At Least There’s Fest

Greeting and welcome back to another episode of At Least There's Fest. Joining the show today are Matt Burns and Chris Pfister of the Orlando band, Debt Neglector. The band will be playing Fest for the 10th (!!!) time this fall and they released their terrific "Kinda Rips" full-length last spring. Matt and Chris share their collective musical past, the influences they pull from in the band, the im...

Happy July! In addition to our weekly episodes on Monday we will now have episodes up every Thursday as well! That's two episodes a week until Fest to help you get ready for Fest 24. Joining the show for this episode is Joseph Grillo of Her Head's On Fire. The supergroup of sorts is back and playing Fest again this year on the heals of their new album, "Am I Not Your Girl?" which comes out on July...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest! We've got the full Fest 24 lineup out now. We are nearing peak summer weeks and as an extra-special treat you get to hear from Tim Browne of Elway today! The Colorado band has been turning out clever punk tunes for almost 20 years and they will be playing Fest for the twelfth time this fall. Tim talks with us about their newest record, "Nobody's Going to Heav...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest! Great show today with Trevor Reilly from A Wilhelm Scream. Hailing proudly from New Bedford, MA, the group has been crafting their blend, of punk, metal, thrash, and everything else for over 25 years at this point. Somehow, they just continue to raise the bar. Trevor talks to us about the formation of the band, the friendships that keep things churning along,...

Fun episode today as we Blake and Mark are joined by Kevin Athas of Oh The Humanity! The band has been around for over a decade now and they have been mixing metal riffs with punk choruses with the great precision the entire time. We talk to Kevin about the early years of the band, the highs and lows of touring, recording their first albums, and how one GREAT show can sustain you for months. Kevin...

Really fun show today for everyone! To celebrate round two of of the lineup reveal, we've got Sam Russo joining the show today. Sam talks about life as a solo artist and how he really enjoys the the solitude of traveling solo and with friends. We also talk about how he has begun to introduce more full-band arrangements on his albums and how this has been a joy and also really pushed him as a perso...

The Fest 24 lineup is out! I hope all of your favorite bands are playing this year. We try to be fun and helpful here at ALTF and I think we have a fun and helpful episode for all of you today. Joining the show is Jordan Shroyer. You know Jordan from his bands Teen Agers and Virginity. However, Jordan also heads up Whatever, Dude Productions and for 12 years now he's put together some dynamite pre...

Welcome back to At Least There's Fest and we are officially closing in on our 100th episode. We hope you've enjoyed this non-stop thrill ride as much as we have. Joining the show today is Rory Phillips from the Austin, TX band, The Impossibles. The band formed over 30 years ago and put both ska and non-ska records out on Fueled By Ramen back in the day. Rory walks us through the history of the ban...

Welcome back to the show! This is quite frankly a bucket list show for Blake and Mark. As college students during Bear Vs Sharks recording time, this has been a favorite of their's for about a quarter-century and this was just a total treat. We have four members of the band joining the show today in Ashley, Brandon, Derek, and Nick and they share with us the humble beginnings of the band, their de...

Greetings and welcome back to another episode of At Least There's Fest! We are excited to be joined by Phil Dalton of the Gainesville band Drosera. Drosera makes blistering metallic hardcore that will make the perfect soundtrack to your next run, gym visit, pit session, or rage room visit.  Phil tells us about how the band formed, their process when making music, his love for Poison the Well, and...

Very fun show for Mark and Blake today as one of their podcast heroes, Keith M stops by to chat about music, life, and Fest. Keith fronts the NY based band, Memory Entry who will be playing Fest for the first time this year. He also is the man behind The New Scene podcast, the BEST music podcast in our scene. This was a real treat for us. Keith talks about the formation of the band and how some of...

Hello and welcome back to At Least There's Fest. Joining the show today is Nic Maroulis of Hit Like a Girl. The band has stayed busy over the last decade, releasing four full-length records and playing as many shows as possible. We talk about what it's like to tour so much, the why behind touring for Nic, recording and putting out music, and the fact that you could build two full soft ball team ro...

Joining the show today we have Jordan Hill from Hell Beach returning to the those and he brought along his good friend Devon Kay of Devon Kay and the Solutions as well as Direct Hit! Jordan and Devon both fill us on what they have been up to with their projects as well as giving us some hints of what may lay ahead (new music!). We also discuss the ups and downs of touring and how you find the righ...

