The Curator Podcast

S2: Episode 28 - Tom May from The Menzingers Drinks Mysterious Coffee and Talks About The Band's Creative Evolution

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 14:14:37 GMT

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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Unsung Podcast Episode 5 - Entroducing by DJ Shadow

Mon, 29 Jan 2018 11:38:03 GMT

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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(Rebroadcast) 21 - Casey Crescenzo from The Dear Hunter

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:45:18 GMT

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 I’ve spoken to some pretty productive people. Casey Crescenzo is probably amongst the most productive. Over the course of ten years The Dear Hunter’s oeuvre is as impressive in its scope as it is in its musical diversity, with their album/EP collection ‘The Color Spectrum’ 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 you’ll find out when you listen to the podcast, Casey is the kind of guy who treats songwriting like a job and it’s this approach which many productive artists seem to share in common, whether they’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. There’s no lengthy story in this week’s show notes about how I first got into The Dear Hunter. Instead, all I can offer is rumination on their music – it’s deep, it’s cinematic, it somehow feels weighty. How people classify progressive rock music is anyone’s guess, but to me this just feels like epic rock music, and that’s why I’m drawn to it. It’s bursting with ideas, it’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. There’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 “prog rock” and the diversity of that genre - He tries not to pigeonhole the sound because it can limit the creative scope - The music he grew up on sounds nothing like his band - Casey thinks that perhaps one of the reasons they aren’t a huge band is because they aren’t in a specific genre - Coming from a creative household and when Casey remembers wanting to be a guitar player/songwriter - When people who consider themselves high art conduct interviews like they’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 they’d seen the pitfalls of being a career musician - His parents worry more about Casey when he does something different as opposed to worrying about the pressure of the work - “Do the thing that you believe you should do – don’t worry about what they’re going to think until it’s too late” - “The moment when I worry about people think is when an album is finished, mastered and ready to go out” - On the fear of having your art accepted - “As a creative person it should only be self-expression, but that’s the scariest thing: if you’re doing it only out of self-expression, at some point it goes through a filter and becomes a product…and it’s up to whoever buys it to think whatever they want about it.” - Wanting people to take away something from a record that you put into it, and hoping that the opposite doesn’t happen - Wanting to give people what they want after letting him do The Dear Hunter for ten years, but it doesn’t have any bearing on what he’s doing when he’s doing it – only after the creation is complete does the hope and fear set in - It’s taken a lot of hard work to find an audience for The Dear Hunter - It’s good that there are musicians out there that still makes music that makes people think and isn’t all about creating hits - Music as a product is okay, but it’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 more - The discipline of creating music and treating it like work comes from his parents - The feeling of euphoria after completing a piece of work is worth any amount t...

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Unsung Podcast Episode 4 - Violator by Depeche Mode

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:41:17 GMT

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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Unsung Podcast Episode 3 - Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 11:13:08 GMT

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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S2: 27 - The Return of Conor Anderson from Dialects, Talking About the Creative Process Behind Their Debut Album and Much More

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 13:42:23 GMT

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

We’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. They’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 we’ve both come since this wee podcast began. Our approaches to our creative ventures have changed over the years but we’re still in it, doing our own things, learning as we go along and absorbing new information in the process. In the whole time I’ve been doing this podcast Dialects are the only band I’ve featured who I’ve known since the beginning of their career.

It’s been great to see his band grow. I’ll never forget our first chat in the back of their tour van. It’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 it’s the same for everyone.

I hope you enjoy this conversation.

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Unsung Podcast Episode 2: Jane Doe by Converge

Wed, 27 Dec 2017 16:15:55 GMT

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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S2: 26 - P.O.S Tours Europe Using Trains

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 12:29:07 GMT

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 ‘De La Souls’, 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 ‘Terrorish’ 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. It’s loud, brash, snotty and in your face.

We Don’t Even Live Here came next and he’s right when he calls it a dance party. It’s mostly electronic and it goes hard. It seemed a bit of a left turn to begin with, but like everything else it’s got the same abrasive nature.

His new record chill, dummy is a lot more laid back. It’s also great and we do harp on about closer Sleepdrone/Superposition at length in this interview. I’ve never heard a hip hop song – or any song – 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 I’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 didn’t even get to look at my questions, instead just riffing as I went. That’s how I know it’s a good interview.

I hope you enjoy it.

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TEASER - Unsung Episode 1

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 22:49:44 GMT

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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S2: 25 - LIVE at Book Yer Ane Fest XI with Kenny Gray, Derrick Johnston and Jonny McGinty from Make That a Take Records

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 13:30:24 GMT

I’ve been incredibly fortunate with this project. It started off as just an experiment to become familiar with how to podcast. Since then I’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.

We’ve all heard our favourite podcasts doing live episodes and to be honest, I wasn’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 – a laid back chat with interesting folk.

Book Yer Ane Fest was superb. I highly recommend it. Even if you’re not au fait with many of the bands playing, it’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 I’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 Brodie’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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S2: 24 - Brendan Murphy from Counterparts Talks About Loving Metalcore, The Process Behind their New Album, How New Fans Keep Finding Them, The Way Old Fans Seem to be Growing Up with the Band, and How Useful Spotify for Artists Has Been

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 19:45:30 GMT

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 Glasgow’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 haven’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 You’re Not You Anymore – its' 27 solid minutes of tune after tune. Almost as if they’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 he’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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S2 : 23 - The Return of Chris Cresswell from The Flatliners

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 15:37:49 GMT

Our previous interview can be found here.

It’s been a long year for the flatties. It’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 I’ll happily say it again – 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 doesn’t seem like they’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. I’m chuffed to say that wasn’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 it’s awesome that he finally bit the bullet and went for it. It’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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S2: 22 - Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory Talks About The Band's 20th Anniversary, Their New Album and More

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 16:01:58 GMT

What’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?

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

Yet, and you’ll also get a sense of this from the interview, they remain incredibly humble. New Found Glory’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 they’ve done a lot of reflecting because it’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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S2: 21 - Austin and Casey Getz from Turnover Discuss Growing Up on the Road, How Playing Live is the Best Yardstick for Measuring New Material, Rubbish Tour Vans and Lots More

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 13:51:32 GMT

I was worried I’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 I’ve managed to bank a bunch of interviews and ALSO start two new podcasts. Silver linings etc.Turnover are a great band. If you’ve made it this far, you probably already know this. If you don’t know that already, you’ve probably already guessed that’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 –have toured a ton, written a lot, and basically lived the life of any other touring band for a number of years. They’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 it’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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S2: 20 - Outblinker Regale Us with Death Defying Tales from at Home and On the Road, What It's Like Now That They're a Four Piece and Discuss Why Their Album is Taking So Long

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 12:20:35 GMT

If there’s one thing to take away from this interview it’s that Outblinker have almost complete disregard for their personal safety. It’s not a bad thing. After this interview, I caught the band’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 band’s creative and touring lives.They’re also punishingly loud live. In this interview, they talk a bit about how it wasn’t until they were recording their last EP that they realised there was something missing from their sound. With that hole plugged, there’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 you’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 – I’m always worried the sound will be weird (and to be honest, it kind of is a little in this interview) – but when I actually sit down with a full band the chat is always so much fun. Maybe it’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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(Rebroadcast) 19 - B. Dolan

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 11:31:27 GMT

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 – Episode 19: B. DolanAs I get older I find myself growing to appreciate hip hop more and more. In my teens it didn’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 “alternative” music.A lot of that chart music was hip hop and no, it wasn’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.That’s not to say that it is impossible for popular music to carry a message. Now that I’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 “underground” hip hop, with Sage Francis at the head it.At the risk of coming across like a snob, I’ve always found the entry point for hip hop music to be quite high. Perhaps it’s because I’m a snotty punk kid at heart – those short, sharp stabs of music are certainly designed to make you think, but the message is fleeting, it’s difficult to hold onto before you’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 I’d fallen into. It’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 ‘Kill the Wolf’B. Dolan’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 w...

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S2: 19 - Jonah Matranga Returns to Talk About Writing A Book, 20 Years of Touring in the UK and How to Check Your White Male Privilege

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 10:59:20 GMT

I knew that learning how to drive would make my life easier, but I didn’t know it’d also make podcasting easier. Yet here I am, fresh out of doing my second interview in my beaten up 2005 Ford Focus and I’m amazed at how good it sounds in there. Soft furnishings, man. I’m sure having doors that seal helps too.To wit - this is the second-time Jonah has been on this podcast (as you’ve probably gleaned by the title) which is super cool. I promise I’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 didn’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. There’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 – 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 there’s. It’s intimate. That’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. It’s an intense chat which went in a totally different direction than I thought it would, but I can’t complain cause I think it turned out really well.Phone courtesy of Story Volumes/Ron van Rutten.

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(Rebroadcast) Episode 33 - Justine Jones from Employed to Serve

Thu, 27 Jul 2017 08:58:29 GMT

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 “wee” thing, like an interview for this podcast, isn’t a particularly good use of their time. I think both of these things are fair enough. If you’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, it’s not like I’ll ever get Dave Grohl or something on here, is it?Obviously it’s more irritating when someone just doesn’t like doing podcast interviews, yet it just reminds me how lucky I’ve been to talk to some of the people I’ve spoken to; people who have reputations for being choosey about what they do have chosen to speak to me, and that’s very cool.I suppose what I’m getting at is that I’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 WEEK’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 didn’t happen.So, I’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 it’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 I’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 ETS’ 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 you’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 I’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 I’m sorry for the drunken story ramble at the end. I’m not perfect. Sometimes I’m prone to flights of fancy.I hope you enjoy the episode.

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S2: 18 - Fraser Stewart from Fat Goth talks about Nirvana, Being a Part Time Band, Creative Burnout and ZZ Top.

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 10:34:01 GMT

Uncle Vic Galloway is responsible for my discovery of Fat Goth. He shared the video for their song ‘Creepy Lounge’ on his Twitter account way back in the heady days of 2013 and that was it, I was a fan. Since then, I’ve seen them every time they’ve passed through Glasgow and they never disappoint live.I’ve always found their sound to be a bit strange. And I mean that in a good way. It’s sort of off kilter, with riffs and hooks which don’t really land in the way you expect them to. I always wondered where that came from, and it wasn’t until I was doing research for this interview that I learned Fraser is influenced by Nomeansno. I’d never heard them before and after listening to them it all made sense.This is mentioned in the episode, but I actually thought they’d stopped being a band. After their third album One Percent Suave they went dark, aside from the odd show, and I thought they’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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S2: 17 - Billy Liar Returns for Part 2(.5) and Talks About Living in Berlin, Touring with a Live Band, Writing a Play, Collaborating with Freddy Fudd Pucker and Creative Discipline

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 21:15:43 GMT

Sometimes you feel like you have unfinished business after an interview ends. That’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 you’re lucky, and it’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. I’ve kept in touch with him since our first chat, and as a result we’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 is in the country, I thought it was about damn time we talk about all the cool shit he’s been doing.Including his most recent tour, which is when I conducted this interview. We talk about it throughout this episode, but this is the first time Billy has played with a full band in a number of years, and it was the first time I’d ever seen him with a full band. It was pretty spectacular. His backing band were also the main support on the tour, and those guys (Empty Lungs, a powertrio from Belfast) were absolute heroes for pulling double duty every night of their European and UK tours.Billy’s got a new album coming out next year, and I can tell you for a goddamn fact that, based on the show I saw him play after this interview, it’s gonna be a cracker.A wee note about the recording – I recorded this in my car (!) and without headphones, so you’re gonna hear some traffic noise. I don’t think it’s too distracting though, and the interview is nice and clear anyway!I hope you enjoy it.

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S2: 16 - Thom Weeks from Gnarwolves Went for a Saunter Around Glasgow

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 10:47:25 GMT

I don’t listen to a lot of interview podcasts anymore. I’m a bit burnt out on them, despite how many awesome ones are out there. No, what I mostly listen to are science and storytelling podcasts. I love the high-quality production and sound design found in Love + Radio and the like.It’s those kinds of podcasts which influenced a lot of the production elements I’ve incorporated into season two so far, and I find myself being influenced by the way a lot of NPR and Radiotopia shows often interview people outside. I’ve always wanted to record a podcast outside. There’s obviously a lot of things that can go wrong with it though, and because of that I was always wary of pulling the trigger.When it came to interview Thom from Gnarwolves though, fate forced my hand. So, we went for a short walk around Glasgow city centre. You can hear the streets shifting and changing as we make our way through them; small bursts of music from buskers, the hustle and bustle of busy shoppers, mysterious tunes echoing from restaurants and bars, traffic sounds and the faint gust of wind are all apparent in this episode.It gives the interview a lively feel, as if it’s a representation of a specific moment in time. I think all interviews are, but this one feels more real, it has more texture and much more energy to it.Thom was aware of the utter bizarreness of the situation, and I think that’s what made this interview so much fun. When it comes down to it, we’re just two dudes having a laugh, completely baffled at the context and circumstances surrounding our chat and literally just experiencing things as they happen.We dive deep into the band’s new album Outsiders. We talk a little about touring, writing songs in the moment, being a creative person, and I also mistake him for his brother, like a total fucking loser. We cover a few more things as well.He was a fantastic sport, a wonderful guest, and such a charming guy. I would love to do this again with someone else. Maybe I will.You can let me know if I should.Enjoy the interview.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatMusic bed: Lee Rosevere - Planet DOutro: Blue Dot Sessions – InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.Image taken by Sarah Louise Bennett for DIY Mag

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S2: 15 - Kamikaze Girls Talk about Seafoam, Touring, Using Lots of Chorus and Gaining the Confidence to Write Their Debut Album

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 10:57:13 GMT

Recently, I had a twitter exchange with a chap who asked me what I thought about streaming services. The crux of his argument was that if an artist owns the masters, they stand to make more in streaming revenue than those who do not, and that if this was the case, then an artist can make a lot of money through streaming services if you can get your music in the right place/places.I’m not sure if that’s true – to make some cash from music you need a proper release strategy, good PR and luck. It remains to be seen if such an approach can work for streaming. Royalty distribution is poor for all but the most popular artists, regardless of whether they own their own masters. Instead, I advised him that the best way of making a success of yourself, of getting your music heard, is to work hard touring and just get your music out there as much as possible.That’s what Kamikaze Girls did. They’ve only released one EP and a single to date, but they’ve been a band for a number of years. 2016 was a busy year for the band, touring extensively in the UK and the US. The result? Signing to Big Scary Monsters, booking bigger tours and releasing their debut album. That’s what hard work, drive and focus get you.There is no such thing as an overnight success, and I think most people realise that by now. The old-fashioned ways still work.It’s been great to see Kamikaze Girls grow in stature. Their new album Seafoam is brilliant, showing a real progression as songwriters and performers. There’s a weathered quality to their music now, and a focus which is entirely different from what’s come before.I met Lucinda and Conor when I arranged a show for the band in 2016. I tried to arrange an interview at that time, but the nature of my brain and the stress of running a show (whilst playing it) proved too much, so the interview didn’t happen. You could probably say this interview was a year in the making.This is one of the stranger interviews I’ve done. Camped out in a car and under threat from marauding parking wardens, I sat in the back whilst they sat up front. Gnarwolves can be heard soundchecking below us, and there’s a couple of interruptions (some of which I cut out) alongside street sounds and engine noises. It’s a bit NPR, except more punk rock, more fly-by-night, more ramshackle.We were pushed for time here too, so the interview ends a little abruptly. The next time I see them they’ll no doubt have even more fans, and hopefully we can pick up where we left off.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatOutro: Blue Dot Sessions – InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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S2: 14 - Chris Cresswell from The Flatliners Talks About Rise Records, Irn Bru, Changing as a Person and Touring for 15 Years.

Thu, 18 May 2017 10:30:55 GMT

You never expect someone to remember you. I know I’ve said that a bunch of times now, but it’s true. I’ve met Chris on a few occasions, I even put on a few shows for The Flatliners over the years, but I still didn’t think he’d remember me.He did though, and because of that this interview actually comes across like two old friends sitting down for a good chat. And for the first time ever, I even got offered a beer, which is one of the nicest things he could do it.Chris is an awesome guy. We could’ve chatted for days because this dude loves to talk, which is only a good thing as far as I’m concerned. He’s actually really good at talking too, so I’m hoping that he starts his own podcast one day. I certainly think he’s cut out for it. The Flatliners are probably my favourite band. In many ways, it feels like I’ve grown up with them, and I appreciate the way their music has shifted over the years. That shift, the way our tastes and feelings change, and how we change as people, is something we talk about at length in this interview.We also discuss moving to Rise Records, if the band ever considered releasing the music themselves, and what keeps them going now that they’ve been a band for 15 years.

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S2: 13 - Chelsea Wolfe on Working with Kurt Ballou, Poetry, Weird Musical Comparisons and More

Thu, 04 May 2017 10:38:05 GMT

Half way through Chelsea’s set, apropos of nothing, my girlfriend exclaims “She’s quite moody, isn’t she?” Ironic, really because Chelsea and I talk about how her music is perceived as dark, and why that is the case.Of course, what she meant is that Chelsea Wolfe’s music is moody in the atmospheric sense. It’s an accurate observation, particularly when you listen to Abyss and Pain is Beauty; there’s a dark, brooding atmosphere in both records, and if one is familiar with Chelsea’s entire oeuvre it becomes clear that such “darkness”, as I am loathe to put it, has always existed within her music. It’s the very thing which attracted me to it, and the thing which I find most enchanting whenever I listen to it.It also channels a kind of intensity that most artists find difficult to pull off. It’s heavy in places, sure, but it’s the way that heaviness is delivered, and how it sits alongside quieter moments. That’s where the intensity comes from, I think.Meeting Chelsea was kinda daunting for me. I’ve been a fan for a while and for some reason I always approach people whose music I’ve liked for a while with a great deal more trepidation than I do newer artists. I think that’s because I’ve had time to live with their music, and it feels like I’ve somehow come to know that person better. Because I’m a naturally anxious person, that usually means I’m always going into an interview with a bunch of preloaded thoughts about what the person is actually like.I’m always wrong though; Chelsea was great. She’s a super down to earth person, and it was a total pleasure to share her company. I think we had a pretty good chat and I hope you think so too. We cover a lot of ground, from poetry and weird musical comparisons, to recording with Kurt Ballou and how her new album was a much more collaborative process than ever before and much more into the bargain.I hope you guys dig it.

