Truth be told, there’s not really an artist that does what Tamara Lindeman does. With her project, The Weather Station, she’s figured out how to weave personal stories with universal themes that touch….well, all of us, really. What intrigues Tamara above all else is humanity, the ways we’re connected through this planet we live on, and the highest of highs and deepest of lows that come with being a human being. Her latest album is called Humanhood, it's one of the most creatively inspired albums I’ve listened to in a long while, and this conversation you’re about to hear has made me appreciate that body of work even more. Naturally, we chat about the way Tamara and her band fuses sounds of folk, rock, baroque, and stream of consciousness across the album, while also talking about her persistent passion towards climate advocacy and how caring about that is more personal than you expect.

Stop me if you heard this one before: a group of four friends form a band, create music that initially people don’t understand but ultimately they win the hearts of a nation, inadvertently becoming THE biggest band of their country. And then suddenly the beloved lead singer decides to quit and start life anew. Ok, you’re right, I also haven’t heard of such a story, but that’s the unique story of Dutch musician Eloi Youssef, ex-frontman of the rock band Kensington (or at least the story so far).

It’s mentioned within this episode, but this one came about from a beautiful place of serendipity: me wanting to talk to Eloi about his post-Kensington life and Eloi arriving at a place where he wanted to talk about it. Along with discussing how his life has changed, we also talk in-depth about the tour he embarked on with the orchestral group Kamerata Zuid, a very first for Eloi. If this is your first time listening to the podcast, I’m happy to say that this is a perfect place to start and welcome.

(Thanks for the help on this one, Todd Owyoung!) It’s kind of wild how intoxicating the idea of “quitting your day job to chase your dreams is.” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that the glow of that idea becomes brighter rather than dimmer for many of us. But what about the realities of doing such a thing? Well, that’s something that photographer Deanie Chen knows all too well. Deanie is a photographer that largely focuses on musicians, traveling with them and documenting their moments both on stage and off. She’s toured with the likes of Lizzy McAlpine, Lawrence, and Mumford and Sons as they play some of the biggest stages around the world. Prior to dedicating her life to this, Deanie also studied law, passing the bar exam and working at a law firm. Though it might seem like a fantasy dripped in more glamour than you can imagine, the realities of such a path are far from easy; which is exactly what we chat about on today’s bonus episode.