The Tonic Music podcast, we need your help!
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
This month marks the three-year anniversary of the Tonic Music radio show.
Yes you read that right - this month marks the three-year anniversary of the Tonic Music radio show. We initially started the Totally Wired based radio show to highlight the difficulties musicians faced in the modern industry (and, of course, choose some amazing music that needed to be heard).
The show has developed over the years, so we have taken the opportunity to convert all the conversations with the various artists over those years and convert them in a podcast.
The podcast is called 'Music & Mind' and is available on Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts from) and also as a video series on the YouTube.
Over the years I have interviewed big commercial artists and upcoming DIY musicians and those in between, exploring the same foundational theme of what’s good or bad about being a musician and what’s good or bad about the industry. From this starting point we then meander and freely move around what’s important for the interviewees. There’s never any script, it’s not a rehearsed set of questions.
The open nature of the interviews has provided some deeply emotional insight amongst rich personal stories that have been both inspiring and emotionally impacting at times. From Ian Broudie’s struggles with fame to Andy Bell’s difficulty with revaluating his career, the sessions offer some real-world insight into the lives of musicians.
As an interviewer, musician and psychotherapist I particularly enjoy exploring the way in which people adopt to the ever-changing musicking environment, which (more often than not) translates to the financial aspect of the journey or the stress of touring.
This of course has a wide range of impactful factors between the artists of different levels. I’m always struck by the passion of the younger bands on the early stages of their journeys before the cynicism creeps in, a topic explored in the upcoming radio show. It always reminds me of my own trekking up and down the M1 in the back of a transit van before success and the mild fame and ‘making it’ that crossed my path. This travelling life of pure grit and determination is one I know well, but also one I would not like to repeat at my age now. At the time it was bliss. It takes resilience to do the music thing professionally and to ‘make it’, something that all the interviewees have in common.
In all, these interviews are a deep dive into a musician’s psyche and how they manage their practical living. They deserve to find a wide audience and listenership. Here’s where you come in. If you are reading this as a Tonic Music user, subscriber or a participant of any groups then please help to spread the word, like or rate the podcast, (on whatever platform you are using, on YouTube or Mixcloud.
The more people that listen and engage, the more Tonic Music can do the great work that is
needed in this sector.
Don't forget to check out all our Courses, Groups and Workshops currently open for registration for working musicians and those working within the music.
Adam Ficek hosts 'Tonic Music' a monthly show on Totally Wired Radio. Each show features Adam spinning the finest in funk, soul, beat, rock, latin, jazz, and everything in between — alongside insightful conversations with guests exploring where music meets mental health.
You can listen again to any of the previous shows via Tonic Music's Mixcloud page and also on our YouTube channel.
