Sonic Smoothie
29 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsGreat music is made by great humans! Host Russ Stone is a music lover, songwriter, and compulsive friend maker. In each episode, he interviews a different musical artist to explore the connections between their life and their art. Join him if you love indie music and want to get to know the people who create it.
Hosted by Russ Stone
Produced by Annie Nirschel
Sully the cat does not help one bit with this
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Episodes
Emily McNally: Yearning Nation, Rise!
January 25, 2022 21:22 - 1 hour - 102 MBYearning Nation, Rise! It's Emily McNally! Today, your host, caramelized onion expert Russ Stone, talks to purple-loving NYC based icon Emily McNally. Emily is a queer indie artist, who is, "creating the track for the lovelorn and anxious generation.” The NYU graduate and classically trained musician has a long history of writing, performing, and busking around the city. Lately, Emily has been keeping busy by writing theme songs for podcasts, scoring films, and doing anything and everyt...
Tokyo Tramps Were Born to Run
March 16, 2021 05:22 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBOn today's episode, host and human Russ Stone sits down with Tokyo Tramps, a Boston-based rock and blues power couple. Songwriter/guitarist Satoru Nakagawa and vocalist/bassist Yukiko Fujii came to the US from Japan over 2 decades ago to pursue their rock n' roll dreams, heavily influenced by legends like Bon Jovi and Springsteen. Tokyo Tramps formed in 1999, and the couple have created an incredible legacy, winning numerous awards and performing at countless festivals and venues. Satoru a...
Waiting at the Door with Rachel Yohe
March 15, 2021 00:18 - 59 minutes - 81.9 MBToday, Russ Stone, the same man who marinated paneer in hot cheetos this week, sits down with Brooklyn singer, songwriter, and good pal Rachel Yohe. Rachel's origin story begins in a small town in Pennsylvania as a "singer-theatre-weirdo-kid" who volunteered for all of the musical parts in her summer camp shows. Rachel fell in love with performing and spent her teen years in the school choir, competing in singing competitions, and auditioning for all the local musicals. When Rachel's high ...
Paulina Vo Does It All for the Spice Girls
February 15, 2021 06:01 - 1 hour - 39.4 MBToday, host and future high school teacher Russ Stone chats with Paulina Vo, an eclectic and brilliant indie/pop songwriter, sample maker, and producer from New Orleans. As a child, Paulina would walk around writing music out loud, inspired primarily by Vietnamese karaoke and the Spice Girls. Eventually, she convinced her Dad, a man who played the bass in a Beatles cover band in Vietnam, to get her a guitar so she could bring a new dimension to her acoustic pre-teen girl band. She learned ...
Wearing All the Hats With Rory and Phil
February 10, 2021 06:03 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBToday, host Russ Stone, who wore a cape every day for a year when was 3, talks to 2 staples of the New York/New Jersey indie music scene, Rory D'Lasnow and Phil Robinson. Rory and Phil met at a house party over a year ago and became fast friends and collaborators, playing all around the tri-state area. Between the two, the list of accomplishments, performances, and events is too long to cover, but some highlights include regular online showcases and a new song that's so catchy, you'll start...
Renée Asteria and the Notebook of Spontaneity
February 09, 2021 05:41 - 1 hour - 86.9 MBToday, karaoke fiend turned mild mannered podcast host Russ Stone chats with the brilliant multi-genre musician, Renée Asteria. The pop/world-fusion/jazz/reggae artist, with roots in Bolivia and the Netherlands, has an expansive catalogue of top charting singles, internationally recognized albums, and award winning tunes. We're not joking; Renée's discography has so many songs, we lost count. She also writes music in several different languages, often creating several versions of the same s...
There's No Right or Wrong Way to Do Music With Siilk Legend
February 07, 2021 02:22 - 1 hour - 87.5 MBToday, host and hot sauce masochist Russ Stone sits down with Brooklyn based genre-bending artist and business man Siilk Legend. Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, Siilk was surrounded and fascinated by music and the performing arts. He created all throughout high school but doubled down on his musical studies years later when he went to study his craft at Garmex Heart Academy. Described as "personal and universal," Siilk pulls inspiration from everything, often creating beautiful melting pot...
