Tour Stories/The Check-In with Joe Plummer

Joe drops the newest episode of PUNK THIS WEEK and sneaks onto the show to welcome Nina and Even to the Ruinous Podcast Network . "As of this moment, our podcast has joined Ruinous Media ! We get a check-in from our new pod father Joe Plummer ( Tour Stories , The Check-In ) before we even had a chance to sweep up all the crumbs from our conversation about Wheatsville popcorn tofu, Jet’s turbo crus...

Louis Bradshaw is the drummer and a founding member of Brighton based band Plantoid. They’re second full-length album Flare is set to be released on January 30 via Bella Union records. Louis tells us how the new record quickly slipped from a writing session to a recording session on the edge of the Welsh national park, Snowdoina. We learn why the band pivoted from a live recording approach to a mo...

Nate Mendel is the bass player of the Foo Fighters. He cut his teeth in the Northwest punk rock scene touring and recording with Diddly Squat, Christ On A Crutch and Sunny Day Real Estate, to name a few. In this episode Nate shares the curious history of nudity in his rock n roll career. Music by Nate Mendel, Lieutenant, and Joe Plummer. ⁠https://lieutenantmusic.bandcamp.com/album/if-i-kill-this-t...

Today we celebrate the release of the new All Smiles record Skate Videos From Memory (out January 6). Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy, Modest Mouse) and Joe discuss the visual inspiration behind the record and how skate videos shaped the sound. They talk about the impact that skate culture has had on not only their own music, but their general mindset and approach to life. We learn why the new record is...

Sari Jordan is a vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in New Orleans. Their debut album Perfect Be The Enemy is due out May 2026 with the video and lead single Freak hitting the streets on January 9th.  Sari tells us how New Orleans has shaped and nourished their musical life and why it’s a healthy and challenging scene. Sari shares how their approach to recording has changed from...

MEMORIALS is Verity Susman (Electrelane) and Matthew Simms (Wire, Better Corners, It Hugs Back, Uuuu, Fitted). Their newest single In The Weeds is out now via Fire Records. This is their first release since the acclaimed debut album, Memorial Waterslides. The duo tell us how both film scoring and the band Sterolab brought them together and why the formation was an accident in reverse. Verity and M...

Jamie Cheller is a founding member and guitarist of Brighton based indie dance rockers, congratulations . They will release their debut album Join Hands on February 13th, 2026, via Bella Union.  Jaime shares the story behind the formation of congratulations, why musicianship is important to them and how a combination of experimental music and 80’s rock energy seeped into their overall sound and de...

Will Epstein is a composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist based in Woodstock NY. His newest release, Yeah, mostly (out January 9th via Fat Possum Records) takes a turn from his avant-guard and soundscape tendencies and very comfortably settles into a more traditional form of song writing and direct lyricism, but retains the sonic intrigue of his earlier work. Will shares his experience of growi...

Thalia Zedek is a guitarist and singer based in Boston. Throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, she has joined and or been a founding member of several influential rock  bands including Live Skull, UZI, and Come. She continues to record and tour with her solo project Thalia Zedek Band and E.  Recently her mid 80’s band Via , a short-lived project with members of Nuclear Theater, Six Finger Satellite, UZI...

Alex Tōth is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, NYC. His newest album, And The Voice Said ( out February 27th via Northern Spy/Egg Hunt Records) is a co-production with long-time friend Caroline Rose and features a duet with Kimbra.  Alex tells us about his rowdy teen years led to a teen jazz program and why the trumpet gave him an identity amongst the Jers...

New Car Smell is wildly spirited London based trio made up of Alex Shaw (Sax), Jack Marks (Tuba) and Alex Shad (Drums). Their newest EP, Nerdz After All is available now. Nerdz After All is a more produced answer to their previous release, Keep Them On The Streets, and ode to busking and live performance. Both EPs retain a high level of psychotic energy in their own respects.  Alex, Jack and Alex...

Devon Church is a guitarist, singer and a songwriter based in Queens NY.  His newest solo record, All That’s Solid Melts Into Air is out 11.7. Growing up in Winnipeg, Devon tells us how his connection with music developed and why he feels songs are the best medium for his interest in poetry and literature. Joe and Devon discuss how his voice/word forward music combined with “bedroom production” ha...

