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No one is more excited for the new action/adventure series “Blood & Treasure” than star Mark Gagliardi’s inner 10 year old. A lover of art who also enjoys spectacle, the “Drunk History” and “The Thrilling Adventure Hour” alumni jokes that he makes career decisions based on what his younger self would think is cool, but when you’re standing in an Egyptian tomb rigged with booby traps, anyone who grew up watching Indiana Jones crack his whip in exotic locales would be hard pressed not to want to jump in a time machine and tell themselves that dreams really do come true.

We recently sat down with Gagliardi to discuss quoting “The Princess Bride,” the need for the who, and why he likes to tell people he’s starring in a new adventure series for the Columbia Broadcasting System.

TrunkSpace: As a performer, do you feel pressure for a project to succeed? Does any of that come back on you with something like “Blood & Treasure,” which premiered last night?
Gagliardi: Yeah, of course it does. Everything I do, I want people to enjoy. I’m not going to create a show and be like, “Oh, man, people are going to hate this one.” I want it to go really well. I’m nervous about it because it’s a big show. It’s a big deal for me personally because this is my first time having a part this size on a show, and I personally love the show. It’s a show that I would watch anyway were I not involved. It’s very much up my alley, so I just hope people enjoy it as much as we did making it. We had a blast making it, and the whole time, we’re assuming people will love this show, because obviously we love having a great time, and we all love each other. We’re traveling all over and having this amazing experience, so hopefully that translates.

TrunkSpace: If it’s a show that you would watch if you weren’t involved, what would 10-year-old Mark think about you starring on a show like this?
Gagliardi: Man, I’ve thought about this so many times. First of all, one of my favorite movies is Disney’s “The Kid,” where Bruce Willis meets Spencer Breslin, who plays little kid Bruce Willis, directed by John Turteltaub… who directed “National Treasure,” so it all comes full circle.

I try to make my decisions based on whether or not 10-year-old me would think I was doing something cool and want to give me a high five. So, I think that 10-year-old me would see this show and get really pumped that 40-year-old me was in it.

TrunkSpace: And that’s coming from a guy who’s already voiced Batman, so 10–year-old you has already handed out some high fives!
Gagliardi: Yes! Oh, man, I called 10-year-old me when I got the Batman job, too. He was really pumped.

That was a fun job. That was one of those where the first thing my voiceover agent said to me when she called me was, “Here, sit down. I have something cool to tell you.” So the fact that she knew, “Holy crap, it’s Batman!” was really awesome.

TrunkSpace: With so much content circulating today on so many different platforms, do you think a network like CBS feels less pressure for something to become a hit right out of the gates? Does “Blood & Treasure” have more wiggle room to build an audience now than it would have had 20 years ago?
Gagliardi: Yeah, I think that we have the benefit of a huge, major network, and a great lead-in, the “NCIS” season finale. So, yeah, I think there are so many screens now, and there is so much content now that you have a million choices of what to watch and where to watch, and there is some amazing television that is doing amazing things. “Game of Thrones” broke a million barriers. “Fleabag” now is a new one that is breaking all these molds. There are a lot of really great “break the mold” television happening, and I think one thing that CBS does really, really well is what we are doing… big, old school television for as broad an audience as we can make it for.

I like referring to them not as modern day CBS, and it annoys my friends, but I call it The Columbia Broadcasting System. That sounds so big and old timey to me. “I’m doing a new adventure program on the Columbia Broadcasting System.” It sounds like, “Hey, everybody, gather around your radios.” There’s something that feels very communal and old timey and family and big about the show.

TrunkSpace: And it also has that summer movie feel to it. With that said, is it no accident that it’s getting its run now in the summertime?
Gagliardi: No accident at all. We actually talked a lot about it while we were making the show that what we were making is a summertime adventure. It’s the book that you read on the beach that’s a little lighter. Maybe you’re on vacation, and you’re going to splurge and get the big meal instead of having the healthy salad. We knew going in. One of our great directors on the show – Steve Boyum is his name – and after every take – I’m paraphrasing because I don’t know if you swear in your publication – but after any great take, he would always say, “That’s the big movie stuff right there!” And that’s how we knew he had gotten the take that he wanted.