Eliza May Does Not Recommend Writing Lyrics With a Clarinet
January 29, 2021 06:04 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBOn this episode, host Russ Stone, a guy on the same sleep cycle as a raccoon, talks with dark indie pop Queen Eliza May right before the New Year. Eliza is a creative and innovative multi-instrumentalist based in Birmingham, UK who spends the time she's not creating music sharing it, whether it be through busking or over a livestream, through her rabid social media presence, or as a volunteer with local organizations. The UK artist started her career on the clarinet before adopting the s...
A Band of Friends Called Rufusking
January 25, 2021 07:28 - 1 hour - 72.1 MBToday, host and celery adversary, Russ Stone, sits down with Timo Epping and Gabriel Patrascu of Rufusking, a passionate and exciting project based in the Netherlands, affectionately self-described as "a band of friends." Timo and Gabriel met in their high school band and have been playing music together since. Joined by Jan Dekker on bass and Sander Stolk on drums in 2017, the rock group formally came together under the name Rufusking after a billing typo at their first gig. Lately, the fo...
Senie Hunt: Your New Favorite Memphis Based Percussive Guitarist
January 24, 2021 08:09 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBToday, pre-pandemic karaoke fiend turned podcast host, Russ Stone, chats with Memphis based percussive guitarist and folk musician, Senie Hunt. The artist fell in love with the djembe drum early in his life, while living in an orphanage during the Civil War in Sierra Leone. When Senie came to America and held his first guitar, his first instinct, naturally, was to flip it over and play it like a drum. This has informed his beautiful rhythmic style, especially in his live shows, where powerf...
Professional Joy Bringers, Charu Suri and Danielle Erin Rhodes
January 22, 2021 04:03 - 1 hour - 75.2 MBOn today's episode, notorious morning person and host Russ Stone talks with Charu Suri and Danielle Erin Rhodes, the masterminds behind the jazz hit "Bluesy." "Bluesy", is a gorgeous, restrained lullaby, composed as a response to all of your bombastic love songs. The song, written as part of the "New American Songbook" by Charu Suri, debuted at Carnegie Hall with Danielle Erin Rhodes on vocals, along with Charu's "Book of Ragas". Charu is the first Indian American woman to premiere her own ...
Andrew Adkins is Nashville's Neo-Psychedelic Folk Magician
January 16, 2021 06:56 - 1 hour - 73 MBJump into a time machine with us: the year is 2020. It's mid December-ish. Box wine sales are booming. Host Russ Stone is mildly hungover. Life is good (???) But we digress: on today's episode, Russ talks with Nashville based neo-psychedelic folk wizard Andrew Adkins about life in the hub of country music, the Mandalorian, writing music for social change, and Ryan Gosling's piano. They also discuss the quality of the Breaking Bad soundtrack, which is, spoiler alert, very high. Andrew has ...
The Shrubs: It Always Comes Back to Trap Music
January 13, 2021 07:44 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBToday, pecan pie enthusiast and host Russ Stone talks with The Shrubs, a psychedelic indie duo based in Texas. Miguel and Josh, brothers and bandmates, started making music together when they were kids, dating back to when Miguel needed "a human" to keep the beat during practices with his high school band. The two went on to do their own things, jamming and writing together from time to time, before forming their electric and eclectic, wildly nostalgic and innovative duo in 2018. Since the...
Kalina and Kiana: Good Vibes and Star Wars
January 12, 2021 04:02 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBOn this episode, Russ Stone, the same man who just now put a butternut squash in the oven, talks with the powerhouse pop star duo, Kalina and Kiana. Before you ask, NO. Kalina and Kiana are not twins. They are, however, a brilliant sister team that have been in cahoots since they were kids. At ages 11 and 13, the two started a band with their friends called "The Raymies" that stacked up around 100 shows in their impressive 3 year run. Kalina and Kiana have traveled the world, composed musi...
