Dan talks to Chris Pires, drummer for Philly ska-punks Catbite, in lieu of their Philly Music Fest appearance. Chris talks about convncing his parents to let him have a drum kit, all the different acts he's played with, and how Catbite formed out of nowhere as a "thing to do". Chris also gets into the dynamics of a band relationship, and the importance of having real, adult conversations amongst bandmembers about what you want out of a band and out of life. Catbite are headlining the 10/25 Friday Philly Music Fest show at Milkboy with Reef The Lost Cauze, Kuf Knotz and Christine, and Queasy. Go to Philly Music Fest's site for tix. Catbite are currently on tour in Europe with The Slackers, with West Coast dates planned for the rest of 2024.
'Want To Play A Song?: Live On 25 O'Clock Vol. 1' is out now exclusively on Bandcamp. It features 10 original performances from the podcast's archives, and all the proceeds go to support Philly Music Fest's charitable giving.
Dan sits with Connor Byrne and Tim Fitzpatrick of Brackish to talk all things punk and emo. Connor and Tim have known each other since high school, and get into growing up in central New Jersey, each of their guitar playing dads, early days of the band, how they keep it challenging and fresh for themselves, and how it's not an "emo revival" lately because, to them, it never really went away. The guys even play TWO songs live in the studio. The newest Brackish EP, 'Rear View', is out now and available on all digital platforms.
'Want To Play A Song?: Love On 25 O'Clock Vol. 1' is out now! It's 10 unique performances from the show going back over the 10 years of 25 O'Clock. All the proceeds go to support the charitable giving of Philly Music Fest, who have donated over $500K since their inception to Philadlephia music charities and programs. Help PMF increase their giving to all the amazing organizations, and get a great compilation of performances by Philadlephia musicians as well. Available exclusively on Bandcamp.
Dominic Angelella is someone Dan has described as a "known quantity". He's helmed bands like DRGN KING and Lithuania, and put out his own solo work for years in Philadelphia. But in an attempt to have no fixed address, he's found himself living in Ireland for the past year or so. Dan talks to Dom about his earlier days in the Philadelphia music community via University of the Arts (RIP), getting touring opportunities with bands like mewithoutyou and Foxing, touring with Lucy Daucus and Natalie Prass, and all the while working on his own songs amidst tour dates, bus rides, and stolen moments in stairwells. His latest album, 'God Loves A Scammer', is out now on all digital platforms, and also available on vinyl through his Bandcamp.
ALSO: 'Want To Play A Song?: Live On 25 O'Clock Vol. 1' is now available for pre-order. The compilation features 10 original live performances from artists on the podcast. All the money from the compilation will go to Philly Music Fest's charity department. Philly Music Fest is a multi-day, non-profit music festival that has given over $500K to Philadelphia music charities. The pre-order gets you access to two tracks off the compilation, and will be fully available on 9/30. Let the pre-ordering begin!
Dan has wanted to have Brittany Ann Tranbaugh on the show for a couple of years, and it’s finally happening. Brittany talks about growing up in the Lehigh Valley, playing open mics and coffeehouse gigs as a teen, getting her songwriting to where she needed it to be, and her amazing band. Fresh off an outstanding show at Johnny Brenda’s at the time of this interview, Brittany talks about all the ups and downs of being an independent artists, life on the road, finding community away from home, and fielding unsolicited opinions from Internet trolls. Her latest self-titled EP is out now wherever you get your digital music, as well as on vinyl through her website. She will be playing at WXPN’s Xponential Music Fest on Sunday, September 22nd at 12pm.
Dan met Justin Kerecz a little while ago, and the two hit it off immediately, sharing their love of the oft-debated-genre of power pop, as well as a general love of songwriting and home recording. Justin talks about growing up going to musicals in NYC with his grandparents, navigating his way through various bands, and realizing eventually that he'd rather just play everything and record it himself. From his early days using iPhones, tablets, GarageBand, and the evolution of his songs and records, Justin has been putting out songs since 2017. His latest EP, 'Nobody Man', is out now wherever you get your digital music. Follow him on IG, and YouTube (he makes very entertaining videos to go with his music).
We're back from summer break! And we're getitng it all back on track the right way with Dylan Gallimore, frontman and songwriter of The Lower Aetna. Dan and Dylan get into Dylan's roots in Medford Lakes, NJ, his path into songwriting as a ficiton writer, the loneliness of a millennial queer kid growing up in the Pine Barrens, the kids you grew up with that you don't think about anymore, the bond between him and childhood best friend/band member Kayla Rae Molocznik, creating strong characters to drive a song, Craig Finn and Bruce Springsteen, and much more. 'Pine' is the newest LP from The Lower Aetna, and is out now and available wherever you get your digital music.
