Music

Aaron Lee Tasjan's New Album Touches On Health, Being Alone, And Money

XPN | By John Myers,

Published April 13, 2021 at 1:53 PM CDT

Even though Aaron Lee Tasjan's song "Up All Night" sounds like a lot of fun – if you listen close, the lyrics touch on many of the things you may have been worried about over this past year. Things like health, being alone, and money. And while some of his songs on his new album Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! sound like they were inspired by the pandemic, Tasjan's had these things on his mind since before the lockdown.

One night, while on stage playing a show, Tasjan says, "My stomach was hurting so badly that I could barely stand up and by the end of the show, I could hardly breathe; I ended up having to go to the emergency room."

Luckily, Tasjan's stomach is OK... and the album is a really good time, even though it's shot through with anxiety. In this session, Tasjan joins for a conversation and performance of some of the songs from the record.

Music

John Myers

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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Raina Douris

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She is also involved with Canada's highest music honors: Since 2017, she has hosted the Polaris Music Prize Gala, for which she is also a jury member, and she has also been a jury member for the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.

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