Hey Smiling Strange

Man this was a fun conversation with Brandon Martin of VHS Ghost. We talked about making music during covid, the struggle to bring a successful streaming band into a live show, and dealing with some heavy stuff in life through art.  Please check out his music wherever you get music, and follow him @vhs.ghost__ on instagram. Also please check out Klubhouse.gg to play my mario kart inspired fantasy...

Hey so I made it to 15k followers! That's really cool for me. That's just on instagram too. I've got another 6k on tiktok which is also wild. Honestly all of this has been wild. I wanted to make a podcast where I just get out all my ideas on where I'm at, what I want to do, and what I plan on doing next. Solo pods are HARD. But I think I did a good job on this one.  Thank you s...

Please sign up to play my fantasy football game at klubhouse.gg Mat Cothran of Coma Cinema and Elvis Depressedly joins the podcast to talk about conspiracy theories, Nintendo 64, and keeping music authentic even when it becomes your job.  Mat’s a cool guy, I hadn’t met him before we played a show together and even then I didn’t get to talk to him all that much (I was filling in in that band and wa...

I'm joined today by Blake Kasemeier of Blake of Today, where we talk about his history as a touring Hardcore musician, relating to Garden State throughout your life, trying to find authenticity in short form videos, and at the end we workshop a video take.  Please check out Klubhouse.gg and sign up to play my fantasy football app, thank you for listening!

This is a very special episode featuring my Mom! I wanted to bring her on the podcast to follow up my Serial podcast because she was one of the first people that really had me see through some of the stuff the podcast was doing that created doubt in this case. And also because I think my Mom is wildly entertaining (ask anyone that was at my wedding reception, she stole the show!) Anyway, this is g...

Evan Cohen (@evanmcohen) joins the podcast to talk about his viral artwork, creating band posters, making a living off art, and the danger  of AI slop in the artworld.  I’ve known Evan for years through a mutual friend, we met when we were in college, and I’ve been following his career ever since. It has brought me a tremendous amount of hipster joy to point to a poster of his artwork hanging at a...

So I've been asked to make a podcast episode about the 2014 podcast Serial, that covers the case of the Murder of Hae Min Lee. To start, this isn't a podcast about who did it. Adnan did it. I'm pretty well convinced, like the jury, that there is more than reasonable evidence that it was him. Instead these podcast episodes are going to be a deep dive into Serial, and Sarah Koenig, an...

Hey you guys wanted me to review and share my thoughts on the movie The Backrooms, right? You want to hear me say the word Zoomer a lot, right?  Anyway I'm joined by Tim Howe of Vista House to discuss our thoughts on The Backrooms, the sudden end of the Millenial in culture, and the fact that Tim has almost certainly been possessed by a ghost at one point in his life.  Brought to you by Klubh...

Scott Korb and Tyler Pell from Tennis Courterly talk about Tennis City USA, creating community through DIY sports, independent publications, and the upcoming Mt. Tabor Open. I played in the Mt. Tabor Open last year and it was a ton of fun, that's why I reached out to see if these guys wanted to come on the podcast and try to find more interested potential players. Follow @tenniscourterly on i...

This was a special one for me, as Idaho was my Most Listened to Band of 2025, and I've been a fan of Jeff's music for years. A wildly underrated band that's starting to get some of their much deserved recognition in the 2020s after forming in 1992. We talk LA, working professionally creating background music for film, and the magic of imperfect recordings. Check out Idaho where ever...

I have on Dishing and Swishing co-host Jesse Wims to discuss the OKC-Spurs series, how Wemby could break the game of basketball, and how to fix tanking with reality television.

Hudson Freeman (@thehuddog on instagram) joins Kyle to chat about his life after the success of his viral song If You Know Me. We talk about the world of short form content creation, dealing with the backlash of Geese Bot Allegations, and the philosophy of Teddy Adorno.

So new thing for the Podcast. The regular Hey Smiling Strange interview podcasts will be up on Wednesdays from now on, but I'm adding a second podcast during the week. Early access will be on Youtube as a video podcast, then monday as the audio version. These podcast will be a bit more experimental until I find a format that works for them. I like trying things out, and for this one I just we...

Did you guys know my most listened to song on Spotify, all time, is Bastard by Little Kid? I've been looking forward to this conversation for a long time, Little Kid has been one of my favorite bands for a while now but remain mostly unknown. Please go check out any of their albums, my favorite is probably Flowers which has been on rotation for years in my house. Kenny talks about the the Tor...

I'm joined by Corbin (https://www.instagram.com/corbincorbin/) and Neek (https://www.instagram.com/neek4freak/) from Freakscene.diy. We talk about the old internet, the new internet, and how the DIY ethos lives on in the spaces carved out online.  Freakscene.diy is an old school internet forum where you can follow your local music scene, find bands, shows, and talk whatever on a site that isn...

On this episode I start a series working with Topshelf Records, who hooked me up with Devin McKnight (Speedy Ortiz, Grass is Green, and Philadelphia Collins) about his band Maneka.  We talk about growing up in the suburbs, transitioning from high school sports into playing music, and how do you convince your parents that a career in music is actually possible. 

James Binkowski from Non Binary Girl Friend comes on the pod to talk about enthusiasm, taking yourself and your art seriously, moving to PDX, and playing music to have fun with the audience. 

Jessica Boudreaux and Devon Shirley from Summer Cannibals come on the podcast to talk about the band's upcoming anniversary shows, the changing Portland Music Scene, and Bay Area Psych Rock. 

Isabel and Kyle talk with longtime friend Spencer Hoffman about his new album Cherry Picker, writing through different stages of your life, and the differences between the LA music Scene and Portland. 

So at Famous Portland Bar Barlow, I asked friends if they knew any comedians that would want to be on the podcast and they threw out Sean Jordan as like a "Could you imagine?" type guy.  Well, anyway, Sean comes on to the podcast to talk about his history getting into standup comedy, moving to Portland, his dream to be a professional skateboarder, and skater music.  Catch him playing sho...

This conversation was going to happen even if this podcast never existed. It's the first episode of the newly renamed Unc.slop podcast, with Sonia Weber from Alien Boy. We talk taking music seriously in a slacker city, developing lifelong artistic partnerships, and the inevitability of Billy Corgan. Thank you to How Strange It Is for the intro/outro music. Please Subscribe to my Instagram pag...

Isabel and Kyle are joined by Blake and Triston from Shallowater to talk about Texas, the changing shape of Indie rock, being a musician in Houston, and the endless victory of time over the hubris of man that lingers deep in the soil of west Texas.

In this episode Kyle does the solo hosting with guest Coral Reef of Mallbrawlreds (@mallbrawlreds on Instagram). She shares how she ended up in Portland and the trials and triumphs of wrestling all ages shows into existence in the scene. We are all Salmon swimming against the current, when you think about it.  Mallbrawlreds is an agency that sets up an promotes all ages shows in and around Portlan...

Kyle and Isabel are joined by Benson Chong of Honeydiu (@honeydiu on instagram) to talk about running house shows in college, how finding new music has changed, and the eternal New Jersey of Garden State.

Kyle and Isabel, safe finally from illness, societal unrest, and technical issues (sort of on all accounts) invite Nathan Urbach of Pileup to talk Sufjan Stevens, Music for life changing moments, and the poetic truth behind non-conformist thinking.  Check out Pileup's new album Leave The Light On coming out February 24th!