

The Resistance
Matt Conner
There's a force at work that keeps you from being you. We feel it, too. It's the reason we avoid making the call, the reason we put off the diet. It's why we've done nothing about that entrepreneurial idea, that creative endeavor, that new relationship. In his book The War of Art, Stephen Pressfield defines this universal force as Resistance. Welcome to The Resistance, a new podcast featuring honest interviews with creative persons about this force and the forms it takes.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 24, 2020 • 29min
Film composer Nathan Johnson (Knives Out) on his creative sandbox approach
Film composer Nathan Johnson (Knives Out, Looper, Kill the Messenger) says he's always ready to jump. As a lover of creative challenge, Nathan says the key to being able to make that leap is a willingness to say yes to what you don't know how to do. It's that sort of "anything goes" approach that's allowed Johnson to craft such inspired and innovative compositions that bolster his cinematic projects in such rare, beautiful ways.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 17, 2020 • 7min
The Resistance: A Reintroduction
After a several month break, The Resistance is back with some exciting changes to announce! Listen in to hear more about the program going forward and what's in store for this next step in the journey.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 26, 2019 • 32min
Grammy-winning bluesman Fantastic Negrito shares his dramatic victories over resistance
It was immediately clear that Fantastic Negrito would close our first season of The Resistance once we began our conversation. Here was a man speaking—nay, preaching—from a lifetime of hard-fought battles with resistance. Record label woes. A car accident and ensuing coma. The inability to use his hand—to literally make music. Relearning it all after his supposed prime had passed him by.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 21, 2019 • 15min
Reflecting on the Resistance: Glen Phillips (Bonus)
Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with Glen Phillips, solo artist and front man for Toad The Wet Sprocket.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 20, 2019 • 45min
Glen Phillips, solo artist and Toad the Wet Sprocket vocalist, reflects on a career filled with resistance.
It's taken some time for Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) to realize the ebb and flow of popularity and the shifting sands of the music industry have nothing to do with his value as a person or his worth as a cultural voice. These days, he's "over" the idea of a career, he says. It's simply about obedience to the creative impulses that he feels.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 15, 2019 • 15min
Reflecting on the Resistance: Drew Holcomb (Bonus)
Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with Americana artist Drew Holcomb.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aug 13, 2019 • 22min
The drive of Drew Holcomb to offer something beautiful to the world
In this episode of The Resistance, Drew Holcomb explains the posture needed to consistently create and how he's learned to protect the initial impulse that sparked his creative pursuits in the first place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 22, 2019 • 7min
Rules for Artists: Dave Monks of Tokyo Police Club lays out lessons learned
This week, we have a special bonus episode that deviates from our typical interview format. Last week, Tokyo Police Club frontman Dave Monks sat down to discuss The Resistance, and in our conversation, he disclosed a list he keeps in his writing journal that lists rules he's picked up along the way as an artist. Aptly titled Rules For Artists, Monks graciously agreed to share those lessons learned with us in this special one-off episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 15, 2019 • 34min
Tokyo Police Club frontman Dave Monks on the tension of creative permission
Even after a decade fronting one of Toronto's most successful bands in Tokyo Police Club and previous solo releases, Dave Monks still wrestles with a resistance that plagues us all: a need for permission. Our latest episode features a personal and revealing conversation with an experienced artist who still wonders whether or not he really has the permission to follow his creative impulses.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jul 12, 2019 • 13min
Reflecting on the Resistance: Sarah Jaffe (Bonus)
Join Matt Conner, host of The Resistance, and Jay Kirkpatrick, audio engineer, as they reflect on the most recent guest conversation—this time with pop artist Sarah Jaffe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


