At Least There’s Fest

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It's Fest week! Welcome to At Least There's Fest and boy oh boy do we have a good one for you today as Tim Hildebrand from Catbite is on the show. The Philly ska band is closing in on a decade as a group and they have created a sound within ska that is totally their own. Tim talks to us about the formation of the band, navigating Covid with some of the more unique ideas you'll ever here, and what...

Fest is in ONE week! To celebrate the end of the line we welcome in New Junk City to the show. The Atlanta band is releasing their fourth full-length record "Where Could I Go?" on Lauren Records on November 6th. The album is up for pre-order now and maybe, just maybe there will be some copies at Fest. We skip the band history on this one and talk about the new record almost exclusively. The group...

Hello Fest fans! Fest 24 is next week and we have episodes for you all the way up until Wednesday next week. Joining the show today are Greg, Bryan, and Scott of Horace Pinker. Formed in Tempe, AZ in 1991, the Chicago band has been making punk rock on their terms for 35 years now. We get into the history (some of it, at least) of the band, what they're up to in 2026 (and beyond) and how they've ma...

Hello and welcome to today's show, we have a good one for you. Joining the podcast today is Justin Belichis of the Jacksonville band, Glazed . Justin looks back on the bands early work with an ear on what they were as kids and how they were shaping their sound. We also talk about why being in a band is great and we get into the importance of "community" again, it's good stuff. Most importantly, we...

Fest kicks off officially, two weeks from today. The celebrate the occasion we welcome Drew Ringo of Sleepytime Trio to the show. Drew shares stories about how the band formed, their early touring years, and tries to establish a timeline on their recordings. He also talks about forming around DC and Richmond and how those scenes helped shape the band. Hang around for this part of the chat for stor...

Greetings folks and welcome back to At Least There's Fest. We are about two weeks away from Fest 24 and it is officially time to get excited. Joining the show today is the delightful Warren Oakes of the Gainesville band Chimes. The synth-punk band has a fun origin story which Warren shares in the episode and is returning to Fest for the 6th time this fall.  In addition to playing in Chimes, Warren...

Thank you so much for tuning in to At Least There's Fest. We are thrilled you are here and we have a terrific episode for you today as we welcome in TWO bands, Cape Crush and One Fall. The Massachusetts bands are both playing Fest for the third time in a few weeks and they are here to give us all the full scene report from up north. Ali and crew from Cape Crush released their debut full length rec...

We are only THREE weeks away from Fest 24! One of the great things about the Fest community is the giving spirit often on display and the real sense of care for those around us. In that spirit, we welcome Tim, Jeremy, and Dave from Anthem Tattoo and The Fest Grace Raffle.  The raffle, in it's eighth year, auctions off items to raise money for the Grace Marketplace in Gainesville. Listen hear to le...

It's October tomorrow! Can you feel it? To get us in the Fest mood we welcome in Tom Fowler of Sleep In to the show to talk about their new record and Fest. The New Jersey group has been around for nearly 15 years, they've played a couple of Fests and their new record " Tangled In The Vines " came out this past Friday. Tom talks about the history of the band, the unique challenge of taking over as...

We are less than a month away from Fest 24, folks! It's getting real. Joining us on the show today is Mike Rock of Teddy DuChamp's Army. Mike is a scene lifer from Pittsburgh with a real passion for music, that is clear from the jump. He talks to us about how the band formed back in the late 90s, changed names, disbanded, and is now back together. Teddy DuChamp's Army is releasing their new full-l...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest and boy do we have a fun show for everyone today as we welcome Ghost Rat to the show. The Gainesville thrash duo is made of Ryder and Lux, two 13-yeard old 8th graders who will be playing Fest for the first time this fall. We talk to the duo about how they got together, how their have gotten to be so talented at such a young age, their musical influences and w...

Greetings and welcome back to At Least There's Fest. Joining the show today we welcome the entirety of Joker's Republic! We get into what exactly qualifies as "ska", being in a band with friends from your teens, cover songs, working togethers, and growing as a band. The New Jersey group released their excellent LP, "The Hand You've Been Dealt" on Punkerton last year before Fest and it is a terrifi...

