The Fat Possum Record label indie rock whiz kids called The Districts announced that their next record, Popular Manipulations, will come out August 11th, 2017. For some reason, music journalists like to focus on two things when talking about the band: 1 they are "young" (the band was formed in 2009 by four high schoolers) and 2 they come from a "small town" (Lititz, Pennsylvania, the self-titled "Coolest Small Town in America"). The band of course would rather be known for their music.

I hung out with band members Rob Grote and Connor Jacobus in the tour van when The Districts were touring their 2015 record A Flourish and a Spoil. We had a few beers while parked in the alley behind Vancouver's Rickshaw Theatre. I was hoping a few beers would get these small town shy guys to loosen up, but I couldn't have predicted how the location of the interview would effect the band.

Do I get Connor and Rob to come out of their shell? What is a "bro rub"? How can the band avoid talking about being "young" and being from a "small town"? What is a Lil' Chub and why is it in the tour van? What was the first record the guys listened to as a band? Why did the band decide to work with producer John Congleton? What is the band's favorite cover to play live? How many penises do we see while doing the interview? (It's a surprising amount.) Listen!

Tracks played on the show...

1) The Districts, A Flourish and a Spoil (2015) "4th And Roebling"

2) The Districts, A Flourish and a Spoil (2015) "Peaches"

3) The Districts, Telephone (2012) "Layla"

4) The Districts, A Flourish and a Spoil (2015) "Suburban Smell"

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Making a Murderer is the surprise hit Netflix original documentary television series, written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show follows the story of Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison for rape and was freed after DNA linked another man to the crime. After being fully exonerated in 2003, Avery filed a suit against the county on this case. In 2005, Avery was arrested on charges of murdering Teresa Halbach, a local photographer, and was convicted in 2007. The series was filmed over the course of ten years, with the filmmakers Ricciardi and Demos moving back and forth from New York City to Wisconsin during filming.

I got a chance to have some tea with Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos at the Banff World Media Festival.

How did New Yorkers Ricciardi and Demos find the Wisconsin Steven Avery case? What made them decide that the Steven Avery story was worth 10 years of their lives? Did they ever consider pitching the show as a movie? How did they find the incredible characters in this docu-series? Do they agree with how TV news can influence the American Justice System? Was it difficult to craft a compelling ending to the series? Listen!

Tracks played on the show...

1) Kevin Kiner and Gustavo Santaolalla, Making A Murderer Soundtrack (unreleased) "Main Title"

2) Kevin Kiner and Gustavo Santaolalla, Hell On Wheels Soundtrack (2012) "Bridge of Bodies"

3) Kevin Kiner and Gustavo Santaolalla, Making A Murderer Soundtrack (unreleased) "End Credits"

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This summer I took The Interview Show on the road to the Banff World Media Festival at the staggeringly beautiful Banff Fairmont Springs Luxury Hotel and Resort. I got to hang out a bit with screenwriter and showrunner John Ridley. In fact we sat down for some tea right after he walked off the stage.

John Ridley has had a very interesting and varied career. Most people know him as the 2014 Oscar winner for best adapted screenplay for 12 Years a Slave or as the show runner of the recently concluded ABC anthology series, American Crime. But did you know that John wrote the screenplay for Undercover Brother? And Three Kings? He started his career doing stand up and has written sci-fi novels and a graphic novel about his own superhero universe.

We chatted about writing Emmy-winning material for actor Regina King, his new superhero graphic novel from DC Comics, the most challenging time in his career, and the work that still needs to be done to increase the participation of under-represented people in mainstream media. Listen!

Tracks played on the show...

1) Mark Isham, American Crime Season One OST (2015) "Previously On" (background)

2) Hans Zimmer, 12 Years a Slave OST (2013) "Solomon" (background)

3) Alabama Shakes, 12 Years a Slave OST (2013) "Driva Man"

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When I met Chicago indie band Whitney (Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich) at Vancouver's Biltmore, they were in the middle of practicing a cool, weird, new handshake. Max and Julien met in their previous glam-rock band the Smith Westerns and quickly became close friends. When the Smith Westerns imploded, they started to work together on what would eventually become Whitney. The result ended up being the amazing debut record, Light Upon the Lake.

How did Max and Julien get over the Smith Westerns imploding? Which song was influenced by an acid trip? Which song was inspired by a drug dealing neighbor? What was it like when Max and Julien showed their ex-girlfriends the song they wrote about the breakup? Which album track do we compare to the demo version? What was the "secret" handshake all about? You'll have to listen to find out.

Tracks played on the radio edit of the show…

1) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “No Woman”

2) Smith Westerns, Smith Westerns (June 2009) "The Glam Goddess" (background)

3) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Dave’s Song”

4) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “No Matter Where We Go”

5) Whitney “No Woman” (unreleased demo) (background)

6) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Polly” (background/partial)

7) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Golden Days”

8) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Polly”

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When I met Chicago indie band Whitney (Max Kakacek and Julien Ehrlich) at Vancouver's Biltmore, they were in the middle of practicing a cool, weird, new handshake. Max and Julien met in their previous glam-rock band the Smith Westerns and quickly became close friends. When the Smith Westerns imploded, they started to work together on what would eventually become Whitney. The result ended up being the amazing debut record, Light Upon the Lake.

