The BrooklynVegan Show: A Podcast About Music

Folly & The Best of the Worst

On the heels of releasing their new Wavebreaker #3 split on Bad Time Records, Folly and The Best of the Worst join us on the BrooklynVegan podcast for an interview about their mutual admiration for one another, how they came to meet and do a split, the music on the split (including Folly's first song in 14 years), and both existing as bands who mix ska with heavy metallic post-hardcore -- an unusual combination that both of these bands pull off expertly. We also dug into the recent all-star Folly cover, some Folly history, some ska history, why ska got a bad reputation and why there's renewed interest in it now, and much more.
 
Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

Keith Morris (OFF!, Circle Jerks, Black Flag)

Keith Morris joins us for a chat about the new OFF! album & film 'Free LSD,' the recent Circle Jerks reissues, and everything from CIA conspiracy theories to punks vs hippies to why his definition of "first wave punk" may differ from yours to Fleetwood Mac to the Grateful Dead to The Doors to Metallica to the one show Circle Jerks played with Danzig-era Misfits back in the day, and much more.
 
Pick up our exclusive orange vinyl variant of the new OFF! album, plus cool vinyl variants of the recent OFF! and Circle Jerks reissues, in our store.
 
Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

Dan Campbell (The Wonder Years)

Today's episode is an interview with Dan Campbell, vocalist of The Wonder Years. Dan joins us to discuss the band's first album in over four years and first since Dan became a father, 'The Hum Goes On Forever,' and he discusses how the album's themes were inspired by the anxieties surrounding fatherhood, dealing with his own mental health while needing to provide for his kids, and why he doesn't wanna write songs about death anymore. He also discusses collaborating with blink-182's Mark Hoppus on the album, and how the album's genre is just: The Wonder Years.
Elsewhere in the chat, Dan reflects on the band's early days and their breakthrough albums 'The Upsides' and 'Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing,' which they recently celebrated the 10th anniversaries of, he talks about the upcoming When We Were Young Fest, some of his favorite late-career albums, favorite new bands, favorite albums of 2022 so far, the back-in-action Fireworks (who The Wonder Years are touring with soon), and much more.
 
Pick up 'The Hum Goes On Forever' on blue vinyl.
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Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

David Knudson (Botch, Minus The Bear)

David Knudson's been having a busy year. He put out his first solo album, The Only Thing You Have to Change is Everything (including a song with his former Minus the Bear bandmate Jake Snider on vocals), his beloved '90s mathcore band Botch put out their first new song in over 20 years alongside Sargent House's new reissue of We Are The Romans, he's been posting tons of guitar playthrough videos of old Minus The Bear and Botch songs, and he's got another new solo EP that'll be out before the end of the year (which will feature Cursive's Tim Kasher). With all of that, plus the upcoming 20th anniversary of Minus The Bear's classic debut album Highly Refined Pirates, we decided to catch up with Dave for the latest episode of the BrooklynVegan podcast.
 
Music featured in episode - "Varv" by David Knudson

John Nolan (Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run)

This episode of the BrooklynVegan podcast is an interview with John Nolan of Taking Back Sunday and Straylight Run! John reflects on Taking Back Sunday's landmark debut album 'Tell All Your Friends' (the #1 emo album of 2002, according to a new list we posted on BV) for its 20th anniversary, and he goes deep on Straylight Run, in celebration of the band's recent reunion shows. John also talks about various other projects, the next Taking Back Sunday album, the way his relationship to the oft-stigmatized genre of emo has changed over the years, and much more.
 
There's also a new 20th anniversary edition of 'Tell All Your Friends.' Pick it up on silver vinyl, CD, or cassette.
 
This interview originally aired on Vans Channel 66. Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

Anthony Green

Today's episode is an interview with Anthony Green! If you're unfamiliar, Anthony's been a lifer of post-hardcore and underground rock in general for over 20 years, having fronted the bands Circa Survive, Saosin, The Sound of Animals Fighting, and more, and he remains very busy. He's fresh off releasing his excellent new solo album Boom. Done., Circa Survive recently put out two great new EPs, Saosin have upcoming shows (and new music in the works!), and The Sound of Animals Fighting are plotting their return too. We talked about almost everything Anthony's been up to lately, and he also reflected on his early days, talked about some early influences, and looked at the way his own classic material has influenced new bands like SeeYouSpaceCowboy (who recently put out a Saosin cover). He also talked about writing lyrics that open up about mental health, and the ways even major artists like Kendrick Lamar are doing that, and he talked about the idea of achieving longevity as an artist, and discussed some other artists who have done so, like Deftones and (the just-broken-up) mewithoutYou. 
 
