So incredibly stoked to welcome Brett Campbell from Pallbearer which is one of my favorite bands doing this style right now. It's melodic, it's doom, it's everything you could want from heavy music and I had to bounce around his brain to be able to find out more. We discuss the Little Rock scene, being a technical player and finding your way. He's an introspective and self depreciating dude which made for a fun discussion.  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast here (executive produced by...

Welcome back to The Hope Conspiracy and to celebrate their new LP that just hit, we had the vocalist Kevin Baker on the show. He's always been a somewhat mythic figure so was happy to be able to ask him questions about his love of hockey, 90's metalcore and coming up in the Boston scene. Despite his nihilistic music, Kevin is a damn sweetheart and had a lot of fun. We also touch on his other bands like Piecemeal, All Pigs Must Die and the often overlooked, Bars. Enjoy the discussion!  Listen...

Anytime I get a guest that is connected to punk/hardcore/indie rock, but isn't immediately obvious that they are involved is my sweet spot. You know Fred Armisen, he's been on Saturday Night Live, a creator/actor on Portlandia and frankly, so much more but were you aware of his deep roots within punk/hardcore/indie rock? It's absolutely there and we get into it plus, I am able to pick his brain about the iconic "Crisis Of Conformity" sketch on SNL as well as his band Trenchmouth. It's my...

"SYSTEMS OVERLOADED, FEAR ENVELOPS ME"  You know his tone, you know his music, now get to know the man behind all of that in the form of Aaron Melnick. He played guitar for Integrity during their formative years, started In Cold Blood and has just dropped a mind-blowing solo record entitled Nuclae. He's a very thoughtful and soft spoken guy so we peel back some of the layers and get to know his love for sci-fi, some early Integrity stories and the process of writing a solo record. Cleveland...

"CAN WE RETURN, TO THE GOLDEN AGE?" One of my favorite bands from a specific era of time called the 2000's, we have Chris McLane from Stretch Arm Strong on the pod this week! I dig in deep to the bands unconventional location (South Carolina), their relationship with Uprising Records (who is also responsible for the Chicago hardcore band, Fall Out Boy) and how they burned themselves out by touring so relentlessly. The icing on this pod-cake as it were is the fact they just released their...

I love when friends do cool stuff. I love when friends are talented. This episode is a one two punch of exactly that. Nathaniel Shannon is a NYC based photographer and you have seen his work...well, everywhere but I specifically had him on the show to discuss a real labor of love and now, it's here...the First Ten Years of St. Vitus. For the uninitiated, St. Vitus is the incredibly important Brooklyn, NY venue responsible for a TON of gigs that you wish you were at. We discuss that book, as...

We have a bonafide LIFER on the podcast today in the form of Steven McDonald who is currently playing with The Melvins and is also a founding member of punk legends Redd Kross. On top of that he also has done a lot of production work with bands including Fun/The Format which I punish him about in this chat. We also discuss growing up in Hawthorne, CA (home of The Beach Boys!) and his time growing up in the 80's punk scene. Pull up a chair and let's hang out!  Listen to the Official Outbreak...

I love when I can bring two worlds that seemingly don't connect with one another and for this episode, it's comedy and hardcore. The man to do that with us is Neil Rubenstein who is a stand-up comedian and also the vocalist for the late 90's Jewish hardcore band, Sons of Abraham. We discuss the connection between DIY hardcore and comedy, bringing his friends from the music world into comedy as well as Long Island hardcore. It's a great discussion and you must check out his new stand up...

"Its a decade of putting an X on my name"   Tyler Short from Inclination is on the show this week and boy, what a fun discussion. I am obsessed with his band and love that I get to punish him to be on the podcast and then in turn, be my friend. He also runs a great record label based out of his home in Louisville, KY called Life Death Brigade as well as a NEW BAND called Walk Proud. We discuss being a luddite, being in the working class and his love for country music (that has manifested in...

600 episodes. That's over 600 hours of talking about punk, hardcore, metal, emo and everything DIY and while it feels stupid to type this...thank you. I couldn't have picked a more appropriate guest for this episode in the form of Geoff Rickly from Thursday. I have had the pleasure of knowing him for over 20 years (since our bands played together in Long Island, shout out Backyard Blues) and never bugged him to come on...until now. Geoff and I speak about the "War All the Time" era of the...

Absolutely thrilled to welcome John Coyle from Outspoken this week. Outspoken just recently played an incredible show at Programme recently and on the eve of that performance, John came over to my place and we chopped it up big time. We discuss the importance of Uniform Choice, ego and an insane story of John working at a hotel and witnessing something traumatic that inspired him to write the lyrics to one of Outspoken's beloved songs. Happy to have documented this and hope you...

Boy oh boy I am happy to bring you this conversation, not even a torrential downpour here in Southern California could prevent it. Thrilled to have Aaron Bruno from AWOLNation, Insurgence and his newest project, The Barbarians of California on the show. We chat about his life in the Valley outside of Los Angeles, the craziest places he's heard his music playing and why as a grown adult, he feels compelled to play in a hardcore band now. Enjoy this super sized conversation!  Listen to the...

