Having A Blast with Kyle Devlin

In this episode, I have my first guest! My buddy Adam and I chat about the second album "Where You Want to Be" from Emo virtuosos Taking Back Sunday.

Where You Want to Be is the second studio album by American rock band Taking Back Sunday. While touring to promote Tell All Your Friends (2002), guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper left the group and were replaced by Fred Mascherino and Matt Rubano, respectively. After a co-headlining tour with Saves the Day in fall 2003, the band began working on Where You Want to Be.

Dismissive of several early songs, they wanted to "grow musically with this [new album]." In March 2004 recording of Where You Want to Be began, with Lou Giordano as producer. The band recorded at Mission Sound in Brooklyn, New York for two weeks before moving to Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey, finishing recording by April.

Where You Want to Be has received mixed-to-positive reviews, selling 163,000 copies in its first week. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, remaining there for an additional 19 weeks. It topped the Independent Albums chart and remained on that chart for 50 weeks. "A Decade Under the Influence" reached number 16 on the Alternative Songs chart and the UK Top 75 chart. Where You Want to Be is Victory's highest-charting album; in July 2005 it was certified gold in the U.S. for sales of 500,000 copies, and sales have since exceeded 700,000.

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On today's episode, I'm extremely excited to be speaking with my new bud, Mr. Joe Ortega.

Joe is a photographer and he's photographed several of my favorite bands. Countless in fact at this point. He's probably captured some iconic images and moments of some of your favorite bands, as well.

He's worked with bands like Dashboard Confessional, Anberlin, Taking Back Sunday, The Maine, Thrice, Acceptance, and the list goes on and on.

I absolutely loved this conversation; Joe is a very passionate and insightful guy. We discuss many topics including why we should expect things to suck before we get better, fitness, creativity, capturing moments, leveling up in life and in our crafts, and why the best hidden trick to gaining opportunities might just be being a good person with a good moral character.

I think you'll dig it!

On today's episode, I'm thrilled to be speaking with bassist Mike Davenport. Mike is the long-running bassist of The Ataris, as well as Versus the World.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode. We discuss the early days of the band, the trials and tribulations of being on a major label, and everything Don Henley.

It was a blast to speak with Mike and I really appreciate his honesty and transparency. Enjoy!

Michael Sean Davenport (born 13 September 1968) is an American musician. Davenport was bass guitarist for The Ataris,[1] joining the band in 1997 prior to the album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits in which Davenport co-wrote the song "In Spite of the World". He also played bass on the album End Is Forever and the EP Look Forward to Failure on Fat Wreck Chords. Davenport played bass on Live at the Metro. In 2005, Davenport left the band after the Ataris headed in a different musical direction. In 2005 Davenport appeared in the documentary movie Punk's Not Dead.

Davenport went on to form the band Versus the World with the employees of The Ataris record store Down on Haley. Versus the World put out a self-titled album on Kung Fu Records in 2005. The album featured a top twenty hit in Europe. The band toured extensively through the US, Canada, and Europe. Their song "Forgive Me" is featured on WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007 They have also made a music video for one of their songs "Is There No End.[2]

Davenport began to play with friends Brian McVicar on drums and Chris Flippin on Guitar and formed Cave Mummy in 2008.[3]

Davenport rejoined The Ataris from 2014-2016 for two reunion tours in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.

On today's episode, I'm extremely excited to be speaking with Mr. Alex Howard.

I first became aware of Alex when discovering his band Conditions back in 2007.

They were a band generating a lot of hype back then and they put out a couple of really great records and EPs.

I've followed Alex since Conditions became inactive in 2014, as he joined the band Sleeping with Sirens as a touring member.

We chat all about that. The history of Conditions, what led him to being a touring musician with other artists. He went on to play for the rapper Hoodie Allen after his stint in Sleeping with Sirens and now he's playing with the musical act Jelly Roll.

We even get a really cool story about him meeting the legendary Mike Dirnt and Mark Hoppus.

It was an absolute pleasure speaking with Alex. He's always come across as a super likeable, humble, and approachable guy. That was clearly evident during our talk. Enjoy!

Conditions is an American rock band from Richmond, Virginia.

Conditions was founded in 2006 by members of the previous local bands Motion Picture Demise, Race the Sun, Scarlet and Forever in a Day (FIAD). The group released its first recorded material in 2007 and played Bamboozle and Warped Tour that same year.

The group signed with Good Fight Music and released their debut full-length, Fluorescent Youth, in September 2010. This album drew comparisons to bands such as Anberlin, Ivoryline, and Saosin. Their sophomore effort, Full of War, followed in March 2013. On November 7, 2013, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were breaking up. On July 12, 2014 the band played their farewell show and officially broke up.

LET'S CONNECT:

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Email: [email protected]

On today's episode, I'm extremely excited to be speaking to Mr. Jon Graber. Otherwise known as J Grabes.

Jon is a producer/engineer/mixing engineer, and he's worked with bands we know and love such as NOFX (he's currently recording their new record), MXPX, Goldfinger, The Suicide Machines, We Are the Union, and many more.

Located in Los Angeles, he's managing a surprising amount of output and we talk about that.

We discuss his early days of discovering punk rock, playing in bands, and how he found his way behind the boards. We also talk about working with legendary punk rock front men like John Feldmann, Fat Mike, and Mike Hererra.

This was such a fun and enlightening conversation; I feel like we could do several of these. I think you'll enjoy it.

