The Swirl with Bry & Dave

It’s the Episode You've Been Missing. We know you’ve all been wondering how they feel about the third-rail issues, so after an in-depth catch-up on the eventful month of May and the entrance into Mercury’s retrograde, Bry & Dave get BACK TO BASIQUE(s). In an old-school, meat & potatoes conversation, they let loose on Israel/Palestine/Anti-Semitism, the True Wages Of Ally-Ship, and the Return Of Broadway: Burn It All Down? Somewhere in the mix, they throw in a new “Analytics Check” with some countries/protectorates you may recognize, Bry’s father’s heart attack adventure and an emergency 9 days in Kansas City in which Men Were Driving Bry Crazy, some TV recommendations, and a bittersweet accounting of American Idol. Also, as they approach the 1-year Anniversary of “The Swirl With Bry & Dave,” the Big Question: Should we do a year 2? (REPLY IN THE COMMENTS!). Then go to @sandiegosymphony.org #BroadwayByTheBay for Bryonha’s [astonishing—DG] 52-minute one-woman concert of music theatre classics. And check out our previous episode, BONUS PROUD HUSBAND PROMO ALERT: “BRY BY THE BAY” for excerpts and loving commentary. In the meantime, please RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE, and SUPPORT! And TASTE THE SWIRL (while you still can). LINK IN BIO.

Well, now Dave’s gone and done it. A quick and dirty secret solo episode of bootleg snippets fresh from his iPhone of his wife Bryonha Marie’s solo concert dropping tonight, “BROADWAY BY THE BAY,” with the great Rob Fisher and members of the San Diego Symphony to open their venue, The Shell. This concert will stream until the end of June, and you will not want to miss it. Here’s the list of songs, some of which you’ll get a taste of from that epic night last March in 40-degree Pacific Ocean winds:

EVERYTHING’S COMING US ROSES

BROADWAY BABY

SUMMERTIME

CAN’T HELP LOVIN’ THAT MAN

ADELAIDE’S LAMENT

TILL THERE WAS YOU

AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME

ONE HUNDRED EASY WAYS

BEFORE THE PARADE PASSES BY

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT

WHEN YOU’RE GOOD TO MAMA

HOME

CABARET

COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS

All performed by the incomparable, impossibly versatile, legendary Broadway Beast, Bryonha Marie.

Get your tickets ($25) to stream the full concert with the real glorious audio now until the end of June at sandiegosymphony.org, and click on “Broadway By The Bay.”

Sometimes you choose the topic, and sometimes the topic chooses you. For this one, we needed someone who could speak about death with wisdom and experience, strength and hope, but above all… be hilarious. So went to the woman who wrote the book. Alexandra Silber’s “White Hot Grief Parade” (Pegasus Books), is all that and a week of Broadway shows. Join us as this brilliant Broadway diva, memoirist and novelist (“After Anatevka,” also Pegasus Books) breaks down the raw truths and profound glories of love, loss and Fiddler on the Roof in an indelible episode of The Swirl. Also, be sure to stick around for the new game, “You Say You Love ‘Ragtime?’ I’ll Give You Ragtime!’” and see if you score higher than ‘Ragtime’s’ #1 fan. PS, don’t call her Alex. You can call her Al.

This week’s title says it all – it’s the SEX EPISODE. The Sexisode? Anyway, we go there this week where we've never gone before: our origin sex-stories, same-sex revelations, and the bi-racial reverberations through intimacy and marriage, American history and Broadway. First, there’s a review of our Vaccine Experience, some reflections on the Year 1 Anniversary of the Pandemic, and an unlikely detour through the Phantom Tollbooth. This is the juicy one! Especially this week… Taste The Swirl!!!

It’s Food Week on The Swirl! Everybody’s (first-or-second) favorite Pandemic Topic. First we do our weekly catch-up with with some big Bryonha news about a San Diego Symphony comeback, a new country to add to the Analytics Check, a This Week In Gaggery on COVID-19 vaccinations you will find informative about how we got our first shots and YOU CAN TOO, and then a geek-out interview with our special guest, Broadway dancer-diva transformed into food guru (@katiewebbernyc) Katie Webber (“The Reset”), who gives us the lowdown on protein in a plant-based life, and the act of Sarah Coopering your way into the next phase of the pandemic. Then it’s time for the Bridgerton conversation you didn’t know you needed, and this week’s anonymous reading that should make it all all right. It’s all about the foodjamins, baby! TASTE ‘EM!

