Tour Stories/The Check-In with Joe Plummer

Juicebumps is a zany no-wave tinged post punk four piece based in Oakland, CA. With an ever-changing and strong visual aesthetic, Juicebump's look, performance and supporting graphic design carries the band as much as their heavy synthesizer base and angular guitar hooks. Their new record Jumbo is out October 13 on Rocks In you Head Records. In this episode, Joe talks with Parker, Spencer and Shai...

Jenn Champion is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. She is a founding member of the legendary gloomers Carris's Wierd, recorded 4 records under the moniker "S" and now releases material and performs as Jenn Champion. Her newest self produced release, The Last Night of Sadness ( out Oct. 13 via Gay Forever) is a rich and confident journey, tinged with heavy synth/p...

Season 5 debut with Vice Cooler! Vice Cooler is an artist, musician, producer, director, and photographer based in Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, Vice co-founded the influential no wave band XBXRX in Mobile, Alabama and later he became a member of The Raincoats along with touring as a member of Chicks on Speed. Vice has gone on to work with Peaches, Linda Lindas, Kim Gordon, Ladytron, Dee...

This week Tour Stories presents Ruinous Medias newest podcast Hyphenate with Randy Randall. On today’s Hyphenate with Randy Randall, Randy sits down with legendary Skateboarder/Photographer/Guitarist Ray Barbee to talk all things skate, music, and photos. Getting started skating in the early 80’s and continuing to follow the creative stoke through music and photography. Ray is a legend in the Skat...

Ryan Patterson is the singer, song-writer, guitarist and founding member of Fotocrime, a cinematic tinged post-punk synth-electropop band based in Louisville. Their fourth record, Accelerated (out on Artoffact Records September 8th) takes the band a step further into the dark wave, this time with a richer melodic landscape and more inclusive genre portfolio. In this episode Ryan shares his lyrical...

Tim Rutili is a musician, film maker, visual artist and founding member of Califone. The newest record, villagers (out now vie jealous butcher) is a celebration of noise, experimental soundscape and elegant melody garnished with the silk of 70's AM radio and the smooth of classic pop. In this episode Tim tells us how death is a motivator behind his 30+ year musical journey and why the search conti...

Sarah Mary Chadwick is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist based in Melbourne. She will release her eighth studio record  Messages To God on September 15th via Kill Rock Stars. Produced by Tony Espie, this playful and raw romp through personal darkness leaves the listener "entertained" and surprisingly optimistic. In this episode Sarah shares the reason for her early piano training and how it pla...

This week Joe shares a tour story from a show in Conway, Arkansas with The Black Heart Procession in 2002. What could go wrong could go right. This episode is supported by Izotope. For a limited time, use code FRET10 for a discount on all software. Check it all out at Izotope

Nic Gohl and Drew McBride are the guitarists and founding members of Chicago based Deeper. Their third release and Sub Pop Records debut Careful is out September 8th and is followed by an extensive North American and European tour. In this episode Drew and Nic share their musical backgrounds, how Deeper came together in their college years and the audio and visual evolution of the band to now. The...

This week's episode is a playlist of the bands Joe has recorded and toured with over the past 25 years. This chronological compilation is a celebration and an appreciation of the people he's had the fortune to work with throughout his career as a musician. Take the journey and enjoy. Tracklist Positive Greed: Retribution, Bob's Song Bare Minimum: Fox Channel 9, "6" Replikants: Xxenogenesis, Jazz H...

This episode is dedicated to the life, music and art of Rick Froberg, singer and guitarist for the bands Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, and Obits. I can remember the first time I heard Pitchfork at Fallout records in Seattle. From the moment I heard his cracking voice, the hooky jangle of his riffs, I was hooked on everything Rick. His stage presence, his vinegary and potent version of Fu...

Heather Larimer and Brian Naubert are the husband/wife duo that make up Portland based power-pop band Corvair. Their potent sophomore effort Bound to Be is out now via Paper Walls and Where It's At Is Where You Are. In this episode we discuss how their relationship plays into their writing process and how that has changed. They share their long game of record output and the process of making Bound...

Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and founding member of Night Beats. His is, alongside Carolina Faruolo, one half of the Tropicalia infused psych rock band Abraxas and also a co-collaborator in the UFO Club with Christian Bland from The Black Angels. Rajan, the newest release from Night Beats, is a rhythmically humid psychedelic odyssey that tou...

