Zig At The Gig podcast
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Zig At The Gig with Straight Gone, Silvia Mori, OrangeG, The RedLines, The Plutophonics, Mindful Dynasty. Ziggy D of C-Level embarks on a mini solo tour and wants to share the new friends he made! Show info 4/1/24 Straight Gone, Ziggy D from C-Level, & Silvia Mori at Dirty Dungarees Laundromat And Bar. Straight Gone, Ziggy D from C-Level, & Silvia Mori at Dirty Dungarees Laundromat And Bar. https://www.facebook.com/events/783553543631106?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_hosting_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22left_rail%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_tab_event%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D%5D%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D 4/2/24The Plutophonics, Ziggy D from C-Level, & Mindful Dynasty at Gate Keeper Games The Plutophonics, Ziggy D from C-Level, & Mindful Dynasty at Gate Keeper Games https://www.facebook.com/events/372729495554788/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22left_rail%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22left_rail%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_hosting_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D%5D%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D 4/3/24The Redlines, Ziggy D of C-Level, Clever Medicine, OrangeG at Poetry Lounge https://www.facebook.com/events/961034912310505?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A%5B%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_hosting_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22left_rail%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D%2C%7B%22extra_data%22%3A%22%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_tab_event%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D%5D%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D The Bands info: The Plutophonics ThePlutophonics https://www.facebook.com/ThePlutophonics The RedLines https://www.facebook.com/theredlines https://www.facebook.com/theredlines Mindful Dynasty mindfuldynasty https://www.facebook.com/mindfuldynasty OrangeG orangegmusic https://www.facebook.com/orangegmusic Straight Gone straightgoneband https://www.instagram.com/straightgoneband/?hl=en Silvia Mori https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087376164409
Out of the Nowhere. Into the Here is the sublime second album by singer, songwriter, and performer Stephen Bluhm. It’ll be available as both a vocal version and a companion all- instrumental set. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Bluhm and featuring a host of gifted guest musicians, the orchestral opus is an elaborate aural feast of strings, horns, flutes, piano, reed instruments, and other timelessly evocative musical sounds — ambitious, but intimate and confiding as well. Out of the Nowhere. Into the Here is being released on 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download, streaming platforms and 2xCD set including both vocal and instrumental versions on April 19. The instrumental version is being released separately on the same date on digital download and streaming platforms. While Bluhm has been “making songs ever since I can remember,” in his teenage years it was his older siblings’ Lou Reed and David Bowie records that ignited his adolescent musical obsession. While attending Temple University, he took the plunge into live music via campus open-mic nights and from there burst upon the bustling Philadelphia scene, prompting the Philadelphia City Paper to dub him “an old soul, writing Tin Pan Alley-ish fare and singing croon-y folk jazz in a voice that’d make Morrisey swoon.” Relocating to New York’s Hudson Valley, he further honed his expressive performing style: Belying the serious slants of some of his songs, Bluhm’s shows often find him dancing madly among delighted audience members. “The music (and Stephen) is utterly charming,” raves famed musical theater actor and composer Tom Judson, one of Bluhm’s avowed fans, about Out of the Nowhere. Into the Here. “The halting, clipped vocals, with a sudden appearance of sumptuous string writing, are unexpected and elegant. The music, at first blush, appears naïve. But on a close listen, it’s very assured, and complex writing. And the arrangements are really just wonderful. Sufjan Stevens meets Kurt Weill meets Stephen Foster.” “As I put these songs and arrangements together for the album, I became more and more confident in them,” says Bluhm. “I just hope people sense the beauty in them, the genuineness that I put into them.” With one listen to Out of the Nowhere. Into the Here, no doubt people will sense exactly that. Stephen's Info https://linktr.ee/stephenbluhm Bandcamp: https://stephenbluhm.bandcamp.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenbluhm/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066550085802 stephenbluhm.fun
UK British Blues Award winner and 4 time European Blues Awards nominee Bex Marshall’s unique style of guitar playing is a combined technique of slide, blues rock, ragtime and roots pickin’. Her voice is a powerful melting pot of old black woman’s heartache and rock diva soul. Bex is a writer of distinction and notability, she pushes the boundaries of blues, her songs have been called timeless, touches of genius, and now she tours internationally solo or with a three piece band which augments her unique style of of virtuoso playing, Born In Plymouth Devon she was the product of two very different family’s, one blue blooded landed gentry (her great grandfather was the Squire of Cornwall) and her mothers side Irish Romany (her great Grandmother was the original fairground fortune teller Madam Olga) As a child at family gatherings her uncles would always play and stand her on the table to sing, at 11 years old she was given a 1963 Gibson Hummingbird by her Uncle David and started playing, she got hooked on instrumentals and classical guitar standards which stretched her fingers and gave her a great basis for her own music to develop, flamenco, ragtime, country chicken pickin’, rock and on to blues and roots where she is now in her element. She always had a passion for travelling, its in her blood and trained as a croupier at 18 began her travels around the world working gaming tables on cruise liners to Park Lane even dealing illegal poker games in Amsterdam. She hitch hiked the coast of Australia on cattle trains and always with a guitar on her back living and storing tales. Bex was asked to be the guest JANIS by ‘Big Brother and the Holding Company’s original guitarist Sam Andrews on their their 2014 European Tour. Bex's Info http://www.bexmarshall.com\ http://www.bexmarshall.com http://www.facebook.com/bexmarshallblues https://www.instagram.com/bexmarshallblues/
