The Trap Set with Joe Wong

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**The Trap Set with Joe Wong**

Each Episode, Joe Wong speaks to a different musician about life.

Latest Episodes:

BNS: John Good (Drum Workshop) Jan 23, 2019

Show notes

In this bonus episode, Joe talks to John Good, vice president of Drum Workshop.

198: Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) Jan 16, 2019

Show notes

For 25 years, Zach Lind has carved a creative niche within the often rigid parameters of modern rock. He talks about: manufacturing pressure to force the creative process along; growing up with a professional baseball player for a father; being raised in a Conservative Baptist environment, and ultimately leaving the church; "musical monogamy" with the remarkably consistent Jimmy Eat World.

197: Mona Tavakoli (Raining Jane, Jason Mraz, Ebi) Jan 09, 2019

Show notes

Mona Tavakoli is a modern polymath whose impressive versatility and fierce creativity have resulted in a 20 year tenure in Raining Jane, along with collaborations with artists such as Jason Mraz, Ebi, and Pat Benatar. She visited Trap Set HQ for a wide ranging conversation about: Strawberry Shortcake albums; a Tori Amos focus group; hanging out with Al Gore and Richard Branson in Antarctica; becoming Little Miss San Jose 1984; creating a signature cajon; and co-founding the non-profit Rock n' Roll Camp for Girls.

196: Budgie (The Slits, Siouxsie Sioux and The Banshees, The Creatures, John Grant, etc.) Jan 02, 2019

Show notes

Budgie has the rare ability to metabolize influences ranging from taiko to dub, from gamelan to punk to Indian classical, all into a singular, uniquely fiery artistic identity. His poetic sense of rhythm has graced recordings by a range of iconic artists, but he is perhaps known for his partnership with Siouxsie Sioux. Budgie tells Joe about: a strange sense of freedom after losing his mother at a young age; his youthful attempts at abstract expressionism; why he thinks of music in visual terms; making a secret wax effigy of Siouxsie Sioux; working with The Banshees, The Creatures, The Slits, The Indigo Girls, and John Grant; hiding from his feelings and eventually—through sobriety—coming to terms with himself; and falling in and out of love.

BNS: Steve Gadd Revisited Dec 26, 2018

Show notes

We're closing out the year by revisiting a pensive conversation with one of the greatest drummers of all time, Steve Gadd. (This episode was recorded in 2015 and originally released in early 2016.) Thanks to all of you for making Trap Set a big success in 2018; here's to 2019!

BNS: Bill Cardwell (C&C Drum Company) Dec 19, 2018

Show notes

This week, a fascinating bonus episode with Bill Cardwell--drum builder and co-founder of C&C Drum Company. Dozens of our guests have played Bill's drums; get to know the deeply compelling person behind the instruments.

195: Bryan St. Pere (Hum) Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

Illinois band Hum created an expansive sound world, and Bryan St. Pere's drumming is the beacon that guides the listener through thick fields of distortion. Bryan tells Joe about: his fascination with Bugs; loving Neil Peart so much that he used Pert Plus shampoo as a child; coming from a "family of struggle"; having a tightly wound temperament; why recording Hum's landmark albums was excruciatingly painful; and how the band dynamic has evolved, now that Hum is back in the studio.

194: Jason Gerken (Shiner, Molly McGuire, Season of Risk, Birth Defects, etc.) Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

Jason Gerken likes to party. He also has the unique ability to make unexpected musical choices sound natural and powerful. Jason tells Joe about: why his parents tried to prevent him from becoming a drummer; working with beloved KC bands Shiner and Molly McGuire; his day job managing a bar; a brush with death; learning to work through negative self talk; and an impending Shiner reunion.

193: Nabil Ayers (The Lemons, The Long Winters, 4AD, Sonic Boom) Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

Nabil Ayers was born into a deeply musical family and began playing drums as a toddler. Eventually, he toured and recorded with bands such as The Lemons and The Long Winters, his experiences as a drummer serving as the foundation for what has become an impressively multifaceted career in the music business. Nabil tells Joe about: being raised by a single mom; getting his first drum set from his uncle, free jazzer Alan Michael Braufman; the few interactions he's had with his biological father, Roy Ayers; getting arrested and charged with a felony; co-founding Seattle record store, Sonic Boom; his career as a record executive; and his budding interest in writing.

192: Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, etc.) Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

Kevin Haskins's spare, hypnotic style laid the foundation for goth luminaries, Bauhaus. He tells Joe about: growing up in Northampton; seeing bands like The Who and Led Zeppelin; how the burgeoning punk scene gave him confidence to pursue music; playing the now-classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead" for the first time; the sense of devastation he experienced after the breakup of Bauhaus; working with subsequent bands such as Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets; and passing on his love of music to his children. Check out the new Bauhaus release "The Bela Session" out this Friday, 11/23.

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