Self Immolation with Joshua Wentz: Recent Episodes
Joshua Wentz
Part production diary, part personal music history, all naval-gazing. Exploring over 25 years of recording music as a solo artist, in bands, for movies and theatre productions, books, and more. Sharing thoughts on productivity, experimentation, success, and failure in music.
Here's all twelve of this year's Mike Oldfield covers. Happy New Year!
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Four different versions of the same piece of music, across 50 years. Recorded live on Blast Radio 12.12.22.
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Me being in a bad mood because it's December. Rambling on Blast Radio. And piano improv.
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What's up? Here's a demo, a song, and an improv. That's what I got.
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In this episode, I destroy something that I kept only to cause myself pain.
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Bam! A new episode. Maybe I'm drunk. I haven't had a lot, but it's STRONG.
Today I go through a few of the tracks I'm working on, which are rebuilds of things I recorded 20 years ago. Trying to figure out if the bones are good. I think they're good. I hope they're good!
Enjoy the day.
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Can you rely on yourself to "get it right" and be spontaneous at the same time? What is improvisation? What is learning a song? How do you thread that needle?
We talk about "Forced Perspective", a new single from a band I'm in called Parc Department, and how being free-wheeling in composition for that song is now causing me problems. And then I play the Rhodes for a bit. Join me!
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Hello! This episode is about waiting around a long time to get a record. The podcast is about burning down the ego, and in light of the tragic protest of Wynn Bruce this past week, I wanted to make sure it's clear that though the podcast is light, a man's death isn't taken lightly. I hope that he is at peace and his family and loved ones are okay.
We listen to my cover of "Weightless", drink a NOLA Milk Punch, and set off for a micro-tour around the Chicago area.
~Jw
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When I'm feeling stressed, I play piano.
Join me on Blast Radio on 4.19.22, at 4:19p Central to listen along with me as I stream Eiffel 65's 1999 album Europop from front to back. You know you want to.
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Two versions of the same song! Songwriting! Cynar! Everything you've come to expect from this podcast.
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It's time again to dig into the dreaded "Unreleased" folder and randomly choose some old old old music I created back in the days when I knew even less about what I was doing than I do now. What will we hear this time? Only the Web Number Picker knows for sure!
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It's time for another round of "Two Versions of the Same Song!" This time it's about a track from the newly released Subdivisions EP.
If you're in Chicago, come see me play live on 2/13, 3pm Central at Tone Deaf Records, and if you're not in town, you can stream the show live on my Blast Radio Channel.
Later!
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This week's episode is the first time we've done what we intended with this show - to share work in progress elements on a current work in progress! My upcoming album Ronchamp is an attempt at capturing a specific memory in music, and improvisation is an important part of bringing that memory into focus.
Home of the podcast: joshuawentz.com/podcast
IG: joshua_w_wentz
Have a good one!
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Today we're drinking the podcast favorite: a Bitter Giuseppe!
We're also listening to two collaborations with Jienan Yuan, a frequent music partner who recently uploaded two EPs to Spotify that feature work we've done together. Here are the Bandcamp links to these EPs:
Interlink: https://jienanyuan.bandcamp.com/album/entity01-interlink
J/J/J/J: https://jienanyuan.bandcamp.com/album/entity03-j-j-j-j
Note: I'm playing a show in Jessica Risker's band on 1/22/22 at the Hideout.
Note: I'm playing a solo show on 2/13/22 at Tone Deaf Records. With me on the bill are fellow Blast Radio artists Prokharchin and Cinchel.
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Just some meditative something-or-other. If you like the track and don't want my intro/outtro talking, head over to joshuawentz.com/podcast and you can download it there, for free.
Take care of yourself.
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Ending the year without any fanfare! That's how we're saying goodbye to 2021. No countdowns or best-ofs, just a few tracks that I recorded from some vinyl records a million years ago. There is a really fun one in the mix, though, so it's all worth it.
See you in 2022!
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Today we'll listen to a selection of tracks from the Chicago Songwriting Club Holiday Compilation. Please go pick up this selection of 21 songs, as the proceeds go to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Have a great week, we'll see you on the other side of Xmas.
- 12 Days of Mike Oldfield Vol. 6
- Chicago Songwriting Club Holiday Compilation
Later~Jw
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We take a spin with the random number picker and listen to tracks from my mysterious "Unreleased" folder. That about covers it!
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Hello! This week we listen to a few versions of my favorite traditional song, including a cover (of a cover) by yours truly. Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is more, right? Here's some work form John Keating, Mike Oldfield, and Sinead O'Conner.