New season, who dis? It’s Bry & Dave, back with an all new-and-improved Season 2 format of The Swirl! With an emphasis on how big topics of our time, including love, sex, marriage and hair intersect are filtered through interracial and inter-generational relationships, The Swirl With Bry & Dave 2021 promises to be LIT. We kick off our next chapter with a recap of the previous six weeks diving into the Raw Vegan Cleanse life, a new double “This Week In Gaggery” involving an epic discovery for Dave and the biggest dream-achievement of all time for one of Bry's besties; before launching into an intimate, in-depth discussion on love, sex, and black-girl fetishism with Dear Evan Hansen’s Kristolyn Lloyd, more revealing here than you’ve ever heard her before. Ending with a reading of the epic Oriah poem from the Goldsmith-Parham wedding you won’t wanna miss. It's Valentine's Day! So spread out the rose petals, put up your feet and Taste The Swirl Season 2, 2021!

YES, IT'S OUR JUMBO-SIZED SEASON 1 FINALE!!! 

Well, this title sums it up, an episode so jam-packed it should be a two-parter. First, Bry & Dave share their Top 10 Things They’re Grateful For About 2020 and see if any of them line up with each other (EXTRA CREDIT: Guess Which One Does). Then it’s a rip-roaring, no-survivors-spared hour-long interview with Broadway legend Douglas (“The Scarlet Pimpernel”) Sills. There is some friendly reminiscing, great advice about Doug’s other secret life, and finally some hot dish about the genesis of Spamalot you will not want to miss. Then Bry & Dave bid farewell to this hot mess of a year with some inspiring words (and a rare bonus track) from the legendary Burt Bachrach-Hal David-Larry Kramer 1973 Hollywood Movie Musical flop “Lost Horizon,” which might just surprise you like it sneaks up on Bry & Dave. Have a Swirly New Year, everyone, and we’ll see you again for Season 2 in January. Stay safe, stay home, and wear a mask!

We culled your questions from all around the world to a tight five, and after an opening segment encompassing our top-of-mind issues (shout out to Meryl Streep and “The Prom” on Netflix), we have special guest star Marcia F. Goldsmith (BA Journalism, MA Social Welfare), aka Grammy (Dave’s mom) to answer them in our semi-recurring segment, “Ask Grammy”. Grammy tackles all issues big and small, from the history of Democracy to living space strategies, to some personal observations about Growing Up Goldsmith. Then it’s off to a surprising and informative “This Week In Gaggery” and a special edition of “Call Out/Call In” you won’t want to miss. We end the week with a rare find, not available on iTunes, of a favorite serenade of Bry & Dave’s from Jerry Herman’s “The Grand Tour.”

Also, it’s the Holiday Season, so don’t be afraid to click on the Anchor podcast link at the end of these notes and show your appreciation for your favorite podcast, to keep it going in the new year! That’s one way to make sure you’ll always be able to TASTE THE SWIRL!

After a three week hiatus, America’s Favorite Swirly Couple (okay, maybe just our therapist’s favorite) is back and better than ever in their new digs harborside on the Hudson River. Bry & Dave discuss Dave’s racial insensitivity when it comes to the intersection between Black representation and Music Theatre for Television. It’s an emotional colonoscopalooza for Dave you won’t wanna miss. Then some background on the move from Manhattan and all its implications, followed by a This Week In Gaggery chock full o’ recommendations that can carry you through the next few weeks (or days at least, depending on your quarantine time situation). Don’t forget to send in your questions for next week’s “Ask Grammy” segment to either davelyrics or bryonhamarie on Instagram (or Twitter). Also, for our friends who live in Georgia, make sure you’re registered before December 7 (Monday!) to vote in the all-important senate runoffs in Georgia on January 5 at ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov. And check out BGarnz on Instagram to see how you can contribute, in order to fully TASTE THE SWIRL!

On this week’s spookysode, Bry & Dave discuss their Halloween festivities, pumpkin stew, pumpkin spiced lattes, and their favorite scary movies, and Dave’s personal history with The Exorcist and their mutual admiration of Linda Blair. Then after a discussion about the latest “Borat,” a This Week In Gaggery Election Day incident with an undecided voter that has a surprise happy ending. After an exciting Analytics Check, some Call Out/Call Ins lead to a series of recommendations for any Scary Movie Night, and a message for Jared Kushner from Arizona Councilman Ruben Gallegos that the team at The Swirl hopes will make you angry enough to get you to the polls. Taste the Swirl, Voters!

The true story behind the sudden disappearance of the former Episode 15 of “The Swirl” is revealed, and it’s a full-on mea culpa from Dave leading to a deep dive into the communication skills of the Goldsmiths for all the inspiration/cautionary value they may provide. This Week In Gaggery takes us to the beauty of Obi’s final moments, and a couple of must-see recommendations for pandemic watching. This week’s Call Out Call In is mostly a big Call Out for Dave, but a surprise and timely phone call from friends-of-the-pod Michael and Jenny Kostroff brings some Idaho realness to the occasion. We end on a high and happy family note of reconciliation, into which a few tears must fall, as Dave reads the poem for Obi he couldn’t find and so decided to write himself:

“She’s my dog! My dog! My dog!” wept my wife
As we held her between us on our couch
On her last night on earth
And I realized how close “my dog” is to “my God”

And I thought, that’s right
Dogs are just little manifestations of God

They are there for you
Whenever you need them
They require a little bit of maintenance
To keep up a relationship
Feed them, walk them, pick up after them
They take it all for granted, and can’t believe their luck at the same time
Pet them, play with them
This is their heaven
And in return
They extend that heaven back to you
With their love
Their unconditional love
That looks into your soul with sad, expectant eyes
Waiting for your next move

Will it include them? Ignore them? Be indifferent to them? Embrace them?
You are their hero
You are their world
Without you, there is no them
But what they will never know
Is that when they go
And they will
They will take with them a part of you
That can never be replaced
That daily glimpse of God
That was faithfully, unfailingly, reliably yours.

-- David Goldsmith

For Obi, my dear sweet adopted dog

d. 10-9-2020

This week on the Swirl, a new segment deserves a new jingle! “Analytics check,” followed by a political potpourri of gaggery, a quick Obi update, and a couple of very special, gag-worthy excerpts of Bryonha in Online Concert (in case you missed them when they streamed last week live), a “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” and an original by Benjamin Velez for a new musical called “Borderline,” that make this episode truly one for the ages. During “Corrections,” Bry gets her equal time on Breonna Taylor, a quick wrap-up on the TV watching in the Goldsmith/Parham home (Lovecraft Country update, anyone?), ending with a tribute to the family dog, a little-known poem by E.B. White, “Dog Around The Block.” Taste that swirl!

This week on a heartfelt episode of The Swirl, we ambush Momma Goldsmith and trick her into her first appearance on the Pod, with an update on Bry & Dave’s ailing dear doggie Obi. After exchanging a few delightful weekly pleasantries, Bry walks us through the stages of grief when it’s time to let go of the family pet, with a few characteristic side-alleys along the way. Then after a commercial break (ha!), an uncharacteristically brief discussion of the new Supreme Court situation and what to do about it, some reassuring information about the future of authoritarianism in America, a few recommendations for some essential viewing prior to the election, and one huge walkback that fans of Korean representation in African American science fiction should all enjoy. Stick around all the way to the bitter end for this one… and Taste…Every Bite… of The Swirl!