TrunkSpace: You’re kicking off the Summer TV season!
Gagliardi: Yeah. I like the idea that we’re beginning the summer movie season with a television show. That feels fun and groovy and subversive. Because any screen can show you anything now. I watch movies on an iPad before I go to sleep, so you can find a giant blockbuster popcorn story anywhere. I think that’s great. I think it’s fun.

Summer movies have always been my favorite season. I’m a huge Marvel MCU fan. I loved the “Lord of the Rings.” I love any big, epic thing. There’s a reason that I’ll go and see whatever giant, splashy Broadway show is opening because I love art, but I also love a little spectacle.

TrunkSpace: Well, and going back to 10-year-old Mark, that’s the kind of stuff that first draws us in.
Gagliardi: Exactly. There’s a reason that people cosplay at ComiCon in the costumes from the epic, fun, over-the-top stories. And those are the stories that always sang to me as a kid, and still do as an adult.

And one thing I love about the show is everybody involved in this show was high-fiving 10-year-old themselves in some way. We live in a world on this show where Indiana Jones movies exist, and Marvel movies exist, and we quote them, and we all watch them, and these are characters that nerd out for them. One of my most fun experiences reading a script for this was when I’m reading a script for an episode, and at one point, I quote the “Princess Bride.” I was like, “Oh, my God, I am quoting the Princess Bride. This is the greatest adventure show of all time.” 10-year-old me got a high five.

TrunkSpace: The most memorable thing for the viewer is always the end product, but for those involved it must go beyond that. What are you going to carry with you through the rest of your life and career from your “Blood & Treasure” experience?
Gagliardi: Two things. The smaller of the two being that… I’ve always wanted to be an actor since I was 5, from watching the behind the scenes footage for “Temple of Doom” and watching behind the scenes footage for “Never Say Never Again” when I was a really little kid, and seeing these giant movie sets with all the big cameras and lights and everything. I thought, “Oh, that’s what being an actor is,” which I, of course, have learned through the years that it’s not quite just that. So that’s why I say that’s the smaller of the two for me… walking into a set that is a huge Egyptian tomb with missing sarcophagi… that is evocative and fun. They’re blasting smoke, and there’s guys one ropes rigging booby traps. It’s this crazy thing.

But to me, I think the more important is… I had an acting teacher once tell me, “A story is a who, a what, and a where, but it’s always about the who.” That’s the heart of your story. And I think that this show in particular, for me as an actor, getting to meet and work with everybody who is playing at this level, and is still the kindest people in the world… we all just fell in love with the work and each other while we were doing this. I think that’s something for a TV show, too. I think we can fill it with explosions, but unless the audience cares who gets blown up, it doesn’t matter. So I think that what’s going to sustain the show is some really, fun, cool characters that I’d love to hang out with in real life.

TrunkSpace: This is a business with no certainties. With that said, sometimes the things we don’t plan for are the ones that are the game changers. What has been the biggest surprise of your career?
Gagliardi: I think there have been so many experiences in my career that I didn’t know at the time that they were going to send me on a trajectory. At first, this was an audition. I audition for a lot of different things. This is one I was particularly excited about because I read the script and loved it. So I really stuck to my gut on this audition.

Several years ago… things had started off small that just got progressively bigger, and I had no idea that that would happen… I did a little show at M Bar in 2005 called “The Thrilling Adventure Hour” that became this juggernaut podcast over the course of 10 years. We had movie stars guest starring in it. We were sold out, and we were adding shows, and we went on tour to Australia and New Zealand. So that was a huge thing that changed my life forever.

And another one, of course, was sitting on my couch, getting drunk and telling a story with Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner, and now that sitting on the couch, getting drunk, telling a story has become “Drunk History,” and is in its sixth season on Comedy Central. So that just is mind blowing to me that that became a thing.

“Blood & Treasure” airs Tuesdays on CBS.

Event: WWE SmackDown LIVE

City Attended: Providence, RI

Venue: Dunkin’ Donuts Center

Concert Date: 05-22-19

The Reason We Went: As children of the 1980s, we grew up with the understanding that if we trained, ate our vitamins, said our prayers and believed in ourselves that we could grow up as strong and raspy-voiced as Hulk Hogan. We idolized The Rockers, snapped into Slim Jims because Randy “Macho Man” Savage suggested it and loved to hate heel managers like Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. And now, 30+ years later, our kids are enjoying the same experience as they pour themselves into every pulled punch of current roster stars like The New Day, Becky “The Man” Lynch and Braun Strowman. It’s a shared experience that we can have with our kids that transcends generations, and in a world that is moving at the speed of light, it’s nice to have something that, while much different than the WWF that we enjoyed at their age, is essentially operating under the same set of rules.

