Afleveringen

  • I've chased this interview for years. The Menzingers are without a doubt one of my favourite bands. Having been a fan for so long, I feel as though I've grown up with them in a way, experiencing the weirdness of being in your 20s in an age where everything seems primed to keep us in a state of suspended adolescence. Their earnest and sincere songwriting won me over from the moment I first heard 'Chamberlain Waits', and I've stayed with them ever since. A lot of their thoughts echoed my own as I drifted through my 20s and into my 30s. It was surprising and wonderful to find out that their new album is a meditation on what it's like to move into your 30s, and I think that's got a lot to do with why 'After the Party' resonates with me so much.

    Tom is a very nice chap. Let that be said from the outset. Continuing to be humble in the wake of their continued success. In many ways, it feels like The Menzingers have been building up to 'After the Party', and as Tom discusses in the interview, they've looked at each record as the next one towards the perfect Menzingers' record. Perfection is impossible of course, but progress is not and it was really awesome to be able to spend some time talking to Tom about that progress, their drive to keep at when everyone was telling them to stop, and so much more. 

    Also, I'm fairly sure the interview took place in the world's most echo-y room. But hey, ambience amirite?

    I hope you enjoy this interview.

     

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  • This is one of my favourite albums and I was so happy we had a chance to talk about it on this show. You can find out more about this and the podcast over at www.unsungpod.net

     

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  • A rebroadcast of one of my favourite ever interviews with Casey from The Dear Hunter.

    This podcast is primarily about creativity, and over the course of the past twenty episodes Iā€™ve spoken to some pretty productive people. Casey Crescenzo is probably amongst the most productive. Over the course of ten years The Dear Hunterā€™s oeuvre is as impressive in its scope as it is in its musical diversity, with their album/EP collection ā€˜The Color Spectrumā€™ comprising 36 songs all on its own. Which is wonderful, because the genre hopping nature of their music is about is staggering as the sheer volume.

    As youā€™ll find out when you listen to the podcast, Casey is the kind of guy who treats songwriting like a job and itā€™s this approach which many productive artists seem to share in common, whether theyā€™re aware of it or not. Except, Casey is a super passionate and insightful guy, and is just so thankful that he gets to do what he does.

    Thereā€™s no lengthy story in this weekā€™s show notes about how I first got into The Dear Hunter. Instead, all I can offer is rumination on their music ā€“ itā€™s deep, itā€™s cinematic, it somehow feels weighty. How people classify progressive rock music is anyoneā€™s guess, but to me this just feels like epic rock music, and thatā€™s why Iā€™m drawn to it. Itā€™s bursting with ideas, itā€™s driven by a strong sense of narrative yet still somehow feels hugely personal.

    They are, in just about every single way, the exact opposite of the punk rock that I grew up listening to. Except, their sound is more immediate than most prog bands. Thereā€™s a peppiness to the melodies which means that hooks come thick and fast, and never leave your head. Highlights include:

    The connotations of the very term ā€œprog rockā€ and the diversity of that genreHe tries not to pigeonhole the sound because it can limit the creative scopeThe music he grew up on sounds nothing like his bandCasey thinks that perhaps one of the reasons they arenā€™t a huge band is because they arenā€™t in a specific genreComing from a creative household and when Casey remembers wanting to be a guitar player/songwriterWhen people who consider themselves high art conduct interviews like theyā€™re special, I never look at myself like that. I just think, this is a way for me to speak.Parents being receptive to being a musician, but also being wary because theyā€™d seen the pitfalls of being a career musicianHis parents worry more about Casey when he does something different as opposed to worrying about the pressure of the workā€œDo the thing that you believe you should do ā€“ donā€™t worry about what theyā€™re going to think until itā€™s too lateā€ā€œThe moment when I worry about people think is when an album is finished, mastered and ready to go outā€On the fear of having your art accepted - ā€œAs a creative person it should only be self-expression, but thatā€™s the scariest thing: if youā€™re doing it only out of self-expression, at some point it goes through a filter and becomes a productā€¦and itā€™s up to whoever buys it to think whatever they want about it.ā€Wanting people to take away something from a record that you put into it, and hoping that the opposite doesnā€™t happenWanting to give people what they want after letting him do The Dear Hunter for ten years, but it doesnā€™t have any bearing on what heā€™s doing when heā€™s doing it ā€“ only after the creation is complete does the hope and fear set inItā€™s taken a lot of hard work to find an audience for The Dear HunterItā€™s good that there are musicians out there that still makes music that makes people think and isnā€™t all about creating hitsMusic as a product is okay, but itā€™s a different world from the kind of world bands like The Dear Hunter operate in where people want music that provides them a little bit moreThe discipline of creating music and treating it like work...  

