Tour Stories/The Check-In with Joe Plummer

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The Check-In with Will Brooks (aka MC Dälek) Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Will Brooks (aka MC Dälek) is a founding member, vocalist and producer for the group Dälek. For close to 20 years Will has been releasing dark, experimental hip-hop records and collaborating with a wide range of like minded artists that include Kid 606, Faust, The Black Heart Procession and Techno Animal. In this episode Joe and Will discuss the process of making the new Dälek record Precipice (out 4.29 on Ipecac Records), why he abandoned the first version and how Adam Jones from Tool wound up contributing to a song. Will tells us how his collection of improvisational recordings known as Meditations got him through the last couple years of not touring and why the outcome surprised both him and his listeners. He also shares his view on music and touring as a vocation and why he's grateful for any visceral reaction to his music, whether it's positive or negative. Joe and Will remember sharing a stage at the ATP festival and we hear a couple tunes from Precipice.
https://deadverse.com/
https://www.ipecac.com/artists/dalek

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Mentioned in this episode:

Schecter Guitars

Izotope

Distrokid

Tour Stories and Ruinous Media Welcome THE HIGH GAIN PODCAST Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

This week we salute our partnership with The High Gain Podcast, a podcast that celebrates the guitar. Each week John Kieltyka and Ed Peterson will introduce you to a guitar, share its cultural significance and provide you a slew of questionable (and likely very funny) facts on its origin and history. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll realize that this podcast is not just for guitar enthusiasts, but anyone who enjoys a good time.

Episode 206

The CBS-Fender deal went down in 1965, but the story started well before then. Enjoy!

- 1966 Fender Stratocaster
https://www.thehighgain.com/podcast/66-stratocaster
https://www.ruinousmedia.com/thehighgain

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Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Brian Cook: These Arms Are Snakes, Sumac, Russian Circles Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

Brian Cook is a bass guitarist and song-writer from Seattle. He's an active member of Russian Circles and Sumac, writing, recording and touring extensively. After a ten year break, his band These Arms Are Snakes with be playing a handful of shows in celebration of the release of Duct Tape and Shivering Crows, a collection of rarities, covers and demos out April 15th on Suicide Squeeze Records. In this episode, Joe and Brian discuss how a recent break has helped him recognize his autonomy, why his solo record made him a better band member and the importance of rehearsing chaos as well as the music. Not only a musician, Brian is a freelance writer, has published one novel (The Second Chair Is Meant For You) and is working on a second. He shares his view on the difference between writing words verses writing music and how imperfection plays a role in both art forms. Joe and Brian swop a couple "sleeping in the van" stories and we hear some tunes from Duct Tape and Shivering Crows.
https://store.suicidesqueeze.net/
https://thesearmsaresnakes.bandcamp.com/album/duct-tape-shivering-crows
https://russiancirclesband.com/brian-cook

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Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check In with Gavin McCarthy Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

Gavin McCarthy is a drummer and songwriter from Boston, MA. He's written, recorded and toured with a multitude of bands and projects over the last two decades, with his main efforts focussed on E and Karate. After a long period of chasing down the masters, Karate is re-releasing their entire catalog with the Numero Group. In this episode Gavin catches us up on his life during the involuntary break, gives us the low down on the Boston venue scene and tells us how taking a break from music changed his self-identity. He also gives us his thoughts on reunion tours, why he's looking forward to this summers Karate dates and why the concept of a live record is odd. Joe and Gavin swop a couple stories that celebrate the beauty and chaos of touring in Italy and we hear a couple Karate tunes.
https://www.gavinmccarthy.com/
https://karateallston.bandcamp.com/
https://numerogroup.com/search?q=Karate&options%5Bprefix%5D=last

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Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Joel Jerome Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

Joel Jerome is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles, CA. His solo debut, Super Flower Blood Moon (Dangerbird Records) hits the streets on May 13th, and promises a dark, folky trip that celebrates his 90's indie rock influences as much and it pays homage to his latin roots. In this episode Joel tells us how the pandemic opened his eyes to activism, how that's translated to his work with The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) and why unions are important to working musicians. We hear how his long time pal Jim Fairchild (Modest Mouse, Grandaddy, All Smiles) had a hand in the early stages of Super Flower Blood Moon and why it was different from past records. Joel also share's his view on "capturing recordings" verses "producing" and how thats applied in his own studio, Psychedelic Thriftstore. Joe plays a couple tunes from the new record and Joel tells us where's he's looking forward to touring in 2022.
https://dangerbirdrecords.com/
https://joeljeromemusic.bandcamp.com/