And Now, on the Bass, Johnnie Gilmore
January 09, 2021 09:39 - 1 hour - 71.1 MBToday, Russ Stone, the same person who accidently made 10 cups of coffee for 2 people this morning, talks with Johnnie Gilmore, the one man bass band from Boston. We saw Johnnie, now based out of L.A., during his tour of the East Coast in a New York venue sometime in late 2018. While on stage, Johnnie was hidden by a mob of club patrons that covered him like a wave. Eventually we pushed our way through, and we were stunned; on the platform, the spectacle was a tall guy with curly hair, po...
Rebecca Lappa: The Train Riding Queen of Pop
January 06, 2021 20:07 - 58 minutes - 66.5 MBToday, Russ Stone, who just made it to page 100 of a sci-fi novel in Mandarin that he’s been reading for 2 years, talks to award winning pop artist from Edmonton, Rebecca Lappa. Rebecca has been writing and performing since she was 9 years old, when she'd go with her Dad to local open mics to showcase the traditional folk music (murder ballads) she’d constructed. Today, the innovative folk pop queen has been making the college radio charts, performed a set at the Edmonton Folk Music Festiva...
Marcus Porter's Secret Recipe for Soup For The Soul
January 03, 2021 04:54 - 51 minutes - 58.9 MBToday, host and cat lover Russ Stone talks with Madison-based rapper and musician Marcus Porter. Born and raised in Wisconsin, the artist grew up in a musical home where his dad was a DJ and his mom was a drummer. Even though writing his own music is a more recent development, Marcus always wrote poetry and played the violin for 6 years. Marcus makes music that is heavy with emotion and honesty; his lyrics come straight from his soul with the intention of connecting to humanity. And, the a...
Cliff and Ivy: Alaska's only Goth duo.
December 29, 2020 11:47 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBToday, newly bleach-blonde host Russ Stone sits down with Cliff and Ivy, Alaska's only Goth duo. The couple, described as "one of the more original and intriguing projects in the international goth music scene right now" are constantly working and always creating. From a new album in the works, constructing masks for their fans, movie scoring, and a modern take on "Macbeth", Cliff and Ivy breathe creativity, innovation, and warmth. Their desire to share and connect with their community is j...
Cliff and Ivy: Alaska's only Goth duo
December 29, 2020 11:47 - 1 hour - 75.6 MBToday, newly bleach-blonde host Russ Stone sits down with Cliff and Ivy, Alaska's only Goth duo. The couple, described as "one of the more original and intriguing projects in the international goth music scene right now" are constantly working and always creating. From a new album in the works, constructing masks for their fans, movie scoring, and a modern take on "Macbeth", Cliff and Ivy breathe creativity, innovation, and warmth. Their desire to share and connect with their community is j...
Jordanlivingood: This is a Reminder to Get Those Kimchi Fries!
December 27, 2020 22:14 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBToday on the podcast, passive video game enthusiast and host Russ Stone talks with independent hip-hop artist Jordan Galbreth, AKA JordanLivinGood. Jordan started his illustrious musical career as a joke after asking his cousin (a gospel rapper) if he could record a song using the equipment he had set up in Jordan's childhood bedroom. (Before you ask, Jordan does not know why his cousin's studio was in his bedroom.) The artist recorded his first mixtape at 10 years old and immediately fell...
Taija New Is So Couture
December 24, 2020 21:57 - 1 hour - 71.7 MBToday, host and Austin native standing at 5"11 and 3 quarters, Russ Stone, talks with the Massachusetts-based mastermind behind the chart topping single "Couture", Taija New. Taija AKA "The Newbian King", has always had "music in her DNA". As kids, she and her sister would study the music videos their mother would record onto VHS tapes. The sisters then made a band with an extremely clever name that we forgot to ask how to spell, and later, Taija went on to become a fixture in the Springfie...
Kendra and the Bunnies Has a Great Idea for Your Halloween Costume
December 23, 2020 00:21 - 59 minutes - 68.1 MBToday, host and paneer lover Russ Stone talks to multi-talented artist Kendra Muecke a.k.a. Kendra & the Bunnies. The performer has an obvious compulsion to create and connect, and her passion and energy have led her in countless different directions. By day, Kendra is a singer-songwriter who specializes in psychedelic folk rock and spoken word. By night, the Texas native is a published author, actress, activist, painter, podcast host, and volunteer. When does she sleep? We forgot to ask. ...
