#oh also if putting these on Bandcamp is a good idea-

[b1ttle]

Mic Check, Please! track #8: "it started here"

After 10 months (oops), the FINAL track is here!! Fun fact, this was actually the first song I wrote for this back in 2020, before I planned on writing any other ones. It was also the first full song I had written in at least 3 years at the time!

Song Art by @watermelonmountaindew <3

Mixing by my brother Alec Ferris (check out his music!)

Lyrics under the cut!

(Verse 1)

When I was younger 

All I wanted was the crown

My father wore atop his head

I swore I’d never let him down 

But look at me now

(Chorus 1)

Cause every dragon that I slayed 

Was another pill to take

And every smile he shot my way

It wasn’t enough, it was never enough 

Maybe I was never enough 

(Verse 2)

Expectations 

It was all part of the game

That I loved with all my heart

Still it broke me all the same

They only loved me for my name 

(Chorus 2)

All those walls that I built up

Just to keep from crashing down 

No one tried to break me out 

They didn’t care, no they didn’t care 

to show me how 

Until you came around 

(Bridge)

A rocky start when it began

I thought I couldn’t let you in 

You saw right through the mask I wore

You changed my world, you unlocked the door

You ended my own inner war 

(Chorus 3)

Was punished for all that I’d done 

For all the wars I could’ve won 

And all those ways that I’d fucked up 

But you didn’t care, no you didn’t care 

You showed me love 

(Ending verse)

I was waiting for my life to start 

After all that I’d gone through

But now I know straight from the heart

It started here, it started with you 

It started with you.

[omegasmileyface]

YIPPEE I FINISHED MY FIRST SONG!!! its not perfect but it is in fact a song!!! :DDDDDD

this is my art for @ecto-implosion 2023! thats a Danny Phantom reverse big bang, which means it was an event where artists would work on an art piece, a fanfiction author would partner up with them and make a fic based off of it, and then everyone would release everything in a short time period— this song is intended to be listenable even if you don't know anything about the show, but it is a fansong from the perspective of Penelope Spectra singing to/about Vlad Masters :3

my partner was @nanaarchy, who made THIS KICK-ASS COMPANION FIC PLEASE READ IT THERES SO MUCH ATTENTION TO DETAIL OH MY GOD!!

and thank you @krzysztofpikes for being a HUUUUUUUGE help with the software and the chords and the mixing and overall just helping me do this thing that i had no idea how to do whatsoever

if you'd like to download the song, you can do that here (srry i didnt upload it to spotify or bandcamp or anything lol), and here's the youtube upload! also, the lyrics are below the cut!

Do you feel that desperation hiding underneath your skin? Do you feel the way that loneliness burns? Do you recognize your actions always stemmed from within? Have you figured out to live and to learn? Do you still fear the sight of needles and the beeping of machines? Still assume people pawns by default? Do you smell that sweet ambrosia hiding underneath your skin? Well, the good thing is it's all your fault The first part of healing is admitting that you're sick and I can almost taste it in the way you move your lips You haven't thought of therapy since when you were a kid That changes now! While I'm here, congratulations on the magazines and house every girl in town lined up but one And what a beautiful blue bedroom, such a shame it's untouched I would bet you'd raise the perfect son Everything somebody could want unless that somebody was you Here you are, still haunted after dawn I bet even if I put him right in front of you, you couldn't rid the world of that pollution show your old friend absolution I'm sure you've noticed by now trauma gave you your start You wouldn't be here if you'd never gotten torn apart Go tell your enemies you're thankful that your heart was eaten by the Green-Eyed Monster! The first part of healing is admitting that you're sick and I can almost taste it in the way you move your lips You haven't thought of therapy since when you were a kid Let me just go ahead and change that now... The first part of grieving is admitting that you're dead so move yourself on over, wrap my teeth around your neck You hadn't thought of therapy 'til I got in your head That's my world now! All these lectures about power... and when were you going to use it? Hmm. That's what I thought.

[probsnothawkeye]

Okay I had a very long and busy and bad day but it's finally FINALLY time to talk about @eelerschoice !!!!

Spoilers for episode 1 below but if you want a non-spoiler review: it's incredible. Listen to it. This is not a request it's genuinely so fucking good and you have to listen

The logical part of my brain knew the eels had to be big. That said, when they were describing how big the eels were my brain went "Oh!! Eels BIG!!" as if I didn't assume that

The discussion of how the eeling economy worked (from the eelers to the bone appraisers and the people who actually like sold the meat of it all) is really really interesting both in terms of world building and also in terms of me wanting to know everything about the big eels

When they said that the eels are caught with 2 boats and only 1 came back? My heart sank. Real effective shorthand for "hey. Big eel dangerous." And also allowed for introduction of religious ideas in the world. Lighting candles, talks of funerals, little things that make the world feel big. All of it is so fucking good

And then there's Ran and Pugill who are just so good right off the bat

Rae Lundberg and B Narr did incredible jobs with these characters and im already in love with them both

I love Pugill's pining and the fact that he's in a gang apparently and his friendship with Ran

And Ran with their big aroace vibes and bigger dreams and desire for a better (if not more dangerous) life

The last line being their desire to start eeling? Iconic. Inspired. I'm sure terrible things won't result from it in this maritime horror fantasy show

Lastly we gotta talk about the song because holy shit the SONG

Hauntingly beautiful and everything you want a sea shanty to be

I forgot about the musical aspect of the show and was very :0!!

It will be stuck in my head forever

Please put it on bandcamp I'll pay human money for it

Eeler's Choice *is* joining the list of podcasts I'm annoying about when they release episodes that's just how this is gonna go

Lou and Daisy have made one hell of a show and I can't wait to see what comes next from it!!

[unlikelywrestlingfan]

i also really appreciate it that we both freaked out about this discovery but both for different albums LMAO (as i legitimately had no idea they made another one, i didnt even know their bandcamp link was still active so oh boy was this a surprise lmao. glad to know they still sound just as garage and unintelligible as they did before 💜)

It was a great freak out and great discovery XD. Yeah, Main Statement from what I saw one of the other members found the audio files for it again in 2020, so they put it on Spotify, but it looks like it originally also came out in 2010! Or at least that's when it was added to Bandcamp XD. I'm losing my mind over the fact that the other album says it can be purchased as a Compact Disk. Not cd, but a Compact Disk. Yes, lol Shelley, sweetie, wtf are you saying lmao but it's so so good!!!

[mudwerks]

I've been following your publications for years. When your account was deactivated I was a little anxious. Mudwerks, where can we hear from you if Tumblr has the stupid idea of destroying your account?

wow - that is a good question, and one I've been thinking about for the past few days.

It turns out I have a fair number of followers that are outside of tumblr, so I need to have something in place.

I had one person contact me through my bandcamp account (https://mudwerks.bandcamp.com/) and a few people emailed me on my gmail.

I had someone message me on instagram - my accounts are generally called "mudwerks" if possible.

Initially, the answer would be tumblr.com/mudwerksredux, the blog I made when this one went away.

But that implies that tumblr will be ongoing - so I would also recommend the options above in the absence of tumblr.

Oh - I also have a reddit account - I don't post much - but I look at it frequently. Again the account is "mudwerks".

I need to put this stuff in the header so it's accessible before the fact.

And I will update if i think of something else.

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary15

9/19-20/2023

less exhausted now than yesterday.

i got 5 songs re-mixed today, which puts me at 13/25 (yes there are songs i forgot i had to work on and there's one i added that's out already but i should redo it for like, bandcamp and spotify/whatever (and there's some i'm still not counting because they're pretty simple and honestly i feel like they won't be too difficult)).

today i did get really happy doing all of this at least, i had a breakthrough w/ the guitar processing stuff that's at least gonna help a lot on some of these songs/tones, where i use something that simulates a lossy mp3 and stick it early in the chain, parallel with something, and then use the chime-y sound that it creates, essentially a warbly reactive bandpass with some random elements, and it helps add a sense of real guitar, it also helps un-deaden and de-cotton-ball some of the sounds, but i think i can work on that still. there's an answer somewhere to that problem.

maybe i can go do that now, who knows. i've got some loose time i guess but i should actually let myself relax, all the best ideas come to me when i'm not overworking myself. i think partially the problem is the sound loses a lot of dynamics/transients which would give it more textural shape.

it's also just the nature of distortion. stacking so much makes the sound, i dunno, rounder, or not round, it's sharp, but it's kind of like razor thin in ways. i like the razor part, and i like thin, but i want it to be a little more present, i think that means needing some more low end, it could be a situation where there's two channels, one maintaining the lower end.

also what the hell is up with impulse response cabinet things and them sounding so freaking, i dunno, weak.

whatever. but this is all my life is right now. kinda. tomorrow i'm going to do errands (woo (actually crying but whatever)) and hopefully i'll get to do some of the short songs before i am whisked away.