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S2: 12 - Chris LoPorto from Can't Swim

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 14:23:01 GMT

Picture the scene – you’re standing the middle of an old church. In front of you, built into the wall at the back of the room, are the remnants of ancient organ, its pipes dwarfing everything in the room as they rise almost to the ceiling. At either side of it are stained glass windows, depictions of divinity that loom over the rest of the room, echoes of an old religion. Now, it’s home to a distinctly different cult.The pews and the altar – indeed, all the trappings of the old church – are gone save from those two features that remain. The altar has become a stage, and the pews are gone entirely. Upstairs, in the balcony, the pews remain but they’re not like they were before. They’re much more comfortable and I’m sure the owners wouldn’t mind too much if you stood on them.Church conversions are odd things. In this instance, Saint Luke’s is now a pub, restaurant and venue. Its purpose may have changed but its religiosity is the same – we come to pay reverence and tribute.Behind the organ and stained glass windows is the backstage area, a much more modern setting where the walls are clad in the generic off-colour white we now see in offices and new build housing. Can’t Swim’s erstwhile drummer/current guitarist and tour manager looks for a quiet area where I can interview Chris, the band’s singer. Chris is the reason this band exists, he’s the reason it changed from a guy recording demos into his bedroom into the five piece that they are today.Eventually we stumble upon what is probably the quietest place in the building – the shower room. That’s right folks; this interview was conducted in a shower. I sat on a laundry basket while Chris sat on a huge pile of towels. Two guys clad in black hunched over a microphone, telling stories and shooting the shit in the only way I know how.We had a pretty fun, if brief, conversation. I had a good long chat to him afterwards too (which I probably should have recorded, in retrospect) and I can confirm he is one of the soundest dudes I’ve ever met.In this interview we speak about:Chris’ musical upbringingThe way the band startedThe fun of being a full time musicianHow things evolved from his bedroom to a five piece rock band (complete with three guitarists)How the band’s songwriting has changed as they’ve grown closerThe band’s comfort with how things are going right nowHow it’s better than having a jobAnd much moreI hope you enjoy it.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatMusic bed: James Beaudreau – PacificoOutro: Blue Dot Sessions – InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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S2: 11 - Ray Harkins from the 100 Words or Less Podcast

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 10:41:31 GMT

Ray’s podcast is wonderful. That’s the most important thing you need to know about this interview. The other thing you should know is that we recorded this over Skype and I think it’s the best a Skype interview has turned out for me. He’s a really down to earth, intelligent dude whose interviews are insightful and really engaging. I first came across his podcast when I began The Curator, and I’ve been a fan ever since.We’ve interviewed a lot of the same people, but our approach is markedly different – he’s interested in the way that DIY and punk culture has influenced the lives of the people he’s spoken to, a list of folk that extends beyond musicians. I mean, he’s even interviewed Roman Mars for God’s sake, what more could you ask for?He’s also a musician himself and sings in a really great hardcore band called Taken, which I recommend checking out. I feel like we really hit it off in this interview. Our ethos and passion comes from very similar places, and it was awesome to connect with someone whose mind is just as curious as mine. He’s a fantastic guy, an awesome podcaster and a pretty great vocalist too.The most impressive thing to me about his podcast 100 Words or Less is how it stands as something of a testament to hard work. He’s been doing his thing for over 6 years now, turning up with a new episode every single goddamn week, building a fanbase from the ground up.I’ve had a few people ask me about starting a podcast, and my first piece of advice is always to simply get going. Just start. Don’t let anything hold you back. It’s only after I offer this advice that I realise that what I should actually be saying is that you must ensure you love your idea enough that you stick with it. Like any creative endeavour, podcasting is unlikely to lead to success and riches. I’m not saying that it can’t, and in time it is certainly possible that a podcast will provide some kind of income (I’m not there yet, I hasten to add), but that will only happen if you stick at it. Once you realise that, once you decide you’re in it for the long haul, then you’re ready to begin.Ray stuck at it. He’s turned up every week for six years. He loves his subject enough to do that, and so must you. Once you get started, everything else can be worked on, but passion, that’ll be the fire that keeps you warm on your podcasting journey. I hope you enjoy this interview.

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S2: 10 - Dave Hause

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 14:29:56 GMT

So many of these blog posts open with a description of how I first found out about my interviewee. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this one that I realised how being able to pinpoint such instances of discovery might be an odd thing. Do people tend to remember the exact moment when they first discovered art that moved them?

One day in 2008, Build & Burn by The Loved Ones dropped through my letterbox. Back in those days, when I was running Daily Dischord, I’d get promo CDs through the door every day. We’d only started the site a year before, and to get sent something by a band on Fat Wreck was a pretty big deal for a raggedy punk like me. The sheer volume of stuff I’d get sent on a weekly basis not only made it difficult to listen to everything, but it quickly sapped my desire for listening to many of the records I received. Put simply, many of the albums and EPs just weren’t that good, and there’s only so many press releases you can read before you realise they’re all basically saying the same thing.

Fat Wreck Chords was a symbol of quality. It still is. I put Build & Burn into my CD player purely because it was a Fat Wreck release. I don’t even think I read the press release, I just put that disk in and hit play.

I fell in love with the band immediately. The lyrics, all reflections of love and loss in working class America, spoke to me straight away. This was years before I really got into Springsteen, and when I listen to Dave Hause now, I can see the influence. At the time though there was a heart, a truth to the music which hit me in the chest as soon as I’d heard it.

I think that I was primed to accept this music through The Gaslight Anthem, whose album Sink or Swim had me rapt in enthusiasm the previous year. There was a connection between those two bands which made me feel something real; not just tunefulness, but a truth and a sincerity. It was the way these songs chronicled the lives of strangers that struggled to be heard as they found themselves caught up in the mechanisations of blue-collar America which really got me. It held a power which spoke to me in some deep way.

It’s probably how people felt when they heard The Boss for the first time.

Dave’s career has gone from strength to strength since then. First, he embraced the more Americana, folksy, acoustic side of his music before expanding his scope, taking in those heartland rock vibes which seems to ooze from the pores of many of those involved in music from the Mid-Atlantic.

His new album Bury Me in Philly seems to be the final piece of the puzzle which connects Dave Hause, frontman of The Loved Ones, with Dave Hause, the acoustic, alt-rock troubadour. It also adds many other strings to his fantastic songwriting bow.

I’ve been a fan of his music for years and it was a total honour to chat with him. He’s one of the nicest dudes I’ve met in a long time.

I hope you enjoy this interview.

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S2: 9 - Jeremy Bolm from Touche Amore

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 11:38:05 GMT

When I began this podcast I would often get frustrated at how unsuitable my recording environments would be. Sitting down in a dressing room or tour bus, the perfectionist in me would get annoyed at odd sounds, like a refrigerator buzzing or traffic passing.

I’ve learned to accept it as something of a unique feature of this podcast. There are other shows out there who can afford to ask their guests to come into a soundproofed studio or, hell, even just a room in a house, and those shows are great. Conversely, there’s podcasts out there which conduct interviews over Skype, and I enjoy those too, but for me the DIY ethic is something I’ve always embraced in my journalistic and creative life. I think in the beginning I lost sight of that.

I understand and accept that I’ll probably never conduct an interview in a studio, so I’ve grown to enjoy the unpredictable nature of recording in the wild. A good conversation can happen anywhere at any time, not just in a studio. In fact, I’ve come to believe that perhaps because the guests feel more at ease in familiar surroundings, the interviews come across much more relaxed and open.

Jeremy has always identified with that DIY punk ethos, and he talks a bit about this in the interview, mostly in relation to Secret Voice but also in regards to punk music more generally.

It was great to finally sit down with the man. I’ve been trying to land this interview for a couple of years; firstly at Hevy festival in 2015 and then last year when they were in Scotland. He spoke about his love of Glasgow, touring, Secret Voice, Stage Four and so much more.

It’s a cracking wee chat if I do say so myself.

Featured Music

Intro: David Szesztay – Combat

Music bed: Lee Rosevere - Planet D

Outro: Blue Dot Sessions – Inessential

I make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Image credit: Noisey by Vice.

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S2: 8 - Andrew Falkous from Future of the Left

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 21:03:19 GMT

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this interview since the day it was recorded. As it happens, my original plan for this was for it to be episode number two, but once I sat down to edit it I realised that of my side of the interview was garbled – it’d somehow been completely corrupt during the recording process. Now, normally I record my end twice so that I’ve got a backup in case something like this happens, and the one time I didn’t do it also happened to be the one time a backup would’ve been really useful, so when I found out it was corrupt I thought it was game over.A good friend of mine (the superb Lewis Glass) suggested that I should re-record my side because Andy’s side was fine. A great idea, I’m sure you’ll agree, but a lengthy solution to a problem brought on my own stupidity.What followed was literally two months of procrastination. I knew recording would be a big job and I honestly couldn’t face it. However I also knew that I would need to do it at some point, so that’s what I did and here it is: the final complete interview with Andrew Falkous from Future of the Left.I first became aware of Falco’s work about a decade ago, when the bass player of my old band used to spend at least half of our band practices talking about how good mclusky* were. For reasons that completely escape me, I didn’t look into his recommendation at the time, so they sorta just passed me by.Later, when I was editor at Daily Dischord, a copy of Future of the Left’s second album ‘Travels With Myself and Another’ found its way through my letterbox. Intrigued by the press release’s reference to mclusky* I popped the disk in my CD player and needless to say, after two listens I was hooked.Falco has always had a reputation for being somewhat opinionated, which is one of the reasons why I felt like I had to interview him. From his wonderful, often antagonistic lyrics to the way he takes pop music and fuses it with off-kilter alt-rock, he’s always struck me as truly punk rock – fearless, witty, intelligent, and incisive. You get a great sense of that in this interview, and in my opinion it’s one of the best interviews I’ve ever conducted.What follows is a funny and insightful chat, as Andy waxes lyrical on his creative process, how to be in a band, what it’s like transitioning between music and writing fiction, how he composes lyrics, the rich creative talents that he has, his productivity and oh so much more.This one’s a keeper. Enjoy it.

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S2: 7 - Steven Gillies from Atlas:Empire/Dialects

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 16:03:39 GMT

Steven is in two bands, and I’ve interviewed members from both of them. Conor from Dialects was my very first interview on this wee Glasgow music podcast. That was back in June 2015.The other is Jamie from Atlas:Empire, whom I’d interviewed 11 months ago, so if it appears that it’s taken almost a year to follow that up then you’d be mostly correct. This wasn’t by design, but life does tend to get in the way of some things.I’ve known Steven for a number of years now. In fact, he reached out to me when I used to run a small label called Cold War Legacy Records and asked if I fancied putting out Atlas:Empire’s ‘Somnus’ EP. I liked it a lot – I still do like the band a lot – and said yes. It was a good time, and I enjoyed being a small part of that band’s legacy, despite the fact the way that some fractious local scene politics seemed destined to dismiss their music, and my label, before giving it much of a chance.But that’s a story for another day.It wasn’t until after we had arranged to have this conversation that Steven and I realised that we were actually neighbours. Which is kinda cool because music scenes are so vast, and Glasgow is such a densely packed place that it never occurs to me that I might live near someone that I know. Had I known this sooner, this interview wouldn’t have taken this long to happen.As you will be able to tell from this interview, Steven has been involved in bands for the entirety of his adult life, starting in adolescence and perpetually moving forward until the present day. Having been in a few bands myself over the years, with some projects exploding spectacularly before ever reaching any kind of coherence, the drive to keep at it can often be difficult to sustain. The fact he’s still going is a true testament to his drive, tenacity and character. Now he’s in two bands that are doing cool and interesting things, and that’s a pretty cool thing indeed.I hope you enjoy this interview.

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S2: 6 - The Return of Ben Weinman from Dillinger Escape Plan

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 11:20:57 GMT

As anyone familiar with the band knows by now, there is a lot to be said about Dillinger Escape Plan not just musically, but also in their ethos and approach to being a band. Torrents of column inches have been dedicated to their impending demise and the deluge will no doubt continue long after, but if you’ve heard their latest record or seen them live, it’s altogether unsurprising that they have chosen to end things on their own terms. Not because they've ran out of ideas - they're just as incendiary, captivating and straight up as mental as ever - but because everything up until this point has been thoroughly thought through.In my research prior to this conversation, Ben said in another interview that Dillinger put more thought into ten seconds worth of music than most bands do for whole albums (I would link it but when I research using old interviews they all just seem to coagulate into one big heap of words, so I’ve forgotten the source. Sorry). It is this calculated approach, compositionally and artistically, which has defined DEP’s music since the beginning. So with this knowledge in mind, it’s perhaps much easier to understand why the band decided to come to a controlled stop – if everything is laboured over for maximum effect, then it’s fitting that should the book be closed with just as much precision.This is the second time I’ve spoken to Ben. The first, as regular listeners may recall, was back in 2015 at Hevy fest. It was the briefest of brief conversations. This is twice as long (and then some), but it’s still quite short. Being in the thick of it, doing an interview back stage, is one of the coolest things, but it does mean you’re often pushed for time. Which is a shame, particularly in this case cause I didn’t even get around to asking Ben any of the questions I had written down. We could’ve sat for another 20 minute, that’s how easy the conversation flowed.It was also cool that he recognised me. I never expected that to happen. I never expect anyone to recognise me after an interview – why should you? You see so many faces on tour; cities and venues start to blend into one. I think it’s silly to expect someone to remember you after such a short interaction.What I can say about this interview though is that Ben does seem quite settled with the fact that this part of his life will soon be over. We’re all excited to see what the band goes on to do next, and I’m sure they are too. When they figure it out.I hope you enjoy this interview.

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S2: 5 - Laura Jane Grace from Against Me!

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 14:12:01 GMT

Ah, nervousness. It either paralyses you or forces you into some kind of jittery, energetic action. It’s not unusual to be somewhat nervous before an interview – you never know what a person is like or if they can actually be bothered talking to you on that day – but jumping into it head first with lots of prep makes the experience way more tolerable, and a little less daunting.Being a huge Against Me! fan I naturally had a list of questions for Laura that was as long as my arm. I don’t have heroes per se, just people whose work I really like. Laura Jane Grace falls into that category for me, and Against Me! are a band whose music has resonated more with me as I’ve grown older.That is to say, I’m a massive fan. So you can imagine what it was like to finally chat to her.Now here’s the thing, given that Laura Jane Grace had released a memoir and a record in 2016, the sheer volume of press she did must’ve morphed from a mildly irritating, sometimes fun necessity into something more akin to an excruciating gauntlet. With days perhaps becoming like an endless stream of faces and questions, most of them looking the same and asking painfully similar questions.Then there’s the people who have interviewed her – Marc Maron, The Guardian, The Intendent, Rolling Stone, Grantland, Kerrang!...then me: some little nobody with a tiny podcast in a small city in wee Scotland.There was absolutely no getting away from the weight of all that, so to say that I went into this with no small degree of trepidation would be a slight understatement.My approach to this interview was to try to make it slightly different than the others she’d done this year. In the weeks leading up to it, I had no idea it was happening. Then suddenly, a few days before I was told yes, let’s do it. So I read a lot of interviews. Tons. I absorbed as much as I could about Laura Jane Grace the person as opposed to musician whose work I was already more than familiar with.With her memoir Tranny having just been released, and with most interviews addressing that, I decided that I’d stay away from that topic as much as possible. Not just because it seemed to be a running theme in all of the press she’d done, but also because it was damn near impossible to get a copy of it in Scotland, meaning I hadn’t read it. Instead I focused on the thing that I love about Laura and Against Me! – the music. This is about creativity after all, and I wanted to get as deep an insight into her creative process as possible in the allotted time. In the end, I think it turned out really well.And I hope you agree. Do let me know. This was a huge deal for me (it’s honestly difficult to express it in words) but I hope you enjoy what you hear.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatMusic Bed: Podington Bear - Pink GrapefruitOutro: Blue Dot Sessions – InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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S2: 4 - Ash and Mike from Boston Manor

Thu, 29 Dec 2016 12:10:33 GMT

I have Boston Manor's first EP downloaded on an external hard drive somewhere. That's not a brag or anything, by the way. In fact, I'd forgotten that I even had it until about a week before this interview. It brought back memories of another band called This Sudden Injury - I'm pretty sure it was their singer that recommended that EP on Facebook a few years ago. It's called Here/Now and to say that they've grown as a band is something of an understatement.That's what bands are supposed to do, right? Their sound is supposed to change and grow because that's what people do. I'm not the kind of person that spends a lot of time reflecting on the way a band's music grows over time. I'm more the sorta guy that takes the music for what it is in that particular moment. Each record tells the story of where a band are in their lives.Which is perhaps why their debut album Be Nothing is as refined as it is. It's the sound of a band that's not only spent a lot of time in each other's company, but that has taken the influence of relentless touring - personally, professionally, musically - and created a document of that time, whether it was deliberate or not. The result is wonderful. Be Nothing is a cracking record, and it's very easy to see why they continue to strike a chord with people.Ash and Mike are just the loveliest dudes, and this podcast is a pretty fun chat. We cover a fair amount of ground in 20 minutes. What's also impressive, and definitely worth sharing because y'know ego and stuff, is that I didn't have access to my questions so it was really just a case of me trying my hardest to remember what they were and rolling with it.It's probably one of the most "rough and ready" podcasts I've done so far and I really like it. I don't know if I'm eager to repeat the questionless experience, but I can't fault the vibe it brings.We talk about touring, growing as musicians, breakfast food, sketchy neighbourhoods in America and the fear of President Trump. Fun times.I hope you enjoy the interview.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatMusic Bed: Doctor Turtle - I'm What You'd Be Without Her (Long Version)Outro: Blue Dot Sessions – InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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S2: 3 - Tom Linton from Jimmy Eat World

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:38:11 GMT

When I interviewed Jim Adkins in September 2015, it was a pretty big milestone. I set out with a list of a bunch of people I really wanted to interview and I’ve made a pretty big dent on that list, and there’s more to come.Given how much I love Jimmy Eat World, I was more than keen to have a chat with Tom when the band came into Glasgow recently. So I guess I can tick another off that goddamn list.In my interview with Jim I spoke about how seeing the music video for ‘The Middle’ on MTV2 was a pretty big deal for me. It opened my eyes to a whole new musical world. As a punk kind, connecting with something so tuneful, melodic and emotionally upbeat was met with a healthy degree of trepidation. But I rolled with it. Bleed American is a great record for sure, and it still holds a huge place in my heart.However, my journey into Jimmy Eat World’s discography did not start with Bleed American. Sure, it’s an important album for me, but as was somewhat customary in the days before YouTube, poor working class teenagers took to file sharing programs in order to find music from bands they liked. Sometimes you heard a song on the radio. Sometimes on a music channel. Or sometimes you read about it in a music magazine. But no matter how you came into contact with it, inevitably it was downloaded and stored some on your computer.I used to make mix CDs of my favourite songs and listen to them on my discman. I'd say it was a simpler time, but when it comes down to it, it was a lot of faff for not a lot of music.In among the deluge of JEW songs I acquired during my initial spurt of piracy, I came across ‘Blister’. Given my general ignorance at the time, my first impression was that I was listening to a different band. As it turns out, I wasn’t.That song is what made me fall in love with Jimmy Eat World. I haven’t looked back since.Getting the chance to talk with Tom was great. As you can tell from the interview he’s a pretty thoughtful dude. The interview is quite good humoured, and he’s an absolutely lovely guy too.Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay – CombatMusic Bed: Lobo Loco - Turtle ParadeOutro: Blue Dot Sessions - InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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S2: 2 - Paul Wolinski from 65daysofstatic

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:46:23 GMT

Every episode is fraught with some kind of technical challenge. I can give you examples of this which happened on this very day.Today's interview was supposed to be with Andy Falkous from Future of the Left. I wrote a lengthy blog post discussing how I'd been averse to Skype interviews in the past and explaining that from now on I'd be doing more of them. I mentioned how there's a lot of interview podcasts where the interviews are conducted over Skype, and that whilst face to face interviews are not uncommon either, most are Skype based. That's totally cool, and having been in the position where I sometimes struggled to find guests because bands I liked weren't coming to Glasgow on tour, that Skype interviews would simply have to be the way forward in order to encourage new, diverse guests.Then I began to edit the interview and realised there were problems with the audio on my end. The app I used to record the interview had corrupted my audio in such a way that recovery is not possible. That's one thing I didn't talk about in that blog post - my reluctance to do Skype interviews was because of the potential for stuff to go wrong. And it seems like that's exactly what happened.However, I'll be able to salvage the interview, and it's a stroke of luck that I actually have a bank of content ready to go. So on this episode I have an interview with Paul Wolinski from 65daysofstatic. Paul is a wonderful chap, and we had a really great time talking about the band, his musical life and all the amazing things they've done in their career so far. We go in to some pretty extensive detail about the No Man's Sky soundtrack and talk a lot about the process behind it, and how writing to a deadline, in what is essentially the mother of all fan service projects, helped the band realise some fundamental things about their music and creative process that they may not have otherwise come to understand if it wasn't for the soundtrack.We also talk about how the band interrogated their own music in order to offer up as many different versions of their songs, and pieces of songs, as possible so that they could be used in the game.This is a fantastic interview and we had a lot of fun doing it. I'm grateful that he took the time to have a chat.Now, there's also something else I should say about this interview. Half way through the support band start playing and you can hear them relatively clearly. It's an odd thing for sure, but I don't think it's at all distracting. Podcast producers will tell you that it's basically impossible to edit around music, so there are a couple of things in here that I generally would have edited out but couldn't due to the background music.Nevertheless, this is a cracker and I hope you dig it.

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S2: 1 - Joe Danher from FOES

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:27:01 GMT

The Curator Podcast: Season Two, Episode 1 - Joe Danher from FOESIt’s good to be back.If you’ve missed me then rest assured, I’ve missed you too dear listener.This is season two and as you may have noticed, things are a little different sonically. The format is still roughly the same (for now, that’ll evolve more gradually) but there’s a marked textural difference to the sound. I hope you like it.Feedback would be appreciated.On this episode I’m talking to Joe from FOES. He’s the band’s guitar player and manager. We had a really brief, cool chat in a Wetherspoon’s pub on the night of their show in Glasgow earlier this year. I’d loved to have chat some more but we were a little pushed for time.I had do some soul searching because for a while I genuinely thought I was done with the podcast. That’s why I didn’t return in September as planned. I even had some opportunities to interview some really great artists but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.This interview with Joe really got me buzzing again, and I’m grateful he took the time to talk to me. Without that chat, this podcast would have simply ceased to exist.FOES are a cracking band, and you should definitely check out their new album The Summit Lies Skyward which is out now on Basick Records. Joe is a thoroughly nice chap and the band have worked very, very hard over the course of the past couple years to obtain the following they have. I hope they continue to grow and go from strength to strength musically.Check out the video for "The Everest" below and go catch a show already!Featured MusicIntro: David Szesztay - CombatIncidental music:Podington Bear - Pink Gradient (part of the Sound of Picture Production library).Blue Dot Session - InessentialI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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END OF SEASON ONE

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 12:58:49 GMT

Hello, dear listeners. I'm glad you've made it this far. I never did manage to reach the fabled number 50. Actually, if you count the couple of wildcard episodes I only made it to 49.Bummer.ANYWAY, have no fear. The podcast is not dead. it's already been on hiatus for a month and I'm probably gonna extend that to September. Then I'll come out all guns blazing. I'm gonna try to chuck in a couple of weird special episodes, but we'll see how that goes.Have a great summer and I'll see you in September for season 2.

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46 - Our First Birthday! And a Word on the Future

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 20:09:34 GMT

So, this week The Curator Podcast is one year old. I'm not gonna say too much in this blog because I say a lot in the podcast. Here's the facts.The podcast is one year old!After episode 50 I'll be taking a break and moving to a season based format. And each episode will be fortnightly.Thank you to everyone that has helped out, donated their time, listened to the podcast, spoken to me about, been interviewed and helped arrange guests. Every single one of your is a wonderful human being and you made this worthwhile.Here's to another year!If you stick around to the end you will finally get to hear the song I use for the intro in its entirety. I used it cause I really like that riff at the start...

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45 - Vinnie Caruana

Thu, 26 May 2016 13:06:08 GMT

I am continually surprised that none of the people that I’ve met whose art has affected my life in significant ways are unpleasant. I always seem to expect some kind of aloof quality in the people I meet whose work has impacted me. It’s always wonderful to realise that they are just human like you or I. We put such people on a pedestal; they become more than human because they possess a skill which is unique. So far, everyone I've met has been lovely.Don’t tell me that you’re not the same.Art which we find monumentally influential affects us for personal reasons. Our heroes become legend to us because their creative output has an ineffable quality which transcends speech, it speaks to us deeply, intimately, profoundly. Sometimes it only resonates with you at a specific point in your life, and as you grow older the influence fades. Some of these influences change into nostalgia. Some are timeless. Vinnie Caruana, like Jim Adkins, Dan Andriano, Ian MacKaye and others before him, sit in that timeless category for me.This is discussed in the podcast, but ‘Forty Hour Train Back to Penn’ was a seminal record for me. As someone who had grown up thinking that pop punk was just The Offspring, Green Day and the like, and had subsequently developed an aversion to pop punk after listening to Rise Against, The Movielife seemed like the perfect bridge between those two punk worlds - more aggressive pop punk, which had more emphasis on the punk than the pop.And that’s what I think nails the singular genius of Vinnie Caruana and Brandon Reilly. Their talent lies on taking a lot of that punk rock edge and adding some layers of melody and hookiness to it. That in itself is not a new thing, or even a unique thing, but their songwriting style is vastly different to anyone else's. It doesn’t feel like it’s aping mid 90s pop punk, it feels like a more melodic version of bands like Lifetime or Kid Dynamite, but it still has lashings of influence from great pop songwriters . It’s easy to see why Drive-Thru records found them appealing, but to me it always felt like they didn’t quite belong there.Then there’s the evolution. Vinnie’s style changes and matures a lot as his career continues. I am the Avalanche leans much more toward melodic hardcore territory than The Movielife ever did. Peace’d Out is more straight up hardcore and their EP is still a favourite of mine.His solo stuff hews closer to pop more than anything, with many songs on Survivor’s Guilt skewing more power pop than anything else, but it still has that unmistakable, undeniable Vinnie Caurana songcraft.I loved talking to this guy. So humble and thankful for what he’s been allowed to do, and he seemed like a genuinely happy dude.I hope you enjoy the interview.

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43 - Modern Baseball

Thu, 12 May 2016 13:44:50 GMT

It’s difficult to release a podcast when you’re on the road. I tried, I tried so hard. I even wrote the following blog post:“Hello.A little late this week cause I'm on the road with False Hopes (do check us out).More notes to follow but things you should know about this podcast:Modern Baseball are greatThis interview is a ton of funBut I wish it was longer.I hope you enjoy it!”And I edited the podcast. I spoke about being on the road during the episode. I’m now home from tour, and the podcast is going out as it was last week. Just to highlight my ineptitude.I talk about touring with Modern Baseball. How being on the road a lot kind of freezes real life. There’s also a really cool moment where we talk about the realisation that being a musician is just what they do now. And it’s a nice piece of reflection.There’s some audio issues towards the end when the doors opened and the music began to play in the venue. I wanted this interview to be much longer but I forgot my shotgun mic and it’s a total pain to edit around music so I had to cut it short.Modern Baseball create emo that’s very much in the vein of older emo bands, and there’s an emotional honesty and rawness to their music which you can tell is just part of who they are. That openness and honesty which is displayed in their music is demonstrated in this interview, and it’s always a treat to find out that someone’s as genuine as their music implies. It’s those kind of moments which makes me want to keep doing this podcast.I hope you enjoy this episode.

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42 - Acey Slade

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 10:49:22 GMT

There was a two week gap. It is a gap no more. I lost my voice, you see. You can hear it going a little bit in the interview. By the end of that night, my throat was finished, and for week afterwards I was a hoarse, croaky mess.But we’re back in action now.I have noticed that inconsistency has decimated my podcast listening figures. So if you could share this I would be forever in your debt.On this episode I speak to the one and only Acey Slade. He has been in many bands over the years, most famously the Murderdolls and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. He was also in Dope, Trashlight Vision, Acey Slade and the Dark Party, and now he’s a one man army. Something of a nomad, you could say. A musician without a place to rest his head. Constant movement seems good. Being a hired gun is more fulfilling in the long term, I think. You can always go back and focus on your own stuff, and your own vision, but people trust you to help realise their vision. It’s that trust which I find fascinating.Bands are tight knit units, and it’s difficult to enter into one of those situations as a new guy. I have a colossal amount of respect for those who are able to do that and keep doing it.I used to play Murderdolls songs with my first ever band when I was 16. That’s a good 14 years ago now. Acey may not have directly played on the first Murderdolls record, but he was there and he lived it. When I saw them live, he was the guitar player. He was responsible for transmitting that music straight into my brain. It was a formative influence but an important one. That’s why there’s a Murderdolls song in this episode.Billy Liar helped me set up this interview. I had such a good time chatting to both of them. Some cool hangs afterwards too, although I did get a sense that I was outstaying my welcome. Sometimes I forget that I’m socially awkward. Afterwards, when I reflected on the interview and the time we spent together after it, I began to realise that perhaps the medication I used to take for anxiety had more than just the obvious effects, but also much more subtle ones too. I don’t feel like I need it anymore but I do feel like part of me has changed since coming off it. Maybe that’ll go away. Or maybe that’s just who I am.This episode is a diamond, I think. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed it.

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41 - Ross Barber-Smith from Bridge the Atlantic

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 10:45:48 GMT

This interview was wrought with issues from the start. Ross and I had a really good chat and then the batter died on my trusty H6. Luckily I had a spare with me, but the recording was corrupted, so we had to start again.Which we did! And all was well! There’s quite a bit more ambient background chatter than I thought, but you can still hear us and that’s what matters.This week’s guest is Ross Barber-Smith from Bridge the Atlantic. He was one of the very first people who actually liked this podcast when it began back in May/June last year and he’s stuck with the show ever since. It’s also cool because he’s Scottish and has a very awesome podcast of his own, which I urge you to check out.My interview with Ross is slightly different than what I usually do on here. We talk a lot more about podcasting because, quite frankly, I love talking to other podcasters and there aren’t that many of us that do the creativity thing the way that we do.We get a bit technical but it’s not too heavy, so I think it makes for a really interesting listen. We also talk a bit about podcasting burnout. Which I plan to cover extensively later on in a blog post.Ross’ own story of how he got involved in music and everything that happened in his life which led him to Bridge the Atlantic is fascinating, but for me the best thing about this chat is how goddamn inspiring it is. He’s done a lot, made a bunch of friends all over the world all down excellent social media management, having a podcast and just generally being one of the nicest guys on the planet.I hope you enjoy this interview. It’s a cracker.

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40 - Muncie Girls

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 11:31:18 GMT

The struggle to write interesting, engaging questions for your guests is real. You need to do research, read between the lines of things they’ve said in the past, pay close attention to their music, lyrics, and the overall aesthetic of their art. You need to spend some time in worlds that they are creating.People may wonder why I only speak to artists that I’m a fan of. The reasons seem fairly obvious to me, but perhaps they may not be to others. I think it’s unfair to interview people whose art you are unfamiliar with. I’m not here to fill column inches, cash a paycheque or do what my editor wants me to do (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It is, in my opinion, somewhat disrespectful to chat with someone about what they do without at least being aware of how they operate or what they produce. To do this, sometimes it means listening a bit more closely to artists I like but whose music I haven’t spent a lot of time with, or maybe it means reading their work a little more closely and sometimes that means distancing myself from whatever massive emotional connection I have to an artists’ creations.Yet the most obvious reason to me is that I only want to speak to artists whose art I have reacted to, and lived with for a while - artists’ whose work is interesting to me, basically. People love talking about their art and why they create it. It’s natural to want to discuss what you do because by throwing your art into the world you want to know that it is being received and understood, that people are responding to it.One thing I have noticed over the course of the past 40 episodes is that people approach the dissemination of their art in different ways. Some push hard to get it noticed, others are just glad that someone has noticed; some are fervent in their approach, others more measured.The biggest lesson I’ve learned though, is that the creative process and its genesis has wildly different origins for each individual. The goal of this podcast is to try to understand the creative process, to curate these experiences and create a repository for them so that others can at least know that the creative struggle is real. Everyone who creates art does so for very specific reasons, and seems to do so in a very different way.And it’s fascinating. It’s what keeps me going.Enough nonsense.On this week’s episode I have a thoughtful and engaging interview with Muncie Girls. It’s my third full band interview and it’s a goodie. We talk about all the things mentioned above, and how the band has grown over the years. They're really fun, interesting, thoughtful people and I had a good time talking about them (and subsequently almost being kidnapped in their van).Enjoy!

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39 - Paul and Tom from HECK

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 13:23:16 GMT

These blogs are getting harder to write. Show notes are, podcasters are told, vital to a good podcast. People will often read the blog with the hope of getting a feel for the episode.Furthermore, the show notes often make up the description within iTunes (or whatever podcast player you use), so apparently it's good practice to have the show notes give a little more information than the episode can provide.I get wary about saying too much in these notes. Inevitably you end up covering some of the same stuff that’s been recorded.On this episode I sat down with Paul and Tom from HECK. We talk about their new album ‘Instructions’ in rather a lot of depth, and just by discussing it we venture into territory which has been touched upon in other interviews the band have done, but haven’t really been explored in any proper fashion.To hear them talk passionately about their debut album and their band’s future is simply wonderful. Not least because the name change from Baby Godzilla to HECK had a significant effect on the band, even throwing their future in to jeopardy.Line-up changes and name changes often have a habit of killing bands. It can be hard to find a way forward when everything you’ve been working towards starts to quickly look like it's about to unravel at the seams, and for HECK this was compounded further by the very bleak realisation that they would need to recapture at least part of the fan base that they had worked on building for years. Bigger bands can often get away with it, but for small bands who are just gaining a name for themselves it can be heartbreaking.I’m hesitant to say any more about it because they do talk about it quite extensively and it makes for a really fascinating listen.During the interview my band is mentioned. It’s not a deliberate plug or anything, it just sorta happens. I apologise if that offends you.(Although you’ll probably like us if you like HECK, so listen here.)About ten minutes into the podcast Raketkanon start their soundcheck, so just bear that in mind when you listen. It doesn't effect the quality of the episode, but there are some things I'd probably have edited or cleaned up which was just impossible to do with music in the background.I hope you enjoy the episode!

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38 - Jamie Sturt from Atlas : Empire and Hello-Fi Podcast

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 13:53:30 GMT

A few weeks ago I was interviewed for the Hello-Fi Podcast and on this episode, I return the favour. This is technically part two of that exchange, because the Hello-Fi interview came first, but the way these are coming out means that it’s actually part one. Or part 1.5, if you will.Interviewing someone after they’ve interviewed you is a weird experience, because it kinda feels like you’re often covering the same ground. Yes, hopefully we’ll have some amount of audience crossover but on the whole we have two distinctly separate audiences, so somethings are going to get repeated because of that.On this episode I speak to Jamie Sturt from Atlas:Empire, This Silent Forest and Hello-Fi Podcast. It’s a really warm conversation, this one. I think that’s because it kinda felt like we’d already been “in the trenches” so the rapport was already established, and the conversation flowed easily as a result.It’s also one of the longer interviews which I know you guys prefer and that I certainly prefer doing. The truth of it is that we could have went on for much longer, but time was running short because the interview was conducted in a recording studio and the arrival of a band was imminent.I’ve been a fan of Atlas : Empire for a long time. I even put out their second EP ‘Somnus’ on Cold War Legacy Records (WHICH IS NOT DEAD, JUST SLEEPING). Jamie’s had a colourful and interesting life, so it was great to hear him talk about that, his creative pursuits and all the things that make him the musician that we see (or rather, hear) before us today.I had a lot of fun chatting to Jamie. I hope you enjoy the episode.

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37 - Kyle Burgess from We Came from Wolves

Thu, 03 Mar 2016 15:23:07 GMT

Going to keep this blog short and sweet this week, mostly because the podcast itself is quite long – like, it’s over an hour long and I haven’t thrown out one of those bad boys for a while.On this episode I sit down with Kyle from We Came from Wolves to talk about creativity. And we go deep. It’s probably the most extensive conversation about the creative process that I’ve yet had on this podcast, drilling down into the reasons, processes, habits and drive of both Kyle’s and, bizarrely, my own.My modus operandi for this podcast has always been creativity. I always aim to act as a faceless proxy for you, hoping to make it feel less like you are eavesdropping on a conversation and more that you are having an intimate conversation with the guest.For the most part, I think I’ve succeeded. Sometimes I seep into the cracks, and when I give an opinion on something I’m always wary, because it’s unlikely that everyone who listens will agree with said opinion.This interview with Kyle goes in the completely opposite direction. We have a conversation about each other’s creativity. The focus is still very much on We Came from Wolves but there are moments where we just talk about stuff, and it really does come across like the microphone was simply eavesdropping in on a conversation.You can judge for yourself.There are a lot of highlights in this chat, so like the last few episodes I’m not going to list them. I’m simply going to let you hear for yourself.Enjoy the episode!Featured MusicIntro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).We Came from Wolves - ButterfliesWe Came from Wolves - Where'd Your Love Go?We Came from Wolves - RuinerI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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36 - The Van T's

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 13:03:45 GMT

Interviewing an entire band can be fun if the setting is right. In this interview with The Van Ts I was quite lucky because the band had a dressing room which wasn’t particularly noisy. Some dressing rooms though…it’s like trying to do an interview in a building site.I’ve been trying to book these guys for a while. There’s something about their 90s vibe, the alt-rock flavoured grunge that they play which takes me back to my youth. There’s an infectious energy about their music, but also a sorta laid back effortlessness which brings to mind Dinosaur Jr in its approach – noisy, fuzzy but confident and assured.I could drone on about them for another 500 words but I’ll save you, and I, the embarrassment.One of my favourite things about the podcast since the start of the year is the greater focus on more local acts. I still love it when my favourite artists from outside of Glasgow come to town, but Glasgow is such a vibrant place and I can’t think of any city this size which has such an accessible group of talented musicians from across multiple genres. London is the obvious comparison, but given the sheer enormity of the city it could, I imagine, make it very difficult to find such a diverse range of artists in a relatively confined space.I recently interviewed Kyle from We Came from Wolves (interview coming next week, incidentally) and he commented on how The Van T’s name seems to be everywhere right now – it’s true. It’s cool that they’re not aware of their own growing hype. I think they’re poised to capture the zeitgeist and I can definitely see them going far.So yeah, I hope you enjoy this interview. They’re cracking point and were up for a bit of meaningless banter and that’s what this podcast ultimately provides – meaningless banter with a side order of exploration of the creative process.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).The Van T's - GrowlerThe Van T's - Another SunI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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35 - Allison Weiss

Fri, 19 Feb 2016 14:44:47 GMT

I feel like the apologies are coming across as hollow. Maybe I should move the publishing day to Fridays. Although, there is then the issue of clashing with That’s Not Metal podcast but hey, it’s not like I’m even in the same league as them anyway, eh? Thoughts on this would be appreciated. Moving the day that is, not on the other podcast thing. They’re in a league of their own.Interviews have been falling on Thursday’s a lot of late – I actually have another next week – but the fact still remains: I should be more prepared and have stuff ready in advance.Foot is coming off the gas. Let’s put it back on and plant it on the floor.On this episode I have a wonderful chat with Allison Weiss, whose album ‘New Love’ was one of my favourite records of 2015. I had great fun chatting to her. She’s very accommodating, warm and friendly which is always a relief.To this day I still get nervous in the run up the interviews but Allison’s easy going demeanour helped put me at ease pretty quickly. I think the conversation comes across as very natural which, in this podcast game, is something that everyone who interviews people should strive for.I worry that talking about feminism comes off as a little awkward. I mention it during the episode and I’ll mention it here too – I was brought up by my mum, as a single parent. Yeah, my dad was around and stuff but I lived with my mum, brother and sister. I was brought up to believe in equality for everyone, it’s perhaps why I still lean far left politically. Women’s rights were always in the background as I grew up, mostly because I saw how women were treated by men and found it abhorrent.In university during both film and literature studies I was introduced to feminist literary and film criticism. The concatenation was complete. I wouldn’t call myself a feminist (largely because I’m deeply suspicious of men who use that label), but I would definitely classify myself as an ally.Which leads to the point of this tangent – I feel awkward when I talk about it to women. Even talking my sister or girlfriend about these issues leaves me feeling weird. I’m passionate about them, but I can never fully understand what it’s like to be a woman, I can never fully experience the misogyny women experience. When I see it happening, I call it out but I can never be on the receiving end. Sometimes that makes me feel like an imposter. Is that common?After the interview Allison was glad that I brought it up, which is somewhat reliving but I still feel it may have been slightly awkward. I hope you don’t find it off putting.Please enjoy this episode – it’s one of my favourites.

