Gut Feeling

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Kyle De Ville, a British Columbia-born, Portland, Oregon-based guitarist with Enact, whom just released their self-titled debut album through War Records. Throughout the talk, Kyle gets into: plotting hardcore songs in the shower; Enact fighting against political apathy; what happens when the Youth Crew ages into parenthood; growing up a pre-teen suburban death metal head; lessons learned at a Metallica show; and more. On the throwback side of things, Kyle and I also played in our first bands together in the mid '90s, so we touch on our failed skate-punk band, Rugburn, and our more emo-styled The Self Esteem Project, whose 1997 demo tape I just posted up on Bandcamp . Enact's debut album is available through your streaming service of choice, and vinyl copies can be found at their Bandcamp site and over at War Records . The Gut Feeling Podcast is currently streaming through Apple , Spotify, Google Podcasts , and Sounder .

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Stephen McBean, a prolific, Vancouver Island-born, Los Angeles-based musician currently making music with Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops. Back in the mid '90s, though, Steve was briefly a vocalist/co-guitarist in Ex Dead Teenager, a Vancouver quartet whose 1997 demo, It's OK to Laugh at People Wearing Gas Masks, flirted with full-bore hardcore, sludge nihilism, tattered-psyche post-punk melancholia, and impressionistic, synth-skit weirdness. Throughout the talk, Steve gets into: hardcore mêlées at East Vancouver's legendary New York Theatre; writing and recording as a roommates-only project in the basement of the Frances Street punk house; the on-tour implosion of his previous project, Gus; dumpster diving for keyboards; reconnecting with members of Converge and Saviours decades after first meeting them on tour with Ex Dead Teenager; and more. The Gut Feeling Podcast is currently streaming through Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Sounder. You can also check out my interview with Steve on his latest Pink Mountaintops record, Peacock Pools, over at Guitar World.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Lucas McFadden, a Vancouver based musician currently drumming with Madness Cartel and Tilted, though formerly of blisteringly fast hardcore unit Reserve 34 . Throughout the talk, Lucas gets into the life of Reserve 34, from the mid '90s through to their final show in 2002, but he also touches on: realizing that in a guitarists world, he needed to become a drummer; teen vandalism; punk mansions; fortuitous parking spots. It's a story that also manages to connect Reserve 34 with members of Trooper, the Pointed Sticks, SoCal straight edge group Carry On, and more! Nothing from the Reserve 34 discography is streaming officially, but the episode features some samples of unreleased demos, radio show performances, live sets, and studio recordings. The Gut Feeling Podcast is currently streaming through Apple, Spotify, and Sounder.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Larissa Loyva, a Vancouver based singer-songwriter currently releasing experimental electronic pop as Kellarissa. The talk gets into the making of Kellarissa's new Voice Leading album, but also: hands-on career changes; Anne Garréta's 1986 Oulipan nightclub novel Sphinx; high school choirs; her first band's show at a mall photography exhibit; playing in bands like P:ano, Boring, the Choir Practice, and A Luna Red; and finding harmony in life, not just music. Kellarissa's Voice Leading sees release April 1 via Mint Records .

Hello! It's just about the end of the year, and once again I've invited Spectres guitarist Adam Mitchell onto the podcast to get into some of our favourite records of the year—hitting on some contemporary Oi (The Chisel, Boss), sax-smooched synth-pop (Riki), arguably adult-geared post-hardcore (Quicksand), and more. We also get into Spectres recent Hindsight collection, which traces the Vancouver band's career from their earlier, shoutier, greyer days towards the synth-spangled pop of new tunes like "Tell Me". I think I'm going to take the next couple of weeks off, but I'll catch you in 2022! Spectres' Hindsight is out now via Artoffact Records. The Gut Feeling Podcast is currently streaming through Apple, Spotify, and Sounder.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Ashley Webber, a Vancouver based singer-songwriter whom just released her second solo album, Only The End, as Ashley Shadow. The talk gets into making the album, her first in five years, with collaborators including Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie "Prince" Billy), Josh Welles (Lightning Dust), Ryan Beattie and more, but it also gets into growing up in Maple Ridge, B.C.; sharing the stage with Donny Osmond in her youth; performing with early '00s post-punks the Organ, as well as Lightning Dust and Pink Mountaintops; knowing your limits; and more! Ashley Shadow's Only The End is out now via Felte Records. The Gut Feeling Podcast is currently streaming through Apple, Spotify, and Sounder.