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  • This is episode four of Unsung Podcast. Violator by Depeche Mode is one of my favourite albums, and I was so stoked that people voted it into our canon. You can listen to it here and find out more information about the podcast over at www.unsungpod.net

     

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  • On this episode of Unsung we chat about Foo Fighters' self titled debut album and ask if it's really worthy of inclusion in our canon of classic albums. On this particular occasion, the public voted no (I'm releasing these a week behind our main feed), but you can still voice your opinion on if that's the right or wrong call over on our Facebook page.

    If you want to know more about the podcast head to www.unsungpod.net and subscribe to our feed there. As ever, reviews and comments are appreciated!

     

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  • I like looking in on previous guests with this podcast. It's good to check in and see how things have been.

    Weā€™re back to the start with this one. Conor was my first guest on this podcast, and with the release of their long anticipated, and slightly delayed, debut album, it seemed only fitting to bring him back on to the show so we could talk about their fortunes in the two and a half years since our previous conversation.

    Things have changed for the band since our first chat. Theyā€™ve lost members, gained new ones, toured extensively, recorded in legendary surroundings and went through all the different stages a new band goes through as they find themselves and their sound.

    Talking to Conor made me realise how far weā€™ve both come since this wee podcast began. Our approaches to our creative ventures have changed over the years but weā€™re still in it, doing our own things, learning as we go along and absorbing new information in the process. In the whole time Iā€™ve been doing this podcast Dialects are the only band Iā€™ve featured who Iā€™ve known since the beginning of their career.

    Itā€™s been great to see his band grow. Iā€™ll never forget our first chat in the back of their tour van. Itā€™s exciting to follow the growth of a band from the beginning, to see them realise the potential that you always presumed they had.

    Makes you wonder if itā€™s the same for everyone.

    I hope you enjoy this conversation.

     

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  • This is episode two of Unsung Podcast, a new podcast that I'm a co-host on.

    We're asking you to listen to Jane Doe by Converge and vote on if you think it should be added to a discography of all time great records. You can vote on this episode by going to https://www.unsungpod.net/episodes/2017/12/21/episode-2-jane-doe-by-converge

     

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  • Back in my car for this interview. This time it was on a freezing December night where the thermostat was definitely in the minus figures, so when we got inside I turned the engine on and the AC up to get some heat into the damn thing. You can probably hear that in the interview. I think it lends it a certain ambiance. You are, of course, welcome to disagree.

    P.O.S approaches hip hop in a punk rock way. I initially heard him when a friend turned me onto his song ā€˜De La Soulsā€™, which features Greg from The Bouncing Souls. This was around the time Never Better came out. I got both Never Better and Audition on the same day and was impressed by his approach. Those two albums are mostly loud and abrasive, and both feature contributions from punk rock singers (as mentioned, Greg from the Bouncing Souls, and Jason from Kid Dynamite on a track called ā€˜Terrorishā€™ on Never Better). I read an interview at the time which said he was just making hip hop people could skate too. That sums up a lot of what Audition and parts of Never Better sound like. Itā€™s loud, brash, snotty and in your face.

