NostalgicEmoDads

We get to sit down with 3 of the 5 members of Crown Point's finest: Asteria! Brandon, Seth, and Terrence join us to talk about the founding of the band, having their own studio as a resource for songwriting, being incredibly DIY, the iconic intro to "The Taste, The Touch," writing second verses, and how they were able to blend so many styles together into their own sound. Seth still...

Wow wow wow, what an incredible conversation with Jason Maffucci, vocalist and bassist of Just Surrender (and vocalist of With Abandon)! Jason takes us through his childhood finding music and the scene (which mirrors mine in pretty wild ways), recording with John Naclerio, songwriting, developing as a vocalist, the emotional and physical demands of touring, and finding himself living as a characte...

For this episode, we are joined by an extremely cool newer, yet experienced, band called So Much Hope, Buried. I've been a fan for a while now, and with their new album Wither | Grow coming out in a couple months (June 12), we just had to get together for a chat! We talk about how SMH,B. is a sort-of super-group of the Wilkes-Barre scene, how their style transcends genre labeling (but we tried, wi...

For the latest episode in the Friends & Family Series, I get to chat with my incredibly talented cousin Karl! We talk about the age difference between us in our large family, growing up in Tacoma/Seattle, finding music at an early age, the constant search for new music and/or music to be challenged by, graphic design, growing as an artist, commercial art, skateboarding and Tony Hawk, packaging...

This week's guest is hiking enthusiast, thru-hiker, and Derek's Wife's Cousin, Mr. Sean McCracken! It was such a treat to talk with Sean about his musical upbringing, what he was listening to growing up with his brother and parents, finding music through friends, piano lessons, and eventually finding his own "scene" later in college. But even more enjoyable was talking with h...

We're kicking off a new series called "Friends & Family" with an old friend Ryan DeNeff! And my younger brother joins as co-host for his first ever podcast! In this series I want to explore the connection people have with music, even if they are not directly participating in it. Usually we have guests on who are part of the "scene" in a tangible, discoverable way. For the next few weeks I am havin...

Hot off their incredible anniversary show for the album "Fluorescent Youth," we speak with Conditions drummer Ryan Tinsley about a whole gamut of things: the pipeline of Creed and Dave Matthews Band to Coheed and Alexisonfire; learning to hit drums really hard; getting recruited into Conditions from a VHS recording of a high school performance; pulling off the anniversary show; and of co...

It's that time of year again! The end of the year usually brings around "Best Of" lists, and it's no different for us here at the NED. This year we are joined by our friend Anthony DelPlato of Everything In Waves to recount our favorite releases of 2025: singles , EPs, and albums! (go listen to his music! and his conversation with us from earlier this year!) We also share some re...

Let's Go!!!! Our first full-band conversation is here, and it's with the one and only Plead The Widow's Cause. This band has been one of Derek and Jake's favorite "newer" bands over the past couple of years, having gotten to see them a couple times at some tiny local hardcore shows in Richmond. We talk about how they have kind of taken the spirit-filled post-hardcore scene by storm, how they write...

Growing up in the Richmond music scene, we adored Conditions. They were such a special band, with special dudes, who really shared their heart and love for the city. So when I heard of the through-line that connected Conditions' guitarist Alex Howard to playing with country star Jelly Roll, I absolutely had to ask him to walk us through the story! Alex talks his of his upbringing in a musical...

What a cool story this one is! Adam Brazie sang and played guitar in Ever We Fall, a darling indie/emo band on Hopeless Records. They only released one full-length (We Are But Human), but it's a must listen! We talked to Adam about his finding the scene, learning guitar and out-of-tune pianos, getting signed to Rise Records while still in high school - that's right, Ever We Fall is a Rise band! -...

This conversation was an absolute blast! Nick is such a kind dude with a wonderful perspective on the history of his band Vanna. We talk about how he was the lead vocalist on their debut EP, how much fun it is to riff, how similar our stories are, art school, favorite Vanna songs, being a fan of music, his work as a tattoo artist, and so much else! Thank you Nick for the great convo! He and the re...