Interview with New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Lynn Drury. Lynn Drury has been performing, in one arena or another, her entire life. At the ripe old age of five she won a 4-H state competition in Mississippi in pole bending. If you don’t know what pole bending is, it’s alittle like barrel racing, Lynn says. That’s horse talk. In a word, rodeos. Once you know that much about Lynn, you understand her approach. She picked up the guitar at 26, went at it like a pro, and she’s never stopped working. Her inspiration is her environment and since the late nineties, that environment has been New Orleans. The transition for the Yazoo City-born Drury was smooth. She says jasmine smells like honeysuckle, and you believe her. Sultry, sweet songs turn funky, and it’s all in the same neighborhood. https://www.lynndrury.com/ https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa0FCNlRlbC1YdV9uWGhIaGRwejgxakxyM3lEZ3xBQ3Jtc0trMUUyUGk2c2pDdktJcFhIV2xjOWpBY1N4ZnhBWXlmd3YzNE10dmpTNTF2ZWVobGFRa1BYaTBvYWREbzFmMmtjSGR1bmY0RnFnd05QQkoyakpEMTRNRnJ1LU9pX0huX1NONTZZV09jTUdFcExzWHFabw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lynndrury.com%2F&v=Vhz_MJS8LQQ
Jim Coleman & Michael Wiener of The Children... join us on the show to talk about their second album, A Sudden Craving. The Children... is an loose collective initially formed and maintained by Jim Coleman and Michael Wiener. Contributing members include Phil Puleo, Kirsten McCord, John Nowlin and Rock Savage. Their live shows are sprawling, experiential and theatrical, integrating song structure, improv, performance and projections. The Children...'s info the-https://www.jimcolemanmusic.com/the-children https://www.jimcolemanmusic.com/the-children @thechildren_now
Interview with Brenda Sauter Of The Feelies & Wild Carnation Part 2! Brenda joins us again to talk about Wild Carnation's re-release of their second album Super Bus! New Jersey-based trio comprising Brenda Sauter (The Feelies) on vocals and bass, guitarist Rich Barnes and Chris O'Donovan (Grey District) on drums and vocals.. Way back in the 1990s, a young Delmore stumbled into now-defunct NYC nightclub Wetlands (during the sadly also now defunct, NYU Independent Music Festival), just as Wild Carnation were about to begin their set. Having lived in NYC / Brooklyn / Hoboken the previous decade, where countless mesmerizing gigs by The Feelies, Yung Wu, Trypes and Speed The Plough, all with Brenda Sauter on bass, had been experienced, it was the chance to see her fronting her new group that drew Delmore in. A few songs into their set, it was apparent however that this trio was more than a Feelies offshoot project, despite melodic similarities, and Brenda's cool vocals / presence. Wild Carnation played raw, loud and fast (and occasionally out of control), with Rich Barnes’ distorted, jangly guitar lines perfectly colliding with Brenda's propelling bass notes, while Chris O'Donovan kept it together, pounding the living hell out of his drums. It was a garagey, indierock mess, more reminiscent of Hib-Tone / Chronic Town era REM, and emergent New Zealand bands like The Bats and The Clean, than The Feelies. Brenda's Info http://www.wildcarnation.com/home.html https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTdEQjIxMG5paVYteVA2RU1yal8tTU5janRmd3xBQ3Jtc0ttcFFKbTVLTjV3OFJpXzdJN0d6Smx1Y19BVHl3bWVJTVNvQ2lYTkJ4T0hqS1FITFRPOHBoMVo2dUhZMzVtX1FwUG54MVFINU1iVnB0T2NLS2JvZmlPb1I1N0xScVh4dE9BdGpZQ2Y1RE9hNXdXRk15cw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wildcarnation.com%2Fhome.html&v=X1LL2PMIqR8 https://wildcarnation1.bandcamp.com https://wildcarnation1.bandcamp.com/ http://www.thefeeliesweb.com/ https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1lxWlpIX2M5V29mcVJ3RHlaUUxQR3ZQLUNSUXxBQ3Jtc0ttc2pNTG16cF9iQkJlbnhTUUdZb0NYTmhTRGtvd1lLNWU2cUNQTFB4eVJkRzVid0xBMV9BdGNtV0FRRmtSQWZfcHBEQ1BEaVFBUkN3c2VyWmpQNHBDcGhQSzUtMjA2emdrUS0xNmdlc1pKQWVETXh1RQ&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thefeeliesweb.com%2F&v=X1LL2PMIqR8 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbG51TTZtMHdkU1JfbWRDY3Y2UUZSV1VBWDZyZ3xBQ3Jtc0trVTEyWlh0UUlKNzd5ekpuYWtEaUFDMkw3b0psSDYxRUtGdVR0Q0UzSnNzT1lING9BbDBhQ2dXWExGejVmc0xQWEpyWkZPRDAxcWhrVEJ5ckQ5LVBZRjB6ZVdudEFYdFRpOFBRSHZaQUozcVNOLTc1bw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fprofile.php%3Fid%3D100063570834484&v=X1LL2PMIqR8
Interview with Harvey Gold of Tin Huey, Golems of The Red Planet, Half Cleveland, and The HiFis. Harvey Gold is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter based in Akron, Ohio. Harvey's Info https://golemsoftheredplanet.bandcamp.com https://golemsoftheredplanet.bandcamp.com https://harveygold.bandcamp.com/album/its-messy-vol-1 https://harveygold.bandcamp.com/album/its-messy-vol-1 https://www.tinhuey.com
Interview with Gary & Laura Dumm Gary is a life-long Clevelander. Gary’s mom helped teach him to read using comic books as a kid, so they’re kind of in his blood! He attended Cuyahoga Community College in the sixties where he took classes in painting and printmaking. He married Laura in 1971, and they started a life of artistic collaboration as well as creating their own art. In 1974 Gary met author Harvey Pekar through a friend of Laura’s who worked with Harvey, and began a 30+ year association drawing comics art for his ground-breaking autobiographical comic book “American Splendor”, and Laura added color as needed. Many other comics projects and art show exhibitions have followed for this husband-and-wife team. Laura has had solo art shows, as well as exhibiting with Gary in numerous group shows. They have worked on many publications, independent comic books and graphic novels. They have even co-curated a couple of successful art shows in Cleveland that extolled the virtues and importance of their city's current and storied comics’ history., Laura was born, raised and still resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a self taught artist who was lucky enough to have gone to a high school (West Tech) that was trying out a new program called “Specialized Art Class” with 6 periods of art a day. Basically a college education for 3 years. She married cartoonist/artist Gary Dumm in 1971. In 1986, after working for various magazine publications, she made the decision to become a freelance graphic artist/illustrator and started her own graphic art business to pay the bills. In 2009 she retired to be a full time painter. First and foremost she is a painter. “I’m a typical Gemini, I need change. I have never worried about having a signature style, painting the same way over and over is a bit boring to me.” For example, from 2008 to 2011, she was painting people/animals in abstract quilt like patterns, paying homage to the women who created quilts as a way to express themselves as well as keeping their families warm. In 2014 she changed to a more realistic pop art style. The one constant in her work is always bright color palette. Gary & Laura Dumm's Info https://www.dummart.com