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34 - Calum Farquharson from A Sudden Burst of Colour

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 13:12:27 GMT

Can the lateness of an episode ever truly be forgiven? I know how annoyed I get when my favourite podcasts miss a week or have an erratic schedule. Does it erode your faith in me and my ability to get the job done? Do you even care about the reasons?Answers on a postcard please. Or an email. Or a tweet. Whatever. I’d like to know.This is late because I did the interview on a Thursday again. I had originally hoped to have another interview the day after this one, but that fell through. I even talk about it in the podcast. In episode 33 I also spoke about an interview that I was scheduled to do but never happened. It sucks. I think maybe I jinx it by mentioning that it’s happening. Seems to be the case recently.But yes, I’m late again, and this was a conscious decision on my part. It was either a case that I had no content for this week or I had none for last week. I pulled the trigger and went for last week. Sorry.I had a chat with Calum from A Sudden Burst of Colour – one of my favourite Glaswegian post-rock bands. I really love straddling different genres with this podcast because I like more than just punk music, so it was ace to sit down with another instrumental type dude. He’s a really articulate and smart guy, which is probably a good description of A Sudden Burst of Colour’s music, too.We had this chat in the Crystal Palace in Glasgow and it was going so well until some parents came in with their kids and sat next to us. You can hear the exact moment in the interview and that’s why it’s shorter than normal.Again, there’s another apology for you.Highlights includeStarting with the goal of being a wedding band and evolvingHaving different musical tastesTrying to force yourself to listen to certain music because your band sounds a certain wayHow your tastes change as you get olderBeing a producer and how hard it can be distance yourself from the musicBut at the same time growing to hate the music because you’re working on itAnd loads moreWas great to chat to Calum. I can’t wait for their new EP.I hope you enjoy the episode.Featured MusicIntro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).A Sudden Burst of Colour - RebornA Sudden Burst of Colour - The FallI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

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33 - Justine Jones from Employed to Serve

Fri, 29 Jan 2016 10:34:16 GMT

The Curator Podcast: Episode 33 - Justine Jones from Employed to Serve

It can sometimes be stressful when trying to arrange interviews. Some people are funny about doing podcasts. Some people feel that doing a “wee” thing, like an interview for this podcast, isn’t a particularly good use of their time. I think both of these things are fair enough. If you’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, it’s not like I’ll ever get Dave Grohl or something on here, is it?Obviously it’s more irritating when someone just doesn’t like doing podcast interviews, yet it just reminds me how lucky I’ve been to talk to some of the people I’ve spoken to; people who have reputations for being choosey about what they do have chosen to speak to me, and that’s very cool.I suppose what I’m getting at is that I’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 WEEK’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 didn’t happen.So, I’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 it’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 I’ve been struggling to find people to come on.Highlights include:

Wetherspoons and beer
Rider beers and general drinking on tour
When Justine realised she was creative
And when she realised she wanted to be in a band
Some influences in ETS’ sound
Deftones and musical evolution
Why math-type music is perhaps getting more popular than before
Sexism in the music industry
Our favourite albums of last year

Sometimes the best parts of the conversation happen after you switch off the microphone, and you’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 I’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 I’m sorry for the drunken story ramble at the end. I’m not perfect. Sometimes I’m prone to flights of fancy.I hope you enjoy the episode.

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32 - Chrissy Barnacle

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 14:27:43 GMT

One of the best things about coming across a new artist is the way that they broaden your horizons and push your music tastes in new directions. I can’t profess to being much of a folk fan – at least not of the traditional kind – but the genre itself fascinates me.This episode features an interview with Glasgow folk singer/songwriter Chrissy Barnacle. I was drawn to her music mainly because of her long standing association with various other DIY artists in and around Glasgow, and ever since absorbing the honest, ethereal beauty of her music, I find myself itching to discover more music in a similar vein. One person and their guitar is often more punk rock, more honest than any other kind of music.This is great, because all it takes is one song to show you something a new side to music that you haven’t heard before. It’s also time for me to start pushing the boundaries of this podcast, bringing in new voices and different styles of music. Rooted in punk this podcast certainly is, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. And it shouldn’t be. Diversity of voices, experiences and sound is what makes music so exciting to me. Hopefully you agree.Alright so I conducted this conversation after a failed attempt in pub. That particular attempt was quickly foiled by a pub quiz host bellowing his introduction into a roomful of disinterested patrons, so the second attempt took place in a quiet café. Quiet in the sense that there weren’t many customers; the interview itself is anything but quiet.Yes folks, I made a boo boo and recorded the interview directly under a speaker which was pumping out loud music. I’ve done my best to minimize the impact the music has on the interview (big thanks to Todd Jordan from The Bitter End podcast for helping me out. Again) but it’s still there. I just hope you agree with me when I say it doesn’t affect the sound quality of the interview too much.Chrissy had all sorts of artists on her list of “songwriters I look up to” which I hadn’t heard before. I’ll be checking them out for sure.I hope you enjoy the episode.

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31 - Fraser from The Murderburgers

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 19:34:13 GMT

It’s great to get back to some semblance of normality after the Christmas break. I feel like I’m enthusiastic about the podcast again.Which is in no small part down to this excellent interview with Fraser from The Murderburgers. If you like punk rock and you live in Scotland then there’s about a 90% you know who these guys are. They play everywhere and are on the road all the damn time. They really embody the DIY punk spirit that the whole ethos of “punk” was built on. The fact that they do it with catchy pop punk really is just a huge bonus.I’d been trying to arrange this interview for a while, as Fraser would no doubt tell you, but it took a while for the stars to align, as it were.It was definitely worth waiting for, I think.Highlights include:

Restlessness and not staying in one place too long leading to wanting to be on the road a lot
The difficulty of finding a balance between touring and doing normal stuff, then eventually giving up on finding the balance
Getting more enjoyment out of life by doing band and label stuff
Having bad luck in the band
Including bad luck on their recent UK and European tour
Van issues and a dodgy car dealer
Andy from Palm Reader saves the day!
Sharing musical gear
First musical moments
Getting involved with DIY punk and staying involved
Using booking agents and booking your own tours
The weirdness of “competition” between
The change in music over the years
Evil pay to play
Pop punk and the difference between Screeching Weasel, Teenage Bottlerocket and more sorta Four Year Strong kind of stuff
Why the band is still a "we" and not a solo project despite having so many lineup changes and Fraser being the songwriter
Wrestlers in Space!
And lots more

Last week’s interviewee Billy Liar and this week’s interviewee Fraser are really good friends, so it was kind of serendipitous that I was able to interview them both back to back. They’re both cut from the same cloth too, in terms of their approach to music, their dedication and their ethos.Perhaps the next time I talk to them I should interview them together…I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I enjoyed the chat.

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30 - Billy Liar

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 14:15:06 GMT

I’m glad you’re still with me. The last episode was a blinder, and despite having a two week break it still seems people are digging the podcast. Thank you for sticking around.We’re back to normal this week and it's episode 30. Bloody hell.On this episode I speak to Billy Liar who is among some of the most talented singer songwriters in Scotland right now. I’d never met the guy before, but it was great to hang out and shoot the shit with him. He’s a very lovely, intelligent and thoughtful guy. I'm a big fan of punk infused folk, or folk infused punk, or whatever you want to call it. So having a Scottish take on it certainly warms my cold little heart.This interview takes place in a pub in Glasgow’s city centre, meaning that the whole chat is sort of enveloped in the sort of low mummer of hundreds of voices speaking at once. I like the ambience it gives. We had a couple of pints and decided to talk about music and creativity. I found it fascinating. I hope you do too.Highlights include:

Always wanting to play music and writing songs before even realising he could play songs
Forming his first band and playing shows in school, community centres and church halls
Seeing The Offspring for the first time
The dangers of comparing your life to someone else as everyone grows old and grows away from music
AFI and Caffeine and how that opened up punk for both of us
Caffeine’s DIY CD and Billy’s first experience of a DIY band
Why he went solo
Approaching every recording differently, and not trying to write into a genre
How it’s taken a while to get to the point where other people are asking him to do things
Waits, Cash, Springsteen and musical storytellers being an influence
The influence of authors on his songwriting process
First songs being influenced by conversations on MSN Messenger
Finding a balance between songwriting and storytelling in music
Creativity as catharsis – the need to get certain feelings out
“I don’t believe in a soul really, but it do believe it’s possible to write based on the influences in your life if you manage to get onto that perfect wavelength where the thing comes through you.”
Writing more stuff based on characters
His new split with Paper Rifles and the reason that came about

During my Christmas break I toyed with the idea of doing this podcast in seasons, ending season one with episode 30 and then picking it up again later in 2016. I’ve decided against that – for now – but I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Would seasons be better? It does take off the pressure of having to churn out content week after week…

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Billy Liar - All I've GotBilly Liar - WordsBilly Liar - ChangeI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

All of Billy's music is available on bandcamp and is, I believe, worth every penny.You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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29 - Ian MacKaye

Thu, 17 Dec 2015 12:31:37 GMT

I’ve written, deleted and rewritten this post a number of times both in my head and on the page, but everything seems inadequate. Let’s start with the facts – on this episode I have founder of Dischord Records, activist, musician, producer, composer and archivist (among other things) Ian MacKaye.If you’re reading this then there’s a really good chance that you’re a fan of or at least understand the influence Ian has had on music. Dischord Records and the Washington DC hardcore scene not only influenced punk music, but the effect it had on music at large is still apparent to this day. Some of the biggest and most well-known names in rock music that have emerged over the past 30 years were either involved with or inspired by what Ian and his friends created in Washington DC in the 1980s.That’s really all the introduction I can give you because there is nothing more I can say or contribute that hasn’t already been said elsewhere. There are books, documentaries and films dedicated to that scene and its impact (and indeed to Ian himself). Anything I write in this tiny space is bound to miss out some important detail. The narrative of that scene has been relayed a thousand times, and will no doubt be relayed a thousand times more.I hate to wheel out the old “once a lifetime opportunity” cliché but being able to chat with Ian MacKaye was certainly one of those. Ian has done his fair share of interviews over the years and in his own words, from the email correspondence we had before the interview, “the talking about the done has been interfering with the doing”. I’m still trying to figure out why he decided that it would be a worthwhile thing for him to talk to me, but I’m ever so glad that he did.This interview is as close to unedited as it is possible for it to be. My aim was to find out more about Ian’s musical philosophy because given the monumental impact he’s had on music I was intrigued to see what powered that, and if he ever stopped for a moment to think about the impact his achievements have had on the world.His intellect is stunning. He’s polite, quick, lively, opinionated, wise and he does not suffer fools lightly. There are even a couple of moments in the interview that he takes me to task for some of the things I said to him – the way I phrase a particular question, or if he disagrees with something I’ve said or some of the thoughts I have. I appreciate that. This is a man who has lived twice the life I have in years, but at least ten times the life I have in experience.It was an absolute honour to talk to him.Highlights include:

Learning how to say MacKaye properly when he was in Scotland
Coming from a family of writers and archivists
The foundation of punk being angry
The way that lead to violence at shows
Some cool Minor Threat and Fugazi stories
How he never really reflects on what he's done
The role of Dischord being an archive label
The difficulty for musicians touring America these days
And much, much more that I don’t want to spoil for you

Needless to say, I was humbled by the experience of chatting to him. He’s like a wise punk rock sage. He said that if I’m ever in DC that I should swing by Dischord house and pop in for some tea.I plan to do just that.Towards the end of the interview my mic cuts out and it switches over to my voice recorded on his end. I'm sorry for that, but it's still a great chat and you can still hear me.I hope you enjoy this episode.

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28 - Ewan Grant from WOMPS

Thu, 10 Dec 2015 12:55:11 GMT

The Curator Podcast: Episode 28 – Ewan Grant from WOMPS

Ah, dear listener. I apologies for missing a week. I feel terrible about it. The fact that I didn’t post an episode on my regular schedule has kept me up at night ever since. I value you. I value your time, your attention and the fact that you choose to make me a part of your day.Let me explain what happened in the hope that you might be able to forgive me.Usually I like to have an interview or two in the bank for eventualities such as this, but I left myself short on content. After I conducted this interview with Ewan I formatted the SD card in my recorder thinking that I had removed the file, then I promptly took a week off and went to Marrakech for my 30^th birthday. When I returned the interview was nowhere to be seen. I started to make plans with Ewan to re-do it.Then I ran some recovery software on the SD card and managed to retrieve the interview. The crisis somewhat averted, I decided just to treat the missed episode as a holiday week and return to my regularly scheduled programming the following week. And so here we are, back on track with an interview I once thought lost but has now been found.And it’s a really good interview!I sat down with Ewan in the 13^th Note Café in Glasgow, the lovely staff there allowing us to sit in their restaurant type bit to have a chat. Ewan is a lovely guy and I had a really good time talking to him and talking about all things WOMPS, Algernon Doll, Steve Albini, Black metal and feminism, amongst other things.Highlights include:

Wanting to be a footballer but not liking the lad culture
Skateboarding leading to guitar playing
Being in hardcore bands as a teenager and losing those people he played with
Expressing feelings of loss through songwriting
“You can only feel sorry for yourself for a certain amount of time”
Algernon Doll being terrifying
Moving from WOMPS to Algernon Doll
The influence of Elliott Smith
Not searching for a songwriting partner but finding one anyway
Songwriting influences – John Lennon, George Harrison, Frank Ocean, Danish Post Punk
Not being able to mention good Paul McCartney songs
Separating art from the artists (specifically talking about Michael Jackson, R Kelly, Lostprophets and Burzum)
Some black metal discussion and Deafheaven
Recording with Steve Albini and how he feels about being asked about it a lot
Being put up by Steve Albini when stuck in Chicago for the second time
Getting a pass from Partisan Records and how Steve’s attitude helped them move on
The advantage of having a booking agent instead of booking shows themselves
Having a team of women around them
How the punk scene is trying to avoid misogyny but shows are still 90% male in attendance
Is the indie scene better for women?
Lots of love for Make that a Take and Book Yer Ane Fest
How the DIY ethos is still important
Getting involved with Damnably

Ewan’s worked very hard over the years and it’s brilliant to see that it’s now paying off with WOMPS. Their sound has definitely evolved from his older solo stuff and I’m really excited to hear their album next year.I hope you enjoy this episode. And I hope that you forgive me for being a week late.

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27 - Astronautalis

Thu, 26 Nov 2015 11:57:06 GMT

I’ve waxed lyrical on my love and history with hip hop a couple of times recently, so there’s no need to go through it all again.Andy Hepburn, known as Astronautalis, has been one of my favourite rappers since I heard him on the P.O.S. album ‘Never Better’. His style, delivery and the literary intelligence of his lyrics appeals to the writer in me in ways that a lot of rappers really can’t match.Upon landing this interview I did a whole bunch of research and found out that he’s related to the 4^th Earl of Bothwell, James Hepburn, Better known as Mary, Queen of Scots’ third husband. I won’t bore you with the details of the history and why that’s so interesting to me (it’s covered in the podcast) but suffice to say, the Scottish history geek in me was happy to have a chat about all of that with Andy.He’s probably one of the coolest, most laid back people I’ve spoken to so far and this chat is one of the easiest I can remember. Honestly, if you don’t love him already I guarantee that you will after this episode.Highlights include:

Being in a Yahoo Newsgroup about James Hepburn
Getting teary eyed about Scotland
Some history about Mary, Queen of Scots, James Bothwell and the oldest house in Glasgow
Why he started to look into his heritage
Making the conscious choice to write lyrics based on historical fiction
Coming from a line of storytellers and seeing himself as an oral storyteller
It was kind of like making a reading list
It was rappers who were storytellers that drew him towards hip hop – Lord Finesse, Big L, Slick Rick and Ghostface and underground New York hip hop
Battling is not art, it’s sport. It’s not about creativity; it’s about making fun of someone. It’s also about being precise at a thing and really good at a thing. It’s a weapon.
But Andy was going to theatre school – battling and studying performance weren’t gelling for him
It took a while to let the art knowledge and theatre training to bleed into his music
Theatre informs his performance – he is playing an elevated version of himself
Seeing the live show and the album as two different things – shows should be parties, albums are made to be absorbed
Both punk and hip hop have a need to throw a party, even if the music isn’t about the party
Yet there’s also an angry energy which drives the music
Moving to Minneapolis because of the hip hop scene
Being a rapper for 20 years
The way he’s incorporated many different literary techniques into his lyrics
How Shakespeare opened his eyes to the sheer complexity of writing
And the way Shakespeare essentially gave him a new appreciation for art
Becoming a better songwriter as time goes on and taking the influence of pop rap to make things more elegant
The lyrics and the music need to combine together to do the job
What the vibe of the new album is about
Using different vocal styles and developing a new language for each album
Making music more simple than ever before
And being very proud of his new album

I’m continually blown away by the generosity of the people I’ve interviewed – they really don’t have to give any time at all to some idiot with a microphone but I’m so glad that they do. Andy was an excellent guest and given his storytelling background, you can quite clearly see the raconteur at work in this interview.I hope you enjoy it. It’s one of my favourites.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Astronautalis - The Wondersmith and his SonsAstronautalis - Sike!I make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

Go follow Astronautalis on Twitter and like him on facebook. His new album will be out through Side One Dummy next year. His website is also brilliant.Image by Marcus Junius Laws. I make no claim to the copyright. See the original here.

