The 23rd in a series of shows called "My Three Songs", where my guest selects three memorable songs and we discuss why those songs are meaningful to them.
This recording includes the full interview but does NOT include licensed music. To hear all episodes including the songs we discuss, please visit AaronsRadio.show.
The 23rd in a series of shows called "My Three Songs", where my guest selects three memorable songs and we discuss why those songs are meaningful to them.
This recording includes the full interview but does NOT include licensed music. To hear all episodes including the songs we discuss, please visit AaronsRadio.show.
Coming to you almost live from Berkeley, California, it's Aaron's Radio Show ... with your host, Aaron Gobler.
Aaron Gobler:Thanks, Jake. And welcome, everybody to Episode 33. Welcome to My Three Songs, where I play three special songs chosen by my guest, and we talk about why they chose each song. Today, my guest is Erika Gimbel. I've known Erika through several business networking groups in the Bay Area. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a fruit and vegetable advocate. And she's also a fanatical swimmer. Erika, thank you so much for being my guest today. What inspired you to be on the show?
Erika Gimbel:Fun, it sounded like it would be fun to be on your show. And I am looking for fun. And I really enjoyed listening to some of the previous shows, and just hearing all of these great people coming on. And it's really hard to pick three songs. So I I'm giving it a shot. And I hope I get to come back and do another crop of three songs.
Aaron Gobler:That's great. I don't ask people for their favorite songs, but three songs that are important to them. And if you're really passionate about music, then it is really a challenge and an exercise to find three songs.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah ... it's ridiculous. It's a very ... at some point, I just ... the part of my brain that was trying to do it right gave up and it was just like, what is going to be fun? You know.
Aaron Gobler:So this is Erika's fun set of songs we'll be hearing today?
Erika Gimbel:Yes. Do that!
Aaron Gobler:Well, that's awesome. Go all need fun in our lives. So before we get started, Erika, can you tell me how music fits into your life? Like do you seek it out? Is it usually the foreground or the background of each day?
Erika Gimbel:Well, good that you asked that. I find music is in my life from the beginning till the end of my day. And I oftentimes will, you know, do some writing to some music with Baroque music. And I studied piano, flute, I'm a longtime beginner guitar player, like, I'll forever be able to play these five songs on my guitar. And maybe someday, I'll be able to say, I have progressed to a little more advanced guitar. But I definitely grew up with a lot of music in my life, and it was, you know, singing was a strategy to help keep us awake on the way home from grandparents. So they didn't want to put us to bed a second time. So it was a strategy to stay awake all the way home from Brooklyn to where my parents lived ... in New York. It was all in my world. And I wake up with music in my head, I go to sleep with music in my head. So it's, it's a big part of my life. And it's, it's also really healing. I have a playlist music for therapy. And that playlist I keep adding to you know, it's just, it's just such a great way to change one's attitude, mood, uplift, calm down, you know, all those things, mental health stuff, you know,
Aaron Gobler:In your practice, do you prescribe, per se, music to clients?
Erika Gimbel:Prescribe? That's a funny word. But yes, I recommend ... I do have a memory of sharing, you know, a song or two with different clients. Because as a psychotherapist, like, you know, we bring in tunes for sure. That's sort of for mental sanity. And this the, one of the songs I picked today is actually a song that's great for that very purpose of like, when somebody has hurt feelings. So that's definitely part of my repertoire of, of having fun with very strong, big feelings. You know, how do we how do we make friends with them? Why not write a rap about it? You know?
Aaron Gobler:You mentioned that you studied various instruments, and I want to understand... the proper definition of studying when you study an instrument. I'm assuming that means you become proficient at playing it or do you just read about it and learn about it?
Erika Gimbel:The place where I grew up was very much into music and musical instruments. And so I started with, well, I actually started with the violin, but I didn't really take to that I faked my way through a lot of the violin. And you know, in a concert, I would be playing the violin with my bow, like an inch or two above the violin because I didn't want to mess everyone up. And I just ... so that was like early, early grades. But I got more into music with piano, flute, and piccolo, which I did very intensively study. And I did like these competitions, like, I had my chops at some point. And I was playing like 10 to 15 songs in competitions. It was ridiculous, you know, like, the, the amount of practicing and the amount of being prepared to perform and play for judges and all that. I did that for a bit of time. Yeah, I was kind of into it.