Interview with internationally-known guitar maker and musician Paul Reed Smith. 2024 Paul Reed Smith - Eightlock is a band of high-level musicians who are friends and have “locked” together recording and performing a new kind of groove with its roots in Baltimore funk, DC go-go and New Orleans swing. The band’s sound is a heady brew of blues, soul, rock, funk and other roots sounds, all stirred-up into a groove-alicious gumbo. The line-up is three drummers, a bass player, a female singer and three guitar players, and the excitement around their three drummer groove is infectious. The band’s three drummers are: Dennis Chambers (John Scofield, George Duke, Brecker Brothers, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin) who was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2001; Gregory Grainger (Whitney Houston, Acoustic Alchemy); and Ju Ju House the legendary DC Go-Go drummer (Roberta Flack, Trevor Horn and The Chuck Brown Band). Bassist Gary Grainger has performed with John Scofield, Nancy Wilson, George Duke and Bill Evans. Vocalist Mia Samone Davis has a beautiful multifaceted voice that got its start in gospel music at a very young age. Guitarist Mike Ault regularly performs with high caliber artists including Rachelle Ferrell David Grissom, and Davy Knowles. Guitarist Bill Nelson is the Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center where he was introduced and invited to join the band in their efforts to raise money for cancer patients and families. “This group of highly respected and world-renowned musicians have a lot to say musically and spiritually,” Paul Reed Smith says. “It’s been an absolute joy to be the catalyst for their gifts resulting in the music found in Lions Roaring in Quicksand.” Added guitarist/vocalist Dr. Bill Nelson: “The musicianship in Eightlock is extraordinary, but what amazes me most is that the music - both the recordings and live performances - just keep getting better and better. Locking into an Eightlock groove is a dream." And dynamic lead singer Mia Samone summed it up by saying, "Creating this CD reminded me that, ‘Peace is the price when the mind is at war’......inner peace is priceless." In addition to performing and recording with his own band, Paul Reed Smith has played with artists such as Santana, Alter Bridge and the Doobie Brothers. He was honored by Vintage Guitar Magazine as a Hall of Fame inductee in 2011. Paul has countless industry connections through all of the artists that endorse his guitars, plus invaluable marketing opportunities through his guitar company and all of the music stores around the world that sell his guitars. Grammy-award winning Mexican rock band Manaì had him open their residency at the LA Forum this year, John Mayer and Santana have taken him on tour. In addition to 10 powerful original songs on Lions Roaring in Quicksand, the new album features a cover of a Manaì song in English, “Ay, Doctor,” that the band has agreed to share on their social media to their millions of fans, as well as scintillating versions of the Al Green soul classic, “Love and Happiness,” the legendary Edwin Starr song, “War,” and “99,” a chart hit for the original version in France. Paul Reed Smith Eightlock Social Media Links: https://eightlockband.com/ https://eightlockband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063641798882 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063641798882 https://twitter.com/PEightlock https://twitter.com/PEightlock https://www.instagram.com/eightlockband_official/ https://www.instagram.com/eightlockband_official/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv-7c7kNFEo0nfpvsim2Gsg
Broken is the latest release from ‘Benjamin Jayne,’ a project that is sustained by Benjamin Wright out of Brattleboro, Vermont. The album was recorded in Wright’s home studio, produced by him and Drew Skinner. It’s being released by WhatAboutMusic as a digital download and via streaming platforms on October 13. Benjamin Jayne’s music has been compared to such acts as The National, Nick Drake, as well as Beck, and his baritone vocals have been compared to Leonard Cohen. However, his new record reveals an entirely new vocal range. The music tends to be on the darker side, melancholic and reflective, and is typically considered folk rock. Though he does use interesting electronic elements and at times gets a little too heavy to be called folk. The latest album continues in the realm of melancholia. It primarily deals with people trying to reconcile who they are now compared to who they remember themselves to be before the current of time got a hold of them. It is about seeing our reflection and being unrecognizable to ourselves and then facing the challenge of unraveling all of the elements we have wrapped ourselves in that don’t feel genuine. The album is seeking truth and rebirth. His work under Benjamin Jayne is a solo venture, but he does enjoy the input and occasional song from his sister Amanda Jayne who is an artist based out of Barcelona. He also consistently enlists Drew Skinner for engineering and production, though Benjamin co-produces on all of the albums. Benjamin practices psychiatry by day at the country’s smallest hospital, where he is the Director of Psychiatry. He also has a background in performance and songwriting, having studied film scoring and jazz performance at Berklee College of Music. He played in multiple bands over the last two decades and worked as a professional multi-instrumentalist in Los Angeles for a while before changing fields from music to psychiatry. Benjamin's info https://www.benjaminjayne.com/#home-s... https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fKjh... https://www.tiktok.com/@benjaminjaynemusic https://www.instagram.com/benjaminjay...