This week we start inexplicably from the fiery pits of Mordor for a discussion of who and what is Bad for the Jews, leading to a tribute to the late great Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (good). Some (cribbed) words of wisdom from Jon Lovett on what might be done in the aftermath of her passing. A This Week In Gaggery that takes us from the bowels (sorry) of Big Brother to the horrors of ICE detention centers shipping immigrant women to receive unnecessary hysterectomies, to heroic Republicans (seriously) telling the truth of their time in the current administration. “I’m giving you pop culture, but I’m giving you life!” exclaims Bry, sure to be a slogan for future episodes of the pod. After a Call Out/Call In discussion of the Black Excellence spectrum swings between Watchmen and Lovecraft Country, a plug for the brilliant new all-female recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, “She Is Risen,” (featuring Bry! and available on iTunes), before bringing everything back home to the Shire (you won’t want to miss the audio effects, honey). Taste the Swirl, Hobbits!

In this Very Special Episode from a Mysterious Undisclosed Location, Dave has ingested some very mellowing Gummie Worms before heading poolside with Bry and one of her besties, Broadway's Rashidra Scott (Beautiful, Ain't Too Proud,) and her husband, Rich (Mhlanga, Massage Beyond), who becomes Dave's New Best Friend. It's raw, it's unedited, it's vacation. TASTE THE SWIRL, EVERYONE!!!

This week on the Swirl, Bry & Dave dive into their mutual trauma of early childhood dentistry before launching into a quick rundown of last week’s Democratic National Convention, the courage of 13 year-old self-confessed stutterer Brayden Harrington, and the valor of volunteering to be a poll (not pole) worker. Then it’s all the current, big “Broadway News!” (is this a new segment?), an intimate and revealing “This Week In Gaggery,” and an audience participation “Call Out/Call In” you’ll want to have your laptop open and at the ready for with which to take your shot. Add some rare and gorgeous soprano improv and a Final Word from a surprising Broadway/Disney animation star, and you’ve got an episode worthy of Swirlyhood. Which is a thing. Taste the swirl, everybody!

This mid-week on The Swirl, Bry & Dave change it up as they welcome Disney composer/Dave writing partner and sole creator of the indelible “Swirl” theme music, Beau Black. Together, they launch into their (limited) histories of interracial relationships/hookups/dream collaborators, before hunkering down to address the immortal question, “which comes first, the music or the lyrics?” After a process discussion about songwriting, reframing “writer’s blocks” and making their way through a Disney assignment, Dave creates a technical nightmare that leads to a personal history of Beau’s unusual childhood as the son of a few-hit wonder with mafia ties and how even the most checkered childhood can be transformed into a gift. With hit songs from Beau’s father Jay Black (of Jay & The Americans), and his gorgeous and talented wife Alex Cartañà (“Shake It”). It’s a break from another crazy week of pandemic politics; a Black/Spanish/Jewish Swirly Dessert for your ears. TASTE IT! Enjoy. 

This week on The Swirl! In a more intimate episode, Bry and Dave dig deeper into what makes a relationship work – the concepts of Outgiving and the uses of the Inner Dialogue, leading to the connections between Jews and Black Americans and their historical traumas and how they manifest themselves in the origins of Hip-hop. Whoop Whoop! Then it’s onto This Week in Gaggery, Beyoncé drops some new imagery, and whether or not it’s really possible for a president who’s losing in the polls to postpone an American election (spoiler: it’s not). Plus our weekly Call Out/Call Ins with an improved theme (Bry goes solo; work in progress) and a very special last word courtesy of The Last Word. Taste The Swirl!

This week on The Swirl With Bry & Dave: Our First Special Guest, "TV's Michael Kostroff," aka Maury Levy from HBO's The Wire and countless other appearances on TV, in film and on the stage, stops by to share what it's like to be in a Pandemic Pod with Bry & Dave, what he's up to next, and why he's leaving New York in a cargo van with his cat and moving to Canada. Before that, Bry goes in on the experience of being harassed for being a black woman with a white man on the mean streets (of all places) of Midtown Manhattan. "This Week In Gaggery" features hand-picked (literally -- we hold our iPads up the the microphone) sound effects and audio selection, and our usual "Call Out/Call Ins." Be sure to stay tuned after the interview for an impromptu, one-time only choral arrangement of "Person Woman Man Camera TV," lyrics courtesy of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test. You too can Ace The Test! If you TASTE THE SWIRL.