Break It Down With Matt Carter

From embarrassing demos to pro bands. Aaron Lunsford (As Cities Burn) and Matt MacDonald (The Classic Crime) and Toby Morrell (Emery) share and discuss their bad old songs and recordings that couldn't get them noticed or signed.   Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt and Emery bandmate Toby are premiering a song called "Pastor Stopped By" from their new album "I Quit Church."    Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Koch continues his conversation about the Tax Day March and tells the story about talking with a group claiming that all white dudes are a bummer. Dan further explains the confirmation bias loop and how to recognize and combat it.   Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dewey Halpaus (Anatomy of a Ghost, Portugal. The Man) host of the Peer Pleasure Podcast joins Matt to catch up and reminisce about touring together. He has a plan for a government program of how to help high school grads adjust to adulthood by replicating the touring life. He went from touring the world to constructing plumbing in hospitals, which poses the question of how to integrate into normal life after being a professional musician.   Links and Sponsors: http://peerpleasurepodcast.com/ breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a degree in Computer Science, Andy Othling of Lowercase Noises is one of the best and most equipped people to create art through altering signal flows from his guitar or keyboard. He also uses his computer science knowledge to code visual displays that match the instrumentation live. On this episode he showcases his talent while Matt analyzes the music theory used in real time. They also bond on the experience of getting lost in another world when exploring delay pedals.   Links and Sponsors: http://www.lowercasenoises.com/ code DOWN for 15% off breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hear Mike Wilkerson's conversation continued from last time with more detail. How do you respect people's minds in difficult situations to make decisions for themselves? Trusting other people to put pieces of the puzzle together on their own instead of telling all at the harm of others.   Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Koch comes in to the studio to discuss his participation in the Tax Day March, what it was and his goal for participating, but before that they get hung up on whether or not the legal limit for drinking and driving should be raised or lowered from .08.   Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well-known producer Joey Sturgis (The Devil Wears Prada, Asking Alexandria, We Came As Romans) runs through his recording process, how he's never recorded on a console, and the importance of being expectant of opportunities in any situation. He overcame the insecurity of a changing industry to embrace the self-producing movement, which evolved into new businesses selling tones and teaching producing skills.   Links and Sponsors: https://urm.academy/ https://joeysturgistones.com/ use code PODCAST20 for 20% off breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How will the virtual reality games of today advance into real-life learning? VR-game designer Edwon is back to dive deeper in to the gaming culture and the pursuit of art. What constitutes a just and worthy cause of pursuing art and game design, and how can games impact the world? He also tells a ridiculous story of the times living on farm together involving chickens. You'll have to listen to hear how that story ends.   Links and Sponsors: http://edwonstudio.com/ breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At what age do we become too old to have dreams? Matt and Tim McTague (Underoath) dive into child development and the importance of encouraging children in their self-directed interests. Matt explains his theory of being fully integrated in a way that the specification of roles throughout life is potentially a thing of the past. Also, Tim tells a story of skateboarding gone wrong that put him in the hospital.   Links and Sponsors: http://underoath777.com/ breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emery's new guitarist and producer Chris Keene's band Surrogate is in studio before their show in Seattle. As former members of Number One Gun, they decided to keep Surrogate as a fun hobby band. They talk about the benefits of that versus being career musicians, and have fun catching up!   Links and Sponsors: https://www.facebook.com/surrogate/ breakitdownpod.com  https://www.patreon.com/breakitdownpod emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Wilkerson is a mathematician, computer programer, and engineer turned biblical counsellor. He shares Matt's interest in how things work, and was Matt's close friend and Pastor for many years that imploded due to a poor leadership dynamic. How do we make sense of stories, and how should we react in light of that?   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off https://redemptiongroups.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How long until we'll see dinosaurs in our living rooms and sharks in the gym? Matt's friend and VR game designer Edwon joins to give insight on the current state of virtual reality and where he sees it going in the near future. Matt knows him as a person who goes after what he wants to do, which lends to a discussion on the luxury of being poor. His most recent endeavor is a virtual pets game, Waba, that finds him living between Japan and LA.   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off http://edwonstudio.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim McTague skypes in from his vacation with his family after a long Underoath tour, trying to balance his work and home life, which is difficult for people like Tim and Matt who do multiple projects that keep them away from home at times. Does that make him rethink what he does? They also have some fun dreaming about the future of virtual reality and the weird things that inevitably will lead to. What if you could act as lead singer from the comfort of your couch?   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off http://underoath777.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How are our decisions affected by our cognition versus our intuition? Is it more similar to a man driving a car, or a man riding an elephant? The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt has been influential for Matt and Dan Koch (Sherwood, Depolarize! Podcast) as they have thought through divides of all kinds. They also discuss upcoming protests and having a goal to seek more complex intuitions.   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off http://badchristianmedia.com/depolarize/ https://www.reconstructpodcast.com/    http://righteousmind.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As an artist manager, Mike Mowery of Outerloop Group and Matt both stem from the rock world, but have very different business philosophies. In this episode they talk about professional networking, coaching new artists, the myth of the overnight success, and becoming an original artist versus playing the comparison game.   Links and Sponsors:    http://outerloopcoaching.com/  http://www.jabberjawmedia.com/ breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the future of the podcasting medium? How does advertising on podcasts work? We bring Ray Harkins of 100 Words or Less Podcast back to talk about how he's seen podcasting change and evolve in his 10+ years of experience in the podcasting world, and predict where it is going.   Links and Sponsors:    http://100wordspodcast.com/ breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off https://joeysturgistones.com/ code PODCAST20 for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim McTague of Underoath, joins today to discuss the philosophy behind music and art. What music is art or not, and is it ok to call a song not good or not even art? How does having a live audience effect the way music is received and experienced, whether through altering the music itself, engaging with the crowd, or encouraging participation to create energy and vibe? Does that make live music more important or more of an art than recorded music?   Links and Sponsors: breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off http://underoath777.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polarization is evident in every news article or Facebook post, but what are the effects it has on a societal level? Dan Koch and I break down possible benefits and dangers of institutions created and predict the future of the structures in place today. Problem solving, even on a large institutional scale, involves zooming out to see the larger picture, and then isolating individual problems in light of that. Hear more on this on today's episode.   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off http://badchristianmedia.com/depolarize/ https://www.reconstructpodcast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stuff Christian Culture Likes founder Stephanie Drury sits down with Matt to continue a conversation that was started on his other podcast The BadChristian Podcast about privilege and how to navigate our current climate of outrage. How do you cast your ego and self aside to see someone else's perspective? Will cultural power dynamics ever even out, or is it a constant cycle that keeps spinning but never levels?   Links and Sponsors:    breakitdownpod.com emerymusic.com  http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/ http://bswusa.com/ code DOWN for 10% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices