A podcast about music, movies and life.

Spooky Season is in full swing. As the Northern Hemisphere turns toward darker days, we here at On Cue are turning towards darker topics.

This week, Liz lovingly and thoughtfully curates a soundtrack and emotional musical experience to score her dream funeral. Discover who shows up to celebrate Liz's life, what bands reunite in her memory, and which tracks will be sending her off to the Underworld.

Plus, Trish discusses her new love for environmentally-responsible wax-free liquid candles and her favorite all-natural botanical incense, perfect for moody autumn nights. You can find the forever candles here and the seasonal incense here.

Kestrin is a rock cellist who has appeared onstage alongside Weezer, Beck and Brandi Carlile. She also invented, built and captained a legendary glam RV which she and Disney imagineers outfitted as a rave cave karaoke studio. She's written, directed and starred in feature films. She plays with David Wain and Ken Marino's Middle Aged Dad Jam Band. She lived in Taiwan for a while and speaks fluent Mandarin. There's more to say about Kestrin than any single episode of a podcast can possibly cover, but we get to as much as we can.

Kestrin and her work can be be found here.

The Middle Aged Dad Jam Band can be found here.

Plus, Trish's favorite thing this week is West Coast Swing dance classes. Wanna get dancing, too? Her favorite places to take lessons in LA are with Tip & Teveya and at Motivo.

Gemma writes about music, fashion, and culture, specializing in intimate one-on-one artist interviews. While her sub-par drawing skills ruled out a coveted career in fashion design, she's found her niche, and this month celebrates the tenth anniversary of PUSS PUSS magazine. As co-editor, she's passionate about helping PUSS PUSS channel the insouciant, indomitable and independent spirit of cats in fashion and pop culture.

Gemma delivers some choice dirt on her most memorable interviews, the fresh new artists she's loving these days, and why Empire Records is her favorite movie. Plus, she reads the Tarot card of the week!

Sheila has years of experience in the entertainment industry, ever since the show biz bug got a hold of her at age 15. She ditched her plan to become a lawyer and dove headfirst into filmmaking by the time she graduated high school.

Fast forward to today: as SVP of Creative Development at Warner Bros, Sheila has worked on the critically acclaimed musical adaptations of THE COLOR PURPLE and IN THE HEIGHTS, as well as TWISTERS and GODZILLA X KONG sequels, plus the upcoming films FLOWERVALE STREET and a forthcoming project with BLACK PANTHER director, Ryan Coogler. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We discuss the movies that move us, personal playlists for all occasions, the challenges of adapting musicals to the screen, and the importance of culture in storytelling and entertainment.

To be honest, we don't fully trust anyone who doesn't love a good movie montage. This week, we break down our favorites... and the songs that fuel them. 

Plus, Liz is recently back from the UK and teaches us how to make this week's favorite thing: proper English scones and a good strong cup of British tea. 

Russell Emanuel is a pioneering leader, disruptor and music producer, serving as the CEO, Chief Creative Officer, and co-founder of both Extreme Music and Bleeding Fingers Music. By introducing world-renowned artists and composers—such as Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, Sir George Martin, and Snoop Dogg—into the music library space, he's elevated the standard for quality in production music. Russell also transformed the industry by championing the shift from purely instrumental tracks to vocal-led songs, recognizing the demand for music that could tell stories and evoke emotions more powerfully. His innovative approach attracted top-tier talent and redefined what a music library could be.

At Bleeding Fingers Music, co-founded in partnership with legendary composer Hans Zimmer, Russell has built a dynamic, collaborative environment where some of the industry's most vital new composers thrive. Headquartered in Santa Monica, the company is recognized for its unmatched balance of musical creativity, collaboration, and efficiency. The award-winning team at Bleeding Fingers has scored prestigious series and landmark projects, including The Simpsons, Planet Earth, Blue Planet II, Seven Worlds, One Planet, Frozen Planet II, and Apple TV+'s Prehistoric Planet, produced with Jon Favreau.

Here's what Trish is into this week: The Extended Mind, by Annie Murphy Paul.

Nothing kicks off a movie quite as effectively as the right musical choice, positioned perfectly to set the tone for the entire film. When executed well, the sequence introduces us to an entire world, conveys nuanced character details, relationships and plot points, and establishes a rhythm and mood that will carry us through the whole story.

This week, we share our personal favorite musical openings to movies.   

Plus, you here’s Liz’s current obsession,  SAUNA AUFGUSS.   

This week, we're getting into it with vocalist, songwriter, videographer and composer/producer KÁRYYN. 

The press has dubbed her “a sonic architect” (Dazed); “an electronic adventurer” (FACT) who “makes music as a way of travel, moving through memories with sound” (CLOT Magazine). In the album’s Pitchfork review, Sasha Geffen wrote: “Death hangs heavy over the record, but in its shadow, KÁRYYN projects herself into the future.”   

Following a prolific period of inward healing and creating, she readies her newest work, Calm KAOSS! EP, which she created in partnership with British record producer James Ford. In this new project, KÁRYYN communes with her past, present and future selves, traveling through time to reveal transformative premonitions from the future in scientific and spiritual language. 

She's deep and intense... but also joyful, silly, and seriously FUN. 

Plus, here’s what Trish is into this week:   
The Age Of Magical Thinking, by Amanda Montell.

Perhaps best known for writing and producing The Mexican and Dead Man Down, as well his work on the FOX shows Fringe and Almost Human, Joel is a multi-talented creator with a passion for storytelling, music, and metaphor.

We take a deep dive into his career and projects-- what inspires him, what's at the heart of a good narrative arc, and his take on music being integral to his creative process.

Plus, Liz is pumped about her new 3D printer.

For Venzella Joy Williams, also known as Joy The Drummer, Christmas of 1998 was “the most lit Christmas of all time” because at the tender age of ten, she received her very first drum set. These days, she plays with people like Beyonce, Eric Bellinger, Patti LaBelle, Janelle Monáe, and Ari Lennox. 

Joy gives us the dirt on her life behind the drumkit, as well as her thoughts on being a touring musical director, performing on camera, the flaws in our criminal justice system, and the unlikely lessons she learned from the film, The Founder.

Trish's favorite thing this week is musician Amythyst Kiah.