Alchemy with Anthony Mason

On this week’s episode, we’re catching up with an old friend. Ben Schwartz is on tour with his improv show “Ben Schwartz and Friends.” He’s voicing Sonic in the upcoming fourth film in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series. And he’s just completed a passion project – a new TV series that he’s written, directed and stars in based on his popular Funny or Die web series “The Earliest Show.”

00:00 Intro

01:06 Four improv shows in two days

03:03 Walking onstage with no plan

05:42 How to escape a dying scene

07:22 Listening, callbacks and four empty chairs

11:19 Ben interviews Anthony

13:00 What he learned as a Letterman page

14:27 The pre-show ritual

16:38 Why stand-up felt lonely

19:25 FLAG Art Foundation

20:29 The Earliest Show: making TV independently

25:41 Betting his own time and money

30:03 Selling 13 scripts and getting none made

35:48 How to keep hope alive

39:20 Why Anthony started Alchemy

44:42 Sonic the Hedgehog 4

46:44 Finding comfort in '90s movies

48:06 "Creativity eats darkness"

New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ⁠YouTube⁠ so you never miss one.

⁠Sign up here⁠ to get Alchemy in your inbox⁠. Stay connected with Anthony Mason on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ & ⁠Facebook⁠.

For brand partnerships: partnerships@collective.media

For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com

For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show

About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.

Our guest this episode, Nile Rodgers, has left an indelible mark on American music, as a guitarist, producer, and leader of the band Chic. Nile was just named one of the “30 Greatest Living American Songwriters” by the New York Times. He co-wrote the #1 hits “Good Times,” and “Le Freak,” for Chic. Nile also co-wrote “Get Lucky” with Daft Punk, “Let’s Dance” with David Bowie, “I’m Coming Out” for Diana Ross, and “We Are Family” for Sister Sledge. And his life has been as incredible as his musical catalogue.

0:00 Introduction

1:17 Diana Ross, "Upside Down," and "I'm Coming Out"

5:04 Working with Diana Ross

6:16 On songwriting: "I'm a good song rewriter"

8:32 The most Nile Rodgers song: "Everybody Dance"

9:27 The guitar lesson that changed everything

12:44 The art of chucking

14:09 Meeting Bernard Edwards

16:03 Growing up on the Lower East Side

18:00 His mother, his father, and a "variation on a Mormon theme"

21:50 A Thanksgiving Day drug overdose

23:47 Sponsor break – The FLAG Art Foundation

25:43 Writing songs alone on the NYC subway

27:13 Nina Simone's last concert

30:27 How his life shaped his music

31:54 Chic's success and why he didn't want to be out front

37:14 First big concert – 70,000 people and a Heineken

39:08 The night his heart stopped six times

44:27 What makes him such a great collaborator

46:40 Working with Bowie on "Let's Dance"

47:51 Being labeled a "disco producer" and proving them wrong

50:05 Still going strong at 73

New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ⁠YouTube⁠ so you never miss one.

⁠Sign up here⁠ to get Alchemy in your inbox⁠. Stay connected with Anthony Mason on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ & ⁠Facebook⁠.

For brand partnerships: partnerships@collective.media

For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com

For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show

About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.

Tom Morello is one of the great guitarists of our time, known for his epic albums with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. We talk about his many collaborations, with Chris Cornell, Bruce Springsteen, and now his 15-year-old son, Roman, on Tom's latest record, “Everyone Gets Everything They Want.”

00:00 Intro

01:02 Tom's first solo rock album after 22 records

02:02 Writing with his son Roman

05:44 Failed guitar lessons and the Sex Pistols

07:27 The Clash and "The future is unwritten"

08:45 Practicing 8 hours a day at Harvard

12:29 Finding his signature sound by accident

14:39 Lock Up, Geffen, and a vow to play only what he believes in

15:55 Growing up in Libertyville and his mother

19:13 Meeting his father, the Kenyan ambassador

27:21 Bruce Springsteen and "The Ghost of Tom Joad"

32:36 Chris Cornell and the birth of Audioslave

36:53 A word from the FLAG Art Foundation

37:44 The Nightwatchman and his most personal songs

41:42 Black Sabbath's farewell and why metal hooked him

44:36 The Power to the People festival

47:03 Why he's not slowing down

48:35 Guitar solos and "Holy Spirit" moments

New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ⁠YouTube⁠ so you never miss one.