Dan sits down with Ryan Wells, frontman and songwriter for Red Means Run (you betcha that's a Neil Young nod). Ryan talks about growing up in Manasas, getting turned onto music by bands like U2 and REM, both of whom were still proving themselves to the world as he was a teen. He recalls his first band Radio Ghost Town while he was living in NYC, moving to Philly and casting around for a new group of folk to play with, and putting together Red Means Run. Ryan also goes into how producer Derek Chafin (BarnSound) helped shape their newest LP, 'Things You Hold True', from Ryan's usual alt-country leanings into something broader and fuller, borrowing from as much Tom Petty as Uncle Tupelo. 'Things You Hold True' is out now and available wherever you get your digital music.
Just a reminder: we're taking off the month of August to do summer stuff, go down the shore, all that. See you back here in September for a fall season full of great bands, shows, records, conversations, and intimate performances. Check out the archives in the meantime, lots of great artists to discover! See you in September!
Dan first talked to Katie Feeney, aka Roberta Faceplant, back in April of 2020 as one of his first virtual guests at the start of the pandemic. It was a different time then. Katie came over to the studio in person this time, and the gab starts right off the bat (Dan and Katie are both self-admitted gabbers). Katie talks about the birth of the Roberta Faceplant project and persona, the forming of the current lineup, which features her former You Do You bandmates Drew Parker and Aaron Boczkowski, as well as Nick Anastasi (Honey Butter, Southwork, Fat City Reprise) and Mykk Hoffman (The Funky T, Emily Drinker). The band's newest EP, 'Yee Haw Stuff', is out July 26th wherever you get digitial music.
A quick primer on names and places (lotta names come up in this one):
John Faye- former frontman of The Caulfields, Ike, John and Brittany, singer-songwriter, author, and elder statesman of the Philadelphia music community
Dave Kiss- Philadelphia promoter going way back, owner of Dave Kiss Presents
Ang Bocca- powerhouse Philadelphia singer and songwriter
Kara Koser- also powerhouse Philadelphia singer and songwriter, frontwoman of Koser
Crystal Engel- co-owner of Moon Rose Vintage, founder of Mamamoon Vintage
Brittany Ann Tranbaugh- Philadelphia singer songwriter, touring artist, community leader
Todd Mecaughey- engineer and producer at Cambridge Sound Studios, member of Secret American, formerly of the New Connection
MilkBoy South Street (formerly Lickety Split)- two-floor venue on South Street in Philadelphia, home of Katie's open mic
Dan first heard of Brendan McGeehan back when he interviewed Aaron Parnell Brown about their band, The Right Fiction. Brendan talks about growing up on coastal Maryland, gravitating towards the bass at a young age, his journey as a record producer, and his first time solo-outing Peace Fortress. With the foundation of the tracks recorded largely in one long session, Brendan pieced together a stellar instrumental LP called 'New Moon', featuring players like Adrian Harpham, Logan Roth, and Will Brown, as well as countless guests. 'New Moon' is out July 18th wherever you get digital music (as well as a vinyl pre-order), and the band will play a record release show at The Fallser Club the same night in Philadelphia.
As promised, here's another set of Philadelphia music for the summer! Use the clickable playlist below to link up with the artists you love, see them play, check out their records, all of it. There's so much great music coming out this summer, sometime we have to take a sec to take it in. Enjoy!
It's playlist time again! So many Philly artists are putitng out new music this summer, so here's just a small selection of what's on offer. See the clickable playlist below for direct links to all the artists you'll hear on this episode. And, as you can imagine, Vol. 1 implies another set coming next week. Dan was sent so much great music, he had to make two whole episodes to hold it all. This week features a set of music from Sweet Juice Fest artists, don't miss the fest this year at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown.
10. Ross Bellenoit- The Language Of Dreaming- Signals
Dan has known of Quincy Stallworth for years, especially for Quincy's job running SoFar Sounds concerts in Philadelphia since around 2018. Quincy sits down to talk about his musical upbringing in the Baptist churches of Southwest and North Philadelphia, his early bands, and how he always excelled at the "business" side of being in a group as much as the musical side. Quincy and many others were all abruptly terminated from SoFar last winter, but Quincy already has his next thing going: Mill Street Music, an intimate listening room over the bridge in Mount Holly, NJ. Dan and Quincy get into a lot: Bowie, cocaine albums, how to keep something from getting too big, the ups and downs of his SoFar journey, and how you'll always find yourself drawn to driven, creative people no matter what. Check out Mill Street Music's calendar, as well as Quincy's photography, and his podcast, Quince Questions.
