Occupy The Void with Xtina

What happens when two people with loud brains, big feelings and years of surviving their own minds sit down and compare notes? Artist Caroline Harrison and host Christina Rowatt talk about the overlap between creativity, neurodivergence, depression, burnout and the exhausting effort of trying to function in a world that often feels too loud. From masking and emotional flooding through to the weird...

Mel Bampton has spent over thirty years on Australian radio. She is an author, yoga practitioner and accomplished music journalist who began her career at triple j in Brisbane. In this conversation, Mel reflects on producing the radio series and book Off The Record , travelling the world to interview legendary producers like Steve Albini and Michael Beinhorn. She also shares inside stories from he...

Brian Ritchie from Violent Femmes talks about how mental health was approached when he was starting out, the impact of breaking big early on his identity as a young musician, how he manages his mental health and lots more.

Donita Sparks of L7 talks about her experiences with mental health, the band's evolution and her frustration at the reaction to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade as the founder of Rock For Choice, a pro-choice concert series that featured everyone from Nirvana to Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Donita also discusses her proud role in empowering trans individuals as the...

What does depression feel like? Artists including Corey Taylor (Slipknot), B Real (Cypress Hill), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Jessica Pimentel, Devin Townsend, Jake Duzsik (Health), Connie Sgarbossa (Seeyouspacecowboy) and Kyle Anderson (Brand of Sacrifice) reflect on their experiences of depression and darkness. They also share the coping mechanisms that have helped them get through it.

Lindsay Schoolcraft is a Canadian singer, harpist, keyboardist and music producer who is an established solo artist who also spent seven years with Cradle of Filth. In this episode, she discusses her mental health journey and reflects on her time with Cradle of Filth, noting the challenges of dealing with narcissistic individuals and the strain on her mental health. Lindsay emphasises the importan...

Jake Duzsik of LA industrial band HEALTH explores his experiences with mental health, creativity and illness plus "DSMV," the song they named after The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - a volume where all of us in the mental health club are included. We talk about how their desolate music may be connecting right now because of the bleak world we currently inhabit, what it's l...

B Real from Cypress Hill discussed his own mental health experiences and the challenges of expressing vulnerability in aggressive environments like gang life and hip hop. B Real also shared his journey with cannabis, initially using it casually but later becoming an advocate. He highlighted the organic integration of cannabis themes in their music. B Real also touched on magic moments from the mak...

Jessica Pimentel (extreme metal band Brujeria, Netflix's Orange is the New Black) shares her long history with Tibetan Buddhism and how to directly apply it to your life to elevate your mental health and combat depression and suffering. She also explores her creative life as a musician, actor and artist in general.

This week's episode features Kyle from Canadian deathcore band Brand of Sacrifice, Sean from Australian metal band Make Them Suffer and Sam from British band Asking Alexandria, interviewed at Knotfest and Good Things Festival in Sydney, Australia. The three-part conversation delves into the stigma surrounding male mental health in the music scene, personal experiences with addiction and the impact...

John Joseph first came to prominence as the singer for NYC hardcore band CRO-MAGS. Now an established writer, Ironman, athlete, plant-based living advocate and all-around creative, John joins Tim and Christina to discuss his journey from foster care to finding music, overcoming addiction and achieving creative success and physical feats like a series of Ironman events. John's book "The PMA Effect"...

Music has the power to transform our lives. The extremely charismatic Benji Webbe of Skindred chats to Tim and Christina about the importance of positivity, projection, and choice in shaping mental health and wellbeing (especially while writing music during a pandemic). Benji also shares the very personal experience of losing his parents at a young age and the importance of appreciating relationsh...

Lindsay from Frenzal Rhomb chats to Tim and Christina about addressing mental health issues in the Australian music industry, his journey to sobriety (and what it revealed), new conversations about mental illness and the connection between men's mental health and domestic violence. We also share some techniques and lifestyle changes that we've all used to manage anxiety and keep our heads together...

Matt Tuck of Bullet For My Valentine and hosts Christina Rowatt and Tim Charles discuss the significance of vulnerability in creating meaningful and relatable music. He shares his experiences of opening up about mental health struggles through Bullet for My Valentine's music, emphasising the connection it has had with the fans. We also talk about balancing creativity and mental health in the rock...

Devil Wears Prada co-vocalist Jeremy DePoyster chats about his journey with mental health, how co-vocals work, his relationship with fellow musician Emma Boster of Dying Wish, and more.

John Joseph first rose to prominence as the singer for legendary New York hardcore band the Cro-Mags. He's since become a published author, activist, Ironman athlete and outspoken advocate for thinking for yourself and questioning authority. His new book, "Destroying Monsters" shares the harrowing tale of his family's relationship with addiction and how he and other prominent individuals maintain...

Can we prevent domestic violence? Can porn ever be a good thing? Do abusive people deserve a road to redemption? How dangerous is social media? In this week's episode we chat to Kiwi speaker and activist Richie Hardcore about the answers to these questions. We also explore his work teaching men and boys about masculinity and consent, sex education, sobriety, online identity and straight edge cultu...

Connie of SeeYouSpaceCowboy candidly shares her experiences of love, mental illness, staying creative, growing up in the hardcore scene, her own coming out story and some important musings on how we we can combat the trans mental health crisis.

Stephen Brodsky of Cave In talks about the magic of Kurt Cobain and his long journey of grief and recovery six years after the death of his talented bassist and friend, Caleb Scofield. In the second half of the show, hosts Tim and Christina delve deep into their own experiences of grief, lost loved ones and finding solace in the aftermath.

Musician Devin Townsend reflects on mental health, mental illness, emphathy, trauma, the musical creative process, creating a meditation practice and the life-changing impact of psychedelics. Devin has created over 30 albums of music that defies the simplistic "heavy" tag and operates in its own sonic realm of emotional expresssion and experimentation - a truly unique sound.

Rou Reynolds of UK band Enter Shikari reflects on why capitalist society couldn't be a worse system for our mental health and how we could break the system to save the planet and our minds. He also reflects on what being open about his struggles did for his connection with his fans. As Rou says, "society's push for self interest, for competition, our thirst for more (of everything) completely disr...

Lzzy Hale and Arejay Hale of Halestorm discuss overcoming depression and anxiety, connecting with the magic within, accepting yourself, the merits of therapy and medication, changing your inner voice and being the mental health "cycle breakers" in their family.

Nergal, the singer/guitarist from Polish extreme metal band Behemoth, shares his story of life after recovering from leukemia, the Behemoth musical renaissance that followed his experiences with his own mortality, why he moves on stage the way he does, some sure-fire strategies to lift your mood wherever you are in the world and if dance is something the frontman of one of the world's premier extr...

Iconic Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor talks about how being open with the fans about his struggles with mental illness changed the way he handled the issue with his loved ones, shares what he thinks is missing from the discussion around bipolar disorder, explores the connection between his state of mind and his lyrics, and reflects on surviving some of his darkest days.