How did Max and Julien get over the Smith Westerns imploding? Which song was influenced by an acid trip? What's been the weirdest moment in these two guy's intense friendship? Which song was inspired by a drug dealing neighbor? What was it like when Max and Julien showed their ex-girlfriends the song they wrote about the breakup? Which album track do we compare to the demo version? What was the "secret" handshake all about? You'll have to listen to find out.

Tracks played on the podcast edition of the show…

1) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “No Woman”

2) Smith Westerns, Smith Westerns (June 2009) "The Glam Goddess" (background)

3) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Dave’s Song”

4) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “No Matter Where We Go”

5) Whitney “No Woman” (unreleased demo) (background)

6) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Polly” (background/partial)

7) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “No Woman” (background/partial)

8) Whitney "You've Got a Woman / Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can)" single (March 2017)

9) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Follow”

10) Whitney, Light Upon the Lake (June 2016) “Polly”

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I hung out with Warp Records electronic, experimental, ambient, drone producer Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never (or sometimes OPN) in an unusually busy alleyway behind Vancouver’s Venue nightclub. He sipped tea the whole time to massage his vocal chords for that night’s show.

His latest record, Garden of Delete, started when Daniel got really obsessed with top 40 music and wondered what it would be like to create an entire album from the discarded song ideas of top 40 pop songwriters. The record ended up being about an adolescent alien meeting a made-up hyper-grunge band called Chaos Edge and their music collaboration.

Which song on his record is about how absurd it is to ejaculate for the first time? How did top 40 song writers react when Daniel approached them for their discarded song ideas? Which is his favorite track on Garden of Delete? Which top 40 song is Daniel’s current guilty obsession? Which Garden of Delete track does Daniel call his "psychotic clown" song? In how many different ways can our interview get interrupted by this abnormally busy alleyway? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Tracks played on the the show…

1) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Sticky Drama”

2) Rae Sremmurd, SremmLife (2015) “No Type”

3) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Mutant Standard”

4) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Animals”

5) Oneohtrix Point Never, Replica (2011) “Replica”

6) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “I Bite Through It”

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I hung out with Warp Records electronic, experimental, ambient, drone producer Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never (or sometimes OPN) in an unusually busy alleyway behind Vancouver’s Venue nightclub. He sipped tea the whole time to massage his vocal chords for that night’s show.

His latest record, Garden of Delete, started when Daniel got really obsessed with top 40 music and wondered what it would be like to create an entire album from the discarded song ideas of top 40 pop songwriters. The record ended up being about an adolescent alien meeting a made-up hyper-grunge band called Chaos Edge and their musical collaboration.

Which song on his record is about how absurd it is to ejaculate for the first time? How did top 40 song writers react when Daniel approached them for their discarded song ideas? Which is his favorite track on Garden of Delete? Which top 40 song is Daniel’s current guilty obsession? Which Garden of Delete track does Daniel call his "psychotic clown" song? In how many different ways can our interview get interrupted by this abnormally busy alleyway? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Tracks played on the the show…

1) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Sticky Drama”

2) Rae Sremmurd, SremmLife (2015) “No Type”

3) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Mutant Standard”

4) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “Animals”

5) Oneohtrix Point Never, Replica (2011) “Replica”

6) Oneohtrix Point Never, Garden of Delete (2015) “I Bite Through It”

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May 2017 was supposed to be the start of the next stage in the career of queercore band PWR BTTM. They were set to release their next record Pageant--the follow up to the well-received 2015 full length debut Ugly Cherries. But then Jezebel.com posted accusations of sexual assault against PWR BTTM member Ben Hopkins by an anonymous accuser. Before the end of May 2017, the band found themselves dropped by their label and management team and a touring member of the band quit. The band have issued a statement on their Facebook page denying the accusations, but all this has left many PWR BTTM fans not knowing what to think.

I first saw PWR BTTM a few years ago when they opened at the Biltmore for Ra Ra Riot. While I interviewed Wes from Ra Ra Riot, he proudly wore a neon-pink PWR BTTM sweat shirt. Next time I saw the band, they were headlining at 333 on a bill with Bellows and Lisa Prank. It was a great night, a fun crowd. (Each act on the bill stayed to watch the others perform at the back of the room--which is a rare thing.) My leather jacket straight music snob friends (there to see Bellows) could mix with tank top, glitter and cotton candy colored hair queer folk there to see PWR BTTM. Two very different crowds who don't mingle enough got to enjoy a great show together and everyone felt safe.

While at the PWR BTTM show, I met Maguire (who goes by the pronouns them/they), a young PWR BTTM super fan--such a fan they had come to Vancouver from a remote community just to see the band. I wanted to get their take on this horrible situation.