James Haro came from Los Angeles (San Gabriel to be exact) over 15 years ago and made his home here in Philly. He talks with Dan about growing up in an old mission town, being a "secret songwriter" from age 6, early bands and projects (mostly lost to the depths of MySpace), coming to Drexel for college, and why he never wanted to leave. James began his current project, James Haro In Storage, during the early pandemic times, writing and recording out of (you guessed it) a storage unit. He's since released singles, put on a one-man show for Fringe/Canonball Fest in 2023, and continues to be active in the community with a quarterly open mic at Plays and Players' upstairs bar and music room. James' newest EP, 'Go Ahead', is out on June 20th and available wherever you get digital music.
Dan and Benjamin Hughes of Night Windows have been friends since about 2011 or so, when their bands played together in New York a few times. Dan holds Ben up as one of his favorite songwriters of all time, and Ben returns to the show for the first time in about six years. Ben talks about the recent Night Windows records, including the most recent 'In Memories' LP, and delves into how the songs came together, the difference with the writing process on the last couple of records, and how he didn't write or do anything musical for nearly half a year during the pandemic. Grief, sadness, small-town life, and how to come out of it are all themes that live large in the Night Windows song book, and Ben gets into all of it. 'In Memories' is out now and available wherever you get digital music, and also available on vinyl through the band's website.
Night Windows w. Graduation Speech, 6/12 at McLaughlin Norcross Memorial Dell
Check out Ben's first 25 O'Clock appearance back in early 2015.
Dan has been a Chris Kasper fan since he first heard him on WXPN over 15 years ago. Chris sits down to talk about growing up a metalhead drummer, surrounded by a whole family of musicians. From loud drums and Led Zeppelin to discovering bluegrass and Appalachian folk while living in West Virginia, Chris reminisces on moving to Philadelphia almost 20 years ago, meeting peers like Amos Lee, Ben Arnold and Birdie Busch at Dawson Street Pub, playing shows at The Fire, and growing into the Americana singer-songwriter that we all know. Improvisation, uncertainty, working in the moment: these are all things that Chris loves to employ when making records, and his newest is no exception. Chris Kasper's latest LP, 'Sunlight In An Empty Room' is out now, available wherever you get digital music, and on vinyl at his website.
Dan talks with Bret Tobias, formerly of The Bigger Lovers and Moped, now helming The Bret Tobias Set. From seeing the Replacements on MTV, discovering House of Love and Philly's own The Wishniaks, it was inevitable that Bret make his life about music. Bret talks about his aversion to being classified in any scene or community, the independent music feeding frenzy of the mid 90s that had Moped being wined and dined by A&R and execs, and the sudden, overnight disappearance of said attention. He takes us through the saga of The Bigger Lovers and the many records and tours alongside some of their heroes (Superchunk, Minus 5, Jonathan Richman, Alex Chilton, etc), and how he's always kept something going musically, no matter what. The Bret Tobias Set put out an absolutely stellar EP last year called 'Pleaser Vol. 1', and the band is a who's-who of Philadelphia indie rock, featuring members of A.M. Mills, Photon Band, and The War On Drugs. A new record is on the way this fall, and we're honored to offer a special sneak peak at their upcoming single, "Fait Accompli", due out on June 20th.
Dan talks with James Everhart, a man who's been part of a lot of Philadelphia music over the years, about his long tenure amidst bands like Low Cut Connie, Scantron, and his current project, 10-member supergroup Cosmic Guilt. James talks about hitting the road with Low Cut Connie right out of college, and how he had to pull back from the touring life for his own mental health and stability. Dan and James talk about the careful balance that it takes to have a band with 10 members, British psych folk, James' designs for Philly brewery Human Robot, letting each member put their mark on a song, a close eye on visual aesthetics, and the inspiration for their newest album being a mansion made out of junk in Vineland, NJ. Cosmic Guilt's newest album, 'Palace Of Depression', is out May 31st on their Bandcamp and wherever you get digital music.
Todd Mecaughey has been part of the Philadelphia music community for a good while, in bands like New Connection and Secret American. He's also an engineer and producer at Cambridge Sound Studios, and has been since its inception. Dan and Todd talk about their love of Phish and the Grateful Dead (and how both bands are pretty dang punk rock), learning the ropes under former Sigma Sound producer Jim Salamone as a young engineer, watching the upward swing of Secret American fall apart and turning to podcast production for a paycheck during the pandemic, the 'Workaholics' cast and touring as their live FOH tech for their podcast 'This Is Important', and balancing fatherhood and family life with the never ending demands of the music business.
