Back On The Grind

"I used to feel like I was constantly fucking up, constantly doing the wrong thing...and that's where I was living for a number of years; always feeling bad about myself." Michael Schneeweis shares what it was like to release music as Pat The Bunny's younger brother. He then goes on to engage in a deep conversation largely focused on areas of spiritual exploration & practice. Pepe shares a ver...

Responding to your questions & comments, Pepe is joined by his wife Lee Bandit as they share thoughts on the things listeners have been saying & asking. It's a wide ranging episode that will leave you even more connected to your host & his wife as they offer some honest, fun & serious answers to what listeners have been wanting to know. Do you have any questions of your own? Please...

"I'm not responsible for my disease but I am responsible for my sobriety" ***If you or someone you care about needs support, SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.  1-800-662-HELP (4357) Paulie Think, a punk rock...

Pepe Bandit & Folk Punk Dad respond to a listener question about building community in a small town. Then they reflect on what it's been like to be podcasting for over a year & they discuss some changes you can expect with the podcast. We close out playing the song "Ghost Of Apartment B2" by Tall Travis because it wasn't ready when we originally released their episode a few months back. HI...

Mike Wilson of Harley Poe talks with Pepe about a wide range of topics like the Grateful Dead, joining Harley Poe & pissing for authority figures. There's plenty of talk about not wanting to work for someone else & the DIY spirit that makes this possible. Expect to hear about the hurdles & challenges (often mental) that Mike & Pepe both faced on their journeys of trying not to have...

Pepe talks with Ping Lieu who spent 13 years in prison for discussing a potential crime he never actually carried out. This is an older but unreleased episode Pepe recorded while he was fighting his own case and preparing to enter prison himself. Support the podcast & get bonus material patreon.com/BackontheGrind What led Ping to serve 13 years in prison What it was like for Ping to receive hi...

Folkpunk Dad sits down with Sister Wife Sex Strike who have been making a name for themselves in the folkpunk community lately. They talk about their recent TikTok fame, their popup Starbucks show, songwriting, anarchism + spirituality & more. Enjoy! Support the podcast & get bonus material patreon.com/BackontheGrind Highlights: Getting into folkpunk Accessibility within folkpunk Blowing u...

"The only thing that saved me was DIY punk." Punk With A Camera (PWAC) & Pepe discuss having no place to fit in or feel welcomed until finding DIY punk, filming, working with bands & difficult times with parents while growing up. There's talk about starting a project or passion, learning from our mistakes, supporting the community & much more. Support the podcast & get bonus materi...

Folk/punk musicians Tall Travis sit down to talk with Folkpunk Dad about a range of topics regarding maintaining a band, creating music and friendship. It's the first time we have an entire band on the podcast all at once. They also discuss their appreciation for superstition, magic, whimsy & mystery. We also play their new song Ghost Of Apartment B2 at the end of the episode. Enjoy! HIGHLIGHT...

How we show up in (or retreat from) the world is greatly influenced by how we wake up in the morning. Pepe Bandit & Folkpunk Dad discuss the value of morning routines & share some things they've done as they developed their own morning routines. They both share how not having a morning routine kept them stuck in unhealthy places. They share what helps them now in the mornings when those di...

"We're very obsessed with soup" Trashboat And The Ambush join Pepe for a fun & lighthearted conversation largely centered around setting up DIY shows. First they start off with stories about punk pits, cats & the internet & then dive into their experiences and advice for organizing shows & the community that gets built around this. Towards the end, some unknown folk punk history is...

"You are in a capacity where you don't have eminent domain over nothing in your life, EXCEPT how you respond and that's the only thing you really have." Pepe talks with Tray Johns who was sentenced to over 12 years in a women's Federal prison for about $500 worth of drugs. You will learn about life inside a women's prison and hear the story of Tray's journey to, through and out of prison. Tray tal...

Je-C (Days N Daze / Escape From The Zoo) & his wife Veronica (Escape From The Zoo) come on the show to talk about relationships, relapse & the X-Files. They share some laughs, shed some tears & also discuss Nick Lutsko, their intro to punk music, why they didn't come on the show last year as planned, romanticizing the tortured artist idea & relationships with parents. If you enjoy...

