Fans With Bands

In this episode, I’m talking with the legendary Mark Farner. You may know him from Michigan’s Grand Funk Railroad. Today, Mark is on his own crafting music with Mark Farner’s American Band. It was a real treat to talk with Mark about his new album Closer To My Home which includes a bunch of new music as well as a celebratory re-recording of the classic “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)”. In addit...

In this episode, I’m talking with Alan and Phoenix from Iron Times. This new band is forging their own path while building on a foundation of massive riffs laid down by such influences as Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Black Sabbath. It is great to meet the next generation of musicians who are keeping the fire of heavy music alive. Be sure to follow their socials to stay up to date on new mus...

In this episode, I’m talking with Bronson, Ryan, and Cody from the Filthy Heathens. This southern rock band from Dayton, Ohio is a force to be reckoned with. Their new album Etheridge captures the band playing a mix of heartfelt country and hard rock. True road warriors, the Filthy Heathens are spreading the gospel of southern rock far and wide. Be sure to follow their socials to see when they wil...

In this episode, I’m talking with Caleb, Miles, and John from Low Phase. This band from Grand Rapids is one to watch. They play beautifully layered and thoughtful music akin to bands such as Pavement and Broken Social Scene with touches of Radiohead and Bright Eyes. Their new single, “I Saw You First” is a wondrous song which captures the mixture of fear and comfort that new love brings. Low Phase...

In this episode, I’m talking with Chino and Jeff from Supreme Mystic. This band blurs the lines of heavy music with a unique blend of hardcore and grunge that seeks to uplift as well as entertain. It was awesome to talk with these guys about their impressive paths through music which ultimately led to the formation of the band. As you would expect, we also talked about origin stories, first concer...

In this episode, I’m talking with Stu and Sean from Pulphonics. Just last April 2024 I had the honor of talking with these guys. They are back this year with their new album Sonic Umami Vol 2 . We talk about the new music and how fearlessly they seek to expand their horizons. The album builds off of last year’s release ( Sonic Umami Vol 1 ) while finding them exploring new realms of jazz, hip-hop,...

In this episode, I’m talking with Patrick and Jeff from Solar Monolith. It took me way too long, but I finally got a chance to talk with these awesome people about their heavy hitting music. We talked about how the band came to be and the creation of their excellent new album The Crooked Path. In addition to chatting about song writing and musical influences, we talked about one of my favorite sub...

In this episode, I’m talking with Jake from Moon Orchids as well as fans Jessica and Jeremey (who also plays on the album). I had a fantastic time talking with Jake about the Moon Orchids new self-titled album. Jake reveals the story behind the band, his approach to songwriting, and how the band got their name. As you would expect, we also talk about musical influences, first concerts, and you got...

In this episode, I’m talking with Chris “Box”, Tony, and Marc from Mazinga. I’ve been a huge fan of Mazinga since seeing them for the first time back in 2009. It was outstanding to finally talk with them and learn about the origins of the band as well as chat about their new epic album called Chinese Democracy Manifest - Greatest Hits Vol. 2 . The story behind the album name and some of the tunes...

In this episode, I’m talking with Tommy, MIke, Matt, and new guy Trey of Slumlord Radio. It was great to meet Trey who now gives Slumlord Radio a twin guitar attack. We talked about how Trey made his way into the band and the work they have been doing together to write and record new music. During our chat, Ira Briggs from the Deck in Muskegeon stopped by as he is working with Slumlord Radio on th...

In this episode, I’m talking with Brandon, Rich, and Joey from Cullossus. This was such an easy and awesome conversation - I could have talked with these guys for hours. In addition to talking about the origins of Cullossus and their super heavy music, it was a lot of fun talking about great shows they have seen, our shared love for Black Sabbath, and guitars. During our chat we also got into how...

In this episode, I’m talking with Tony, John, Matt and Jarret from Absentees. I had a blast talking with these guys about their journey into crafting their own brand of heavy hitting punk rock. We chatted about their latest EP called All the Hertz: Volume 1 which was recorded and produced by Jon-Mikal of the Idiot Kids (who are Fans With Bands alumni). Our conversation included favorite tunes on t...

