Listen Now

This week on the Art is Hard podcast, Kiel sits down with Zach Toporek, the driving creative force behind the musical project Young Mothers and former U of A school of music class mate! There's some good old fashioned reminiscing both about an education in music theory as well as the origins of Zach's interest in music and the birth of Young Mothers and they explore Zach's very personal process of creating music and surrounding himself with the right collaborators. It's a very refreshingly honest interview so check it out! "Gone" b/w "Lighten Up" by Young Mothers

Another solo episode of the Art is Hard Podcast for your listening pleasure! This week Kiel tackles one of the most persistent questions in the world of art since the beginning: can you separate the art from the artist? Artists are known to have be sensitive, have big personalities, and don't always subscribe to a "normal" way of life. Love them or hate them, they still are the source of the content that we enjoy, despite their own reputations. In this episode Kiel dives into whether or not you can separate the artist from the art and if so, how? 

This week on the Art is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with friend and fellow audio engineer Zach Rippy, owner/operator of Sound Signal Audio, to go behind the scenes into the world of the artistry behind your favorite art. The recording and mixing process often has a substantial effect on the outcome of an album and so Zach and Kiel dive into Zach's process from start to finish when recording, how he visualizes a mix, and helps a band to find their sound. If you are curious about what goes on behind the scenes in the studio, check it out!

This week on the Art is Hard Podcast, Kiel is joined by Trevor Hedges, the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter for the Phoenix, AZ indie/pop-punk band Sundressed. In this conversation, they talk about how Sundressed started (as many bands do) as a one person solo project, how it evolved into a full band, and how the songwriting given this dynamic. Plus, this episode covers how Trevor has navigated the more business-side of being part of a band gaining notoriety outside their home state and much more! Get it into it!

This week on the Art is Hard podcast, Kiel explores the avant-garde world of noise music with the help of Sam An a.k.a noise artist Lana Del Rabies. It's a stirring conversation about how Sam began composing and performing as Lana Del Rabies, how she goes about crafting her sound given the multitude of possibilities, and how art can be experimental and ultimately subjective. This one will challenge you to shift your perspective on what art can be, so check it out!

This week on the Art is Hard Podcast, it's another solo episode! We live in a society that is increasingly polarized and with the advent of the internet and everyone being able to give a commentary on art and media. A such, our politics color how we view the media we consume and we are now having a different conversation about what is "appropriate" in artistic and creative work than we have in the past and so this week, Kiel shares his thoughts about censorship in the modern age, how it differs from censorship in the traditional sense, and he dive into Black Panther to explore the idea of conflict and how it is an essential part of art that's trying to say something! 

This week on the Art Is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with his friends Roger Calamaio and Jay Paz who play in the Arizona powerviolence outfit Burnout. It's a great episode that paints a colorful picture of what band life is really like. They talk about how the band was started by Jay and Emmett Thatcher as a studio project, how Roger ultimately ended up fronting the band, and how they write given their extensive history of being in bands together. Plus this one has a lot of good tour stories and much more! Check it out!

This week on the Art is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with Phoenix area comedian Erick Biez on his front porch in downtown Phoenix to enjoy couple of brews and talk about comedy. We learn how Erick got his start in the world of comedy, how his approach has changed and evolved over the years and how he now uses a story-telling framework to build his act, and how he draws from his own personal experiences to make people laugh. Plus, its a great conversation about comedy, music, and art as a whole. This is a long one but a really good one, so get into it!

This week on the podcast, Kiel talks with his friend Hayley Rippy, a photographer here in the Phoenix area, all about the art of photography! They get into how Hayley started in photography, how she approaches shooting film vs digital, and about her time on the road with Circa Survive taking photos for them and how that has affected her approach to taking photos. This one also gets into some real gear nerd territory as well. This is a fun one so enjoy!

This week on the Art is Hard Podcast, Kiel is joined by Cameron, Alex, and Deacon from the band Nullingroots, a black gaze black metal band from here in Phoenix. This conversation centers around just what black gaze even is, black metal's tumultuous evolution as a genre over the years, and how Nullingroots changed from a one man project into a full band and how they create with that in mind

 This week Kiel talks with Bret Bender of the indie, pop, electronic duo Bogan Via. Kiel and Bret cover the origin of the band as a folk two piece, its metamorphosis into the more electronic focused band it is today, how to find the right tools of creation when you have so many available to you, and how to navigate and collaborate in a very interesting band dynamic.

This week on the Art is Hard podcast, Kiel is joined by his friends Anthony Quiroz and Tevita Maliu, guitarist and vocalist of the Arizona hardcore band The Beautiful Ones. This conversation goes back to the early days of the band, covers the Beautiful Ones unique writing process, and how the band has evolved to culminate in their newest EP entitled Beautiful Crü all over some delicious drinks! This one is a good one so get into it!   

This week Kiel sits down with local Phoenix comedian, Anwar Newton to talk about Anwar's comedy beginnings, how he has navigated the comedic path over the last few years, how he goes about constructing a joke, and how to work with different crowds in a variety of dynamic environments. This is a really fun yet informative episode. Enjoy!

On this episode of the Art is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down withDanielle Durack, a local singer/songwriter all about how she got started in music, how insecurity and isolation played a role in her creative development, the process of making her first album Bonnie Rose, and much more. Click here for more information about Danielle as well as links to her music.  

In this episode of the Art Is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with long-time friend and folk artist Steven Cosand who creates under the moniker Quaker Folk. This time around the discussion focuses on Steven's entrance into the world of graphic art, what constitutes "folk" art in the first place, and how spirituality factors into creating art. This is a good one so get into it!

On this episode of the Art Is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with a veritable queen of the Arizona zine scene and operator of Viva Vox Press, Marna Kay! Some topics covered in this episode are how Marna got started and involved with zine making, how the zine scene has evolved from it's DIY punk origins into the age of the internet, and how zines exist as a platform to give a voice to the voiceless!

In this episode of the Art Is Hard Podcast, Kiel sits down with the frontman and driving force of the Arizona stoner doom band Goya.  Jeff sheds some light on how Goya got started, how certain "substances" play a part in writing and performing, and how to be the conduit and capture something that's real and true in your art!

In this episode Kiel talks with Nate Garrett, creator and frontman of the Psychedelic Doom band Spirit Adrift, about the origins of the project, the struggle Nate went through to get there, how to find authenticity in creating art, and what Nate thinks makes a piece of art great.

Welcome to Art Is Hard with Kiel Siler! In this episode Kiel talks about the purpose for the Art Is Hard Podcast, how it came to be, and what it hopes to accomplish. Join Kiel as he tries to find the answer to the question that has plagued the creative community throughout history: how do you make great art?