Fans With Bands

In this episode, we talk with Chip and Tom from Crossword Smiles. I had a great time talking with them about their new album called Pressed and Ironed which is out now on Big Stir records . If you love great lyrics combined with interesting songwriting that calls to mind bands like Big Star and The Replacements, then you will certainly dig Crossword Smiles. On January 6th, you can check out Crossw...

In this episode, we talk with Tony Muggs (from The Muggs and Dude) about his new book called AUTOBIOGRAFFITT. This is Tony’s first book and as the name implies, it is his story. If you aren’t familiar, Tony overcame a massive stroke which impaired his left side forcing him to relearn everything and learn to play bass on Fender Rhodes keyboard. His is a true story of inspiration. Tony’s book is out...

In this episode, we talk with Jimmy, Adam, Bubba, Garret, and Davy from Convulsis. I’m so very thankful to Jimmy for hooking me up with the debut EP from Convulsis called An Evil Born From the Void. This band plays intense thrash metal full of hammering rhythms and riffs galore. It was a ton of fun to talk with these guys about their origin and their plans for new music. Best of all, we had a grea...

On this episode, we talk with Paul, Pete, Andy, and Greasy of The Strains. Many thanks to my friend Tim Meeks for telling me to check out this band and Chris Taylor for booking them on Fuzz Fest. It was so cool to get to talk with these guys about how the band got together and song writing. The Strains self-titled album is balls out rock and roll from start to finish. Get your copy over on bandcam...

Welcome to season 3! Today we talk with Earl, Casey, and Jared of Carbon Decoy. I had the pleasure of witnessing their amazing and chaotic garage rock jams at Fuzz Fest. It was a blast talking with Carbon Decoy about how they went from a project to a full fledged band. We discuss their writing process, improvisation, and their upcoming 8 song album. While we wait, you can check out Carbon Decoy’s...

In this episode we talk with Erik from Black Temple. I met Erik at the Maryland Deathfest and it turns out we have friends in common (the Centenary crew for one). Erik mentioned his band Black Temple and after listening to their monstrous music laden with blackened death, I figured it would be fun to talk about the band and the music. We chatted about how Black Temple went from a recording project...

In this episode we talk with Shaun, Jake, Kevin, and Chris from Room 101. After hearing their album Sightless, I immediately became a fan. I enjoyed getting the back story on the band and sharing a lot of laughs with these guys. Ultimately, I need to witness the ferocity of this band live. Along with getting into the band’s story, we took the usual tour into first albums, first concerts, and the i...

In this episode we talk with David and Kaylin of Von Kaiser. This was my first experience with the synthwave genre and definitely a learning experience. We talk about how David and Kaylin came together to form Von Kaiser, their songwriting process, and a bit about the synthwave community as a whole. As you would expect, we delve into first albums, first concerts, and the infamous and controversial...

In this episode we talk with Eddie and Damon of EnD. We talk about how the EnD create their mind-blowing improvisational dark ambient music. We learned that each performance is unique and that the accompanying video imagery at their live shows is random. It is hard to explain without hearing and seeing for yourself, but the end effect is a mesmerizing performance. In addition to the creative proce...

In this episode we talk with Jay and Derek of Ommnus. We talk about how the band came together during the pandemic and created their first album A Single Green Light. Our conversation gets into some of the books which inspired their music as well as the overall songwriting process. As you would expect, we delve into first albums, first concerts, and the infamous and controversial subject; pizza to...

In this episode we talk with Jon and Abigail of Bloody Butterflies. We get the inside scoop on how the band formed and how they came up with their band name. Along the way, we touch on their songwriting and naming process. During our chat we discussed how Jon and Abigail got into music, the joys and perils of practicing in the basement, first albums, first concerts, the insanity of Lollapalooza ‘9...

On this episode we talk with Pete from Hard Luck Pete and Wrong Way Streets. Pete’s family has a long history in country music. His love of music led to learning to play guitar and get his songs out into the world. We talked with Pete about his path from coming up with songs as a kid to learning guitar and putting together a band. We also touch on Pete’s writing and how that continues to evolve. A...

On this episode we talk with singer/songwriter Fernando Silverio Solis. Fernando has a series of three EPs that are being released through the spring, summer, and fall. Each features beautifully sad and touching songs with shining rays of hope. We talked with Fernando about the three releases called When The Good Starts to Fade (available now), Somebody That You Keep Around (coming out on July 22)...

