The Who Cares Anyway Podcast

Show non this episode, we take a detour into Dannyland, i.e., the world of Danny Cohen. Born and raised in L.A. and currently living in Chico, Calif., the elusive singer-songwriter nonetheless has several ties to San Francisco and the Bay Area. In addition to living there at various points, he has also written many songs about (or at least set in) the Bay Area, and one of his most frequent collaborators, saxophonist Ralph Carney, was a local fixture for decades.

Occasioned by the release of Cohen’s new (and final) album, Double Epiphany, this episode takes a winding tour through some of his colorful and scarcely documented past, from trading tapes with Tom Waits to landing on the Tzadik label’s Lunatic Fringe series to opening for Bright Eyes and more.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/wca-podcast-ep-31-danny-cohen/

For Episode 30, we go back into the archives—all the way back to 2016, when I interviewed Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls , Sublime Frequencies, etc.) as part of my research for the book.

The interview focuses on Sun City Girls’ relationship to San Francisco, from its “mythical status” as a haven for outcasts to its place in the broader West Coast underground, roughly midway between Phoenix (where SCG started out) and Seattle (where they eventually moved).

We hear Mr. Bishop’s recollections of particular bands (Caroliner, TFUL 282) and individuals (Grux, Gregg Turkington) as well as some thoughts on touring, zines, tape trading, and dealing with cops. Toward the end, we also hear his full remarks (quoted in part in chapter 45, “Acting, Theatricality, and ‘Joke Bands’”) on some more meta-level topics involving the use of characters and role-playing in music.

As with the previous archival episodes, the audio quality isn’t pristine, but I did my to clean it up and make it presentable.

Note: All of the musical excerpts (apart from the very first one) are taken, with permission, from Alvarius B’s forthcoming album Malarial Dream (release date: May 1, 2026).

Links

* Alvarius B, Malarial Dream ‒ Bandcamp | Forced Exposure

* http://www.suncitygirls.com/about/shows/

* Sun City Girls on Facebook

* Who Cares Anyway: Post-Punk San Francisco & the End of the Analog Age - Bookshop.org | Amazon | more options

* Podcast links: Apple | Spotify | Podcast Addict | Substack (direct download link)

Music Credits

* The Three Doctors, “Leaving Has Hurt”

* Alvarius B., “Mako”

* Alvarius B., “Rooftop Blue Cameo”

* Alvarius B, “Later“

* Alvarius B., “The Multiple Hallucinations of an Assassin - Part 2”

* Alvarius B., “Texas Headphones”

* Alvarius B., “Mako” (second excerpt)

* Alvarius B., “Malarial Dream”

The podcast returns after yet another semi-hiatus. My guests this time are Paul Hood and Daniel Černý, who make up one half of Lazy Giants, the band formerly known as Toiling Midgets. The Giants/Midgets have a lengthy history that spans multiple decades and eras, from the earliest lineup (which, in turn, grew out of the last Negative Trend lineup) to the Ricky Williams-fronted version of the band (heard on 1982’s Sea of Unrest LP) to an early ‘90s incarnation with American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel on vocals. There was also a three-guitar version of the band (heard on the mid-80s Deadbeats EP), an instrumental quartet with longtime producer/engineer Tom Mallon on drums, and even a two-piece, guitar-only lineup (which, incidentally, performed at the Who Cares Anyway book release party at ATA in March 2023).

Throughout this time, Paul Hood has been one of the two mainstays, along with fellow guitarist Craig Gray. Daniel Černý (or Cherney, sans accent marks) is a more recent addition, having come onboard in the last few years, first on keyboards and now on bass and vocals. In this episode, Hood and Černý catch us up on the band’s more recent history, including some of their recent touring adventures in Europe (where Černý and current drummer Alex Prete both reside), and discuss some of the challenges that come with having four band members living in four different countries. We also get some updates on some new recordings in the works.Links, show notes, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/12/07/wca-podcast-ep-29-paul-hood-daniel-cherney-lazy-giants-toiling-midgets/

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/