Dawson Daugherty is a singer, songwriter and founding member of Almost Monday. Their second album Thank God It’s Almost Monday is due out September 9 via Hollywood Records and are on tour now with Young The Giant and Cold War Kids. This week Joe reports from the back of a tour bus where Dawson share’s the unique origin of Almost Monday, how surfing played a role in the formation of the band and why Dawson with inspired to delve into songwriting as a youngster. The two discuss the sophomoric pressure for the new record, how it came from extreme highs and lows for the band and why that lends to its diverse song to song sound. Dawson tells us why the lead single Leaving Is Easy is an important song for the band, he shares some insight into his writing process, and we get a sample of the newest single, Delicate.

Almost Monday

Tour Stories supported by Kingston Union who is having their Summer Slip On sale now. Use code SUMMERSLIPS25 for 25% All Slip-On's. Go here Kingston Union

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Izotope

Distrokid

Kuma Coffee

This is a special episode. We would like to present As Many Weirdos As Possible, a documentary photography project honoring the Pacific Northwest music scene from 1985 to 1995. A team of photographers is capturing portraits of bartenders, musicians, engineers, journalists and others from the community, in places that tie them to their stories. Through portraits and handwritten memories, it spotlights the creators and unsung figures who shaped a movement that changed the world. In this episode we hear from Steve Manning at a Seattle Town Hall event on April 17th 2026. Steve Manning has lived everywhere cool in the PNW (Tacoma, Olympia, Seattle), is a 9+ year Sub Pop Records veteran and Joe's occasional pickleball pal. Introduction by John Roderick (Harvey Danger, Long Winters).

As Many Weirdos As Possible

Poser Productions

Video at Town Hall

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Izotope

Distrokid

Kuma Coffee

Bob Bert is a New Jersey based drummer, writer, and punk rock veteran whose resume includes Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Knoxville Girls and Lydia Lunch. His debut solo record Beach Bongo Bloodbath is due out June 12th via Bar None Records. Bob shares the process and inspiration behind the new record, which is largely made up of an eclectic collection of covers. We learn how a specific percussion setup shaped the record, how he chose the songs to record and why Beach Bongo Bloodbath is a guitar-free recording.The two discuss Bob’s recording process, Bob shares the details for the jam-packed record release event and we hear some new tunes.

Bob Bert

Bar None Records

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Kuma Coffee

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Izotope

Melanie Radford is a bassist, singer and songwriter based in Seattle. Her debut solo album For The Sake Of Stillness is due out June 26th via Jealous Butcher Record. Melanie shares her experience in the Boise music scene and why she shifted her playing from jazz to rock. We learn how For The Sake Of Stillness is both a personal mediation and a need for stillness and grounding. She tells us why field recordings operate as the core of the record and how they operate as a living collaborator. Joe and Melanie discuss her writing and recording process, why bass is necessary to contextualize her songwriting and how the lush ambient presence was achieved. Melanie tells us about her approach to performing the record and we hear a couple new songs.

Melanie Radford

Jealous Butcher Records

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Schecter Guitars

Kuma Coffee

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Izotope

Beck Zegans is a Queens based singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Her newest record Engraving Of Armor is out now via Exploding in Sound records. Beck tells us why Engraving Of Armor has taken her to a new level and sound in songwriting. She shares the collaborative process it took to make the new record and how arranging, mixing, and writing simultaneously shaped the overall sound. We learn how she accidently joined a ska band as a youngster, Joe and Beck discuss the art of the photobooth relay and we hear some tunes of the new record.

Beck Zegans

Exploding In Sound

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kuma Coffee

Izotope

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Alden Hellmuth is a NY based saxophonist and composer. Following her acclaimed 2024 debut album Good Intentions, Hellmuth returns with the aptly titled Tether, an eight-track exploration of jazz, punk and freeform improvisation. Alden share’s the inspiration behind the new direction and sound on Tether, what it was like writing for two basses and how mixing and processing played a role on not only in the production, but the composition as well. The two discuss the significance of texture in Alden’s recordings and she unpacks the personel that contributed to Tethers ambiance. Alden tells us how she was likely “tricked” into playing the saxophone at a young age, she shares her experience of first discovering the magic of improvisational music and how she eventually steered toward free noise rockers Deerhoof and Otoboke Beaver. We get some insight into Alden’s writing and recording process and hear a couple tunes.