And just days after we recorded this episode, the news broke that Anthony's fronting the new supergroup L.S. Dunes, which also features members of Thursday, My Chemical Romance, and Coheed & Cambria.

Pianos Become the Teeth (Michael York)

Pianos Become the Teeth guitarist Michael York joins us for an episode ahead of the band's first album in over four and a half years, 'Drift,' which comes out 8/26 via Epitaph. Mike reminisces on Pianos Become the Teeth's early days, when they and their 'new wave of post-hardcore' peers were doing small DIY shows and tours, and building a new underground circuit of their own, before the bigger record labels and music publications started to take notice. He then gets into the moment that Pianos and many of their peers (like Touche Amore, La Dispute, and Defeater) signed to Epitaph, the steady rise that Pianos have been on since then, and how now they've become an influential band on a whole new generation.
Mike also discussed some of the musical influences and the use of analog tape loops that helped lead to the weirder, darker sound of the new album, making it with producer Kevin Bernsten (who also did their first two albums), and how the entire band relocated to Mike's uncle's cabin in the woods to make the album in seclusion.
Additionally, Mike talked about what an "actual dream (no pun intended)" it is to be touring with reunited screamo legends Jeromes Dream this year, he talked about the Baltimore scene that birthed PBTT (and everyone from Beach House to Future Islands to Turnstile to JPEGMAFIA), and other artists he's been inspired by over the years, like Bon Iver, Portishead, My Bloody Valentine, Flume, SOPHIE, and more.
Pick up 'Drift' on red vinyl in our store. Pianos Become the Teeth tour dates and tickets here.
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Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

Mike Park & Catbite

Mike Park (Skankin' Pickle, The Bruce Lee Band, The Chinkees, Asian Man Records) and the great newer ska band Catbite join us for a joint chat! If you're unfamiliar, Mike is a veteran and lifer of DIY, ska, punk, and indie rock, and remains prolific and consistently today, and he refers to Catbite as his favorite new ska band. The episode is in celebration of their new split 12" on Bad Time Records as part of the label's 'Wavebreaker' series, which brings together ska musicians from different generations. We talk about the new split, as well as the current ska scene, some ska history, why ska still gets a bit of a bad reputation (and why it shouldn't), the recent divisive AltPress article on The Interrupters, and much more.
 
We've also teamed up with them on an exclusive electric blue vinyl variant of the split, limited to just 100 copies and only available in our stores. Pre-order yours now while they last!
 
Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

The Interrupters

All four members of LA ska-punk band The Interrupters join us for a chat as they welcome their new album 'In The Wild,' due 8/5 via Epitaph Records. It's the most personal and genre-defying album the band have written, with Aimee Interrupter opening up about struggles with mental health and abuse, and we discuss the intense therapeutic process that led to these songs being written, as well as the impact of COVID lockdown on the album, the various styles of music explored on it, its many cool guests (Hepcat, The Skints, Tim Armstrong of Rancid, Rhoda Dakar of The Bodysnatchers), and more. We also talk about the recent comeback of ska, the members' favorite ska bands of all time, the time members of The Interrupters backed Tim Armstrong and Jesse Michaels in an impromptu, semi-Operation Ivy reunion, recording vocal harmonies backstage at Citi Field while opening for Green Day, and much more.
Subscribe to The BrooklynVegan Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and stay tuned for more episodes. Also keep up with us 24/7 on BrooklynVegan.com where we constantly post music news, album reviews, live concert coverage and more, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
 
Theme music by Michael Silverstein.

Geoff Rickly (Thursday): ’Full Collapse’ Turns 20 Interview

Thursday's Geoff Rickly joins us for an 20th anniversary interview about the band's classic breakthrough album, 'Full Collapse.' Geoff also reflected on the entire history of the band, from their early days up through their initial breakup and then their 2010s reunion. He reflected on the early 2000s emo/post-hardcore boom that 'Full Collapse' helped kickstart, and the way the scene rose and fell and was later revived with a new generation of bands in the 2010s. He talked about other bands he's collaborated with, like My Chemical Romance and Touche Amore, and much more.
 
Thursday are playing 'Full Collapse' in full on tour this year, and Geoff's band No Devotion also have a new album due in September via Velocity Records.
 
The interview featured in this podcast episode originally aired on Vans Channel 66. Interview conducted by Andrew Sacher. Music and editing by Michael Silverstein.