AI Summary
5 min readNick, who makes music as Medium Build, describes his songs as "little emo journal entry songs" that he travels the country yelling at people. He chose the name from crime drama descriptions like "six-one medium build" because he loves how vague it is—an intentional obscuring of identity that contrasts sharply with the deeply personal confessions in his lyrics. This tension between hiding and being seen runs through the entire conversation, from his religious upbringing to his discovery that he was conceived through sperm donation.
From Church to Stage
Medium Build's musical foundation was laid in the evangelical church where he grew up. His parents were former missionaries, and his early musical education came from performing in church services. He explains that church taught him an invaluable skill: you cannot stop playing, because "you're the conduit to God. And so if you stop playing, everyone stops like vibrating." That same pressure translated directly to his professional career—"if you stop playing, they stop paying." The church also gave him his vocal power, as he learned to project over terrible amplifiers in basketball gymnasiums and on mission trips to orphanages.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:22) **Introducing Nick / Medium Build** - Nick introduces himself as a musician who writes "little emo journal entry songs," and explains how the name Medium Build came from crime drama descriptions like "six one, medium build."
- 2 (04:37) **Opening for Major Acts & Festival Life** - Nick describes the surreal experience of opening for bands like Mumford & Sons, where audiences expect nothing from the opener.
- 3 (09:40) **Church Roots & Musical Formation** - Nick explains how growing up in a strict Southern Baptist church shaped his songwriting, starting with 80s worship music and learning to perform without stopping.
- 4 (13:28) **Leaving the Faith** - Nick details how moving to Alaska at 18 to live with his older brother, who had left the church, was the catalyst for his deconstruction.
- 5 (19:42) **Transition to the Core Topic: Sperm Donor Revelation** - The conversation pivots with a humorous segue about the word "come" in worship songs, before Nick reveals he learned he was a sperm donor kid at age 22.
- 6 (24:20) **The Discovery & Its Aftermath** - Nick recounts how his mother told his older brother in secret when his brother's girlfriend needed family medical history for a pregnancy.
- 7 (28:14) **Finding the Donor & Half-Siblings** - A girlfriend bought Nick a 23andMe test, and within two weeks he was linked to a half-brother who had already found the biological donor's Facebook profile.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Rob and David are joined in the studio by Medium Build, AKA US singer songwriter Nicholas Carpenter. Medium Build have been incredibly busy over the last few years, touring heavily and playing festivals like Coachella, Outside Lands, and Austin City Limits. He’s here to talk about his career and music, but also what it was like to discover he was a sperm donor kid. He also performs a special acoustic set in the Nest Sessions studio, and shares an incredibly tasty American treat.
You can find Medium Build here:
https://www.instagram.com/mediumbuild/
https://www.mediumbuildmusic.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3C6wmSgnZuqxVQyBWujBsn
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