In this episode we talk with Mortal Disguise. This is a fantastic technical metal band that blends thrash and death metal into their own alluring mixture. If you are a fan of Voivod, Death, and Forbidden, you will dig Mortal Disguise We talked about how Mortal Disguise got together and their writing style, particularly on their debut Abstract Dimensions. We also delved into their album artwork whi...

In this episode we talk with Phil Profitt and His Fast Fortunes. They are an awesome country band with a bit of rockabilly in the vein of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard with a voice all their own.  During our chat we learned how the band was formed and the diverse line-up of musicians that teamed up with Phil to create their unique sound. Phil Profitt and His Fast Fortunes are looking to release a p...

In this episode we had a great time talking with Tony of Dude. Tony is also in the fantastic blues rock band called The Muggs. Dude gets into Tony’s love of power pop rock with tons of infectious melodies while still being riff forward rock. We got the background on Dude including Tony’s new book project called Autobiograffitti which chronicles Tony’s interesting story of surviving a stroke and ke...

On this episode we chat with Scott, Doug, Nick, Matt, and Jeremy of Entransient. Their new album called Ghosts in the Halls is out now and is packed with fantastic music. If you are a fan of heavy progressive rock in the vein of Porcupine Tree, you’ll love Entransient and especially this new album. Our chat took a look into the writing of Ghosts in the Halls and how this new album compares and con...

On this episode we chat with Mike and Matt of Gutter Swamp. Their new debut album is out packed with heavy hitting metal grooves. You can check them out live on June 25th at the Lodge in Bay City and on July 23rd at Harpos in Detroit. Despite some connection issues, we were able to get the story behind Gutter Swamp including songwriting and how Mike got into harmonica. We dug into some fun with ou...

On this episode we chat with Erik, Matt, and Matt of Budahas. Their album called Explore is an awesome collection of big riffs that take on the stories of explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Erikson, and Cortez. Imagine Clutch or Kyuss writing a song about Columbus and you’ll get the drift. During our chat we delved into the origins of the Budahas as well as songwriting and influences. We hit on ou...

On this episode we talk with Joe, Hiran, and Richard from Among These Ashes. Their debut release called Dominion Enthroned is a blazing album of power metal that favors cutting riffs and vocals with a focus on metallic intensity. If you dig bands such as Iced Earth and Sanctuary, you’ll love Among These Ashes. While talking with the guys in Among These Ashes we learned about how the band got start...

On this episode we chat with Jeff and Justin of Bubak. This two piece drum and bass (which sounds like a guitar and bass - not sure what kind of witchcraft is at work here) crank out burly riffs of stoner / doom magic. Bubak’s latest release Vol. 3 is on regular rotation. During our chat we delved into the origins of the name Bubak (it is a scary story) as well as how the band handles song writing...

On this episode we chat with Jeremy and Paul of Lucius Fox. In a very informal poll on Facebook, I’d asked “What band should I get on Fans With Bands?” and the winner was Lucius Fox. After delving into their latest release called Red Giant, I knew I had to talk with them soon. Their music is ultra progressve and deeply fascinating with plenty of heaviness and an overall aura of “Wow”.  We had a lo...

On this episode we chat with singer/songwriter Mike Ward and fans Steve, Danny, Lori, and Angela. Mike’s most recent release called The Darkness and The Light is a showcase of brilliant stories full of emotion and played to perfection. I was reminded of Jason Isbell in that Mike is fearless in his songwriting and has the same rich vocal timbre. During our chat we got the backstory on what he means...

We had a laugh riot with Joe, Hiran, Tony, John, Dan, and Mike from Finality. Joining us were fans Stew, Vince, Donna, and Rick. While each episode of Fans With Bands includes quite a bit of fun, this one with Finality is off the charts. We learned not only the importance of pre-bedtime rituals, but that Joe was a Bob Ross child! Finality are working hard to wrap up their new album with plans to r...

We checked in with Andrew and Philip of Tyrant. Joining us were fans Kevin, Ann, Autumn, Don, and John. Tyrant have used the long pandemic layoff to release the single “Poison The Well'' and work on completing the recording of their next full album. The plan is to mix and master this spring with a summer 2022 release. Additionally, Tyrant plans to hit the road in April with more dates in the summe...