Interview with Raymond Anderson of Nation of No One https://nationofnoone.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/raynon? https://soundcloud.com/raynonutm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Interview with Ramona Jan of The Comateens Part 2 The Comateens were one of NYC’s earliest synth-punk bands, along with Suicide and Kraftwerk one of the few live bands to perform with a drum machine. Jan and North formed the band in 1978, bonding over their shared love of merely playing music together and the punk rock scene taking shape in downtown NYC. Singer and synth player Lyn Byrd and drummer Harry Viderci joined shortly afterwards. Both cuts were recorded at Mediasound in 1979 with Jan on guitar, North on bass, Byrd on synths and Viderci playing drums. Don Wersheba and Harvey J. Goldberg engineered; Ray Janos was the mastering engineer. The Comateens’ Ramona Jan and Nicholas “Nic North” Dembling had just gotten started when they recorded “Danger Zone,” a sneering, blaring punk song spit-sung by Nicholas with Ramona Jan’s untutored guitars sounding like an electric razor, a catchy chorus floating in from Jan’s love of Motown. “Elizabeth’s Lover” leans toward 60’s girl-group with a gleeful chorus as taunting and addictive as “My Boyfriend’s Back.” The song marks Jan’s turn from punk rock to new wave. “Danger Zone” was originally backed with “Cool Chick,” recorded during the same session and released independently on Teenmaster Records. Jan left the band shortly after recording these songs due to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, so this version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” was never released. Jan recorded it again, later, with Dizzy and the Romilars. Left for Dead’s James Reynolds considered releasing the original “Danger Zone” single on his Jimboco Records, however he put out Dizzy and the Romilars’ version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” in 1980 instead, followed by the Ramona Jan-produced NastyFacts single “Drive My Car” in ‘81. The band was able to record at Mediasound because Jan was an audio engineer there, one of only a handful of women engineers in the world. On the then-gritty Upper West Side, Jan lived cheaply at the bohemian Bretton Hall on the corner of Broadway and 86th Street, dodging pimps and prostitutes on the elevator to her apartment. The building’s low rent also attracted other types of artists, though, and a neighbor heard her singing, knocked on the door and asked her if she’d want to record. The neighbor worked at Mediasound Studio in Midtown. Jan took one look around and realized she just had to work there. She told the boss she’d wanted to be a recording engineer all her life—a lie—and that her mother was an electrician, her father a piano tuner, another falsehood. She was hired on the spot and thrived, kicking off a lifelong career in engineering and production that led to work with Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Ramones (who wrote “Ramona” about her.) and more. Comateens continued after Jan left the band, recording three full lengths and building a dedicated following in France before breaking up in the mid-1980s. Their biggest hit was a cover of the “Munster’s Theme Song,” recorded in 1981. Ramona Jan has also had an active career in music since, performing with Dizzy and the Romilars and more recently Northeast Regional Folk Alliance award winners, JANTURAN. She was a founding member Venus Fly Trap, an all-female vocal group, whose members Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell now tour with Bruce Springsteen. Venus Fly Trap sang with David Johansen’s Buster Poindexter act and won the 1984 Village Voice Award Best Street Performer. Jan is also a writer, the author of the first biography of Jon Bon Jovi, published by Sony. She recently received the 2023 Upper Delaware Council Cultural Award as well as a 2023 Congressional Award for her work as Director of Yarnslingers, a true storytelling group based in the Catskills. She is currently the Tuesday columnist for the award-winning Sullivan County Democrat with her column, Ramona’s Ramblings. https://www.leftfordeadrecords.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291 https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291 https://www.instagram.com/leftfordeadrecs/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens, https://comateens.com/
Interview with Nicholas West ( Nic North) & Romona Jan of The Comateens. The Comateens were one of NYC’s earliest synth-punk bands, along with Suicide and Kraftwerk one of the few live bands to perform with a drum machine. Jan and North formed the band in 1978, bonding over their shared love of merely playing music together and the punk rock scene taking shape in downtown NYC. Singer and synth player Lyn Byrd and drummer Harry Viderci joined shortly afterwards. Both cuts were recorded at Mediasound in 1979 with Jan on guitar, North on bass, Byrd on synths and Viderci playing drums. Don Wersheba and Harvey J. Goldberg engineered; Ray Janos was the mastering engineer. The Comateens’ Ramona Jan and Nicholas “Nic North” Dembling had just gotten started when they recorded “Danger Zone,” a sneering, blaring punk song spit-sung by Nicholas with Ramona Jan’s untutored guitars sounding like an electric razor, a catchy chorus floating in from Jan’s love of Motown. “Elizabeth’s Lover” leans toward 60’s girl-group with a gleeful chorus as taunting and addictive as “My Boyfriend’s Back.” The song marks Jan’s turn from punk rock to new wave. “Danger Zone” was originally backed with “Cool Chick,” recorded during the same session and released independently on Teenmaster Records. Jan left the band shortly after recording these songs due to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, so this version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” was never released. Jan recorded it again, later, with Dizzy and the Romilars. Left for Dead’s James Reynolds considered releasing the original “Danger Zone” single on his Jimboco Records, however he put out Dizzy and the Romilars’ version of “Elizabeth’s Lover” in 1980 instead, followed by the Ramona Jan-produced NastyFacts single “Drive My Car” in ‘81. The band was able to record at Mediasound because Jan was an audio engineer there, one of only a handful of women engineers in the world. On the then-gritty Upper West Side, Jan lived cheaply at the bohemian Bretton Hall on the corner of Broadway and 86th Street, dodging pimps and prostitutes on the elevator to her apartment. The building’s low rent also attracted other types of artists, though, and a neighbor heard her singing, knocked on the door and asked her if she’d want to record. The neighbor worked at Mediasound Studio in Midtown. Jan took one look around and realized she just had to work there. She told the boss she’d wanted to be a recording engineer all her life—a lie—and that her mother was an electrician, her father a piano tuner, another falsehood. She was hired on the spot and thrived, kicking off a lifelong career in engineering and production that led to work with Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Ramones (who wrote “Ramona” about her.) and more. Comateens continued after Jan left the band, recording three full lengths and building a dedicated following in France before breaking up in the mid-1980s. Their biggest hit was a cover of the “Munster’s Theme Song,” recorded in 1981. Ramona Jan has also had an active career in music since, performing with Dizzy and the Romilars and more recently Northeast Regional Folk Alliance award winners, JANTURAN. She was a founding member Venus Fly Trap, an all-female vocal group, whose members Soozie Tyrell and Lisa Lowell now tour with Bruce Springsteen. Venus Fly Trap sang with David Johansen’s Buster Poindexter act and won the 1984 Village Voice Award Best Street Performer. Jan is also a writer, the author of the first biography of Jon Bon Jovi, published by Sony. She recently received the 2023 Upper Delaware Council Cultural Award as well as a 2023 Congressional Award for her work as Director of Yarnslingers, a true storytelling group based in the Catskills. She is currently the Tuesday columnist for the award-winning Sullivan County Democrat with her column, Ramona’s Ramblings. https://www.leftfordeadrecords.com/ https://www.leftfordeadrecords.com/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291 https://www.facebook.com/groups/445047024405291 https://www.instagram.com/leftfordeadrecs/ https://www.instagram.com/leftfordeadrecs/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comateens, https://comateens.com/
Interview with Catbells on their full-length debut Partly Cloudy. All the meticulously crafted material on Partly Cloudy was composed by Catbells, and features her soft, hypnotic vocals, dreamy melodies and, haunting lyrics. These are blended with electronic elements and other instrumental seasoning provided by Billy Mohler to produce a sonic landscape that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking. With influences ranging from 60’s icons like Nico and Donovan to seminal 90’s Dream-pop artists ala Mazzy Star, Catbells has created a vein of Lofi " sad girl" bedroom-pop all her own melodies that captures her deep, heartfelt emotions with the deepest intimacy. With each track, she invites her audience on a journey through her innermost thoughts and experiences. Catbells burst onto the indie music scene in 2021with her debut single “Fade (Rainy Day Demo)” which has racked up 1.3 million views to date. She followed that release with an EP titled Wilderness that testified to her blossoming skill as a songwriter and the emotional potency of her performing and garnered a dedicated fanbase who found connection and solace in the midst of their own struggles and triumphs. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist began playing piano at age five, and by 7 th grade was playing guitar and writing songs about middle school heartbreaks. After performing in several bands she decided to focus on her own music. The name “Catbells” comes from a popular hiking spot described in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle by Beatrix Potter. Raised in New England, Catbells’ music continues to draw on childhood memories of the natural world: seasons changing, swimming in the Eastern lakes, canoeing and working on the family farm. As her journey unfolds, Catbells continues to intrigue and captivate. With her soul-stirring compositions, and a voice that echoes through the depths of the heart, Catbells is an artist who embraces the beauty of the unknown. Catbells's info Instagram http://www.instagram.com/catbellsmusic Facebook http://www.facebook.com/catbellsmusic YouTube http://www.youtube.com/catbells
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Paul Chastain co-founded Velvet Crush rock group. Signed by Alan McGee to his mythic British indie label Creation Records who gave the band’s first and second albums, the latter, the seminal “Teenage Symphonies To God”, worldwide release. Paul’s musical arc also includes path crossings with a handful of top-notch talent. He has been playing and singing alongside pal Matthew Sweet from the pre-”Girlfriend” days onward. Run-ins along the way with such pop music icons and ne’er-do-wells as Roger McGuinn, Mitch Easter, Susanna Hoffs, Stephen Duffy, Tommy Keene, Ami Onuki (Puffy Ami/Yumi). Drummer/producer John Louis Richardson has similar roots, brushes with greatness and dubious associations. Among them, Joey Molland’s Badfinger, Tommy Keene, Gin Blossoms, Keene Brothers, Jay Bennett, Will Hoge. He still plays live and records with DIY power pop pioneers and long time friends, Shoes. John runs his Drum Farm Studio in Menomonie, Wisconsin. A major through-line for the album Ours & amp; Life-events shaped others due to the passing of longtime mutual friend and bandmate Tommy Keene. As an inspirational figure who opened for The Matthew Sweet band, toured with Velvet Crush, and played in Richardson’s band, the impact of his loss was significant. This led to the inclusion of Keene’s song “Baby Face” on the album, as well as aiding in the completion of the track “Can’t Let Go (Oh Tommy)”. Paul's Info https://www.instagram.com/smallish.square/ https://www.facebook.com/TheSmallSquare https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmallSquareGroup https://www.smallsquaremusic.com/ https://farmtolabelrecords.com/artists/the-small-square/
Interview with J. Wilms. J. Wilms is a multi-instrumentalist and singer /songwriter. Who has a new album out called The Fighter. Jeremy “J” Wilms has had a long and varied career. He received his Bachelor of Music from Georgia State University and his Master of Music from CUNY Queens College, NYC. Jeremy’s jammed with Ornette Coleman at his loft and played Broadway revues at retirement communities in New Jersey (sometimes over the same weekend!) He was briefly in Chico Hamilton’s band playing guitar and played bass on Broadway in the musical Fela! During the tour for Fela! Wilms performed with Patti LaBelle and played with Fela Kuti’s son Femi at venues around the world including the Shrine in Lagos. He’s recorded with artists as diverse as Bebel Gilberto, Beyoncé, TV On The Radio, and many others. Wilms has been a guitarist in the orchestra for MacArthur Fellowship winner Taylor Mac’s 24 Decade History Of Popular Music as well as the bassist on ABC Network’s The Gong Show. He was the arranger and musical director for The Heathens and other acts based at the fabled McKittrick Hotel in Manhattan, home of “Sleep No More” immersive show. Wilms arranged strings and brass for songs on Run the Jewels’ RTJ 4 and Tim Fojahn’s I Dreamed a Dream. Jeremy is still busy working as a sideman in both NYC and ATL, scoring for film and other media, and teaching. Wilms also releases instrumental music as Jeremy Wilms and is the leader of the metal/prog band NOMOTO. Jeremy's Info www.jeremywilms.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/1blyz61f1zZ726LOVfGedp?si=kDNRCKTgToKMmMaFGlQAj Q https://open.spotify.com/artist/5cKrwyPCGHf8ewXhG9RRnW?si=1saWA20uRQeaFy7LoViDZ A https://www.instagram.com/jere_wilms/ https://www.facebook.com/J.WilmsMusic/
