Welcome to Crate Diggers! We’re a music / interview podcast using vinyl records as a jumping off point for conversations between artists and other cool people! Crate Diggers is hosted by veteran Portland DJ, Verbz and is engineered by his brother, hip-hop producer, Steez. Episode 36 is our first ever exclusive returning guest, Donnell Alexander. Donnell is an incredible writer with credits in Time, Rolling Stone, ESPN, and many other elite publications. He might be best known for his hand in the baseball legend of Dock Ellis and the “LSD No-No“. Donnell Alexander is also the author of Ghetto Celebrity: Searching for My Father in Me, a memoir reflecting on his life as the son of a musician and pimp and the parallels their lives lead as Donnell came into his own as a writer. Donnell compiled a playlist for episode 36 featuring music that sparked nostalgia of late nights and past loves. Check out his latest project focusing on a teen book club in rural Oregon dealing with issues of immigration, racism, and deportation. Link here. Crate Diggers engineer, Steez recently teamed up with long time friend of the show, Ahnom to release an album entitled “Chamomile“. It’s a very personal album with smooth production inspired by the classic age of hip-hop. The proceeds of the album are being donated to p:ear, a non-profit dedicated to helping homeless youth in Portland. Please check out the album, available on your favorite platform including iTunes. Episode 36 features beats from the album and a snippet of the song “Debt Paid”. Congrats to Steez and Ahnom on the release! Subscribe to Crate Diggers on iTunes, Mixcloud, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Rate and review the podcast on iTunes and we’ll shout you out on the show. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @Crate_Diggers. Lastly, catch Crate Diggers host Verbz every first Thursday of the month at Kelly’s Olympian in Portland, OR as the resident DJ for The Thesis, Portland’s best monthly music showcase. Photo by Brad Dosland. FOLLOW Crate_Diggers donnyshell verbz MarkSteez