What We Thought: With a big focus on character returns, including The New Day’s Big E and newly-formed heel Dolph Ziggler, the night offered a lot of surprises for those who don’t follow Internet spoilers. There was plenty of foreshadowing, including a main event between Roman Reigns and Elias, that further set the table for Reigns versus Shane McMahon at the upcoming WWE SuperShowdown on Friday June 7. Becky Lynch induced the most raucous pop from the crowd as the Rhode Islanders in attendance went nuts for the charismatic bad girl with good intentions. All in all, it was a night that both the young (our kids) and the old (us) could enjoy.

Bonus Takeaway: Live WWE events are a blast, but it can be jarring to watch the matches without the color commentary, which in our opinion, always enhances the action by way of propelling the narrative forward or injecting a dose of humor. Why not stream that commentary through the stadium speakers or at least offer up a way for those in attendance to listen live from their mobile devices? Hell, if we willingly paid $6.00 for a bottle of water, we’d be happy to pay for a chance to further enhance the experience.

And that’s why we’re giving this show…

Artist: Skating Polly

Song Title: “Flyer”

Single Sentence Singles Review: You’re never left having to take a flyer on new music from this Oklahoma trio because every song they deliver is grunge-pop goodness, including this most recent offering which is more infectious than peak flu season.

Beyond The Track: The band will be performing at the Vans Warped Tour 25^th Anniversary Show in California alongside All-American Rejects, Good Charlotte and Quicksand. Check out their full upcoming tour dates here.

Artist: Cricket Blue

Socials: Twitter/Instagram/Facebook

Hometown: Burlington, VT

TrunkSpace: Your latest album, “Serotinalia,” dropped May 10. As artists, is it difficult relinquishing control over your work and releasing it into the world? Does it ever feel overwhelming?
Heaberlin: Honestly, it feels nice. We started working on the album a year and eight months before the release (and started writing the songs years before that in some cases) and it feels great to be out of the stage where we would listen to the same song we’d heard a thousand times saying, “At two minutes in, did I say the word ‘garbage’ too strangely? Should we swap it out?” or “I know I thought the trumpet was too quiet last listen through but now I think it’s too loud.” It feels good to think of the album as a whole, finished thing, rather than under a microscope. It’s much better that way! And we’re so happy that people are interacting with the album now in their own ways.

TrunkSpace: The title of the album is so interesting, and we wonder, are these songs – the messages and meanings behind them – a response to the environment we’re currently living in? Would these songs – COULD these songs – exist if the album was conceived in a different time or place?
Heaberlin: That is such a great question! I mean, the title of the album and the fires in some of the songs invoke the idea of forest fires, and it just so happens that the country was devastated by forest fires as we were recording. If people want to connect those things we certainly welcome them to, though that was not our original intention. But I think our subject matter is more about individuals’ emotional landscapes than physical landscapes or even political landscapes. I won’t speak for Taylor, but a lot of the characters I put into my songs on this album are struggling with validation; they are women who are able to be validated only by things that make them feel unsafe or sad or angry or guilty. I certainly couldn’t have written about that subject outside of the cultural climate we’re in, but I think that’s a paradox women have lived with for a long time culturally, and it’s going to be very slow to correct. Like, I’m pretty sure it’s too late for my generation. But I hope, you know, 20 years down the line that young women will find that idea un-illuminating, and sort of heavy-handed. So in that way, I hope it is a product of its time.

