Tour Stories/The Check-In with Joe Plummer

Thomas Hedlund is a drummer from Umeå, Sweden.  His powerful  multi-genre style and ability has landed him in many bands over the past 15 year, including  post-metalers Cult of Luna, The Perishers,  Khoma, and currently indie rock bands Deportees and Phoenix.  Outside of drumming, Thomas works for a Swedish grant committee, which provides grants and financial assistance for artists in need.  He te...

Sarah Peacock is a singer/songwriter from Nashville by way of Atlanta. She has released 4 studio albums, one live album and toured extensively for the past 16 years.  In this episode Sarah tells how a tourbus fire becomes a tale of community support and drastically changed her outlook on songwriting and her responsibility as an artist with a platform. We also hear a song from her latest release, B...

Sonny Kay is a singer and founding member of The VSS, Angel Hair and Year Future.  He also owned and operated the independent record label Gold Standard Laboratories (GSL) and has released a book featuring his record art and design.  In this episode we hear about Sonny's new endeavor, Low Key Arts, a non-profit arts organization in Hot Springs, Arkansas and how  the pandemic aloud  them to regroup...

For 20+ years singer/guitarist John Reis has fronted and co-founded legendary San Diego bands Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu,  Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes and The Sultans.  He also works as a producer, operates his record label Swami Records and is a local disc jockey.   In this episode John shares his pandemic habits and what he realized was most important to him in that time.   Joe and John al...

For the last 20 years, Dave Hernandez has played guitar and toured extensively with The Shins, Scared of Chaka and The Intelligence.   In this episode we get a jam packed chronology  of Dave's most sketchy, most wholesome and most exciting experiences from the road.  He also shares a few tour hacks. Music Scared of Chaca, The Intelligence, Palm Frauds and Joe Plummer.      Use Code Fret10 for a fr...

Nik Freitas is a singer, songwriter, photographer and skateboarder residing in Alhambra, CA. Over the past 20 years, Nik has released 10 solo records and toured with Broken Bells, All Smiles and Connor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band.  Nik's forthcoming release on Park The Van records is called Searching For Device and will be out September 15th 2021. In this episode , Joe and Nik discuss why Nik is n...

Rozzi is a singer-songwriter from San Francisco, California.  With the release of her two part EP/LP Hymm for Tomorrow  coming out on July 16th,  Rozzi is excited perform live again on her first headlining tour.   Rozzi tells Joe how she stayed inspired during the pandemic,  why its ok not to have made your masterpiece and what she hopes we've learned from the ongoing social justice movement.  She...

This is new podcast called Demoitis with Joe Plummer and Dann Gallucci.   Demoitis isn’t just the fear or regret that you’ve "lost the magic”  on the path from the first recording of a song.  It's also the experience musicians go through getting to the final version…. the people, the spaces and the resources that influence the process. As the 20th anniversary of the release of Oh, Inverted World a...

Nick Waterhouse is a singer, songwriter and producer from Southern California and has  released five LP's on Innovative Leisure., He was a previous guest on The Check-In and was kind enough to give us a bonus Tour Story from his first European  tour.   There may or may not be a secret visit from Joe's pal Nick Thorburn too.  Whoops! Music by Nick Waterhouse and Joe Plummer Use Code Fret10 for a fr...

Rerun Rerun!  People love this episode so much we're reposting for the newcomers! Enjoy the brilliance of Creed Bratton! Creed Bratton from the folk rock band The Grass Roots and the TV show The Office tells us what it's like to survive a plane crash, fight off wild dogs in Tripoli and have an acid meltdown in from of Bill Graham at The Fillmore. Use Code Fret10 for a free month of Music Productio...

Andy Hull is the guitarist, songwriter and singer for Manchester Orchestra.  He is also co-founder of the bands label,  Favorite Gentlemen.   In this episode Joe and Andy talk about 2021 tour plans, home life,  and their experiences both being and having a traveling dad.  We hear a couple tunes from the new Manchester Orchestra record The Million Masks of God   and discuss the importance of a real...

Hannah Jadagu is a singer songwriter and producer based in New York City by way of Mesquite, Texas.  Her bedroom-produced debut EP What Is Going On ?  was released on Sub Pop Records and is a wonderfully dreamy and thoughtful listen in under 30 minutes.  In this episode, Joe and Hannah talk life in New York as a freshman at NYU,  the vibe she wanted to create with her "reoccurring cast" videos  an...