We've got another wild episode for you this week! Bobby Faithful is a sort of mythical human in the realm of 2000s emo/post-hardcore, especially regarding Bet On Black, "the supergroup that never was" (his words). There have been so many ties that lead back to Bobby and this band, including multiple grammy winning producers, amazing emo bands, and even a super successful emo cover band (Throwing B...

Our guest this week is Mr. Stevie Benz! His story is super entertaining and a bit of a rollercoaster ride through the 2000s, participating in many bands that were really good but never got the pop-off or blow-up they probably deserved. We talk a lot about guitars, home recording, touring, how amazing all the bands he played in are, and what he's up to now! Hint: it's music mastering. Hit him up at...

OH YEAH! We got Jake back! (At least for this episode). Derek and Jake play the classic game Would You Rather, but with a little nostalgic emo twist. Join us! Play along! Let us know your answers! @NostalgicEmoDads on instagram.

For our first ever live AND in-person episode, Andrew and Derek sat on the floor and discussed their dream shows while on Instagram Live. There were two rules: one lineup must be of only ACTIVE bands, the other lineup could include disbanded bands or a mix of both. For each show we picked 5 bands. We also decided on some other fun details for our shows as they went along. Do ya think we had any ov...

Oh yeah! Today we turn the tables a little bit and ask questions of one of our hosts, Andrew, and his drummer, Josh, about their band Drifted! We talk a bit about their (seemingly polar opposite) musical upbringings, how they met, what it's like to start a band in your 30s, and their upcoming Southern Summer Stroll! Catch them on a date near you! June 26 - Another Round Bar VA June 27 - 27 Club NC...

For our 50th Episode, we're celebrating big by bringing you a conversation with the one and only Ben Jorgensen! A few weeks ago Andrew and Derek sat down to chat about the whole discography of Armor For Sleep, and jokingly mentioned how cool it would be to get Ben on the podcast to pick his brain on some production and songwriting stuff. And here we are! In this conversation we talk about Ben's st...

One word to describe Virginia-native band Mae: beloved. There is something beautiful and special about this emo/indie/rock band that fans and musicians alike are drawn to. The songs are majestic, the lyrics are poetic, the musicianship and conceptualizations are next level. But it is all done with taste and in a super approachable manner. Join us as we do a deep dive through the Mae discography, s...

Did you know BOYS LIKE GIRLS had 4 albums? We didn't either. Join Andrew and Derek as they discuss first discovering the band through their music video for The Great Escape, the many twists and turns the band has taken musically, Andrew's "theory" on Martin's voice, Derek's apologetics for Crazy World, and, of course, how iconic that first self-titled record is. Oh, and W...

For our final episode of our Richmond Series, we had the opportunity to chat with Aaron Stone of My Epic. Many people probably don't associate My Epic with Richmond, unless you were Jake and were there from the beginning. But My Epic played a lot of shows in the city, toured with some local favorites, and formed special bonds with people and venues in the city. Aaron is awesome and forthcoming wit...

One of the more confessional, dynamic, piano-rock driven bands of the 2000s Richmond Emo scene was Colin Healy and the Jetskis. In this wonderful conversation with frontman Colin, we talk about writing pop songs, going mini-viral in Richmond, recording, success in simplicity, and falling in love playing music with your wife. Colin and Caroline still perform out at venues around Richmond, so give t...

Get ready for an absolute history lesson of Richmond Emo from the perspective of this week's guest, Jason Thompson! He walks us through his early years finding hardcore shows in Richmond, learning guitar, Straight Edge, the transition to "emo", learning Cubase during a medical study, being a Dad, and his new hobby that's even more niche than the hardcore scene: mopeds! It was an absolute joy to ta...

Jim Ivins was, is, and always will be, the biggest fan and advocate for the Richmond Emo Scene. We chatted for several hours about what it was like playing punk rock, the MTV effect, his famous hair-metal uncle, why he thinks Richmond should have been the next Seattle, and oh yeah, how he fronted the first (and only) American rock band to play Sudan. Buckle up, this is a fun one! Jim's charisma is...

Armor For Sleep is one of those really cool bands that seemed to have gone under the radar. Their debut album Dream To Make Believe introduced listeners to their emo lyricism and storytelling, as well as their knack for being able to write fantastic riffs. But then they released 2005's What To Do When You Are Dead. And the evolution was incredible. A concept record, complete with a reprise; dy...