Episode 40: Downtrodder vs Camp Anarchy

Got a chance to sit down and hang out with Jake and Dave from DOWNTRODDER (sludgy/grimy politically charged punk from Philly/NJ). Cheech sat in on the pod too.

We spent the first 20 min talking about “Camp Anarchy”, a punk rock festival being run by Fat Mike. We mostly talked about why it’s stupid to pay $120+ to sleep in a tent just to see The Offspring, and why VIP packages are stupid.

Jake used to play in The Best of the Worst with Cheech and I, so we geek out about ska throughout the pod as well. Besides that we rip on things that are “wack”, and I reveal the true meaning of the song “Cotton Eye Joe”.

Episode 39: Teachers Who Rock

Elio and Liz are two friends of mine that I made through playing music, and we’re all teachers now.  We talk about what DIY taught us and how we apply it in the classroom, as well as balancing being a public school teacher and playing in bands.

It was a nice, heartwarming talk.  Tons of feel good moments <3

Elio plays in Gambo check them out.  

Liz plays in The Bad Blooms and also in TBOTW w me.

Episode 38: Jeff Hersch

Jeff Hersch is a musician/community advocate from Flemington NJ. In 2014 he helped found Flemington DIY, an all ages community space located at 90 Main Street.

Flemington DIY has been a host for show, art galleries, jazz nights, tap dancing lessons, screen printing workshops, film screenings and much more. We talk in length about the events leading up to the space existing and how it has transformed into a thriving non-profit community hub.

If you’d like to get involved or donate to the cause, visit flemingtondiy.org

Episode 37: Ernie Trent

Ernie Trent is a vocalist from NJ who fronted a few melodic hardcore/metalcore type bands throughout the years. We played together in a band called Marloneisha from 2004 - 2007. Throughout his tenure as a vocalist he also fronted bands called The Dead Season and Gray Lines of Perfection.

We talk about the scene we grew up in and how it impacted us as people. Gray Lines was a prominent touring christian hardcore band, and we discuss what that meant to him and to its members. We also speak about the criticism the band faced and the assumptions made about them.

Also covered: Hellfest 2004, which Trent performed at with The Dead Season and I fucking missed because I had lyme’s disease that summer. Damn.

Episode 36: Max Rauch

Got to do a podcast Max Rauch from LKFFCT! Max and I got to a hang a bunch recording a new album for a band I play in called Thirsty Guys. He was super nice and easy to work with. If you need reasonably priced recording in NJ hit him up.

We talk about a bunch of music stuff: the demystification of the aughts with the internet age, how we first discovered DIY, and much more. We also reveal how to pronounce his last name in this very exclusive episode. Max recently started engineering albums for bands so we talk about what he’s aiming to do and what his process is like.

The beat in the beginning was made by Max under his alius “Hamburger Boy” and the song at the end is one of tracks from his solo project “Mauch”

Episode 35: Natalie Newbold (Well Wisher)

Natalie from Well Wisher comes by to talk about their new album “This is Fine” out in a few days on 6131 Records!!

We talk about the band’s formation following Dollys, getting older and balancing music with other aspects of life, the Asbury Park scene, the writing/recording process of the “This is Fine” and more.  Check out Well Wisher’s music on bandcamp.

Episode 34: Rob Gnarly

Rob is a good friend of mine and we had a great time catching up and hanging out. He plays bass for a dance-rock band called Echo Black. They are embarking on a two month US tour in a few weeks. Check out their videos on youtube here.

Rob ran a lot of house shows in New Brunswick and Clifton from 2010 - 2015. We talk a bit about all the ragers from back in the day as well as the old thrash/metal band he used to play in called Stressed Out.

Episode 33: In Angles

Photo by Gabe Diaz

The boys from In Angles do a sleepytime podcast, wrapping up their their summer tour. We also talk about our new EP "Shortfalls" coming out next week on Choke Artist. Honestly we were tired as shit when we recorded this and I don't remember what else we talked about but check it out.

Check out our new music video for a song off the EP here