"If I let myself be available to be happy, most of the time it does happen." Pepe connects with Mitchell "Trash" Gray as they discuss their prison experiences, exploring their broken places & their individual relationships to happiness that developed through the journey. It's an emotional conversation at times that traverses topics from addiction to Buddhism and overall lets you see you have a...

Folk Punk Dad talks with DIY musician, zine writer and full time traveller, Average Joey. It's a wide ranging conversation with a theme flowing around toxic capitalism & the potential for collective healing. We end the episode with the track "Indifference" by Average Joey! Support the podcast & get bonus material: patreon.com/BackontheGrind HIGHLIGHTS: Average Joey's new record Impermanenc...

With the holidays among us we thought it would be good to talk about loneliness. Loneliness can show up in many ways & some may be unexpected (like Pepe discovered while making this episode). We share our experiences with it and dive into how it manifests and some evolutionary reasons behind our responses to it. We end discussing some things that have helped us make connections and feel less l...

Folk Punk Dad aka Will talks with songwriter, rapper, spoken word poet & all around great human, Myles Bullen. The conversation revolves heavily around the concept of community - what it is, how to find it, how to become a part of it, how to contribute to it and much more. Loneliness & music is also discussed. Support the podcast & get bonus material: patreon.com/BackontheGrind HIGHLIG...

Check out the poll results in the Spotify show notes to see if listeners think Johnny Hobo was good or bad overall. Johnny Hobo & The Freight Trains can be viewed as a single project or part of a larger whole when it comes to the music of Pat The Bunny. Either way it has been loved by some and divisive for others since it was first released and presently. We dive into some of the history assoc...

"It's hard not to love Mothman"   The Swamp Rats join us and talk about Mothman, anxiety, always being on tour, the music they perform and more. After the interview we play their song Butcher's Knife. Support the podcast: patreon.com/BackontheGrind     HIGHLIGHTS: Skunk Ape & Moth man Other Cryptids Ghost Stories Cryptids as a manifestation of anxiety Anxiety on the road/tour "W...

A listener asks how we deal with procrastination & another asks about our interests outside of this podcast/music. We also talk about the feeling of not having enough time in your life & offer a new perspective that has been useful for us. If you have any questions or comments for us please reach out through the email below. We'd love to hear from you! Support the podcast: patreon.com/Back...

Pepe & Folk Punk dad reconnect after not doing an episode together for a few months. Then we hear from various bands that performed at this years Compost Heap festival as they answer questions from Folk Punk Dad & other bands. It's a fun & engaging episode where you get to hear a lot of really awesome people in the DIY/folk punk community share some ideas & stories. Support the pod...

"I'm continually fighting against living a regular life. That's led me to some really bad decisions at times but, it's also been the best decision of my life." Rapper, folk & punk musician Ceschi (pronounced Chess-Key) talks with Pepe. Their close friendship allows them both to open up on the podcast about some very personal experiences from their lives. Ceschi recounts his relationship with h...

"After a 6 month long tour...I was drinking an awful lot, I put no light into the world at that time & when I got home I tried to kill myself & failed. That was the thing that struck me sober, that was when the unmanageability of my life was clear to me." Folkpunk Dad talks to Brook Pridemore about the anti-folk to folk punk connection they traveled, the many lost bands of early folkpunk,...

"When I'm writing music & lyrics, the best thing I can do is just empty my head...that's the best way to make art that is authentic." In this episode Pepe talks with John Warmb of the band Rent Strike. They discuss the hug John & Pepe shared when they first met, time, solitude vs. solitary confinement, the psychological value of alchemy, the problem with hiding things in your shadow/uncons...

While Folkpunk Dad is away on tour & unable to be in the studio, we're airing an older interview Pepe gave 1 week before he went to prison in 2019. Pepe talks about originally facing 10 to life, the work he did to keep his relationship(s) intact, preparing for release before he was even sentenced, being in relationship while one partner is incarcerated, having a morning routine & working o...