We're staying in the Northeast to bring you Grant Johnson, the man behind such bands as:

Blood Jinn

Set In Motion

Easter Rising

Eternal Youth

Herman Dekalb

Spark Lights the Friction

The Funeral

AWOL

Knife Fight

Dirty Girls

Broken Patterns

Night Owls

Missing Skull

Difficult

Bent Limbs

And he's STILL going with music. That's an impressive pedigree.

Anyhow, Grant was kind enough to come on and talk music and Syracuse and just about anything. He was insightful and knowledgeable and this was a fun episode.

Get you some Grant music at all these links:

Night Owls:

https://nightowls.bandcamp.com/album/rapture-ep

https://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/album/night-owls-s-t-ep

Bent Limbs:

https://bntlmbs.bandcamp.com/album/soft-mind

The Difficult:

https://difficult.bandcamp.com/album/tea-with-the-times

https://difficult315.bandcamp.com/album/to-heal?label=2983238955

The Funeral:

https://hexrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-funeral-discography-2001-2004

And follow his current project - Bent Limbs on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/bntlmbs?igsh=ZGwzeWwyY3Q1azZz

Randy Larsen was kind enough to come back to discuss everything there is worth knowing about how the Cable - "Gutter Queen" album came to be. Randy was brutally honest about the internal struggles the band was facing around this time. In addition, we discuss how Clinton St. Blues (Eric's favorite off this album) came to be an inflection point and a start of a new chapter for the band's sound.

Randy has a lot of fond memories as well as a lot of conflicted emotions around this era of the band but it was a great and informative conversation. You won't want to miss this one at all.

Both songs from this episode were taken from Cable's "Gutter Queen" LP (duh):

"Clinton St. Blues"

"Human Interest Story"

We're traveling way into the Northeast for this one to bring on the legendary Randy Larsen who has done time in:

Cable

Empty Flowers

Isis

Slow Death

Tombs

Come To Grief

Randy's stories of his attempts to focus entirely on bass and shift away from vocals through some of the more turbulant times of Cable make this episode truly special. Of special note is his story for how Cable came to be parted from Hydra Head and you will definitely want to hear this one!

Hope you enjoy this one - it's definitely worth the listen!

The two songs featured in this episode are both Cable bangers:

Time Big Rock - from "Northern Failures"

Gulf Of Texaco - from "The Failed Convict"

Get all your physical Cable music from Translation Loss here:

https://translationloss.com/search?q=cable&options%5Bprefix%5D=last

Bandcamp for all your digital needs:

https://cable3.bandcamp.com/music

Find him at ALL THESE LINKS:

https://www.instagram.com/cabletheband

https://www.facebook.com/cabletheband

https://www.instagram.com/translationlossrecords

Ryan comes back onto the show to discuss all things Coliseum's 2004 Self-Titled Debut. When this album first dropped it was like an explosion in the heart of Louisville and 20+ years and two milestone reissues later this album is still just as strong as it was back then.

You'll learn about everything that went into the original album, the original line-up, how the remasters came together (and Ryan's opinions on them) and so much more.

Both songs from this episode were taken from Colseium's Self-Titled LP (duh):

"This Mind Locked Inside This Body"

"Give Up and Drive"

We're staying in the Midwest but traveling a bit south to Louisville to discuss all things music and art with Ryan Patterson who has done time in:

Fotocrime

Mirrorless

Aon Brasi

Coliseum

Black God

Black Cross

Whips/Chains

The National Acrobat

The Enkindels

Along with his label work with Initial Records and Auxiliary Records, plus Shirt Killer and Cat Magic Punks. Basically, if this man graces your band with his presence, it's a stamp and a seal that the music is going to be good.

Hear about Ryan's absolute commitment to art and making his pursuit of art into his life's passion and (spoiler alert) this one turns out to be a happy ending. I have no idea the size of the well from which he draws his inspiration, creativity, and drive from, but I'm glad it's there.

Hope you enjoy this one - it's definitely worth the listen!

