Blind Shovel: Arts and Music Interviews
I started Blind Shovel simply out of the desire to start cataloging the thoughts and projects of my often overlooked peer group. Fortunately, over the last 10 years or so I have been able to connect with and develop deep relationships with artists across many disciplines and backgrounds. Oftentimes the complex nature of these artists is reduced to overly-romantic tropes that do a disservice to both consumer and creator, and hopefully these interviews illuminate the varied and strange boundaries that make up artists.
Structurally, the podcast is more akin to a casual, but deep, phone call with a good friend, usually falling between 60-90 minutes. To compliment the casual interview style, Dory Bavarsky and Mingjia Chen are brought in to add color and vibrancy to the beginning and end of each episode, with each intro and outro being custom made per interview, so as to not create a redundant and lifeless theme song.
Begrudgingly, as playing favorites is often thankless, I would recommend potential listeners start with one of the below episodes:
- Jonathan LeVine - Cyclone Static & The Elks
- Dory Bavarsky - Bach & Being A Record Label
- Brad Hock - Old Boy's Apples & Young Man's Folly
As for what may appear to be a strange name for the podcast, it is fairly straightforward, “Blind” because there is no visual component to the interviews, and “Shovel” because the interviews are meant to unearth the depths of the interviewee. More literally, it is a direct reference to a fairly insignificant detail found within Gene Wolfe's fantasy epic The Book of the New Sun:
“Excavations of all kinds, by a single digger or 20 score. Stone is not too hard nor mud too soft. Ask on Argosy Street at the sign of the BLIND SHOVEL. Or inquire at the Alticamelus around the corner on Velleity.”
At the time of writing this there have been 83 episodes released every Tuesday at 8pm EST, and the intent to maintain that weekly pace indefinitely.
Keep diggin,
M
Listen here: Blind Shovel on Spotify