⁠Sign up here⁠ to get Alchemy in your inbox⁠. Stay connected with Anthony Mason on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ & ⁠Facebook⁠.

For brand partnerships: partnerships@collective.media

For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com

For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show

About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.

Our guest this episode, Sam Smith, is one of the most popular singers in the world. Sam's music has more than 57 billion streams. We first met in 2014 in Sam's hometown in England, when their debut album was just blowing up. Now, a dozen years later, Sam came to my home to talk about their stunning fifth album, "Hazel Eyes."

00:00 "That's where I sat with you"

00:32 Welcome to Alchemy

02:13 A queer love album — and a radical one

03:51 Leaving the pop factory

05:08 The pressure of being a billion-stream artist

07:14 Inside "Thief"

12:08 A private relationship with singing

13:31 Church, gospel, and singing alone

14:33 Vocal surgery, cancelled arenas, and stage fear

17:20 The field in the countryside

19:34 Going back to school in 2014

22:14 Becoming a New Yorker

25:21 The Met Gala, and fashion as armor

31:22 The songs Sam won't sing anymore

35:35 Panic and an overactive imagination

37:10 The letter from Tom Petty

43:56 Pronouns, backlash, and being a political artist

48:10 The Pink House

50:32 Sam Served: the food vlog

54:05 How Sam handles the flak

56:08 What music gives Sam now

New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ⁠YouTube⁠ so you never miss one.

⁠Sign up here⁠ to get Alchemy in your inbox⁠. Stay connected with Anthony Mason on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ & ⁠Facebook⁠.

For brand partnerships: partnerships@collective.media

For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com

For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show

About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.

One of my favorite singers, Sara Bareilles, is our guest this episode. Sara's released five top 10 albums, written the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway show "Waitress," and starred in a Sondheim musical. She's back with her first new studio album in seven years, "Good Grief," and it's a beauty.

00:00 Intro

01:03 Juggling an album, a tour, a film and a musical

03:24 "Good Grief": an album born from loss

05:20 How "Forever" became a song for Gavin Creel

07:12 Morning pages and The Artist's Way

09:33 How writing Waitress changed her songwriting

12:42 Asking big questions without answers

14:17 "Capsize Me": a letter to God

16:41 "Wind Is The Weather" and feeling out at sea

19:05 Letting go of control in the studio

22:06 Finding herself in the music industry

26:05 Why being "somewhere in the middle" served her

27:41 A word from The FLAG Art Foundation

28:50 Jennifer Nettles and the musical that never was

31:01 Adapting "The Interestings" for the stage

33:58 Saying yes to Girls5eva

36:43 Working through anxiety

37:42 Grief is love

42:48 Putting lost friends into songs

44:13 Staying on the growth edge

46:36 Her first time on a Broadway stage

49:20 The chimney video that went viral

New episodes of Alchemy every Wednesday. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ⁠YouTube⁠ so you never miss one.

⁠Sign up here⁠ to get Alchemy in your inbox⁠. Stay connected with Anthony Mason on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ & ⁠Facebook⁠.

For brand partnerships: partnerships@collective.media

For press inquiries: dawn@thepresshouse.com

For bookings: rebecca@alchemy.show

About our Founding Sponsor, ⁠⁠The FLAG Art Foundation⁠⁠:

The FLAG Art Foundation is a nonprofit contemporary art exhibition space in New York's Chelsea Arts District. Since 2008, FLAG has staged more than 100 exhibitions celebrating nearly 1,000 artists, with innovative partnerships including the Parrish Art Museum, the Serpentine Galleries in London, and the Harlem Children's Zone. FLAG is free and open to the public. Follow FLAG on ⁠Instagram⁠⁠.

About Anthony Mason:

Anthony Mason, the host of Alchemy, is also a Special Correspondent with CBS News. One of the most versatile and experienced television journalists, Anthony co-hosted CBS This Morning: Saturday for seven years (2012-2019), and then the weekday CBS This Morning broadcast for two more. But he may be best known for his interviews with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Annie Leibovitz, Judi Dench, David Hockney, and André 3000. He has won a dozen Emmy Awards. In 2023, the Songwriters Hall of Fame presented him their Patron of the Arts Award. And for the past three years he has hosted the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala.