Rock N Roll Pantheon

Set Lusting Bruce - Jake Cassman on Dueling Pianos, Teaching Music in LA, and Finding Bruce Springsteen on the Road

Published: 31 May 2026 at 06:00 Europe/London

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Episode notes

Host Jesse Jackson welcomes Los Angeles–based musician and music teacher Jake Cassman, who shares his path from growing up in Berkeley on classic rock and ’90s alternative to discovering Bruce Springsteen later through a 2008 Obama rally performance, long bus rides through New Jersey, and years playing dueling pianos. Jake discusses teaching recording and songwriting at The Geffen Academy, the realities of freelancing (busking, weddings, improv), and how COVID ended live work and pushed him into a USC master’s program that led to greater stability and new opportunities, including producing for the podcast Switched on Pop. He explains why he shifted from the Drunken Logic moniker to releasing music under his own name, introduces his album Idling High, performs “We All Look the Same,” and talks songwriting, storytelling, and favorite Springsteen albums, ending with the classic Thunder Road question.

https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/PAN6239596108.mp3

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

02:00 Teaching Music in LA

03:00 TeachRock and Music Education

04:27 Writing and Community Programs

05:35 Growing Up With Rock

07:32 Finding Bruce Springsteen

09:14 Early Music Obsession

10:31 Dueling Pianos Stories

12:31 Requests and Deep Cuts

15:10 Freelance Music Career

17:38 Rebranding as Jake Kassman