Greetings and welcome back to another episode of At Least There's Fest! This is an exciting time of year because we are able to confirm who is playing Fest 24 and really zero in on bringing you the goods. Joining the show today is the entire lineup from Dear Cincinnati. The Tallahassee band has been around for just one short year, but they have crammed A TON into that time.  We discuss their busy...

Hello and welcome back to At Least There's Fest! Joining us on the program today is Tony Truzzolino from the New York band, Tired Radio. Tired Radio was just announced on that first Fest 24 lineup drop and they will be returning to play Fest for a fourth straight year. We are psyched to have them on the pod and back in Gainesville. Tony tells us about their brand of "bummer punk" and how it is hel...

Welcome to a very special episode of At Least There's Fest. Mark and Blake sat down and talked to bands, tattoo artists, and a baker to see who they were most excited to see now that we have our first wave of bands. Fest is great, we all know this, but one of the challenges each year is diving into all of the bands and giving them all a fair shake. Our panel of experts will tell you who they are e...

Happy Fest lineup day! We are thrilled to celebrate this joyous occasion with a special Friday episode with a band that will be playing Fest 24, marking their fifth time making the trip to Gainesville, The Bollweevils! Dr. Daryl Wilson fronts the band and was kind enough to treat Mark and Blake to over an hour of punk history, the growth/pause/continuation of The Bollweevils and much more. Daryl t...

Here we are folks, it is Fest Lineup Week! On Friday we will find out a good chunk of the bands playing Fest 24. Before we get there though we are pleased to welcome Miranda Jayne to the podcast. Miranda has been a member of the Fest Photo Team for the past decade. We talk about getting into photography, the joy/danger/thrill of shooting hardcore shows, learning from those around you, developing y...

If you like hearing podcast hosts stumble through being starstruck then this is the episode for you! Joining Mark and Blake for this one is Greg Barnett of The Menzingers. The Scranton, PA band has been active for over TWENTY years now which is just as wild to you as it is to Greg. We talk about the bands long history and how they keep churning out strong record after strong record. We dig into th...

HUGE SHOW ALERT! Joining Mark and Blake for this one is Tony Weinbender, Fest found and godfather of ceremonies. Tony shares his journey through music that led him to start Fest way back in 2002. We discuss how Fest went from humble beginnings the the monster festival it is each and every fall, all while staying fiercely independent and truly one of a kind. We talk about what makes Fest unique and...

We're only three weeks and change from our first Fest lineup reveal! What better way to get fully jacked than by checking in with the world's most humble and gracious werewolf, Michael J Wolf. Michael has been fronting the Florida punk band since it's inception 15 years ago and the band has been absolutely crushing it ever since. They do not hold back and have set their lasers on everyone from Jas...

We are out of control over here at ALTF as we welcome in not one, but TWO bands for this episode. We are joined today by Jon Oddo of Dead Bars and Lewis Bloor of Back Teeth.  The bands are about to hit the road together in the UK for short tour across the country. We talk about how this tour came together, how drunken meet ups at Fest can lead to international travel plans, the magic of Fest, and...

ALERT ALERT! Very fun show today as we are joined by Matthew John Lawrence, David Littleton, and Jeff Riddle from the cult classic film, Uncle Peckerhead! Mark and Blake dig into how the movie was written and created, how it was scored, the importance of making a real band make REAL music for the movie, the importance of getting the casting exactly right, and why have a "no assholes" rule is the k...

Greetings and welcome back to another episode of At Least There's Fest! Joining us today is Christopher Chaisson of Hedge. The Worscester, MA band has a new EP out on March 27 via Best Brother Records, and Christopher is here to tell us all about it. We discuss the history of the band, the importance of Dinosaur Jr, touring, writing new music and much more. We discuss what Fest was like over a dec...

Minneapolis-based band Couch Potato Massacre creates punk music inspired by movies, TV shows, and personal experiences. With over 100 songs in their catalog, Paul writes lyrics rapidly—often within 20 minutes—while the band performs high-energy shows. They're currently getting set to record new songs and planning some shows for the summer. Their next album MIGHT feature an 1980s theme, and there c...