Alden Hellmuth

Leiter Recordings

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Kuma Coffee

Izotope

Kevin Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for of Montreal. aethermead, of Montreal’s 20th studio album is due out June 5th via Polyvinyl Record Co. Kevin shares the unusual heartbreak story behind the new record, why it felt right to go with a more collaborative approach and how the invented record title relates to a very important part of his daily routine. He tells us how limited time shaped the record and brought more life than expected into the songs. The two discuss Kevin’s lyrical approach, how it can be a complicated version of projection and why that may inform the listener’s experience. Kevin tells us how he wound up teaching a course called “Songwriting Crimes and Recording Atrocities” at Bennington College, why making a music video with his daughter was a special experience and we sample a couple new tunes for aethermead.

of Montreal

Polyvinyl Record Co.

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Schecter Guitars

Kuma Coffee

Izotope

Distrokid

Nick Thorburn is the singer and founding member The Creem, a new collaborative project with Ratatat’s guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Stroud. Their debut release The Taste of Cherry is due June 5th, with two irresistible singles Goodbye and Taste of Cherry available now.

After a quick catch up from the Mister Heavenly bandmates, Nick shares the slow blossoming story behind The Creem and how it finally came to fruition. The two discuss the 70’s FM sound, how those artists we’re celebrating the Beatles in a new way and why The Creem is its own elaboration of that era. Nick tells us why starting a new band is still fun and how collaborations give him new freedoms and push him to build new skills. He shares his experience of making the new record with guitar wizard Mike Stroud, how they divvied up duties and what role the Catskills may have played on the overall vibration of the record. Finally, some breaking news, Nick tells us about his new book Pear Shape (out June 16th via Fantagrafics), shares some of the titillating themes and how it’s fruitily related to The Creem.

The Creem

Fantagraphics

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 12 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Distrokid

Izotope

Kuma Coffee

Schecter Guitars

Mini Serrano and Jojo Lavina-Maldonado are the founding members of the Philadelphia based band Cold Court. Their debut EP Hands Up is out June 19th with lead singles Burn and Nina available now. Mini and JoJo tell us how they’re music interest and proficiency evolved from their pre-teens to now and why they are increasingly relinquishing genre mixing rules to create their own identity. We learn why Hands Up was a sonic shift for them, how it is a product of experimentation and frustration and the two un-pack the lyrics on the single Nina. We learn how the instrumentation of the band is always evolving, we hear a few tunes and Jojo and Mini hip Joe to Philly Style Pizza.

\ (^_^) /

Cold Court

Cold Court Live

Singles

Shows

Philly Style Pizza

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 11 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Schecter Guitars

Izotope

Distrokid

Kuma Coffee

Alexander Attitude and Kendra Cox are the founding members of Seattle based Telehealth. Their second full length and Sub Pop debut Green World Image will be available May 15th. Alexander and Kendra share the origin and evolution of Telehealth, how they secured an airtight record deal with Sub Pop and why the band partially functions as a coping mechanism. We learn how their pessimistic and satirical approach make’s sense of tech culture’s destruction of human culture and relieves the anxiety of a tech driven future. They unpack the structure and lyrics behind the single Things I’ve Killed; Alexander and Kendra share their writing technique and what they do when they are stuck in the process. The three discuss why backing tracks are a function practically and better performance and we hear a couple new singles from Green World Image.

Telehealth

Sub Pop

Tour Stories would like to welcome our newest sponsor Kuma Coffee. Kuma Coffee is a 100% Independently owned roasting company right here in Seattle since 2008. Kuma is a 5-person team, roasting over 100,000lbs of exclusively high scoring coffee each year. They source their coffees direct from origin and pay well over fair trade pricing to farmers. This guarantees the highest quality, while supporting rural farming communities throughout the Global South

They also just launched an instant coffee… (Joe’s favorite instant)

Find everything Kuma at Kumacoffee.com

Episode supported by our friends Izotope This episode is produced with Ozone 12, the newest from Izotope. Head over to izotope.com now for savings on all their production software. Go check out Ozone 12 and RX 11 and master with the best and solve the unsolvable 20 plug-ins for mastering mastery. Use code FRET10 at checkout.

Ep supported by @distrokid. Distrokid now offers Bandzoogle where you can build your bands website and store in minutes. @thetourstories listeners get 30% off at distrokid.com/vip/tourstories. GET YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE! ITS EASY WITH @distrokid

Ep supported by Heil Sound. For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Heil sound

"For 60 years, Heil Sound has provided innovative, professional quality sound for stage, studio, broadcast, and podcast. Grammy-winning artists and sound engineers worldwide trust Heil microphones for their legendary sound. To find out more about the full line of Heil microphones and products, visit heilsound.com.

Kuma Coffee

Distrokid

Izotope