    We Donā€™t Even Live Here came next and heā€™s right when he calls it a dance party. Itā€™s mostly electronic and it goes hard. It seemed a bit of a left turn to begin with, but like everything else itā€™s got the same abrasive nature.

    His new record chill, dummy is a lot more laid back. Itā€™s also great and we do harp on about closer Sleepdrone/Superposition at length in this interview. Iā€™ve never heard a hip hop song ā€“ or any song ā€“ like it.

    I met him a couple of times when he hit Glasgow to support Never Better. He was the consummate gentleman, of course, and I was just as impressed with his work ethic and ethos as I was his music. When I was thinking of guests I wanted on this podcast before I begab, he was definitely up there. So in a way, talking to him fulfils another long held dream I had for this podcast.

    Goals. We all gotta have em.

    And so we move to this interview, which is certainly up there with some of the most fun ones Iā€™ve conducted. He was so up for it, really game for a chat and having a bit of a laugh. The whole thing is easy and flows really well. I didnā€™t even get to look at my questions, instead just riffing as I went. Thatā€™s how I know itā€™s a good interview.

    I hope you enjoy it.

     

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  • In league with a couple of fine gentlemen named Chris Cusack and David Weaver, I've started a new podcast called Unsung. In it we'll be dissecting perceived classic albums and discussing whether or not they deserve to be inducted into a discography of all time great albums. Then we'll be turning it over to you, the general public, to vote on if we're right or wrong. We'll also occasionally be covering some records we think are classics and are overlooked, and telling you why we think you should listen to them.

     

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  • Iā€™ve been incredibly fortunate with this project. It started off as just an experiment to become familiar with how to podcast. Since then Iā€™ve managed to tick a bunch of my favourite artists off my interview bucket list.

    This live episode is another one I can tick off the bucket list.

    Weā€™ve all heard our favourite podcasts doing live episodes and to be honest, I wasnā€™t even entirely sure how I was going to do my own version of it. The truth is though, is that it was just like any other episode ā€“ a laid back chat with interesting folk.

    Book Yer Ane Fest was superb. I highly recommend it. Even if youā€™re not au fait with many of the bands playing, itā€™s worth heading down just to soak up the incredibly good-natured vibe all on its own. To be asked to be a part of it, and to do something Iā€™ve been dreaming about for years, was an incredible honour.

    Big thanks to Derrick, Kenny and Jonny for allowing me the chance to do this silly little podcast in a live setting, and for taking some time out of the business of running the festival to sit and chat for half an hour or so. It means the world to me.

    This was recorded live in Deacon Brodieā€™s at 12pm on December the 3rd 2017 (the day before my 32nd birthday, no less) and I think it turned out really quite well.

    I hope you enjoy the episode.

     

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  • The new Counterparts album reminds me of being a teenager. When I was 16 I graduated from nu-metal to metalcore. I read a review of Alive of Just Breathing by Killswitch Engage in Kerrang! Magazine and subsequently purchased the record from a record store in Glasgowā€™s Savoy Centre that specialised in metal music. That record store no longer exists, and it could also be argued that neither do that version of KsE either.

    My flatmate has been banging on about Counterparts for ages, and given his particular music taste, I was surprised that they were a metalcore band. Now, I know that they havenā€™t always been this kind of band, but as a new fan it was not at all what I expected.

    As Brendan explains, this metalcore sound is not especially cool anymore, and whilst it may not have always been where the band wanted to go, for him it seemed like the most natural evolution, taking the information learned from past records and applying it to the new album. Stripping everything down to the component parts, refining and making sure it's the leanest, meanest, most direct Counterparts album yet. Unlike a lot of metalcore bands though, there is not an ounce of fat on Youā€™re Not You Anymore ā€“ its' 27 solid minutes of tune after tune. Almost as if theyā€™ve taken that hardcore punk sensibility from the older records, keeping things short, sweet and technical, and added in all the old early 00s metalcore these guys love in order to create something absolutely to the point.

