In the early ‘90s, a vibrant American underground music scene was dragged kicking and screaming into mainstream visibility – with turbulent, controversial, sometimes hilarious results. Musician Dylan Metrano and writer Gregory S. Moss speak with major bands, producers, label heads and hangers-on of the era, look back and try to make sense of this transformative moment in American cultural history. If you’re hungry to hear about the independent, lo-fi, garage, grunge, avant-garde and punk music of the late 20th century, this podcast will fill your goddamn socks. 

In our first 13-episode season, we revisit the second stage of Lollapalooza; explore the careers of journeyman musicians like David Pajo (Slint, Palace Brothers, Zwan) and Tim Foljahn (Cat Power, Half Japanese, Townes Van Zandt); uncover the secret history of Boston’s underground with members of Galaxie 500, Mission of Burma, Throwing Muses, and The Breeders; visit Chicago’s legendary Lounge Ax club; trace the history of the influential Simple Machines record label with its founders Jenny Toomy and Kristin Thomson; and rediscover the final, forgotten Pussy Galore album with Jon Spencer.

Gregory Moss is a writer, educator and performer from Newburyport MA. His work has been produced at Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, Steppenwolf, La Comédie-Française, EST-LA, Clubbed Thumb, Capital T Theatre and South Coast Rep, among others. His plays include Indian Summer, punkplay, Reunion, Billy Witch, House of Gold and sixsixsix. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Head of the MFA Dramatic Writing Program. He is currently at work on a collection of short stories and his first novel.

Dylan Metrano is a papercutting artist, musician, chocolatier, and writer. He co-hosts the weekly Burst & Bloom Podcast, which discusses every album from his Burst & Bloom Records’ fifteen-year history. He founded the long-running bands Tiger Saw and Cape Snow.

Gregory Moss and Dylan Metrano published the indie rock zine Buzzy from 1993-1998, and played together in the post-rock band Hamlet Idiot from 1992-1999. They’ve collaborated on various other music, theatre, and performance projects over the years.