Episode 285 with The Philharmonik, Winner of 2024's NPR Tiny Desk Contest for "What's It All Mean?" and Master Arranger, Producer, and Reflective Lyricist

Notes and Links to The Philharmonik’s Work          The Philharmonik, who was an Episode 58 guest, is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, music producer and genre defining artist. Recently, he has been nationally and globally recognized after winning the 2023 American Song writer contest and NPR’s 2024 Tiny Desk Contest for his song “What’s It All Mean?”  NPR Announcement of Tiny Desk Winner: “What’s It All Mean?”   The Philharmonik's Website   NPR Tiny Desk Concert   “What’s It All Mean?” Video   The Philharmonik on Spotify At about 1:35, Christian talks about the year since he won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, and his “shift[ing] perspective”  At about 2:50, Christian discusses the importance of his victory in the American Songwriters’ Contest, and the important “domino effect” At about 5:50, Christian talks about his vision board and manifesting for his NPR victory At about 7:30, Christian talked about the waiting period between submission for NPR and his victory, and “starting to lose faith” At about 9:30, Christian talks about his views on competition  At about 10:30, Usher: “Watch this!” At about 11:10, Christian shares his memories-he mentions being “in disbelief”-of getting the call  At about 13:40, Christian talks about his initial entry in Tiny Desk in 2018 and his philosophy in entering At about 15:00, Christian responds to Pete’s questions about the logistics and vision for the video for “What’s It All Mean?” At about 17:40, Pete asks Christian about his interest in music videos and expressing himself through the videos At about 19:00, The two discuss Office Space, The Office, and other parallels to the working world and Christian’s video At about 20:00, Chrsitian expands on his band/video mates as “the final piece” At about 21:45, Christian shouts out the venue and benefactors for his video shoot-shout out the Machados and All-City Homes in Oak Park, Sacramento At about 23:20, Christian talks about the wonderful feedback from fans At about 24:00, Pete shares praise from NPR about the song and video At about 24:50, Christian expands upon the truly “tiny” Tiny Desk and the logistics of the Tiny Desk Concert itself  At about 27:15, Christian discusses the post Tiny Desk Concert tour arranged by NPR At about 29:10, Christian breaks down “in the pocket” and “dry[ing] out the mix” as he gets his music professor on At about 30:05, Christian calls Stevie Wonder “the godfather” of “What’s It All Mean” and expands on how he likes the ways Beatles used guitars and connections to amps and reverb At about 31:50, Christian responds to Pete’s questions about the arrangement of the winning song, especially the opening crescendo At about 34:10, Christian answers Pete’s question about how the winning song’s meaning ahs evolved over time At about 36:00, Pete homes in on some meaningful lines from the winning song as the two reflect on the unknowns of life  At about 38:40, Pete mentions Severance and “No Surprises” by Radiohead as reminiscent of the winning song At about 40:20, Christian reflects on the “ups and downs of the creative process” and the (mostly) special time “in the lab” At about 41:30, Christian talks about listener data and questioning his music career at times At about 43:30, Christian shares the exciting news about his upcoming world tour   You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you’re checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. This week, his conversation with Episode 270 guest Jason De León is up on the website. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete’s one-man show, his DIY podcast and his extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month’s Patreon bonus episode will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete’s, a DIY operation, and he’d love for your help in promoting what he’s convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.     The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 286 with Hannah Pittard, winner of the Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award and a MacDowell fellow. She is the author of six books, including the memoir WE ARE TOO MANY and the forthcoming novel IF YOU LOVE IT, LET IT KILL YOU, whose Pub Day is July 15, the day this episode drops.