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Luke stops by the show to discuss his musical journey, which started at the age of 7, how the pandemic changed his life, a separate identity from being a singer/musician, and more.

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Luke Marzec’s life has always been about music. He picked up the violin aged 7, the sax at 10 and the piano soon after. At just 11, his natural talent earned him a place at the prestigious Royal College of Music (RCM) Junior Department. In fact, most of Luke’s childhood was spent either in the practice room or on stage. By the time he graduated high school, he had led countless classical and jazz bands, ensembles and orchestras - professionally, at school, RCM, and at the national level.

He formed his first band at York University and spent most of his early 20s playing sax in various jazz, psychedelic, indie, and brass bands in the north. He gained a scholarship to Trinity Conservatoire’s Master’s course in 2016, but after a full term of shredding, decided to focus on his career as a solo artist. In 2018, he released his EP Chances, which received critical acclaim.

Over the next couple of years, Luke released two more EPs and gained writing and production experience, doing the rounds co-writing with artists in the UK such as Maverick Sabre, VC Pines, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Jazzanova. He featured on Johannes Brecht’s “Voicing Something” which was remixed by Adriatique. His Spotify page now has more than 15 million listens.

Today, Luke is one-third of London’s experimental modular synth-jazz group Lazy H and the Loose Cables, in which he plays the tenor sax and synthesizer. The trio have gigged with London’s Kinkajous, Mark Cake, Alabaster DePlume, Plumm and FlamingGods, and they released their first album Rotary Perception with Nottingham-based label Running Circles earlier this year. The avant-garde jazz album takes listeners through psychedelic and tender soundscapes, perfect for sci-fi film scores. He also hosts Headroom – one of the city’s most exciting jam sessions which showcases some of the capital’s best jazz and electronic instrumentalists and producers.

Covid instigated a new period for the artist when he moved into a 44-foot narrowboat. Living life as a water traveler, Luke spent a lot of time in the countryside in relative solitude, before moving to Devon and setting up a new studio. After months in lockdown, this frenetic new period led to a prolific stream of writing and recording.

Despite Marzec’s writing and collaborating prowess, he is most at ease on stage where everything is simplest, where decision making is easiest and where he feels most alive. After the first note is played, the rest is as if he was watching himself perform; as if his spirit floats to another realm to observe his body. During his performances, the rugged growl of his voice in brilliant contrast to the soft notes he plays on the keys allows him to connect with his audience in moments of sheer bliss and unity.

In 2025 Luke will take up residence at one of the city’s newest micro-venues while touring across Europe to promote his new album, debut album Something Good Out Of Nothing.

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If you would like to contact the show about being a guest, please email us at Dauna@bettertopodcast.com

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Leonard Goldberg stops by the show to discuss his latest release, A Scandalous Affair, from his Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery series. We also discuss how his research career led him to become a writer. We talk about his process and more.

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Leonard Goldberg is an internationally bestselling author of the Joanna Blalock series of medical thrillers. His novels, acclaimed by critics as well as fellow authors, have been translated into a dozen languages and sold more than a million copies worldwide. Leonard Goldberg is himself a consulting physician affiliated with the UCLA Medical Center, where he holds an appointment as Clinical Professor of Medicine. A highly sought-after expert witness in medical malpractice trials, he is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology, and rheumatology, and has published over a hundred scientific studies in peer-reviewed journals.

Leonard Goldberg's writing career began with a clinical interest in blood disorders. While involved in a research project at UCLA, he encountered a most unusual blood type. The patient's red blood cells were O-Rh null, indicating they were totally deficient in A, B, and Rh factors and could be administered to virtually anyone without fear of a transfusion reaction. In essence, the patient was the proverbial "universal" blood donor. This finding spurred the idea for a story in which an individual was born without a tissue type, making that person's organs transplantable into anyone without worry of rejection. His first novel, TRANSPLANT, revolved around a young woman who is discovered to be a universal organ donor and is hounded by a wealthy, powerful man in desperate need of a new kidney. The book quickly went through multiple printings and was optioned by a major Hollywood studio.

The Daughter of Sherlock mystery series, including Leonard's newest title, A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR (Pegasus Crime; Available now; ISBN-13: 9781639368358), follows Irene Adler and Sherlock's daughter years after Holmes has passed away, as she joins Dr. Watson's son in solving cases, using her quick wit and remarkable observations to carry on her father's legacy.

If you haven't dipped into this clever and compelling series yet, trust the recommendation of New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen, who says, "Fans of Sherlock Holmes will be thrilled to meet his fearless and brilliant daughter, Joanna."

Leonard Goldberg celebrates Sherlock's enduring legacy and understands why readers and viewers continue to be captivated by it today.

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If you would like to contact the show about being a guest, please email us at Dauna@bettertopodcast.com

Upcoming guests can be found: https://dmneedom.com/upcoming-guest

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Eef Barzelay stops by the show to discuss his latest release, 'Oh Smokey', as well as life, death, and so much more.

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Eef Barzelay of CLEM SNIDE, some what cheekily. For Eef, the intersection of hope and resignation is the genesis of his tenth album OH SMOKEY

and a focal point of his upcoming tour. “I know fans like the older songs and the covers I've done, so it's really an ever-evolving mishmash... based on my blood sugar level and or deeply-rooted childhood traumas.”

Clem Snide has been aiming to include unique locations in an effort to bring music back to his fans for a much more intimate and tangible experience. “I like to sing in unexpected places whenever I can,” he explains, “Mennonite churches, abandoned hospitals, houseboats taking on water...I've done 'em all!” These spec shows aren’t usually private affairs. In fact, they’re open to fans everywhere, travel, of course, permitting. “Mostly though I play living rooms,” he clarifies. “Just sign the mailing list and I'll come to your house!”

His new album Oh Smokey, has been called “a gorgeous listen with lots of food for thought” by Americana UK, this album finds Eef combining forces with producer and devout Clem Snide fan Josh Kaufman(Bonny Light Horseman, Craig Finn, Hiss Golden Messenger) for a pastoral exploration of the human condition and finding hope when you’re knee deep in existential mud. (Of note, the previous album, 2020’s Forever Just Beyond was produced by fellow devout Clem Snide fan, Scot Avett of Avett Brothers).

“It's a collection of songs I've had for some years now,” he describes. “The inspiration was more just getting to work with Josh Kaufman and keeping the dream alive.” Written during a pivotal and highly - emotionally charged point in his life, the origins of Oh Smokey saw Eef going through a painful divorce, his life thrown into upheaval with his move out of Nashville, and parting ways with his longtime manager. “There's, for sure, a soon-to-be-divorced energy in some of the themes,” he continues. “But mostly, I like to think of the songs as clumsy, well-meaning attempts at prayer by a lapsed Atheist raised by godless Jews.”

Contemplative and meditative, Eef and band’s need for melodic lushness is never lost. From the stunning and jaunty acoustic opener, “Free” (“’Free’ plays around with the idea of a post- death reunification with our eternal selves”) to the sensitive strums of “Air Show Disaster ” to the electric guitar roll of the regret-fueled “Smokey” that feels almost like an outtake from Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, Oh Smokey is a deeply personal album that explores his current worldview.

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If you would like to contact the show about being a guest, please email us at Dauna@bettertopodcast.com

Upcoming guests can be found: https://dmneedom.com/upcoming-guest

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Intro and Outro music compliments of Fast Suzi

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