Benny Reed is the vocalist, guitarist, and one half of (alongside drummer Johnny Lani) the Australian band, Skegss. Their third full length release, Pacific Highway Music, is out now via Loma Vista Recordings. Benny tells us why the new record, recorded in Los Angeles at two iconic studios (The Village and Fivestar Studios), was a new experience for the band, and how Dave Catching’s studio Rancho De La Luna played a role in the overall sound and gear selection.   Joe and Benny discuss how a songwriting challenge from Benny’s dad resulted in a song about two Australian cultural legends, bushranger Ned Kelly and celebrated singer-songwriter, Paul Kelly. Benny shares his early life in a small town, how the Tension body boarding videos influenced his musical taste, and we hear a couple new tunes.

Skegss

Loma Vista

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Nick Thorburn is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist residing in Los Angeles. Nick has fronted and co-founded bands such as The Unicorns, Human Highway, Mister Heavenly and Islands. Nicks newest single Hold (a song for Aaron Bushnell) is dedicated to Aaron Bushnell, an active US serviceman who publicly took his life in an act of extreme protest of the United States support of Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.   Nick tells us why Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation deeply affected him, how it motivated him to write Hold and why he chose to give all the proceeds to Glia, the life-saving medical support initiative on the ground in Gaza. Nick shares the root of his protesting spirit and the two discuss why protest why it’s an important act of shaking us awake. He tells us why he included Bushnell’s final words in Hold, and how those words informed Nicks lyrical process. Joe and Nick discuss the importance of showing solidarity in our current socio-political-war mongering climate and we listen to Hold (a song for Aaron Bushnell). 

Hold (a song for Aaron Bushnell)

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Danny Davis is the singer, guitarist and a founding member of Oklahoma City based band Husbands. Joe and Danny are currently on tour together, with their respective band’s Cold War Kids and Husbands. Danny shares his first memories of hearing music with his dad on long drives and how his older brother informed his musical tastes as a youngster.  He tells us how 9-5 work life has motivated the trajectory of Husbands; how celebrating life is key to the culture of Husbands and why the synchronicity of the current lineup is influencing their songwriting. We learn how the Metallica movie Some Kind Of Monster inspired Joe’s favorite Husbands song, why Danny is dedicated to landing a kick-flip before he dies and we hear a couple tunes.

Husbands

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Nik Ewing is a visual artist, a bass player, keyboardist and founding member of LA based band Local Natives. His second LP, ‘Songs For Linnéa, a collection of piano songs written for his first child, is available now under his solo moniker Chewing.  Nik share’s his experience of growing up in a musical household in San Diego, his first bands influences and how that has extended to the Local Natives songwriting.  We learn why he wanted the listener to feel “in the room” on Songs For Linnéa  what he did to make it a documentation of his child’s early years. Joe and Nick discuss their approaches to cover songs and how Cat Power inspired Nik’s approach to covering a Beetles song on the new record. Nik tells us why he sometimes puts out music anonymously and we hear a couple tunes.

Chewing

Local Natives

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This week Joe sneaks in Ep 1 of Ruinous Media's newest podcast, La Jolla Babylon: The Making Of A Suburban Punk.

Your host, musician and writer Aaron Hartman, shares stories about his stormy youth growing up punk in a conservative beach town with his Millennial sister, actor, writer and comedian Katie Hartman. 

What emerges is a series of hilarious, poignant, and brutally honest weekly episodes that delve into the stark differences in their upbringings, despite being siblings.

La Jolla Babylon:The Making Of A Suburban Punk

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Aaron Hartman is a writer, musician and podcaster based in Portland, Oregon. He is a founding member and bass player of Northwest indie legends Old Time Relijun, electro dance-rock pioneers IQU and releases music under the moniker Marine Layer. His newest endeavor, La Jolla Babylon-The Making Of A Suburban Punk, (out 10.18 via Ruinous Media) is a poignant and hilarious podcast where Aaron shares stories about his stormy youth growing up punk in a conservative beach town with his Millennial sister, actor, writer and comedian Katie Hartman. In this episode, Joe and Aaron get to the bottom of their first meeting and how Olympia’s music scene’s eventual acceptance of Joe led to the two playing together in the Replikants. Aaron shares how the struggle to publish his fictionalized memoir led to his new podcast, why he asked his sister Katie to join him and why it’s a platform for he and Katie to celebrate their closeness and rapport. The two quip about changing the narrative with their longtime friend Sara Lund and Aaron shares an outrageous story about sperm donation and how his older sister wrote a play inspired by the experience.

Marine Layer

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Pinhead Gunpowder is an East Bay punk band formed in 1991. The current line up consists of Aaron Cometbus (lyrics, drums), Bill Schneider (bass) Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Jason White (guitar, vocals). After 16 years and several EP’s, the band will release their second full length LP, Unt, on October 18th via 1234 Go! Records.  Bill and Jason share the origin of their rock n roll relationship, how the band ultimately formed and why their spacious cadence of activity has never resulted in a lack of enthusiasm or energy for the band.  We learn how Aaron’s lyrical phrasing guides the chord changes, why trust comes so easy in their collective song writing and how a game they play in rehearsal lead to writing the new record.  The two tell us why this record sounds different to them, they share their experience working with producer Chris Dugan and they explain the meaning of Unt. They discuss why Bill isn’t allowed to be a cobbler, what Jason does at home when not on the road with Green Day and we hear couple brand new tunes. 

Pinhead Gunpowder

1234 Go Records

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James Petralli is the singer, guitarist, and a founding member of White Denim. Their twelfth record “12” is set to be released on 12.12 via Bella Union.  James shares his journey from baseball to rock n roll, how the “absurd career choice” paralleled his dad’s and why learning how to talk about music was his ticket into his formative music circles. James tells us how “12” is drastically different from previous White Denim records, why he thinks being creative is inarguably the most positive thing he can do, and he explains his process of “live mixing”. Joe and James celebrate airport reverberations, what role confrontation plays in James’s live performance and we hear a couple rip roaring tunes.  

White Denim

Bella Union

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Jayan Bertrand is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of Miami based band Seafoam Walls. Their anticipated sophomore effort, Standing Too Close To The Elephant In The Room, will be out October 18th via Dion Dia Records, with two singles Humanitarian Pt. II and Cabin Fever out now.  Jayan explains how their last stint of touring both inspired and funded the new record, allowing them to go into the studio more clear headed and intentional than their debut release. Joe and Jayan exchange their views on the dilution of counterculture from the perspective of touring musicians and how their experiences were different. Jayan shares his love for harmonizing guitars, the band Deerhoof, and tells us how his writing has evolved to a more collaborative process.  We learn why the band integrated samples and pads into their acoustic drum sound, Jayan hips us to a regional Chattanoogan fruit and we hear a couple tunes.

Seafoam Walls

Dion Dia

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Soph Nathan is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of London based Our Girl. Their second full length record, The Good Kind, is due out November 8th via Bella Union. Soph shares the relief and excitement she’s feeling after a 6 gap between the Our Girl records. We hear why the band likes to play songs live before recording them, how the influence of Warpaint came to fruition with the new record and Soph explains how lyrics and music operate as an unconscious coping and adapting mechanism.  Joe and Soph exchange thoughts on “tour health”, celebrate the beauty of panning positions in a mix and we hear a couple new songs.

Our Girl

Bella Union

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