Are Drummers Musicians?

To kick off the podcast for 2025, the first episode of the year is with special guest marigolden (aka Mel O’Neill). Consistent with Scout’s love of snuggling with guests, this week’s guest marigolden got comfortable with the pup whilst sharing her thoughts on music, some of her creative processes, and the journey through classical voice training and jazz school, to creating the music of Marigolden, an authentic and raw indie-rock-folk act. We laughed, reflected, and listened deeply as Mel shared her experiences and perspectives as a musician. She spoke about the importance of listening and how it shapes her artistry, the challenges and joys of releasing albums, and the evolution of her voice over time. Mel reflected on the elitism often found in classical and jazz music and how she navigated these environments to ultimately find and embrace her own voice. As a self-identified songwriter, Mel discussed the balance between striving for technical perfection and prioritizing the heart of songwriting. She shared insights from taking Adrianne Lenker’s songwriting course and her experience with The School of Song, which provided fresh perspectives on music creation. We also touched on the institutionalization of music education, with Mel humorously imagining legends like Miles Davis saying, “Okay, I’m off to jazz school!” A special shoutout goes to producer Natasha Newling, who has worked closely with Mel to bring her music to life. This episode dives into the authenticity and vulnerability of Mel’s music and offers a heartfelt exploration of her creative journey.

A new music interview podcast based in Melbourne/Naarm, continues in 2025! Luke and his dog Scout host conversations with artists & session musicians, emerging & established, on their couch in Brunswick (Naarm/Melbourne, AUS). We record a collection of meaningful conversations with musicians that resonate well beyond the immediate context of current events and promotional-cycles. Thank you to everyone who has been on the show in 2024; you can listen to all 36 episodes that have been released already here or on our website. Visit aredrummersmusicians.com

In this special bonus episode, we ask the question: What is your favourite Christmas album, and why? Short Taster Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3UIMA3vM30NNYoI9Xbr3f4?si=5e6d1ab5531d4e62 Full Albums Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fScBcJ9KYQh4ppl7gBm9N?si=6a28863246f540dd Ruby Lulham: The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (The Beach Boys) Holly Moore: Song - Christmas in LA (Vulfpeck) Raleigh Williams: White Christmas Compilation (Bing Crosby); A Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi Trio) Leroy Floyd: Jimmy Smith ‘64/Christmas Cookin’ (Jimmy Smith) Alexis Naylor: I Want to Spend Christmas With You (Mark Turner and Steve Hensby Band) Rodney Taylor: Song - How to Make Gravy (Paul Kelly) Anna Hooper: Joy (Benjamin Amos) Amelie Roussac: It’s A Holiday Soul Party (Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings) Mezz Coleman: Wintersong (Sarah McLachlan) A2K - Alex Kwong: A Very Laufey Holiday (Laufey) Matt Wild: Let It Snow Baby…Let It Reindeer (Reliant K) Murray Singleton: A Timeless Christmas (Israel & New Breed) Anni Raggatt: The Sounding Joy: Christmas Songs in and out of the Ruth Crawford Seeger Songbook (Elizabeth Mitchell); Ella & Louis Christmas (Ella Fitzgerald; Louis Armstrong); A Very She & Him Christmas (She & Him); Favourite Carols from King’s (Choir of King’s College) Fran Chong: Song - My Only Wish (This Year) (Britney Spears); Song - How to Make Gravy (Paul Kelly) Kate McKevitt: The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaicovsky)  Briony Poole: Once Upon A Christmas (Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers) Pana Ángel Castillo Moreno: Song - Soulsa Verde (The Winfield Road Experiment) Lash78: It’s a Hi-5 Christmas (Hi-5) Marien Singleton: Richmond AOG Federation Square Compilation (Jared Heschek) Emma Hilton: Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition - Michael Buble) Luci Floyd: Christmas Cookin’ (Jimmy Smith) Greg Arnold: Song - White Wine in the Sun (Tim Minchin) Nathan Liow: Christmas with PJ Morton (PJ Morton) Myles Mumford: A record that you put on on Christmas Eve. Ryan Griffith: Song - Pretty Stars (Bill Frisell); Song - Merry Christmas Baby (Lou Rawls); Song - Christmas Eve (Archie Roach, with Paul Kelly) David Quested: A Bowtie Christmas and More (Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow) Brayden Becher: A Heavy Metal Christmas (Christopher Lee) Kate Van Nugteren: Christmas with the Rat Pack (Compilation; Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr) Mal Sedergreen: Jazz For Joy: A Verve Christmas Album (Various Artists) Brian Hingerty: Song - Happy Xmas (War is Over) (John Lennon, Yoko Ono) Abbey Rose: 8 Days of Christmas (Destiny’s Child) Jereme Clingan: A Twisted Christmas (Twisted Sisters) Gracie Sinclair: Christmas with the Stars (Compilation - Various Artists); The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole) Sidney - Jessie Singleton: A Timeless Christmas (Israel & New Breed) Stef Roul: A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra (Frank Sinatra) Nan - Rosemary White: Messiah, HWV 56 (George Frideric Handel) Luke (Host): A Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi Trio); Christmas Cookin’ (Jimmy Smith); Christmas (Deluxe Special Edition - Michael Buble); A Timeless Christmas (Israel & New Breed); and a special mention to Christmas (Mannheim Steamroller). For more, visit ⁠aredrummersmusicians.com⁠

Scout was a big fan of this week’s guest, Mick Meagher, immediately climbing onto his lap once the podcast started. We dive into chats about Mick’s eclectic music taste over the years and his journey into bass from a high school battle of the bands competition to jazz school to playing with some of Australia’s biggest names. Mick shares some stories about playing with the Black Arm Band, his studious research for creating the vibes and sounds on the latest Emma Donovan album which he co-wrote and co-produced, and much more. Mick shared a bunch of interesting stories and thoughts, including: Starting on the bass - last minute call up for battle of the bands; and winning best bass player of the night! The underground, niche and DIY Australian soul/funk music scene Balancing various projects as a working musician Plans and taking opportunities Touring remote Australia with the Black Arm Band, and Working with Emma Donnovan on her latest Record.  It was a massive learning session for me, hearing of all the metal, grunge and jazz references of music that I didn’t know but had influenced Mick’s playing and interests as a young musician. He also shared some recent albums from drummers Jim White and Maria Moles, as well as a bunch of other great musicians and producers that I needed to go check out.  Mick Meagher has established a long career on bass duties for a roll call of Australia's best bands and artists. He can boast several critically acclaimed albums with Emma Donovan and the Putbacks, as well as Andrea Keller, Wave Riders, Eugene Ball 4tet, and Wolfa (a collaboration with vocalist Jenny Barnes). Mick has a long and impressive career; after graduating from the VCA he went on to work with Kate Cebrano, and joined the Black Arm Band, where he performed with Australian icons Archie Roach, Paul Dempsey, Emma Donovan and Gurrumul Yunupingu and international stars Mavis Staples and Ricki Lee Jones. He was a founding and committed member of The Putbacks until the end of 2022, where he has gone on to the next chapter in his career. Mick has recently co-written and produced the latest album with Emma Donovan, ‘Til My Song Is Done’, which was released in April this year. Join us as we delve into Mick's musical journey, his wide range of genre crossover and experiences, and discuss where this new chapter of his music life is headed. For more info and links, including video's of a bunch of Mick's different work, head to www.aredrummersmusicians.com