In this episode, I’m talking with Jacob from The American Hotel System . Having seen them at the Sounds Like Michigan fundraiser for the Michigan Music Alliance , I immediately wanted to chat with them about their music. Their alt-rock music features great hooks and extremely thoughtful lyrics. You can experience their evocative songwriting on their recent EP called Can You Hear It? I had a great...

Tales from the Crypt! I had to reschedule my guest who was supposed to be on this week for Fans With Bands, which left a hole in the normal release schedule. However, this is a bit of a blessing in disguise! You see, when moving the podcast to Substack, there is an undocumented limit of 100 episodes that can be imported. Fans With Bands had 121 episodes, so 21 episodes from the first season are no...

In this episode of Fans With Bands, we talk with Ananda Murari . It’s funny how a chance encounter waiting in line for the rest room led to discovering this hugely talented and wonderful person. I loved talking with Ananda about his musical journey and approach to songwriting. He has a new EP called “No Coins Needed” coming out in late January 2025 with singles being released every week. Keep your...

In this episode, we talk with Jon Torrence. I had a fantastic time talking with Jon about his journey into music, his songwriting, and experience as a teacher. I came away extremely inspired and full of admiration. Honestly, I wanted to be a kid again so that I could be in Mr. Torrence’s classroom. It makes me happy knowing there are awesome musicians like Jon Torrence out there sharing their gift...

In this episode, we talk with Steve the Animal, the drummer with Unusual Mindset and Next Best Thing (a hair metal tribute band). I had a great time talking with Steve about his journey into music. This included chatting about his original work with Unusual Mindset as well as the great covers he does with Next Best Thing. He is a talented musician and it will be fun to see how his career progresse...

In this episode, we talk with Mer, Adam, Brent, Kyle, Milan and Tony from Ante-Madder. I had a fantastic time talking with them about their music, time-travel and origin stories. Their first full-length album called Psychosocial Pseudoscience is a wild and wholly punk rock rollercoaster. I highly recommend checking it out. If you are in Michigan, you can catch Ante-Madder live on December 13, 2024...

In this episode, I’m talking with Kay Harper. She is a brilliant and inspiring country artist whose recent single “Freight Train” is a streaming hit. In large part this is due to Kay’s authentic voice and storytelling. I had a great time chatting with Kay about her origins, her songwriting, and plans for the future which include a return to Nashville to record more of her music. If you are in the...

Welcome to season 5!! In this episode, we talk with Jared, Jimmy, and Brian from One With The Riverbed. I absolutely fell in love with this band the first time I caught them live at Jeff Fest in Kalamazoo. Dark, atmospheric, and blackened metal music that is brutally beautiful. It checks all the boxes on the What Does Chuck Dig About Metal Music list. It was a pleasure talking with them about how...

In this episode, we talk with Ian from Coyote Man. Talk about hard hitting grooves and powerful music, Coyote Man is stellar. Their latest track “Worthy Adversary” rips. It was super to talk with Ian about the band, their sound, their influences, and their name. Coyote Man has been very busy with gigs. However, they plan to take time this fall to record. Hopefully new music will be out next year....

In this episode, we talk with James and Brian from Head Full Of Ghosts. It was great to talk with them about their band, their latest album called 10.23, their influences, and more. This band puts a new spin on the 90’s rock and grunge stylings. In some ways I felt like I was listening to new Filter, Seven Mary Three, or Our Lady Peace when listening to Head Full Of Ghosts. It wouldn’t be Fans Wit...

In this episode, I talked with Tom Robbins the host of And Now The Band Podcast. His podcast is fantastic. Tom talks to a wide variety of heavy bands in a very casual and conversational manner. Its like you are hanging out with him and the band as they talk. It was great to hear about how Tom got started with his podcast and in general spend time talking about music. As usual, we talked about firs...

In this episode, we catch up with Stu and Sean from Pulphonics. Since our first conversation in season 3, Pulphonics have found the freedom to explore their musical ideas. This has led to the creation of their new album Sonic Umami Vol 1. On this record, they are spreading their wings and challenging themselves while creating extremely compelling new music. During our conversation we talked about...

In this episode, we talk with Ian, Elijah, Tegan, and Mer from Headless Mary. I had a fantastic chat with the band about how they got started (including the story on their name) as well as chatting about their last album called Death Is A Moving Target. If you love music that touches that vibe of bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Hum, then Headless Mary is for you. We talked about songwriting,...