TrunkSpace: The album is a literary journey in song form and was inspired by the likes of Alice Munro and Dylan Thomas. With that said, do you view each song as a chapter of the story, or is each song it’s own book?
Heaberlin: When we were writing the songs they were each their own individual “books” as you say. When we started placing them together and choosing our song order, there were certain resonances with some songs, and it started to be fun to view them as different perspectives on the same situation. For instance, if you think of “June” and “Psalm” being about the same breakup with different degrees of intimacy and self-denial happening in the narration, they layer together nicely – like the narrator is going through the various stages of grief. My favorite pairing of songs, though, is “Corn King” into “Little Grays.” “Corn King” is all about the inevitable demise of John Barleycorn when he is burned alive as a sacrifice to his lover, the deified earth. He dies to become the soil that holds and nourishes her new seeds, and there’s this implication that he’s erased again and again every year and he’s just as naive every cycle and the whole thing is quite tragic. “Little Grays” is a song I wrote about feeling elated and moved upon finding a favorite pair of scissors I thought I had lost when my house (actually) caught on fire. But if I pretend that the fire in “Little Grays” is the same fire that’s in “Corn King,” it’s an alternate ending to “Corn King” from an outside perspective that says: “Look, you’re okay! That was scary and I am so glad you’re alive! I love you!” It’s nice because the two songs contrast each other musically: “Corn King” is the most complicated song and arrangement on the album and it’s 12 minutes long. “Little Grays” I wrote basically in one sitting, it has no arrangement or even harmonies and it’s not even two minutes long.

TrunkSpace: The amazing thing about music and art in general is that the same piece of work can mean different things to different people. Does that also apply to both of you? Does this album and the work you both put into it mean something different for each of you? Does it represent different things?
Smith: Inevitably, I’m sure we each connect with songs the other person has written in a way that’s different from how the writer does. We do spend a fair amount of time trying to explain to each other where we’re coming from with something we’ve written, both in terms of what we were feeling or thinking about when we wrote the song, and what we’re hoping the song accomplishes for the listener. A lot of that happens while we’re revising, so often I’ll come to Laura and say something like, “Here’s what this line means, or what I want it to mean, but does it actually succeed at that?” And then she’ll think about it and give some suggestion that’s better! So sometimes she ends up putting in the meaning that I was trying to. Or sometimes, after talking about it, we’ll decide it’s better to go off in some totally different direction. So, in short: we do try to align our visions, and sometimes that’s because we’ve collaborated closely on some aspect of a song, but no doubt even in the final product Laura and I have different interpretations of and connections to the songs.

For listeners, I think the songs likely “mean” as many different things as people who listen. Actually, I often don’t think about what a song “means” as much as what a song “does,” since “meaning” kind of sounds like it should be unitary, but there’s nothing strange to me about thinking, “The song does this thing to Alice, and this other thing to Bob.” The magic isn’t in the music itself, right? The spark goes off at the intersection of the song and the listener.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with the album?
Heaberlin: We are really happy with the album, and so pleased to have gotten to work with so many amazing people on it. (Beehive Productions for the recording, the additional musicians we brought in are all amazing, our album artwork artist, etc.) One thing I think we are both really proud of is that we really did so much of it ourselves. We wrote all of the arrangements for the other instruments ourselves, and Jeff from Beehive allowed us to do a lot of our own editing on the album. We had the luxury of time, which helps a lot, but I would say that our level of involvement in every stage of the process is pretty unusual. And we learned so much along the way!

TrunkSpace: We talk with musicians all of the time about how albums become chapters of their lives – yearbooks that look back on their lives and spotlight moments in time. With that being said, what do you think “Serotinalia” will mean for you 10, 20 or 30 years from now?
Heaberlin: Wow, well that is hard to predict. I think that the release of “Serotinalia” marks the end of our early career. We put out two EPs before this and we did a fair amount of touring, but I hope that this new album will mark the beginning of the meat of things for us.

TrunkSpace: You both met in an a cappella group. Was it creative love at first sight? Did you instantly click on an artistic level?
Heaberlin: Well, yes! We absolutely did! We were both doing our own songwriting thing at the time, and so that was an immediate bond between us. I think our friendship was truly sealed one evening a couple weeks after I had joined the group (Taylor was a semester ahead of me at school) when we were at some fun party our a cappella group was throwing and Taylor and I found ourselves in a different room from everyone else discussing what Jeff Mangum’s best lyrics were on “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” We each music directed the group at various times, and when we were recording our a cappella album I was music director and Taylor was general manager, so you could say “Magic House” by the Middlebury Mamajamas was truly the first album we put out together.