oh my god i can get post-grunge impulse responses. honestly i could on a lark but honestly no thanks i don't need to fool around with an impulse response based on the guitar cabs the guy from hoobastank uses. what is the point.

there's people who would see that and say they're going to make the most fucked up music ever using that, like a dare, i'm going to be brave and say that i am too good for that. even if i'm stupid and cleaning up a 25 song (+ more) mess. maybe i sound like i hate fun but i just hate what some people treat as fun, or i don't hate it. i just feel bored and frustrated by it cuz it's like, i'm gonna handle trash and act above it and also extol it because x y or z and it's a lame impulse and also i guess gently tied to some weird revivalist bent people can take up.

sorry for bitching and moaning about something that's essentially really specific and dumb.

listening to other fucked up guitar music makes me feel good about where my stuff is at, it's like i can figure out some tiny things and get it where it needs to be. i think as it stands the biggest issue could really be the bass sounds, they still come out a bit loud, which is an easy thing to fix, i just wonder if lowering the db is actually what i should do, but what else, who knows.

vocals also are a bit tough but they always are, you just find where they sit and stick them there, is how i feel about it.

who knows how much longer this whole mixing talk is gonna go on for. it could be my life forever. i don't want it to be, i want to write again soon but my mind is wholly on this, on the communion w/ soundwaves through abstract graphical and numerical means. an extremely material circumstance i think.

i got distracted from my #superimportant diary by a conversation with a friend, it's veered into a discussion of when we've felt insulted by artists people compare us to. the two of us have been burroughs'd by people, and not to say he's a bad writer or anything, but it's not what either of us are going for, and it's interesting how people can be really appreciative of what you're doing or something and vocalize that, and you can sit there and feel, in the wake of someone being really nice to you, and honest with you, and a lot of things i feel like i should appreciate, i am left incapable because of a bad taste. this isn't what happens even most of the time with comparisons, especially with my music. it's always nice to hear what people think. often they feel kind of left field, but good, or they're so left field it's like, i'm glad you got that out of it, but something about how people do it with writing in particular, there's a level of people treating your voice like it's a party trick and a condescension i guess.

it's also such an asshole thing to complain about someone being nice to you, but at the end of everything, it's just whatever, it's a thing. i think i'm allowed to ruminate when it's something that's a strange feature of my life. it's an ugly kind of rock formation i see that isn't a terrible eyesore but it's strange the earth's mantle and crust and everything conspired towards that, and the strangeness not so great and not especially meaningful, you are just put before it and nod at it and think about it later, i guess.

i shouldn't have to justify everything about my life or inside my head but i do i guess cuz i'm cuhrayzzzzeeeeeeee.

when i type like that i feel like i'm actually getting myself across, not in a way where like, i know someone understands, it's just letting something deeper inside out. it's how i actually feel and i guess no one could understand why it makes me feel, i dunno, whatever cluster of things it makes me feel.

i just remembered ryuichi sakamoto's passing, and almost cried, might cry, kidn of crying, crying.

not much to say about it, just a real tragedy, a real legend and genius. i love him a lot.

it's a bad idea to listen to forbidden colors, but i will.

what a perfect articulation of something, that song. i don't know why sakamoto is one of the musician deaths that makes me the saddest, i really do cry over him more than any other, it's not new at all really, it's not fresh anymore and it still gets to me, and he was old, it wasn't shocking really. but i guess we all knew it was coming, those who keep up at least saw the stuff about his cancer. i think it's because his music and how he wrote music represents something fairly singular to me. it's hard to get me to sit and listen to anything classical adjacent, him doing solo piano stuff a lot makes that easier, since i love that anyways, but his particular interpretations of older kinds of music are just really moving. you can sense his entanglement with that music and the will to move past it, the recognition of others, through time.

now i'm thinking about house music. good house music always makes me really melancholy, even if the song is happy, endlessly joyless, really it's the joy that makes me sad, it makes the gulf apparent, i am here and now, and all the parties these old songs were made to keep going and start and end, never even expected me to be there. meaner kinds of dance music are what i end up making, because of that emotional reality. i guess it's not that house is uncomplicatedly happy or something either, dj sprinkles talks about that on an album. it's also where a lot of queer people collected themselves, and partied, but not really escaping a miserable material reality, things like that. the sense of loss and distance and alienation is greater now. only for a night, and in the night, do you and your body join, a question is asked, how long can the night go on for, and a journey starts there, and what are all the ways we can modulate time, and so on, not to escape, but to be embodied, to exit the escpaism that surrounds us at all times (something something the spectacle (which on some level includes dance music, especially now.))

us being general and not localized to queerness, only to the downtrodden, of which there are many.

this is a lame pick, but for these particular emotional reasons/resonances, the song i'm your brother by round one (basic channel basically) is one of the best house songs, it feels like it's speaking to that exactly.

and i guess i'll end this entry with a link to another dance song, colder, not house, but it's a song that perfectly captures how it feels to walk home from work at night, not liberated but feeling liberation on your tongue and that denial, the slim hours you have to live your life, all our desperate existences, and stuff.

byebye !!!!

[luxflora]

Malevolent audio edits I want to put together:

Compilations of the various instances of the 3(?) primary score tracks I've noted that aren't on bandcamp. I'm currently making myself dizzy going between e18, e20, e24, and e28 trying to match tracks without actually writing anything down lmao

Compilation of John talking Arthur down from panicking

Compilation of... I'm thinking all of Kayne's scenes? At the very least I'm going to end up with a reference folder that has all of his dialogue, so we'll see how the numbers come up.

Compilation of the "good boy"s and "you did it"s et cetera

I may do something with the "Oh, Arthur"s? I know someone else has done something along those lines already, so we'll see.

Kinda want to track instances of call and response communication. The "John?" "Arthur!" type things, and the "Well." "Well."s.

If somebody hasn't done it yet I WILL feel obligated to do an expressions of shock and disgust compilation. "Jesus christ!" "Oh my god!" You get the picture. Not sure how much of the accompanying descriptions I'll include - maybe a version with and a version without?

Compilation of my personal favorite Kayne highlights, of course

I'm going to smack some Kayne dialogue over like, jazz music maybe. Haven't put a lot of thought into what exactly I'm going to go for on this. I have some different ideas so I'll probably just focus on clipping first and THEN experiment with layering. I may make a playlist specifically for him that's intended for me to draw from for this.

Might overlay Kayne's listing off the contents of Arthur's bag with the music of the witch's shopping list in Into the Woods? Probably not gonna do this one but meh

John and Arthur bickering (NOT any of the serious fights. I'm too sensitive) overlaid with various songs from my Gay Divorce playlist

Mostly unrelated but I was trying to figure out why I'd put Kesha's "Cannibal" on my Malevolent playlist And Then I Remembered

Chase scenes over K.Flay's Run For Your Life or woodkid's Run Boy Run? Ngl the chase music kind is kind of unpleasant to my ears (it's good chase music, definitely gives that anxiety/fear feeling! Just kind of painful) so I may not do this

I think that's everything I had in mind, at least that I can think of right off-hand or articulate properly, and then some. If I think of anything else I'll probably try to use this post for organization. Might also create a tag for my notes on the music of Malevolent? We'll see. I got all of what's currently out downloaded & organized this morning so I'm pleased with that ^^

[celtfather]

When She Held Me In Her Arms, Running Tips

Happy Valentine’s Day! I have a love song story to share with you from my newest CD, Selcouth. Find how my next album, Come Adventure With Me, is progressing. I added another February gig to my calendar. I share things no one ever told me about running. And is Arbor Day in February?

This is Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories #265

0:24 - “Galway Shawl (live)” by Marc Gunn from Camping Trip 2022

6:13 - WELCOME TO SCI FI PUB SONGS & STORIES

I am Marc Gunn. This is the audio edition of my newsletter as well as the liner notes for the songs I record. You can follow this show at PubSong.net or send an email to pubsong@celtfather to sign up and get the MP3s for my songs featured in this episode.

7:19 - UPCOMING SHOWS

FEB 17: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 7-10 PM

MAR 10: Tucker Brewing Company, Tucker, Ga @ 6:30-9:30 PM

MAR 15: St Patrick’s Day Concert on Bandcamp @ 7 PM EST

MAR 18: Pontoon Brewing, Sandy Springs, GA @ 1-4 PM

MAR 18: Ironshield Brewing, Lawrenceville, GA @ 7-10 PM

JUN 3-10: Celtic Invasion Vacations, County Mayo, Ireland

WHAT’S NEW?

Thanks to everyone on Patreon who voted for the next Internet Concert theme. Next month’s theme is Irish music for St Patrick’s Day. In April, we’ll sing Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers.

Read the Daily Journal from my Celtic Invasion of Loch Lomond.

Oh! Make sure you subscribe to Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories. I’m sharing songs I recorded on a camping trip last fall. They’re kinda romantic too!

