25 O'Clock

Joe talks to Dan about how he "accidentally" started Philly Music Lessons, his desire to never have a regular job, and how he grew his business slowly over the years. Amidst the pandemic, Joe has pivoted the school into the online world, and talks about the ups and downs of staying afloat over the past year. Dan and Joe also get into music they love (The Beatles, Phish and the Dead definitely come up), and the never ending quest to "stay even".

Dan and Benjamin Hughes of Night Windows have been friends since about 2011 or so, when their bands played together in New York a few times. Dan holds Ben up as one of his favorite songwriters of all time, and Ben returns to the show for the first time in about six years. Ben talks about the recent Night Windows records, including the most recent 'In Memories' LP, and delves into how the songs came together, the difference with the writing process on the last couple of records, and how he didn't write or do anything musical for nearly half a year during the pandemic. Grief, sadness, small-town life, and how to come out of it are all themes that live large in the Night Windows song book, and Ben gets into all of it. 'In Memories' is out now and available wherever you get digital music, and also available on vinyl through the band's website.

Night Windows w. Graduation Speech, 6/12 at McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell

Check out Ben's first 25 O'Clock appearance back in early 2015.

Marcelyn (Marcelyn, the band) and Juliet Eve (Bad Sleeper) had an idea: they'd write a song and have their bands team up and collaborate on it. Then, we all went inside for a very long time. But amidst lockdown and distancing, both Marcelyn and Bad Sleeper managed to each make their own version, and that's what Dan talks to them about, along with what they're doing to keep working amidst the pandemic.

Dan and Kirby get right down to it: their isolation, the crushing blow all their 2020 plans took, and Kirby's first solo album, 'Happy People Make Happy Things'. Kirby talks about making a record by hitting up against his own limitations, and how years of collaborating on other people's music gave him a big crowd to choose from when it came to finishing his own.

Dan took a trip out to Wayne, PA to sit down with rock n' roll lifer Paul Keen (Pawnshop Roses, Dead Flowers, Wolf & Vixen). Paul talks about growing up loving the classic rock of his parents, especially The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Faces, and The Who, and finding a home in the Manayunk music scene at The Grape Room and Dawson Street Pub. Dan and Paul discuss the finer points of being two aging music guys who are trying hard not to be cranky nostalgists, the merits of dive bars and clubs, and how a life of playing out at bars has to be handled just right so as not to make your life a never-ending party. Paul's newest project is a duo with his partner, author C.C. Lane, Wolf & Vixen. they have a new single out now called "Everyone's On Drugs", available wherever you get your digital music. Dan's note: This is the last episode I'll be producing while residing in Philadelphia for a while. Next you hear from me, I'll likely be balancing a Zoom H6 on my lap while holding a mic in a small apartment in the North Point neighborhood of Hong Kong. There are a handful of interviews I conducted while still in Philadelphia, and I'll be putting those out over the next weeks. Philadelphia will always be part of me, and I'll be back to visit, and eventually to live again. I'll miss each and every one of you. Be well.