Jon Chaney is the keyboardist and a founding member of San Francisco’s prog-psych-pop band, Magic Fig. As a quick follow to their 2024 S/T ep, their debut full length record, Valerian Tea , is due out 11.21 via Exploding In Sound Records. In this episode, Jon shares his path from hardcore and punk to more psychedelic and prog sounds. He tells us why France’s most famous astronomer became the inspi...

Matt Maust is the bass player for Cold War Kids, a visual artist and a t-shirt shirt collector based in Los Angeles. Ryan Kattner is a singer, composer, actor and founding member of the band Man Man. In this special episode, Joe talks with long time pals and bandmates about the movie Pavements , the experimental docufiction meta biopic about the legendary Stockton California band, Pavement. We beg...

Immersion is the electronic duo formed by life and art partners   Colin Newman of Wire and Malka Spigel of Minimal Compact.  Their newest record WTF?? is out now via their own label swim ~.  In this episode, Colin and Malka share the story behind their long-time collaboration, why it continues to evolve and how giving each other space played a role on the new record. They tell us how the songs the...

Olivia Barton is a singer-songwriter based in Pasadena,CA. Her third and most recent record For Myself and For You is described as a ‘‘powerful collection about queer love, family life, heartbreak, aging, anxiety and body image that are startling in their directness and crushing in their emotional weight”. In this episode Olivia shares the dynamics that drove a new creative process on For Myself a...

Alicia J. Rose is a musician, award winning photographer, director, and overall seasoned creator based in Portland Oregon. Alicia’s newest project, Menopunks, is a documentary and movement that follows Gen-X musicians and medical professionals as they challenge misinformation surrounding menopause and advocate for hormonal healthcare.   Menopunks has been described as “a raucous, myth-busting docu...

Izzy Hagerup is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist now based in Los Angeles by way of western Massachusetts. She operates under the moniker Prewn. Prewn’s sophomore effort System (out Oct 3 via Exploding In Sound) is described as a “private journal made public” and has taken a beautifully explorative and self-reflective turn from her debut record, Through The Window.   Izzy shares her...

Ron Gallo is a Philadelphia based singer-songwriter and creator of the social media project 7 AM Songs of Resistance for The Internet .  His newest album checkmate is due out October 17th via Kill Rock Stars. In this episode Ron tells us how growing up in the diverse South Jersey/Philadelphia DIY scene shaped his formative years, why he remains dedicated to music, and why words are the focus of hi...

Martin Atkins is a drummer, producer, educator, author, and museum operator. He has worked with PIL, Ministry, NIN, Skinny Puppy, Killing Joke and was a founding member of Pigface alongside fellow drummer and multi-instrumentalist, Bill Rieflin.  He also works as a consultant, has written multiple books on the music industry, and is the music industry studies coordinator at Millikin University. Ma...

Tim Carr (Perfume Genius, Hand Habits) is singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and session drummer based on Los Angeles. His newest album (out now) Pleasure Drives is a future looking vacillation of hi and low fi production drenched in California sunlight.  Tim explains how growing up in a musical family ultimately led him to a career in both production and performance. He shares his experienc...

Andrew Dalton is the singer of the California based band Nuzzle. Their seminal 1995 record, Follow, For Now will be re-issued via Solid Brass Records, complete with a remix and remaster for maximum clarity and bangoverage. In this episode, Andrew delivers a refreshed version of the band’s origin story, how he went from hanger on to member and why he thinks setting down the guitar was one of his be...

Richmond, VA based trio Reverse Yr Curse will release Where Are We Going And When Will We Get There on September 19th.  We learn why this re-united two piece quickly evolved into a trio, and how the band has re-connected them to the Richmond music scene. They share their experience making the new record, why they like to ignore songwriting “rules” and how a telepathic and conscientious engineer pr...

Boshra Alsaadi is a singer, songwriter, producer, and visual artist based in Los Angeles. Her solo project SAADI will release the sophomore album  Birds of Paradise on September 4 via Switch Hit Records. Boshra shares the trifecta of life changing events that spawned the new record, why she left the arts for a career in Microbiology and how Chris Coady and a Universal Audio interface brought pulle...

Megan March is the singer, drummer and a founding member of Oakland based Street Eaters. Their newest record Opaque will be released September 5th via Dirt Cult Records. Megan and Joe discuss her youth growing up in the vibrant bay area punk community and how the early days of “jammin econo” shaped the Streets Eaters sound and sustainable touring ethos. Megan shares her experience of giving birth...