8:47 - COME ADVENTURE WITH ME…

Is the title of my next album. I did a Kickstarter for it about this time last year. It was a huge success, fully funded a few days into the campaign. I gave myself until July to actually release the album to supporters. But that’s not good enough. I’m gonna try to release the digital music to supporters by my birthday, March 17.

Will that happen? We shall see.

Right now, I have 8 songs fully completed. I have four more that are being edited. So I’m well on the way to completing it by that date. There are several other tracks. I still haven’t come up with a good album pin idea. But I’m hopeful I can figure that out in the next few weeks.

But I am super excited that the project is almost done. Because I have three other albums to work on: Dancing With Hobbits, Another Faire to Remember by Brobdingnagian Bards, and whatever the next album will be… I have an idea or two…

12:07 - “Wherever I May Roam (live)” by Marc Gunn from Selcouth

14:55 - DOWNLOAD MY FREE EP

You can download all of my songs in this show. Just send me an email.  pubsong@ celtfather You will get an auto responder with a link to download this month’s album. You can also subscribe to the podcast if you’re not already subscribed. It’s quick and easy.

While you’re emailing me to get your free EP, let me know what you’re doing while listening to this episode.

15:06 - WHEN SHE HELD ME IN HER ARMS

In 2001, the Brobdingnagian Bards were performing at a lot of faires. Kansas City Renaissance Festival was one of the biggest and the coolest gig we had booked to that date. They paid us to fly to KC from Austin, Texas for several weekends. They put us up in a hotel. We hung out with 3 Pints Gone. We made a lot of new fans. We were even hired to perform at a wedding.

I don’t remember all of the details surrounding the writing of “When She Held Me In Her Arms”. But that festival stands out in my mind. I remember writing the song in the hotel after a long day at faire. It flowed out of me, filled with so much hope, love, and romance about finding true love and never turning back.

Andrew and I recorded it shortly after that. We went into the studio. The Bards recording was decent enough, but the performance was way too fast. So it did not end up on A Faire to Remember or Songs of Ireland. But when I was trying to put together a compilation of music so we could book some wedding gigs, I added that song to A Celtic Renaissance Wedding. But I was never really happy with it as a recording.

Nevertheless, I continued to sing the song over the years. When I met Gwen in 2009, I sang it to her at MileHiCon in Denver. She was living in Virginia at the time. But she flew to Colorado to be with me for that con.

It took another five years before I recorded it again, and some years after that before I dug up the recording and the guitar additions by Daniel I Briggs before I finally sent it to Sam Gillogly to add fiddle. That was when I knew the song was finally done. I love the result.

Best part about it for me is when I come to that line about “twenty years later I’ve not regretted a day.” Then I realize that Gwen and I are now on 13 years of marriage. Wow! Mind blown! And yup, no regrets!

Here’s the lyrics: When She Held Me In Her Arms

Lyrics and music Marc Gunn

Through a market, I wandered and prayed That I'd find me a woman I might marry some day. Well, I never dreamed when I prayed that prayer That the woman I longed for was standing there.

When she held me in her arms that night, I held her close, and I held her tight. And I swore that day forth, I'd love her all of me life. When she held me in her arms that night.

She smelled of the sweetest lilac skin. And I admit it now it drew me in Oh, her voice cast a spell I could not disobey. Every word was a river that swept me away.

Oh, the market became a more beautiful place: The flowers more fragrant, and the clothing all lace. And her eyes, oh, her eyes! They begged me to stay And twenty years later, I've not regretted a day.

20:15 - “When She Held Me In Her Arms” by Marc Gunn from Selcouth

23:01 - JOIN THE CLUB

The show is brought to you by my Gunn Runners on Patreon. If you enjoy this podcast or my music, please join the Club. Every week, you get bonus podcasts, downloadable songs, printed sheet music, blogs, or stories from the road. Plus, you get weekly access to my Coffee with The Celtfather video concerts. Sign up for as little as $5 per month and save 15% with an annual membership. Thanks to my newest Gunn Runners on Patreon: Alice M, Karla A

23:55 - THINGS NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT RUNNING

I started running right before the pandemic closed everything down in 2000. It made a huge impact on my life. But I also realized that most everything I knew about running was wrong!

You don’t have to warm up before running. I know. This sounds like sacrilege. But I don’t like flexing and stretching before I run. Instead, I just start walking. That’s all the warm up I need.

You don’t have to run constantly. Just because you say you’re going for a run doesn’t mean you are running non-stop. It’s tiring. So I walk. Some days I walk a LOT. Other days a rarely stop. But almost always walk on my “run”.

Run up hills for an extra workout. One of my running mates set this idea in my head. You can’t walk up a hill. You have to run up it. Hills are now my favorite part of my run.

Shoes don’t need to be tight. I spent the first year trying to get my shoes to fit “right”. I tightened them, cut off the circulation. It was miserable. Now, they are fairly snug. But not tight.

Get good running shoes. That really helps a lot, especially if you’re running on pavement, which is the easiest, most-accessible way to run. You’ll also need to replace them at least once a year depending on how much you run.

Listen to podcasts to stay entertained while running. My biggest challenge with running before I got AirPods was staying entertained. Podcasts make a huge difference. Most days, I enjoy the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. But many days, I use it as a time to catch up on whatever my podcast of the moment is.

Some days it’s okay just to walk. Going back to not running constantly. If you’re tired or just uninspired. It’s okay to walk. Take it easy. Stroll. You’ll get back to it soon enough.

Running is the best way to lose weight. I’ve never been overweight. But when I finally started running, the aerobic activity is what finally got me in control of how much I weighed.

Wireless Headphones are the best. One of my excuses for not exercising years ago was those dang dangly headphone wires. When I finally got wireless headphones, my world was changed.

Humidity matters for temperature. This morning the temperature was 39 degrees. But with 78% humidity, it felt like 31 degrees. What a big difference whether you’re hot or cold.

How should you dress? Again humidity matters. But here’s a rough guide for cold weather. Wear short sleeves and shorts when the temperature is in the 60s. Long sleeve and shorts in the 50s. Long sleeve and long pants in the 40s. And of course, make sure your head is covered and maybe an extra shirt in the 30s.

You can read more of my thoughts on it in my blog.

35:35 - “Naked” by Marc Gunn from Camping Trip 2022

38:27 - ARBOR DAY IN FEBRUARY?

National Arbor Day is celebrated in April.  What you may not know is that each state celebrates Arbor Day from January to May depending on the regional season for planting trees.

The State of Georgia celebrates its Arbor Day on the third Friday in February.

It is a day to reflect on the importance of trees in our state and across our nation. Scientific research is increasingly adding to the evidence that trees are essential to global environmental health. So go plant a tree, play outside, enjoy the beauty of trees, create art inspired by trees, or honor trees in any way that pleases you!

That's all according to Trees Atlanta. When is your state's Arbor Day?

Oh! Mark your calendar for April 29. I’m going back to The Lost Druid. But I’m not doing it the regular way. I’m biking there. If you’re able to bike there or carpool or reduce your own environmental impact that day, as well, that’d be brilliant. Come join us!

If you love this episode, then share it with a friend. You can send one of the MP3s from your EP of the Month or just ask them to listen to the show. Maybe tell them one thing that really inspired you. Just spread the word.

42:00 - “When She Held Me In Her Arms” by Brobdingnagian Bards from A Celtic Renaissance Wedding

44:27 - CREDITS

Thanks for listening to Sci Fi Pub Songs & Stories. The show is brought to you by my Gunn Runners on Patreon. Every week, you get a new podcast or song or video or concert. You’ll also save 25% off all my merch in my store. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs.

You can subscribe and listen to the show wherever you find podcasts. Sign up to my mailing list to read the show notes for this episode and find out where I’m performing.

And of course, please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor.

Have fun and sing along at www.pubsong.com!

#pubstories #runningtips #valentinesday

Check out this episode!

[bonk-official]

October 20, 2022 I released "On Hallow's Eve".

It took me about three years of on and off work to finish. Life got in the way many times but with my friends cheering me on I finally got it done. Each October since the project started in 2019 was a gamble to see if it would come out or not.

I took heavy inspiration from Billy Cobb's "Halloween IV", even if it isn't so obvious in the final product (other than the Halloween theme). I also borrowed one of the main riffs from Laurel Ave's "Halloween Candy".

For the greater part of the project timeline, it was just going to be a five song EP. Just Halloween Candy, Killer, The March, What Comes Next, and Death. Screature, Limbo, November, and Reprise didn't come around until a month or two before release. Despite the time difference, I do believe that the new songs fit well with the others.