TrunkSpace: Has where you’re based – Vermont – directly influenced your music and writing? Does a setting infiltrate the process, even on an organic level?
Smith: There is something kind of stuck-out-of-time of parts of Vermont. There’s plenty of opportunities to wander and encounter long stretches of unbroken forest or farmland, old graveyards, tiny towns with one store, weird idiosyncratic local landmarks. I do think it’s fertile ground to get the imagination humming, especially for the sorts of characters and situations that pop up on this album. A few of our songs do (in our minds) take place at literal places near where we live, though we don’t name them outright.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your musical career thus far?
Smith: Honestly, I think it’s probably putting this record out! But we’ve already talked a bit about that. Perhaps more specifically: I think getting to write for, practice with, and perform with the incredible musicians who recorded with us on “Serotinalia,” especially our string trio, has been a very long-time dream come true. Laura and I enjoy playing as a duo very much, but while I’m writing a song I often sort of hear a ghost version of the True Arrangement in my head — little countermelodies in the background, how the bass end would enter or fall or go silent, the timbre of a trumpet on this riff or whatever. Having a little “orchestra” this time around, and so getting to learn how to translate the vague sonic impressions I had into something concrete that actually sounds good and is playable was really new and challenging but also incredibly rewarding, and we really lucked out to have found players who just totally nail it.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Smith: Oh, probably not! Feeling like our goals are either a) hopeless or b) a foregone conclusion both seem like they’d sap some of the adventure out of the thing. That space of not knowing what to do or what will happen next is where you’re able to have fun.

“Serotinalia” is available now.

Artist: The Woolly Bushmen

Album: In Shambles

Label: Pig Baby Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Channeling the vibe of Providence, Rhode Island’s The Amazing Crowns, who themselves were tapping into the rockabilly roots of commercial music, The Woolly Bushmen bring shorefront swagger to their third album, never relenting even when they’re slowing it down for an Everly Brothers-like transition on “Fine,” which is actually better than fine, it’s great.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: You can genuinely feel the appreciation that the Florida-born band exhibits for what came before them. Their blend of rockabilly, pop and soul is like a love letter to the maturation and evolution of music. Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Kinks all lit the torch and The Woolly Bushmen are just carrying it forward.

Track Stuck On Repeat: Wax up your surfboard and get ready to hit the waves because when “Paid” starts playing, your mind is going to be struck with a beach blanket bonanza of coconut oil memories. Lather it up!

And that means…

Title: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Rated: R

Genre: Action/Thriller

Release Date: May 17, 2019

Run Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon

Director: Chad Stahelski

Writers: Derek Kolstad (Story and Screenplay), Shay Hatten (Screenplay), Chris Collins (Screenplay), Marc Abrams (Screenplay)

Reason We’re Watching It: The first two installments of “John Wick” were nothing short of cinematic action masterpieces. It’s a simple plot, but it’s done so well and with such a likeable cast of characters that you can’t help but overlook their murderous ways and root for them like they’re your hometown team. So, with that in mind, you can bet that we will be it the front row of every “John Wick” installment ready to root, root, root for the Mr. Wick team. Some of our group have even gone the extra mile, getting their spare pencils and John Wick licensed replica airsoft Pistol orders ready for beforehand!

What It’s All About: “Parabellum” picks up immediately where “John Wick 2” left off. Mr. Wick has become excommunicado with a $14 million bounty on his head as a result of killing a member of The High Table in The Continental hotel. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way that weave a narrative tapestry, as well as amazing fight sequences and even glimpses into John Wick’s upbringing and training.

Whoah! Rewind That!: There were so many great fight scenes it’s hard to pick one moment, but it was pretty great to see Charon (Lance Reddick) offer up his concierge services in ways we have not seen before in the “John Wick” films.

Watercooler-Worthy Tidbit: Ian McShane will inform you of this in the film, but “Parabellum” is from the Latin phrase: “Si vis pacem, para bellum,” which means, “If you want peace, prepare for war.” It is also another name for the 9mm handgun cartridge.

And that’s why we’re giving it…

Prior to entering the singer/songwriter arena, Jacob Miller was writing mostly jazz and blues songs. His genre transition wasn’t only a creative change of direction, but also an emotional necessity. Using the experience as a way to push forward through a particularly difficult time in his personal life, the Wisconsin-born musician’s goal was to create music that was authentic and honest, and given the end result – the dazzlingly-affecting “This New Home” – he achieved his objective.

We recently sat down with Miller to discuss opening the time capsule, learning to not second-guess himself, and how Aunt Rosie put him on his musical path.