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26 - Dan Andriano from Alkaline Trio/The Emergency Room

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 09:56:06 GMT

My guest on this episode is Daniel Andriano from the Alkaline Trio and from his solo project The Emergency Room.I had some reservations about this interview because in the wake of the horror in Paris on the 13^th of November, it was pretty clear when I arrived at the venue that everyone was pretty shaken up by what had happened. There’s no diatribe from me about that – I like to keep politics and world events as far away from this podcast as possible because this space is for culture, creativity and passion. The only reason I bring it up is because I think it had an impact on this interview.At the time I had a definite sense of unease, not least because I had friends who were playing in the city that same night. After I finished this interview I had a feeling that that unease had made its way into the interview, so I emailed Dan’s PR representatives and let them know I wouldn’t be using the interview.Then I listened to it again.I was dreading listening to the recording because I remember feeling off balance (I talk more than normal, it's shorter than I'd have liked etc), and I got the impression that Dan was a little off his game too. But when I listened to it, it was fine. I think we needed that normality in the shadow of horror.It’s a short interview because we were pretty slammed for time.Highlights include:

The first thing Dan learned to play
Being a guitar player first but playing bass in his first few bands
The difference between solo records and Alkaline Trio stuff
And how Hurricane Season differs from Party Adjacent
Working with Jeff Rosenstock
The difficulty of balance home and the road
When and if he ever realised he was a full time musician
Mike Park and Asian Man
Having someone else take control over a couple of his songs
Sam Russo, Bangers, The Murderburgers, Asian Man Records and Creeper

As you can hear in the podcast, I’m pretty starstruck. Alkaline Trio are responsible for making me a musician. Without From Here to Infirmary I wouldn’t be making music. There are a lot of bands out there I love and that are responsible for the deep connection I feel with music, but there are not many bands which I can say are directly responsible for making me a musician.For many people, both guests on this podcast like Dan and listeners, the passion for music and the need to create music are intractable. For others like me, one came before the other.I hope you enjoy the episode.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room - Don't Have a ThingDan Andriano in the Emergency Room - Haunt Your HouseI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

Check out Dan Andriano in The Emergency Room over on their website and get something cool. Party Adjacent is great.Please check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.Check out the Facebook page.Or you can get me on Twitter.Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

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25 - Jake Duzsik from HEALTH

Thu, 12 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

It’s funny how your music tastes change as you grow older. In many ways, I like music which is angrier, heavier, dirtier and more violent than when I was younger. My brief flirtation with metalcore as Killswitch Engage rose to prominence in 2002 with Alive or Just Breathing, led to heavier things like Darkest Hour and The Dillinger Escape Plan, but it was only after Anti-Flag pointed me in the direction of politics and Rise Against steered me towards hardcore that I realised the things I enjoyed most about those bands (among others) was actually the fervent catharsis of hardcore. That's what I was really attracted to.But it had to have melody too. There had to be some kind of vocal hook. I put this down to being a singer, and is perhaps part of the reason why Funeral for a Friend, Alexisonfire and Thrice had such a significant role in my growth as a songwriter.I digress.What I’m trying to say is that over the years I’ve grown to appreciate heavier stuff whilst apparently (and subconsciously) expanding my taste in various different directions. Yet electronic music always remained a mystery to me, and for the most part it still does. There’s something sterile and clinical about it; I often get the feeling that there’s no ghost in the machine, that those binary sounds bring about a coldness which somehow traps any emotion inside an icy, digital prison.However, I’m human, and I’m a hypocrite. I love Nine Inch Nails and recently I stumbled upon, and have found myself falling in love with ,HEALTH.Those two bands are probably bad examples. Both are still fundamentally rock bands. Both are still heavy despite (certainly in the case HEALTH’s recent album, Death Magic) anchoring their songs with pop melodies.I guess no matter how hard I try to branch out, I’m still listening to and discovering music with the same patterns regardless of genre.Make no mistake about it though, HEALTH are an now an electronic band and much to the chagrin of “guitar music” lovers, in Death Magic they have released one of the heaviest albums of 2015. It’s just so goddamn loud. Yeah it’s electronic in places, and yes there’s hooks flying at you from all angles, but there’s blastbeats, riffs and walls of noisy guitars.And it’s all swaddled in the kind of production that no mainstream rock producer can even touch.Plus that fervent catharsis I mentioned earlier on? It positively seeps from the very pores of this record.You can see why I wanted to interview them.I sat down with singer/guitarist/noise-maker Jake to have a chat about the band, his punk rock origins (we share that in common) and why the album took six years among other things.Highlights include:

Enjoying Rihanna and the perfect pop song
The Rihanna industrial songwriting process
Streamlining the music process and perfecting the craft
Neuroticism about their music and why it took six years to write Death Magic
How being on the road for two and a half years, and working on Max Payne 3, delayed Death Magic
Refusing to abandon something for the sake of putting out an album – they had to be happy with exactly how it sounded
Making a heavy record that has different production from metal records
How heavy music isn’t tasteful
Rihanna songs hit harder than most rock albums because of the production
The Haxan Cloak, The Body and the production of their records
Health are not background music, and they wanted to make a visceral record
Taking modern hip hop production and applying it to a noise rock record
Musical progression, incorporating melody and moving away from noise rock
And much more

I feel this conversation had a really natural flow, and I’m so grateful that Jake took the time to chat with me, particularly given that there were some time constraints.I hope you enjoy the episode.

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24 - Pat Thetic from Anti-Flag

Thu, 05 Nov 2015 13:00:57 GMT

On this episode I have Pat Thetic from the band Anti-Flag, and you might wonder why Anti-Flag are important to me.Regular listeners probably know that my journey into the world of punk rock began with The Offspring. They were the portal into a world which I’ve spent the last 18 years in, staying curious and walking between the different lands that each specific genre of punk rock music occupy.But that punk rock journey did not start off political. The first record I bought, Americana by The Offspring, is half party record, half teen angst. It was very much of its time and as a 12 year old boy I played the CD until it warped. I think I spent a good three years with that as my sole musical focus.I still have that very same CD and at some point along the way, I picked up the sheet music to it as well. In 2001, after Conspiracy of One was released, my first ever show was The Offspring in the SECC, supported by Caffeine and AFI.Fast forward a year and at some stage a friend of mine let me hear ‘Die for Your Government’ by Anti-Flag, and I subsequently downloaded a bunch of their stuff. I was no stranger to political music – I was and still am a huge Rage Against the Machine fan – but it never moved me to action. Rage’s political fury was righteous but it never rang true for me.During the download binge, I came across Anti-Flag’s ‘9/11 for Peace’ and it changed the game. For the first time I saw the power of politics in music; I realised that a song can be a powerful vessel for a political message, it can be a call to action. It can mean something more than a song, than a piece of music. It can represent the fullness of an idea.The power of those messages, combined with the essays that Anti-Flag fill their album sleeves with, was an inspiration to me.My own songwriting process has been inherently political ever since. I have Anti-Flag to thank for that.My chat with Pat (ohh, it rhymes) is very laid back, open and honest. He’s a great guy who is as politically engaged as you might expect. Highlights include: Finding punk rock communities in every country they go to Pat’s enjoyment of the punk community and how the DIY ethic brings people together The DIY ethic of A-F Records and how that keeps them connected to the punk community The difficulty of staying touch with the punk community when you tour so much But also being addicted to touring despite how unhealthy it is for life Making the transition from normal life to tour life and the fiction that causes The meaning of American Spring and the purpose of the album’s message The Ukraine situation and giving power to the people When things go to violence, no one ever wins The population always has to go with a nonviolent way of revolution The great reception of American Spring and how playing songs live almost has no value because of the way the fans interpret Anti-Flag’s music is always a dialogue When Pat realised that being in a band is something he needed to do We talk about the independence referendum Art getting work done is more important or valuable than music that makes you just feel good without a message The problem with punk being overwhelmingly white and maleI was really happy that I had a chance to speak with someone from a band who had such an important influence on me. Over the years, Anti-Flag have fallen away from view. My listening habits went in a slightly different direction. However after hearing American Spring and speaking to Pat, I’m sure I won’t let that happen again.I hope you enjoy the episode.

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23 - John Niblock from Vasa

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:21:51 GMT

Someone in a local music scene somewhere is always talking about how they watched band X grow, or how they’ve seen their music mature over the years. I’m not gonna be that guy. You’ve heard it all before.I knew John before I knew of his band Vasa. Our paths crossed when he was somehow added to the writing staff of Daily Dischord, a music website I used to (sorta still do?) run. I’ve seen him grow as a writer and over the years I guess his band have just always been there. Once I heard about his band, once I met the man himself, they seemed to be omnipresent in the Glasgow music scene and wherever his band was not, John was.I’m not going to talk about how much Vasa have changed since 2011. What I’m going to say is far more direct – their debut album ‘Colours’ is a triumph. You’ll hear us talk extensively about the record itself in the interview, but I think it’s important to mention how interesting it is. It’s dynamic, with huge production, odd and engaging arrangements, and with no shortage of hooks.Their ascension has been as well earned. Their star will, I think, continue to rise.This is the first interview I’ve ever conducted at home. I went mic to mic, breaking out the SM58 and leaving on the capsule mic for some ambience. There’s weird noise in the background from time to time, and occasionally you can hear us laughing for what seems to be no reason – that’s because my pet rabbit was out and about, causing trouble and generally being an adorable wee bastard.Highlights include: How he’s waiting for the band to say something incredibly stupid in an interview Having been sitting on the album for ten months The reason Cynthia was added to the album Heavy, happy post rock Blaine as the primary songwriter Being heavier than most post rock bands Moving away from being a post rock band to just a general rock band And not being a math band The attraction to playing instrumental music stemming from hearing This Will Destroy You How Europe is so far ahead of the UK when it comes to playing shows and having friendly promoters with receptive crowds Shout out to Bloc in Glasgow for being one of the very few places that have a European style outlook on music – free entry, rider, food and payment Ruminating on why European shows are different from British ones John Niblock Loves Mudvayne (In a Non Ironic Way) Getting into bass, learning from Intronaut and Primus The John Niblock Toilet Graffiti Nexus and a shout out to Fecking Bahamas Why bass and not guitar Writing hooks in songs and how Blaine has a natural talent for writing them Asinine questions in interviews about the lack of vocalist and the origin of the name Where the drive to keep touring comes from Love for the new defunct The Darien Venture, Crusades and DIRTDRINKER The annoyance of not seeing bands fulfil their potential Being a relentless gobshite and talking to everyone The Creative Scotland application process The album recording process at The Ranch with Neil Kennedy and Daly George And my embarrassing bandsJohn's one of the easiest guys in the world to chat to and I think that come through in this interview. I hope you enjoy the episode.Featured MusicIntro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Vasa - The Angry DomeVasa - Ergonomic KeyboardVasa - Poseidon's KissLinksYou can buy their debut album over on their website. The vinyl is beautiful. Buy one.You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.Shoutouts to Bloc and Fecking Bahamas.Photo courtesy of Monster Sound Collective.You can see the John Niblock Toilet Graffiti Nexus here.Questions? Feedback?You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.Social MediaI’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.Check out the Facebook page.Or you can get me on Twitter.Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing. New episode! I spoke to John from @vasaband about their debut album, Euro tour and bass inspiration: https://t.co/Ca7IoACWxi — The Curator Podcast (@thecuratorpod) October 29, 2015

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22 - The Sinking Feeling

Thu, 22 Oct 2015 10:18:31 GMT

On this episode I have The Sinking Feeling. They’re a really awesome Glasgow band and basically they deserve all of your attention.Like a few local bands I’ve grown to like, I first came across The Sinking Feeling when Steven from Struggletown Records started talking about them. At the moment we’re sorta in the middle of this grunge and emo revival thing, only the bands are not as contrived and as trite as they were in the direct aftermath of both those musical trends.If you haven’t heard the band before then perhaps the most obvious bands to compare them too are perhaps later Title Fight, The Promise Ring and Tiger’s Jaw.The band were nice enough to allow this interview to take place in their practice space, which also turned out to be the same place I interviewed Steven.This is perhaps the most comfortable and easily the most free wheeling chat I’ve had so far. Originally I had three mics on the go, with the band sharing two and one for myself but because of the different levels of speaking I had to pair it back to my backup mic – the capsule mic on the Zoom H6. The result is really ambient, so you get the sound of bottles clinking and people moving in their seats etc.I think it gives it a really cool rough and ready feel, and makes it feel quite laid back. Let me know what you think of it, if people are a fan I’d be keen to do more like this. It's also way less hassle to set up.• Be yourself, never die• The genesis of the band at Langside College• BB King, Eric Clapton, Santana’s Smooth and Jo’s orchestral background• Paramore and Christian bands• A bit of religious discourse• The Sinking Feeling – patter thieves• How disparate influences actually united the band• The introverted nature of the band• But always appreciative• The subjectivity and selfishness of art• Some words about Tumblr…• Lots of love of Ian Mackaye• And lots, lots more awesome chatI later found out that this was the band's first interview. I rather suspect there will be many more.I hope you enjoy it.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).The Sinking Feeling - UglyThe Sinking Feeling - SkeletonsThe Sinking Feeling – Snakeblood

Links

All of those songs and more can be found over on the Struggletown Records bandcamp or over on their own bandcamp.You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

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21 - Casey Crescenzo from The Dear Hunter

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 10:26:00 GMT

This podcast is primarily about creativity, and over the course of the past twenty episodes I’ve spoken to some pretty productive people. Casey Crescenzo is probably amongst the most productive. Over the course of ten years The Dear Hunter’s oeuvre is as impressive in its scope as it is in its musical diversity, with their album/EP collection ‘The Color Spectrum’ 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 you’ll find out when you listen to the podcast, Casey is the kind of guy who treats songwriting like a job and it’s this approach which many productive artists seem to share in common, whether they’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. There’s no lengthy story in this week’s show notes about how I first got into The Dear Hunter. Instead, all I can offer is rumination on their music – it’s deep, it’s cinematic, it somehow feels weighty. How people classify progressive rock music is anyone’s guess, but to me this just feels like epic rock music, and that’s why I’m drawn to it. It’s bursting with ideas, it’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. There’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 “prog rock” and the diversity of that genre
He tries not to pigeonhole the sound because it can limit the creative scope
The music he grew up on sounds nothing like his band
Casey thinks that perhaps one of the reasons they aren’t a huge band is because they aren’t in a specific genre
Coming from a creative household and when Casey remembers wanting to be a guitar player/songwriter
When people who consider themselves high art conduct interviews like they’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 they’d seen the pitfalls of being a career musician
His parents worry more about Casey when he does something different as opposed to worrying about the pressure of the work
“Do the thing that you believe you should do – don’t worry about what they’re going to think until it’s too late”
“The moment when I worry about people think is when an album is finished, mastered and ready to go out”
On the fear of having your art accepted - “As a creative person it should only be self-expression, but that’s the scariest thing: if you’re doing it only out of self-expression, at some point it goes through a filter and becomes a product…and it’s up to whoever buys it to think whatever they want about it.”
Wanting people to take away something from a record that you put into it, and hoping that the opposite doesn’t happen
Wanting to give people what they want after letting him do The Dear Hunter for ten years, but it doesn’t have any bearing on what he’s doing when he’s doing it – only after the creation is complete does the hope and fear set in
It’s taken a lot of hard work to find an audience for The Dear Hunter
It’s good that there are musicians out there that still makes music that makes people think and isn’t all about creating hits
Music as a product is okay, but it’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 more
The discipline of creating music and treating it like work comes from his parents
The feeling of euphoria after completing a piece of work is worth any amount time or work
We chat about the graphic novel for Act I
How Kevin Pereira making the orchestra for Act IV happen
How Act IV is like the culmination of every element The Dear Hunter have incorporated into their sound
And a whole bunch more stuff!

Casey is a very open and honest guy, and his passion shines through in this interview. I hope you enjoy it.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here). The Dear Hunter - The Old Haunt The Dear Hunter - Wait The Dear Hunter - Ouroboros I make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

'Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise' is available now through Equal Vison Records. You can get it, and the rest of their discography, over here. Please check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

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20 - Sean "Slug" Daley from Atmosphere/Rhymesayers Entertainment

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 09:33:01 GMT

WARNING: I recorded this interview on my phone due an SD card issue. The audio quality is dicey. The chat itself though? Awesome. Slug even recorded an intro for this one!On this episode of The Curator Podcast I spoke with legendary rapper, and one of the founders of Rhymesayers Records, Sean ‘Slug’ Daley from Atmosphere. It was an interview that almost didn't happen.We all make mistakes, right? If I listen to some past episodes I can hear my mistakes quite clearly, but at least I recorded those interviews. I almost didn’t get a chance to record this one.After a work trip to London, whereby I’d recorded some people talking at a conference, I arrived home and threw together last week’s podcast (the one with B. Dolan). I then booked this interview with Slug, and I couldn’t have been more excited.I rolled up to the venue on time and was led through The Garage’s labyrinthine backstage area into a nice room with two couches massive leather couches and of course, Slug. I sat down, pulled out my microphone, the Zoom H6 recorder that I use for all of my recording and my headphones. I turned the recorder on and my heart sank: 'No SD Card Present'.In the last blog post I briefly chronicled my “hip hop journey". While it did indeed begin with ‘A Healthy Distrust’ by Sage Francis in 2005, that year I also came across ‘You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having’ by Atmosphere. So you could say that the tide turned for me after hearing those two records.I’ve been a fan of Atmosphere ever since, and talking to Slug was a momentous occasion for me (and hopefully for this podcast). So you can imagine how I felt when I realised that I had no SD card in my recorder.I told Slug about my stupidity and he suggested using my phone. I pulled out my iPad to check my questions only to find I had no mobile signal backstage and thus no way to access my questions…We looked through my iPad for the voice recorder app - it was conspicuous in its absence. In the end, we used my phone and I just did my best to try and remember all the questions I’d written down.The resulting interview is shorter than I’d have liked, but a lot of time was taking up by trying to find a solution to the various problems I had. Is it possible to look less professional than I did that day? It seems unlikely.In the end though, we had a cracking conversation that went in a couple of unexpected directions. We lingered a little more on Slug’s creativity than I expected, which was ace. I had a bunch of questions about Rhymesayers that I just couldn’t remember, yet the insights he gives are utterly fascinating and absolutely made the hassle worth it.Highlights include:*Getting more sleep on the road than at home*Rhmyesayers being 20 and how Slug doesn’t really reflect on their legacy because he’s so focused on what his community are doing*The search for the perfect song*How to know when you’ve written that perfect song and how close Atmosphere have come to it*Being more an introspective lyricist…*But also appearing to be even more introspective when writing about fictional characters like on ‘When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that Shit Gold’*The dichotomy of how being an artist who makes art for a living can be both fun and a curse because of how dependent people get on having to make art to make ends meet*Slug embraces that dependency as part of his relationship to music*“Just because people might like a song or two I’ve made has no bearing on how I see myself”*The importance of having passion*How passion and hunger has changed the longer Atmosphere have been doing this*Some Prince chat and the “genius” of Prince’s Batman recordAfterwards Slug showed me out and he went to speak to the fans in the queue outside the venue. I’ve never saw an artist do that before whilst I’ve been in their company. It was very fucking cool. Slug is one of the nicest and most intelligent dudes I’ve interviewed on this podcast and I could have spoken to him for hours about his craft.And of course, later that night Atmosphere absolutely crushed it. I love seeing hip hop live, it’s a concert experience unlike anything else.Maybe next time I’ll chat to Ant. I hope you enjoy this episode.Featured MusicIntro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Atmosphere - Pour Me Another (Another Poor Me)Atmosphere - Fortune'Pour Me Another' can be found on the album You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having.'Fortune' is on the latest official Atmosphere album Southsiders.

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19 - B. Dolan

Fri, 02 Oct 2015 09:48:00 GMT

As I get older I find myself growing to appreciate hip hop more and more. In my teens it didn’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 “alternative” music.A lot of that chart music was hip hop and no, it wasn’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.That’s not to say that it is impossible for popular music to carry a message. Now that I’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 “underground” hip hop, with Sage Francis at the head it.At the risk of coming across like a snob, I’ve always found the entry point for hip hop music to be quite high. Perhaps it’s because I’m a snotty punk kid at heart – those short, sharp stabs of music are certainly designed to make you think, but the message is fleeting, it’s difficult to hold onto before you’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 I’d fallen into. It’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 station
A shout out to Passion of the Weiss
Obession with music
An almost encyclopedic knowledge of hip hop
A little bit of Prince
Recording and producing 'Kill the Wolf'
B. Dolan's evolution as a songwriter

B. 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 should see him.I hope you enjoy the episode.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).B. Dolan - AlrightB. Dolan - Which Side are You On?You can find 'Alright' on the album Kill the Wolf, which you can find over on Strange Famous Records. I make no claim to the copyright of these tracks.

Links

You can find B. Dolan on Twitter, Facebook, Bandcamp and his website.The Passion of the Weiss interview can be found here.

Thank you!

