LaunchLeft

Shepard Fairey hosts cultural icons Chuck D of Public Enemy and John Densmore of The Doors as they discuss their groundbreaking collaboration, DOPE | No Country for Old Men. What happens when different genres collide with a purpose? Their conversation explores activism, artistic responsibility, hip hop and rock history, creative evolution, spoken word, poetry, social change, and the power of music to challenge systems. Together, they reveal how generations of artists can unite to create meaningful work in a time of distraction and division.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ How Chuck D and John Densmore merged hip hop, rock, poetry, and activism to create DOPE.

✅ Why artists have a responsibility to challenge power structures and inspire critical thinking.

✅ The similarities between rap lyricism, spoken word poetry, and jazz improvisation.

✅ How collaboration across generations and genres can spark new creativity and cultural dialogue.

LaunchLeft champions artists for whom radical creativity is a necessity. Support these artists by streaming, sharing, and showing up at live events. Donate to keep independent, left-of-center voices thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and leave a review to help more listeners discover LaunchLeft!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Welcome to LaunchLeft

00:01:34 Shepard Fairey praises Chuck D's book Hour of Chaos

00:05:58 Activism, civil rights movements, and why DOPE matters now

00:17:00 How the DOPE collaboration first came together

00:22:54 John Densmore on rap as an art form equal to jazz improvisation

00:25:52 Learning hip hop production, drum machines, and creative evolution

00:28:15 Etheridge Knight, poetry, and spoken word influences on the album

00:38:00 "Artificial Intelligence vs. Ancestral Intelligence" discussion

00:44:29 Revisiting Doors history through the song "Doomsday"

00:46:56 "Everybody gets older, but they don't get elder"

01:05:21 Building bridges through art, education, and cultural conversation

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎Great Art Bridges Generations and Genres: DOPE demonstrates that meaningful collaboration isn't limited by age, genre, or background. Chuck D and John Densmore found common ground through activism, storytelling, and a shared desire to create art that matters.

💎Activism Remains Central to Creativity: Music can be a vehicle for social awareness and change. Their work continues the tradition of artists using their platforms to challenge injustice and inspire dialogue.

💎Hip Hop and Rock Share More Than People Realize: The conversation reveals deep connections between rap, rock, jazz, poetry, and spoken word. Great music transcends genre labels and is rooted in expression, rhythm, and truth.

💎Experience Doesn't Automatically Create Wisdom: One of the most powerful themes is the distinction between aging and becoming an elder. The discussion centers on mentorship, responsibility, and passing knowledge to future generations.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

SHEPARD FAIREY is a contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, and founder of OBEY Clothing and creative agency Studio Number One. In 1989, while at Rhode Island School of Design studying for his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration, Shepard Fairey created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that later evolved into the OBEY GIANT art campaign. In 2008, his portrait of then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama became an internationally recognized emblem of hope. He is known for the “We The People” campaign debuted during the 2017 Women’s Marches worldwide. Fairey has painted more than 140 public murals, become one of the most sought-after and provocative artists globally, and changed the way people converse about art and view the urban landscape.

JOHN DENSMORE is the drummer for the legendary rock band The Doors. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and since then, he has earned a Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition to his three books, the best-selling Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison & The Doors, The Doors Unhinged: Jim Morrison’s Legacy Goes On Trial and The Seekers: Meetings With Remarkable Musicians (and Other Artists), his writing has also been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, the Nation, and Chicago Tribune, among others. He lives in Los Angeles.

CHUCK D is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, cultural icon, hip-hop legend, social activist, author, digital music pioneer, visual artist and multi-media producer. Known worldwide as the co-founder of Public Enemy, he ignited a movement with his fearless lyrics and remains one of the most influential figures in contemporary culture.

Creating and delivering groundbreaking music since 1987, Public Enemy and Chuck D have been the subjects of exhibits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the GRAMMY Museum and the GRAMMY Hall of Fame.

In addition to his work with Public Enemy and his solo career, Chuck D released an album with John Densmore of The Doors. He is also a visual artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and is included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. A retrospective of his work was published by Genesis Books in 2023 entitled “Livin’ Loud” and he has released a series of graphic novels and illustrated books. Chuck runs a magazine titled Rap Central Station, the cultural media app Bring the Noise, hosts a show on SiriusXM and has written several books.