This album also forced me to work on my production chops. Working with the live drum recordings was very difficult, as the quality of the recordings weren't exactly what I wanted it to be and to fix it after the fact is incredibly tough to do. That's why some songs have programmed drums. Much easier to work with, but comes at the cost of sounding unrealistic. Actually, most of the recordings done with an actual microphone were kind of a pain to deal with. Especially the saxophone on track 2. I should've went back and re-recorded those parts but oh well, maybe next time.

This is also the first time I recorded vocals for something and honestly? Didn't do a very good job. My voice changed over time so the sound is somewhat inconsistent. I haven't had a lick of vocal training in my life and it really shows. I didn't practice either, I'd feel embarrassed if someone could hear me in an adjacent room.

Even though the vocals may have fallen flat, I hope the instrumentals more than made up for it. I mean, the first song is so dynamic I have no idea how I came up with it at the time. I used a couple motifs throughout, to try and add character and make everything feel connected in some way. Actually...

There was supposed to be more of a story. I can't tell you now but I had vague ideas scribbled in notes somewhere. It's sort of hard to tell a story though when only three of the nine songs have lyrics. I put this idea away early on but kept the musical motifs because it sounded cool.

Overall, it's not bad. For a long time this was the project "that was never going to happen". But I finally got off my ass and did it. I have some issues with it which I may resolve another time. I definitely took it more seriously than my first album. Does that make it better? Probably, who knows. Anyways, go listen to "On Hallow's Eve" on my bandcamp: https://theatomicbonk.bandcamp.com/album/on-hallows-eve

[nervous-young-unhuman]

good sunday

Next on Car Seat Headrest’s debut album is Good Sunday. This track brings a lot more to the table lyrically as to the previous (that being Tybee Island horse ghost), and is in fact musically, one of my favorite songs on the album. 1 is in my unprofessional opinion, a very raw album. Will can even be quoted on the album's bandcamp saying that if he had known anyone would have listened to the album, he would have never released it. This leads to a lot of interesting commentary from the perspective of a young man who is starting to become an adult, and the trials and tribulations that follow this. 

The song starts strong, opening with these lyrics. 

“Am I going mad?

I feel like walking into traffic

Oh shit I think I am

I need to learn how to be online”

This appears to be a look into Will's descent into “madness”, which is likely some form of mental struggle. He says he feels like walking into traffic, which further solidifies the idea that he is struggling mentally with an urge to do something to put himself in danger. This doesn’t have to mean suicide, but perhaps an urge to harm himself or let go of control. He follows by “snapping out of it” and claiming to be going crazy by having these sorts of intrusive thoughts. He says he needs to learn how to be online, maybe the past lyrics could be a struggle in dealing with having a social media presence, which, though not at the scale it is today, Will likely had at the time of the album’s release. 

“Jesus we love you

And we adore you

Spirit we love you

And we forgive you

Jesus we love you

And we adore you

Spirit we love you

And we destroy you”

Religion can have a million different themes in music. While Will did grow up in the Presbyterian church, he hasn’t spoken on his current personal religious beliefs, and I will not be speaking on behalf of him or speculating on the topic. I am only looking at this from the perspective of a 17 year old Will Toledo. Aside from this, Will did study religion academically. He minored in it along with a major in English at William and Mary. There isn’t much information or speculation online of a possible meaning to these lyrics. I don’t know a lot about religion personally, so my apologies if anything I state is incorrect. Of course it could have nothing to do with religion at all, only using Jesus as an example of one higher and holier than thyself. I do take interest in the change from “Spirit we love you and we forgive you” to “Spirit we love you and we destroy you.” This again can be taken as spirit in oneself, or a kind of Holy Spirit. It could also in some ways mock traditional hymns and songs traditionally sung in churches, which usually reflect the religions beliefs and have some kind of religious message. Or it’s some kind of warped way of getting to the top and then being destroyed by the people who brought you there . Loving Jesus but destroying the spirit, whether that be one that is holy or one’s personal spirit I’m unsure and urge you to decide for yourself, whatever means the most to you. That’s an important idea for all of these, I don’t want to come off and say that I’m right, these are just my interpretations as someone who enjoys Car Seat Headrest. 

Now we move to another verse. 

“Oh my god

No one wants to know what you’re saying ’til you’re speaking in code

(No one wants to know what you’re saying ’til you’re speaking in code) [reversed]

No one wants to know what you’re saying until you’re speaking in code”

I also really enjoy this lyric. Maybe it’s a way of saying nobody cares what you have to say until they don’t understand what you’re saying. When it becomes impossible to drown out the background noise we’re accustomed to, when it’s something we’ve never heard before, we take more time to stop and listen and perhaps try to understand. The use of a reversed lyric is also very interesting, maybe a way to grab the listeners attention and instantly prove his point, nobody cared to know what he was saying until it was said in a way that wasn’t understandable. This is something I think of as an interactive lyric, WIll isn’t just singing out what he thinks, he’s proving to you that he stands correct on the issue. 

The chorus of Jesus and the spirit is repeated 3 more times, except for the very last line. Traditionally it is “And we destroy you” which is still said, but in this set destroy you is reversed. Likely to refer to the previous verse. It’s an interesting way to maintain the theme in an album that quite honestly bounces all over the place (and not in a bad way, it’s really good chaos). 

The next part is what really grabbed my attention and is possibly the most memorable part of the song in my opinion. It’s a piece of spoken commentary and is read as follows. 

“Eugene Debs was the... socialist presidential candidate in the uh, election between him, Taft, Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt

Nobody told me that my earbuds were exposed to the elements”

I really love this line and I honestly have no idea why. It’s just some ramblings of a young Toledo, and I have no clue what it means or how it relates. I don’t want to try and pull a meaning out of it, I think it should be preserved in its natural state. The only information I could find on it was a small note on the Genius music page (which has now been viewed by a mighty 11 people!), which was only the word socialist highlighted with a note of “based.” Thank you for the laugh whoever you are. 

(And suddenly we’re driving across the ocean) [reversed]

The last line of the song is actually a sample from an earlier project of an even younger Toledo called Nervous Young Men. It’s taken from a song called AC, which details a bus ride he had taken. 

Next is a little on the actual musical elements of the song. It’s fairly monotone and moody, but enjoyable. The entire album was produced on Will’s laptop, which provides some interesting sounds. I don’t know how to describe the way I hear it, it's like stretching a rubber band as far as it will go then slowly returning it to normal. There’s nothing snappy and sharp about it, but it has its own curves which give it a really cool vibe overall. I know nothing about music production, I just like the sounds, and this album has a lot of them. I like the grain that the spoken part has, it reminds me of audio from an old family video camera, enough so to where I can picture this very camera. There’s a lot of really sick recording techniques and such and I wish I knew more about what they all meant, but alas I’ll just listen to them and enjoy what I hear. 

Thank you a lot for reading this, I hope you’re enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing.

[asimovsideburns]

tagged by @acefitzroymaplecourt to answer thirty questions and tag twenty people. I will absolutely not be tagging twenty people. I don’t think I even know twenty whole people???

1. Name/Nickname: Andre

2. Gender: okay you know when you grow up as a boy and you occasionally think “man I wish I was a hot girl, girls are so great, and also girls are hot that’s definitely why” and sometimes you see a dress and really love it and feel a nebulous sense of longing that you somehow know can never be fulfilled and you think trans characters and trans headcanons are really really cool and then you’re an adult and start to put some stuff together and you’re like “cool! let’s never unpack this.”? like that. also I recently thought of a cool name I thought about trying out but I don’t want to do that. but I kind of do. but I don’t. I still like my birth name though. actually now that I think about names, when I was really young I liked to pretend I had different names a lot. let’s never unpack this. he/him or they/them pronouns.

3. Star Sign: Libra!

4. Height: 5′11″

5. Time: 2:02am

6. Birthday: October 18th

7. Favorite Bands/Groups: asking me for my favorite of almost anything is a surefire way to get my brain to shut down but I’ve been listening to The Altogether lately. Sort of. I’ve been listening to their podcast Let’s Make a Music where they make funny songs out of submissions from listeners based on a one-word theme. the baseline for Akimbo unironically fucking slaps, though. They have a bandcamp where you can just listen to the songs, if you want to, but imo you should listen to the podcast ep first because they go through the process, sort of, and the song will make zero sense if you don’t, probably. But you might want to listen to the music to see if the podcast is worth listening to, I guess.

8. Favorite Solo Artist: again with the favorites. I don’t actually know that many artists? Uuuuh let me check my 150-song youtube playlist real quick. Nope, no strong feelings about any of the solo artists on there. Oh! here’s throwback, check out Miracle of Sound! I used to listen to him all the time. Haven’t listened to anything that’s he’s put out in, like... five years? more? but I still have some of his older stuff on my playlists and it’s good.

9. Song Stuck In My Head: it was Ship of Stone but now it’s Akimbo

10. Last Movie: still Klaus from when I watched a bit of it around christmas

11. Last Show: Nailed It!

12. When Did I Create This Blog: oh fuck, I have NO idea. you guys still think time is real? but for real probably around... 2013? maybe? I’m trying to place it in landmarks of my life and I’m just not sure but that seems right.