TrunkSpace: Your debut album, “This New Home,” is due to drop on June 6. What kind of emotions are you juggling with as you gear up to release these songs into the world?
Miller: Kind of a mixed bag. It’s a bit surreal to work on something so diligently for a year and a half and then be in the mental space where you’re just ready to let it loose into the world. It certainly feels like a time capsule from a very specific handful of months in my life when I was writing the record in early 2018.

TrunkSpace: There’s so much music out there… most of which is accessible in a click or two. Can that be an overwhelming thought when you consider how crowded the landscape is?
Miller: I would say that overwhelming feeling comes and goes. With digital streaming and social media, etc., it can leave an artist with this sinking feeling that their material will be overlooked. But honestly, I write music because it’s what I love to do and if the songs can resonate with even a small group, I’ll consider that a win.

TrunkSpace: Talk to us a little bit about the title of the album and how it came to be. Is the “Home” a physical place or more of an emotional state of mind?
Miller: “This New Home” was the decided album title pretty much from the writing process of this collection of songs. The period in which I wrote them saw me through a big transitional phase in life; having gotten out of a long-term relationship and also disbanding a musical group that I had led for seven years. Quite a lot of change, and definitely more of a state of mind than a physical place.

TrunkSpace: What did you set out to accomplish with the album when you first set sights on bringing it to life, and now that it’s officially wrapped, do you feel like you have put a check mark in all of the boxes that you had originally hoped for?
Miller: The writing and recording of this album was again, very transitional for me. Before pursuing solo music, I was writing mostly jazz and blues songs. I wanted to try something very different, that was coming from the most authentic and honest place possible. These songs became tools that gave me strength to carry on during some pretty tough times.

My biggest goal was to write music that wasn’t pandering or adhering to some formula, but rather to create an album that felt sincere.

TrunkSpace: For the listener, the end result is always the most memorable aspect of an album… the physical music. But for you, what are some of the memories in bringing “This New Home” together that you’ll carry with you through the rest of your life and career?
Miller: The making of this album was definitely a memorable experience. I recorded basically the entire thing at my friend Charlie’s house in SE Portland. He has a grand piano in the living room, a drum set in the basement, etc. I found myself for days just alone in the house tracking and reworking arrangements. It gave me time and space to just fuck around, which made for a much more relaxed recording process than having done it in a studio.

I should mention that I did spend a handful of days with good friend and engineer, Ryan Oxford (Y La Bamba, Like A Villian, etc.), at Sound and Color Therapy Studios in NE Portland for some overdubs and various additions to the songs. It was a pleasure working with Ryan on the songs.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with the album?
Miller: I think I’m most proud of unabashedly trying something completely different than I’ve done before – musically. I love singer/songwriter music and the nuances that surround it. This album has been an outlet for me to try new things and not second-guess myself in the process.

TrunkSpace: Where did your journey with music begin? At what point did you decide to pursue it further than a hobby?
Miller: I grew up in Eden, WI (pop. 400) and sang in the church choir growing up. I’m not at all religious, but it was a good place to be exposed to music and music history. My Aunt Rosie who led the choir gave me a guitar when I was 12, and things just escalated from there.

I played in bands throughout my school years, then moved to Portland, OR when I was 19. I didn’t move to PDX with the intention of pursuing music professionally, but more for a change of scenery. A few years into traveling and on-and-off living in PDX found me in a place where I was taking music more seriously and it has become a pretty big part of my life. The act of emotional expression through music, paired with the community that surrounds it is something real beautiful.

TrunkSpace: You’ve written and performed in bands. How does the solo experience differ for you? Is it apples to oranges or more like apples to… more apples? Is the process the same, only with less minds in the mix?
Miller: I’ve done both and doing the solo thing has been a real treat. I love playing music with others; that shared experience and communicating together through sound is special. But after leading a six-piece band for seven+ years, steering the solo ship has been a nice reprieve. And it’s also allowed me to do and play exactly what I’d like to without compromise, which feels very respective to my own artistic process. It’s been a pleasant switch overall.

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your musical career thus far?
Miller: The highlights seem to vary! I’ve played Portland’s Keller Auditorium at a Ted Talk for 2500+ people a few years back, which was an incredible and simultaneously strange feeling. The big stuff is I assume what most people expect to hear, but I think my favorite experience that comes to mind is a house show I played in the Ravenswood neighborhood in Chicago, IL last fall. It was this elongated living room filled to the brim with about 60+ people. Pin drop silence.

