I'm With the Band, Man

We here at I'm With the Band, Man HQ had a fairly hectic back-half of 2025 and after much discussion we decided we'd take a brief hiatus to give us time to build up a backlog of episodes. We decided it wouldn't be fair to the musicians or the listeners to pump these out just to meet some kind of release schedule so we threw this together just so you could hear what's going on. But...

Welcome Dan back onto the show to talk about all of the episodes of 2025. We cover some of the highlights of the year and go through all of the artists and albums we discussed. It was great to have Dan back and to talk about what's been going on with both Eric and Dan. Tune in to see what's next for the show!

To close out the year strong, Chad Malone comes back onto the show to do a deep dive into everything there is to know about Senior Fellows' "Shallow Grave For a Dying God." Unlike every other band Chad has ever been in, this project is unique in that he was essentially a "vocalist for hire" that was originally just brought in to do some lyrics, then his role increased as th...

For our final interview of the year, we decided to bring in friend of the show + Tulsa royalty Chad Malone. This dude has done time in: Self Destruct Concept Of Nonsense The Kids Who Never Learned How To Color Inside Of the Lines Brother Inferior Assembly Of God Welfare The Leveling Raparee Larkin Bring Down the Hammer The Shame Local 630 Senior Fellows Union Of a Dying Sun He goes over all of his...

Bringing it back to the Midwest for a very special conversation with Daisy Caplan, the man behind the bass (and sometimes guitar) for Ayin and Foxy Shazam and then the drummer extraordinarie for Lung. We discuss his early days in Louisville, how he got into the scene, the gradual evolution of Ayin and how the band changed once he joined, then to him doing double-duty once he joined Foxy Shazam up...

We're staying in the Northeast to bring you Grant Johnson, the man behind such bands as: Blood Jinn Set In Motion Easter Rising Eternal Youth Herman Dekalb Spark Lights the Friction The Funeral AWOL Knife Fight Dirty Girls Broken Patterns Night Owls Missing Skull Difficult Bent Limbs And he's STILL going with music. That's an impressive pedigree. Anyhow, Grant was kind enough to come o...

Randy Larsen was kind enough to come back to discuss everything there is worth knowing about how the Cable - "Gutter Queen" album came to be. Randy was brutally honest about the internal struggles the band was facing around this time. In addition, we discuss how Clinton St. Blues (Eric's favorite off this album) came to be an inflection point and a start of a new chapter for the band...

We're traveling way into the Northeast for this one to bring on the legendary Randy Larsen who has done time in: Cable Empty Flowers Isis Slow Death Tombs Come To Grief Randy's stories of his attempts to focus entirely on bass and shift away from vocals through some of the more turbulant times of Cable make this episode truly special. Of special note is his story for how Cable came to be p...

Ryan comes back onto the show to discuss all things Coliseum's 2004 Self-Titled Debut. When this album first dropped it was like an explosion in the heart of Louisville and 20+ years and two milestone reissues later this album is still just as strong as it was back then. You'll learn about everything that went into the original album, the original line-up, how the remasters came together (...

We're staying in the Midwest but traveling a bit south to Louisville to discuss all things music and art with Ryan Patterson who has done time in: Fotocrime Mirrorless Aon Brasi Coliseum Black God Black Cross Whips/Chains The National Acrobat The Enkindels Along with his label work with Initial Records and Auxiliary Records, plus Shirt Killer and Cat Magic Punks. Basically, if this man graces...

One of Eric's favorite bands of all time is Chicago's very own Stabbed By Words so it was honestly exciting and rewarding to bring Jay back to discuss everything there is to know about the band. We discuss their approach to songwriting, Dave's contribution to guitar, how the band evolved over time, and where the road might have taken them if not for their untimely break-up. You'll...

Staying in the Midwest for Episode 061 so we could have a nice, long conversation with the man behind the guitar in so many legendary Chicago (and New York!) bands - Jay Jancetic doing his thing in: Plagued With Rage Half Mast Nevermore Extinction Sever the Cord Arma Angelus Stabbed By Words Holy Roman Empire Harm's Way Black X Atonement Theory Contempt Almost Always Left Of Heaven You might b...