My thanks are eternal to you and everyone else who has listened to the podcast and helped me get it to where it is. If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I’d love you forever and ever.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

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18 - Alan Bissett: Novelist, Screenwriter, Playwright and Activist

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 23:06:09 GMT

My guest on this episode is renowned author, screenwriter and playwright Alan Bissett. If you don't know him from his excellent prose and theatre work then you may know him from how active he was for the Yes campaign during the 2014 Scottish Referendum.But to me, he's a novelist first and foremost. He'd probably disagree with that, yet that's how I got into his writing so I guess that'll always be my perception of him.When I began studying Scottish Literature in first year of university, I was motivated (in no small part by some weird sense of cultural nationalism) to spend the time away from the course texts and to absorb other Scottish writers. Trainspotting is a book we're all familiar with, and naturally that happened to be the only Scottish novel that I'd read going into uni and the relatively older age of 24. That book then turned up as a course text in my first year because, well... why wouldn't it?Re-reading it, and realising I had access to a huge library and a vast reservoir of Scots literary knowledge, I spent my time in between essays, exams and course texts pulling as many different books as I could from between the stacks of the Glasgow Uni library. I devoured Kelman, Crichton Smith, MacCaig, Gray, Spark and then moved onto more contemporary authors like Bissett, Louise Welsh and Robertson among others. Boyracers was one of the first contemporary novels I read.I went on to read Pack Men, as it was his most recent at the time, and then Death of a Ladies Man. Welsh was important to me because it demonstrated that people could write in Scots and "get away with it"; Kelman was vital to my literary development because it was the first novel I read in Glaswegian, and it contained characters the likes of which I'd met in my own scheme when growing up; but Bissett was more relevant, largely in part because I found it easier to identify with teenagers from Falkirk than I could with twenty-something heroin addicts in Leith or a blind guy in Glasgow. As I look back on that period of voracious reading, I now know it was because the community he depicts in Boyracers, and later again in Pack Men, is so similar to ones I know.This podcast is a very cerebral chat. I hope you don't find it too dense. Highlights include:

Creativity always seemed natural, he kept coming back to that when he was young
Came to realise writing was a career when he was doing a PHd
Being shortlisted for the Macallan Prize is when he realised writing was a thing
Coming from a TV household with no creative family
You only start to realise the themes of your writing when people start to talk to you about
Scottish writing and the themes of identity of community, and how those mainly seem to come from writers who are not from the landed gentry
How Alan finds this to be more powerful and valuable than writing about rich people having drawing room affairs
The object of growing up is like to get out of your community and how that leads to a sense of guilt when you do
How current writers that he’s been working with seem to reflect the difference in community now than in the generation before – Boyracers was filled with hope, but it’s hope that the current generation of teenagers don’t feel
There’s a generation of young theatre makers like Steph Smith, Catrion Evans, Kiron Hurly, Gary McNair, Rob Drummond and Nick Green who are doing politically explicit work
The radical spirit that theatre had in the 70s with John McGrath etc feels like it’s coming back
Yet it’s harder for Scottish novelists to be political because of the global competition
It’s very difficult for political novels to get through
How Late It Was, How Late was prophetic about the struggle people face with the DWP now, despite it being written in the mid 90s
People want to escape reality instead of experience or read about what people actually feel say and do
American cultural colonisation is greater than ever despite the narratives of big media franchises like Game of Thrones or Marvel films not being culturally specific
Our obsessions with these universal cultures mean that local cultures – their stories, dialects, art – are slowly being erased and neglected
But that’s not to say we should protect our cultures by allowing them to remain untouched, rather there should be cultural spaces where local culture still exist – we must preserve minority culture
It’s difficult to know what our default cultural tastes would be when entertainment is controlled by media conglomerates
The artist’s that feel that they have some kind of social responsibility at least signals that they are willing to make a stand that’s bigger than just them as an individual
We get caught up in the rights of the individual above all else and it’s not surprise because that’s capitalism but we have to perverse the work that we do
Moving to writing plays is as much about the economic reality of writing novels and how difficult it is to pay bills as a full time writer when it takes a long time to write a book
Many novelists are stimulated into over production because of the fear of having their livelihood taken away from them, Alan can’t work like that
There’s also an energy in Scottish theatre that wasn’t quite there in Scottish literature
Theatre is more immediate but a novel is more powerful because of the mental experience is deeper
Yet a play can react quicker to current events whereas a novel takes time
The full scale demolition of masculinity in Death of a Ladies Man
The alpha male pursuit to anoint great works of literature
And how that pursuit can be destructive, and the way that has affected the mental health of many great writes, such as James Joyce
However ambition is required to power you through being creative
Yet a lot of female writers have a completely different mindset, which often makes them better writers
The Caledonian Antisyzergy and the dual identity of Scots which is reflected in referendum result
The referendum was Scotland finding out what it is was – Scotland doesn’t know what it is or what it would spring towards whilst it’s still part of the union
Alan finds that interviews aren’t fun anymore because they talk about politics…
So we make it fun by talking about Marvel
And the seemingly infinite expansion of franchises
We have a shared love for blockbuster moves despite them being more disposable than ever
Alan’s favourite film is Jaws and compared to current CGI films, it feels so handmade
The shift in the 70s in blockbuster films which shook everything up in terms of how big budget films are made, and how that shift would not happen now because of CGI
We agree Marvel Studios are good at retaining artists’ singular vision in a big budget blockbuster setting
Disney used to feel like a benign company that used to make kids films every year, and now they seem to run Hollywood
There are, however, more nourishing forms of entertainment
WHY ARE ADULTS WATCHING KIDS FILMS?! And whey to complain about them when they’re not FOR adults?
Society aims to keep us in a state of permanent adolescence
Some Scottish Literature chat – James Robertson is a genius, he’s so far ahead of every other Scottish author. Also, Louise Welsh, Kirsty Logan, John Niven, Sophie Sexton, William Letford, Richie McCafferty, Laura Marney, Rodge Glass, Zoe Strachan are all people to watch
Also James Hogg – Confessions of a Justified Sinner is ESSENTIAL literature

Lots of show notes here. Apologies for the length of the post. I hope you enjoy the episode!

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Suede - The Next LifePink Floyd - Comfortably NumbMartyn Bennett - MoveAll music can be purchased on iTunes and the digital retailer of your choice. Or in a record store. You know they still exist, right? I make no claim to the copyright of these tracks.

Links

Go buy any of Alan's books from a book store. A bricks and mortar one. That’d be well good.You can see his website here to see what he's upto in the theatre world. His twitter and facebook are also pretty cool.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

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17 - Jim Adkins from Jimmy Eat World

Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:48:14 GMT

The old adage boldly states that you should never meet your heroes, and I guess that's said by people who've experienced meeting their heroes and being bitterly disappointed by it. I can gladly say that with Jim Adkins, that's not the case.I first saw the video for 'The Middle' on Kerrang! TV way back in 2001. I didn't have satellite or cable TV at the time because my family weren't particularly well off, and I think I came across it when I was at the house of my then girlfriend. I was 16 years old.I've carried Jimmy Eat World around with me ever since. Bleed American is an important album for me, it demonstrates a grasp of pop sensibilities that never felt like a compromise, that always felt natural and heartfelt. So meeting Jim was one of the most daunting things I have ever done. He is one of the nicest guys I've ever met and so incredibly grounded despite the huge success Jimmy Eat World have had.As we grow older a lot of the music we used to like loses its shine, your tastes change and things fall away (I think I still have a couple of Korn and Marilyn Manson albums kicking around back at my mum's house, and I think that says it all really). For my particular tastes, punk has always been the exception to that rule.Jimmy Eat World are not, of course, a punk band. Yet there's always been something about the honesty of their music which resonates with me even as I grow older. In my opinion their music has a timeless quality which goes beyond genres or trends.Jim talks about it briefly in the interview, and I think he's right when he says that if you create honest music you'll create an honest connection with people that sticks. And that, I think, just about sums up my feelings on Jimmy Eat World's music.Highlights include:

Jim opened himself up to the possibility of doing anything this year and it turned out to be a solo record
That doing it on his own is a somewhat terrifying but its good when it’s done
Being a musician and a music fan came at the same time for him
He’s only recently come to the realisation that being a musician is what he does
His drive to keep writing is the desire to keep challenging himself
Having to keep the songwriting muscles active or you risk losing your edge
It’s okay to write something crappy
You never know where an idea is going to land, you might cannibalise it later for another thing
Adversity teaches you something, self-growth is almost like inspiration but not all art has to come from pain
Songwriting fills a void nothing else does
None of the band had any idea they’d last as long as they did and it just kinda turned into something successful
If you’re honest with yourself about your interests, people will get it and come along for the ride with you
If you’re honest with yourself about what you find rewarding then people will have an honest connection with you that sticks
Me being starstruck with Jim
And Jim being starstruck with seeing Heart
Jim still gets excited to see where the set goes
The single series was brought about almost as an experiment
It’s a lot these days to ask people to check out an album
The music industry has changed – some avenues are seen as exposure and others and viewed as money making schemes
The solo stuff is inspired by the 50s/60s songwriting construction – more concise songs

Jim's solo stuff is cracking and I urge you to check it out. It gives you a totally different insight into his musical abilities and there's something really refreshing about the way he delivers his version of 50s and 60s style pop. It's not trite or cliche, it's just honest and concise. A trait many artists would do well to recognise.I hope you enjoy this interview and I apologise for my nerves. And also the chewing gum.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Jim Adkins - I Will GoJimmy Eat World - KillJim Adkins - Girls Just Wanna Have FunI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.'I Will Go' and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' can be found on Jim's solo EP/7" single series, which you can get on iTunes and here.'Kill' is from the album Futures which is amazing.

Links

Check out Jim on Twitter and Facebook.Jimmy Eat World can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you!

My thanks are eternal to you and everyone else who has listened to the podcast and helped me get it to where it is. It’s no longer on the front page of iTunes but YOU can help me get back there. If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I’d love you forever and ever.

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16 - Joshua Bannister from Milk Teeth

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 09:23:24 GMT

This is the last of the interviews I conducted at Hevy festival back at the start of August, and is a pretty great short and sweet conversations with Josh from Milk Teeth.The band had just played their set on the main stage not long before this interview, and in a bizarre twist of fate it turned out that Josh and Becky were being interviewed by the people who were in the tent next to us mere moments before this chat.You'll also be glad to know that I was sober for this one.Highlights include:

Playing shows both for the fans that love it and for themselves
Creating art is selfish, even when you’re doing it to a crowd
Being okay with the fact that not everyone likes your music
They used to get angry that people wouldn’t be into their music at shows but now they do just do it for themselves and for the fans that love it
You have to want to do it because you need to go through playing to people who don’t care and busting your ass for very little before you get to the place where people appreciate you
Being very humble about the opportunity he and his band have to make music
Elliott Smith and the way he stopped wanting to play live but had to do it anyway
You have to be realistic with yourself and your motivation because you never know when that passion will vanish
Why the band don’t play songs from their first record anymore
How the meaning of songs can change over the years
Honesty is absolutely key on stage

Josh is a really intense dude who quite clearly loves playing music more than anything else. Milk Teeth's music might be closer to grunge than anything else, but Josh's songwriting style is more akin to someone like Elliott Smith in its thoughtfulness.After this interview we spent another five minutes talking about the brilliance of Elliott Smith. I'm a big gutted that I turned off the recorder at that point but as you'll be able to tell towards the interview there was some kind of light aircraft hovering right over our heads which was making it difficult to hear anything properly.Nevertheless, despite the shortness of this interview I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Milk Teeth - VitaminsMilk Teeth - TrampolineI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.Image courtesy of Noise Cannon.

Links

You can check out Milk Teeth on Twitter and Facebook. Josh's twitter account can be found here.You can download their EP 'Sad Sack' in just about every online place imaginable, but it's best to go through their bandcamp.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.

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15 - Jeffery Eaton and Chris Honeck from Modern Life is War

Thu, 03 Sep 2015 09:40:55 GMT

I have been incredibly fortunate thus far to chat with those people whose art has affected me in various ways over the years. Jeffery Eaton and Chris Hoeneck from Modern Life is War are the guests on this week's podcast and I don't think it's exaggerating to say that their second album 'Witness' is possibly the single most influential hardcore album of this century.'Witness' started a movement. It ushered forth an era of hardcore music which is just coming into its prime. If you know Modern Life is War, you no doubt know those who are indebted to them. If you don't, take some time to check out 'Witness.' Go ahead. I'll wait. It's a short album....Done?Good.In 2008 Mod Life split up. It seemed as though they'd burned out. But five years later they reformed, surprising everyone by bringing a new album along for the ride. It seemed as though the time apart had strengthened the band and musically, it was like they hadn't missed a step.Jeff and Chris are aware of and extremely humbled by the way their legacy has unfolded. Now a part time band, they tour sporadically, still work day jobs and are a band as and when time allows. In the period between 2002 and 2008, those fearsome six years that seen relentless touring, six albums, an EP and a bunch of 7" records, their life was consumed Modern Life is War. But as you will hear in the interview, the band seem better now that there is no pressure on them to do anything. Jeff mentions how they never really spent time in the one place during those six years, never being able to settle before the next tour or record came along.Highlights of this interview include:

Having to balance the desire to not be nostalgic against giving the fans what they want in terms of an anniversary show for Witness
That the album is important to them and others, and that it’s important to celebrate it
And still being proud of the record
What kept the band’s creativity and drive going
When the ball started rolling with the band they decided to take that opportunity for all its worth because they may never have the chance again
And being shocked at being able to do it all over again
Still being shocked that people care about their band after so long
Putting out the latest record ‘Fever Hunting’ was scary because it may have disappoint fans or ruin their legacy after being away for six years
Jeff’s hunger for a truthful perspective, and how this influenced the lyrics on the latest album – the band are no longer in youthful turmoil, they’re now grown up and are talking about grown up concerns
Having a very diverse audience in terms of age
Being honoured that people want to talk to them and being honoured when people say they love their music
They don’t pull punches or fake it – they don’t write music they think people want to hear, it’s about writing music that’s necessary for their life or other’s lives
The moment they realised when they wanted to be in a band – Jeff was a huge fan of Chris’ old band
The obsession with punk is what brought the band back – there was a hole in their lives
Jeff: “I tried to start other bands but nothing feels like playing with Chris and these guys. I know them and trust them. We developed a chemistry that goes beyond playing on stage.”
They had to save their lives before they could be a band again – all the band needed was a break
How the band came back together
Going back to real life may have hit their ego a little, but it was the best thing they could have done
They enjoy being a band that has to work for a living instead of being on the road all the time
Being on tour is not a genuine lifestyle – being able to live real life is what Modern Life is Wall is all about
Hardcore and punk is working class music and you really need to be working class to make it, and Modern Life is War are working class guys
Jeff doesn’t think of the band as original – always looking for inspiration that is as deep as the ocean floor. He pays tributes to all of his influences
Jeff then asks me what my life story is and then asks me to send him my bands and stuff
Modern Life is War are still in touch with what’s going on in punk

After the interview, and after the first band played, Jeff and Chris came over to talk to us. Chris explained how he loves the way the band is now, discussing how the pressure of being in a band, having to write records, having to tour and essentially be told what to do from multiple parties created a lot of stress within. That, on top of worrying about bills and so forth seemed to be something that he did not miss. Yet, he also didn't take their current position for granted. The band are still staggered that people give a shit, that people can come out to shows to celebrate the tenth anniversary of an album. To see the same faces ten years on, to know that people related to and have grown up with this band, and how these people have grown themselves yet still are drawn back to the music is something that they seem to be continually stunned by.The band played with a smile on their faces. Jeff is not only a very humble man but he's insightful and still, to this day, passionate about punk. All qualities that were evident on stage. He asked me to email them with all the stuff I do - the podcast, the bands... all of it. No one's ever asked that before. To have someone who I respect ask about me is...Staggering.I guess, like Modern Life is War, I'm stunned that people care about this wee thing I call a podcast.I hope you enjoy the episode. It's the most inspiring one yet.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Modern Life is War - Young Man on a Spree,Modern Life is War - D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S.Modern Life is War - CurrencyI make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

You can check out Modern Life is War on Twitter and Facebook.Their records are available from the Deathwish Inc. webstore and distro.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.

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14 - Will Gould and Ian Miles from Creeper

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 23:00:00 GMT

On this episode I have Ian and Will from Southampton goth punks Creeper. At first I thought this would only be a short chat but ended up being a fifty minute half drunken diatribe on Creeper, punk, DIY and all things related as we sat around a tent at Hevy festival. And it's awesome.WARNING: I drop a "hard C". That is to say, I use the C-word.Some back story for you.When we arrived in Ashford, Kent, we procured a sizable cache of booze and jumped in a taxi bound for the campsite. Upon our arrival and much to my dismay, we found out that I was the only one on the guestlist for the festival. After contacting one of the site managers I managed to secure a pass for my compadre Craig and we made our way to the press area to pitch our tent.Originally, I had agreed with Creeper’s PR person that I would interview them between 1.30 and 2pm. We didn’t get into the campsite until 1.30 and by the time we finished erecting our tent we had completely missed our allotted time slot.Later that day, after I completed the hastily rearranged Fightstar interview, I bumped into Ian and Will and apologised for missing our interview slot. They suggested that we do it there and then, so after retreating to a safe area (outside our tent) and cracking open a crate of Fosters, we sat down and began talking.What unfolded is one of the most natural, open ended and honest interviews so far. It’s also perhaps one of my favourites. I had no time to look out my questions because of the impromptu nature of it, but what happened when we sat down was, I think, a pretty remarkable conversation.My sound man Craig does a lot of talking. Not that that’s not a bad thing. Just a notice for you.Highlights include:

Funeral for a Friend and some straight edge chat.
Creeper write music using tea, a crap keyboard and researching the themes of their records.
The Callous Heart is the culmination of an attempt to write a punk record they hadn’t heard before.
Taking influence from Jim Steinman, his middle 8s and using a mellotron.
“Borrowing” from Elvis Presley.
“The Creeper Workshop” and how the band is very hands on about everything, particularly with references to the video for The Honeymoon Suite.
Still DIY despite being on Roadrunner and how the label give them complete creative control.
Having to adopt a character on stage to perform but walking a fine line between being pretentious and stepping outside of yourself.
The character is basically like putting on someone else’s shoes.
Playing with sincerity and appreciating where they are now.
The gender and race gap in punk rock – how we need to sort out equality in the punk scene.
How the key to touring is not to party every night.
The chorus is the most important part of the song.
Caring about song craft and and trying to be better songwriters.
The Bouncing Souls, Alkaline Trio, My Chemical Romance and AFI and great choruses.
The “relief” feeling of a good chorus.
Appreciation of Bangers.

Loads of bands were mentioned too like Ink and Dagger, Samhain, Danzig, Misfits and a bunch of others.People love talking about their art and what creative influence helped shape who they are. People enjoy knowing that their voice and their art is being taken seriously, and I hope that’s what I’ve managed to achieve with this podcast.Creeper are brilliant guys who deserve to do well. I've no doubt they'll go on to do big things in the coming months.Enjoy the episode.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Creeper - We Had a Pact,Creeper - Into the Black,Creeper - The Honeymoon Suite.I make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

You can get the first Creeper EP for free here.You can pre-order This Callous Heart here.Please check them out on Facebook and Twitter.Will also mentioned a really great English punk band called Bangers who you should check out immediately after the podcast.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

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Wildcard Short 2 - Charlie Simpson and Omar Abidi from Fightstar

Tue, 25 Aug 2015 11:05:00 GMT

Wildcard short number 2 is go! On this episode I caught up with Charlie and Omar from Fightstar at Hevy Festival 2015. Even though the interview was short we actually talk about some quite revealing stuff:

The energy behind the new record
How the 10 year anniversary show is what pushed them into writing an album
How the band had to take a break or it could have been over
Chili sauce

You can also hear how I was a little drunk and how my sound guy almost ruined the podcast.I used the capsule mic on the Zoom H6 for this and I think it fared pretty well. You can definitely hear the band playing on the stage nearby but it doesn’t drown out the voices, so it gives it a nice festival ambience I guess.Other things to note about this episode:

The press area, where this interview was conducted, was directly behind the main stage. We were shielded only by a truck. The other mic I used, my Shure SM58, was completely unusable cause of the volume from the main stage.
My sound guy Craig is a MASSIVE Fightstar fan, so this was a pretty huge deal for him.
Initially we thought the interview was cancelled until we got a last minute text nearly two hours later asking if we could drop what we were doing and do the interview.
We obliged. Naturally.