D.A. Stern (aka David Stern) is an LA based, New Jersey raised songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. His newest record, Don't Take Your Heartache Out On The World (Sept 13 via Symphonic) is a richly produced hook party that both globally and specifically addresses the trappings of love loss, infidelity and even "punkness", all in one sincere and at times humorous package. In this episod...

Kate Stables is a singer, song-writer, multi instrumentalist and founding member of This Is The Kit. British born Paris based Stables will be releasing her 7th full length record, Careful Of Your Keepers on June 9th via Rough Trade Records. The new effort is a complex, soothing and magnetic collection of songs produced and "toneset" by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals, Neon Neon). In this episode J...

PONY is a guitar power pop duo from Windsor, Ontario by way of Toronto. Currently comprised of singer/songwriter/founding member Sam Bielanski and multi-instrumentalist/co-collaborator Matty Morand, the band has released Velveteen (Take This To Heart Records), a irresistible hook laden hyper catchy effort that dabbles with The Velveteen Rabbit as a vehicle for expressing the power of giving love a...

John Goff, also known as Cascadia Bagpiper, has been a professional bagpiper since 1984. Originally from San Diego, he currently resides in the Pacific Northwest and plays memorials, funerals, weddings, and various celebrations. John is also an experimental musician, playing guitar, synthesizer and bagpipes with a wide range of musicians including Crash Worship, Neurosis, Merzbow, Steve Von Till,...

Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug are collectively Sweeping Promises. Together, they have written, performed and recorded the last two records entirely as a duo, both efforts celebrating their unique and dynamic chemistry. Their newest record, Good Living Is Coming For You will be released on June 30th on Feel It (North America) and Sup Pop (ROW) with extensive touring to follow. In this episode, Li...

Aviv Rubinstien is a Philly native, musician, filmmaker and podcaster living and working in Los Angeles. He has written and directed several feature films both in the United States and Southeast Asia. A true hyphenate, Aviv is the singer for the rock n roll band Jacob The Horse , he teaches screenwriting and filmmaking at Emerson College and Hussian College Los Angeles and, along side Rachel Brods...

Seán Barna is a singer, songwriter and has been playing drums professionally since he was 14, cutting his teeth in Floridian honky-tonks and eventually graduating to the touring broadway production of The Producers. Seán's interests have since turned to a more up front position, taking on both singing and writing for his solo efforts which has led him to recording 3 records and touring the world f...

79.5 is a Brooklyn based disco-soul, psychdelic-electro band started by singer-songwriter Kate Mattison. Following philosophical and lineup changes over the last two years, 79.5 is now fronted by both Mattison and Lola Adanna. In this episode Kate and Lola share the motivation behind the new self-titled record (out on Razor N Tape May 5th) and the single B.D.F.Q. The two tell us how their relation...

Finally, Joe Plummer tells a Tour Story of his own. He shares the true tail of a life threatening close call on a trip to Sevilla, Spain with his band at the time, The Black Heart Procession. A real life view into the romance, the love, the danger and the foolishness of life on the road from a seasoned touring musician. In this episode Joe is joined by a surprise (an mysterious) musical guest to a...

Dave Lombardo is a drummer, a drum innovator, a drumming enthusiast and a founding member of the seminal thrash metal band Slayer. Since his final departure from Slayer in 2013, Lombardo has kept himself busy touring, recording and performing with Fantomas, John Zorn, Mr Bungle, Dead Cross, Empire State Bastard and The Misfits, to name a few. On May 5th, we will see his first and long awaited solo...

Yvette Young is a singer, songwriter and guitarist for Covet. The new record, Catharsis is out now on Triple Crown Records. In this episode, Yvette shares her process the risks and the inspiration behind this new record. Joe and Yvette discuss the collaborative effort it takes to make a record, the power of instrumental music and the conflict between writing music verses touring. We learn that Joe...

Hayden Desser is a seasoned, self-producing singer songwriter from Toronto. After close to a 8-year break, Hayden has released a full length record via Arts and Crafts. This newest effort, Are We Good, celebrates a new writing approach and collaborations with Matt Berninger (The National) Leslie Feist (Feist) and Aaron Dessner (The National). In typical fashion the record is accompanied by thought...