RESOURCES:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

GUEST RESOURCES:

SHEPARD FAIREY

https://obeygiant.com

https://www.instagram.com/obeygiant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey

CHUCK D

https://www.instagram.com/mrchuckd

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_D

JOHN DENSMORE

https://www.johndensmore.com

https://www.instagram.com/johndensmore

https://www.facebook.com/johndensmore1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Densmore

Books Mentioned:

Hour of Chaos: The History of Public Enemy and American Rap Music by Chuck D

Follow the Music by Jack Holzman

Bones of My Father by Etheridge Knight

Today on LaunchLeft, guest host Rich Tupica chats with Jenny Lee Lindberg for a candid conversation about longevity and creativity, collaboration, and artistic independence. Jenny opens up about balancing music and painting, Warpaint’s evolving future, and finding freedom through visual art. Then, Jenny launches Sierra Swan, who reflects on growing up around music, self-producing her work, and embracing a fearless DIY spirit. Together, they discuss Los Angeles nightlife, artistic authenticity, dance, and why creating without compromise matters more than ever.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ How Jenny Lee balances painting, songwriting, and life outside Los Angeles

✅ Why Sierra Swan embraces complete creative control over her music and visuals

✅ The impact of the changing music industry on independent artists

✅ How friendship, dance, and artistic community fuel long-term creativity

LaunchLeft champions artists for whom radical creativity is a necessity. Support these artists by streaming, sharing, and showing up at live events. Donate to keep independent, left-of-center voices thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and leave a review to help more listeners discover LaunchLeft!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Rich Tupica welcomes Jenny Lee

01:10 Jenny discusses leaving Los Angeles for Salt Lake City and how that’s impacted her creative process

04:08 Jenny opens up about ADHD, hyper-focus, and creative deadlines

05:28 Warpaint’s upcoming Meltdown Festival performance and band hiatus

08:00 Painting as therapy and rediscovering creativity during the pandemic

10:00 Jenny reflects on collaborating with Dave Gahan

14:50 Dream collaborators: André 3000 and Mark Rothko

20:14 Jenny discusses burnout and the changing music industry

28:16 Sierra Swan is launched. She shares how she met Jenny at Burning Man

37:20 Sierra previews her upcoming EP Mistress of Love and her DIY creative process

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎Creativity thrives in freedom. Painting gave Jenny a level of artistic freedom she rarely experienced in collaborative music settings. Working alone allows her to reconnect with her instincts and create without compromise or outside pressure.

💎Sierra Swan sees value in handling every aspect of her creative work herself—from songwriting and directing videos to self-releasing music.

💎The music industry has dramatically changed. Jenny reflects on how exhausting and financially unsustainable the modern music business has become for many artists. Streaming culture and constant online promotion have fundamentally shifted artistic careers.

💎Community and friendship sustain artists. Jenny and Sierra’s decades-long friendship demonstrates the importance of encouragement, collaboration, and mutual inspiration.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

Jenny Lee Lindberg is a multidisciplinary artist whose creative work bridges the raw pulse of post-punk music with the intuitive expressionism of visual art. She is best known as the bassist and founding member of the critically acclaimed band Warpaint.

Parallel to her music career, Jenny Lee is a prolific painter whose visual work reveals the same spontaneity and emotional honesty that defines her sound. Working primarily in acrylics and mixed media, her paintings often explore form, color, and gesture through an abstract lens. Her visual art, like her music, resists easy categorization - favoring mood, movement, and process over polish or perfection.

With a DIY ethos and a fiercely independent spirit, Jenny Lee continues to evolve as an artist across mediums, crafting immersive experiences that are deeply personal, rhythmically rich, and emotionally resonant.

Sierra Marie Swan was born in the San Fernando Valley with music in her blood. Her father Billy Swan had his first hit when he was sixteen with Lover Please. During Sierra’s many nights backstage while her father played rhythm guitar for Kris Kristofferson, she conjured up her own dreams of becoming a professional musician.​​

As a teenager, Sierra listened to Prince, Queen, Oingo Boingo, The Beatles, Grant Lee Buffalo, Mozart and Patsy Cline. It was Patsy Cline who inspired her singing career. When she was 16 she began playing at L.A. coffeehouses.