I dunno how you guys feel about these short interviews. I’m in two minds – I don’t particularly enjoy conducting them because I enjoy a longer form conversation where people can answer questions at their leisure. BUT, I actually think I should do more so as to hone my interview technique.If you guys want more interviews of this length as bonus content to the regular podcast, do let me know!The interview I’m sharing this coming Thursday took place about five minutes after this one and was completely impromptu.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Fightstar - Deathcar'Deathcare' is taken from One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours.

Links

Check out their webstore here.You can find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 - Vic Galloway: Broadcaster, Journalist and DJ

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 10:46:27 GMT

There aren't many things weirder than sitting across from an experienced broadcaster and interviewing him. It's like the tables have turned. Usually Vic's the one doing the interviewing.It's also an experience which is pretty fraught with self-doubt - this guy talks to people for a living and here I am, some fresh out the box, self-styled, new media interloper talking to a guy who has literally thousands of interviews under his belt. How can I compare? Am I being judged? Is this going badly? I should have had more questions. What am I even doing? etc.It's best not to think about it.Vic's an interesting guy who's lived a lot and experienced a lot. Being in his company is an experience which can only be described as kinetic. He exudes a very unique, intense, and passionate kind of energy which is akin to the buzz one used to feel as a kid when you walked into a toy shop.Except for people like us, it's not a toy shop. It's a record shop. And we're not kids anymore. We're grown ass men who love music. From this interview I think you get the sense that Vic just absorbs everything in the world that fascinates him, wide eyed and open armed.It's infectious, sure. But most of all it's pure. There's no pretension.We cover a lot of ground in the podcast, some of the highlights include:

His current (and resurrected) band Khartoum Heroes.
Growing up with 50s rock n roll and classical music.
Adam Ant as a musical turning point.
Buzzcocks covers before his voice even broke.
Never being discouraged by his parents to pursue an artists’ life even if they don’t understand the art he makes and enjoys.
King Creosote, James Yorkston, his old band Huckleberry playing T in the Park, doing an NME Tour, playing Reading and Leeds, having music played John Peel's and Steve Lamaq's radio shows.
Hedonism, perhaps being dead now if he’d have made it at 22.
Most artists who are good get better with age.
Jim Gellatly and how it used to be much harder to get heard. Alternative music used to be alternative, now it’s seeped into the mainstream.
How he hadn’t thought about journalism at all and how he got involved at the BBC almost by accident.
How he just took as many jobs related to music as possible, like doing lights in venues, writing for fanzines, doing PR for labels, putting on club nights, DJing…
Choosing not to move to London and deciding to stay in Scotland.
The best way to keep your interest in new music is up to keep your interest varied and to mix it up. People get bored of new music because they’re not finding the good stuff.
Feeling lucky and honoured to have the job he has.
Songs in the Key of Fife – how that came about and the bands from Kingsbarns and St Andrews: KT Tunstall, The Pictish Trail, The Beta Band, the Fence Collective, King Creosote, The Withered Hand etc.
How Vic got into acting at school, was in the youth theatre and used to run acting workshops in school, how he applied to RADA but rock n roll got his soul. He hopes to go back to it one day…
Also discusses how he thinks humans are penned in by themselves and you need to push yourself to have new experiences. If you’re interested in something you have to chance your arm and try it.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther Theme,Adam and the Ants - The Day I Met God,The Beta Band - Dry the Rain.I make no claim to the copyright of any of the music in this episode.

Links

Check out Vic's BBC page here for all of his latest shows, podcasts and news. You can check out Khartoum Heroes on YouTube. Their album is available on Google Play and other streaming services.Follow Vic on Twitter!Picture courtesy of the BBC.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

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Wildcard Short 1 - Ben Weinman from The Dillinger Escape Plan

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 20:15:35 GMT

WILDCARD, BITCHES!So, I went to Hevy festival 2015 and recorded a few interviews. Some were long, and some were short. This is one of the short ones. I was accompanied by my handsomely bearded friend Craig who did sound for me. We briefly talk about his beard.Some quick insight into "press" life - at festivals you are not allocated very long with the artists you want to interview. I originally only had ten minutes with Ben. This then changed to one question. Which is fine, because if you're an artist and you're talking to press all day I can see why it would get tiring.We talk a little about how their music has evolved out of writing a record they hadn't heard to now doing things that people don't expect them to do.After the interview he said he hoped he could do this again the next time they play Glasgow. I hope so too. He was also happy I didn't ask random stock questions like "what animal would you be?" etc. I guess people are as tired of being asked them as I am hearing them/reading them.I hope you like it.

Thoughts?

If you guys like the idea of super short interviews that exist alongside the podcast then I can definitely do more of them. Please let me know!

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).The Dillinger Escape Plan - Prancer'Prancer' is taken from One of Us is the Killer.

Links

Check out DEP's entire discography here.You can find them on Facebook and Twitter.Picture courtesy of Music Radar.

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12 - Zoltán "Zoli" Téglás - Ignite/Pennywise

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 11:40:00 GMT

I understand why people do their podcasts over Skype. If you want to get good content and get it quickly then our 'connected' world makes it easy for you to do that. In time, I'll surely do interviews via Skype too. After all, it's the quality of the conversation you have which is important.While using the internet to do interviews is great, you ultimately miss that human connection. The feeling of being in someone else's company, feeling an actual connection and really spending time with a person. You're also unable to have surreal, weird, memorable moments happen to you.I've been a fan of Ignite since 2006 when 'Our Darkest Days' was released. I'm probably going on about that too much, but it's important that you understand the context: this band are one of my favourites, and way back then they hit me in a way that few others had before or have since. I love Zoli's voice, I love the message.Interviewing him was a cool experience. He's clearly a very deep, thoughtful guy and he's got the unmistakable intensity in his eyes of someone who really cares about what they believe in. None of what was said in the interview was particularly unexpected to me - I knew there would be a lot of political chat, and my questions were designed to foster that.But what I wasn't expecting was actually spending time with him afterwards. Usually you do an interview with someone and unless you know them, that's it. You leave. Go about your day and if it's a band from out of town, you'll see them and perhaps speak to them later on that night. Highlights from the conversation include:

The tale of the exploding back and how that cut short the Pennywise album tour
Interviewing the guy from Sea Shepherd and how he got involved with the Sea Shepherds
The Pelican Rescue Team and how community service made him aware of environmental issues
His story of growing up in a communist country and moving to the US
The environmental damage the Russians wrought on Hungary
Communism is Ponzi scheme
Super capitalism and North Korea
The new album and writing what you know – believing in what you do.
Reflecting on his life, upbringing and family
People don’t talk to each other cause of technology
We celebrate the commonplace our phones
Positivity culture, how it’s okay to murder and bomb places for political ends but we’re afraid to voice our opinions and be critical of more common things.
Candide by Voltaire – there’s no hope to save the world, so tend to your own patch in order to make a bigger impact on the world. If we all tend our own garden, take care of our own and take responsibility we’d make a better world.
We’re selfish as human beings, but there’s ugly stuff going on.
Music and art can drive change just like back in the 60s.
Need a bigger audience to get to the message out.

After the interview we went to the Horseshoe Bar, had some Irn Bru, walked through to Princes Square, into the Argyle Arcade and along to Sloans. Taking photos along the way, me being some kind of tour guide. That's a surreal moment that you can't get from a Skype connection.The conversation will always be king, and the human connection in that moment is what it's all about.Spending time with someone you admire when you really weren't expecting anything more than 20 or so minutes of their time? That's something you can never account for but it is a personal moment you can treasure forever.I hope you enjoy the episode.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Ignite - A Place Called HomeIgnite - Live for Better Days'A Place Called Home' is taken from the album of the same name. 'Live for Better Days' is taken from Our Darkest Days.

Links

You can buy both of those Ignite albums mentioned above here.Please take some time to check out the Pelican Rescue Team and Sea Shepherds (UK site here).And as ever, you can find the band on Facebook and Twitter. Their official website/Tumblr is here.Picture courtesy of Salad Days Magazine.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

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11 - Ewan Morrison: Author, Screenwriter and Director

Thu, 06 Aug 2015 09:24:00 GMT

I'm waiting for culture to turn dark and deep again. The culture I came from was counter culture and it was angry and introspective. It has been utterly been pushed into invisibility by the rise of "be happy" culture. The ideology of positivity. We've been recycling this forced positivity for a decade now.It's like too much health food or some advert for happiness stuck on a loop. We're thoroughly sick of it and we can see through it to the structures of repression behind it. We're tired of the lie that we can all be everything we want to be if we just stay positive and believe in ourselves.The repetitiousness of that inane self promoting grin, the fake smile of competitive consumerism and artificial camaraderie:"Yay-culture".I predict we're going to go dark and angry soon.We have to.We're not adverts for god sake.
- Ewan Morrison

Ewan Morrison is a man of many talents: an author, a journalist, a screenwriter and a director. He has written a short story collection and a number of critically acclaimed novels, contributed extensively to The Guardian and been involved in writing and direction for film and TV for a number of years. Recently his first novel Swung was turned into a movie of the same name.I encountered the writing of Ewan Morrison in 2012 when I heard about his novel Tales from the Mall. At the time I was knee deep in studying for a Scottish Literature degree. I always meant to get the book but I never did. The following year I took a module on Contemporary Scottish Literature and Tales from the Mall was on the reading list. I devoured it almost instantly. I was captivated by its unconventional style, its raw subversion of capitalism, how it questioned the very concept of identity in a consumer driven world, and the way it weaved fiction and non-fiction together as it explored what a mall is and represents on every conceivable level.The following summer I consumed his entire oeuvre.I spent so many years studying historical Scottish literature and when we did read something more up to date it was hardly contemporary - the newest thing on the reading list was Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. It was refreshing to finally observe the Scottish literary landscape as it is now, and Ewan's work is vital to that landscape. Ewan's work deals with many things that we now take for granted, and poses questions that I feel are very important in the current age - what is identity, community, individuality and the very meaning of our relationships to each other in the current, transitory digital age . We're being sold individuality as the ultimate expression of human existence, being told that there is an ideal person we should strive to be which is unlike any other. Yet when we step back we all look, sound and act the same.So far I've mainly spoken to people who are involved in punk rock - the troubadours who sing their songs outside of the mainstream, who choose to do things their own way. The parallel between a musician outside of the mainstream and a writer outside of the mainstream is clear: unless you are in the mainstream you will find it extremely difficult to make a living from doing what you're doing. The internet, with its infinite everything, its boundless choice, is forcing us to "like" the same things. In our strive to be individual, to create culture, we're reposting and retweeting all of the same content as everyone else. Our voice just blends in to the binary din.If this podcast stays outside of the mainstream, then that's where I'm happy to be.My chat with Ewan was broad, interesting and one of the most challenging, thought provoking discussions I've ever had. I really hope you think so too. It's long but it's worth every second.Highlights include:

Where Ewan's creativity began and how it's rooted very firmly in community
Nirvana, Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain - how sometimes creativity and the darkness beneath it can lead one to their demise
Being in a community of artists in the Glasgow School of Art and how he spun off into TV
Making an hour of crazy arts TV every week for STV, including getting to interview Sonic Youth and Ivor Cutler
Missing the days of artists banding together and operating outside of the mainstream
How those that do band together in the millennial age don't have much to say
But also how his generation's biggest political achievement is ironic slogans on T-shirts.
Contemporary apathy happening as an accident by way of being too positive about everything all the time
Extensive discussion about Tales from the Mall and Close Your Eyes
The way the search for individuality has paradoxically lead to the homognoisation of culture and how individuality is the engine that drives his work
Facebook, twitter, the internet, consumerism, streaming, Amazon and endless choice causing the destruction of the arts industry
How we love to see our heroes fall and are often encouraged to gloat in the failure of others as it is chronicled a minute at a time by the internet
And a massive rant from myself on why the punk community is not a community in the way we would like it to be.

It's taken me a little while to get a writer on this podcast. Well, it's taken a while to get anyone other than a musician on this podcast, so I'm extremely grateful to be able to expand the scope of this show. This podcast has always been about creativity and passion from creative people from all walks of life. In time I hope to talk to as many people in as many different fields as possible. It'd be great if you came along for the ride.We all experience and create art in different ways. I've come to realise that the themes musicians, artists and writers discuss in their work come from a very dark place. How we come to that creativity, the journey into and through it, is where the inspiration lies. Where the good stuff.It's the fuel that powers this podcast.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).Grouper - Clearing Russian Circles - Harper Lewis Swans - The Seer ReturnsAll music can be purchased on the links above. I make no claim to the copyright of these tracks.

Links

Go buy any of Ewan's books from a book store. A bricks and mortar one. That'd be well good.You can see his website here and his column in The Guardian here.

Thank you!

My thanks are eternal to you and everyone else who has listened to the podcast and helped me get it to where it is. It’s now on the goddamn front page. How cool is that? If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I’d love you forever and ever.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 - Derrick Johnston from Make That a Take Records

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:23:59 GMT

The Curator Podcast – Episode 10: Derrick Johnston from Make that a Take Records

My fascination (or perhaps obsession) with punk rock began when I was 12 years old. I heard ‘Pretty Fly for a White Guy’ by The Offspring on the radio and instantly fell in love. It’s probably a stretch of even the most liberal definition of what punk is to place that song in the category of “punk rock”, but through it I bought Americana, and from that I heard Smash and the rest is, as they say, history.

We find comfort in familiarity. The comfort zone is a very real and often very dangerous thing. How can we expect to grow as people if we never challenge ourselves? How can we expect to overcome stagnation and boredom if we never try new things? Right now I’m in the comfort zone – talking to people with whom I’m reasonably confident that I’ll share common ground with. Punk fans. Punk bands. People who I’m pretty sure had similar eye opening, brain expanding moments to the one I had back when I was 12 years old.

I have a number of interviews lined up which are definitely outside of my comfort zone, and you’ll get to hear those in the coming weeks but for now, I’m sticking to what I know.

My guest today is Derrick from Make That a Take Records. Deeker has been running Make That a Take for almost ten years. The DIY ethos that the label espouses is one that I try to follow in any of my creative endeavours (this one included). This interview reminds me a lot of the one I did with Steven Hill from Struggletown Records, and both labels seem to be cut from the same cloth: this is about passion, and helping people out, creating a supportive community and hopefully making some new friends along the way.

When I started playing live around the Glasgow music scene at the age of about 20, Make that a Take were one of the first punk record labels I’d ever knew of in Scotland. It’s also just occurred to me that they probably started around the same time that I did nine and a bit years ago. Their approach and drive hasn’t changed at all in that time, and hearing Deeker talk about the things he loves is, I hope you’ll find. Inspirational.

Highlights include:

Being in a punk band from an early age
Coming from a small town and having no other option but to be DIY
The genesis of Make that a Take Records
Stuck in Summertime and Book Yer Ane Fest.
Rubbing up against commercial interest
The success of the label
DIY gigs, finding venues and having your shit together

I hope you enjoy the interview.

Podcasting Resources

I mentioned in the intro that there’s a ton of great resources out there if you want to start your own podcast. Here’s some links to the sites that have really helped me out.

The Showrunner
The Podcasters’ Studio
The Audacity to Podcast
Music Radio Creative
Transom

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Kaddish – Treading,
Get it Together – Hole in the Head,
15 Minutes – You’re Still All That Matters to Me.

‘Treading’ by Kaddish can be found on the album Thick Letters to Thick Friends.
‘Hole in the Head’ by Get it Together can be found on the Rebuild, Recovery 7″.
‘You’re Still all that Matters to Me’ by 15 Minutes can be found on the album Together Forever.

Links

You can buy all of the aforementioned releases on the Make that a Take Bandcamp alongside a whole bunch of other really great, varied stuff.

You can find Make that a Take on Facebook and Twitter as well as their website.

Thank you!

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC10: Derrick Johnston – Make That a Take Records appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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09 - Derek Archambault from Defeater/Alcoa

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 09:43:40 GMT

Despite having somehow stumbled upon good fortune of late it’s important to remember that this podcast is still new, and that I’m still learning. I’ve heard people like Jerod Morris and Jonny Nastor over at the showrunner, Daniel J. Lewis on the audacity to podcast and Ray Ortega from the podcasters’ studio talk about how their first few episodes are now difficult for them to listen to. A feeling which presumably continues to grow the longer one podcasts for (and make no mistakes, these guys have been a part of hundreds of podcasts between them). I wonder if one day I’ll feel the same…

It’s important to remind ourselves that this is still a new thing and in these early days there will be some hiccups. Shows will ebb and flow, episodes will peak and trough and consistency will come slowly but surely.

This interview with Derek was a timely reminder at how new to this I still am. I interviewed him after Defeater had finished playing, and by that point I’d imbibed a number of alcoholic beverages. I would like to pass the responsibility for consuming many beers onto my friend, because if I’d have gone alone I wouldn’t have consumed nearly as many.

Nevertheless, I don’t think it’s altogether too apparent in the interview. I had some reservations about talking to someone after they’d just played a show – I can say from experience that after you’ve had the huge, passionate, cathartic relief of playing live that it can often take time for your head to return to a normal place.

However Derek was very gracious in taking the time to sit down and chat with me, particularly when one considers that he’s also not been feeling too great on this tour. I appreciate that he took the time to talk to me.

Highlights include:

His bionic hip
Their new album ‘Abandoned’
Signing to Epitaph records and how that’s “selling out” to some people
The narrative of the whole Defeater project
Influences from hardcore to Brit pop
Clarifying some things said in other interviews which have been mis-reported
Literary inspiration

I was eager to keep this one short because of the aforementioned circumstances – it was after playing a set, he was ill, it was getting late etc. Being in a band usually means late nights and poor sleep, even if you’re not the kind of person who likes to drink whilst on the road, so if you combine that with feeling ill then you can understand why I didn’t want to drag it out for too long.

I had some trepidation about sharing this interview. After factoring in all of the above I still felt like the interview could have went better. I’d be eager to know your thoughts on it so please do leave a comment.

I hope you enjoy it.

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Defeater – Forgiver Forgetter,
Defeater – Bled Out.

‘ForgiverForgetter’ is taken from Defeater’s debut album Travels. ‘Bled Out’ features on their last album ‘Letters Home’.

Links

You can buy all of Defeater’s and Alcoa’s records over at the Bridge 9 webstore.

You can find Defeater on Facebook and Twitter.

Derek’s other band Alcoa can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

The new single ‘Spared in Hell’ from Defeater’s upcoming new album Abandoned can be streamed below. Abandoned is out on Epitaph Records on the 28th of August 2015.

Image courtesy of Speed of Sound magazine.

Thank you!

I’m now number FOUR in the New and Noteworthy in iTunes. My thanks are eternal to you and everyone else who has listened to the podcast and helped me get it to where it is. It’s now on the goddamn front page. How cool is that? If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I’d love you forever and ever.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC9: Derek Archambault – Defeater/Alcoa appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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08 - Laurent Barnard and Stuart Gili-Ross from Gallows/Venn Records

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 08:24:12 GMT

You have to wait for good things.

This interview was the third one I conducted. It’s also the first and only episode where I’ve interviewed more than one person. This was not by design, and it was extremely lucky that I’d brought a shotgun mic with me, otherwise I’d have been screwed. I also had a friend on hand to help. So thanks must go out to David Rees. He’s a good sound recordists and an even better guitar tech.