A great joy I have is sharing what the songs I write are about, and telling those stories. At this particular house show, the audience was so respectful and receptive. It felt like we shared something.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Miller: I don’t think I would, I’ll let that unveil itself over time. If I did see what the future had brought me, I feel like I’d keep asking myself how I got there or what I should have done differently. For the time being I am trying to enjoy every day and be appreciative for the things I do have – musically and otherwise.

“This New Home” is available June 6.

Artist: Frankie Lee

Album: Stillwater

Label: River Valley Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: We can’t keep stressing what an incredible year 2019 has been for music. Week after week, album after album, we’re amazed and moved by the art being created across all genres, but without question Lee’s sophomore effort has been the most memorable. If digital recordings could be worn down by continuous play, our copy of “Stillwater” would be nothing more than a sonic blob by now.

What The Album Tells Us About Him: “I write music for adults, or at least for people who’ve gotten over most of their childhood and angst,” Lee said in a recent interview with TrunkSpace. That quote sums up our gut reaction when we first listened to “Stillwater.” As we continuously fall further and further outside of the desired demographic that those in power aim for when greenlighting commercial art – film, television, music, etc – this is an album that we relate to on multiple levels. As an artist Lee may make music for a general assortment of people, but it feels like it was created specifically for us. That’s not something that is easy to replicate.

Track Stuck On Repeat: Naming one song as our favorite is impossible to do because we’ve only ever listened to “Stillwater” as a complete collection. Sure, some tracks are better than others, but even those we’d deem ‘weaker’ are still stronger than those songs found on the albums of other artists. Therefore, “Play All” is our chosen method of repeat.

And that means…

Artist: Olden Yolk

Album: Living Theatre

Label: Trouble In Mind

Reason We’re Cranking It: We were already big fans of the duo since first hearing their self-titled 2018 debut, so naturally we had some expectations heading into this follow-up. Thankfully the combination of Shane Butler and Caity Shaffer didn’t let us down. The album is a poetic bundle of beauty that tickles of tranquility. If peace of mind had a soundtrack, “Living Theatre” would be it.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: Given that there was only a little more than a year between their previous release and this current album, the folksy pair is proving to be prolific. While some artists churn out content only to end up with more quantity than quality, Olden Yolk seems perfectly competent at doing both simultaneously, and that’s a good thing for the listener.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “Cotton & Cane” plays like something you’d hear on your parents’ favorite oldies channel, an upbeat throwback that forces a toe-tapping response from your body and a smile to stretch across your face. It’s a sunny Saturday morning on a three-day weekend.

And that means…

We grew up in the 1980s drinking Ecto Cooler and playing with our G.I. Joes, but we came into maturity in the 1990s, trading in our He-Man T-shirts for oversized sweaters that we held together using safety pins. Lisa Loeb shot to stardom right around that time with “Stay (I Missed You)” and we’re pretty sure she was our first legitimate celebrity crush, so when we heard the song was turning 25-years-old, naturally we couldn’t help but feel a little old ourselves. Thanks to Walk Off the Earth’s re-imagining of the Gen X classic, however, we’re celebrating with nostalgic streamers and sentimental birthday hats.

When not writing and recording their own material, the Juno-award winning, multi-platinum selling group is bringing fresh takes to old tracks, including Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You.” But for those of us who lived and breathed MTV in the ‘90s, “Stay (I Missed You)” is far and away their best creative collaboration yet.

We recently sat down with members Gianni Luminati and Joel Cassady to discuss pimple-faced astonishment, triggering memories, and the advice they would give to any band that tries to cover one of their own songs one day.

TrunkSpace: It’s hard to believe that “Stay (I Missed You)” is 25 years old. Like wine, great songs tend to get better over time. That being said, are some songs easier to re-imagine than others, and how did the past influence the present on this particular track?
Luminati: Yes, some songs are definitely easier to cover than others. Usually the better the song the easier it is for us to reimagine it. That’s why we love to cover good songs because they inspire us so much. Lisa’s song is such an anomaly and we thought of covering it for years so when the opportunity came up we knew exactly how to do it.

TrunkSpace: Lisa Loeb catapulted to fame when the single and video were originally released in 1994. Would the you from 1994 be surprised to hear that someday you’d be covering the classic track in such an eclectic way?
Luminati: Of course. Pimply faced 13-year-old me would be shocked if you told me 25 years later I would be in a room with Lisa re-imagining this timeless song!

