Wrestling Team

Wrestling Team is a comedy duo operating in New York City. They make videos, write and perform sketches and songs, interview comedians, watch TV, eat cookies and gamble. Their names are Mark Bisi and Andy Beckerman. They can be contacted at [email protected] logo © 2007 Laura Fisk var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-20350113-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician and actor Will Oldham. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Will was an actor before becoming a musician, appearing in John Sayles' Matewan as a teenager, as well as in films like Old Joy, Junebug and The Guatemalan Handshake, as well as TV shows like Wonder Showzen. In the early '90s, he began playing music as Palace - or more accurately, as different permutations of the name Palace - but a few years later, adopted the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker which he's used ever since his 1999 album I See a Darkness. In the last two plus decades, he's released almost two dozen albums, some collaborations with artists like Bill Callahan and Matt Sweeney, and his latest Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You was just released in August on Drag City, and like everything else Will does, it's fantastic!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to writer and musician Geoff Garlock. Geoff has been playing music since high school, first with the hardcore punk band Switchstance, and eventually with the seminal screamo band Orchid, who in their five short years together released ten albums and 7"es, mostly on Ebullition. After Orchid broke up, most of the members started Panthers, who released four albums on labels like Troubleman Unlimited and Dim Mak, but after they broke up, Geoff began pursuing comedy. He wrote sketch and taught at UCB from 2002 until the theater was bought by private equity, and has written series for IFC, Adult Swim and numerous other outlets. Most recently, Geoff co-founded and co-hosts the sketch/improv podcast 108.9 The Hawk, which is easily one of the best comedy shows out there!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musicians Pat Place and Cynthia Sley of Bush Tetras. Both art students, Cynthia and Pat moved to New York in the 1970s and were soon sucked into the music scene. Pat became one of the founders and the guitarist of James Chance and the Contortions, and then in 1979, the two formed Bush Tetras. Their debut 7-inch, "Too Many Creeps", was released in 1980 on 99 Records, and even though they only stayed together for another three years, the band was an integral part of the downtown New York no wave scene. The band has reformed twice since then, once in the late-'90s and most recently in the mid-aughts, and they've been going strong since. Their latest album They Live in My Head was just released at the end of July on Wharf Cat Records, and it's fantastic!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Christina Schneider AKA Locate S,1. Originally from Westchester, New York, Christina began her career making music in various projects, such as C.E Schneider Topical, Christina Schneider's Genius Giant, and Jepeto Solutions., and in 2018, she began recording as Locate S,1. She's released three albums, Healing Contest, Personalia and her latest, Wicked Jaw, which was just released at the end of July by Captured Tracks!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician and artist Jad Fair. Originally from Coldwater, Michigan, Jad began playing music with his brother David in 1974 as the band Half Japanese. As an art rock group that charted its own path, Half Japanese soon began to be celebrated by tastemakers, and this led to their first record contract. Over the next fifty years, they released over two dozen albums and EPs, and as a solo artist, Jad has a discography as numerous as the stars in the sky. He's collaborated with everyone from Thurston Moore to Daniel Johnston to Teenage Fanclub to Yo La Tengo, and his latest album Jump Into Love just came out at the end of July on Fire Records!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Heather Trost. Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Heather really started taking music seriously in college, often touring whenever she wasn't in class. In the early 2000s, she met her now husband, Neutral Milk Hotel drummer Jeremy Barnes and joined his fledgling project A Hawk and A Hacksaw, making it a duo. Since that time, they have released six albums, the latest of which is Forest Bathing in 2018. As a solo musician, Heather has released four albums, and her latest Desert Flowers, was released late last year on Ba Da Bing Records, and it's great!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to writer and podcaster Matt Christman. Originally from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Matt wasn't pursuing anything specific when he started the left political podcast Chapo Trap House with two friends he met online. But the show struck a nerve in the general zeitgeist and turned into a career for Matt. The show has been going strong for seven years now, and through Chapo and their producer Chris Wade, Matt has created a number of fantastic miniseries: Hell of Presidents, which looks at the ways America has changed by looking at who has been in power, and most recently Hell On Earth, which tells the story of the Thirty Years' War, both as a history lesson and as a analogy for our own era.

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to Emmy Award-winning puppeteer David Bizzaro. Originally from Fresno, CA, David moved around a lot as a child. He fell in love with theater, and eventually began working in a field adjacent to that, as a visual generalist, making videos and other things for the live shows of bands like The Flaming Lips. Puppetry, though, was something he came to in adulthood, when he needed to learn the skill for a TV ad. He found that puppetry just felt right for him, and since then has worked on a number of great shows, performing as Mochi in the hit show Waffles + Mochi and most recently, Gerald Teeth Sr. in The Muppets Mayhem.