This month's Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Supercrush vocalist/guitarist Mark Palm. While currently based in Seattle, Mark grew up in Vancouver, so we got into some of his earliest experiences in the Lower Mainland punk and hardcore scene. Throughout the talk, Mark gets into: playing shows with his first proper band, Look Inside; joining the great Reserve 34; the time he tried his hand at stand up comedy; the time he modeled for Wrangler Jeans; somewhat hesitantly joining a joke band about competitive swimming; the impact of Expo 86 mascot Expo Ernie on the world of Supercrush; and a couple of other things, too! Mark was the first person I'd interviewed for Gut Feeling last fall (just a couple of hours ahead of a call with Steph from Punitive Damage ), so this is something of an anniversary party. Enjoy! Mark was the first person I'd interviewed for Gut Feeling last fall(just a couple of hours ahead of a call with

This month's Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with The Noise Floor Recording Studio's Terry Ondang. Currently based in Gabriola Island, B.C., the Noise Floor's idyllic beachside setting has brought artists like Orville Peck, Dead Soft, Wolf Parade, Partner through its doors. On top of studio life, Terry gets into: Nirvana as her gateway to punk and hardcore; starting her concert promotion career booking SNFU shows at The Java Joint; winging a show offer e-mail to Fugazi, and cinching it; and prepping new music of her own some 25+ years after first grappling with a Strat copy. It's a deep dive, hope you enjoy!

The latest episode of the Gut Feeling Podcast is an extended look at True Loves/Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio guitarist Jimmy James, who I'd profiled for the newsletter a couple of issues ago. There were a number of musical moments to our talk, which Jimmy punctuated with his prized Silvertone, and since the bulk of that didn't quite fit the Q&A format, I'm posting the audio so you can get a feel for his style. The True Loves' Sunday Afternoon is out this Friday (May 28) via Color Red, and you can also peep the band playing a record release livestream show the same day via KEXP. In the meantime, please enjoy Jimmy's playing in this latest episode!

Photo by Mark PalmThe latest episode of the Gut Feeling podcast is an interview with Regional Justice Center drummer/vocalist Ian Shelton. The band’s beautifully brutal sophomore LP, Crime and Punishment, was released this week through Closed Casket Activities.Ian gets into formative experiences that impacted Crime and Punishment; discovering street punk through a library of burned CDs; whether or not the singer of the Adicts was the original juggalo; his brother Max hearing RJC’s music from inside prison; and more.The Gut Feeling podcast is also streaming through Apple and Spotify Subscribe, review, and recommend the podcast/newsletter if you can! Get on the email list at gutfeeling.substack.com

Photo by Andrew DennisonThe fourth episode of the Gut Feeling podcast is an interview with Sean Lande, lead guitarist and founding member of Strain, a dominant force in Vancouver’s hardcore scene during the mid to late ‘90s.Among other things, Sean gets into: how he fell into straight edge hardcore; embarrassing first band names; and recording Strain’s massively chunky Here and Now LP at Mushroom Studios, a recording facility where Heart and Loverboy tracked some of their biggest records. The talk also connects Strain to SNFU, Gob, Undertow, Metallica, Pushead, and a bunch of Vancouver hardcore bands. 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Here and Now, and you can check the record out through Apple Music and Spotify. The Gut Feeling podcast is also streaming through Apple and Spotify Subscribe, review, and recommend the podcast/newsletter if you can!Photo by Andrew Dennison Get on the email list at gutfeeling.substack.com