Aaron Gobler:And would you say that you were more proficient at those instruments than you are at guitar playing, which you said, you're doing more of now?
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, I have this guitar sitting there looking at me, and it wants to be played. It's actually it's a beautiful guitar that was given to my dad from one of his patients. And my dad bought a guitar from his patient. And he gave him this beautiful guitar from Brazil. And so that's my guitar. And it has a great sound. I have used that guitar in performances in a play little mini plays and things like that. But I'm, I'm still a longtime beginner at guitar.
Aaron Gobler:Yeah. I've been practicing, you know I'll say,"practicing" ukulele for the last two years. But it's still PRACTICING it. (Laughter) But I did buy an electric guitar over 20 years ago, and really just started to learn how to play it, you know, got to a certain number of chords and I could play some chords, but it would just sit in the house. And when people saw it, they'd go, "Oh, do you play guitar?!" And my response was always "I ACTIVATE it".
Erika Gimbel:(Laughter)
Aaron Gobler:Because I felt that was the most honest thing to say, because I don't think I really played the guitar. But my goal with taking ukulele was that it would give me some more confidence to play the guitar. So start with four strings and then move up to six.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, you know, if ukulele ... people who play ukulele, they have a great sense of humor. They're funny people. As a rule, I gotta find that so. So yeah, I have an electric piano here that really played and I have this guitar. And I have a flute here. And I haven't really played a lot. But maybe after this interview, I will do so because it's just sitting right here just waiting expectantly for something to happen.
Aaron Gobler:I can tell you, when I play the ukulele, there's some excitement about me actually generating music. I lived my life around music for so long. And you know, most of my production of music was tapping things, or whistling. You know, I do a lot of whistling. But actually to be able to produce a sound yourself, which sounds enough like something you've heard, I'm assuming that you also get an excitement from that.
Erika Gimbel:I really do. You know, when I got to play my guitar, I was already singing, you know, I did a lot of musical theater and acting, I started to sing with a singing teacher in New York City. And then when I picked up the guitar, it was solely for the purpose of singing along having that accompaniment. My very own self. So maybe the next time I do this with you, Aaron, I'll practice three songs I can play for you and ...
Aaron Gobler:Okay, okay
Erika Gimbel:... that'd be crazy.
Aaron Gobler:Yeah. That'd be new. Yeah.
Erika Gimbel:I'd have like a little rock concert with you.
Aaron Gobler:Yeah! Well, I'm also looking for other kinds of formats. So I'd be glad to experiment with another format.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, there's something really satisfying about playing for your very own self and not needing an accompanist. That's a hard word to say, an ACCOMPANIST to do what you want them to do specifically, like it's coming out of your hands. And so of course, it's gonna sound pretty good together because you and the hands are together in the same organism. So ...
Aaron Gobler:Yes. I like the way you put that.
Erika Gimbel:Thank you.
Aaron Gobler:So we're about to have some fun with the songs that you chose, and I'll list them off. The first one is "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", which is a famous song by The Rolling Stones. But this is a cover by Devo from 1978. And then we'll hear "Hurt Feelings" by Flight of the Conchords from 2009. And we'll finish up with"Shambala" by Three Dog Night from 1975. So I know"Satisfaction" and "Shambala", but I had not heard "Hurt Feelings", and I really enjoyed it. And I'm delighted to have been introduced to that song by your list.
Erika Gimbel:Oh, so good ... that I can't wait to tell you more about
Aaron Gobler:I'm eager for us both to listen to the songs together and I'm really interested in knowing why each of them is meaningful to you. The first song in your list is a cover of the Rolling Stones' classic "Satisfaction" performed by Devo. Erika, Devo played the Tower Theater outside Philadelphia in 1978. And I was dying to go. But I was only 14. And my mom told me I was too young to attend, because she was concerned about my safety. But luckily, in 2000, I was able to actually meet the band backstage when they performed at a corporate event. And it's not exactly the same thing as seeing them early in their careers. But I'll take it! I'll also mention that they had some of their grandkids in the backstage area, too. So that indicates to you, they were already getting up there in their years. So what inspired you to include this song on your list?