Aaron Lange Co-founder of Stone Church Press, author of Ain't It Fun and Peppermint Werewolf. n the 1970s, Peter Laughner was a founding figure in a primordial ooze of what would come to be called punk rock, in the somewhat unlikely, somewhat necessary place of Cleveland, Ohio. Bands like Pere Ubu, the electric eels, Rocket From the Tombs, the Dead Boys, Devo, and the Pagans all intermingled in this psychosphere; Laughner touched them all. In 1977 at the age of 24 he became punk rock’s first casualty. While his short life ended more than a half a century ago, his legacy continues to resonate; Henry Rollins and Guns N’ Roses have covered his songs, while Wilco and the Mountain Goats drop references to him in their lyrics. Underground comix stalwart Aaron Lange makes his much-anticipated graphic novel debut with this deeply researched biography. Through extensive interviews with the people who were there, Ain’t It Fun charts the cultural, environmental, and societal factors that shaped both Laughner and the Midwestern proto-punk subculture he championed. Ain’t it fun when you know that you’re gonna die young? “Grounded in real crime, with blazing and withering faces looking into their precious moments and looking back at what’s left, this is a mystic story of a city wrapped around the life and death of a musician whose talent, on certain nights, on certain records, was otherworldly. A sense of disbelief churns through the intricate, exploding pages. It seems a wonder there’s anyone left to tell the tale.” Get Ain't It Fun Here: aint-it-fun-peter-laughner-aaron-lange https://stonechurchpress.com/product/aint-it-fun-peter-laughner-aaron-lange/ Aaron's Info https://stonechurchpress.com/product-category/aaron-lange/ stonechurchpress https://www.instagram.com/stonechurchpress/ aaron.lange https://www.facebook.com/aaron.lange/
Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard, based in Hampshire in the UK, is an English musician, songwriter, and music producer at his own studio, Sunshine Corner Studios. He’s best known for being a drummer, having toured and played livefor ROBBIE WILLIAMS, JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS, GLENN GREGORY with TONY VISCONTI (HOLY HOLY), THE ALARM, GENE LOVES JEZEBEL, ARCHIVE, and many more. In the studio, he’s played drums for, among others, the following artists; THE MOCK TURTLES, HARD-FI, NEWTON FAULKNER, LILY ALLEN, THE CHARLATANS, BILLY BRAGG, REPUBLICA, and TERRY HALL. In his own studio, he’s produced a raft of artists, and has also released eight albums of his own songs, playing most of the instruments himself, but including contributions from many guest musicians such as BRUCE FOXTON (The Jam), STEVE NORMAN (Spandau Ballet), RICHARD ARCHER (Hard-Fi), IAN McNABB (The Icicle Works), MATTHEW ROUND (James Morrison), PAUL CUDDEFORD (The Boomtown Rats), and JAMES STEVENSON (The Alarm), to name but a few! Steve's Info https://smileysfriends.co.uk/home
Interview with Bill Million of The Feelies Formed in Haledon NJ in the 1970’s, The Feelies have now released six albums including their critically acclaimed and influential debut Crazy Rhythms, which was voted 49 in the top 100 albums of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine and chosen by Spin Magazine as #49 of the best alternative records of all time. Their music has left an indelible mark on the landscape of rock and roll. Supporting the release of their first four albums the band appeared on the The Late Show With David Letterman and in concerts with The Patti Smith Group, R.E.M., and Bob Dylan as well as touring with Lou Reed. In 2008, the Feelies ended a 17-year sabbatical as a group to open for long-time admirers Sonic Youth at Battery Park and then resurrected their tradition of playing low key gigs at strategic intervals throughout the year rather than doing lengthy tours. In 2009, they were invited by R.E.M. to perform at Carnegie Hall in “The Music of REM” charity concert benefitting music education programs for underprivileged youth, then by the artist Dan Graham to play an acoustic set at the opening of his first American retrospective, held at the Whitney Museum: Dan Graham: Beyond at the Whitney Museum of American Art. That same year Bar/None re-issued Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth, this being the first band-sanctioned CD release of the former. In 2011, they released a new studio album Here Before of which England’s The Wire enthused, “Here Before picks up as though they’d never left. The second line- up is fully present, and the basics of their sound have filtered through so many younger bands (from Yo La Tengo to SF Seals to The Chills) that the music possesses a great kind of faux- familiarity. ‘Time Is Right’ sounds something like The Terminals doing a Stooges tribute tune. It - and some of the Velvets riff - lifts that occur during the album’s later moments- make me remember how nuts this group seemed 30-plus years ago.” In honor of their 40th Anniversary Bar/None Records re-released their third and fourth albums,Only Life and Time for a Witness in early 2015. The Feelies Info: https://www.facebook.com/ The.Feelies/ http://www.thefeeliesweb.com
Interview with Corey Ledet Zydeco accordion player singer-songwriter Corey Ledet's Zydeco Médikamen is his first zydeco album he’s written and performed completely in Kouri-Vini (Louisiana Creole) in recognition of the journey to reclaim his family’s language; it’s his 15 th album overall. The album was recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, engineered and mixed by Justin Tocket, produced by Corey Ledet and Louis Michot. Special guests include Germaine Jack, Anders Osborne, Kermit Ruffins, and Grant Dermody. Médikamen is being released by Arnaudville, LA’s Nouveau Electric Label on CD, digital download and via streaming platforms on August 25. Cory's Info http://coreyledet.com/web/ http://coreyledet.com/web/ http://nouveauelectricrecords.com/
Interview with Louis Michot, fiddler, songwriter, and lead vocalist for Grammy winners Lost Bayou Ramblers on his debut solo album Rêve du Troubadour. Rêve du Troubadour came from long months during the first years of the pandemic of Michot documenting musical ideas in his backyard a dry-docked houseboat named “Sister Ray, given to Louis by Korey Richey of LCD Soundsystem. Sometimes, waking up at 4AM, he’d have his parts nailed down before daylight. While recording, MIchot kept a pair of stereo mics live outside Sister Ray to capture the sounds of birds and insects; as the bird and bug population would change throughout the days and seasons, each song wound up with a unique environmental seasoning. More tracks were then added at Nina Highway Studios, a short walk from Michot’s house, by Louis, his rhythm section and various guest musicians. The final track sequence is highly diverse. There are songs that incorporate poetic rapping to hand-laid beats, updates of vintage Acadiana, environment soundscapes, acoustic guitar driven ballads, and even Michot’s interpretation of a seminal work by 19th-century Creole composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk. But they’re all tied together beautifully by Louisiana French language and Louis’ vivid storytelling throughout. Louis's Info