Ari Surdoval is a writer based in Nashville by way of New York City.  Over the 2020 year, he began, finished and self published his first novel,  Double Nickels,  best described as a "post-punk coming of age story" that takes place in a small working class town in the American northeast in the 1980's.  Joe and Ari discuss the his experience and reason for self publishing, his motivation and proces...

Rosie Tucker is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Los Angeles who also finds the time to teach audio production to middle school kids.   In this episode Rosie and Joe discuss their experience contracting Covid-19,   Rosie's thoughts on remote teaching and the difficulties of emotional regulation when you are forced to share the same space with someone for over a year.   Rosie's t...

Over the last 3 years, Nicholas Galanin and Otis Calvin III have been making Indian Yard, the debut record from the project Ya Tseen on Sub Pop records.  We hear how the two veteran collaborators made the record both remotely and in person,  the importance of both processes and why trust, generosity and patience made the project flow.  They also discuss why "back to normal" may not be a good thing...

Anya Marina is a singer-songwriter based in New York City. Since 2009, she has recorded 5 studio albums and toured the U.S. extensively both as an opener and headliner. In this episode Anya tells us three separate stories, which all are coincidentally tied together by  either Florida or crowd heckling.   Anya shows us that you can still have fun in a on stage disaster and also how to maneuver a mi...

William Goldsmith has played drums for over 20 years. He is a founding member of Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft and was the first drummer for the Foo Fighters. We start this episode with a Check-In. William tells us how he split his time in the last year caring for three kids and writing and recording two records with his new band Assertion. We also learn that William took 9 years off from...

Michael Cera is an actor, producer, songwriter and touring musician. He is best known for his roles in Superbad ,  Arrested Development , the voice of Robin in The Lego Batman Movie, and his Tony nominated performance in the Broadway production of Lobby Hero . In addition to acting, Michael has also toured extensively playing bass guitar with Mister Heavenly and Alden Penner. In this episode Micha...

Nick Bockrath is the guitarist of Cage The Elephant. Before Cage, he toured and recorded with Nicos Gun and Morning Teleportation. In this episode Nick and Joe talk pandemic gardening, brisket burning and the state of vaccination in the U.S. Nick also tells us about touring with a broken leg and what it’s like to share 1 van with 12 people. Episode is sponsored by Izotope. Izotope.com .  Music by...

Joey Holman and Roddy Bottum  are  Man on Man. They've spent most of the pandemic traveling from New York to LA, caring for their mothers and writing their first musical collaboration. But Man on Man is more than music, it has a strong visual aspect that expresses body positivity that has resonated with the queer community. There is also a communal component called Chosen Family,  which serves as...

Jeremiah Green has been the drummer for Modest Mouse for over 20 years. Outside of his rock n roll life, Jeremiah cares for his son, dogs, cats and chickens in Port Townsend, Wa. He also records his own music at home and owns a store called Thuja that sells "things". In this episode Jeremiah tells us of why the pandemic may be good for future change and Joe and Jeremiah discuss how capitalism has...

Stephen Malkmus is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Portland Oregon, He is a founding member of Pavement, Silver Jews and releases both solo records and records under Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks. In this episode Joe and Stephen talk post Trump Portland, vaccine distribution , the permeance of 90's pop culture and the significance of the last pre-internet decade. Stephen tells us he's miss...

Daniel Lanois is a multi grammy winning producer and engineer. He's worked with U2, Bob Dylan, Neal Young, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and Emmylou Harris to name a few. In addition to his production accolades, Daniel has consistently recorded, produced and toured his own solo efforts. Joe and Daniel discuss the benefits of playing arrangements live before recording the forthcoming record "Heavy Sun"...

This episode combines a few tour stories AND a Check-In with Mikael Jorgensen, keyboardist of Wilco. It all starts off with some words for the recently passed Chick Corea. Next we hear Mikael's views on collaboration, the importance of making a mess in songwriting and why he loves improvisation, even if it's in "slow motion" due to a pandemic. He also tells us what it's like to do a 12 day tour wi...

Katie Schecter is a singer, guitarist and songwriter from Nashville by way of NYC. In this episode Joe and Katie talk post Trump/pre vaccine Nashville and the importance of looking outward and helping others. She hips Joe to Gill Scott Herons "The Vulture" and  tells us about her experience making her record "Bad for Business".  All this and surprise visit from the spirit of Richard Swift !  Enjoy...