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Mentioned in this episode:

Izotope

Distrokid

Schecter Guitars

Mark Watrous. The Axman, The Boarders and a Check-in Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

Mark Watrous is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and a producer. He's recorded and toured extensively with The Shins, Shudder To Think, The Raconteurs and is a founding member of Loudermilk and Earl Burrows. Before hearing a pair of tour stories involving a reckless tour manager and a meth fueled ill-planned show in Sandpoint, Idaho, Joe and Mark catch up. We hear what Marks been up during the Shins break and he reminds us that WE'RE All waiting for vinyl. We hear Joe's favorite Earl Burrows tune and..........BONUS!!!!!! the debut of a very special cover of The Fixx's One Thing Leads To Another performed by Mark, Joe and Nate Mendel.
https://www.theshins.com/

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Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Walt Disco Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

Walt Disco is a young stylish band from Glasgow. Over the last two years they wrote, recorded and self produced their debt album, Unlearning (Out April 1st on Lucky Number Music). In this episode Joe talks with 2 members of the sextet, singer James and keyboardist/guitarist Finley. James and Finely share the process of making Unlearning , why they wanted it to sound "scrappy", how that forced them to think differently and why self producing gave them a sense of childlike wonderment. We learn what drives them to have a strong stylized aesthetic and they share a couple stories from their experience playing the Celine show in Paris. They also discuss the influence of new wave AND no wave and tell us what they love about touring. We hear a couple tunes from Unlearning.
https://waltdisco.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.luckynumbermusic.com/releases/

Use Code Fret10 for a free month of Music Production Suite Pro and a 10% discount on all other software.
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@thetourstories

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Sam Tallent Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

Sam Tallent has earned his PhD in touring as a stand-up comedian, an author and drummer. He's been on the road since his late teens, has a best selling novel and an ever growing career in comedy to show for it. Joe and Sam discuss his current reluctance to become a parent, why it was good for him to be something other than a comedian over the involuntary break and what touring feels like now. Joe gets a lesson on the hierarchy of comedy performance, and not only do they discuss Sams newest novel Running the Light, but we hear a gorgeous passage read by the author himself. We also hear a couple numbers from Sam's punk band Big City Drugs.
https://www.samtallent.com/
https://bigcitydrugs.bandcamp.com/album/human-cargo

Use Code Fret10 for a free month of Music Production Suite Pro and a 10% discount on all other software.
visit https://www.izotope.com/en/lp/ruinous.html

@thetourstories

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Chris Bauermeister from Jawbreaker. Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Chris is the bass player for Jawbreaker. After a 20 year hiatus and a 2 year pandemic break, they are back with sold out shows across North America. Chris tells us what he's been up to over the break, why he went the academia route, and why he ultimately abandoned it. Joe and Chris talk the importance of snappy dressing, the regional rules of bagels and sourdough and Chris shares both his apprehensions and excitement for returning to the road. To get you pumped on the tour, we hear a tune from Dear You (which they will be playing in entirety) and Joe's favorite song from 24 Hour Revenge Therapy.
Music by Jawbreaker and Joe Plummer

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@thetourstories

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Schecter Guitars

The Check-In with Alan and Mimi from Low Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

This week Joe talks to Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker from the band Low. They share both the difficult and productive experience they've had at home over the last two years and why the pandemic effected them more than expected. They discuss the process of making their new Grammy nominated record Hey What (out now on Sub Pop records), how the final sound was established in the writing process and why Alan is taking a new approach to his guitar sound. With several shows booked in Europe and the U.S., Alan and Mimi express their excitement and apprehension of touring and what they’re most looking forward to. Joe raves over the videos that accompany Hey What and we hear a couple tunes.
https://lowtheband.bandcamp.com/
https://www.subpop.com/artists/low
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Use Code Fret10 for a free month of Music Production Suite Pro and a 10% discount on all other software.
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@thetourstories

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Schecter Guitars

Izotope