25 O'Clock

Dominic Angelella is someone Dan has described as a "known quantity". He's helmed bands like DRGN KING and Lithuania, and put out his own solo work for years in Philadelphia. But in an attempt to have no fixed address, he's found himself living in Ireland for the past year or so. Dan talks to Dom about his earlier days in the Philadelphia music community via University of the Arts (RIP), getting touring opportunities with bands like mewithoutyou and Foxing, touring with Lucy Daucus and Natalie Prass, and all the while working on his own songs amidst tour dates, bus rides, and stolen moments in stairwells. His latest album,  'God Loves A Scammer', is out now on all digital platforms, and also available on vinyl through his Bandcamp. ALSO: 'Want To Play A Song?: Live On 25 O'Clock Vol. 1' is now available for pre-order. The compilation features 10 original live performances from artists on the podcast. All the money from the compilation will go to Philly Music Fest's charity department. Philly Music Fest is a multi-day, non-profit music festival that has given over $500K to Philadelphia music charities. The pre-order gets you access to two tracks off the compilation, and will be fully available on 9/30. Let the pre-ordering begin!

Dan has wanted to have Brittany Ann Tranbaugh on the show for a couple of years, and it’s finally happening. Brittany talks about growing up in the Lehigh Valley, playing open mics and coffeehouse gigs as a teen, getting her songwriting to where she needed it to be, and her amazing band. Fresh off an outstanding show at Johnny Brenda’s at the time of this interview, Brittany talks about all the ups and downs of being an independent artists, life on the road, finding community away from home, and fielding unsolicited opinions from Internet trolls. Her latest self-titled EP is out now wherever you get your digital music, as well as on vinyl through her website. She will be playing at WXPN’s Xponential Music Fest on Sunday, September 22nd at 12pm.  

Dan met Justin Kerecz a little while ago, and the two hit it off immediately, sharing their love of the oft-debated-genre of power pop, as well as a general love of songwriting and home recording. Justin talks about growing up going to musicals in NYC with his grandparents, navigating his way through various bands, and realizing eventually that he'd rather just play everything and record it himself. From his early days using iPhones, tablets, GarageBand, and the evolution of his songs and records, Justin has been putting out songs since 2017. His latest EP, 'Nobody Man', is out now wherever you get your digital music. Follow him on IG, and YouTube (he makes very entertaining videos to go with his music). 

We're back from summer break! And we're getitng it all back on track the right way with Dylan Gallimore, frontman and songwriter of The Lower Aetna. Dan and Dylan get into Dylan's roots in Medford Lakes, NJ, his path into songwriting as a ficiton writer, the loneliness of a millennial queer kid growing up in the Pine Barrens, the kids you grew up with that you don't think about anymore, the bond between him and childhood best friend/band member Kayla Rae Molocznik, creating strong characters to drive a song, Craig Finn and Bruce Springsteen, and much more. 'Pine' is the newest LP from The Lower Aetna, and is out now and available wherever you get your digital music. 

Dan sits down with Ryan Wells, frontman and songwriter for Red Means Run (you betcha that's a Neil Young nod). Ryan talks about growing up in Manasas, getting turned onto music by bands like U2 and REM, both of whom were still proving themselves to the world as he was a teen. He recalls his first band Radio Ghost Town while he was living in NYC, moving to Philly and casting around for a new group of folk to play with, and putting together Red Means Run. Ryan also goes into how producer Derek Chafin (BarnSound) helped shape their newest LP, 'Things You Hold True', from Ryan's usual alt-country leanings into something broader and fuller, borrowing from as much Tom Petty as Uncle Tupelo. 'Things You Hold True' is out now and available wherever you get your digital music.  Just a reminder: we're taking off the month of August to do summer stuff, go down the shore, all that. See you back here in September for a fall season full of great bands, shows, records, conversations, and intimate performances. Check out the archives in the meantime, lots of great artists to discover! See you in September!