"The space that PWR BTTM created was like no other. I've been to punk shows, rap shows, and rock shows of all sorts, but PWR BTTM stood out because of the way they didn't just use the space, but transformed it. For a few short hours, I felt safer at a show than I'd ever felt previously. Both band members constantly stressed the importance of their "No Mosh" policy and what consent means to them between quips about appetizer bread from the nearby Ethiopian restaurant and being berated by hot Canadian border guards. They spoke and the people listened, danced, and respected their wishes and the people around them. As someone who has woken up with bruises from errant moshers the day after a show the feeling of being able to really let go and not worry about what other people are doing in the space surrounding me, allowed me to enjoy the music more than you ever could at a regular show where people are pushing you mercilessly, unconcerned with any other person's idea of enjoying a concert. The idea that each person entered into this space purely to enjoy the music without impeding others elevated the experience.

This band has meant more to me than any other ever has. Hands down. And it still does, I can't change the way this band changed me and the effect their music has had on me. I am who I am today because of things I have learned from their records. I am sincerely devastated more than anything by the accusations laid against them."

This is my chat with Ben and Liv from PWR BTTM as we hung out in the band’s tour van parked outside 333 while it rained outside on a Friday night in November 2016.

Tracks played on the show…

1) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “I Wanna Boi”

2) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “Ugly Cherries”

3) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “Dairy Queen”

4) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Carbs” mp3

5) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Gendr”

6) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Trade”

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May 2017 was supposed to be the start of the next stage in the career of queercore band PWR BTTM. They were set to release their next record Pageant--the follow up to the well-received 2015 full length debut Ugly Cherries. But then Jezebel.com posted accusations of sexual assault against PWR BTTM member Ben Hopkins by an anonymous accuser. Before the end of May 2017, the band found themselves dropped by their label and management team and a touring member of the band quit. The band have issued a statement on their Facebook page denying the accusations, but all this has left many PWR BTTM fans not knowing what to think.

I first saw PWR BTTM a few years ago when they opened at the Biltmore for Ra Ra Riot. While I interviewed Wes from Ra Ra Riot, he proudly wore a neon-pink PWR BTTM sweat shirt. Next time I saw the band, they were headlining at 333 on a bill with Bellows and Lisa Prank. It was a great night, a fun crowd. (Each act on the bill stayed to watch the others perform at the back of the room--which is a rare thing.) My leather jacket straight music snob friends (there to see Bellows) could mix with tank top, glitter and cotton candy colored hair queer folk there to see PWR BTTM. Two very different crowds who don't mingle enough got to enjoy a great show together and everyone felt safe.

While at the PWR BTTM show, I met Maguire (who goes by the pronouns them/they), a young PWR BTTM super fan--such a fan they had come to Vancouver from a remote community just to see the band. I wanted to get their take on this horrible situation.

"The space that PWR BTTM created was like no other. I've been to punk shows, rap shows, and rock shows of all sorts, but PWR BTTM stood out because of the way they didn't just use the space, but transformed it. For a few short hours, I felt safer at a show than I'd ever felt previously. Both band members constantly stressed the importance of their "No Mosh" policy and what consent means to them between quips about appetizer bread from the nearby Ethiopian restaurant and being berated by hot Canadian border guards. They spoke and the people listened, danced, and respected their wishes and the people around them. As someone who has woken up with bruises from errant moshers the day after a show the feeling of being able to really let go and not worry about what other people are doing in the space surrounding me, allowed me to enjoy the music more than you ever could at a regular show where people are pushing you mercilessly, unconcerned with any other person's idea of enjoying a concert. The idea that each person entered into this space purely to enjoy the music without impeding others elevated the experience.

This band has meant more to me than any other ever has. Hands down. And it still does, I can't change the way this band changed me and the effect their music has had on me. I am who I am today because of things I have learned from their records. I am sincerely devastated more than anything by the accusations laid against them."

This is my chat with Ben and Liv from PWR BTTM as we hung out in the band’s tour van parked outside 333 while it rained outside on a Friday night in November 2016.

Tracks played on the show…

1) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “I Wanna Boi”

2) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “Ugly Cherries”

3) PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries (2015) “Dairy Queen”

4) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Carbs”

5) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Gendr”

6) PWR BTTM, Cinderella Beauty Shop (2014) “Trade”

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Christopher Baio is best known for being the bassist for the New York City-based indie rock band Vampire Weekend. But a few years ago, he started a solo project under the stage name Baio. I met Chris backstage at the Biltmore while his mouth was full of humus. The Biltmore was too loud and outside was too rainy, so we ended up standing in the doorway at the top of a long set of stairs that ended at rush hour Kingsway--this is why you can hear both traffic and the echoes from the long hallway while we chat.

What is Chris’ favorite Vampire Weekend song? Who is his favorite hockey player? What was it like going from bassist to producer? Which one of his songs does he describe as a “blackout bender?” How does he decide when a song is done? How did a visit to London’s Tate Modern Museum and a Robert Delaunay painting inspire a song? Which rookie mistake will Chris never make again? Which side project by another established musician does Chris especially admire? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Tracks played on the radio edit of the show…

1) BAIO, The Names (2015) “Sister of Pearl”

2) Vampire Weekend, Modern Vampires of the City (2013) “Ya Hey”

3) BAIO, Sunburn EP (2012), “Modern Sunburn”

4) BAIO, The Names (2015) “Endless Rhythm”

5) BAIO, The Names (2015) “Scarlett”

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