The two songs featured in this episode are:

Fotocrime - Cautious from the "Cautious / Crack Up" EP Mirrorless - Ultraviolent from "Mirrorless" EP

Order that Mirrorless EP here:https://equalvision.com/products/mirlmirlpw-lp (if you like purple)https://equalvision.com/products/mirlmirlgb-lp (if you're more into green)Music links:https://fotocrime.bandcamp.com/https://mirrorlessband.bandcamp.com/Find him at ALL THESE LINKS:https://www.instagram.com/ryanmichaelpattersonhttps://www.instagram.com/thehouseoffoto/https://www.instagram.com/fotocrime/https://www.instagram.com/coliseumband/https://www.instagram.com/aonbrasi/https://www.instagram.com/catmagicpunks/https://www.instagram.com/shirtkiller/https://www.instagram.com/mirrorless.band/

One of Eric's favorite bands of all time is Chicago's very own Stabbed By Words so it was honestly exciting and rewarding to bring Jay back to discuss everything there is to know about the band. We discuss their approach to songwriting, Dave's contribution to guitar, how the band evolved over time, and where the road might have taken them if not for their untimely break-up.

You'll learn about the revolving road trips for band practice and how the band was able to overcome the challenges of having everyone in the band spread out to still write and practice and record.

This is one for the storybooks and we truly hope you enjoy it.

Both songs from this episode were taken from Stabbed By Words' Self-Titled LP (duh):

"Sing! Sing!"

"Pills We Sell"

Staying in the Midwest for Episode 061 so we could have a nice, long conversation with the man behind the guitar in so many legendary Chicago (and New York!) bands - Jay Jancetic doing his thing in:

Plagued With Rage

Half Mast

Nevermore

Extinction

Sever the Cord

Arma Angelus

Stabbed By Words

Holy Roman Empire

Harm's Way

Black X

Atonement Theory

Contempt

Almost Always

Left Of Heaven

You might be surprised like I was to find out he originally hails from New York before he recognized just how amazing Chicago is and made the move that forever changed not only his own musical path but charted a new path through all of the influential bands he has done time in.

Jay had so many great stories and has led such an interesting life this made for an amazing episode.

The two songs featured in this episode are:

Left Of Heaven - Halo From the Upcoming (yet-to-be-fully-titled) EP

Harm's Way - Docile Bodies from "Rust"

Aside from being the shredder and voice behind Cadillac Blindside, did you know Zaq had a more singer-songwriter side? If you somehow missed out or slept on this or whatever else, check this episode out because Zaq us back to give us the complete oral history behind ...And We Danced. He discovers the theme behind the album, how it came to be (and how it was almost only made for him) and just how much this project meant to him.

There are few things more satisfying than having a guest on and realizing that music never left their hearts and their souls and Zaq embodies this just as well as anyone else. He takes all of that heart and history and wraps it up in a genuine story with some sprinkled in humor, exactly like the phenominal songwriter that he is.

This episode was a blast to record and we sincerely hope you enjoy the listen or the watch.

Both songs from this episode were taken from ...And We Danced's Self-Titled release (duh):

"The Ring"

"Little Streetlight"

Back to the Midwest for Episode 059 so we could have a nice, long conversation with the man both behind the guitar and the microphone - Zaq Zrust doing his thing in Cadillac Blindside, And We Danced, FUELtheFIRE, plus more.

Hear about his early years around his parents, his love for writing music, finding (and continually improving) his voice, learning guitar, and everything else. You'll be shocked at the work ethic and effort that Zaq put into Cadillac and how that translated to their continued popularity to this day.

This episode is also (completely unplanned) timely as Cadillac Blindside is playing three shows next month for FEST in Gainesville, FL.

We hope you enjoy the Midwest wisdom Zaq is about to share.

The two songs featured in this episode are:

FUELtheFIRE - I Got the April Epidemic... Now it Burns When I... from the split with The April Epidemic

Cadillac Blindside - Just Pull the Trigger from "Read the Book Seen the Movie"

Emily was kind enough to come back and discuss what life was like behind the microphone (and the pen!) while providing vocals for the absolutely amazing Holy Roman Empire's "The Longue Durée."

Hear about how her vocal journey and time in the studio made her into the powerful singer she is, her many contributions to the songs and how the dynamic of the band changed once she had create control over her lyrics, and how everything came together perfectly to craft this album that showed the band at the top of their game.

It was an absolute pleasure to have Emily on and hear her perspective.

Both songs from this episode were taken from Holy Roman Empire's "The Longue Durée" album (duh):

Action Figures

Take It Outside