Tour Stories/The Check-In with Joe Plummer

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Kyle Crane And The Greasy 48 Dec 01, 2023

Show notes

This episode is special because it's the first tour story Joe captured. His pal Kyle Crane, drummer, songwriter, and producer from Los Angeles, tells us how his band experienced a vegetable oil spill, an overheat, a poison ivy infection, and a pedestrian hit and run all in the span of 48 hours. We also hear a few tunes from Kyle's record "Crane Like The Bird" (featuring James Mercer).

Kyle Crane

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The Check-In with Matt Pryor Nov 24, 2023

Show notes

Matt Pryor a singer, songwriter, podcaster and author form Lawrence, Kansas. He is a founding member of the Get Up Kids, The New Amsterdam’s and host’s the podcast Nothing To Write Home About and 25 Years On The Street. His debut memoir, Red Letter Days (out 1.23.24 Washed Up Book) is taken from journal entries between 1990-2000 and is made up of short vignettes that follows his life as a musician growing up, pursing the dream of success and his earliest experiences touring. He also shares his early childhood growing up in Lawrence and his struggle with childhood diabetes. In this episode, Matt shares how writer Frank Turner encouraged him to write his memoir, why the book helped him hit a welcomed rock bottom and why finishing the book put into a depression. He explains how a simple writing exercise evolved into Red Letter Days, why the editing process was foreign to him and how songwriting and story writing are similar in his process. Joe and Matt discuss the beauty and positivity of “the pit” and they discover they were born in the same hospital along with their mutual pal Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe.

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Schecter Guitars

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The Check-In with Vera Sola Nov 17, 2023

Show notes

Vera Sola is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and poet based in Los Angeles, CA. Her newest album, Peacemaker (out February 2 via City Slang) is a sprawling and lyrically ferocious follow up her first record Shades and will take the listener on a joyfully painful sonic journey through the cinematic west. In this episode Vera tells us how cinematic framing shaped the new record, why anger may be the driving energy and why she was "psychotic" about the final mix. Vera shares how a plant ceremony inspired her to make her first record, why David Beeman’s patience was crucial to her finishing the record and how Peacemaker's process was different. Joe and Vera talk retirement in the New York City, and we hear a couple tunes.

Vera Sola

City Slang

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The Check-In With Brett Netson Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

Brett Netson is a guitarist, singer and song-writer from Boise, Idaho. He has toured and recorded extensively with Built To Spill, Mark Lanegan, Earth and is a founding member of Caustic Resin. His most recent contribution is a re-imagined version of Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine by Earth, and is out now on special "low frequency" re-release of the classic Earth 2 record on Sub Pop Records. In this episode, the longtime friends and forever ago bandmates discuss the state of "work", why Brett quit playing music for a short period of time, and what brought him back. Brett shares his thoughts on the healthy benefits of Drone music, how it enhances his life and why singular thought is beneficial. We learn what is the glue that binds Brett and Dylan Carlson's musical relationship, why Brett found himself having to choose between not ONE but TWO deals with the devil and he explains the process of tearing apart and rebuilding an Earth song on his own. Brett and Joe make fun of themselves and we hear a few magnificent tunes.

Brett Netson

Earth

Sub Pop

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Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards: Deap Vally Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards are the drummer and guitarist respectively for the Los Angeles based band, Deap Vally. Since 2011 they have recorded and released four LP's three EP's and have consistently toured the world. On February 1st , they will release Sistrionix 2.0, a newly recorded version of their 2011 LP Sistrionix. In this episode, we hear what motivated the two to form a band, how early childhood experiences influenced their interest in performance and why a knitting shop brought them together. Lindsey and Julie share their un-healthy and stressful stint on a major label, why they re-recorded their record and the magic ingredient on the new recording. They discuss the compatibility of both being in a band and a mom, what it's like touring with kids and what the future for Deap Vally holds.

