Side Projects: The Steely Dan Approach

This episode made me think. A lot. I like Steely Dan. But the band and their music has always been a bit mysterious to me. Apparently it has also intrigued my guests. I’m joined by Jason Thomson of Vast Robot Armies, Jordan Zadorozny of Blinker The Star, and Paul Malinowski and Jason Gerken from Shiner. If you’re not familiar with the Steely Dan approach to music, it’s different than your typical way of making music. Each of my guests has experienced this in the studio, as part of of a live band, or both. Not only do they pull back the curtain on how Steely Dan worked, they also talk about how that has influenced some of the work they’ve done on their own.And Gerken gives us a tour story like no other I’ve ever heard.

Speaking of their own work, check out what each guy is doing. Paul and Jason are working on new Shiner music, among other things. Jordon is set to release a new Blinker The Star star album called Animal Math. And Vast Robot Armies has just released their latest album, The What Gallery. Check them all out on bandcamp. On Instagram, check out @shinerkc, @blinkerthestar, @vastrobotarmies, & @PerformanceAnx. And you can support the podcast with coffee at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety or merch at performanceanx.threadless.com. So let’s learn a little about Steely Dan on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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