Photo by Lindsey Wallace (IG)This month’s Gut Feeling podcast is an interview with Adam Mitchell, a mainstay of the Vancouver underground who currently plays with post-punks Spectres, alt-pop quartet Tilted, and d-beat mashers Madness Cartel. The talk bounces between what it was like to be touring the U.S. with Spectres last March as COVID restrictions really started to ramp up across the world, and what some of our respective favourite releases of the year were. We also got into a bit of a gear talk, which you’ll find below!Having mostly played in hardcore bands over the years, what can you say about exploring a different tone and style through Spectres?Adam Mitchell: I started out as a bass player, and for years I was only a bass player. I’ve never really been formally trained on anything, so a lot of it was me sitting in my room, just playing guitar and doing what I wanted to do. For a couple of years I was doing a band called Circles that, while our recorded output never showed this, started veering towards Embrace/Rites of Spring territory, and I got to explore beyond power chords. Having, for a lack of a better word, a flowery, jangly guitar style was a learning curve. I’d sit around my house playing Smiths songs, or McCarthy songs, or James Dean Driving Experience songs...now, maybe, I can actually write stuff like that. Even throughout the time I’ve been in Spectres, [my style has] evolved, which is nice! As a musician, you force yourself to try new things. I’m certainly not a great guitar player— I  wouldn’t even say I’m a creative guitar player—but considering the vast majority of my recording/touring life playing in hardcore bands, getting to do something melodic with arpeggios and flourishy guitar stuff is a nice change of pace. Have you had any significant gear changes since joining Spectres?A: Historically, I’ve played my Les Paul through a 50 watt JMP, a 1980 JMP. In Circles, I dabbled with pedals a bit—some delays and some chorus. Other than that, with Vacant State and Cheap Appeal it was straight through the amp, with a tuner. With Spectres, my primary guitar for the first while was my Rickenbacker 330. Shortly after I joined the band, since I didn’t think the Marshall would fit with what I wanted to play, I bought a Vox AC30. About this time last year, I bought one of those Johnny Marr signature Jaguars, being a bit of a Johnny Marr sycophant. I was impressed with it. It did away with everything that I didn’t like about Jaguars. I thought Jaguars looked cool, but they didn’t really have a sound that I thought was appropriate for me. But the Johnny Marr signature is the guitar I used predominantly on the tour that we did at the beginning of this year. We also just recorded a new single with Jesse Gander in October, and I exclusively used the Jaguar on that.As far as pedals go, I always have my Diamond Compressor and my Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus pedal on. I use a Nemesis Delay sparingly, and an Electro-Harmonix Super Pulsar trem pedal sparingly. And just little, you know, bits and pieces on top of that. I would say for the most part I can do 90 per cent of what I need to do either running the Rick or the Jaguar through my chorus pedal, into the Vox.End HitsDeaf Club “The Wait” (Bandcamp)Deaf Club made their debut last year with Contemporary Sickness, a six minute acid bath of discordant guitar shred and blast beats. The quintet are going a different route with their latest single, a relatively faithful, darkly melodic cover of post-punk icons Killing Joke’s “The Wait”.Structurally, the cover rumbles as hard as Killing Joke, with the biggest difference coming in how Justin Pearson’s (The Locust, Retox, Dead Cross) inimitable hollow point howl punctures the mix instead of Jaz Coleman’s coarse, flanger-affixed melodicism. Its video packages footage of drone strikes and citizen uprisings with factoids on the military industrial complex. Deaf Club’s cover of “The Wait” is available now as a pay-what-you-can download through vocalist Justin Pearson’s Three One G records, with all proceeds from now until January 4th going towards Fair Fight’s efforts to protect U.S. voter rights in the upcoming run-off elections in Georgia and beyond.Deaf Club are apparently finishing up a debut LP, and I’d be stoked if they explore this kind of style in addition to the grinding. Get on the email list at gutfeeling.substack.com