In 1997 Sierra joined the alternative rock band Dollshead and was signed to MCA Records. Two years later Sierra decided to leave the band and become a solo artist signing with Atlantic Records. She went on to work with some illustrious producers including Chad Hugo from The Neptunes, Howard Benson, Anne Preven and Scott Cutler. It was during the making of this record that she met Linda Perry. While they began to collaborate on material for her album she was let go from her contract with Atlantic. Linda decided to sign her to her label via Interscope, and Ladyland was released shortly thereafter.

Typical of the music industry, she was let go from her contract with Interscope. Not to be deterred, Sierra decided to make it on her own producing and performing the beautiful and haunting EP entitled “Coward", followed by “Queen of the Valley,” Sierra’s 80’s pop homage to her Valley Girl roots. She then produced her third full length album ‘Girl Who Cried Wolf’, following a cover EP with her critically acclaimed father Billy Swan at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis.

Sierra has also toured and collaborated with the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, William Patrick Corgan, Aimee Mann, Bill Bottrell, Dave Stewart, Linda Perry, Ringo Starr, and Frank Black.

Sierra Swan embodies the true spirit of a musical artist. She’s had major label deals and major label drops. Through it all Sierra doesn’t miss a beat.

In 2013 she began recording her most personal record yet with William Patrick Corgan sitting in the producer's chair.

In William's words “Sierra’s new songs are the best batch of material I have heard from any songwriter in forever.” The album named Good Soldier is available for download here. This whimsically gorgeous album is a must have album. The outcome of Sierra Swan's Good Soldier is truly remarkable. There is simply nobody like her.

Currently Swan is recording an EP in her basement in her Minneapolis home. There is also another project brewing but she is not quite sure what will become of it...yet.

RESOURCES:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

GUEST RESOURCES:

JENNY LEE LINKS:

https://www.jennyleelindberg.com/

https://www.instagram.com/jennylibrary/

https://www.instagram.com/warpaint/

https://www.warpaintwarpaint.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@WarpaintOfficial

SIERRA SWAN LINKS:

https://www.sierraswan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/sierraswan/

https://www.facebook.com/Swan5/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sierraswanmusic

Today on LaunchLeft, rock legend Michael Des Barres joins Donita Sparks for a wildly entertaining and deeply reflective conversation on creativity, resilience, and reinvention. From glam rock beginnings and acting alongside icons to fronting The Power Station at Live Aid, Michael shares unforgettable stories, moments of happenstance and hard-earned wisdom. Plus, the rising duo Night Mover is launched. Night Mover discusses their musical history, their genre-blending sound, nightlife roots, and evolving artistry. Catch a sneak peek at one of Night Mover’s songs.

What You’ll Learn This Episode:

✅How Michael Des Barres built a multi-decade career through reinvention and fearless creativity

✅Why self-belief and authenticity are essential for artistic longevity

✅The realities of rock stardom—from Live Aid to behind-the-scenes chaos

✅How Night Mover blends global disco, punk, and electronic influences into a modern sound

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Introduction to Michael Des Barres

01:17 The importance of self-belief in artistry

06:51 Landing a role in To Sir, With Love

12:17 Moving to LA with $200 and a dream

15:28 The Power Station and near-miss opportunity

19:11 Performing at Live Aid

21:15 Writing the hit song “Obsession”

23:35 New music: “Kiss or Kill Me”

32:31 Life as a radio host on Underground Garage

41:31 Night Mover is launched

47:30 Current film project and DJ history

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Authenticity beats trends. Great artists don’t chase, they create.

💎 Reinvention is a skill that sustains long-term success.

💎 Rock and roll is as much about attitude and emotion as it is about sound.

💎 Collaboration and shared passion are driving forces behind new creative projects.

RESOURCE LINKS:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

MDB Links:

https://michaeldesbarres.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mdesbarres

https://www.facebook.com/mdesbarres

https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelDesBarresBand

NIGHT MOVER LINK:

https://www.instagram.com/nightmovermusic/

BIOGRAPHIES:

Michael Des Barres is an actor, rock singer, songwriter, and radio host. His arrival in the entertainment world began as a Marquis attending boarding school in England, where he first started acting at age eight in commercials and school plays.

At nineteen, Michael played the androgynous rock star Rose in the nude musical The Dirtiest Show In Town. Andrew Lloyd Webber saw Michael’s performance and went backstage to tell him that he should form a real rock band. Michael quickly wrote his first song. That song lead to the formation of Silverhead, a raucous glam rock experiment.