13. What Do I Post: I literally stared blankly at my screen for, like, several seconds, which is a long time for me. buddy, if you can figure it out, I would appreciate you letting me know. there is no method to this madness.

14. Last Thing I Googled: Wilmington Insurrection

15. Other Blogs: I have a couple other urls but I’ve literally never used them for anything. no sideblogs we smash all our interests together into one unsorted mess like men.

16. Do I Get Asks: no :( I did for a little bit there but then they stopped. I’ve gotten a couple recently but for the most part, no. You can send me asks! I crave interaction! I will probably answer them at 1am, though!

17. Why Did I Choose This URL: okay listen you’re not allowed to judge. cringe culture is dead. I was in high school and I thought sideburns were super cool so I googled them? for some reason? and I saw a picture (artist interpretation) of Isaac Asimov and his really great sideburns. and then I was Asimov’s Sideburns in a couple of internet places (my old username was cringier) and then I got an xbox 360 which was my first internet-enabled console and it was like “make an account!” and I was like “WHOAH... an ACCOUNT...” and Asimov’s Sideburns wouldn’t fit so I shortened it. and then I was like, I have to be the same everywhere so people can find me (nobody was trying to find me. I didn’t even play multiplayer games.) so that was the thing. Except my Steam name is different, because I am nothing if not consistent. Consistently inconsistent, one might even say. But it’s still sideburns-related.

18. Following: 417

19. Followers: 930

20. Average Hours Of Sleep: somewhere between 4 and 12 per time I am asleep (not per night, because I have an unmedicated sleep disorder and when I sleep varies wildly. It’s very inconvenient.)

21. Lucky Number: 7

22. Instruments: okay so I took piano lessons as a kid for a little bit and also played baritone in band class and took lessons for that but then my dad pulled me out of lessons for both because he didn’t want to drive me around and then the next year I went to a different school and played the tuba and then the next year I went to a different school and played the trombone and then the next year I went to the same school but I played the french horn, and I stuck with that for a couple more years until I dropped band class, and also I took bass guitar lessons for a bit. but I never really got good at any of those so I guess the truest answer is “not really”

23. What Am I Wearing: sweatpant, seahawks t shirt (I don’t care about sports but it’s pretty much the only comfortable shirt I own), and a jacket. Not like a heavy jacket, but not a light jacket either. medium jacket. some heft but not a winter coat. also socks and slippers and glasses. and underwear? I think that’s a given though. And a bandaid on my finger.

24. Dream Job: I Do Not Dream Of Labor. no, but seriously, I would love to do voice acting. I also enjoy tutoring math! I just wish people would hire me! I’m good at it, I promise! but also like. because of my sleep issues and my health working can be difficult for me, so being able to dip in and out of work as convenient while still having a safety net in the form of universal basic income is the dream.

25. Dream Trip: I’m actually kind of a homebody, I like to travel but I also like to stay home. Given infinite money, I think I would love to just go ALL over the place, though. World Tour. but mostly for cities, because I’m bad at the outdoors.

26. Favorite Food: really good kabob koobideh, and if I get sides, with must-o-khiar (NO DILL), fresh baked sangak or pita bread, and saffron rice with barberries. And a non-carbonated Doogh (plain, not mint).

28. Favorite Song: literally changes once a day at least. obvious answer is Bohemian Rhapsody, though. Also, what happened to number 27?

29. Last Book Read: currently reading Middlegame, although I’m stuck because of bad brain disease. if this means last completed book, then Over the Woodward Wall. both by excellent author Seanan McGuire, although the later is under the open pen name A. Deborah Baker (I found out after reading it that it’s actually a plot-relevant in-universe book in Middlegame! I love meta shit like that!)

30. Three Fictional Universes You’d Like To Live In: mass effect but not during the games, uuuuh i’m trying to think of literally any non-shitty fictional universes hang on, okay i’m hitting random media on tvtropes and I’m gonna put the first ones that I’d like to live in here goes, OH WAIT I THOUGHT OF ONE!, theirs not to reason why by jean johnson but again like. not during the war, okay the tvtropes one was lilo and stitch but I kept looking and then a different one mentioned a webcomic and I was like OH SHIT! those are fictional universes too! so uh idk questionable content universe. that one’s got robot people and no major world-spanning badness so far.

Okay! if you got this far, I commend you. If you didn’t... I understand. but you aren’t reading this. Unless you just wanted to see if I tagged you, I guess. I just looked at the clock and I spent like literally an hour on this holy shit.

I’m just gonna tag... YOU! if you see this, you have been tagged. that’s what you get for staying up late (in my timezone, at least) and/or being interested in me. You get to decide if it’s a reward or a punishment. now GO! spend less than an hour on your version hopefully! it probably only took me so long because I literally can’t ever shut up!

[doomedandstoned]

Chatting with Austin’s Shitbag

~Doomed & Stoned Interviews~

By Shawn Gibson

In his never ending quest to find the filthiest bands from around the world, Shawn Gibson brings us face-to-face, virtually speaking, with frontman Keith Young from Austin, Texas trio SHITBAG. The band dishes out a harsh blend of crust, grindcore, hardcore, and sludge, a sound you may already be acquanted with if you've heard their new EP Burden on Transylvanian Recordings. (Editor)

SHITBAG - BURDEN by SHITBAG

So why are you a Shitbag? What's the name all about?

I guess when I came up with the name, the thought was that Shitbag was a person I didn't want to be and I lived in fear of becoming. It's a catchy two syllable band name. (laughs)

Oh very catchy!

Half of it's just taking the piss right?

Oh yeah.

People think it's great or they think it's really fucking stupid.

I love the name Shitbag. It grabs your attention. It is so fitting for your style of music, the sludge-grind duo.

Definitely. The idea was to get a very dirty sound from the start. The name stuck with me. You can tell from some of our earlier releases to hone the sound but you can see that it's falling into place. I think we were zeroing in on the sound on the album we put out last year.

Which was 'Furnace,' right?

Correct.

Your latest release 'Burden' is out now.

Yes, that's now through Transylvanian Records.

Awesome, they are a good label! I have definitely heard of them and have some of their artists' music. So is 'Burden' your third release?

I guess it's our fourth, if you count the first EP. We don't really push that one out anymore.

Furnace by Shitbag

'Furnace' is a really good album! I think I bought all your digital albums on Bandcamp.

Oh, thank you.

I definitely fell in love with the sound! "Emasculator" is a great sludge song from the record Can you tell me a little about that one?

It is about castration. The riff was a fun thing I kind of threw out there. I told Eli our drummer this is in 4/4 and he said" it is absolutely not, I can try to play along to it anyways." As usual, he did. the different pieces kind of fell into place. The bass guitar always stuck out to me on that one. The speed of the song and the mix we got on those recordings allows the bass to shine through I think. Also, I think that might be one of my favorite vocal performances off of Furnace as well.

Who all is in the band and what roles do they have?

So I play guitar and vocals. Eli Deitz plays drums and Eric Prescott plays bass.

I would say 'Burden' sounds heavier than 'Furnace.' Can you tell me about your guitars and the set up you use for writing and recording?

Oh, sure!

What are you using to get that Shitbag sound?

So first off I think it's worth noting that we recorded Burden at a different location and we had more power at our fingertips. The guitars definitely did get beefed up. For the first two releases I had been playing a Randall RH 150 with a Randall 150 amp head. It gets this really nasty distortion right out of the box, you don't need a distortion pedal, which is pretty convenient. It wasn't reliable at high volumes. That was becoming a problem more and more playing alongside Eric, as he was playing an "O-R something" Orange head and also running that through an HM2 and some fuzz stuff in front of it, as well. He gets a very loud, snarling bass tone.

He's covering the low end, but there's an intersection where the guitars and bass compete when we are playing live. So I needed something that I could crank up just to keep up. The Randall wasn't cutting it. May of last year I purchased a Sunn Coliseum 880. That was great but I needed to beef up my cabinet setup. Before I had been playing out of a Laney 4x12 with two different Celestion speakers and an old Marshall 2x15. The Celestion speakers are just not cut out for running something like a Coliseum880. At 4 ohms I think it's already at 230 watts.

Oh, wow!

That is when I moved up to a Worshipper 4x12. It's an Intown establishment, and some good friends of mine run it. They got me a new cabinet in 8 to 12 weeks. Kinda crazy to think about from what I heard from Dillon at Worshipper they had good business during the pandemic.

That is great! I love to hear that everyone's keeping up the practicing at home.