    Brendan is a super nice guy who still seems to be continually stunned that heā€™s doing this full time. Being able to make a living doing something you love is something that most of us strive for, so to see the smile on his face as he speaks about his fortunes, is wonderful.

    We also get into how Spotify for Artists has helped them to see amazingly in depths stats about their fans and where they should tour next.

     

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  • Our previous interview can be found here.

    Itā€™s been a long year for the flatties. Itā€™s not common to see foreign bands arrive on these shores twice in the space of six months, but boy am I glad it was these guys. I openly said it in the podcast and Iā€™ll happily say it again ā€“ this band is one of my all time favourites. They always bring it live and on record. These guys are lifers through and through and it doesnā€™t seem like theyā€™ll stop any time soon.

    We also talk about the tenth anniversary of The Great Awake, which is ace.

    The fear with interviewing the same person twice in a year is that you may not have anything to talk about the second time round. Iā€™m chuffed to say that wasnā€™t the case here. Aside from being super busy with touring, Chris launched his own podcast called Carry the Banner. After the last interview we spoke briefly about his desire to do his own podcast, so itā€™s awesome that he finally bit the bullet and went for it. Itā€™s real good, so do check it out wherever you get your podcasts.

    From talking about the time he played guitar on The Decline with NOFX live on stage, to their rigorous tour schedule, we covered a love lot of ground in this chat. It was great to finally chat to someone with a huge profile about their love and desire for podcasts, and hopefully you find that portion of this conversation as engaging as I did.

    Singers may also want to talk particular note of this podcast too as Chris and I talk about the rigours of looking after your voice, and body, whilst on the road.

    I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did.

     

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  • Whatā€™s there left to say to Jordan Pundik? What is there left to say about New Found Glory? What is there left to even ask those guys?

    Itā€™s hard to find the words to talk about seminal bands sometimes. 20 years is a long time to be making music, and itā€™s remarkable when you realise that Jordan is still in his 30s. Theyā€™re a band who has literally seen and done it all. Theyā€™ve taken their music to the greatest heights, and achieved things most artists can only dream of.

    Yet, and youā€™ll also get a sense of this from the interview, they remain incredibly humble. New Found Gloryā€™s influence on pop punk cannot be overstated. Nearly all of the bands they play with these days have been inspired by them, from the likes of mega stars All Time Low, to their recent touring buddies Roam, and every other pop punk band in last decade. That kind of legacy is remarkable.

    And to have been on the road that entire time is remarkable still. For this band, it very much is the case that they have grown up together on the road.

    In this interview we have a good chat about what keeps the band going, if theyā€™ve done a lot of reflecting because itā€™s their 20th anniversary, how things have changed over the years, the strangeness of doing an anniversary tour the same year they have new music out and a bunch more stuff

    I hope you dig the interview.

     

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  • I was worried Iā€™d maybe taken on a little too much lately. Turns out I had. I missed an episode and I apologise for that.The good news is that Iā€™ve managed to bank a bunch of interviews and ALSO start two new podcasts. Silver linings etc.Turnover are a great band. If youā€™ve made it this far, you probably already know this. If you donā€™t know that already, youā€™ve probably already guessed thatā€™s why I interviewed them in the first place. Either way, their new album Good Nature is one of my favourite records of the year.Taking the melody from all your favourite emo bands and shooting it through with some Smiths-esque guitar tones and wonderful Beach Boys tinged vocals, the whole thing is a lovely, warm hug of a record. Austin and Casey Getz - singer/guitarist and drummer respectively ā€“have toured a ton, written a lot, and basically lived the life of any other touring band for a number of years. Theyā€™re super chill guys, and enjoyed this wee chat we had together. We covered a lot of ground in such a short space of time, taking everything from the way people change as they grow up, how people change when they grow up on the road together, what itā€™s like being away from home and almost stuck in a bubble, the writing and recording process behind the new record a ton more. Hope you dig this interview as much as I did.  

