Even If It Kills Me: A Podcast About A Band That Almost Was

The music industry is like a glacier. On top, above the water, we see big music stars like Adele, Carrie Underwood, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd. Below the surface, are hundreds of thousands of musicians, from singers to bands, who try to make a living from their dream. As of March 2024, there are about 10 million artists / audio creators on Spotify with at least one track. Eight million of them have uploaded less than 10 tracks ever. Five million of them have less than 100 total lifetime streams.

In effect, playing music as a sustaining career is a tough gig. You don’t just need talent. You need commitment, perseverance, good fortune, good people surrounding you, and timing. Consider that Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee went to №1…65 years after it was released. Or Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill was released in 1985 and became a top ten hit in 2022 due to Netflix’s Stranger Things.

So a six-part podcast about a band that almost was is a chronicle that happens daily in the music business.

Even If It Kills Me chronicles four high school friends — a gang, bonded together by dead-end small town upbringings and dreams of something bigger. When the band signed to a record deal in the early ’00s, Jon, Mac, Ryan, and Pete were thrust headlong into the rock star whirlwind they had only barely imagined possible. At least, that’s how it seemed.