The Oddysy Only Performs on Stages Shaped Like Vending Machines
December 19, 2020 22:13 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBToday, Russ Stone talks with the masterminds behind the funky, hip-hop, neo-soul duo, The Oddysy. The Oddysy is a New York based passion project formed by bass player and singer KJ, and multi-instrumentalist DJ Johnny Juice, playing a genre they have dubbed "electro-something". The two seasoned musicians are endlessly in search of a new opportunity to make something awesome and meaningful (even if it's country!). KJ relates their process to cooking with "sweet and savory" flavors, and resi...
dolltr!ck and the Radioactive MIDI Controller
December 16, 2020 20:19 - 57 minutes - 52.2 MBToday, Russ Stone drinks his third cup of coffee while talking to Singapore-born electronic artist and music technologist, Claire Marie Lim, AKA, dolltr!ck (who, at this time, is on her second cup). Claire, classically trained in piano and flute, is a performer, educator, and advocate, and after seeing the duo, Disclosure, she fell in love with the atmosphere and never looked back. By pulling inspiration from artists like TOKiMONSTA and Madeon, and doing in-depth research on a variety of ...
Feyer Loves the 1980's
December 12, 2020 09:05 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBToday, Russ Stone talks to New York based multi-instrumentalist and musical-wizard, Andrew Feyer (pronounced FAY-er). The keytar wielding artist known as "Feyer" has spent years studying musical composition, orchestration, and vocal performance to come out the other side with a fully fleshed out sound that is unmistakably, "Feyer". It seems he's put an entire cup of techno vibes and his passion for an 80's aesthetic (described on his website as, "a fusion of retro and futuristic sounds"), ...
Pravin Thompson Has Been Looking up a Lot of Seals
December 08, 2020 06:11 - 59 minutes - 41.1 MBToday, Russ Stone is running off of 3 hours of sleep. Onwards! The tired host talks to Brooklyn composer and jazz guitarist, Pravin Thompson, about superheroes, his background as a mosh-pit-kid, and the superior internet animal (spoiler: it's seals). When Pravin first entered the "jazz world" after a lifetime of rock concerts, the wildly creative musician says he was, first and foremost, "really underdressed". Still, he's navigated these new, serious spaces like a champ, all while preservin...
Azure Wolf: Come for the Music, Stay for the Corn
December 04, 2020 18:00 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MBToday, Russ Stone talks to Virginia's newest synth heavy, corn loving, indie folk band, Azure Wolf. What started in early 2020 as an extension of singer, songwriter, and Queen of Dragons Victoria Backle's solo project has quickly evolved into a team of melancholy dream boats that will burn your heart to the ground and then gingerly repair it piece by piece. On today's episode, the band explores potential corn-centric gimmicks, their adventures in altruism, and and their camaraderie and ligh...
Nick Golden Has Seen All the Marvel Movies
December 02, 2020 05:34 - 58 minutes - 33.5 MBThis week on Sonic Smoothie, Russ talks to his bandmate, industrial metal king of the Upper East side, Nicholas Golden, from an Airbnb in San Antonio with okay Wifi. Finding inspiration in everything from foreign films, to "Titanic", to Manson, the front man of GLDN creates this kind of music that makes you want to turn off all the lights and then invest in a personal strobe light. Maybe you'll figure out how to solo mosh, too. Russ and Nick, who last played together at the "Russ Stone Van...
Henry Mansfield Does Not Like Chopping Onions
November 26, 2020 08:51 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBOn the first ever episode of Sonic Smoothie, Russ Stone talks to Henry Mansfield, a brilliant young artist from Seattle who uses his entire heart and soul to construct, "emotional battle cries from the confused young people in our modern world". The two discuss the obligation of a musician to their "first break-up song", Henry's relationship with the magical city of Boise, and the best way to avoid chopping vegetables. Listen to Henry's newest single (described by Russ as, "a jubilant bop"...