Deap Vally

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The Check-In with Shilpa Ray Oct 27, 2023

Show notes

Shilpa Ray is a singer, songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist based in Queens, NY. She has been recording, releasing and touring on records in various incarnations from 2006 to the present. Her most recent release, Portrait Of A Lady (via Northern Spy Records) is her most personal, direct record to date, and delivers a jarring honesty that keeps the listener engrossed in the wide batch of sonic and lyrical intensity. In this episode Shilpa tells us why her first instrument was a harmonium, how The Side Walk Cafe's nurturing environment help her get her start in live performance and why drums and time keeping are so important to her. She tells us how the combination of a sound check with Andrew Bird and an image of Nan Golden re-illuminated the importance of art in her life and inspired her to write a record focused on her own personal experiences. We learn who the bootlickers are in the song Bootlickers Of The Patriarchy, she tells us a wild tour story thank involves Rick James's gravestone and we hear a couple tunes.

Shilpa Ray

Northern Spy Records

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The Check-In with Jim McCullough-CIVIC Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

Jim McCullough is a founding member and singer for the Melbourne based proto-punk band Civic. Civic has embarked on their first North American tour with three-pronged support of their most recent single Hourglass, the US release of their record New Vietnam and their most recent record, Taken By Force (all available via ATO Records). In this episode, Joe and Jim discuss the punk evolution of the band in a relatively short amount of time, what drives them to write great songs and why it's important to keep rock n roll alive. Jim tells us why the Civic live show is different from the recordings, how it relates to his background in music and he shares a bit of the Civic cooperative writing/recording process. We get Jim's impression of the first US Civic tour, his take on IHOP and we hear a couple tunes.

CIVIC

ATO RECORDS

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The Check-In with Justin Moyer-Light Beams Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Justin Moyer is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and founding member of Washington D.C. dance punkers, Light Beams. He's also an original member or El Guapo, Antelope and a reporter for The Washington Post, where his work with the Post team was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Light Beams newest record, Wild Life is out November 3rd via Dischord Records/Mud Memory. In this episode, Justin shares his firsthand experience with a school shooting, which is directly addressed in Light Beams current single, Coming Our Way. We hear about his musical education in Philadelphia, why he added more members to Light Beams and why he prefers to write songs vertically rather than horizontally. They talk biking on tour, Justin's process of balancing two time consuming vocations and he delivers breaking news on the rock n roll origin of his byline. Joe discovers a secret sound on the new record and we hear a couple tunes.

Light Beams

Dischord Records

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The Check-In with Jenny Pulse-Giddy Skelter Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Jenny Pulse is a visual artist, singer, songwriter and one half of the collaborative duo, Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse. They're newest release, Giddy Skelter (out now via Kill Rock Stars), is a multi-textured collage of live instrumentation, samples, electro beats and experimental hooks. The recording is accompanied by a beautifully written zine titled Giddy Skelter : A Case Study. How to Make The Album You're Trying To Make, which functions as an illustration and manual to the process of making the record. In this episode Jenny shares how a karaoke rig and an old synthesizer were the gateway to her learning composition and arrangement. She tells us how the accompanying zine is a document of a new process of making a recording, how trips to the art institute influenced their song evolution and why she prefers mixing in a studio. The two discuss why untethering from the computer is a cure for the CPU blues, why band names make you feel like a teenager, and we hear a couple tunes.

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Jenny Pulse Tim Kinsella

Kill Rock Stars

The Check-In with Caleb Nichols Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

Caleb Nichols is a poet and singer/songwriter from San Luis Obispo, CA. He has written, toured and recorded with Churches, Port O'Brian and many solo endeavors. Caleb is a PhD candidate in Creative and Critical Writing at Bangor University in Wales where he's writing about queer ecopoetics in contemporary poetry, films, and media. His poetry and prose have been published worldwide. His newest record Lets Looks Back, is out on October 13th via Kill Rock Stars. In this episode Caleb tell us why he stopped playing music for nearly eight years, what took its place and why a special opportunity lured him back in. He shares his writing process for Let's Look Back and why and a team effort turned him into a fan of his own record. Caleb and Joe bust out a few shared tour stories, they coin the term "dog poverty" and we hear how Caleb balances, separates and combines his two practices, poetry and music. We get an update on the UK DIY touring scene and we hear a couple tunes from Lets Look Back.

Caleb Nichols

Kill Rock Stars

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Mentioned in this episode:

Schecter Guitars

Izotope

Distrokid