Artists of New York

Dan Riley

A new podcast profiling creatives trying to make it in the art capital of the world.

  1. Episode 86: Nick Marsella - Calling Creates Courage

    3D AGO

    Episode 86: Nick Marsella - Calling Creates Courage

    Nick Marsella is a Juilliard alum and a composer, based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Unorthodox plan to move to New York (03:21) Cold texts, a stranger says “call John” (06:04) John offers help—move “right now” (08:58) Staten Island basement room: rough, cash, roommates (12:07) Long commute: bus, ferry, train to Times Square (15:14) Mice, sleeping on the floor, retail hustle (18:02) Juilliard bookstore dream and immersion in repertoire (20:41) Two goals revealed: Juilliard and homeless orchestra (22:33) Early music roots: church, dad as worship leader (25:47) Discovering orchestral music and “alien language” fascination (29:18) Switching to composition, building curriculum from scratch (32:36) Conviction, clarity, and going all-in on a calling (36:08) Doubts up close, perseverance from decision to decision (38:52) Friends doubting him; rooftop celebration and first drink (41:35) First Juilliard rejection and the two-application rule (44:17) Four years in the bookstore: night classes and mentors (48:09) The acceptance letter—East Village tears and relief (51:26) Pandemic shutdown and persistent imposter syndrome (54:44) Goal two evolves: grant, videos, and “Us Us” piece (59:37) Corporate detour, layoffs, and recommitting to the mission (63:08) Carnegie Hall vision and first violin for Michaela (66:34) Fundraiser “The First One,” Bowery Mission partnership (69:41) Defining success: serving others, dignity through music

    1h 13m
  2. Episode 85: Timothy Long - Music, Migration, Metamorphosis

    6D AGO

    Episode 85: Timothy Long - Music, Migration, Metamorphosis

    Timothy Long is a musician, conductor, and music professor based in New York City and Rochester, NY. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Chasing bigger towns, landing at Juilliard in 1994 (03:45) Small-town Oklahoma roots and mixed tribal identity (07:10) Two churches, two worlds, learning to “assimilate” (10:35) Language, humor, and realizing “Indian” on TV (14:05) Muskogee and Choctaw history, Trail of Tears context (18:40) Dawes rolls, blood quantum cards, slow-burning erasure (22:30) Opera “Missing” and using privilege as a platform (26:10) Mother’s TB survival and Beethoven as childhood soundtrack (30:05) First lessons, theory coloring book, obsession takes hold (33:40) The Oklahoma City audition that changed everything (37:20) Eastman intensity: practice culture, peers, confidence (40:55) Ten instruments, no goals—just following the music (44:10) Accidental conducting: offers first, skills later (47:55) Neurodivergence: sleepwalking, recognition issues, synesthesia (50:05) Getting fired in 2010 and rebuilding from scratch (53:20) New York as freedom: anonymity, reunions, “small town” life (55:40) Coming out, AIDS-era shame, and family acceptance (57:40) Success as truth: Indigenous Songbook, Sky Mother, foundation beginnings

    59 min
  3. Episode 84: Sampy Sicada - Sketch Your Destiny

    FEB 6

    Episode 84: Sampy Sicada - Sketch Your Destiny

    Sampy Sicada is a surrealist painter based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Moving to US for SCAD, then NYU (03:06) Hong Kong birth, international schooling, UK move (06:11) Early drawing, Captain Underpants, not serious yet (09:02) Hong Kong atmosphere: stress, conformity, not belonging (12:44) Identity split: British colony legacy, cultural tensions (16:07) Asian collectivism vs Western individual sovereignty (19:05) UK difference: permission to live your own way (22:08) Falling out, grief, depression, homelessness begins (25:41) Living in parks, unsafe circles, police beating (29:18) Turning point: “draw the best thing” challenge (32:12) Learning craft: A-levels, Photoshop, media studies (35:10) Posting online, traction, documentary goes viral (38:03) What he drew: surreal graphite portraits, then upgrades (41:06) What homelessness left: gratitude, work ethic, resilience (44:15) Art world contradictions: inequality, wealth gatekeeping (47:33) Temptations and friends: drugs, meth couple, hard lessons (50:52) Helping vs sinking: lifeguard analogy, boundaries (53:26) London design jobs, awards, commissions, then COVID shift (56:22) Surrealism and psychoanalysis: why it communicates (59:14) Why New York: ambition, art capital, “go there” regrets (62:41) Identity beyond homelessness, grad school, success defined

    1h 5m
  4. Episode 83: Eric Berryman - Called To Act

    FEB 2

    Episode 83: Eric Berryman - Called To Act

    Eric Berryman is an actor based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Destiny, family roots, New York as home base (03:08) Teacher advice: New York won’t walk away (06:41) No single “artist moment,” just always knew (10:02) Childhood assembly poem and grandmother’s prophecy (13:37) Drawn to acting, TV, movies from early on (17:05) Classical-actor dreams: Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, Wilson (20:44) Loving the archive, but staying forward-looking (24:18) Why freelancing mattered: freedom to move and shake (27:56) Too many interests: loving every style and genre (31:22) Wanting great stories, not one lane (34:57) Admiration over competition; rising with peers (38:30) First “public lines” in sixth-grade drama club (41:48) Magnet arts school and the Wishing Star Theater (45:21) Early roles: Annie, then Charlie Brown lead (48:55) Serious kid bio; faith, family, and rides home (52:27) Why actor bios are overrated; performance should speak (55:59) Acting as joy, plus subjective feedback and “proof” (59:33) Performing as how he makes sense of life (63:04) Reviving Toasts: oral tradition, folklore, preservation (66:40) Returning to Carnegie: voice/movement, “unorthodox success” (70:12) Regional theater circuit: working everywhere, staying NYC-based (74:05) Kennedy Center breakthrough; learning power of relationships (78:11) Backdoor-ninja into New York; saying yes to everything (82:07) Identity, career grounding, and the pre-COVID hiatus plan (85:03) 2019 whirlwind; heartbreak, money, and theater economics (87:58) Defining success: freedom, time, and “do what I want”