We are one month away from Fest 24 and you can feel it in the air. The leaves are changing, there's a chill in the air, and you are enjoying this chat with Scott Radinsky of Pulley during your commute or your workout. Welcome! Scott of course has been fronting punk bands since the 1980s including with Scared Straight, Ten Foot Pole, and with Pulley. In addition to his music career, Scott playing M...

Greetings everyone and Happy Friday! We are five weeks away from Fest 24 and to celebrate this joyous milestone, Todd Congelliere stops by the show.  You know Todd from his work with all of his bands under his Recess Records label: F.YP, Toys That Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, Clown Sounds, and Jumpstarted Plowhards. Many of these bands have played Fest multiple times, it is possible th...

Hello and welcome back to At Least There's Fest! We have a real good one for you here today as we welcome Mike Sosinski to the show. Mike owns and operate Bad Time Records , one of the more fun record labels out there. We ask Mike about forming the label, the ups and downs of the work, and why starting up a ska label is so important. Bad Time is a Fest sponsor this year and Mike tells us about som...

Hey! We've got a first for all of you today as we welcome our first Fest wrestler to the show. Brandon St. James is returning to Fest Wrestling again this year to defend his belt.  Brandon tells us all about how he got into wrestling, why it is so fun, what his co-workers think, and most importantly, why professional wrestling is not anything like you think it is. You can check out Fest Wrestling...

Hello internet! Welcome back to another episode of At Least There's Fest. We are getting dangerously close to Fest 24 and to mark the occasion we've got a packed house on this episode as we talk to almost all of Orange Blossom Trail. The Orlando band is new to the scene and new to Fest and will be playing the first time next month. The group chat about the evolution of the band, their changing sou...

BIG show today! Mark and Blake chat with Bob Nanna of Hey Mercedes. Bob was kind enough to chat Braid, Hey Mercedes, and his seemingly endless list of other artistic projects. Bob shares stories about playing with Braid, moving on to Hey Mercedes, his solo projects, along with his Never Ending Polaroid Project, and other endeavors.  Hey Mercedes will be playing "Every Night Fireworks" at Fest this...

Greetings and welcome back to At Least There's Fest! Terrific show for you all today as Derron Nuhfer stops by the pod. Derron has DEEP Fest/Gainesville roots as he used to be in a band called Less Than Jake, played Fest 1 with Gunmoll, and has also been active in other bands to play Fest. We talk about his decision to leave Less Than Jake, work various jobs within music, playing with Gunmoll, Cut...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest! On today's episode we are joined by Jason Rockhill. To say Jason wears many hats is a tremendous understatment. Jason fronts two bands playing Fest this year, HAWGS and Cutman. He also does graphic design work for Fest and other shows, and has been to literally every Fest ever. We talk about his new band HAWGS and his old band that is making their triumphant...

Thank you so much for listening to At Least There's Fest. Do us a quick favor, go rate and review this podcast wherever you get your podcast needs met.  Joining the show today is Adam Fletcher from The Copyrights. As an added bonus, with Mark away for the episode, we have a special guest as Jon Lewis of The Dopamines stops by to lend a hand. Adam shares some stories from the early years of The Cop...

It's the last day of August. That means tomorrow is September. That means next month is Fest. Get excited. In celebration of this big milestone we are kicking it up a notch: Starting this week you will THREE episodes a week until Fest! Kicking things off this week welcome in Laurie Cottingham, aka Brightr to the show. Brightr is no stranger to Fest and this will mark the fourth time he has made th...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest and thank you so much for listening. Joining the show today we have Jeff Caudill and Guy Julian from the Southern California band, Gameface. The group has been around in one form or another for over 30 years and they are gearing up for their second Fest performance this fall.  In the episode we try our best to cover 3+ decades of band history and Jeff and Guy...

Hello Fest community and visitors alike and welcome to another episode of At Least There's Fest. Today we are joined by Jon Hernandez of Pressure Wheel. The Philadelphia based band is made up of Jon (Timeshares), Maxwell Stern (Signals Midwest), and Jeff and Dan (Restorations). It's honestly probably the most FESTIEST band that could ever be assembled. Jon talks to us about the New York Knicks, ho...