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  • If thereā€™s one thing to take away from this interview itā€™s that Outblinker have almost complete disregard for their personal safety. Itā€™s not a bad thing. After this interview, I caught the bandā€™s live set in Bloc, and the quasi-apocalyptic nature of their sound is given a whole new feeling when you hear the death defying tales of the bandā€™s creative and touring lives.Theyā€™re also punishingly loud live. In this interview, they talk a bit about how it wasnā€™t until they were recording their last EP that they realised there was something missing from their sound. With that hole plugged, thereā€™s a bruising aspect to their live show. The whole thing feels like an assault on the senses, but in the best possible way.Once youā€™ve experienced that and listened to the guys in this interview, it all sorta clicks into place.This was a really fun chat. I always approach multi-person interviews with a certain amount of sonic trepidation ā€“ Iā€™m always worried the sound will be weird (and to be honest, it kind of is a little in this interview) ā€“ but when I actually sit down with a full band the chat is always so much fun. Maybe itā€™s time to upgrade the gear so I can get great sound quality from four or five people instead of one or two.So gather around, dear listener, and hear the tales of how a band love synths, touring Europe, practicing in the same building as an Orange Order band, and so much more baffling, but amusing, chat about what life is like in Outblinker.  

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  • As B. Dolan and Sage Francis bring their latest Edinburgh Fringe Show Tricknology to an end, I felt it was time to revisit this interview with B. Dolan from back in October 2015. Enjoy.The Curator Podcast ā€“ Episode 19: B. DolanAs I get older I find myself growing to appreciate hip hop more and more. In my teens it didnā€™t grab me in the same way punk or metal did, and naively, I shunned it. My guest on this episode is rapper B. Dolan and he, alongside Sage Francis, was one of the artists who forced me to realign my expectations of what hip hop is, was and could be.The truth of the matter is that when your exposure to a particular genre of music comes solely from mainstream sources, it can be quite difficult to find something worthwhile. Like all teenagers, I rebelled, and in doing so I rebelled against the chart and dance music which was common in between my groups of friends in high school and in my neighbourhood. I took solace in the angst of ā€œalternativeā€ music.A lot of that chart music was hip hop and no, it wasnā€™t particularly good hip hop. As someone who had deliberately placed themselves outside of mainstream art, I found that when I looked back in to find some shred of meaning, all I could see were empty messages and a sense of disappointment.Thatā€™s not to say that it is impossible for popular music to carry a message. Now that Iā€™m older I can see such a view is quite patently nonsense, but in the naivety of youth I certainly felt that.So in my teens, my flirtation and subsequent rejection of hip hop was the result of two things:A) to me, the stuff that was on the radio or on MTV had nothing to say to me. I was looking for something political, something which raged and had teeth. 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Nelly and the other hip hop that circulated when those artists were at their peak, was empty to me.B) I had no one to guide me. It was easy to find people who could introduce me to new rock music. Literally no one I knew had any inkling of hip hop beyond whatever was coming out of the radio that week.For many years I lived my life ignoring hip hop, thinking that it was all violence and misogyny.About ten years ago that changed. A friend opened me up to ā€œundergroundā€ hip hop, with Sage Francis at the head it.At the risk of coming across like a snob, Iā€™ve always found the entry point for hip hop music to be quite high. Perhaps itā€™s because Iā€™m a snotty punk kid at heart ā€“ those short, sharp stabs of music are certainly designed to make you think, but the message is fleeting, itā€™s difficult to hold onto before youā€™re off onto the next song. A hip hop record is more layered and more complex, it demands the full investment of your time. It requires repeated listens and time to unfold in your head.But I appreciate them. I enjoy spending time with an album, deciphering lyrics and meanings, getting underneath the complexity of the music and living inside it.Prior to this interview it had been five years since I last saw B. Dolan play. Weirdly it was five years to the exact day, in the exact same venue. In that particular instance he was supporting Sage Francis, an artist who also happened to be responsible for introducing me to B. Dolan on Twitter some years before.Fallen House, Sunken City, which bizarrely only came out five years ago but it somehow feels longer, is an album which pulled me out of a musical slump Iā€™d fallen into. Itā€™s an awesome record, and one of my favourites. Although I do think his new one, Kill the Wolf, might usurp that.Highlights include:Getting into fights at the Westmoreland service stationA shout out to Passion of the WeissObession with musicAn almost encyclopedic knowledge of hip hopA little bit of PrinceRecording and producing ā€˜Kill the Wolfā€™B. Dolanā€™s evolution as a songwriterB. Dolan is a super nice guy, and to hear him close with The Hunter at the show later that night was a pretty huge deal for me. Also, Buddy Peace absolutely killed it. To see an MC and a DJ work together to create such a tight live show was amazing. Honestly if you get a chance, you...  

