"Toronto has outgrown Peter Ustinov"

Simon Harvey is an old buddy from Toronto. He is head honcho of Ugly Pop Records and a regular contributor to Ugly Things magazine as well as the excellent book “Tomorrow is Too Late” which covers the Toronto hardcore-punk scene of the early 80’s.

Simon is also an incorrigible record collector and an all-around good guy. Some of the bands we talk about: The Waitresses, The Jam, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Who, Sham 69, Television, XTC, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Viletones, Dire Straits, Die Kreuzen, Discharge, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost, Rixe, Slant, Infest, Minor Threat, Subhumans

uglypop.bandcamp.com @uglypoprecords @uxbpress @uglythingsmag

(Interview originally published 3/15/21)

"Mark Knopfler is pretty great"

Simon Harvey is an old buddy from Toronto. He is head honcho of Ugly Pop Records and a regular contributor to Ugly Things magazine as well as the excellent book “Tomorrow is Too Late” which covers the Toronto hardcore-punk scene of the early 80’s.

Simon is also an incorrigible record collector and an all-around good guy.Some of the bands we talk about: The Waitresses, The Jam, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Who, Sham 69, Television, XTC, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Viletones, Dire Straits, Die Kreuzen, Discharge, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost, Rixe, Slant, Infest, Minor Threat, Subhumans.

uglypop.bandcamp.com @uglypoprecords @uxbpress @uglythingsmag

(Interview originally published 3/15/21)

"Properly Vetted"

My pal Derek Dole is a Buffalo native, one of the guitarists for the incredible hardcore band Do Crime and a member of the Nickel City Soundtrack podcast braintrust. We had a fun and wide ranging conversation. You can hear him on NCS weekly and his band Do Crime on bandcamp as well as Apple Music and Spotify. 

"RIP Roswell Kent Junior High"

A few years ago they tore down the building that where I attended Junior High School. It brought back a ton of memories, particularly involving music. It was there that I really started to take ownership of music and there was a particular mix tape that helped me along my way. I recorded this "Five and Change" episode to document some of my thoughts. Sound quality be damned, I've republished this for posterity.

(Originally published 9/4/21)

"Cousteau'd - Deuxième Partie"

"Voivod - Forever and ever and ever" 

I have know Dave and Matt for years. Longer than most people in my life. The one constant aside from their friendship is that we are always talking about music. Most of these discussions occur at Dave's record store, Square Records. It made sense to do and interview with them together. I am pretty sure that this was the first live interview I had done for the podcast. In spite of the dodgy sound quality, this is one of favorite conversations recorded for the podcast. Enjoy.

Oh - This is Part 2 of 2.

(Interview originally published 8/18/21)

"Forever and ever and ever" 

I have know Dave and Matt for years. Longer than most people in my life. The one constant aside from their friendship is that we are always talking about music. Most of these discussions occur at Dave's record store, Square Records. It made sense to do and interview with them together. I am pretty sure that this was the first live interview I had done for the podcast. In spite of the dodgy sound quality, this is one of favorite conversations recorded for the podcast. Enjoy.

Oh - This is Part 1 of 2.

(Interview originally published 8/18/21)

"Missing mall anecdotes"

My pal Jess has been taking pictures in, around and beyond Akron for quite some time. Much of her photography captures the decaying remnants of Reagan-era capitalism (malls) and also of our beloved hometown, Akron. But, as I discovered during our talk, she's been going to shows for much longer. We talk about the motivations behind her photography as well music. We've known each other for quite a while and this one was long overdue, but worth the wait!

"You mean we get to be weird?"

Malcolm Abrams is a writer that I met while he was covering music for the Akron Beacon Journal. Back in the early 2000s, we often had lengthy discussions about music while hanging out at The Lime Spider so it only made sense that he appear as one of my first guests. This is one of my favorite episode and one that I definitely felt NEEDED to be republished. The sound quality leaves a lot to be desired, but it is worth checking out!

(Interview originally published 2021)

"That riff is nasty, just nasty"

I have known Wes for over 20 years. We first met in the late 90s while our respective bands were playing shows in Akron at Fusion Records, Annabell's, The Lime Spider and The Mantis in Kent. We've done DJ sets together at local dives as well. No matter what the context, we've ALWAYS talked music. Music of all kinds. It took a minute, but I finally got one of these conversations recorded.

To quote a sage, "check it out".