LET'S CONNECT:

Kyle's Instagram 

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Email: [email protected]

This is the first episode of 2022, and what a fantastic one it is.

Today, I'm incredibly excited to be speaking with my long-time friend Mr. Ben Harper. Ben is one of the original founding members of the band Yellowcard.

I met Ben in 2002 and we became quick friends. I always admired Ben as a guitar player, but he was always a lot of fun to be around.

He really championed our band and was always extremely supportive.

Ben went on to form Takeover Records while in Yellowcard, and Takeover has evolved into many iterations over the years. Ben parted ways with Yellowcard in 2006 and we discuss that a little.

But the purpose of the chat today is to highlight Yellowcard's debut full length "One for the Kids" and the recent re-release of the record.

Ben and I chat about the formation of the band, the process of the re-release and lots more.

I want to thank Ben for taking the time, and for being so transparent in this conversation.

He's one of the best dudes in the music industry that I was ever able to meet and hang alongside and I'm really glad I was able to get him on the show.

So, without further ado, please enjoy this multi-faceted chat with Mr. Ben Harper from Yellowcard and This Legend.

LET'S CONNECT:

Kyle's Instagram 

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Email: [email protected]

On today's edition of Flashback Fridays, I wanted to give a quick rundown of more of my favorite records of 2021.

However, because I'm crazy and I can very rarely narrow down my favorites for the year into a neat little ten best records list...

I've decided to split up my favorite records of the year into sub-categories. I'll be doing three "Best Of" episodes, and these will be the final three Flashback Fridays episodes until I decide to revisit the idea.

The categories on this episode that I'll cover are three different genres: Pop, Indie, and Miscellaneous.

I explain which records were my favorites for the year and which category they fall under.

Got some favorite records from the year that you think I may have missed? Hit me up and let me know!

LET'S CONNECT:

Kyle's Instagram 

Kyle's Facebook 

Email: [email protected]

On today's episode, I'm incredibly excited to welcome Mr. Jim Suptic of The Get Up Kids fame.

Jim is the co-singer and co-songwriter for The Get Up Kids. He is also the singer and songwriter for the band Blackpool Lights.

The Get Up Kids formed in 1995 in Kansas City, Missouri. My hometown. They are of legendary status at this point. They are my favorite Kansas City band, and I've been listening to them for 23 years now.

This was an absolute thrill for me, as I've never met any of the members of The Get Up Kids. But Jim was an absolute sweetheart, I really appreciate him taking the time to chat with me. I also want to thank him for being so honest and forthcoming, we discuss a lot in this episode.

Jim is also currently working with fellow Blackpool Lights member Billy Brimblecom on Steps of Faith.

Steps of Faith is a nonprofit public charity dedicated to providing prosthetic care, hope, and comfort to amputees needing financial support. They help uninsured underinsured amputees get the prosthetic limbs they need.

For the last five years, they've thrown a wonderful charity event called Thundergong in KC. Hosted by Ted Lasso himself Mr. Jason Sudeikis.

My partner Pamela and I have enjoyed going to Thundergong, it's a blast. We chat about that and plenty more.

So, without further ado, please enjoy this Get Up Kids filled conversation, with my new bud Mr. Jim Suptic.

The Get Up Kids

Blackpool Lights - Wikipedia

Steps of Faith | #GiveSteps (stepsoffaithfoundation.org)

Thundergong! • A Benefit Concert for Steps of Faith Foundation

Polyvinyl Records - Artists, News, Merch - Shop Vinyl, Merch, Music and More

Vagrant Records

LET'S CONNECT:

Kyle's Instagram 

Kyle's Facebook 

Email: [email protected]

On today's edition of Flashback Fridays, I wanted to give a quick rundown of more of my favorite records of 2021.

However, because I'm crazy and I can very rarely narrow down my favorites for the year into a neat little ten best records list...

I've decided to split up my favorite records of the year into sub-categories. I'll be doing three "Best Of" episodes, and these will be the final three Flashback Fridays episodes until I decide to revisit the idea.

The categories on this episode that I'll cover are three different genres: Heavier music, Post-punk/alternative, and Emo.

I explain which records were my favorites for the year and which category they fall under.

Got some favorite records from the year that you think I may have missed? Hit me up and let me know!

On today's episode, I'm extremely excited to be joined by my good friend Kyle Black.

Kyle and I go way back. I met him when I was 18 years old, nearly 20 years ago. Kyle booked the first show Gametime show that we ever played in California. It was at a place called Skateland. We play there with his band Nural.

Kyle and the rest of the Nural guys were so incredibly kind to us, we loved playing shows with them. I'm a huge fan of their band.

Kyle has also become one of the best and most prolific producers in the scene. He's worked with bands like Comeback Kid, State Champs, All Time Low, Pierce the Veil, Strung Out, Hit the Lights, Seaway, New Found Glory, Set Your Goals, Like Pacific, and many more.

You can check out his website at www.kyleblackproducer.com for his entire discography.

He is the owner of West Alley Recording Studios. You can find more info at www.westalleyrecordings.com.

It was so fun catching up with Kyle. I really appreciate him taking the time. He's one of the nicest dudes, and he always made me laugh.

I think anyone interested in how the special sauce is made, a look behind the curtain, will really enjoy this chat.

So, without further ado, please enjoy this engineering and production filled convo with Mr. Kyle Black.