Robin Hyperius Blake of Hyperius Blake and The Sound Experiment Talk about Creation 4.5 Event description Creation 4.5 is coming to YOU on November 11th, 2023! We’ve been teasing and previewing for long enough! Get your pre sales via Cashapp/Venmo! We also accept cash at the door. The anticipation is REAL! Creation is a festival about celebrating the beauty of life, desegregating the creative “scenes”, and providing a safe space for marginalized individuals to gather and express themselves. No racism, homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, or hatefulness of any kind will be tolerated. We seek to foster a sense of community between not only artists, but art enthusiasts and appreciators alike. We stand for the prioritization and empowerment of under-served communities, accessibility to art regardless of socioeconomic status, and seek to bring justice and equity to the field of the arts. Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/events/177455942001448/?ref=newsfeed
Interview with Tim Lee & Susan Bauer Lee of Bark Bark is a drum set, a Fender 6-string bass, two voices and more hooks than Bill Dance keeps in his tackle box. Loud is their new album. Bark comprises the collaborative duo of Susan Bauer Lee (drums and vocals) and Tim Lee (Fender VI bass and vocals) based in Water Valley, Mississippi. Susan has played and toured with Tim the past two decades with Bark and Tim Lee 3. Tim got his start in Missisippi’s The Windbreakers before going on to tour as part of Mitch Easter' Let’s Active and seminal college rock band Swimming Pool Q’s. Loud is being releasedby Dial Back Sound / Cool Dog Sound on 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and stream September 5. “If you can fill the unforgiving three and a half minutes with two hundred and ten seconds of Rock n Roll, yours is the earth and everything that is in it.” I think Rudyard Kipling said that. What do you do when you don’t know what to do? In the face of commercial failure, heartbreaking loss, environmental collapse, grief, one too many beers. You make a record . . . and you make it loud. It starts with “Love Minus Action,” and the lyrics “I’m a loser not a fighter.” Lennon couldn’t have said it better. But the real story here is that you can’t lose if you don’t play the game. But what do you do if you don’t play the game? You carry on without the baggage of giving a shit about the game. You dance on the graves of the forgotten winners and you play for the regulars. There’s a field in North Mississippi. Several years from now. After the screens have all gone dark. The lush green glows in the dull light of a cloudy afternoon. In the middle of the field there is a drum set and two amplifiers. An old generator rattles in the silence. A woman sits at the drum stool and fixes the mic to reach her lips. A man tunes his Bass VI guitar and twists the volume knob all the way up. A ragged crowd gathers from out of the woods. A rumble of distant thunder rolls through the sky. Then the snare cracks and the band plays on. It’s Bark, and they’re playing us out just before the rain. They’re playing Loud; it’s the distillation of Rock n Roll—the beat, the riff, the words and the voice. The things that have always been there from “Psychotic Reaction” to “Satisfaction.” Bandcamp: dialbacksound.bandcamp.com bark-bark-loud.bandcamp.com Website: bark-loud.com Facebook: @Bark.Bark.Loud Instagram: @bark.timlee3
Interview with Ted Bowne Of Passafire Passafire was founded in 2003 by Savannah, Georgia natives Ted Bowne on vocals/guitar and Nick Kubley on drums who at the time were students attending Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).[2] Adding Tom Heet on bass and Adam Willis on keyboard, Passafire became a quartet. Their debut self-produced, self-titled album Passafire was released on August 29, 2006. Ted's Info http://passafire.com Tickets for Passafire at Grog Shop Cleveland OH OCT-19-23 https://grogshop.gs/event-details/13470438/passafire
CINEMA CINEMA was established in 2008 by Brooklyn-born cousins, vocalist/guitarist Ev Gold and drummer Paul Claro. They’ve been described as “experi-metal punks” by the Village Voice, a “jolt of adrenaline” by BrooklynVegan, and “feral and unrelenting” by Big Takeover. Touring extensively through the past 15 years, CINEMA CINEMA has performed over 475 shows across 11 countries. Multiple treks alongside SST Records founder Greg Ginn, including a 45-date North American tour opening for Black Flag in 2014, select dates supporting Black Flag in 2013, and shared dates in 2010, 2011, and 2012 with Ginn’s other outfits: The Royal We and The Taylor Texas Corrugators. In addition, the band has half a dozen European tours to their credit, including a 2013 stint in support of Martin CINEMA CINEMA returns, this time with polymath percussionist Thor Harris (Swans, Angels of Light, Shearwater) in tow, to release their seventh full length, “Mjolnir”. Recorded at historic BC Studio in Brooklyn, NY with legendary noise producer Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, John Zorn, Boredoms). The album will be released July 28 as a red 12” vinyl LP, digital download and via streaming platforms by Nefarious Industries. Inviting multi-instrumentalist Harris into the fold inspires new direction for the ensemble. Exploring his creative repertoire, Thor makes use of BC’s synth collection along with an assortment of drums and arcane percussion pieces to leave his fingerprints on the proceedings. The trio submerge themselves in the strange beauty of chaotic sound, captured inside BC’s cavernous recording space. Tracked just before the pandemic, Bisi spent time cultivating the sessions in the months that followed, helping shape one of the band’s most expressive records to date. This marking the third time that CINEMA CINEMA and Martin have worked together (2014’s A Night at The Fights and 2017’s Man Bites Dog), the familiarity breeds wild results. CINEMA CINEMA's info https://www.cinemacinemaband.com
Interview with drummer composer Stephen Hodges on his new album with mssv mssv is releasing their second studio album Human Reaction in their typical style: with a 58-show tour in the U.S. and parts of Canada (dates below). The band, composed of guitarist Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, David Lynch) on drums and avant-punk icon mike watton bass, creates music that is a heretofore unimagined hybrid of a punk power-trio and a dreamy experimental rock band, though they prefer the term “post-genre.” Human Reaction is being released by BIG EGO Records as a digital download, 12” LP vinyl, and via streaming platformson September 1. Recorded mostly on May Day immediately following that last tour, Human Reaction traverses a deeply broad sonic landscape, as expected from this nearly unclassifiable group, though with even deeper twists and turns. With inventively churning drum textures from Hodges (an instantly identifiable sound honed in his days with Tom Waits and David Lynch) and the full-steam-ahead all-in attitude from watt, (as he’s displayed throughout his storied career with MINUTEMEN, fIREHOSE, and Iggy & The Stooges), there is still the impression of “pressure, combustion,power, and hissing clouds of sonic poetry,” as Premier Guitar said. Also evident is the more fearless exploring that comes from a band that has spent a lot of time together crafting their vision, as well as making room for guests like J Mascis, Petra Haden and Nels Cline on some of their previous releases. Stephen Hodges is an American percussionist and composer. He is best known for his work with Mavis Staples Tom Waits,Mike Watt, T Bone Burnett Rick Holmstrom, and film director David Lynch https://mainsteamstopvalve.com https://mainsteamstopvalve.com Tickets to OCT 7th mssv at Beachland Tavern Cleveland OH https://www.beachlandballroom.com/e/13205278/mssv-c-level/