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  • I knew that learning how to drive would make my life easier, but I didnā€™t think itā€™d also make podcasting easier. Yet here I am, fresh out of doing my second interview in my beaten up 2005 Ford Focus and Iā€™m amazed at how good it sounds in there. Soft furnishings, man. Iā€™m sure having doors that seal helps too.To wit - this is the second-time Jonah has been on this podcast (as youā€™ve probably gleaned by the title) which is super cool. I promise Iā€™m not making a habit of bringing previous guests back, but sometimes it feels like you need to because the rapport was good the first time, or maybe you didnā€™t cover everything you wanted to on the first go around. I can certainly attest to wanting more time with some people after the interview has finished, so I suppose a part two is a good way to get around to that.I found the flow of this conversation to be even better than the first time. Which is always surprising, but is perhaps indicative of some kind of connection that goes beyond mere press person asking press questions to a largely disinterested human being.My favourite thing about podcasting is connection. Not just the connection I have to my guests, but also to my audience. Thereā€™s something real, raw, passionate, and genuine about the way individuals can form a bond over a microphone. Personally, I put it down to the elimination of distraction ā€“ we are constantly bombarded with information and content at all times, so taking the time to have an unadorned, focused conversation with another person is so valuable.Podcasts allow us to share that unique moment, to focus our attention the way the host and the guest focus thereā€™s. Itā€™s intimate. Thatā€™s why I love it.We all connect in beautiful ways.On this podcast Jonah and I talk about his book, Alone Rewinding, white male privilege, touring, 20 years of travelling to the UK and a few more political things. Itā€™s an intense chat which went in a totally different direction than I thought it would, but I canā€™t complain cause I think it turned out really well.Phone courtesy of Story Volumes/Ron van Rutten.  

