If you listen closely, a lot has happened over the last decade.
South Philly resident Dan Drago has had a front-row seat to the local music scene through his 25 O’Clock podcast, which is now celebrating 10 years of promoting homegrown talent.
“I’ve learned after 10 years of interviewing and producing this show that there are so many more people I want to talk to,” Drago said. “The best thing about the Philadelphia music community is that it never stops, so why should I?”
That’s been the motto for Drago, who started the podcast in his apartment in October 2014. Ten years later, Drago believes he owns the longest-running music podcast in the city, which has reached more than 330 episodes.
“Not bad for something I started at my kitchen table,” said Drago.
Prior to starting the podcast, Drago had toured with musical acts but had become tired of being on the road in a van. He said he was inspired by Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast and WHYY Fresh Air host Terry Gross. He then decided to invite his music friends and peers over to his apartment for conversations about their origins, inspirations and stories that come from people pursuing music.
It was not so much a crisis, but perhaps a mid-30s renaissance.
“You can start to ‘disappear’ in your 30s,” says Drago, who was 34 when he started the show. “Life takes over. Family, career, partnering off, you start to shed your 20-something social groups and passions.”
It didn’t take long to gain popularity.
“Something started happening a couple of years in,” said Drago. “More people were reaching out to me to be on the show instead of the other way around. Press agents, record labels and artists’ management were emailing me. I felt like I was finally ‘real.’ ”
Drago is celebrating 10 years with a live compilation LP called “Want To Play A Song?: Live On 25 O’Clock Vol. 1” on Bandcamp that will be released to coincide with Philly Music Fest, which takes place Oct. 21-27 at independent venues across the city. Proceeds from the CD will benefit Philly Music Fest, a nonprofit music festival that raises money for the next generations of Philadelphia musicians.
“Philly Music Fest has been so important to the community, and not just to the bands and the audiences who come each night,” said Drago. “Philly Music Fest has raised over $500K for local music education since their inception in 2017. Anything I can do to help, I want to do it, and this compilation seemed like a good way to help.”
The compilation will feature past guests’ live performances from the show.
“I wanted something that was bigger than one guest,” Drago said. “I wanted something that spoke to 10 years of work, and of being part of a community.”
Drago has marked milestone episodes with guests like The Hooters’ drummer Dave Uosikkenin for No. 300, and WXPN’s Helen Leicht for No. 200. Finding great guests and promoting local talent has been Drago’s audio love letter to the Philadelphia independent music scene.
“Podcasts now are what music zine culture was for me as a teen,” says Drago. “They give attention to bands and artists that would otherwise be overlooked. Podcasts and social media have leveled the taste-making playing field significantly since I started.”