Yeah, It definitely has a silver lining. I got a 4x 12 and I'm trying to remember what speakers are in it. My technical knowledge of that stuff is a little limited, I'll be honest. I went with Dillon's recommendation. I told him what I was using currently, this is what I want out of it. I already have a 2x15 cabinet so I don't need a whole shit ton of low end power coming out of the 4x12. He kind of went with something that had the right profile and could handle 320 watts. After that was the matter of finding a distortion pedal, because Sunn Coliseums don't really have a built in distortion the way a Randall does. For a while I was a really great distortion pedal that does all kinds of great stuff the Earthquaker device's grey channel.

It has six different clipping presets, clipping diodes, and you can do just about everything from straight up gain to kind of a fuzzy effect to full-on Moss clipping diode, which does the whole balls to the wall heavy metal thing. Great diversity on that pedal but it wasn't quite hitting the right spots. I went to a Boss HM2 and was very reluctant to do so because I know everyone does those. I ran that with a Graph equalizer like I would any distortion pedal. I made it not sound like I'm playing in tuned riffs. That's my equipment set up and how it evolved from Furnace to Burden.

Awesome, thank you. Something that attracted me to Shitbag's music is the sludge is the jelly and the grind is the peanut butter that makes this great Shitbag sandwich. There are moments in your music that it is as thick as swamp mud, then the next it's firing out like bullets out of an AR-15!

Hell, yeah!

Cordycep by Shitbag

With that being said you have a song like "New Day" that's grind as fuck, clocking in at a minute long, just blasting through! Then you have songs like "Rogue Furnace" that's right up the sludge/doom alley clocking in at 15-minutes, 20-seconds. Shitbag has a really great balance between different styles in your music.

Well, thank you!

What bands influenced Shitbag's music?

Yeah, so I think the time I was getting into sludge and doom in my college days and I came across Primitive Man.

Oh, yeah!

I grew up listening to death metal and shit like that.

Me too!

The way they threw that together with just oppressive doom sound. It was something I had never heard before. I instantly heard that and said"this is the future." I don't want to shit on anything but Black Sabbath has been around 50 years and that sound has been around 50 years.

Newer and current bands are still using that sound, yeah.

Maybe I shouldn't disparage it, right? Even the stuff I'm drawing influence from is 30 years old now. Maybe I shouldn't say it that way. I think it's a matter of pervasiveness rather than how old something is. There are a lot of bands in the sludge/doom canon that are like, "Black Sabbath, hell yeah!"

You can find lots of music that was coming out of the death and grindcore scene in the '80s, '90s, and 2000s that had very slow, lurching oppressive moods. To me, it's not so much a matter of the notes that are being played or the rhythms, it's the atmosphere. So yes Primitive Man, God Flesh, they are a big one. I'm a big fan of Assuck, Dystopia, and Grief. Then a lot of older death metal shit, too. Napalm Death, Eric and Eli loved Entombed. Full Of Hell is tight as shit, too!

Yes they are! By chance have you heard of Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire?

Oh yeah, yeah.

I thought you might, being they were before Primitive Man. Great shit, as well!

Every band of theirs that the members of Primitive Man have been in that I have checked out, I have been very much into.

Vermin Womb, Many Blessings...

John put out an album with a death metal band called Black Curse last year that I thought was fucking phenominal!

I'll have to check that out! I like just about everything across the board, personally.

You are mentioning that we're striking this blend, we are not even playing the same genre through the whole EP. It's kind of like there's moments where it's one thing then there's moments where it's another. I think the more important thing is that it sounds like a cohesive thing. I hope we manage to do that.

You do! Shitbag has it's own sound that is unique to you guys!

Well, thank you!

I stumbled upon Shitbag's music on Bandcamp on Fathers Day. I saw the song title "Fathers and Sons" off of Burden and thought, "That's no coincidence -- I need to check this band out!" I was wondering if you can tell me a little about that track?

The song is about grappling with father and son relationships that are, I don't want to say estranged but you know trying at times. That was something that was a really big deal for me over the past year and a half, cause my mother passed away at the end of 2019.

I am sorry to hear that!

Thank you. When you have a death in the family like that, there is a lot of time for reflection that comes about. That's where the concept came about. I would not say that it's entirely autobiographical, there is definitely some exaggeration in there. We had the music for the song written and we couldn't figure what to write the lyrics about. I was just spitballing ideas and concepts to Eli. That was the one he said, "Yeah, I'm not really a fan of this draught but this is the concept to go with. Keep going with this."

Historically, I think I have been a weak lyricist. I would not call myself good by any means. We definitely made that part of the writing more collaborative process. Like the music has always been with us. We ironed out the words with each other so it felt a lot better. We came out with something more polished.

I understand completely.

A little graciousness opens yourself up. I think it's true with lyrics, as well. You probably don't have people say that to you very often, I imagine. I think it's especially true with lyrics when you're trying to make something that's personal and vulnerable. Having someone say, "Hey I would word that differently!" YOU MOTHERFUCKER!

Exactly. (laughs)

Take a step back from the initial knee-jerk response and just let it sit. You can really go places with that. I think lyrics are different just because people are not accustomed to making themselves vulnerable in that way.

What bands from Austin and surrounding areas that are heavy and you love to see them play or play with?

Let's see... Zyclops, really fucking great! There's bands like Glassing, Inhalants, Portrayal Of Guilt.

Yep, familiar with them.

There's a band called Godshell, they are new. I saw them play at a house show in North Austin in a living room full of people younger than myself. A crowd that was young enough to make me feel old. They played an outstanding fucking show! Those guys are rad live! There's also Metal Abortion, who is a pretty fun noise core band that Shitbag has played with a couple times. They put on a hell of a show and they have some crazy fucking records, too!

We have had the pleasure of playing many great shows with Desist on account of Shitbag and Desist being the two "Austin sludge" bands. Lucas is an outstanding vocalist and an even better human being. I don't know if Desist has been active through the pandemic but word is they have shit in the works. Another band forming a major constellation in the Austin shit-verse is the crusty blackened thrash outfit Vacha. Every show we've played with them was a fucking barn buner. I have nothing but love for all those dudes! Special shout out to Carlos for his God-like endurance behind the kit.

What makes Shitbag laugh? What's funny to you guys?

Oh, man. Eli and I have decided that a good way to get around when I bring a riff and don't know the time signature, is that we count everything in one. There 's no more time signature.That's a fairly recent joke. There are times at practice instead of playing a Shitbag riff with the distortion and everything balls out, I will go to the clean channel and push on the wah pedal and play with a funky staccato thing.

Hell yeah!

I think everyone else finds it annoying.

I have always enjoyed when the one guy in the band during practice either gets funky or jazzy, one of the two.

There is also something that Eli does that is fucking histarical. He never warns me he's going to do it. We will be in the middle of a song in the intense parts of the song he slips in the ba-dum tiss like a joke was told. When he nails it it's really a special thing.

Well, Keith that is all I have for you. Thank you again for your time!

Thank you very much, Shawn! The cassettes are available through Transylvania Recordings and Bandcamp. They are up for pre-order. I am not sure when those pre-orders will be in. There are some delays.

Several bands and labels having a tough time with vinyl getting pressed and shipping, too.

If you order the cassette you will get it eventually. I hope there is new music to announce in the near future.

We hope so, too!

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[jarofrebuke-transcripts]

Jar of Rebuke Episode 11 Unofficial Transcript

Season 1 Episode 11: Observations B

INTRO

The following audio recording is classified documentation for case [audio distortion]

GIA

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what that was. This equipment is in dire need of upgrades. This is Dr. Gia Castillo. The following audio recording is classified documentation for case H57. The subject has proven to be a bit... stubborn? Annoying? Well perhaps “difficult” is the best word. Ideally things would just go smoothly so that I could get back to what I was actually hired to do. I have a PhD in zoology, I have spent thousands of dollars for my education and title, but this? This? This is asinine, this is absolutely ludicrous, this is flat out stupid. There's no reason for this much time, effort, and money to be spent on Todd's little pet project. I was hired to examine how pollution and radiation could lead to the creation of these creatures, from afar. The local deer population for example? All of that research was led by me from my lab. Processing the radioactivity readings, exposure rates, things that could have led to the possible creation of the not-dear? In my professional opinion, is quite solid. And now? Now I'm playing babysitter to some… thing that Todd told me to watch over via nanny cam because he's too scared to. I have to play lab partner with something that never even earned its degree, yet still gets the title? I'll have to edit all of that out.

