Episode #154: Music!
Music! Grace and Alvina talk about all things music, including their first concerts, their relationship with music as children, and music books.
“How have you been?”
Alvina has just returned from a vacation in Georgia where she visited the mother of Stephen’s biological kids. They spent time in Savannah and Decatur. They went to a folk concert at Eddie’s Attic where they saw Peter Mulvey. It was the first concert Alvina and Stephen had ever attended together! They went to an Atlanta United FC soccer game and also saw Dan Santat outside of Little Shop of Stories.
Grace is nervous about flying again. She’s been getting up early and cleaning and organizing!
MUSIC!
Alvina was inspired by the concert in Georgia so she bought tickets for some future shows, Courtney Barnett and also Pet Shop Boys and New Order.
Grace and Alvina discuss their relationship with music. Grace: She doesn’t have a huge relationship with music. First record: Flashdance! Although she played the violin for a long time growing up, music was not a huge part of her upbringing.
Alvina talks about music not being a huge part of her upbringing either but that she got into it later. She recalls the 8-track tapes her family had, cassette tapes, singing Madonna’s “Lucky Star” in her room, and of course also playing violin and then on to clarinet and becoming part of marching band. She once wrote Grace a letter with all the lyrics to Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer”.
First concerts!
Grace’s first concert was at college and she saw Elton John play the piano with his bare feet! Alvina’s first concert was also in college and she saw Erasure and that was also the first CD that she ever owned. She also saw The Cure once and saw the band Cake before they were big.
Favorite concerts? Do you like big stadiums, smaller venues, or enjoying music from the comforts of your own home/headphones? Grace: Jonathan Richman and Radiohead! Alvina: Her favorite concerts were Beyonce and Adele!
Books about songs and music-themed books: Do they do well? Alvina and Grace discuss books like Imagine, This Land is Your Land, and Puff the Magic Dragon.
Fortune Cookie Segment!
“What does your dream vacation look like?”
Gratefuls:
Alvina is grateful that she was able to spend time with Alex’s biological kids and their mom Alex. Grace is grateful for her new Mother’s Day mug that Alex gave her:
Thank You!
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Floyd Cooper and Grace Lin answer the random question: Do you think that dogs also name people? What would your dog name you? Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Twitter and Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and @authorgracelin on Facebook
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