After two albums and two world tours Silverhead disbanded and Michael moved to Los Angeles where he formed the band Detective. Detective was signed to Swan Song Records by Jimmy Page and recorded two albums.

In 1982 Michael formed the band Chequered Past featuring Steve Jones, Clem Burke, Nigel Harrison and Tony Sales. After they opened for Duran Duran in 1984, Michael was chosen to replace Robert Palmer as lead singer of The Power Station, fronting the band at the 1985 Live Aid concert.

As a songwriter Michael co-wrote “Obsession” with Holly Knight, which was famously covered by the L.A. based New Wave group Animotion and was a number one hit in twenty-seven countries.

Michael's love of acting had never subsided and in 1985 he was cast in the role of “Murdoc” in the ABC hit series MacGyver. Additional credits include Melrose Place, Seinfeld, WKRP in Cincinnati, Miami Vice, Alf, Roseanne, The Rockford Files, Northern Exposure, and many more.

In 2014 Michael was asked by Steven Van Zandt to bring his encyclopedic knowledge of rock and soul music to Little Steven’s Underground Garage, SiriusXM, Channel 21 where he can be found DJing every weekday from 5am-8am P/T, and 9pm-12am P/T.

Michael’s highly lauded documentary “Who Do You Want Me To Be?” began streaming July 10th, 2020 on Amazon Prime.

Currently MDB has a new single out on Rumbar Records entitled "Kiss or Kill Me."

NIGHT MOVER is a DJ and production duo made up of Alix Brown and James Matthew Seven, crafting cinematic sets shaped by film soundtracks and underground club culture. Their sound blends global disco, rock ‘n’ roll, obscure library music, and cosmic grooves into hypnotic, transportive experiences for hi-fi listening rooms and dance floors alike.

Alongside their work as performers, they run a boutique music agency and supervision studio, bringing a refined, cinematic approach to sonic identity across fashion, film, and nightlife.

Originally from Atlanta, Alix Brown is a DJ, music supervisor, and film producer whose work spans cinema, fashion, and culture. She has collaborated with Chanel, Gucci, and Fendi, and performed alongside artists like Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, James Murphy, Paris Hilton, and Jellybean Benitez. Her supervision work with companies including Lionsgate, Rai Cinema, and Warner Brothers informs NIGHT MOVER’s distinctly narrative-driven sound.

James Matthew Seven, originally from Toronto, is a producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ whose work draws from disco, soul, psychedelia, and rock. As a touring musician, he has shared stages with Oasis, Wu-Tang Clan, and Iggy Pop, bringing a deep musicality and expansive sonic palette to the project.

Together, NIGHT MOVER creates immersive, stylish sets and bespoke edits and remixes, weaving rare records and timeless cuts into a sound defined by mood, movement, and a sense of atmosphere.

In this special episode of LaunchLeft, guest host Thurston Moore launches rising artist Devon Ross to celebrate the release of her new EP, Pinups. The project—a four-song digital release on Moore’s Daydream Library Series—reimagines classic tracks through Ross’s raw, minimalist, and emotionally charged lens.

From analog nostalgia to DIY recording techniques, this conversation dives deep into Ross’s creative process, musical influences, and the timeless power of reinterpretation. Then, listeners will be treated to ‘Killer’, the song that first put Devon Ross on Thurston Moore’s radar.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ The story behind Devon Ross’s EP Pinups and its stripped-down, home-recorded sound

✅ How artists like Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, and Randy Newman shaped Devon’s musical identity

✅ Tension between convenience and connection in modern music consumption

✅ Why cover songs can be acts of discovery, not imitation

✅ Ross’s approach to recording entirely solo using minimal tools (even a phone drum app)

LaunchLeft champions artists for whom radical creativity is a necessity. Support these artists by streaming, sharing, and showing up at live events. Donate to keep independent, left-of-center voices thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and leave a review to help more listeners discover LaunchLeft!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introducing guest host Thurston Moore who launches Devon Ross on her Pinups release day

01:24 Discussion on digital vs. analog music culture and generational perspectives

02:06 Devon shares her love for physical media and early music influences

04:18 Breakdown of Pinups distribution across streaming platforms

04:35 Devon on learning guitar through Buddy Holly songs

11:11 Thurston reflects on Devon’s minimalist yet amplified reinterpretations

17:19 Conversation shifts to Bob Dylan and Blondie’s influences

18:43 Devon reveals how she recorded Pinups entirely solo, including layered guitars

22:30 The philosophy behind cover songs and musical reinterpretation

36:05 Devon teases her upcoming full-length album loud, cool, and rocking and creative direction and shares her song KILLER

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎Devon Ross approaches cover songs not as replicas, but as reinterpretations that reflect her own artistic voice. By maintaining the emotional core while reshaping the sonic landscape, she creates something that feels both familiar and entirely new.