Erika Gimbel:This song is so... there's so much fun, you know, this band Devo. They're so funny. If you see some of their videos, they're so creative. They're so goofy. A friend of mine got to see them perform at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1979. And they actually, they actually came out and performed as a cover band, they performed as "Dove, the Band". And if you look closely, they were themselves. They were Devo just up in like green visors. They're called "Dove, the Band of Love". They came out there. So like, so just that creativity and that fun. And just the way they were doing that song. It's not the usual, "I can't get no...", it's"I can't get me no I can't get me no ..." That riff is so interesting. And it's sort of like a, you know, just a different syncopation. And, you know, they're just so fun. So, again, this fun theme, like they're having fun, and you can feel it and then we start to have fun. I also like the song because it was in the show that's on Netflix called Sex Education ... that whole playlist is just so phenomenal. Three seasons of great music and great story. If you haven't had a chance to see that show. It's it's really fun.
Aaron Gobler:I have not seen that show. But, but I have heard a lot of good things about it.
Erika Gimbel:Oh, yeah, it's great. The you know, all of this music you can find on Spotify look for the Sex Education. And it'll just come right up. You know, I love how they have old stuff on there too. Like this is pretty old. This song so ... yeah.
Aaron Gobler:Was there anything else you wanted to say about that song?
Erika Gimbel:This whole time is like you can't get no satisfaction. Like it's sort of pointing to the times that we're in right now. All the way to ... what are we, 2021, almost 2022. It's like, I can't get no satisfaction ... well, right now. How do we just find it? How do we do this thing called living the best way we can right now? And we try and we try? We try!
Aaron Gobler:... but we still get get the satisfaction?
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, we strive...
Aaron Gobler:... we keep trying?
Erika Gimbel:Exactly.
Aaron Gobler:Erika, your next song is "Hurt Feelings", by Flight of the Conchords.
Erika Gimbel:This song, if you just say it along with me, Aaron, if you if you're open to this ...
Aaron Gobler:Sure.
Erika Gimbel:... just saying the first lines that you could feed back to me, okay, because it's so much fun to say it and you don't have to sing it.
Aaron Gobler:Okay.
Erika Gimbel:Some people say that rappers don't have feelings!
Aaron Gobler:Some people say that rappers don't have feelings!
Erika Gimbel:Some people say that we're not rappers!
Aaron Gobler:Some people say that we're not rappers!
Erika Gimbel:That hurts our feelings when you say we're not rappers!
Aaron Gobler:That hurts our feelings when you say we're not rappers!
Erika Gimbel:And then then it goes into the song. Just trying on what a little bit of what it's like to be a rapper, yet these rappers are from New Zealand. And they are trying to make it in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. And they get so broke at some point that they have to sell their guitars and they're they're having gigs with air guitars and, and all sorts of, there's episodes that you can find through I think it's HBO Flight of the Conchords. And they're always striving to make it in New York City, which is no easy thing to do.
Aaron Gobler:This is like a television show.
Erika Gimbel:Exactly. It's a series that they put on HBO back in, I guess was 2009, 2008. And so the songs are woven into the episodes.
Aaron Gobler:Gotcha. Now that we've piqued the curiosity of our listeners, let's take a listen to "Hurt Feelings" by Flight of the Conchords. Well Erick this song hits a nerve with me because there was a time where someone said I did look like a llama.
Erika Gimbel:(Laugther)
Aaron Gobler:This is a really, really fun song. The song is really boppy and the tongue-in-cheek lyrics really remind me of the stylings of one of my favorite bands. Barenaked Ladies. So what inspired you to include the song on your list?