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This week we look at a song evolution, originating as a listless instrumental and ending in a fantastic collaboration.
Check out Steve O'Connell's music here: silvergirl.bandcamp.com
Check out Chien's label here: 1473.bandcamp.com
And his latest release (as Jienan Yuan) is here: 1473.bandcamp.com/album/kyomei
Also, if you have a link to where I can buy ONLY small spoons, and a lot of them, please let me know!
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This is the first time I've recorded the podcast while simultaneously streaming on Blast Radio and it was... well, a blast! If you haven't checked out the Blast Radio app, I highly recommend it (go here) and check out all the musicians streaming live stuff, DJ sets, and more. Really fun!
In this episode we listen to a cover of "A Real Hero" that I did a while back, and also an experiment/sketch primarily to mess with drum machines and FX pedals. Fernet Branca makes another appearance.
Oh, and I'm playing a show at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel this coming Thursday (11/18) with Jessica Risker. If you're in Chicago I recommend checking it out.
Visit joshuawentz.com/podcast for all the links and such.
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Today we'll A/B two versions of the same song, drink an easy drink, and give expert advice to top-selling recording artists who desperately need to hear what someone else has to say.
The new home of the show: joshuawentz.com/podcast
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
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Today we listen to a piece of music I don't even remember recording, but then we figure out why I recorded it and listen to THAT piece of music. We also talk about potato salad, and how we choose to support artists.
My bandcamp subscription page: https://joshuawentz.bandcamp.com/community
Drinking: Bitter Giuseppe
Artemis Appearance: Yes
Oldfield References: None
Feel free to go to the home of the podcast, anchor.fm/selfimmolation and leave me a message if you want. I'll listen to it, I swear!
This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
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At last, the story of a cosmic murder crow can be told!
We round out the Spooky Times with a piece from the BoHo production of "Scotland Road", as well as Parts 2 and 3 of CORVUS III. Some links for you:
Scotland Road Soundtrack: https://joshuawentz.bandcamp.com/album/scotland-road
CORVUS Full Series: Spotify Link
Brash Flair: http://brashflair.com
Victor Borge playing music backwards and upside down: https://youtu.be/dKeqaDSjy98
If you want to tell me what to make with Fernet Branca, leave me a message on the show home page!
Have a Happy Halloween!
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Talk about making soundtrack music. Trying to recall a symphonic fairy tale. Mistaking architects for chancellors. And so much more!
Mentioned in this episode:
https://manyplaces.bandcamp.com
https://estermusic.bandcamp.com
https://willorchard.bandcamp.com
https://jessicarisker.bandcamp.com
The You're Next EP: https://delorianroyal.bandcamp.com/album/youre-next-ep
Buckle Up, Punk!: https://youtu.be/E3TxvjAWCy8
Oh, and there is a saw blade, but it doesn't end up in anyone's face.
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It's been haunting us for centuries! Hey, what up? Today we're talking about being forced to do nothing, drunken masters, going back through the digital graveyard/landfill, and writing music for a murder mystery.
Albums mentioned:
Introspection by Tony Romera
Life in Volcanoes by Povi
Tubular Bells II by Mike Oldfield
Also mentioned in this ep:
https://judgementday.bandcamp.com
https://aboutfacetheatre.com
Next week we'll be moving away from theatre music and talking a bit about movie music! At least, that's the plan.
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Do you like spooky things? I don't, really. But sometimes I do them, to varying degrees. This episode is a solid 2 on the Spooky Scale, even if we do talk about grim reapers. We also talk about Cloudlifters, cold brew, and disturbing YouTube commercials.
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In this episode I mention a science fiction TV show, a beer cocktail, and more songs about birds. Artemis the kitty visits us, and I go on about a Mike Oldfield project, and musical collaboration. I will play you two versions of the same song, and Kanye fans might be mildly interested in this. Kanye himself might be interested in the podcast I mention at the end of the episode.
This episode has its own artwork, can you see it? It's from (in my opinion) the best SF and fantasy cover illustrator of all time and is super relevant if you know what you're looking at.
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In this episode I talk about the path to creating a new song, drink tequila, and admit I don't know specific dance moves. To get a free download of the song in today's episode, visit joshuawentz.bandcamp.com
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Taking a spur of the moment idea and turning it into something more finished. Drinking a Suze & Tonic. Artemis joins us again - at this point she may end up having co-host status.
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Drinking a drink, playing an ambient thing, talking about home repair.
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Episode 1. After some false starts, a new podcast. I talk vaguely about the few-too-many things I have going on, play a cover, play some piano so that my cat will chill out, and that's the long and short of it.
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