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

Permalink RSS Feed                  Facebook                           

[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Lindsay Olsen AKA Salami Rose Joe Louis. Originally from San Diego, Lindsay worked in the sciences as a lab tech and made music on the side until Flying Lotus' label Brainfeeder released her third album Zdenka 2080 in 2019, which gave her the courage to pursue music professionally. This was followed up by Chapters of Zdenka the next year, and her most recent, Akousmatikous, was released in May, and it's great!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

Permalink RSS Feed                  Facebook                           

[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician and composer Rob Mazurek. Originally from Jersey City, Rob started playing trumpet and cornet in high school after his family moved to Naperville, Illinois. He first learned the foundations of improvised music while studying jazz theory and practice with David Bloom at the Bloom School of Jazz in Chicago, and then became a mainstay of Chicago jazz in the 1980s. In 1994, Rob formed the Chicago Underground Collective with guitarist Jeff Parker and a cast of revolving players, which in turn birthed Isotope 217, both groups releasing albums on the seminal label Thrill Jockey. In the decades since then, Rob founded the Exploding Star Orchestra, has earned numerous commissions and awards, and in general has created more music and art than a short bio can properly elucidate. Earlier this spring, Rob's most recent work for Exploding Star Orchestra, Lightning Dreamers, was released on International Anthem, and like everything else Rob creates, it's wonderful!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to musician John Grant. Originally from Buchanan, Michigan, John moved to Germany in 1988 to study German, but eventually moved back to the States, where he formed the band The Czars, who released seven albums in the 12 years they were together. After a four-year hiatus, John began making music again under his own name, and the five albums he’s recorded since have garnered both critical praise and commercial success. In 2013, John moved to Iceland, where he works as a translator, and just last week Creep Show, John’s collaboration with the synth group Wrangler, released their second album Yawning Abyss on Bella Union!

(Photo by Ari Magg)

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

Permalink RSS Feed                  Facebook                           

[beginningspod]

It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to musician and composer Zeena Parkins. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Zeena is a pioneer of contemporary harp practices and has essentially “reinvented the harp”. Since moving to New York in 1984, Zeena has collaborated with countless musical luminaries like John Zorn, Ikue Mori, Elliott Sharp and Bjork, recorded over a dozen fantastic albums and collected more accolades than you could count in a week, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. For 13 years, Zeena held the prestigious Darius Milhaud Chair in Composition at Mills College, and at the end of June, her latest album of compositions LACE will be released on Chaikin Records!

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

Permalink RSS Feed                  Facebook                           

[beginningspod]

It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to TV and comics writer J. Holtham. Originally a playwright, J. moved to Los Angeles in the early 20-teens to pursue screenwriting, eventually landing a staff writer position on the show Pitch. Since then, he’s written for Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Jones, Supergirl and The Handmaid’s Tale. As a comics writer, the final issue of J.’s first miniseries Bishop: War College just dropped, and it is delightful!

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Isabel Olive AKA Half Gringa. Originally from Carbondale, Illinois, Isabel has been playing as Half Gringa - a nod to a childhood term of endearment as “la Gringa” in her Venezuelan family and her bicultural experience growing up in the United States - since the late 20-teens. Her first album Gruñona was released in 2017 and her second Force to Reckon in 2020. Earlier this year, she released the Ancestral Home EP, and this summer she'll be on tour supporting Iron & Wine!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

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It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to cartoonist Joey Alison Sayers. Originally from Colorado Springs, CO, Joey has drawn comics for most of her life, but only really started publishing them as minicomics in her mid-20s. This led to many other opportunities, such as her strip The Machine That Travels Through Time, which ran in Mad Magazine for almost a decade and Thingpart, which was syndicated in a number of newspapers in the late-aughts. Currently, Joey writes the syndicated comic Alley Oop, and her own comics run on the wonderful left-wing political comics site The Nib.

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

Visit Original Link

It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to comedian and director Bobcat Goldthwait. Originally from Syracuse, Bobcat’s career is so full of hyphens that “multihyphenate” doesn’t even scratch the surface. From acting in films like Police Academy and Scrooged to directing TV for shows like Community and Jimmy Kimmel to directing comedy specials for folks like Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt to directing his own films like World’s Greatest Dad and God Bless America. But since the start of his career, Bobcat has been a stand-up. His special with Dana Gould Joy Ride was released in 2021 and his latest album Soldier for Christ was just released at the end of April by Pretty Good Friends, and it is great!

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[beginningspod]

Visit Original Link

It’s time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today’s episode, I talk to musician Carl Newman. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Carl began his musical career in the early ‘90s as a member of Superconductor, but it was really with his next band Zumpano where he began to find his voice, a style that would come to fruition with The New Pornographers. Since their first album Mass Romantic in 2000, the band has become one of the preeminent indie rock groups of the 21st century, with nine albums to their name, all of which are great. Carl has also recorded three wonderful solo albums, and most recently The New Pornographers’ latest album Continue as a Guest was released on Merge Records, and like everything else they’ve done, it is just delightful!

I’m on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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