In this highly engaging chat, we bring in Maha Shami from No Man who is the lead vocalist from the band. They are on the verge of releasing their new LP on Iodine Recordings called "Glitter and Spit" which is a barn burner. We discuss with Maha her upbringing in Texas, the unconventional ways her family supported the DC scene and her opposition to the occupation of Palestine (which is an important subject not only now, but always). Dig in and enjoy!  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast...

Codeseven is an absolutely incredible band that everyone should listen to and pay attention to, full stop. They released a new record called "Go Let It In" that knocked my socks off and continues to do so. It only made sense to bring Jeff Jenkins, the vocalist of the band, onto the podcast! We toured together many moons ago and has always been an incredibly thoughtful and introspective dude and this conversation showcases that. We discuss why him and Tom Delonge are right about aliens, self...

Excited to welcome on Lexi Reyngoudt, the vocalist for Buffalo hardcore band Spaced! They are about to drop their new LP on Revelation Records later this month so hop on it and pre-save/pre-order now! We chop it up about life in Buffalo, her love for K-Pop fandom and teaching. It's a wide ranging chat from a band you will be hearing more about in the future!  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast here (executive produced by yours truly)  Weekly Recommendation Playlist Theme Song by...

Spark of Life is a band that many of you most likely haven't been exposed to, that doesn't mean you shouldn't get to know Steve Jennings, the vocalist of said band. They started in the late 90's, signed a record deal in the 2000's with a Fat Wreck Chords imprint, toured the world with bands like Rise Against and Good Riddance but like all creative pursuits...life got in the way. Steve and his band mate Nicholas stayed friends and after a many year hiatus...are back and working with New Age...

In these descriptions I try not to trip over hyperbolic language, but I am absolutely thrilled to have Will Killingsworth on the show today not only for his important record work at Dead Air Studios but also his musical output with bands like Orchid, Bucket Full of Teeth, Ampere and many more. He's a true lifer and someone who has focused on all of the principles that make up this DIY community and let it consume them. We are celebrating the fact that the entire Bucket Full of Teeth...

You know those record labels that you get obsessed with and start to listen to EVERYTHING that they put out, regardless if you've heard the band or not? Well, Sunday Drive Records is that for me and I had to have on the owner, Jonathan Gonzales, on the show to chat about it. We discuss the slow growth of the label since he started it out of his college dorm room, his design work and running. I urge you to listen to this episode and discover the amazing bands he's put out, while also...

In the immortal words of the Nora song, "Nobody takes pictures of the drummer" but here on the podcast...WE DO! I hunted down Connor McAuliffe who is the drummer for two phenomenal hardcore bands in the shape of North Carolina's Magnitude and he's also been playing with Pennsylvania's finest, One Step Closer. Connor was a great hang and we discussed the importance of 90's hardcore, straight edge and being on the road for 3 months straight.  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast here...

Swedish hardcore in the house!  I am proud to welcome on the man behind the mic of an incredibly overlooked but important Swedish hardcore band, Abhinanda! Jose Saxlund was not only the vocalist for the band, but was responsible for starting the awesome label Desperate Fight Records that was responsible for bringing attention to the scene happening in their tiny town of Umea. Jose and I speak about the bands legacy, the Swedish music industry and how big did that scene get in the 90's...

Rejoice at the top of Steak MTN, we have Chris Norris on the podcast today! He's a true multi-hyphenate as an artist, author and illustrator. He played in the band CombatWoundedVeteran from Florida and has a deep history within the punk and hardcore scene down there. He also was a creative director/set decorator for a porn company that we spend some time discussing (because, that's wild). He's extremely sarcastic and self-deprecating so we got along swimmingly well. Check his site, buy his...

You know him, you love him...it's Keith Buckley time on the podcast this week. His new band, Many Eyes, is about to embark on their first US tour and when given the opportunity to catch up with an old friend...I jumped at the chance. Keith and I discuss his time in the Buffalo hardcore scene, the early days of ETID and his sober lifestyle. He's an incredibly thoughtful and introspective dude which shows in this conversation. Hope you enjoy!  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast here...

From the Great White North, it's KEN Mode! Jesse Matthewson is the vocalist/guitarist over these noise mongers and let me be clear...you have to listen to them if you are a fan of all things noisy/ugly. Jesse was a great hang as we got to discuss what it was like winning a JUNO award (Canadian Grammy Award), being a late bloomer band and the importance of noise.  Listen to the Official Outbreak Podcast here (executive produced by yours truly)  Weekly Recommendation Playlist Theme Song by...

Happy New Year! 2024 is here and we are going BACK to the 90's for this particular episode. Nick Pye played in the legendary screamo/indie rock band Shotmaker from Ottawa, Ontario. The band loomed large in my consciousness ever since I tripped across them in the late 90's and was like "WHO THE HELL IS THIS BAND AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH?" I had to eventually track Nick down, and this is what transpired around the re-release of their discography on the amazing Solid Brass Records. We discuss...

In the spirit of the holiday's, here is a bonus episode of my "honorable mentions" of the year that fell JUST outside of my top 10 list. See you in 2024!  A playlist featuring them as well as other records that were on heavy rotation over at 100 Words HQ is linked here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.