the experience that Varga had with BMG - We discuss the importance of collaboration and community in music - Dan tells us how Varga’s music was featured in Beavis and Butthead, and the impact that had on their fanbase - We hear...  See

Rita Payne are a folk/Americana duo based in Doncaster, UK. Over the past couple of years the duo have built up a dedicated local fanbase and were commissioned to write the local anthem of Doncaster, were hand-picked by KFC to be the soundtrack of one of their recent menu launches and were contestants on The Voice UK. In addition to being talented musicians, they also take part in a lot of charity and activism work. We had a great time chatting with Rhiannon and Pete and hope you enjoy the interview!   Highlights: - Rhiannon and her sister used to re-enact scenes from the Lion King in her back garden with her sister, and Pete recreated Batman’s bat cave out of cardboard boxes when he was younger - Pete once thought he was lactose intolerant… but it turned out he wasn’t - Marcio and Ross think that Rhiannon and Pete should have their own show - We hear the story behind the name Rita Payne (and how Pete makes up a different story for each person who asks) - The duo tell us about their experience of... &nbs

We invited Andrew DeLeon, Dion Roy, Terra Naomi and Tyler Hilton back on the show to chat about this past year, the holidays and what they've got coming up in 2015. Enjoy!   Highlights: - Marcio wears an extremely fluffy Santa hat - Terra tells us about her most-best and crazy-best highlights of 2014 and that she isn’t planning on making a new album anytime soon (this makes Ross sad) - Andrew tells us how forming his band and performing with them at the Austin Vampire Ball was one of his highlights of 2014 - Tyler’s highlight of 2014 was the release of his new record “Indian Summer” (which reached #3 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart in the US) - Tyler Hilton is saving the music industry (behind his mask, he is Taylor Swift…with Bono underneath) - Dion tells us his highlights of 2014 were starting his own country (Tangzwamehead) and the formation of Fire and the Romance’s live band - Ross’s dog Loki interrupts the episode - We talk about the Christmas EP Andrew released in 2013 called...  See ac

Terra Naomi is a singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles. In 2006, she won the first ever YouTube music video award for "Say It's Possible" and went on to sign with Island Records, and was invited by Al Gore to play at Wembley Stadium. Since then, Terra has released 2 albums independently and toured Europe multiple times. We hear all about Terra's journey, which includes writing a porn musical for Spike TV... we certainly earned our explicit rating with this one! ;)   Highlights:   - Terra is over-eager - We invent a drink called “Alarm Water” - it’s like vitamin water but better - Terra needs to wear her work-out clothes first thing in the morning, otherwise she won’t work out - We learn that Terra is writing a book based on the last five years of her life - Terra tells us about writing a porn musical and how her dad described it as a career killer… however it didn’t kill her ex-boyfriend’s career as he recently directed Guardians of the Galaxy - We talk about the success Terra had on YouTube with... &nb

Paul Johnson is a singer/songwriter and session musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. We talked with him about his latest project, Silver Trees, the impact moving to Nashville has had on his music career and the importance of building relationships with musicians and your audience.   Highlights: - We learn that there aren’t many people in North Dakota and Paul is a huge coffee junkie - Paul tells us about writing for other musicians, and how collaboration led to the birth of Silver Trees - We hear about the new Silver Trees EP, Fighting The Rust - Fighting The Rust was the most downloaded record on Noisetrade and hit #19 in the iTunes singer/songwriter chart - We talk about the benefits of Noisetrade as a discovery platform for new artists - Networking = a business douche term - We talk about the importance of building relationships with other musicians - Paul tells us about moving to Nashville and the impact it has had on him as an artist and his career - We close on a discussion of...  See acast

Melissa Verwey is a Canadian actress based in Hamilton, Ontario. She has performed in numerous plays, musicals, indie films, festivals and sketch comedies. We spoke with Melissa about her experiences, auditions, voice acting, and to find out what advice she would offer to aspiring actors. Highlights: - We learn that Melissa is a big fan of ketchup - Ross shares a (somewhat irrelevant) personal story about contact lenses - Melissa tells us about using rejection and observation as a learning experience - We talk about forgetting lines on stage and missing cues - Melissa tells us why she had to stop watching Breaking Bad for a while - Marcio and Melissa talk about learning new skills to get parts - "If you've touched something once, you can do it" - You can find Marcio in the front row of Melissa’s play [Jenny’s House of Joy]...with his pants off (but not really) - We talk about the importance of believing in yourself, keeping positive and dreaming big - "You're never as good as they say and you're never as...

We spoke with Canadian photographer Jay Perry about finding your passion, his recent TEDx Talk and the role of education in becoming a photographer. We also talk about his fundraising organisation Friends With Hearts and how a trip to Haiti changed his life.   Highlights: - Jay used to be in a band called Holiday and sold his guitar to fund starting his photography career - Doritos! - Jay talks about how what he thought was his passion turned out not to be - We hear about Jay’s recent TEDx Talk: “Why Your Passion Might Not Be What You Think It Is” - When you’re passionate about something, hard work doesn’t feel like hard work at all - Jay tells us about his trips to Haiti and how it unexpectedly led to him becoming a full-time photographer - We discuss authenticity and technique in photography - The best camera you have is whatever one you have with you (and yup, that can be an iPhone!) - Jay tells us his thoughts on the role that education plays in photography - and it depends on your learning...  

We were joined by LA based singer/songwriter Natalie Angiuli to talk about the new synth pop direction she is taking with her music, her EDM collaborations and an interesting dinner with Quincy Jones.   Highlights: - Pizza in New York is better than pizza in LA - Natalie decided to move to LA when she was 5, and finally moved there when she turned 18 - Ross and Natalie talk about Hotel Cafe (even though Ross has never been there) - We learn that Natalie is a classically trained musician, and that violin is really hard to play - “Anyone can write a song, but not everyone can write a good song” - Natalie tells us how she locked her keys in her car, and how that led to her music being featured in TV shows - This interview is completely aware of itself - We talk about Natalie’s new material and the synth pop direction she’s moving in - Marcio and Natalie talk about the process of finding your own sound - We talk about Natalie’s EDM collaborations and how “Step Into Your Light” got over 200,000...  See a