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  • Real talk: I'm ill. And because I'm ill, I've been a little slack in putting together some interviews. You'll probably be able to tell when you listen to the start of this episode.I've been listening to the new Employed to Serve album a lot lately. It's really very good. They're about to head out on tour with Milk Teeth and Wallflower and I thought hey, this would be a perfect time to do a quick flashback to when I interviewed Justine. The band have come on a lot since this interview was first broadcast, touring an absolute boatload, playing festivals and releasing the frankly wonderful album 'The Warmth of a Dying Sun'.I had a lot of fun doing this interview, and it's actually still pretty good. I hope you enjoy it.(Originally broadcast on January 22nd 2016)It can sometimes be stressful when trying to arrange interviews. Some people are funny about doing podcasts. Some people feel that doing a ā€œweeā€ thing, like an interview for this podcast, isnā€™t a particularly good use of their time. I think both of these things are fair enough. If youā€™re going to get interviewed by The Guardian or Kerrang! Magazine then it makes way more sense to do that than it does to do this.Plus, itā€™s not like Iā€™ll ever get Dave Grohl or something on here, is it?Obviously itā€™s more irritating when someone just doesnā€™t like doing podcast interviews, yet it just reminds me how lucky Iā€™ve been to talk to some of the people Iā€™ve spoken to; people who have reputations for being choosey about what they do have chosen to speak to me, and thatā€™s very cool.I suppose what Iā€™m getting at is that Iā€™m still super thankful for people taking time out of their day to have a chat with me. And even more thankful to you guys for sticking with me.BUT HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO THIS WEEKā€™S EPISODE?! Well, I had some issues trying to book guests this week and then two came along at once. Only, both came along at the end of the week. My original intention was to interview Justine, get home, edit it and upload it, then get it out into your ears by 11.59pm on Thursday. Sadly, that didnā€™t happen.So, Iā€™m sorry for being a little late. Nothing pains me more than being late. Seriously.What transpired though was a really good interview, and I think itā€™s worth waiting a little longer for. Employed to Serve are a mathy hardcore band of the kind I find myself increasingly drawn to as I grow older, and it was awesome to speak to another woman for this podcast when Iā€™ve been struggling to find people to come on.Highlights include:Wetherspoons and beerRider beers and general drinking on tourWhen Justine realised she was creativeAnd when she realised she wanted to be in a bandSome influences in ETSā€™ soundDeftones and musical evolutionWhy math-type music is perhaps getting more popular than beforeSexism in the music industryOur favourite albums of last yearSometimes the best parts of the conversation happen after you switch off the microphone, and youā€™ll just need to take my word for it when I say that we say we continued chatting after I stopped recording.ETS are a band that is only going to grow, in my opinion, and Iā€™m glad I got a chance to speak to Justine before they get even bigger. They absolutely nailed it at the show later that night and I highly recommend getting along to see them if you can.Oh, and Iā€™m sorry for the drunken story ramble at the end. Iā€™m not perfect. Sometimes Iā€™m prone to flights of fancy.I hope you enjoy the episode.  

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  • Uncle Vic Galloway is responsible for my discovery of Fat Goth. He shared the video for their song ā€˜Creepy Loungeā€™ on his Twitter account way back in the heady days of 2013 and that was it, I was a fan. Since then, Iā€™ve seen them every time theyā€™ve passed through Glasgow and they never disappoint live.Iā€™ve always found their sound to be a bit strange. And I mean that in a good way. Itā€™s sort of off kilter, with riffs and hooks which donā€™t really land in the way you expect them to. I always wondered where that came from, and it wasnā€™t until I was doing research for this interview that I learned Fraser is influenced by Nomeansno. Iā€™d never heard them before and after listening to them it all made sense.This is mentioned in the episode, but I actually thought theyā€™d stopped being a band. After their third album One Percent Suave they went dark, aside from the odd show, and I thought theyā€™d quietly patched it. Imagine my surprise when they remerged with Enorme! Earlier this year, dialling up that Nomeansno influence and streamlining their already muscular sound into something more direct and furious than ever before.It was like watching an old friend appearing out of the ether and reminding you why they were so cool in the first place.And so we turn to this interview. My first phone interview. I was contending with some pretty serious RF interference on this but I was able to fix it in post production. Who knew that it would be as easy as simply plugging your phone into the digital record and hitting record? Certainly not me.Fraser was a lovely chap to talk to, and I appreciate him bearing with me as I got all this shit to work. We talk a lot about Nirvana, Metallica, being a part time band, creative burn out and a lot more. I hope you enjoy this interview.Photo courtesy of Still Burning Photography.  

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  • Sometimes you feel like you have unfinished business after an interview ends. Thatā€™s kinda how I felt the last time I interviewed Billy, even though it was almost 50 minutes long. People and their situations change, and Billy has done a whole bunch of stuff since our last interview, including immigrating to Berlin, which I hear is a lovely place.I enjoy it when podcasters interview the same person multiple times, particularly when it takes place over a number of years. If youā€™re lucky, and itā€™s someone the interviewer has hit it off with in the past, it feels like two old friends reconnecting. I also feel it often demonstrates the way both the host and the guest have changed over the years.This year, despite living in Berlin, Billy is doing a play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Iā€™ve kept in touch with him since our first chat, and as a result weā€™ve actually become friends, so this interview is also something of a catch up. With him being out the country and me always somehow being busy whenever he...  

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