Erika Gimbel:I just love these guys. They're pretty nerdy guys. And in the chorus, you can hear them, (Erika sings in falsetto)"I've got hurt feelings". It's sort of like they're crying a little bit. And it's so funny. They're, they're making it accessible. And so many times people aren't comfortable with their feelings, they have this whole hang-up about sharing feelings or showing feelings. So it just gives permission. And it sounds funny too when they do that with their voice going way up into falsetto. It's so funny. And I just, I just think like that whole album, where this song comes from it. They're all hilarious, fun, heartwarming, poignant songs, you know, it's just so fun, you know, hard times to make it as a musician, a rocker in New York City. And they're figuring it out. They're finding their way. They're, they're dealing with adversity, they have a manager who's also supporting them. And it's just a funny show, if you've never seen it, definitely. So when I've shared this with clients who are like struggling with honesty and saying something about somebody got their feelings hurt. I'm like, Oh, we got to hear the song now. It's a little musical interlude for your pleasure. And it usually goes over pretty well. It's really giving permission to express and to be in those big feelings or hard feelings.
Aaron Gobler:Yeah. The last song on your list is "Shambala" by Three Dog Night.
Erika Gimbel:Right! And, you know, I guess there's different ways to say Shambala. Shambala. I'm not even sure what these guys were thinking when they wrote the song. But it is such a fun song. And when I first heard the first few chords, I think I was watching the movie that this this song was featured in Slums of Beverly Hills. And I just was like, Oh my gosh, I have to get the soundtrack. And it was in the I think it was in the days when I had to get like a CD of it. It's just so fun. So if it doesn't get you up and boppin' about, and it's also fun to sing, too. It's kind of complicated to sing. But it's just so so positive. And these guys are known for other things like "Eli's Coming", which is my Laura Nyro, and they're known for ... what is the song that you know them for ... ?
Aaron Gobler:"Joy to the World", where they sing, you know, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog!"
Erika Gimbel:That one; yes!
Aaron Gobler:Yeah, that's, that's their most famous, and that hit number one on the Billboard charts back when it came out. We'll play the song in a moment ... I believe we wanted to have our listeners pay attention to just the opening bars of the song. It is one of these things that will make the song identifiable right away. It's it's one of those songs that you hear this beginning and you know, the song is coming off. So let's give that a listen. Shambala, or Shambala by Three Dog Night. Erika, as we were just saying before, the song, Three Dog Night had a number of big hits. This was one of the one of the big hits from them; a wonderful sound; all their songs are just crafted so well. Why did you choose to include this particular song by them?
Erika Gimbel:Because it's uplifting. The lyrics themselves are kind of "put down your blues and pick it up and come on up over the rainbow with us" with this chorus, You know (Erika sings part of chorus). That that takes you up' takes you up and over. And I think it does it so well. And you can't help but feel better. You know, natural antidepressant.
Aaron Gobler:That's true. I don't think you could sing that refrain and then into that cheer of like "How does your light shine!? and it just like all that energy just bursts out, all of a sudden. It'd be challenging to remain sedentary in your mind or in your body when that part comes on!
Erika Gimbel:Exactly. So last year in June, our friend Paige Patrick, she had her first cabaret show, and it was also like her birthday month and I was like, "heck yes, I'm gonna sing this song!" And I asked my friend Harold to come sing it with me. And we were like dancing all over the place as we were singing the song. It's hard to dance and sing a really hard song but we did that and it was really fun. And we got other people dancing too in the Zoom video because it was like June, you know? 2020 We accomplished our mission of uplifting of the crew that came to see us sing it, it was so much fun.
Aaron Gobler:What did you find most challenging about singing this particular song?
Erika Gimbel:You have to really like bear down in your diaphragm to get all the way up and over to the end of that phrase in the chorus anyway. You know, so it's... you definitely have to do your homework in your diaphragm. Otherwise, you're not gonna make it. So you know, (Erika sings)"ah ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah." And that is just that bearing down in your diaphragm. That's what has to happen for that phrase, other places, you don't have to worry so much about breath control. And, yeah, it's a great song to practice that.
Aaron Gobler:It underscores just how much the voice is its own instrument. When people who are not ... like myself who are just marginally decent at singing ... we can just imagine that we're hitting the right notes or making the right sounds. And I guess when you start stepping into like doing karaoke or something, then you start realizing how much more involved at some of the songs are when you have to sing them.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, speaking of karaoke, there is this fabulous app that a friend of mine turned me on to it's called Smule. Have you heard of it?
