Pop-Punk, Songwriting, and Meeting Sum 41 ( Guest: MJ LaVine )

Explicit

On this episode of Kill the Small Talk, Alex Caron sits down with musician, singer-songwriter, and self-proclaimed big-time nerd MJ LaVine.

From growing up in Chicago and falling in love with Blink-182 and Sum 41, to studying music at CalArts, MJ’s journey is filled with passion, persistence, and a whole lot of guitars (15 to be exact). She talks about the making of her EP Hear My Bedroom, balancing acoustic string arrangements with full pop-punk energy, and how she ended up on the set of a Sum 41 music video thanks to her day job at a music rental company.

MJ shares stories about working multiple jobs to chase her dream, her obsession with songwriting, and what it really takes to keep pushing forward as a creative. This episode is equal parts hilarious, inspiring, and packed with he ...