Jun 5, 2026 · 1 hr 5 min · 14 segments
In this episode, Ben interviews Xander Duell about his life in music and his latest EP, a collaboration w/ the legendary Van Dyke Parks. The duo also discuss writing on amphetamines, writing upon…
Xander DuellGuestBenHostPlease tell me, when did you write your first song?
[laughs] Nice.
Wow, that's amazing you remember that.
Do you still have a recording of it?
Yeah
We often start in imitation.
Were you trying to sound like another band-
... or something like that? Or-
I think I was pretty enamored of The Beatles, and I had a lot of FM radio going on, so there was as much Blackbird as there was Melissa Etheridge.
Did you grow up in a musical household?
No, I grew up in a household where my older brother was really good at everything.
Mm.
Mm
Please tell me, when did you write your first song?
[laughs] Nice.
Wow, that's amazing you remember that.
Do you still have a recording of it?
Yeah
We often start in imitation.
Were you trying to sound like another band-
... or something like that? Or-
I think I was pretty enamored of The Beatles, and I had a lot of FM radio going on, so there was as much Blackbird as there was Melissa Etheridge.
Did you grow up in a musical household?
No, I grew up in a household where my older brother was really good at everything.
Mm.
Mm
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