💎Despite being part of a digital-native generation, Devon deeply values analog music culture—vinyl records, CDs, and physical collections. This influence shapes not only her listening habits but also her artistic sensibility, grounding her sound in timeless traditions.

💎Devon recorded Pinups entirely on her own, using minimal equipment—including a drum machine app on her phone. This stripped-down process allowed for complete creative control and emotional authenticity. This kind of intimacy often translates into a more compelling and honest listening experience.

💎Great songwriting transcends decades, whether it’s Buddy Holly in the 1950s or Randy Newman in the 1970s. Devon gravitates toward songs with strong emotional resonance, proving that simplicity and sincerity remain powerful across generations.

💎While Pinups is a focused, intimate project, Devon hints at a bigger, louder, and more fully realized full-length album on the horizon. The groundwork laid by this EP reflects her evolving confidence and artistic clarity.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Thurston Moore started Sonic Youth in 1980. Since then Thurston Moore has been at the forefront of the alternative rock scene since that particular sobriquet was first used to signify any music that challenged and defied the mainstream standard.

With Sonic Youth, Moore turned on an entire generation to the value of experimentation in rock n roll – from its inspiration on a nascent Nirvana, to Sonic Youth’s own Daydream Nation album being chosen by the US Library of Congress for historical preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2006.

Thurston records and performs in a cavalcade of disciplines ranging from free improvisation to acoustic composition to black/white metal/noise disruption. He has worked with Yoko Ono, John Zorn, Bobby Gillespie, David Toop, Cecil Taylor, John Paul Jones, Faust, Glenn Branca and many others. His residency at the Louvre in Paris included collaborations with Irmin Schmidt of CAN and Stephen O’Malley. Alongside his various activities in the musical world, he is involved with publishing and poetry, and teaches writing at The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, Boulder CO, a programme founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman in 1974. Thurston also teaches music at The Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium) in Copenhagen.

Presently Thurston Moore resides in London. He performs and records solo, with various ensembles and in his own band, The Thurston Moore Group.

Devon Ross is a model, actress, musician, and poet who splits her time between London and Los Angeles. Born in Toronto, Ross grew up touring with her father, Lenny Kravitz's guitarist Craig Ross. Music has always been a defining part of her life, and she started playing guitar as a teenager.

RESOURCES:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

GUEST RESOURCES:

THURSTON MOORE LINKS:

https://www.thurstonmoore.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thurstonmoore58/

https://www.facebook.com/ThurstonMooreOfficial/

DEVON ROSS LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/devonross

In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, guest-host Donita Sparks welcomes the legendary Lenny Kaye—guitarist, historian, curator, and eternal champion of rock ‘n’ roll—to launch drummer and artist Bryan Lee Brown, also known as Dark Brown.

From the 50th anniversary tour of Horses with Patti Smith to the making of Lenny Kaye’s first-ever solo album Going Local, this episode explores what it means to stay creatively alive across decades. Lenny reflects on the joy of playing without expectation, the freedom of releasing music later in life, and why work itself is the reward.

The conversation dives deep into Lenny’s acclaimed book Lightning Striking, a cultural history of rock’s geographic “culture quakes”—from Memphis and New Orleans to Liverpool, Detroit, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Along the way, he shares stories about Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, the origin of the groundbreaking Nuggets compilation, and the power of local scenes.

Finally, they turn the spotlight to launch Dark Brown and his track “Rhythm Surfer,” featuring surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale. Bryan shares the surreal story of meeting Dale at NAMM—and two days later heading to the Mojave Desert to jam before touring Europe with him.

This episode is a love letter to rock history, artistic longevity, and the electric present tense of making music.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

✅Why Lenny Kaye believes rock and roll has moved from its “innovative period” into its “interpretive period” — and why that excites him.

✅How local music scenes become cultural earthquakes that reshape history.