TrunkSpace: Songs like “Stay (I Missed You)” mean so much to people. They become a part of our youth, tied to our memories. Is that something you consider when working with an iconic track like this, knowing that it has the potential to trigger memories and jump start glory days?
Luminati: Yes, we always keep this in mind while messing with iconic tracks. You don’t want to change it so much that you lose the familiarity of the arrangement to a point where it won’t trigger those memories for people. But still change it enough to make it your own.

TrunkSpace: Does working with the original artist – in this case Lisa – give you a different creative POV than if you went into the studio without the collaboration?
Luminati: Yes, of course! We had the opportunity to ask her so many questions about her writing process and collaboration process. She told us some really cool things about the creation of the song that we didn’t know about prior. You can’t pay for that kind of experience.

TrunkSpace: Are there great songs that should be left alone? Is anything off limits that the group won’t sink their collective teeth into?
Cassady: Nothing is off limits, but there’s definitely a special category of songs out there that needs to be treated more carefully than others based on how well-known and beloved they are. We’re very fortunate to be at a point where the original band or artist often winds up seeing/hearing our version of their song, but this also means that there’s an added pressure on us to really nail it! We do our best to not overthink anything and let arrangements come together naturally, but if we’re talking about something like a “Bohemian Rhapsody” or the idea of putting together a Beatles medley, it’s important to take the extra time and really make sure we feel we’re doing such legendary compositions justice.

TrunkSpace: If another group was sitting down to re-imagine one of Walk Off the Earth’s originals, what advice you give them about making it their own, while still staying true to the original?
Cassady: One of the most magical things about music is that it’s entirely subjective to a given creator or listener. The sound that one person might love more than anything in the world is the same sound that someone else might feel is comparable to nails on a chalkboard! I think it’s very important for creators to do things in a way that’s faithful to their musical voice, because fans tend to gravitate to what feels most genuine to them. This is the advice that I think we’d give to another band or artist wanting to cover a WOTE song: what’s true to the original is whatever’s most true to you!

TrunkSpace: What are the perfect conditions for you to tap into your creative space? Where are you at your best with new ideas?
Cassady: The creative process and the act of being inspired is an interesting beast in that you never quite know when, where, how or why it’s going to strike. Depending on the given day, this can be either frustrating or wonderful… sometimes both! Some days you want to be in a familiar surrounding with people that you know and trust, and that’s what lets you best tap into a great creative space. Other days, you’ll find yourself wanting to be totally out of your element in a new place or with a new collaborator so you can embrace the unknown and let that inform your process. Not knowing what it’s going to look and feel like until you’re actually in it is one of the most exciting parts of being an artist/creator.

TrunkSpace: What do you get being in Walk Off the Earth that you couldn’t achieve as a solo artist? What is it about the group atmosphere that continues to inspire you?
Cassady: The communal element of WOTE is something that definitely wouldn’t be the same in a solo sense. To have the ability to bounce opinions and ideas off of your bandmates and come from a place of true collaboration virtually every time we put a project together is something that certainly contributes to the eclectic sound that we’ve become known for. Rock to reggae, metal to EDM… WOTE is a safe space for all genres and influences and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

TrunkSpace: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Cassady: I think for many artists (ourselves included), one of the biggest goals is to inspire others in the same way that your favorite artists have inspired you. It’s a true full-circle moment, and it’s one that we’ve been fortunate enough to experience multiple times in multiple forms. Hearing that we’ve been able to inspire a younger person to get into music for the first time, hearing that we’ve been able to reintroduce or reinvigorate an older person’s love for music, and hearing “I don’t usually like stuff like this, but for some reason I like you guys” are all stand-out moments that are very special to us.

TrunkSpace: Time machine question. If you could jump ahead 10 years and get a glimpse of what your career looks like a decade from now, would you take that journey? If not, why?
Cassady: Absolutely! Even just thinking about how far we’ve come and how much we’ve changed over the 10 years that we’ve been doing our thing at this level, the idea of seeing what the next 10 might bring would be far too tempting to turn down. Life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and those events can often bring about the best forms of inspiration. We’ve always talked about wanting to be the first band to play a show in space…maybe a decade from now we’ll have done it!