Dan talks to Philadelphia DJ Cosmo Baker about growing up in South Philly, his parents' skateboard store, King Britt, The Remedy (a regular club night that Cosmo put on with Rich Medina for years), moving to Brooklyn, the hustle and grind that is living in New York City, coming home to Philly after years on the road, how he shelves his records (depends on which room), and how his tastes have progressed and evolved as he gets older. Check out Cosmo's work on Mixcloud, and sign up for his mailing list at his website.
Dan talks with Rich and Rob Kwait of Cabin Dogs, twin brothers who have been playing music together since they were kids growing up in Plymouth Meeting. The brothers talk about getting their first guitars, being influenced by bands like the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd, delving more and more into folk and Americana, and their writing/recording retreats up in the Finger Lakes in New York State (an area that Dan is very familliar with). Cabin Dogs new LP, 'On the Creek', is out now and available anywhere you get digital music, as well as on vinyl and CD at the group's website.
Dan talks to Bright Kelly about growing up in South Philadelphia, going to school at Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP for short), singing, high school bands, writing, poetry, The Great Enough, finally coming around on Tom Petty, favorite songwriters, and that's not even the half of it. Bright's latest EP, 'The Quiet Ones' is out now wherever you get digital music. He also just released a collection of covers called 'Interpreter: The Patreon Sessions', containing covers that were previously only available to his Patreon supporters.
Speaking of which! 25 O'Clock now has a Patreon! It's a new and adventurous thing we're doing. Please give it a look and consider supporting Philadelphia's Longest Running Music Podcast (we think).
Dan talks with E.J. Simpson about his vast musical resume, including The Goats, Maggi Pierce and E.J., Beru Revue, Boris Garcia, and all the various tributes and projects he's been a part of. E.J. has a new LP out on May 5th called 'E.J. Simpson's You Purple Virgin Presents Fabulous Fantasy', available at his site and anywhere you get digital music. They talk touring (both on a label and DIY), E.J.'s custom Modulus bass, working with Phil Nicolo, and what it is to be a "lifer" at this stage in the game.
Dan talks to long-time punk rock musician and songwriter Dave Hause about, well, everything. Dan and Dave talk his formative years growing up in Roxborough, being a roadie for Sick Of It All and The Bouncing Souls as a teen, starting his own bands like Step Ahead, The Curse, and The Loved Ones, playing in Paint It Black, and starting his own solo career. Dave talks deeply about family, fatherhood, songwriting, the benefits of therapy, the hard work that it takes to be an independent artist and record label (Dave started Blood Harmony Records with his brother Tim Hause in 2021), and the unexpected postion of creating a music festival. Dave and his team, along with Rising Sun Presents, bring their first ever festival, Sing Us Home Fest, to Manayunk, May 5th-6th. Dave's newest LP, 'Drive It Like It's Stolen', is out April 28th via his website, Blood Harmony Records, and anywhere you get digital music.
Dan talks to Crossed Keys member Joshua Alvarez and Dave Adoff about their history in the Philadelphia music and punk/hardcore communities over the years (members come from bands like Kid Dynamite, Step Ahead, Ink & Dagger, Halo of Snakes, Good Riddance, and so many more), their friendship going back to middle school, starting their own record label Dead Satellite Records, and their upcoming LP, 'Believes In You', just in time for the Sing Us Home Festival in Manayunk, May 5th-6th. 'Belives In You' is out May 5th, and available at their Bandcamp, Creep Records, Sell The Heart Records, and wherever you get digital music.
Back in early 2018, Dan talked with John Faye, and briefly touched on a book he was starting to work on. Five years later, the book is done, and John is back to talk about 'The Yin And Yang Of It All', his memoir of growing up in Delaware, his stint on A&M Records with his band The Caulfields, the powerful influence of his mother and sisters, maintaining a music career for multiple decades, and plenty of great stories from his years of playing and touring. They even touch on John's podcast, "Talking At the Diner", where John talks to members of what he likes to call "the musical middle class". 'The Yin And Yang Of It All' is out now, and available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and John's website.
Dan brings you a brand new playlist of Philadelphia (and adjacent) music, featuring new music from mainstays like The Lunar Year, Sug Daniels, Comprador, and some new faces like Plans To Sand, Booze Radly, AFTYN, and more. Look below at the clickable playlist, and go support the artists you like. You can also check out the playlist at 25oclockpod.com. And, since most of the band links are for their Bandcamp pages, you can support the unionization efforts over at Bandcamp by checking out Bandcamp United.
1) Comprador- I Bet On Losing Dogs
2) The Lunar Year- I Kiss Strangers
4) Squiggler- Get Up Too Early
5) Bryn Rich- Three Leaf Clover
7) Joe Kenny- In The Mi(d)st (feat. Sterling Duns)
9) Crumble Boy- A Rose For All My Dreams
10) Brian John McBrearty- Into The Bargain
11) Dante Robinson & The It’s Lit Family- Bastion Blues, pts. I & II
14) Brittany Ann Tranbaugh- Can’t Wait No Rush
15) Sug Daniels- When I’m Gone
Dan sits down with old friends Jayson Verdibello and Eric Zrinsky to talk about their newest project, Small Graves. Formed out of the post-pandemic ashes of goodnight/good luck, Jay and Eric talk about how they eventually decided to start another band, scrapping all their unused songs to begin again, the ups and downs of being in a loud rock band in your mid to late 30s, marriage, fatherhood, and their love for the younger punk rock kids. Small Graves' newest single, "Jayson Sadman's Joyless Travel Agency" is out now wherever you get digital music, along with a music video. Their forthcoming EP, 'irregular' (recorded at The Headroom with Kyle Pulley) will be out later this year.