Dan goes in deep with Judah Kim as he talks about growing up "lucky number 7" of 8 siblings, the influence of his older brothers' garage bands, the lack of any Asian American role models in alt rock, studying voice and production at Berkley, sobriety and gratitude, and the burnout that comes with always having to make "content". With a journey that's taken him from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and back again, Judah and Dan discuss the pitfalls of being an independent musician, Judah's interest in mental health as it applies to Koreans, and the weight of insurmountable expectation and ambition that can come from growing up as a Korean American.
Judah is part of Asian American Pie, a concert at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia on Friday, May 11th, featuring a lineup of Asian American/Pacific Islanders bands and artists, including Moonroof, Beau Freres, Alyssa Garcia, and longtime friend of the podcast, John Faye.
Dan gets Jonathan Miller and Ed Olson of Fire In The Radio on the line to talk about how the band came together, took a break, came back together even stronger, and their upcoming return home to a Philadelphia stage at Sing Us Home Fest in Manayunk. Jon and Ed talked about growing up in the Philly punk and hardcore scene, being influenced by Dave Hause both as a musician and as a friend, growing your songwriting over the years, the trials that come with keeping a band of adults with lives and families together across the country, and how the punk spirit of youth ends up defining how you see the world going forward.
Photo by Jessica Flynn
Dan talks with lifelong Philadlephia musician Eliza Hardy Jones about everything: early days in Buried Beds with Brandon Beaver, touring and playing with mewithoutyou, Grace Potter, Iron and Wine, and her newest gig as a touring member of The War On Drugs. Eliza tells great stories about DIY touring life, vocal coaching the Philadelphia Eagles, quilting, and how she channeled her grief from a lost pregnancy into her latest LP, 'Pickpocket'. 'Pickpocket' is available wherever you get your digital music, and also as a limited edition vinyl LP from her website. The War on Drugs return to play in Philadelphia on 9/17 at The Mann with The National and Lucius.
Dan talks with Nicole Bauza, songwriter and frontwoman of Nervous Nikki and the Chill Pills. Nicole talks about growing up as a BMX biker, getting drums at an early age, the quiet joys of farming and gardening, herbs as medicine, her tea farm in Schwenksville, and the ups and downs of keeping a band going amidst family life and general day to day shenanigans. The newest Nervous Nikki LP, 'St Anthony's Fire', is available at their Bandcamp and wherever you get digital music.
Dan just met Alex Wash of Granddogs a month or so ago, and he's already got him on the mic telling his life story. Alex talks about growing up in Lititz, PA (home of Rock Lititz), learning piano via the Suzuki method, living in Nashville and San Antonio in pursuit of the musician life, finding a job at Howl At the Moon as a piano player, and turning that into his steady day gig. Alex created Granddogs as a way to share his original songwriting, and the band has a new single dropping on 4/14 called "When You Call", available on all digital platforms.
Don't miss Inside Hustle, a Philadelphia music industry and networking event this Saturday, 4/13 at REC Philly, brought to you by the Philly Music Fest and WXPN FM. The event features a panel moderated by World Cafe's Raina Douris, and an open house with folk from radio, studios, booking, artist management, record labels and more. The event is free, sign up for a ticket in advance.
Dan talks with Joel Tannenbaum (Plow United, Snow Fairies, Skywriters) and Nick Palmer (WAX WAV, The Danger O's) about their new project The Blackburns. Nick tells the story of how he thought he was out of the music game until he got a message from Joel (Plow United was a huge band for Nick as a teen) that he was looking for a songwriting partner. Needless to say, Nick was back in, and the two of them quickly wrote a full length record. Joel and Nick talk about the process, what they did and didn't want to do, their mutual Twin Peaks obsessions, and the record as a love letter to their youth and young adult lives spent in small, regional punk scenes. The Blackburns' debut LP is out on April 12th, available on independent label Sell The Heart Records, the group's Bandcamp, and wherever you get your digital music.
Dan talks with Zoe Lemon, a trained and seasoned violinist who is fairly new to the singer-songwriter game. Zoe talks about growing up in the rural parts of Chester County, the ups and downs of music school at Temple University, graduating right into the pandemic, van life, and learning to write songs by herself out on the road. Her latest EP, 'Tailspin', is the result of those road-trip songs, which she made with Packie Cronin (Rally Point/Attic Posture) and Rob Bolz (Tribe Sound Records). She was featured late in 2023 on WXPN's The Key Studio Sessions. From her childhood pet goat bullying her and her siblings, to finding her way as a performer, Zoe brings a brightness and eager spirit to her live show and records, and we're looking forward to what she does in 2024.