Today the subject took that hellhound on a walk after breakfast, which was then followed by some time watching television, a shower and then a frantic phone call. I won't know who it called until after a system synced tonight to pick up all the data from its phone and audio journal but it exhibited clear behavior and body language of being in quite a panic. It sat down and had started to record a session in its audio journal. While the audio journaling has remained as consistent as before, there have been some changes in its other behaviors. My recent findings have shown that the subject has been quite resistant to Dr. Daman’s sessions as of late. By the sound of its complaints and also of Dr. Daman's reports, the resistance is only worsening. Which led to another observer being brought in not too long ago- Mr. Zimmer. Now that I have the utter displeasure of working with him, my luck only continues to sour. Anyways, through the audio files and also the footage from the cameras, we are seeing signs of something else for us to look into. It taking in that hellhound as a pet of all things was both simultaneously surprising but also not too out of character for what we have seen previously. Creatures like those tend to be drawn to one another. But now there appears to be a third creature of sorts wandering around that particular home. We need to look further into what's captured on our recordings. The subject has mentioned to Dr. Daman seeing shadows around its home so that may be a good start for us. With that hellhound, Grove I believe it's taken to calling it, the team has agreed that it's best if that creature isn't around to further influence the subject. Of course the influence isn't intentional on the hellhound’s part per se, but the subject's empathy towards other supernatural creatures has only amplified since taking it in. That puts quite a hindrance on the goal that we were given by Todd, so it needs to go.

Dr. Daman suggested perhaps staging a sort of “running away from home” that pets tend to do. That may be our best course of action but putting this into action will take more time and planning. And we have also tried to get rid of those black-eyed children that keep tapping on its door. A bit of pest control as Todd calls it but well, in Mr. Zimmer's words- like roaches they don't die easily and they will come back. They seem to become only more adamant about being let into the subject's house. After the subject's investigation of those melon head children in the woods, Todd has decided that it'd be best to attempt to round them up and bring them in as well. Too dangerous to leave them out, he claims. Eating people seems to be the line, but Todd has shown no concern with the creature our subject encountered out in the river. I believe he has a certain disdain for creatures with child-like forms, at least that's a theme I've observed.

[door opens] Ah, what brings me the pleasure of your company?

LIAM

Ah, Gia, hello! I just came to check in and see how we were doing today, do a check in with the patient. How is it doing today?

GIA

That is Dr. Castillo, Mr. Zimmer. It just sat down to record a session of the audio journal. It was rather wise for Dr. Daman to encourage that, giving us a clear look into its thoughts. Of course what exactly it's saying I won't know until later tonight once the cloud collects the data, though it just got off of the phone with someone and has been pacing around the room quite nervously while talking.

LIAM

Fascinating. It's always so adamant about the supposed feelings it has. If I didn't know any better, I would say that it's practically human in every way! Look at it- the stress, the agitation. You know, the way that it so often curls into itself in our sessions truly is human. If only it knew the truth.

GIA

We're here to see how long we can keep the truth from it. I know you're using this to satiate personal curiosities, Mr. Zimmer, but we do have a goal to attain, and we must treat this as if we only have one shot at it.

LIAM

Oh of course, of course. But you can't tell me it's not incredibly curious. It acts so human and doesn't even think for a second that it might not be? Even though it's experienced death, well, far more times than it can count. I've seen it's so-called medical files. Dr. Rahal must really stretch his brain to figure out how to explain it all in a way that doesn't tip it off. And the fact that its body scars like a human body does is also fascinating.

GIA

Considering that Dr. Rahal is being kept on a need to know basis with this case, of course he must get a bit creative with his explanations.

LIAM

And based on those little audio journals, we may need to make sure that the good doctor isn't getting too soft with the patient. We don't have the luxury to empathize with the creature.

GIA

Would you empathize with it even if we did have the luxury?

LIAM

Hmm that's quite an excellent question, though I'm inclined to say no...

GIA

Which does not surprise me, given your reputation. Now if you would excuse me, Mr. Zimmer, I would like to resume my examinations. I'll forward you my notes and findings once I'm done.

LIAM

Of course, of course, doctor. I'll send over my notes from my most recent session with it to you and Dr. Daman at my next convenience. Talk to you later, Gia.

GIA

He is going to break our subject before we can find another one. Bringing him into this project was a ridiculous idea. I get that we're here to see just how human this creature has become, but you can see humanity without shattering one's mental stability. Anyways, this would imply that the creature has become human at all. It's still what it was before just with a human shell. Nothing will change what the creature is no matter how it looks or acts. I'll have to edit all of that out as well.

The subject has now taken to rocking slightly in its seat as it records. Something new that it picked up. There's various reasons that people rock back and forth but if it's picked this up from witnessing someone do this that would make sense. Dr. Daman encouraged it to engage more within the community of Wichton, mostly so we could see how it would socialize, but we didn't expect it to have so much success in doing so. The primary documented friends that it's made have been a few residents in town, primarily a Darius Chapman and a Holly Darling. Also it is reconnecting with its old lab partner, Dr. Milo Lomax, who had never been told the full truth hence why they were separated as lab partners. It has also been spending time with a research scientist from another department, uh, Dr. Jamie Everett. I'm not sure how much she has been briefed on the situation. With the amount of employees here who have been left in the dark on the true nature of this case it's safer to assume that she doesn't know, but I cannot say that for certain. I will need to reach out to Todd to see how deeply, if at all, Dr. Everett is involved.

That hellhound has been sniffing around its house quite a bit lately. Whether it's just part of more canine behavior or if it's more of the cryptid nature, I am not sure. Whatever it may be it's getting in the way of my view. Has it spotted the camera? It couldn't have, it's still just a dog! [clicking sounds] Oh, no, okay. All right, uh well, this is, this is bad. The subject has found the camera! How did this happen, this is... I have to inform Todd immediately, this is not damage control that we can afford to handle poorly! Damn it.

OUTRO

Jar of Rebuke is created and produced by Casper Oliver. Dr. Gia Castillo is voiced by Vanessa Rosengrant. Mr. Liam Zimmer is voiced by Andy “Pixel” Smith. Credits are read by Ashley Craft who has created the podcast official graphics. Episode was edited by Chelsea Finley. Episode was written by Casper Oliver and Jenny O'Sullivan. Music was created by Luke Menniss, spelled m-e-n-n-i-s-s who you can find and support on bandcamp, spotify, and twitch. Follow us on social media for updates. If you've been enjoying us please consider leaving a rating, review or comment wherever you tune in. You can also support us on patreon or pod hero by following the links in our episode description. And special thanks to our patreon supporters Tristan, Perry, Devin, Becky, Nico, Danny and Joyce.

[welcome-to-tally-hell]

hi this is probably going to be a strange ask!! but i've only just recently found out about the awesome band that is tally hall. you seem like a pretty big fan!! and i was wondering, is there anything i should know? are there specific videos i should watch? what's hawaii: part ii? (it seemed like a good idea to ask an actual fan instead of the internet, lmao)

oh hey, welcome! that’s not strange at all. it’s hard finding where to start, but i take it you’re already familiar with mmmm and good & evil. if you haven’t already, definitely check out complete demos (2004) and admittedly incomplete demos (2015). they’re both available on bandcamp.

tally hall’s youtube channel has all their music videos, clips from tally hall’s internet show (2008), and the boralogues (2010), a series of behind the scenes vlogs from bora karaca during the production and promotion of good & evil. for full episodes of t.h.i.s., they’re available on vimeo, or in full on the youtube channel tallyall. i’ll link them here because they’re amazing at archiving all tally hall related content imaginable, even things i had been looking for for years and thought were lost.

hawaii: part ii is joe’s first solo album, released in 2012 under the name miracle musical, or ミラクルミュージカル. if you go to bandcamp, you can find hawaii: part ii: part ii (2014), the demo album, and hawaii partii (2015), an album of 8bit covers. hawaii: part ii is somewhat of a fan favorite, and has the most influence outside of tally hall circles. even my personal blog, @etherealsighss, is a reference to its fourth track (featuring zubin!)

joe released one other solo album in 2016, entitled joe hawley joe hawley. rob and andrew (under the name edu) have also released albums, not a trampoline (2014) and sketches (2012), respectively. ross has a few mixtapes out under the name mr. f, and bora karaca has a band of his own, cojum dip. to be honest, i’m not very familiar with jhjh, mr. f, or cojum dip, so i’m not the place to go for recommendations. but you know, they’re there.

i’ve already gone on long enough, but one more thing: the blog @tally-hall-of-shame has been inactive for a few years now (blogrunner allegra has a very good band of her own now, @intheminimall), but when i was first getting into tally hall she was the source of information and resources. she put together a masterlist of links to social media, music, videos, and other goodies several years back that i’ll link below. i haven’t investigated it in a while, but beware that some links are broken by now. for the most part, though, it’s another good resource.

enjoy your stay!

[boredout305]

Eric Friedl/Goner Records Update

Photo by Don Perry

Alongside Zac Ives, Eric Friedl is the co-owner of Goner Records. He also plays in The Oblivians and True Sons of Thunder.

           Located in Memphis, Tennessee, Goner operates as both a record label and storefront. Like Shangri-La, Goner Records has been a Memphis institution since the storefront’s opening in 2004. Every year, Goner hosts Gonerfest—a still-vibrant music festival stretching several days. For those outside of Memphis, Goner’s frequently updated online store is a hub for what’s new in esoteric music. The site’s message board is a place to get updates on touring bands, small labels’ releases and anything else music related.