    1h 32m
  5. Episode 82: Ofri Nehemya - Drum Dreams in NYC

    JAN 30

    Episode 82: Ofri Nehemya - Drum Dreams in NYC

    Ofri Nehemya is a jazz drummer based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Moving to New York, COVID detour to Israel (02:05) Why jazz pointed to New York early (05:10) Musical family roots, drummer dad, sister too (08:25) First memories: drums at age two (12:00) “It chose me”: passion, fear of losing music (15:45) Gratitude: living off art, doing fulfilling music (19:30) Family immigration: Yemen to Israel, India to Israel (23:10) Jewish communities in India and Yemen, culture (27:05) Telma Yalin arts high school: finding your people (31:20) Competition, insecurity, and growth in that environment (35:40) High school structure: majors, mixed classes, mentors (39:30) New York as jazz mecca and American dream logic (43:50) Military service, then moving at 22 (47:30) Skipping college: touring, visas, and calculated risk (51:10) Early New York reality check: fire, accent, standards (57:15) Progress formula: mental health, kindness, karma, reputation (61:05) Heroes, dream gigs, and favorite NYC jazz clubs (65:10) Money and success: appreciation, impact, balance

    1h 7m
  6. Episode 81: Suzannah Herbert - Deconstructing Dixie

    JAN 26

    Episode 81: Suzannah Herbert - Deconstructing Dixie

    Suzannah Herbert is a documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Born in NYC, raised in Memphis (02:40) Childhood visits, obsession with New York history (05:20) NYU Tisch arrival and film school focus (08:10) Staying in NYC: career, Brooklyn, parenthood shift (11:05) Memphis roots: PBS, Oprah, early documentaries (14:30) Mr. Thames and “Facing History” shaping worldview (18:05) Why documentary: history, art, social analysis combined (21:55) Cinema’s power: “Gone with the Wind” vs Natchez (25:10) Misrepresentations: enslaved people, Confederacy glorified (28:45) Why whitewashing persists: identity, power, denial (32:20) Southern upbringing: artists vs country club culture (36:05) Plantation wedding sparks the film’s central question (39:40) Finding Natchez: road trip, preservation, Union occupation (43:15) Beauty and horror tension; returning to confront it (46:50) Meeting Rev, building a web of Natchez voices (51:05) How docs get made: phases, research, building vision (54:10) Bootstrapping shoots, sizzles, ITVS and key supporters (57:25) Bigger truths, Lost Cause myth, future Southern stories

    1 hr
  7. Episode 80: Oskar Stenmark - Horn to Manhattan

    JAN 23

    Episode 80: Oskar Stenmark - Horn to Manhattan

    Oskar Stenmark is a trumpeter based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) First trip to New York, February 2013 (03:28) Naive “magical city” expectations for musicians (06:12) Student visa plan and Manhattan School of Music (09:45) Havana semester sparks desire to leave Sweden (13:18) Havana’s street music, intensity, and community (16:40) Musical family lineage: 10 generations playing (20:05) Early foundations: mom’s singing, dad’s rhythm (23:37) Sweden’s mandatory instruments and recorder “trial” (27:10) Learning trumpet: patience, mobility, first sound (30:44) High school choice: soccer dreams vs music focus (34:22) Sweden education path and taking a year off (38:06) First Vanguard night triggers “I belong here” (41:55) Inside Village Vanguard: stairs, rumbling train, legacy (45:12) Staying after graduation: OPT then O-1 artist visa (48:58) Proving “extraordinary ability” and embassy interview (52:21) Advice: letters, gratitude, packaging your case (55:47) Early survival: three pillars—perform, write, teach (58:36) Gigs and compounding network: say yes, be solid (62:04) Habits: subway listening, prioritize beautiful sound (66:11) Midsummer legacy and redefining success holistically

    1h 8m
  8. Episode 79: Ginny Hogan - Code, Comedy, Columnist

    JAN 19

    Episode 79: Ginny Hogan - Code, Comedy, Columnist

    Ginny Hogan is a comedian and a writer based in New York City. Instagram and all episodes (00:00) Born in NYC, parents’ Midwest/Virginia roots (03:12) Museums, Catholic school, “New Yorky stuff” childhood (06:35) No comedy plan, drama fan, accidental start (09:48) Facebook ad credits: dating ads go viral (12:58) Writing jokes at work, stand-up classes, introvert performer (15:55) San Francisco comedy scene, chasing club spots (18:40) Leaving SF, back to NY, LA, then NY again (21:22) Math brain, politics interest, law school maybe (24:10) Tech era vibes: Palantir, Facebook boredom, commute (26:55) Quitting tech, freelancing, never fully “left” tech (29:45) Stand-up ambition, gatekeepers, control your own output (32:30) Twitter audience: volume, news takes, Betches connection (35:05) Persona shift: sobriety, marriage, parenting boundaries (37:55) Lifestyle change: nights out harder, stand-up slows down (41:05) Building the hour: Edinburgh bootcamp, touring, taping (44:10) Comedy money: corporate gigs, Substack, internet writing (47:05) Motherhood realities: exhaustion, tips, breastfeeding nuance (50:05) Sobriety + success: time, creativity, defining “worth it”

    53 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

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A new podcast profiling creatives trying to make it in the art capital of the world.

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