The Rest is Commentary

09/19/2025

Episode with Ingrid Avison is out now along with my newest “Little Prizes”.
🎙️https://therestiscommentary.podbean.com/

Listen on ITunes, Spotify, SoundCloud or wherever you stream your podcasts and music

09/18/2025

In this episode of “The Rest is Commentary”, I sits down with singer-songwriter and grief therapist, Ingrid Avison , for a moving conversation about the making of “Little Prizes,” a song born out of Psalm 86 and the end-of-life journey my dear friend, Kim Simon. This episode is dedicated to Kim and her family.

We reflect on grief as both a deep wound and a surprising wellspring of creativity—exploring how writing with co-writer Liz Hanellin, performing music as ritual, and weaving in humor, presence, and community can help manage the process of loss. Our discussion also shines a light on Ingrid’s unique path as both therapist and musician, her newest projects, and the ways songs can comfort, connect, and carry us through life’s hardest seasons.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fQkOYsv1Sap4dO9JR7Gf6?si=QlH5LjvgS1KKR0fgXPOnLg

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rest-is-commentary-with-shep-rosenman/id1773016797?i=1000726885470

YouTube: https://youtu.be/LMqDF0CgA94?si=moKBb6v0AA7QyOAe

09/15/2025

Ingrid Avison is my guest on episode 27 of my podcast, “The Rest is Commentary”. Ingrid’s siren vocals captivate listeners while infusing her songs with catchy melodies and provocative intimate lyrics. Her live shows bring you along a journey that is soulful and psychedelic, raw and aching. Her charismatic presence will have you crying in one moment and laughing in the next, inviting you along what she calls the tears to laughter pipeline.

Her 2024 debut record is a cinematic blend of Americana, desert landscapes, lost love, time travel and mortality. She just released a new single, “Low Gravity Day”, which you can find wherever music is streamed.

We discuss grief as a source of pain and inspiration for creativity. How sharing grief through any art form, including songwriting, can foster connection and healing. How collaboration helps build deeper emotional explorations and the impact of how you perform transforms the way a song is received by others. In our songwriting, we discuss how music creates a safer space for emotional expression as the essential ingredient in both therapy and performance. And so much more.

“Little Prizes”, which Liz Hanellin and I wrote after being inspired by Psalm 86, which in turn sparked thoughts about the end of life experience of my dear friend, Kim Simon. Today is Kim’s birthday and she would have been 55. She died on February 28, 2023, this episode is dedicated to her memory. May it continue to be a blessing to her family and friends. Thinking of Kim’s husband Yuss Simon , daughters Eva and Lily ; mother Ruth Hillman; sisters and brothers-in-law, Karen and Zev Fried and Jana and Sam Gustman ; nieces and a nephew.

Thank you to ,Sean Kawanami and as well.

09/14/2025

Kim Simon z”l
September 15, 1970 - February 28, 2023

Tomorrow would have been my friend Kim’s 55th birthday and I wrote this song, “Little Prizes” to honor her life and process my grief over her death. Psalm 86 guided and inspired the writing of this song. Tomorrow I am releasing episode 27, with , a day early in honor of Kim’s birthday. I hope you will spend some time listening to this song, reading about Kim’s legacy.

Listen on iTunes Spotify or wherever you stream music

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/sheprosenman/little-prizes?utm_campaign=website

Kim Simon was the person who didn’t speak often but when she spoke she inevitably turned any conversation into something wise, meaningful, and productive. Her birthday is September 15th. With the help of my writing partner, Liz Hanellin, this song bubbled up in the final weeks of Kim’s life which ended too soon on February 28, 2023. Knowing Kim remains one of the Little Prizes in the cabinet full of gorgeous curiosities in my life. May Kim’s Neshamah have an Aliyah, May her spirit rise. Her memory remains a blessing to all of us.

If you want to read more about Kim, check this out: https://sfi.usc.edu/news/2023/02/34911-passion-and-commitment-kim-simon-52-shaped-vision-and-culture-usc-shoah

Thank you to ,Sean Kawanami and as well. Thinking of Kim’s husband Yuss Simon, daughters Eva and Lily ; mother Ruth Hillman; sisters and brothers-in-law, Karen and Zev Fried and Jana and Sam Gustman ; nieces and a nephew.

May Kim’s memory be a blessing.

09/12/2025

Shabbat Shalom from Chewie, Bella and the rest of the family. I will be sharing my new Psalm Song “Little Prizes”, on Sunday and it’s one that I wrote to process recent grief of a dear friend. Songwriting is a way to communicate and process grief both personally for me and also something I am able offer to friends in their own moments of anguish. My new podcast episode with Ingrid Avison drops on Tuesday, Sept. 16th.

09/12/2025

Ingrid Avison will be my guest on episode 27 of my podcast, “The Rest is Commentary”. Looking forward to sharing my new song and episode with you. The song I share with Ingrid, to inspire our conversation is, “Little Prizes” and it’s dedicated to my friend Kim Simon who died too soon on Feb. 28, 2023. I will be sharing more about Kim and this song on Sunday, Sept. 15th which is her birthday.

Ingrid Avison lives in a world of secrets. As a desert wanderer she discovers them, as a grief therapist she holds them and as a songwriter she confesses them. Ingrid’s siren vocals captivate listeners while infusing her songs with catchy melodies and provocative, intimate lyrics. Her live shows bring you along a journey that is soulful and psychedelic, raw and aching. Her charismatic presence will have you crying in one moment and laughing in the next, inviting you along what she calls “the tears to laughter pipeline.”

Ingrid’s 2024 debut release showcases a sophisticated mélange of Americana and at times otherworldly cinematic soundscapes, breathing life into her compelling stories of desert sojourns, lost love, death, biting social commentary and time traveling into other dimensions.

Unveiling her genre-bending versatility, Ingrid now bursts through the gates with her new single, “Low Gravity Day”, a soul-pop anthem chock full of ear candy. The track is at once nostalgic and fresh, blunt and playful, signifying an exciting fresh sound for this rapidly emerging new artist.

—
Planet Bluegrass Telluride Troubadour Finalist - 2025

Planet Bluegrass Songwriter Showcase Honorable Mention - 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

Debut Release out now

“Ingrid Avison’s entry into the folk-pop scene signals an exciting new voice and vision, drawing in audiences with her mix of compelling storytelling and divine energy in every note.” - House of Solo

09/11/2025

My friend Shanna has a brand new song/music video out and such a good reminder for all of us to prioritize self-care! I am putting a sticky note on my mirror to remind myself too. Shanna was my guest on episode 11 of my podcast, The Rest is Commentary. You can listen to our conversation together here: https://therestiscommentary.podbean.com/e/tapping-into-the-divine-shannas-quirky-musical-journey/

the song you didn't know you needed to pump you up in the morning.Filmed and Edited by Katie Larson of the AccidentalsHey! If you liked this, consider leavin...

09/08/2025

Through personal stories and interfaith perspectives, Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand and I reflect on the many ways communities honor loved ones—whether through ritual, burial customs, humor, or the everyday objects that hold memory. The discussion weaves together Jewish tradition, universal themes of mourning, and the creative process of transforming sacred texts into art, offering listeners both insight and comfort in the face of loss. Our moving conversation is inspired by the song “Nothing Left to Be Said” and Psalm 49.

Listen to my newest “Nothing Left to be Said” and this episode of “The Rest is Commentary” wherever you stream.