LONELIER THAN GOD

Today’s guest is BOB NANNA of the bands BRAID & HEY MERCEDES .  Earlier this year, POLYVINYL RECORDS reissued the entire Hey Mercedes discography on vinyl, & in 2023 they released a 25th anniversary remixed & remastered edition of Braid’s Frame & Canvas. Obviously, those are highly recommended. Links below. His other projects include Lifted Bells, The City on Film, Friction, &...

Today’s episode features a couple of LTG alumni, LYLE HODGES & KEITH M. , & they’re back to discuss the first 2 Slide Away shows.  We talk about the '90s rock scene’s newest youth infusion, bask in the hypnotic audiovisual spectacle, give thanks to everyone who made it happen, & pick some standout moments from an unforgettable weekend. Links to these guys’ previous episodes &...

Today’s guest is DOMENIC PALERMO of the band NOTHING . This past February, in-between tours of Japan & the U.S., they released their 5th album, A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY , on RUN FOR COVER RECORDS . It veers from raw downer lullabies to overdriven beat-based raptures of distortion, sometimes even within the same song. Nothing will play their second album, TIRED OF TOMORROW , in full at all 6 da...

I’m joined today by JAY RYAN — bassist, guitarist, screenprinter, poster-maker, author, teacher, & longtime shining star in the HUM-verse. For 3 decades, Jay’s been designing & making posters & prints at his studio THE BIRD MACHINE for artists ranging from HUM & Matt Talbott, to Stereolab, Melvins, Shellac, the Flaming Lips, Seam, & Silkworm, to his own band, DIANOGAH . He’s pu...

Today’s conversation is with JONATHAN PEREZ , co-founder & guitarist of TRAUMA RAY .  This past February, they released their CARNIVAL EP , a highly recommended 5-song trip through the warped abstractions of the psyche. It takes their sound in more meditative & even ambient directions, while also intensifying the pulverizing riffs & rhythms they’re known for. Following the success...

Today’s guest is GABE VAN — producer, mixer, engineer, singer, songwriter, & guitarist. He owns & operates AKIRA AUDIO in Woodland Hills, CA, where he’s done a wide range of in-house sound work across music, film, fashion, TV, & web media. There he's recorded thousands of sessions, most frequently with drummers KELLII SCOTT of FAILURE & BEN KOLLER of CONVERGE . He’s also gone on th...

Today’s guest is TOM WINDISH — a highly respected veteran booking agent, manager, A&R executive, & label owner. Across three decades, he’s worked at every level of the music industry, from booking shows out of his college dorm room to navigating the global circuits of some of music’s biggest names. His booking roster has included artists of many genres, ranging from HUM, New Radiant Storm...

This week I’m talking w/ DAVID CHAVEZ & RACHEL STANG from the Kansas City band FOREVER ☆ .  A few months ago, they released a 7-song EP called 2ND GEN DREAM on À LA CARTE RECORDS , & it’s bursting with euphoric waves of guitar, smeared ethereal vocals, & the manic energy of drum n bass.  Highly recommend checking that out, along with their 3 SERIES EP from 2023. Links below....

Joining me today from the outskirts of Austin, Texas is singer, guitarist, & songwriter ANDY SWITZKY . In 1989, Andy co-founded HUM, & he wrote for & played on their demo, the first LP ( Fillet Show ), & the subsequent 2 singles ( Hello Kitty & Sun Dress ). He was a vital part of the Champaign music scene in the ‘80s & ‘90s, & also made music in Tugrik Dhugugrik, Design...

Today I’m talking with guitarist & producer KURT BALLOU — a true luminary of the heavy music scene, on both sides of the mixing board.  In 1990, he co-founded the pioneering metalcore band CONVERGE , whose 11th studio album, LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH , arrives on February 13. Kurt also owns & operates GOD CITY STUDIO in Salem, MA, where he records, engineers, produces, & mixes a breathta...

Today’s conversation is with TIM DOW , one of my all-time favorite drummers.  He’s played in and/or toured with SHINER , YEAR OF THE RABBIT , SEASON TO RISK , THE JOY CIRCUIT , ON , VAE VICTIS, & more.  He was in Shiner from 1993 to ‘98, & drummed on their early landmark records, SPLAY & LULA DIVINIA , as well as on their first 6 EPs. Both LPs have since been remixed & re...

Sat down today with KEITH M. , singer & guitarist of the Brooklyn post-hardcore/screamo band MEMORY ENTRY .  Earlier this year, they released their 5-song debut EP, Our World is Going to Disappear, on IODINE RECORDINGS , & they’ve got new stuff on the way. Link below. Since 2020, Keith has hosted THE NEW SCENE PODCAST , which released its 300th episode a few weeks back. He’s done wide...

