With this episode, we take a trip back to Silicon Valley (as it was just coming to be known) at the dawn of the 1980s. The same area that gave rise to the Sleepers and U.X.A. during the original 1977/1978 punk era also spawned a variety of interesting but largely unsung bands during the post-punk/new wave era, including Half-Church, the Start, Zru Vogue, and Quiet Room. Several of these groups (all but Zru Vogue) had releases on Win Records, the label founded and run by original Sleepers bassist Paul Draper. Philip Peters was the vocalist and primary songwriter for Quiet Room, whose short lifespan ran from 1980 to 1982 and included a gig opening for Duran Duran at the I-Beam in San Francisco. Their official discography (at least during their lifespan) was limited to a single 7-inch, but more recently, Peters added a new release, thanks to the discovery of some old tapes by former bandmate and recording engineer Bart Thurber. From the Bandcamp page:

“In 1982, Philip Peters started writing what would be the next Quiet Room songs. The backing tracks were recorded by Bart Thurber, but never finished, put aside and forgotten till 2025 when the original 4 track tape was found. Philip then completed the 6 songs by adding vocals and some over dubs as was intended back in 1982. So here for the first time the completed “lost Quiet Room Demos" as the new album.”

In this episode, we hear more about this new release from Quiet Room, along with a whole bunch of Palo Alto-area underground music history from that interesting window of time.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/09/16/wca-podcast-ep-28-philip-peters-quiet-room/

From WilliamWinant.com:

2014 Grammy-nominated percussionist William Winant has performed with some of the most innovative and creative musicians of our time, including John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, John Zorn, Keith Jarrett, Anthony Braxton, James Tenney, Cecil Taylor, Roscoe Mitchell, Steve Reich and Musicians, Yo-Yo Ma, Frederic Rzewski, Ursula Oppens, Joan LaBarbara, Annea Lockwood, Joelle Leandre, Zeena Parkins, Danny Elfman/OingoBoingo, Mr. Bungle, Sonic Youth, and the Kronos String Quartet.

In this, the first newly recorded episode of the podcast in almost a year, we hear from the esteemed percussion maestro about moving to (and staying in) the Bay Area; studying (and teaching) at Mills College; collaborating with the likes of Mr. Bungle and Caroliner; hanging out with Harry Partch; and crossing genre boundaries, from contemporary classical to rock to free improv and beyond.

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/ep-27-willie-winant-percussionist-extraordinaire/

While probably best known for his 1991 book England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, Jon Savage was also an early chronicler of the San Francisco punk scene, championing bands such as the Sleepers, Avengers, and Dils before most audiences outside of the Bay Area or California had even heard of them. In this episode, we hear about his involvement with the zine Search & Destroy; his trip to the West Coast (both L.A. and San Francisco) in 1978; his first-hand observations on the differences between the punk scenes in the U.K. and California; and more.

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/06/01/wca-podcast-jon-savage-englands-dreaming/

The podcast returns with a special archival episode in honor of Stephen Bartholomew Clarke (Dec. 10, 1956–February 20, 2025), guitarist for the group Arkansaw Man (1980–1983).

I can't say that I knew him well at all, but I was able to interview him for the book, and he was very generous in sharing his recollections of not just his own band but also the Sound of Music, Richard Kelly and Club Foot, bike messengering, Flipper, and more. We spoke for nearly two hours, which I have edited down to a “tight” 40 or so minutes while doing my best to spruce up the audio quality.

RIP to Mr. Clarke, and sincere condolences to his friends and family.

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/wca-podcast-in-memoriam-stephen-bartholomew-clarke-arkansaw-man/

A new podcast series from the makers (uh, maker) of The Who Cares Anyway Podcast.

Interviews with musicians and artists from around the world on making music in the digital age, Metal, electronic, experimental, and gray areas in between. Available wherever you get your podcasts and at fatalstrategies.substack.com

Music credits:

• Blind Idiot God, "747"
• Terminal Sound System, "Gridlike"
• Dreams of the Drowned, "Midnattskogen Sorte Kjerne"
• Zweizz & Joey Hopkins, "No Clue"

In this, the final episode of the podcast, I am joined by David Costanza and Anne Speroni, who have played together in several different bands, including the Whitefronts (1982-1987) and Art of Flying (1998-present).

We follow their story from Santa Barbara (where the Whitefronts formed) to San Francisco (where they relocated c. 1985) to Questa, New Mexico, where they built their own 8-track recording studio after moving there in 1987. The studio has since moved to nearby Taos, NM, but they are still making music and still being as impractical as ever.

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/wca-podcast-ep-24-david-costanza-anne-speroni-whtefronts-art-of-flying/

Composer and all-around audio wizard James Goode joins the podcast for a weird and wide-ranging discussion. A mere sampling of the topics discussed:

• growing up in Provincetown, Mass.
• playing the tape recorder (his first "instrument")
• meeting the Residents (sort of)
• joining Faxed Head
• not joining Caroliner
• studying music at Mills College
• collaborating with prog keyboardist Roger Powell (formerly of Todd Rundgren's Utopia)
• touring Japan

Other topics include synesthesia, eight-channel audio mixes, Cape Cod Piece, interpretive mime, and (towards the end) perhaps the most in-depth discussion of how some of those noises on the Faxed Head records were created.

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/wca-podcast-ep-23-james-goode/

From his website: "Matt Wallace is an American record producer born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who started out making records in his parents' garage in the early 80s. He attended UC Berkeley intending to teach, but pursued producing full-time after graduating. Some of his most notable work is with Faith No More, The Replacements, O.A.R., and Maroon 5. With over 30 years of experience, he now produces at his studio, Studio Delux, located in the Sound City Center in Van Nuys, California."

Here, we focus on Mr. Wallace's early years as a recording engineer and producer, from working out of the aforementioned garage circa 1982 to establishing his 8-track studio, Dangerous Rhythm, in Oakland, which served as his headquarters until the late 1980s. We talk about his memories of working with not just Faith No More but also Glorious Din and Spahn Ranch (whose Odell Nails was our guest on Ep. 21). We also talk about the role of the recording engineer/producer and how it has changed over the course of Mr. Wallace's career. (And Faith No More fans, don't worry: there's plenty of FNM material toward the end, including some interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits about the recording The Real Thing and Angel Dust.) 

Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/04/25/wca-podcast-ep-22-matt-wallace

With this episode, we take a slight detour to the Detroit, Michigan, area circa 1985-1987. Odell's band Spahn Ranch hailed from this area, but they recorded their one and only LP—1987's Thickly Settled—in the Bay Area with Eric Cope (Glorious Din) acting as co-producer.

Here, Odell recounts his first encounters with Eric, Glorious Din, and the zine Wiring Dept., along with his memories of recording at legendary producer/engineer Matt Wallace's studio in Oakland and his overall impressions of San Francisco from his brief stay in the area. We also hear about the origins of Spahn Ranch, their place on the fringes of the Detroit hardcore/post-punk underground, and the eventual formation of Odell's next band, Majesty Crush, out of the remnants of Spahn Ranch's latter-day lineup.

Links, show notes, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/03/27/wca-podcast-ep-21-odell-nails

Esteemed Friend of the Book Bill Gould joins the podcast to talk about LA, the Vats, Geordie Walker and Killing Joke, Flipper, MTV, and American Zen.

Links, music credits, and show notes: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/02/13/wca-podcast-ep-20-bill-gould/

Order the book:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SYLTvB | Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/91315/9781915316059