✅Why being a “worker” in music matters more than hype, expectations, or industry validation.

✅How Dark Brown’s American Instrument honors the drum set as a foundational force in American music — and how Dick Dale became part of the story.

LaunchLeft champions artists for whom radical creativity is a necessity. Support these artists by streaming, sharing, and showing up at live events. Donate to keep independent, left-of-center voices thriving. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and leave a review to help more listeners discover LaunchLeft!

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Donita introduces Lenny Kaye and the 50th anniversary of Horses

02:00 Playing Disney Hall & the lifeline of a 50-year-old record

05:17 Announcing Lenny’s first solo album Going Local

08:00 Living in the present tense of music

11:00 The pure joy of local bar gigs

17:48 Lightning Striking and the geography of rock revolutions

19:47 Memphis, New Orleans & the birth of rock

20:35 New York 1975, punk London, and metal Scandinavia

25:32 Writing, curating, and the legacy of Nuggets

27:00 Waylon Jennings, storytelling & the human behind the legend

35:15 SiriusXM and spinning the “platters that matter”

36:15 Dark Brown is launched

37:24 Working with Dick Dale

49:02 Dark Brown’s track, “Rhythm Surfer”

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

💎 Longevity comes from curiosity, not nostalgia. Kaye doesn’t cling to the past — he keeps playing, writing, and exploring because the act itself keeps him alive.

💎 The Local is sacred. Whether it’s Memphis in 1954 or a Wednesday night bar gig in New Jersey, scenes grow from small rooms into cultural revolutions.

💎 Music is a lifeline. From Horses to Nuggets to Going Local, Kaye sees music as an evolving conversation — not a finished monument.

💎 The process is the reward. Once a record is mastered, it no longer belongs to the artist. The joy is in the making.

ABOUT THE GUESTS:

LENNY KAYE: As musician, writer, and record producer, Lenny Kaye has been intimately involved with the creative impulse that marks the music. He is a founding member of Patti Smith and Her Band, dating from their first performance as a duo at St. Marks Church in New York’s East Village on February 10, 1971, and has worked with such artists as Suzanne Vega, Jim Carroll, Allen Ginsberg, Soul Asylum, and Jessi Colter. His books include You Call It Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon (2004); Waylon: An Autobiography (1994); and the newly released Lightning Striking: Ten Transformative Moments in Rock and Roll. His seminal anthology of garage rock, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts of the First Psychedelic Era, is regarded as defining a genre and recently celebrated its golden anniversary.

DARK BROWN:

Bryan Lee Brown is a Los Angeles-based composer and musician known for crafting immersive, rhythm-driven scores that blend abstract minimalism with melodic psychedelia. His work has been integral to Dave Grohl’s productions What Drives Us and HBO’s Emmy-winning Sonic Highways, for which Rolling Stone praised his score as "the show's unsung sonic element.”

A lifelong percussionist, Brown’s deep-rooted connection to rhythm shapes his compositions, layering hypnotic textures with cinematic energy. He first emerged as the powerhouse drummer for LA’s underground band Bluebird—signed to Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records—before expanding into TV and film as a sought-after session musician, recording with icons like Frank Black, Jerry Cantrell, and Duff McKagan. Most notably, his touring and recording with surf guitar legend Dick Dale have cemented his reputation as a dynamic and versatile musician.

Expanding beyond Sonic Highways and What Drives Us, Brown’s music resonates across a diverse range of projects, including CSI: Vegas, Unlocking The Truth, Jackass Forever, feature doc L7: Pretend We’re Dead, horror classic The Collection, and Stacy Peralta’s film Bones Brigade: An Autobiography.

Brown’s creative reach extends into contemporary art. His collaboration with acclaimed new media artist Jennifer Steinkamp on the video installation S.W.E.L.L. is now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA)—a defining achievement for the Art Center College alum and a testament to his impact at the intersection of sound and visual innovation.

Bryan is currently in the studio recording drums with the Afghan Whigs and preparing for their upcoming 2026 tour.

RESOURCES:

LaunchLeft Podcast Smart Link

GUEST RESOURCES:

Lenny Kaye:

https://www.instagram.com/lenny_kaye

Photo Credit: Dina Regine

Dark Brown:

https://www.instagram.com/darkbrownmusic

https://linktr.ee/darkbrown

https://darkbrown.bandcamp.com