Across the Margin: The Podcast

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with pioneering saxophonist and composer Skerik. Over three decades, Skerik has built a devout following through his often contrarian, outsider approach to jazz, funk, and rock music. A founding member of Critters Buggin, Garage A Trois, The Dead Kenny Gs, and DRKWAV, among others, he has also become an essential contributor to several Les Claypool projects and has collaborated with artists including Pearl Jam, Mad Season, and Roger Waters. This episode focuses in on Skerik’s latest endeavor, his first fully fledged ambient album in a 30-plus-year career, SKERIK 061725, Ambient music elements have long appeared throughout Skerik’s work, but here he fully embraces the approach across six tracks, using multi-dimensional, layered “saxophonics,” shaped by electronic effects, to create a dreamlike state of sonic texture and sound. In this episode host Michael Shields and Skerik discuss how SKERIK 061725 (Loosegroove Records) was stitched together in one day and the influences and stories behind the enthralling album. They discuss forthcoming albums from other Skerik projects including ones from DRKWAV and Garage a Trois. They also talk about the reissue and birthing of Critters Buggin’s debut album Guest, and so much more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with renowned pianist and composer Kimball Gallagher. Gallagher’s journey as a pianist has carried him far beyond the traditional concert hall. A Boston-raised musician trained at Juilliard, he began questioning the narrow path often available to concert pianists early in his career. That curiosity led him to launch an ambitious 88-concert tour across seven continents, funded by 88 supporters who each sponsored one key of the piano. These intimate, community-hosted performances brought classical music out of formal halls and into living rooms, cultural centers, and gathering spaces worldwide. Along the way he encountered communities where music served as a tool for leadership, inspiring him to found 88 International, a nonprofit that now runs youth-led music initiatives in Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, The Gambia, Myanmar, and Taiwan. Its flagship program, Tunisia88, established student-led music clubs in all 592 public high schools in Tunisia, giving students space to write songs, organize concerts, and lead creative projects in their communities. Just weeks ago, that work came to life in the U.S. as the Tunisia88 Alumni Choir completed its first U.S. tour — a two-week East Coast journey where young musicians performed original songs, collaborated with university choirs, and shared how a post-revolution experiment in student voice grew into a global youth movement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Pat Kelly. Pat recently released his fifth album, and his first for Glamour Gowns Records, entitled Hook, an enticing and cathartic set of songs that evokes self-doubt, delusional ambition, anger, and wistfulness. Pat’s lyrical prowess is exceptional. His wordplay and delivery brings to mind some of the greatest, from David Berman of the Silver Jews, to Bill Callahan and Leonard Cohen. In this interview host Michael Shields and Pat discuss some of the meaningful themes that manifest themselves throughout Hook, the tremendous musicians who helped Pat bring the album to life, the unique inspirations behind the songs on Hook, and more.
Find Pat Kelly’s Hook here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with Natalie Kyriacou, an award-winning environmentalist, charity director, and author. Natalie was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and the Forbes 30 Under 30 honor for her services to wildlife and environmental conservation in 2018, and was recognised as one of The Australian’s ‘Top Innovators’ in 2022. She was the UN Environment Programme’s ‘Young Champion of the Earth’ Finalist and is LinkedIn’s Top Green Voice. She is a Board Director at the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife and CARE Australia, the Founder of My Green World, a UNESCO Green Citizens Pathfinder, a member of the XPrize Brain Trust for Biodiversity and Conservation, and an Australian Delegate and Climate Justice Lead at the W20 (the official engagement group of the G20). Her book — Nature’s Last Dance : Tales of Wonder in the Age of Extinction — is the focus of this episode. Amidst the tragedy of wild species extinction lies a hidden world of survival and wonder. Conservationists are embroiled in a high-stakes clash with a drug cartel to save a porpoise. Scientists are fighting to save a flightless bird that romances rocks. Unconventional animals are upending 21st century beauty standards, and financiers are betting on whale poo to make its debut on Wall Street. Nature's Last Dance is a story of survival and extinction, of life and death, of curiosity and perversion, of unimaginable joy and harrowing sorrow. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly unfolding mass extinction event, Nature's Last Dance takes readers across hunting grounds, through jungles and oceans, inside communities, through trafficking rings and courtrooms, and into the heart of battles to survive against all odds.
Grab a copy of Nature’s Last Dance here!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Across The Margin : The Podcast features an interview with director Naja Lockwood. Naja has executive produced multiple documentary and narrative films focusing on social justice and is the founder of RYSE Media Ventures which supports stories of diverse voices. Born in Vietnam, Naja immigrated to Massachusetts during the Fall of Saigon. As a refugee, Naja continues to advocate for immigrants from her undergraduate years to her current work with the Governor's Workforce Services. She serves on the Committee for Ethnic Studies and Asian American Studies at Harvard University and The Coalition for Diverse Harvard. She is the Founder and CEO of Naja Lockwood Designs which supports female artisans of Southeast Asia. She is the director of “On Healing Land, Birds, Perch,” which is the focus of this episode. “On Healing Land, Birds Perch (Đất Lành Chim Đậu)” tells the stories behind the iconic photograph taken by Eddie Adams during the 1968 Tet Offensive titled “Saigon Execution.” The film presents an opportunity to delve into the complex narratives and the lasting impact of a single moment captured in time. The photograph of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer, Nguyen Van Lem, has become a powerful symbol, often viewed as emblematic of the brutality of the Vietnam War. However, it also represents much more than the act of violence it depicts. It reflects the personal stories, struggles, and the human costs of war for generations that continue to reverberate today.

Watch “On Healing Land, Birds Perch” here!

*A correction to what’s said on the podcast: Malcolm Brown’s burning monk photo was taken in 1963, not 1968.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.