This week we chatted with Zej Kozlowski and Calen Perkins of Zej & Calen, an acoustic guitar-driven duo based in San Francisco. In the latest installment of our interview series, Zej and Calen discuss their global backgrounds, their new album, and SF as an indie music breeding ground.
This week we chatted with John Isaac Watters, one third of the Los Angeles-based folk band, COYOL. In the latest installment of our interview series, Isaac discusses growing up in the Southwest and Mexico, his new album, and his musical idols.
This week we chatted with Leah Bachar, one fourth of the New York-based theatre and production company, Perf Productions. In the latest installment of our interview series, Leah discusses Perf’s first multi-media play, her writing and acting styles, and how she gets into a role.
This week we chatted with Benjamin Leon of Diego’s Umbrella, a gypsy rock band based out of San Francisco. In the latest installment of our interview series, Benjamin discusses the band’s unique sound, working in a sextet, and how he spends his free time.
This week we chatted with Brennan Smiley of The Technicolors, a rock band based out of Phoenix. In the latest installment of our interview series, Brennan discusses his musical background, the new album, and the influence of the Phoenix heat.
This week we chatted with Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf of Goodnight, Texas, a folksy band with an old-fashioned sound rooted in both San Francisco and North Carolina. In the latest installment of our interview series, Avi and Patrick discuss their Civil War era aesthetic, their sources of inspiration, and working from both coasts.
This week we chatted with Shannon Harney, a pre-med student and musician based out of San Francisco. In the latest installment of our interview series, Shannon discusses her new album, her inspiration, and what she does in her downtime.
Twenty Two: Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Shannon: I’m a galactic sky-walker, first of all. I turn 25 on Monday. I grew up in the redwoods above Half Moon Bay and aside from my stint as a pre-med student at UC Davis, I can’t seem to tear myself away from the Bay Area. I like to spend a lot of time staring really closely at natural design… rock formations, flowering bodies, tree-lines. Most of my curiosity about the world stems from a fundamental fascination with evolution and natural history. I think we learn a lot about human relationships by observing the innate cycles around us. Also, I really really love pickles, and spicy food, and crafty cocktails and vintage clothes.
Twenty Two: Have you always been interested in music and performing?
Shannon: Yup. I started doing musical theatre when I was really small and most of my performing until college was on the stage. I sang in plays, but I don’t have a trained technical voice, so it never really went anywhere. I thought I was kind of a lackluster vocalist until I started listening to Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor and I was like, “Nice! I don’t have to do vibrato to be awesome!” But my shows now definitely have an element of theatre to them. I can’t help it. I never really grew out of being an ostentatious five-year-old.
Twenty Two: How would you describe your sound?
Shannon: Seriously. I always sweat over the “genre” and “tagging” part of this business. I mean, in short, folk. Or indie-folk. I’ve been calling it forest-folk recently. It’s all very lyric driven, very communicative and emotive. I’m not writing to make people dance or as background music in a bar. I really want to talk to my audience, to look them in the face and tell them a story. If my fingers accidentally knock against some piano keys in the process, then that sounds nice, too.
This week we chatted with Natasha Harden, the founder and owner of Halmoni Vintage in East Oakland. In the latest installment of our interview series, Natasha discusses her inspiration for opening up shop, her store’s focus on women of color and all body types, and her personal style.
Twenty Two: Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Natasha: I am originally from NY, born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx. I am the owner of Halmoni, a vintage boutique in Oakland, CA, which means I breathe, sleep and eat vintage. I am also a double Virgo with a Cancer moon, born in the year of the rooster.
This week we chatted with Erin Huizenga, the founder and executive director of EPIC, an organization based in Chicago that pairs talented creatives with ambitious non-profits. In the latest installment of our interview series, Erin discusses the causes that she’s most drawn to, a few of the Windy City’s note-worthy non-profits, and her inspiration.
Twenty Two: Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Erin: I’m passionate about helping good people and organizations fulfill their purpose. I love design, education and doing nice things for people. I’ve lived and worked in Chicago for eleven years. I’m married to an amazing man, Chris, and we have a firecracker two-year-old, Knox, who makes me smile every day.
This week we chatted with Jen Page, an aspiring screenwriter and tutor based out of Los Angeles. In the latest installment of our interview series, Jen discusses her screenplay, her experiences of working in a public school and at a private tutoring company, and some of her favorite writers.
Twenty Two: Let’s start with the basics. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Jen: Sure. My full name is Jennifer Sara Page but most people call me Jen. I turned thirty-eight a couple weeks ago, am half Black, half Swedish and was born and raised in Los Angeles.
Twenty Two: Have you always been interested in writing?
Jen: Yes. When I was thirteen years old, I visited my family in Sweden for my birthday. My Aunt Gunilla gave me a pink journal with a picture of the family’s German Shepard on the front. I began writing in that journal immediately. Putting pen to paper came naturally to me. At first I was interested in expressing my emotions through writing. (I went through a teenage angst poetry phase.) Then I became interested in writing songs. Then, after working at a movie production company doing script coverage, I began to dabble in screenplay writing. It’s been a long process to get to the point where I actually think I’m good enough to sell something.
Twenty Two 