           Like countless small businesses, Goner has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The storefront has been closed since March 16. I caught up with Friedl to talk about how Goner’s coping with these changes and what their plans are for the future. Goner is and hopefully will remain an important part of independent music’s infrastructure.  

Interview by Ryan Leach

Ryan: How’s everyone at Goner doing?

Eric: We’re good. But like everyone, we’ve fallen into a freefall. Locally, we’ve been doing door deliveries. People have been stopping by to pick up records. We’ve had some success selling online. If we really scale back and don’t spend anything for a minute, we can hang on for a little while. We might have to lay off our staff; have folks go on unemployment. Goner would be reduced to just me and Zac (Ives) as the owners. We could limp through it that way. We’re trying to figure it out.    

Ryan: Like most small businesses in America, Goner’s storefront is closed. How are these alternative strategies like doing door deliveries and having folks stop by to pick up records working?

Eric: One of our regulars just can’t stop buying records. He’ll call me up in the morning—I guess he’s unaccustomed to looking at the site—and I’ll tell him what’s come in. He’ll respond, “Oh, man, I’ve got to get that album.” We then pack his records and he comes by to grab them. We’ve delivered a few records off locally. It’s super informal. But every little bit counts. People have been helping out. It’s been great.  

Ryan: You had mentioned to me a couple of months ago that you were going to relaunch the Goner website. While the COVID-19 pandemic and economic meltdown have been an unmitigated disaster, it was at least fortuitous timing.

Eric: We were getting ready to launch the site when the coronavirus hit. We wanted to fine-tune it a little more and add some things. But once it became imperative that we be able to sell stuff online, we said, “Screw it. Here it is. We’ll fix it as we go.”

Ryan: I went to buy the Aquarium Blood LP you had recently released and it took me to a Bandcamp site initially.

Eric: (laughs) It really is a matter of working out the kinks as we go.

Ryan: While everyone’s situation has changed, in some ways Goner wasn’t a case of just punching a timeclock. Record stores are hubs and hangouts for people. When Trailer Space closed down in Austin, it was a significant loss.

Eric: It is weird. We definitely weren’t a Trailer Space-style of hangout, but people on their regular circuit would stop by and explore the used bin. On weekends, we had a big crew of normal folks buying classic rock albums. There’s absolutely no way to sell that stuff online. We were stocked for those folks and that side of the business completely died. We had a bunch of really cool events coming up. You feel like you’re right in the middle of things and then you’re isolated. That was sort of my idea with doing these video check-ins. I sent out requests for people to give us video updates. I want to show people that we’re still in this. Facebook just makes us feel like we’re on our own little islands, which we really are now. We’re isolated from one another. It doesn’t have that sense of community that you can get from other places online. We’re just hoping to keep people’s spirits up as we go forward into the unknown.

Ryan: That’s a good point. Used bins are the home of the “five-dollar record,” although I’m unsure what people are selling them for now. You’re not going to sell used copies of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars or a Led Zeppelin record online. They’re so ubiquitous that it doesn’t make much sense. However, they’re perfect for a store.

Eric: Sure. People would walk in and buy’em. We’ve had people call up and ask, “Do you have this Allman Brothers record? You do. Great, I’ll pick it up.” They can buy it on eBay. They can buy it on Discogs. But because they live locally, they can stop by the shop, purchase it, and listen to it this afternoon. It still works. The store sold a lot of meat-and-potatoes rock ‘n’ roll records. We needed that balance between selling weird, underground rock records and classic rock albums.

Ryan: Byrds, Bread and Toto records all at the same place without the shipping price and wait.  

Eric: It’s awesome. There is a little bit of that at the store. Speaking of which, if anyone out there is looking for a Sister Sledge record, we’ve got it! Call us up.  

Ryan: Talking about the atomization associated with Facebook—I think of the site’s sort of opposites. Terminal Boredom’s message board was a great place for likeminded people to share ideas about music. The Goner message board, which has been revamped, was a predecessor of sorts to Terminal’s board.

Eric: Yeah. Even for me, it’s frustrating to use the Goner board. It’s such a dinosaur. It kept chugging along for years. We need to tweak it and make it more functional. It’s hard to envision people staying on it now like they used to. But it is there, and it was a big hub for people who were into underground stuff. Terminal Boredom was too. I always felt comfortable reading that stuff up until a point. The squabbles got to be a bit much and I’d lose track of what was going on. Anyway, check out the Goner board!

Ryan: For bedroom record labels like ours (Spacecase), you could sell 15 titles almost right away by going on those boards. And you didn’t need to pay a public relations company a couple grand to do it.

Eric: You were getting your records in front of the right people.  

Eric Friedl photo by Mor Fleisher-Leach

Ryan: Beyond COVID-19 and the global economic meltdown, in our milieu we had Apollo Masters burn down a couple months ago. I use Musicol out in Columbus, Ohio, and I know they’re going to be closed for at least a few weeks. Did the Goner label have anything in the works that’s been put on hold?

Eric: The Bloodshot Bill record is done and is supposed to come out on April 10. We’ve got those shipping soon. We did the preorders on that album, so it is in motion—if you get what I mean. We had this Optic Sink record in the works. Optic Sink is Natalie (Hoffmann) from Nots and Ben Bauermeister from the Magic Kids. It’s really cool, electronic stuff. That’s at the digitally mastered stage. The Ar-Kaics record is up there. So is the new Quintron record. We have a choice of getting these lacquers cut and then wait to press. Or we can try to hang tight and wait. I think we’re going to have to wait to minimize expenses right now. They’re all there. I think once we get through this it’s going to be a clusterfuck of people trying to rush through records. But who really knows what’s going to happen? There are all these Record Store Day LPs that supposedly got pressed or are getting pressed.

Ryan: I read that Record Store Day’s date has been pushed back to June 20, 2020. That might be a little optimistic.

Eric: Yeah. It’ll be interesting. It’s another nail in the coffin for trying to sell records. We’re limping along. If we can get our weekend regulars in to pick up records, that’ll help. But this shutdown is going to put a lot of people—obviously, record stores included—out of business. Labels are going to be in trouble too. If you’ve got records scheduled for a Record Store Day release in mid-April, that’s done. That money isn’t coming back until Record Store Day finally happens. The market was already shrinking before all of this hit.

Ryan: You’re still getting new stuff in. Goner’s site is getting updated regularly. What new records have you been listening to?

Eric: We’re trying. It’s going to be hard justifying it going forward. We were really excited to get that Dadamah record (This is Not a Dream) in. I remember it coming out in the early 1990s. That kind of dreamy, New Zealand stuff is what we want to push. However, the hard part is that everyone into that subgenre already knows about it. It’s difficult to get new people into it. We did that Chubby and the Gang record (“All Along the Uxbridge Road” 7”). That was a street punk-type of chugger. We sold a bunch of records for them. Alec (McIntyre) and Cole (Wheeler) at the shop were really into it. So, we gave it a shot. That’s been interesting—getting into the American Oi!-type stuff. We were trying to put some more of that material out when everything ground to a halt. It’s not really my scene, but it’s been interesting weeding through all of this stuff and going, “Oh, yeah, this is pretty good.” Currently, I’ve been trying to find music for the kids at home that they’ll find palatable. They’re playing really crappy stuff. It’s a constant battle. They like songs from cartoons.

Ryan: I bought that recent Exek record (Some Beautiful Species Left) off the Goner site. It was great. It had a real Neu! and Tuxedomoon feel to it.

Eric: That’s a great record. I appreciate that.

Ryan: It’ll be difficult getting inventory. Just thinking about it now—Revolver (Distribution) is closed for at least another couple of weeks.

Eric: Yep. Because all of the distributors and stores are closing, it drives the people who want those records straight to the labels. It’s bad for the stores, good for the labels. We’re a store and a label, so we kind of benefit. But it takes away from having a centralized place to buy records. Which is fine, but it’s something else to worry about down the line.

Ryan: I always looked at our (Spacecase’s) relationship with Goner as symbiotic. I always knew you were going to buy our releases. The Goner store has enabled us to kick the can down the road for a couple extra years.

Eric: For sure.

Ryan: Any closing thoughts, Eric?

Eric: We’re just another small business caught up in total economic collapse. We’re lucky in the sense that we have a pretty loyal customer base. It’s awesome. But in the end we’re very vulnerable. We have to make tough decisions on how to move forward and keep it going. We’ve always had to do that. It’s just that right now it’s so dramatic. You screw up, you’re done. It’s really heavy. At the same time, we’re not going down without a fight. We’ll see what models develop. If we can get through this—if it’s not too long—we’ll make it. If not, everyone’s going to get wiped out. But we’ll see.

 Website: goner-records.com

Gonerfest photo courtesy of Eric Friedl