This was a total pain to edit, particularly because Departures (who are a great band, by the way) started playing pretty much the second I hit record.

What transpired was, I think, a pretty good interview. The whole band were in the room at the time, but Lags and Stu were really the ones who wanted to talk. The interview is kind of split into two parts. Not deliberately, it just so happens that the conversation kind of went that way. First half is about Venn, second half is about Gallows. There’s a Milk Teeth track in between because goddamn they are good.

Highlights include:

The ethos behind Venn Records
The reason Venn Records was formed
How Gallows is harder to organise than it used to be now that they spread out all over the world
And how Venn is actually easier because it’s mostly done by email
How Scandinavian hardcore bands were the biggest influence on the band
When they realised that the band was going somewhere
How luck played a big factor in their rise to fame
Where they fit into the punk/hardcore scene in the early days
The way their sound has shifted over the years
The way the band has went from playing small venues to huge venues and now back to small again
And a whole bunch of great bands were mentioned: Beecher, D-Rail, Send More Paramedics, November Coming Fire, JR Ewing, Cave In, Milk Teeth, Liber Necris, Baby Godzilla (who are now called Heck) Jesus Fucking Christ and Marmozets.

This interview was quite daunting for me. I’ve been a fan of Gallows since Orchestra of Wolves came out in 2006 and I’ve also been a fan of Alexisonfire forever, so to walk into a room to be greeted by a bunch of guys I have some serious respect for was an awesome and nervy experience.

The ethos behind Venn Records really appeals to me, and their approach is refreshing compared to many other labels. It was great to hear them talk about that in the interview.

Enjoy!

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Gallows – Chains,
Milk Teeth – Vitamins,
Gallows – Cross of Lorraine.

‘Chains’ is taken from Gallows new album Desolation Sounds. ‘Cross of Lorraine’ is taken from their last album, which is self titled. ‘Vitamins’ is taken from Milk Teeth’s EP Sad Sack. You can find all of these for sale at Venn Records. Milk Teeth’s EP is also available from Hopeless Records in America, and you can find Gallows’ latest album on Bridge 9 in the US.

Be sure to check out the Venn Records website for a ton of great bands.

Links

You can find all of the aforementioned releases over on Venn Records. You can check out Venn on Facebook and Twitter.

You can also find Gallows on Facebook and Twitter.

Milk Teeth’s EP can be found here. You can also catch them on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you!

I’m now in the New and Noteworthy in iTunes. This is a pretty big deal and I’d love to get to the front page. If you could take a second to rate and review this podcast on iTunes I’d love you forever and ever.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC8: Laurent Barnard and Stuart Gili-Ross – Gallows/Venn Records appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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07 - Jonah Matranga

Thu, 09 Jul 2015 07:00:01 GMT

Usually I try (with varying levels of success) to use these show notes to provide some context for the episode, but the fact of the matter is that this one is just so rich, so loaded with meaning and intention and love and weirdness, that I’d really rather you listened to the episode and not have the surprise of it ruined.

But that’s unfair. Of course it is. You want to know what value this episode provides to you, and to do that you need context.

I’ve known of Jonah Matranga for many years, and we met once a long time ago. Everyone that I know who’s met him always says that same thing – he’s such a nice guy. That’s true, he definitely is. You get a good sense of that in the interview. He’s also a very passionate and engaging guy. At some point in the interview I ask him a question which I hadn’t seen many people ask him before, a kind self-evident one: what musicians led you down the creative path? Jonah explodes with passion about his favourite artists, the records he loved when growing up, the things that gave him that creative spark. It’s those moments that make this podcast worthwhile.

Some highlights:

Two week bursts of touring giving the illusion that he’s always on the road
Being productive
Family
Finding love in new places like Dunlop
How Dunlop became a thing (it’s his fourth time in as many years in this tiny village outside Glasgow)
How it is literally impossible to act like a rock star of any kind when you’re playing in a bowling club
How this is DIY and punk rock at its very core
Why treating people well is important and how learned how not to treat people through years of being a musician
The things that break musicians
Not having that aspiration to super stardom despite the allure of money
The Beatles, Joe Jackson, The Who, Jackson Browne, Mission to Burma, O Negative
Working with J. Robbins and how Jawbox were something of a blueprint for Far’s approach to labels
The IDEAS project

Dunlop is a small, sleepy village just outside of Glasgow. It’s about twenty minutes on the train from the city centre and feels so…distant from those big city lights. The gig took place in a bowling club; the interview took place outside next to the bowling green; the venue served food in between each of the two gigs he played that day and everyone there, young and old, had an appreciation for this man from a world away. Then there was me, some stranger who was imposing himself on what felt like the most intimate experience I’ve every had an in any venue.

All the while there’s Jonah, breathing in every last second of it, super appreciative of everything that’s going on.

That show was all for him and somehow, it also wasn’t.

I hope you love the episode as much as I do. I think it’s the best so far.

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Jonah’s Onelinedrawing – I Really Love Yr Company,
Onelinedrawing – We Had a Deal,
Jonah Matranga – It’s the Skin.

‘I Really Love Yr Company’ and ‘It’s the Skin’ can be found on Jonah’s bandcamp alongside a whole bunch of very cool, very amazing stuff. You can find ‘We Had a Deal’ on the Onelinedrawing album ‘Volunteers’ over on the Jade Tree Records bandcamp, or on any streaming services you care to imagine.

Links

Jonah is a very active internet user and his website is a magical place where you can see awesome stuff and get in contact directly. Also, the IDEAS Project is cool as fuck. Be sure to check that out.

You can also find Jonah on Facebook and Twitter.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC7: Jonah Matranga appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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06 - Kenny Leckie from Carnivores

Thu, 02 Jul 2015 12:08:34 GMT

This podcast is now four weeks old. Which is weird. I feel like I’ve been doing it for a lot longer.

Of course it probably doesn’t seem like I’ve been doing it for very long when you listen to it but these things take time. I’m learning as I go. Trial by fire ‘n all that.

On this week’s episode I have Paisley’s second favourite son (after Paolo Nutini, I guess) and St. Mirren enthusiast Kenny Leckie. He also plays in a wee band called Carnivores. They’re pretty good.

When I told my friend and fellow Carnivores fan that I had interviewed Kenny his immediate reaction was, did you ask him where they fuck they’ve been? And I did. Sort of.

We covered a lot of stuff:

Starting out playing gigs at the tender age of 13.
Record label interest at a young age and how that affected him.
Playing 100 shows in a year whilst working full time.
How the small break Carnivores have had has helped him to feel normal.
But also how being in a band is really not normal.
Touring in cars and how being on the road makes you better.
The eclectic nature of Carnivores’ sound.
Why he dislikes guitar solos.
Moving away from political songwriting.
How older songs were informed by political apathy and how that’s changed in Scotland with the indy ref and general election.
Joe Strummer and Billy Bragg on being political artists and that Elvis Costello has more to say on politics than Billy Bragg.
Having a political hangover and how politicians must have issues.
Worst gigs –dodgy venues, fights and a crazy night in Oban.
Smalltown America records.
Not turning into a cliché.

As ever we spoke about influential songwriters, and covered a bunch of diverse stuff like Blur, Weezer, Radiohead, Wilco, Dillinger Escape Plan, Elvis Costello and The Beatles.

I honestly could have talked with Kenny for hours. It’s often difficult for me to judge how much of myself I should have in these podcasts, but when I listen back I’m usually always happy at how much space the interviewee has to speak. Kenny had a lot to say about music and politics, a lotof which I agreed with.

It’s an insightful and intelligent interview and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did.

At some point during the interview I seemed to lose the ability to speak properly. It’s hard to regulate the accent and Scottishisms when you’re chatting to someone who’s prone to the same thing. I’ll be less mumble-y in the future.

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Carnivores – Let’s Get Metaphysical,
Carnivores – Watching Fireworks,
Carnivores – James Maynard Keynes.

All of which can be found on the Carnivores album ‘Let’s Get Metaphysical’ which is out now on Smalltown America.

Links

You can buy Carnivores’ latest album on stunning pink vinyl over here.

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

The band are also on tour this summer:

July 22: Edinburgh Mash House
July 24: Glasgow Audio
July 28: Tuts Midnight Show
July 30: Belfast BWNN
July 31: Derry STA Studio
Aug 01: Portrush Atlantic
Aug 02: Paisley Bungalow

Photo by Gobo Photography.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC6: Kenny Leckie – Carnivores appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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05 - Steven Hill from Struggletown Records

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 14:38:35 GMT

In the podcasting world sometimes things change.

Originally I had planned to release an episode with Lags and Stu from Gallows but alas, it is not to be. Maybe next week.

All is not lost however, and in my attempts to be the most prepared man ever when it comes to…well, everything in life, I have other episodes queued up. So today I bring you an interview with DIY record label mogul Steven Hill from Struggletown Records.

If you’re a Glasgow native like me, and you’ve been involved in the local music scene for a number of years, then it’s pretty safe to say that Struggletown is something of a local success story. Their growth has been steady since they started back in 2011 and they’ve moved from releasing records for local bands to doing releases with international artists like Koji, Into It. Over It. Shook Ones and Death is Not Glamorous. There is surely much more to come.

We cover a lot of ground in the podcast, and I’m really eager for you to listen to it so I won’t give away too much here. Some key points:

The work/life/stress balance
The genesis of Struggletown and skateboarding
Some of the cool bands they’ve worked with
The biggest inspirations behind the label, like Dischord Records and the DIY ethos of hardcore punk music
Biggest successes and failures
Growing up around “alternative music”

And a whole bunch of bands were mentioned too: Armor for Sleep, Floorpunch, H2O, Champion, Carry On, Jimmy Eat World, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit among others.

The most heartening thing about this interview for me was how similar our musical discovery was as we grew up, and how that fed into the DIY ethos that’s present throughout all of Struggletown’s endeavours.

I enjoyed the length of this podcast and I hope you do too. Podcasting offers the listener an opportunity to spend time with a person, and in these conversations I’m just the instigator, I try my best to let the interviewee talk as much as they want for as long as they want. That way we can get to know them a little better. Sometimes that can be quite difficult to do when you’re sitting in the back of a tour van or when you’ve only been given an alloted amount of time to spend with someone. But when you get into a relaxed environment and spend a bit of time just shooting the shit with someone, that’s what really makes the conversation flow. I’m sure as I get better at this I’ll be able to make the conversation flow no matter where the interview is taking place.

I hope you enjoy it. Please take some time to check out the label and the music they offer.

You should sign up to my newsletter – I only send out one a week it and all it contains are ten cool news storys from the past week in the music/media/film and TV world.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Shook Ones – Thin,
Wolves at Heart – More to Find,
The Sinking Feeling – Not Now.

Links

All of those songs and more, including Steven’s own band Slowlight, can be found over on the Struggletown Records bandcamp.

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out their web store as well.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC5: Steven Hill – Struggletown Records appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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04 - Anthony Raneri from Bayside

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 08:13:01 GMT

As a humble podcaster who is only four episodes into his new venture, I didn’t expect to be interviewing someone I’ve been a big fan of for a while. At least, not this early on. But I did! And it was Anthony from Bayside, who are a band I bloody love. So if you think I’m gushing or something when you listen to the show, now you know why. And I refuse to apologise for it.

Once again it’s an interview that took place in the back of a tour van. It was daunting, I’m not gonna lie. Especially when their tour manager asked if I could interview Nick instead, but I held out and I got the conversation I wanted.

At some point during the interview Tiger Cub, the opening band on Bayside’s recent (and first ever!) headlining UK tour, started their soundcheck. Which was lovely and you can just about hear them in the podcast.

In this episode we discuss:

Punk rock showtunes
Not being told what you should and shouldn’t do by anyone
Why Bayside are often on the road but never feel worn out
Anthony’s new solo EP and how he composes Bayside songs
Their first ever UK headlining tour
Fifteen years as a band
Why the latest album is his favourite

Amongst a few other things.

My favourite thing about this interview is how quickly Anthony eases into it. For bands, particularly bands who have been going for a long time, interviews can be tedious. A lot of the time they’ll do interviews with journalists who are simply deployed to ask a bunch of stock questions. It’s understandable that many musicians feel a sense of indifference or reticence about doing interviews.

A podcast offers a different experience though, because ultimately the interview is about the person being interviewed and when you can hear their voice it makes for a much more intimate, and personable experience. Usually a podcast will conducted by a fan of the perseon being interviewed, and in my own case I try to ask questions that a fan would like to hear.

With a podcast you’re creating an intimate link between the speaker and the listener. Anything which can reveal new or interesting things about someone that a fan has never heard before, or that the regular listener will find engaging, is always worth exploring.

I had an absolute blast doing this podcast, and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Bayside – Stutter from the album ‘Cult’.
Bayside – Dear Tragedy from the album ‘Bayside.

Links

You can get the ‘Cult’ reissue on awesome red double vinyl at the Hopeless Records webstore here. The album is also available on iTunes, Spotify etc for your listening pleasure.

Or you can hear it on Youtube:

Thanks

Once again Boab at No One Knows Records is the man for being patient and sorting the show out for me. Also a big thanks to Butler at Audio Glasgow for the mic and Tom Aylott at Hopeless Records for setting up the interview. Good dudes. Good vibes.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box below.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

Weekly updates on what’s caught my eye in the music/film/TV/arts news this week. You can check it out here.

The post TC4: Anthony Raneri – Bayside appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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03 - Corrie Gillies from Pinact

Fri, 12 Jun 2015 11:50:50 GMT

My favourite thing about living in a city with such a vibrant music scene is that there’s no shortage of individuals I can interview for this podcast. On this episode Corrie Gillies – frontman, songwriter, guitarist and one half of Pinact was kind enough to sit down with me for a chat on the Glasgow date of their recent tour. Oh, and it also happened to be the same day they were launching their cracking debut album ‘Stand Still and Rot’.

For the tech heads amongst you, you might like to know that this podcast was a bit of a pain to edit. There was a very loud, low hum present for the entire interview which I didn’t notice at the time. I managed to fix it. For the most part. If you can hear a whooshing noise in the background that’s what it is.

It didn’t affect the conversation though and this podcast is rather fascinating.

Corrie is an insightful and intelligent guy, who despite having only been on the road a short time with Pinact has racked up an impressive amount of experience. What struck me the most about this interview is how driven Corrie is. Something which is highlighted by the sheer amount of time Pinact seem to spend on the road. If Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoah et all are your thing then really, you’ll love Pinact. They’re also loud as hell live given that there’s only a guitarist and a drummer.

Our conversation largely consisted of:

Elliott Smith
The work/life balance of being in a band which is fast gaining success
How the format of Pinact will probably evolve fairly soon
The pros and cons of touring
The passion and the songwriting process
Signing to the New York based Kanine records

And a bunch of other cool stuff. The band then proceeded to tear it up after the interview was over, which is always a sight to see.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here)

Pinact – Anxiety
Pinact – Limbs

Links

You can get the album in both digital and cassette format over at the Kanine records website. It’s also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music and all other cool digital retailers. Nice.

Photo by Guy Christie.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box blow.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

The post TC3: Corrie Gillies – Pinact appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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02 - Intruder Green from Masked Intruder

Fri, 12 Jun 2015 11:00:08 GMT

In stark contrast to the last podcast, I thought I’d throw myself in at the deep end and not only interview a member of an American band who may or may not be able to understand my Scottish accent (something which is always made worse after a few beers, I should add), but also someone who is in character for the entire interview. It made for an interesting podcast.

It’s difficult to coax conversation out of someone who is constantly in character, meaning you can never be too sure if what you’re getting is the person themselves or the character they’re portraying.

I tried to strike an easy balance – I asked some ridiculous questions which played up to the character’s persona, and some others which aimed to get to the bottom of Intruder Green’s love for music.

So I hopped in the back of a (baking hot) tour van and had a brief chat with Intruder Green whilst the band’s tour manager looked on, bored as hell.

I think our chat is fairly entertaining, and I have a feeling you will too. We covered a fair amount of ground in the short time we were chatting, such:

What’s the hardest thing he’s stolen on tour?
How do they get away with stealing stuff if the cops can always find out where they are?
How Green Day is one of his favourite bands
What it’s like to tour with The Queers, the Dwarves and Teenage Bottlerocket and be able to call them friends
How new album ‘M.I.’ is more geared towards getting girls to dance with them
And Mike Ness from Social D.

Ultimately I think it went well. I got chatting to Intruder Red and Intruder Blue later on and they were also nice, funny guys.

The gig took place in the 13th Note in Glasgow which, if you haven’t been, is akin to a sweaty shoebox. It was a pretty good example of a sold out punk rock show. The guys seemed to have a blast and Officer Bradford was in full on dancing mode. Has anyone ever had a sweaty topless police officer dance with them before? It’s not pretty. Thank god this is a podcast and not a more visual medium.

Big thanks to Boab at Punk Rock Rammy/No One Knows Records for being a patient guy and hooking me up. He’s also the best promoter in this sorry city, so if you like punk he’s the guy to go to for good shows.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here).

Masked Intruder – The Most Beautiful Girl
Masked Intruder – Crime Spree

Image taken from Aux.com.

Links

You can check out Masked Intruder’s new album on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play music and any digital retailer. Or if you want the physical version then check out the Fat Wreck Chords webstore to buy a copy. It’s also available at all good record shops if you like to be old school about your record buying. Like me.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box blow.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC2: Intruder Green – Masked Intruder appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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01 - Conor Anderson from Dialects

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 18:19:03 GMT

The best advice anyone has ever given me is to “just begin”. I’ve been ruminating over starting a podcast for the best part of a year, so here we are with The Curator Podcast. It’s hard to get over the general dislike of my own voice, I hope you guys don’t share a similar opinion. Otherwise there might be some… trouble.

I thought that for the first episode I’d interview someone I know and basically someone who isn’t short of an opinion or two. It worked out pretty well, and the result was a pretty interesting and engaging chat with a really nice guy.

Now that I’ve done a few interviews for this podcast, it seems to me that a lot of musicians are opinionated. It’s definitely not a bad thing, and I’m also a musician myself so perhaps it’s part of our DNA?

Also, doing interviews in tour vans is probably gonna be the norm for this podcast.

Conor’s band, Dialects, recently released their debut EP ‘LTKLTL’ which you can download right here. It’s a positively symphonic collection of instrumental post rock goodness and if you ever get the chance to catch them live then you shouldn’t pass it up.

In the course of our chat we covered:

Why it would be daunting to interview Paddy Considine
How Mogwai and Fall of Troy played a huge part in shaping Conor’s musical approach
Tour van vibes
How acting experience is essentially useless for curing stage fright when playing music
Celebrity name and food name combinations

And a whole host of other things. So check it out by hitting play up above, or by finding going to the iTunes link.

Featured Music

Intro: Voodoo Puppets – Electric Chair Blues (used under CC licence, you can check it out here)

Dialects – Restless Earth
Dialects – Good Luck Felix
Dialects – Spectacular Supernovae (recorded live in Nice n Sleazy)

Links

You can check out Dialects on their bandcamp page, over on their Facebook page, or you can hop on over to their Twitter page.

Photo by Andy Mills.

Questions? Feedback?

You can do either by dropping a comment in the comment box blow.
Or you can hit the contact link to show me some love by using the cool email form.

Social Media

I’m on a few social media sites, so it’d be pretty handy if you could show me some love over there.
Check out the Facebook page.
Or you can get me on Twitter.

Oh and seriously, rating and reviewing this podcast on iTunes would be amazing.

The post TC1: Conor Anderson – Dialects appeared first on The Curator Podcast.

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