Tawny Newsome and Bethany Thomas on Ditching Genres and the Power of DIY

This Must Be the Gig is joined by Tawny Newsome and Bethany Thomas.

You may know Tawny as one of the stars of TV shows like Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Space Force, as well as the co-host of Yo, Is This Racist? and a frequent guest of podcasts like Comedy Bang Bang. You may know Bethany, meanwhile, for her celebrated musical and theatrical work on Chicago stages such as Steppenwolf and the Green Mill, performing everything from a Gershwin opera to alt country. Before all that, Tawny and Bethany spent years together in Chicago as for-hire backup singers for tribute and cover bands, forging an intense friendship and musical connection, including time as members of UK punk hero John Langford's Four Lost Souls. This week, Tawny and Bethany's long history of collaboration culminates in their first album under their own names, the explosive and magnetic Material Flats.

In this chat, Lior spoke with Tawny and Bethany about chasing their own sound after supporting other voices for years, how their passion for music thrives alongside acting careers, the influence of Devo and the Talking Heads, the difference between recording dialog for Star Trek: Lower Decks and recording music (hint: tequila is involved), and so much more.

Head here for more info on Tawny and Bethany.

Head here for more info on Tawny Newsome.

Head here for more info on Bethany Thomas.

Head here for more information on this week's featured organization, World Central Kitchen.

For more from Lior Phillips and This Must Be the Gig, follow along on Instagram or Twitter, or like the show page on Facebook. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review via Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts.

--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app