Urban Achiever

Alright Achievers, the Letters Trilogy officially comes to an end with this episode, The End of Letters. We've got postcards from bands, corrections from punk zines, letters from disappointed parents, letters of recommendation, letters from congressmen and more. It's all leading up to something that's not really even a letter. What could it be? Tune in and find out!

I have returned to The Archives from Tooth & Nail mail order, Blenderhead, Point Blank and such. It seems there is a deep well of these strange artifacts from the past called letters. Things written in pen and pencil on paper, placed in an envelope and sent through the mail with stamps! I know, I know...very strange indeed! One of these letters makes me look bad...so bad...painfully bad. I hope you enjoy more letters!

What's up Achievers? I took a little dig into The Archives this week and pulled out some letters. Letters to Tooth & Nail. Letters to Blenderhead. Fan letters. Business letters. Good letters. Bad letters. I hope you enjoy a little look into the past this week.

Toby Morrell (Emery, BadChristian, The Unstoppable Badass) was in jail once. Ok, twice. He was also a wrestler...for a couple of months. And then in a shocking unexpected turn of events, he "got saved" at a backward masking CD burning. This was, of course, years before he was a well known touring musician, author, podcaster, entrepreneur, father and comedian. A fun conversation with my friend and sort of boss, Toby!

Mike Dunn describes his time in "the Beverly Hills of the south," Winter Park, Florida as where he lived in the cheapest place in the best area. We explore Mike's idyllic childhood where he loved his small Catholic school and entertained himself by crushing his grandparents empty beer cans. His upbringing was not particularly religious, but by his own admission he did collect prayer cards "like baseball cards" and had a small shrine in his room. We try to get to the bottom of what happened to "the Kings of New England," but not without touching on his divorce, his teaching job and what inspired the single "Faith Healer" from his latest album "Hard Luck Soft Rock."

Shealeen Puckett (Poema) almost gave up playing piano at the age of 10, but her parents wouldn't let her due to the cost of buying a piano. It's a good thing they didn't cave in, because there's a lot of fun she would have missed out on. For example, playing a show outside in 116 degree weather with a broken keyboard stand! We explore the special bond shared with her sister Elle, childhood hobbit adventures involving 8 meals, the appeal of audiobooks and changing brain chemistry through water color painting. We also get deep on Israel, miracles and healing. There will be no FOMO (fear of missing out) on this one!

Jordan Butcher (The Weather, Copeland, Studio Workhorse) caught the art and music bug as a pre-teen and he's been headed down the road ever since. Hear about why he calls his art school education an expensive mistake and how he's managed to be a working drummer with zero musical training. We talk about how Jordan landed his "dream job" at Tooth & Nail Records where he created album artwork for Underoath, Anberlin, the No New Kinda Story film/book and more. We also explore his time at Mars Hill Seattle before and after the implosion. Drum nerds - we get in deep on tone, tuning and cymbals. Design nerds - we reflect on the current state of graphic design and what keeps Butcher in it.

We get back into it for the 2nd hour with Aaron Ford (Bluetip, Forget Cassettes, The Sincerity Guild, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead). We begin at his entry into the Dischord Records band Bluetip and then through a litany of bands that culminated in his "8 months or more a year" touring and recording with Trail of Dead. And we also learn about his new career in the culinary world. Get your pens and paper together and be ready to take notes!

Aaron Ford (Bluetip, Forget Cassettes, The Sincerity Guild, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead) was just a kid from small town Georgia playing air drums with pencils and then Hit Stix to his favorite RUN DMC cassette. But then a magical moment on a neighbors orange Ludwig vistalite drum set changed everything. In this first hour of two we learn about those early days where he practiced for "6-8 hours a day" while working at a meat and three with "a bunch of women over 70." You will not believe where it all leads.

Elle Puckett (Poema, Eisley) was already touring the country playing music at the age of 15. From growing up in the "desertier" Albuquerque, New Mexico suburb of Rio Rancho to life in Nashville and now Portland, Elle has experienced a life in music far beyond her years. She is a gifted songwriter, guitarist and vocalist who has been performing with her sister Shealeen since they were 10 and 12 years old. Hear how they used every vehicle available to criss cross the country on the Warped Tour in 2010 and how a chance encounter with sisters from the band Eisley in a bathroom at SXSW led to her current role as their guitarist. This and much, much more!