Aaron Gobler:No. How do you smell? (Awkward laughter.) How do you SPELL that?
Erika Gimbel:How do you spell that? It's Smule ... S M U L E. And you can get on this app. And without ... you don't have to pay any money, you can just get on there and sing with other people who've started it off. And my friend who who showed me this, he he got me on there. And like, I the first day I was on there, I sang like eight different songs. It was crazy. And you can sing with strangers, you can sing with people you know if you can find them. And it is so much fun. Oh my gosh!
Aaron Gobler:So are you listening to them all sing? And then your voice is an added on top of that? Are you trying to sing with them at the same time?
Erika Gimbel:... this app, I haven't paid for this at all. So I show up there. And you find you can you know, if my friend who invited me he invited me to particular songs that he had already laid down a track for and sung, and then you press join. And then you can practice joining in with that person. Or also do it with a group. And then you can also troll around looking for other people that you like the way they sing or and you can join in anywhere you like. It's just so it's so happy. There's amazing really accomplished singers who have like Rockstar, musical theater, rock stars, and then there's people who are just working it out. And they might be a little off-key. And it's like it's so much fun.
Aaron Gobler:So the website is(attempts at pronouncing the word Smule) Smule dot com.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah.
Aaron Gobler:And it's actually an app, that it's not really the website you would you'd be using. It's actually an app. But I see that if you want to learn more, you can go to the website and learn more. But S M U L E like the word mule with an "S" in it. I'm not exactly sure how they got that name. But we'll leave that for another time. Thank you for introducing that. I'm gonna have to check that out.
Erika Gimbel:O M G! It is so fun. And you can totally take up your time being on there.
Aaron Gobler:Yeah, yeah. Cool. I'll check that out. I encourage others to check that out. And thank you for introducing us to that.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, you can have a rock concert right in the comfort of your own home!
Aaron Gobler:So Erika, is there anything else you'd like to share about your selections; maybe something you thought about as we were listening to them or something I haven't asked you about?
Erika Gimbel:I guess just like in wrapping up, I'd love to, you know, say that if anything that I said excited you ... watch some of the things that these are related to like, like Sex Education, and Slums of Beverly Hills is a great movie. And then I mean, Devo. Gosh, they speak for themselves, you could just look around and see them; and then yes, Smule, these things are fun, and they are uplifting and I hope everybody is having some fun out there.
Aaron Gobler:Well, I want to thank you again, Erika, for your time today. I had a lot of fun. It's always fun talking with you. And your passion for music comes through.
Erika Gimbel:I appreciate you saying what you just said about my passion for music. You know, I appreciate the way you're bringing people together by creating this, Aaron, it's really pretty seamless. You've made it so easy to participate with your forms, and it's just I think it's it really is a beautiful creation. So go Aaron's Radio Show; woo hoo!
Aaron Gobler:Thank you. Thank you for your support and for your future promotion of the show. And I am again so delighted that you decided to be to be part of this.
Erika Gimbel:Yeah, of course!
Aaron Gobler:Every guest is helping on the journey for this particular project, so I certainly appreciate that.
Erika Gimbel:Can I ask you a question?
Aaron Gobler:Please.
Erika Gimbel:What is your goal with ... what do you hope? What do you hope to have happen as a result of making these episodes? What's going to happen?
Aaron Gobler:So with any craft, you have to keep exercising the craft, or practicing, and with practice become some kind of perfection. And I don't think I'm perfect at this yet, but I feel with each episode, I get better. It's been really fun developing it, and I've learned all kinds of things about podcasting and promotion.
Erika Gimbel:Very cool. Well, I wish you lots of luck with this and everything you do.
Aaron Gobler:Thank you so much, Erika, and to my listeners ... if you want to be part of the show, start by going to our website, Aaron's Radio dot show, and clicking on the My Three Songs button on the homepage. You can also sign up for our mailing list, so you'll know immediately when a new episode is available. You can also find Aaron's Radio Show on your favorite podcast service, but the podcast episodes only include interviews and no licensed music. So until next time, keep your ears and mind open and let more music into your world.
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