The Wasting Time Podcast X Four Chord Music Festival — Recap Episode

Four Chord Music Festival and The Wasting Time Podcast present a retrospective look at Four Chord 11.

Chris and Nick are joined by festival founder and main man Rishi Bahl, along with Marketing Director Adam Valen, to look back on this year’s event, its history, and what makes Four Chord such a cornerstone of the pop punk world.

This special also features full interviews recorded across the festival weekend, including conversations with:

It’s a packed celebration of community, chaos, and the bands who make Four Chord unforgettable.

In this episode, we are joined by Beth and Ande from As December Falls. The band share their story so far, the journey that led to their success as an independent act, and dive into the making of their brand new album, Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine.

Before the interview, Chris and Nick chat about some recent releases from Militarie Gun and Hit The Lights, and Chris gives his thoughts on the recent New Found Glory show that Koyo opened up.

This time, we’re joined by Cody Okonski from Millington. 

We chat about how the band first came together, how they crafted their unique ska-infused pop punk sound, and Cody’s experience interning for John Feldmann during the recording of blink-182’s California. 

We had a great time hanging out with Cody in Pittsburgh recently at Four Chord Music Festival. If you're not on the Millington train, get on it now!

'Better Safe and Sorry' by Millington is available everywhere now.

This time we’re joined by the legendary Atom Willard, drummer for Alkaline Trio, ahead of the band’s appearance at Four Chord Music Festival. Atom takes us inside what’s ahead for Alkaline Trio and shares his memories of Pittsburgh, a city that’s played a role in his journey.

We also get into his recent time in the studio with Travis Barker, his unforgettable experience when Rocket From The Crypt performed on Top of the Pops, and his incredible career spanning some of the most iconic bands in punk and alternative music.

If you love stories from behind the kit, tales from the road, and insight into what it’s like to be part of so many influential projects, you won’t want to miss this one.

In the build-up to Four Chord Music Festival, The Wasting Time Podcast is thrilled to welcome Jim, Zach and Tom from Jimmy Eat World. The band look back on their incredible career, their creative process, and what it means to still be connecting with fans decades on. They also discuss playing the festival this year and what to expect.

The episode also features an intro segment with Adam Valen of the Four Chord team, where he joins Chris and Nick to chat about this year’s festival. They also dive into new releases from Good Charlotte, The Burnt Tapes and Sam Russo, and Nick shares his experience catching friends of the podcast — and Four Chord staples — Keep Flying live in Newcastle.

This time on The Wasting Time Podcast, we’re joined by none other than Jaret Reddick, frontman of pop punk legends Bowling For Soup. We dive deep into Jaret’s incredible career, his unforgettable UK experiences (including his time on Never Mind The Buzzcocks), and even swap thoughts on the upcoming Four Chord Music Festival, where we’ll both be in attendance. Plus, Jaret reveals what he believes is the ultimate pop punk song — a must-hear for any fan of the genre.

But that’s not all. In the intro, Chris and Nick are joined by Ben DeHan of Free Friends. Together, they chat about Free Friends’ latest release, as well as fresh new music from Good Charlotte, The Paradox, and Alkaline Trio.

We are beyond delighted to welcome The Paradox to The Wasting Time Podcast — and even more honoured to be their first ever overseas podcast appearance!

In this episode, we dive into the band’s meteoric rise over the past year — from opening for Green Day, to dominating When We Were Young Fest and touring across the US non-stop. These guys are living the pop punk dream, and they’re just getting started.

We also chat about some wild endorsements from A-listers like Shaquille O'Neal, Lil Nas X, Jenna Fischer, and Jeff Garlin – yes, really!

The Paradox have already worked with legendary producers like Zack Odom & Kenneth Mount, John Feldmann, and Travis Barker – and they’ve got mentorship from pop punk royalty like Joel Madden and Simple Plan.

This one’s packed with stories, laughs and a look behind the scenes at one of the fastest-rising bands in the scene.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts!

We’re joined by Eric Tobin (Hopeless Records) and Michael Kaminsky (KMGMT) to talk about the upcoming Idobi Radio Summer School Tour. This year’s lineup includes Taylor Acorn, Charlotte Sands, Rain City Drive, Arrows In Action, Beauty School Dropout, If Not For Me, and Huddy.

Tobin and Michael share how the tour came together in collaboration with Kevin Lyman (Vans Warped Tour), and how it fits into the wider ecosystem they’re building to support the next generation of alternative artists. It's a great insight into the planning behind one of the scene’s most exciting new tours.

Plus, in the intro, Chris and Nick discuss the recent Driveways and Eternal Boy UK tour, along with new releases from Good Charlotte, The Starting Line, and Dance! No Thanks.

We’re back from an unforgettable weekend at Slam Dunk Festival 2025 — and who better to help us break it all down than Nick Thompson of Hit The Lights?

In this special episode of The Wasting Time Podcast, Nick Thompson joins us to swap stories from the festival — from his experience rocking the stage, to our own as press soaking in the chaos, catching amazing sets, and chatting with some of our all-time favourites. We were lucky enough to grab time on site with New Found Glory, The Ataris, Dream State and Save Ferris.

Chris and Nick also dive into The Get Up Kids’ recent UK tour which Nick went to this week in Newcastle.

Massive thanks to Nick T for joining us, and to Slam Dunk Festival for once again treating us so well.

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This week on The Wasting Time Podcast, we’re joined by the mastermind behind SBÄM Records — Stefan Beham! Recorded just ahead of SBÄM Fest 7 in Austria, Stefan takes us behind the scenes of how the label started and shares stories from working with some incredible bands like Pulley, Authority Zero, Belvedere, No Fun At All, and Death by Stereo.

SBÄM Fest 7 goes down May 30–31 with a stacked lineup featuring Millencolin, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Zebrahead, and The Ataris – don’t miss it if you’re anywhere near Austria!

PLUS: In our intro segment, we’re joined by Wilson, Justin, and Riley from Last Night Saved My Life! We chat about their awesome new release ‘First Hello’, and everyone weighs in on fresh tracks from MxPx, Avril Lavigne x Simple Plan, and The Wonder Years.

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