Aside from being the shredder and voice behind Cadillac Blindside, did you know Zaq had a more singer-songwriter side? If you somehow missed out or slept on this or whatever else, check this episode out because Zaq us back to give us the complete oral history behind ...And We Danced. He discovers the theme behind the album, how it came to be (and how it was almost only made for him) and just how m...

Back to the Midwest for Episode 059 so we could have a nice, long conversation with the man both behind the guitar and the microphone - Zaq Zrust doing his thing in Cadillac Blindside, And We Danced, FUELtheFIRE, plus more. Hear about his early years around his parents, his love for writing music, finding (and continually improving) his voice, learning guitar, and everything else. You'll be sh...

Emily was kind enough to come back and discuss what life was like behind the microphone (and the pen!) while providing vocals for the absolutely amazing Holy Roman Empire's "The Longue Durée." Hear about how her vocal journey and time in the studio made her into the powerful singer she is, her many contributions to the songs and how the dynamic of the band changed once she had create...

For episode 057 we travel back to the lovely Midwest (specifically Chicago) to have a conversation with the talented and versatile Emily Schambra, singer extraordinaire. Find out about her move to Chicago, early bands, vocal training, her time in Engines, Longdistancerunner, Holy Roman Empire, and more! Emily was kind enough to share all kinds of stories about her experiences navigating the music...

We were fortunate enough to get Thomas back on to talk all things Vorstellungskraft from the point of view of the four-strings. Hear about the legendary studio, how the songs came together, the writing and recording process, the tour, and everything else you ever wanted to know. Thomas brings his unique insight and wit to the conversation to tell the story of how Vorstellungskraft came together an...

We're back with another amazing international guest - this time we brought master bassist (and master of all things stringed, actually) Thomas Bretcher to talk all things music, Germany, and everything that goes into being a talented musician in an amazing band. This is actually an exceptionally amazing episode for me because when I first heard The Tidal Sleep around a decade ago there was just so...

Greg Daniels comes back for the second part of our conversation where we do a deep dive on Vaux's "There Must Be Some Way To Stop Them." Hear Greg's stories about how this album was conceived, what touring and popularity was like for them during this era, and so much more. Stay tuned for the fancy vinyl reissue coming to a turntable near you in the future! The two songs used in t...

Denver Institution and all-around nice guy (and better than he gives himself credit for guitarist) Greg Daniels of Vaux / Glass Hits / Drop To Pop came onto the show to discuss all of the things that makes him the person he is. Want to hear the story about how he ALMOST was in a band with friend of the show Chuck Coffey? Or how many bands he juggled at once? Or how massively large his record store...

In this chaotic conversation, Demian & Shane come back on the show as a dynamic duo (you won't believe how dynamic) to discuss noise as a "genre." Although the conversation bounces around, we discuss some of the origins of noise, its connections to outsider performance art, some of the dangerous historical trends and fads associated with it, and what that noise ethos means to Sha...

Rich Lippold is back for the second part of our conversation where we do a deep dive on The Deadly's "Phantoms In the Frequencies" Since this is the band's first material right out of the gate after being fully formed, the making of this album is closely tied into their origin story and Rich shares his insight into everything that went into creating this EP. Find out how they got...

We don't know if Rich pulled the short straw or what, but he's the lucky guy that made it on episode 50! I can't believe this is something that actually happened. Either way, Rich discuses his early years, what got him into music, his early attempts to move away (and what kept him there) and eventually the chain of events that led him to the Emerald Isle. It's always great to have...

For this episode that has taken over a year to materialize, we sit down with Justin Mank to discuss his various (and varied!) musical outputs as well as his direct influence on the St. Louis scene. Like so many of the guests on this show, you can hear about the trajectory and the various interests that were floating around while Not Waving But Drowning was during their span leading up to their dis...

We bring Josh aka Joey Angel back for the back-half of our conversation where he and I did a deep dive into everything that made Crossed Keys' "Saviors" such an amazing album. Since that was their first full release as a band, the conversation also digs into the origins of Crossed Keys and how they came to be. If you're like me and you're at all curious about the meaning behi...