Dan talks with long-time Philadelphia musician, writer, mover, and shaker Joey Sweeney about all the "low-key Philly" things he's been involved in. The two talk about Joey's famous Philebrity blog (a huge part of Dan's early acclimation to the city), the death of alt-weeklies, South Street, doing cool projects with cool people, the upcoming 48 Record Bar in Old City, his monthly vareity show residency at Ortlieb's, and Joey's music, which he's been writing and performing since the early 90s. His newest release, asJoey Sweeney and the Neon Grease, is the 'Magazine Moonlight' EP, available now wherever you get digital music and on The Giving Groove Records.
Dan talks with Wilmington, DE native IVA about growing up singing opera and jazz, being the first of her very musical family to pursue music as a career, being a repeat player on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in the early 00s, working for Sony Classical, living and making music in Sweden, writing songs in Nashville, and her new EP, 'Nobody's Woman', produced at Turtle Studios by Philadelphia all-star Ross Bellenoit. 'Nobody's Woman' is out now, and is available wherever you get digital music.
Dan talks with Tim Hause about growing up in Roxborough, writing music his older brother, Dave Hause, playing with The Bouncing Souls when he was just 10 years old, running a record label, his debut solo LP, working with Will Hoge in Nashville, and the ups and downs of touring life. Tim's debut LP, 'TIM', is out now on Blood Harmony Records. Tim and Dave have teamed up with Rising Sun Presents to bring the Sing Us Home Festival to the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia from May 5th-6th, featuring Drive By Truckers, Kathleen Edwards, The Tisburys, Catbite, and many more.
Dan and Scarlet Hernandez have been mutual fans of each other for a while, and only in the summer of '22 did they finally meet (almost accidentally) in person. Scarlet talks about growing up in Newark, New Jersey, booking national bands at her high school radio station, doing everything under the sun in the music industry to find what she liked, hallowed Philadelphia venues like the Electric Factory and the Trocadero, managing artists like Max Swan, and her role as the membership director at REC Philly.
Lisa Schaffer has been to more shows than you have, for sure. Dan talks to the hardest working photographer in the Philly music community about her love of music, records, live shows, and how seeing Philly artists like Ben Arnold and Hezekiah Jones in the early 00s put her on her path. She's also an accomplished vinyl DJ, so we talk records, how she ended up working in a record store in her 40s, where to start with legacy artists, her daughter's obsession with Eartha Kitt, and so much more. Check out Lisa's extensive portfolio on her website, and follow her on IG to find out where she's spinning next.
Dan talks with Autumn Luz about "starting late" as a musician, using the pandemic as a jumping off point where she gave herself permission to make music, her love of ballet and dance, working with Philly producer Sam Rosen and bassist Mitch Beer, and finding her collaborator, Sam Esquith, who joins us in the conversation. We talk dark, moody vibes, digital collaboration, and the joy of finally putting it all together in person. Autumn has two singles out curently with videos, "Heat" and "Speed", available at her website and wherever you get digital music.
Dan talks with Rumi Kitchen, aka Michael Baker, and it's a conversation that's been meaning to happen for a long time. Michael talks about growing up in Kentucky, touring in Moscow in his previous band, The Spinning Leaves, being given the character of Rumi Kitchen as a way to explore being a frontman in a different way, his current band OOLALA, Johnny Showcase, and his newest collaboaration with West Philadlephia Orchestra on an EP called 'Cosmic Trilogy'. The EP is available via Giving Groove records, with all the profits going to Rock To The Future.
We're back! It's been a useful and productive month off, and we're back to bring you all the Philadelphia music goodness we can. This week, Dan talks with Jon Houlon of John Train and The Donuts. Dan and Jon discuss the new John Train LP, 'Cowboy Dreams' and it's ties to the Philadelphia horseback riding community, John Train's residency at Fergie's Pub (every Friday from now til March 31st), a mutual love for guys like Tommy Keane and Elvis Costello, and how to make your bands last for 20+ years. Jon plays a couple of tunes live in the studio, an element of this show we're excited to see return. 'Cowboy Dreams' is available wherever you get digital music, and you can score a copy of the vinyl release from John Train's website, as well as select record stores in the Philadelphia area.
Dan gets by with a little help from his friends in the Philadelphia music community, and we hear from a handful of artists about their favorite things of 2022, as well as things they're looking forward to in 2023. Lots of great picks from Jesse Lundy, John Faye, Avataria, Tyler Asay, Ryan Young, and Brian McTear. Head over to 25oclockpod.com and click on this week's episode post, you'll find the clickable playlist there with links to all the music played on the show this week. Thanks to everyone who helped make this episode happen, and Happy New Year to you all!