We’ve got another Gut Feeling podcast interview on deck this week, and it’s a doozy! The talk is with Jesse Gander, a longtime member of Vancouver’s music community as both a performer (d.b.s., Needles//Pins, Uptights, Operation Makeout, Black Rice, Ghost House, and more) and a prolific engineer/producer.Jesse gets into how he first got interested in the recording arts, from experimenting with his boombox’s bass and treble levels, to cutting four-track demos for bands in exchange for a six-pack, to investing in himself by learning Pro Tools and opening his Rec Age Recorders in his parents’ basement, to tracking countless bands these days at Rain City Recorders. His CV is massive, nearing six hundred releases and counting, including records with Japandroids, White Lung, the Pack A.D., Brutus, a Juno-winning album from Anciients, and so much more. Some things to look forward to that Jesse mentions throughout the discussion: he’s recorded new work from Brutal Poodle and Grave Infestation; he and the rest of Needles//Pins have another record coming out; d.b.s. is having their full catalogue re-released digitally through Boat Dreams from the Hill (with the possibility of some vinyl re-releases coming up, too). Also hoping that the World of S**t solo album he’s been prepping since the ‘90s sees the light of day.Third time’s a charm: I’d mentioned this in the interview and the intro, but want to clarify that the old photos of the Cramps, Nick Cave, and R.E.M. that have hung in Jesse’s various studios were taken by his dad. Hope you enjoy! Get on the email list at gutfeeling.substack.com

Joshua Brown (left) and Sean McCabe, outside of 924 Gilman. Berkeley, CA. 1998. Photo: Travis Keller (IG)Hey! I’m doing things a little differently this week, and premiering the Gut Feeling Podcast. This first episode is with Joshua Brown, a currently Victoria, B.C.-based musician who came up through Philadelphia’s early ‘90s straight edge hardcore scene, playing bass in Flagman, Crud is a Cult, and legendary gothic hardcore outfit Ink & Dagger along the way.I’d met Josh a few years back at a friend’s book launch in Vancouver, and have been dying to ask him about the Dagger days ever since. He also recently started up an Instagram account for Crud is a Cult, where he’s been posting old photos and demo tape layouts, so it seemed like a perfect time to talk. Throughout the conversation, Josh gets into the Crud days, how he wasn’t initially sold on Ink & Dagger’s vampire-themed punk, touring Europe alongside Refused in ‘98 (when both bands were expanding into electronica-infused hardcore), and awkwardly live-scoring a brawl during a bar show in Vancouver. His wife Leanne, who herself played in Vancouver hardcore group Dissent in the ’90s, also pops by.There is so much more to cover around Ink & Dagger, and Josh and I ended up texting about more stories after the fact. Their final, self-titled LP from 2000, for instance, draws influence not so much from punk and hardcore, but rather from Irish dream pop outfit Rollerskate Skinny, the Beach Boys, and maybe even the Stone Temple Pilots. I’m going to add some of Josh’s thoughts on the record’s “Facedreamer,” written and recorded shortly before Sean McCabe’s tragic passing in the summer of 2000 at the age of 27. We should get into that last song too—the last song we we released, and how Sean isn’t on it. The lyrics totally foreshadow his death. It’s really crazy.I sang the whole song ‘cause he never showed up and we needed to finish it. We didn’t have lyrics, so I picked up a book of Charles Bukowski poems lying around on the studio, randomly opened a page to Facedreamer, and just put all the vocals together on the spot as we were recording it. I’m super proud of it, but the lyrics, man: “The best often die by their own hand….Sometimes we will only note their existence suddenly in vivid recall after they they’re gone....where have they gone to?”Somewhat on the topic of vampires, I’ve been reviewing vintage Monster Party songs all month through my Instagram stories. Definitely some great bashes along the way, with a lot of camp twists on mummies, werewolves, and zombies having a ball. I made a Spotify playlist to go along with it, which you’ll find below.I think the big surprise this year was the theme to 1967’s Spider Baby, sung by horror icon Lon Chaney Jr. There’s something especially sinister about the way he stutters and gulps his way through the track, warning us that pretty much any monster is fair game for Baby’s next snack. The grossest part about it is how he delivers this sort of inward belch on the word “tummy.” Just nasty. The original film theme isn’t streaming, but the Fantômas did a version that’s just slightly less discomforting.Happy Halloween! Get on the email list at gutfeeling.substack.com