Dan first talked to Katie Feeney, aka Roberta Faceplant, back in April of 2020 as one of his first virtual guests at the start of the pandemic. It was a different time then. Katie came over to the studio in person this time, and the gab starts right off the bat (Dan and Katie are both self-admitted gabbers). Katie talks about the birth of the Roberta Faceplant project and persona, the forming of the current lineup, which features her former You Do You bandmates Drew Parker and Aaron Boczkowski, as well as Nick Anastasi (Honey Butter, Southwork, Fat City Reprise) and Mykk Hoffman (The Funky T, Emily Drinker). The band's newest EP, 'Yee Haw Stuff', is out July 26th wherever you get digitial music. A quick primer on names and places (lotta names come up in this one):

John Faye- former frontman of The Caulfields, Ike, John and Brittany, singer-songwriter, author, and elder statesman of the Philadelphia music community

Dave Kiss- Philadelphia promoter going way back, owner of Dave Kiss Presents

Ang Bocca- powerhouse Philadelphia singer and songwriter

Kara Koser- also powerhouse Philadelphia singer and songwriter, frontwoman of Koser

Crystal Engel- co-owner of Moon Rose Vintage, founder of Mamamoon Vintage

Brittany Ann Tranbaugh- Philadelphia singer songwriter, touring artist, community leader

Todd Mecaughey- engineer and producer at Cambridge Sound Studios, member of Secret American, formerly of the New Connection

MilkBoy South Street (formerly Lickety Split)- two-floor venue on South Street in Philadelphia, home of Katie's open mic

Episode image photo by Shannon Nicole

Dan first heard of Brendan McGeehan back when he interviewed Aaron Parnell Brown about their band, The Right Fiction. Brendan talks about growing up on coastal Maryland, gravitating towards the bass at a young age, his journey as a record producer, and his first time solo-outing Peace Fortress. With the foundation of the tracks recorded largely in one long session, Brendan pieced together a stellar instrumental LP called 'New Moon', featuring players like Adrian Harpham, Logan Roth, and Will Brown, as well as countless guests. 'New Moon' is out July 18th wherever you get digital music (as well as a vinyl pre-order), and the band will play a record release show at The Fallser Club the same night in Philadelphia. 

As promised, here's another set of Philadelphia music for the summer! Use the clickable playlist below to link up with the artists you love, see them play, check out their records, all of it. There's so much great music coming out this summer, sometime we have to take a sec to take it in. Enjoy!

1. Alek Barkats- Jewels

2. Sixteen Jackies- One of the Boys

3. The Lower Aetna- Carny Song

4. Brother Of Monday- Every Circle Can Have Two Centers

5. Solar Circuit- Good Time

6. Reese Florence- Night Tea

7. Brittany Ann Tranbaugh- Bushwick

8. Roberta Faceplant- Yee Haw Stuff

9. Jackson Pines- Julie Jane

    10. Clover- I Cried At Costco

It's playlist time again! So many Philly artists are putitng out new music this summer, so here's just a small selection of what's on offer. See the clickable playlist below for direct links to all the artists you'll hear on this episode. And, as you can imagine, Vol. 1 implies another set coming next week. Dan was sent so much great music, he had to make two whole episodes to hold it all. This week features a set of music from Sweet Juice Fest artists, don't miss the fest this year at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown.  

1. Jay Johnson and the OTC Collective- Apple Of My Eye

2. Stella Ruze- Firework- Origin (forthcoming)

3. Grandogs- Wither on the Vine

4. Ridge Runners- The Rest Of Us

5. Luke Simo- Time Gone

6. Samantha Rise- Til They’re Free

7. Noun w. Radiator Hospital- Lesson Learned

8. Red Means Run- Things You Hold True

9. Echo Kid- Immortal Jones

    10. Ross Bellenoit- The Language Of Dreaming- Signals

Dan has known of Quincy Stallworth for years, especially for Quincy's job running SoFar Sounds concerts in Philadelphia since around 2018. Quincy sits down to talk about his musical upbringing in the Baptist churches of Southwest and North Philadelphia, his early bands, and how he always excelled at the "business" side of being in a group as much as the musical side. Quincy and many others were all abruptly terminated from SoFar last winter, but Quincy already has his next thing going: Mill Street Music, an intimate listening room over the bridge in Mount Holly, NJ. Dan and Quincy get into a lot: Bowie, cocaine albums, how to keep something from getting too big, the ups and downs of his SoFar journey, and how you'll always find yourself drawn to driven, creative people no matter what. Check out Mill Street Music's calendar, as well as Quincy's photography, and his podcast, Quince Questions.