Interview with guitarist Mike Baggetta on his new album with mssv mssv is releasing their second studio album Human Reaction in their typical style: with a 58-show tour in the U.S. and parts of Canada (dates below). The band, composed of guitarist Mike Baggetta, Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, David Lynch) on drums and avant-punk icon mike watton bass, creates music that is a heretofore unimagined hybrid of a punk power-trio and a dreamy experimental rock band, though they prefer the term “post-genre.” Human Reaction is being released by BIG EGO Records as a digital download, 12” LP vinyl, and via streaming platformson September 1. Recorded mostly on May Day immediately following that last tour, Human Reaction traverses a deeply broad sonic landscape, as expected from this nearly unclassifiable group, though with even deeper twists and turns. With inventively churning drum textures from Hodges (an instantly identifiable sound honed in his days with Tom Waits and David Lynch) and the full-steam-ahead all-in attitude from watt, (as he’s displayed throughout his storied career with MINUTEMEN, fIREHOSE, and Iggy & The Stooges), there is still the impression of “pressure, combustion,power, and hissing clouds of sonic poetry,” as Premier Guitar said. Also evident is the more fearless exploring that comes from a band that has spent a lot of time together crafting their vision, as well as making room for guests like J Mascis, Petra Haden and Nels Cline on some of their previous releases. Baggetta has had the pleasure of working all over the world with a wide range of visionary musicians across many generations, including David Torn, Jim Keltner, Nels Cline, Psychic Temple, Jeff Coffin, Henry Kaiser, Petra Haden, Rev. Fred Lane, Donny McCaslin, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Joseph C. Philips’ Numinous, Imani Uzuri, Viktor Krauss, David Wax Museum, Julian Lage, Jon Irabagon, Jerome Harris, Tom Harrell, Eivind Opsvik, Jeremy Udden,and Ruth Brown among many others. mikebaggetta.com https://mainsteamstopvalve.com https://mainsteamstopvalve.com Tickets to OCT 7th mssv at Beachland Tavern Cleveland OH https://www.beachlandballroom.com/e/13205278/mssv-c-level/
Veronica Swift’s new eponymously titled album, her third for Mack Avenue Records, is a masterful coming-out story. On her previous albums, Confessions (2019) and This Bitter Earth (2021), she ascended to the upper echelon of early 21st century jazz singers because of her virtuosic brilliance, interpretive ingenuity, bracing songwriting, and keen arrangements. Simply put, Swift is not only one of the most dazzling singers to emerge in her generation, she’s one of the most versatile. While her first two albums solidified her position in modern jazz, Veronica Swift shows that she’s more than a jazz singer, exploring French and Italian opera, European classical music, bossa nova, blues, industrial rock, funk, and vaudeville. She pulls the feat off without the results sounding callow or pastiche. Swift’s expansive artistic voice remains firmly intact regardless of genre. Swift describes this personal artistic statement on her new album as “transgenre.” “I grew up immersed in the culture of jazz music, blessed to have had some of the greats as mentors, and I felt a deep familial duty to uphold that” she says, reflecting on her parents - jazz singer and educator, Stephanie Nakasian, and bebop pianist, Hod O’Brien. “But as rooted in jazz as I’ve been, there’s a uniquely visceral power in rock and soul music that’s always fueled my creative passion, and rather than mask or confine that part of my identity, the people I admire most show themselves unabashedly and that’s the kind of tradition I want to be a part of. Veronica's Info https://www.veronicaswift.com Beachland SEP 20TH-23 Tickets https://www.beachlandballroom.com/e/13405078/veronica-swift
Joseph Sieracki was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the writer of A LETTER TO JO published by TOP SHELF, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE BRAVE CAPTAIN SUAVE from SCOUT COMICS, and GHOSTS OF SCIENCE PAST from HUMANOIDS. Joseph is currently teaching in a suburb of Cleveland, where he resides with his wife and kids. Joseph's Info https://www.josephsieracki.com https://www.instagram.com/sierackij/ https://www.josephsieracki.com
Interview with Klaire and Alex of GUJI 咕叽, EP of GUJI 咕叽, a quirky synth-driven new wave quartet comprised of Chinese nationals Klaire (synths), Alex (bass), Stacy (drum machine) and American guitarist and singer for Shanghai punk band Round Eye Chachy with an interview. The EP will be released in late Summer August 25 by Floridian label Godless America. The EP was produced by frequent Modern Sky Recordings producer Li Wei Yu To say 2020-2022 were bleak years to live in Shanghai would be the understatement of the century. With the implementation of the “0-Covid policy” and the “Shanghai Lockdown”, a fucked attempt by the CCP to curb the transmission rate of the Covid-19 pandemic, the city became still. Businesses shuttered, schools closed, planes landed, shows cancelled and borders closed. For three years, China seemed without pulse as very little traffic ran between it and the outside world. Guizhou native Jiang Zi Xiu (Klaire) and Craig Englund (Chachy) were stuck in their home for months as a makeshift wall of plywood and bamboo rods was raised at the entrance and exits of the alleyway outside their door. Guards in hazmat suits were placed to conduct daily PCR tests and make sure no one came in or out. It was under these conditions that the couple decided to fill their time and their walls with the double lead harmonies, jangling B-52 styled guitar and cheesy drum machine pulse of the sardonic bubblegum-arpeggiated synthpop of GUJI咕叽. Heavily influenced by the aesthetic of 80s DEVO, B-52s, and My Little Pony the duo channels their frustrations and observations into vivid DIY videos channeling the work of Chuck Statler and blast humorously sardonic synthpop jams lined with pastel colored neon lights. With their first self-titled EP, they turn their anger into childish jeering fun in an overwhelmingly hostile political landscape and with songs like “I like to Hang Out in China” and “My Mao Suit” the band waves at the outside world with hammer and sickle and dares those who listen to not strip and dance in the hot pink fire.