Today I’m joined by DEREK NIEDRINGHAUS & LYLE HODGES , who were both involved, in different ways, in the making of Centaur's debut album, In Streams. Derek plays bass in Centaur, & does art design for the band, including the iconic & oddly soothing Gaudí-inspired In Streams cover. He also plays bass in CASTOR , who just re-released their discography in remixed & remastered form as...

Today I’m joined by SCOTT KIMBLE & DON KING from the Champaign, Illinois band TERMINUS VICTOR .  Their most recent album, EVERENDING , came out in 2023, & was tracked by Matt Talbott @ Earth Analog. It’s textured, it’s heavy, a little sludgy, a little spacey; it’s awesome from front to back. Highly, highly recommended. Link in the show notes.  Before T-Vic & its predecessor H...

Joining me today from Scotland is GEOFF EVANS, an admin for the fan-driven HUM Reddit & Facebook groups. With over 13,000 members between them, these pages have helped keep the band in the public consciousness for decades, & they're both reliable sources of news, discussion, & music recommendations.  In this episode, we talk about the joy of the live experience, wearing your fando...

Today’s conversation is with JOEY GINALDI , drummer of the Pennsylvania bands MAGIC AMERICA & CLEVER HOUR . Magic America just released their debut album, Get in the Truck, a couple weeks back on Funeral Party Records. The first video, for the song “Carried by Angels,” is now up on YouTube.  Clever Hour, which also features Jake Clarke from Superheaven & Evan King from Magic America,...

Joining me today is RAY HARKINS , vocalist of the Southern California melodic hardcore bands TAKEN , MIKOTO , &, most recently, BLOODGUILT . Taken burned brightly from the late ‘90s until 2004, releasing one LP & 2 EPs on Goodfellow Records. They’ve since added a demos & b-sides compilation, a collected version of the first 3 records, & a 2018 EP titled With Regard To, on Other Peo...

Today I’m talking with LAURENT SCHROEDER-LEBEC & LARRY HERWEG , from the Chicago heavy rock band PELICAN . Since 2001, they’ve released 7 LPs, plus a host of singles, splits, EPs, live albums, & compilations. Their most recent record, FLICKERING RESONANCE , is highly recommended & came out a couple months back on RUN FOR COVER RECORDS . Pelican just finished a run of US shows & are...

Joining me today is BALTHAZAR DE LEY — singer, guitarist, bassist, producer, engineer, studio technician, &, most recently, amp maker.  In the early ‘90s, he joined HUM, which was, back then, written in all lowercase. He played bass on their first record Fillet Show, & toured & wrote songs with them over the course of several years.  He then formed & fronted MENTHOL , for...

Today I’m talking with the artist, musician, filmmaker, & sociocultural prophet GERALD V. CASALE . In the early ‘70s, Jerry co-founded the mutant-pop performance art group DEVO , who have since released 9 studio albums, 10 EPs, a soundtrack, 10 live albums, 16 compilations, 25 singles, & 9 video albums, not to mention creating some of the most distinct & unforgettable images in America...

Today’s guest is JACOB GIVENS , TikTok phenom, musician, podcaster, actor, writer, & comedian.  His enthusiasm for music has attracted over 500,000 followers across his social media platforms, & he’s racked up millions of views from viral videos about iconic moments in 90s alternative & beyond.  He also runs the podcast WATERPROOF RECORDS , where he’s done episodes on HUM, th...

Today’s guest is the multi-talented JEFF GARBER — singer, guitarist, composer, producer, & engineer. From the mid-to-late ‘90s Jeff played in the Champaign, IL indie rock band CASTOR , who released 2 LPs, a single, & some compilation tracks, all of which have just been remixed, remastered, & pressed to vinyl on Matt Talbott’s EARTH ANALOG label. That set is called Moving Backgrounds; i...

Sat down today with Carson Wilcox, the drummer of the Dallas, TX bands BLEED & NARROW HEAD .  Bleed just released their excellent S/T DEBUT LP on 20 Buck Spin. It fuses a wide range of styles from the alt-metal of the late '90s & early 2000s, but it's also got elements of lesser-cited bands like Curve, Filter, & God Lives Underwater. It's a super cool compound of things. I also hi...

Today’s guests are RICK VALENTIN & ROSE MARSHACK from the Champaign, IL indie rock band POSTER CHILDREN . They co-founded the group in 1987 & have since released 12 LPs, along with various singles, EPs, compilations, & a feature film.  They’ve been on indies, majors, & everything in between, & they took an avant-garde approach to music tech & media — doing enhanced CDs...

Today’s guest is CARLOS RAMIREZ , co-founder & editor-in-chief of NO ECHO , a worldwide hardcore website that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. It’s a vast & respected resource for all things hardcore, metal, & punk, updated daily across the web & the usual social media platforms. Carlos played bass in the mid-to-late '90s NYC powerviolence band BLACK ARMY JACKET , who released...