The SideStreets Podcast

Topics: New massive projects, dedication, hard work, interviews, myths, make believe, what actually matters, Black Sabbath, babies, parenting, books, The Resonars, seeking encouragement, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Doing the work, drawing all day long, GRILL, Long Island, figuring it out as you go along, a life's work, ignoring self doubt, alter egos, free stuff, fundraising, constantly creating, and the things we do for love.

Topics: CAN'T WAIT on KXCI, internet radio, new shows, defending albums, comedy rock, parody, Super Bowl halftime shows, bearing one's soul, rejection, cult followings, terrible grunge, sludge, felony songs, subtle improvement, glam, two wrongs making a right, losing one's voice, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Gamma Like Very Ultra, fuzz, experimental rock, fretless bass, jazz, fusion, a new Boogie Nights soundtrack, green, deep red, small towns, Sonic Youth, sweet dreams, aggressively danceable, Wiener Records, heroism, running, lost voices, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Tucson, more Tucson, road trips, visiting Tucson, making people happy, taking the brunt of people's complaints, a unique vantage point, iTunes playlists, the music biz, selling points, moving around, a foot in the door, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Breaks, breathers, siestas, chill-outs, Louise Le Hir, sports, nonsense, CAN'T WAIT ON KXCI, Blood Stone, sweet 666teen parties, two weeks, the summer of SideStreets, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Steff And The Articles, pop music, writing for piano, breaking the mold, not fitting in, digital hoarding, seeking new avenues, Kickstarter, making adjustments, working really really hard, mini tours, personal connections with new fans, memorable shows, weird musical flourishes, useless mp3s, the recorder, the heat of the moment, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Filmmaking, imagination, Alex Italics, bad manners, Eugene Mirman, guitar, turning one's back on political science, rethinking old forms, a running tally of ideas, They Might Be Giants, film festivals, aesthetics, the relationship between visuals and sound, collaborating with your heroes, Daycones, validation, film strips, psychoanalysis, the Kennedy assassination, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Acorn Bcorn, formative years, Colorado, refineries, masonry, Desperado, membership drives, supportive parents, oldies, middle C, cardboard boxes, early songwriting, making things difficult, feeling real, instincts, minimal filters, things going wrong, Twister, repeating stories, shattered ice scrapers, incredible local bands blowing national bands off the stage, reconfiguring, heavy and small, freeing limitations, 93-percent guitar, 70-percent bass, flying drum sticks, Bob Log III, loudness, shipping containers, unorthodox venues, no red tape, Tom Walbank's stroller, Night Of The Living Fest, projecting vocals, hollering, heavy swans, special shows, a big big May, multimedia events, the shape of things, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Golden Boots, Growing up in South Jersey, Romo Tonight, gravitating toward drums, Trashcan Hawaii, no-grass, poking at ideas, ceilings, repeating Desperado, Devo, early four-tracks, psych rock, bigger drums, the Flaming Lips, subtle inspirations, barriers for entry, conspiracy rock, over-ambitious tours, proving you're a band, feeling welcomed, excellent collaborators, weird luck, odd releases, CDs inside of tacos, KXCI, quilted albums, Mike Dixon, pushing every envelope, wire recorders, Wight Lhite, complementary songwriters, chance meetings, Park The Van, Magnolia Electric Co., The Teeth, great things happening, joining Dr. Dog, frustrating stupidity, whitewashing culture, re-branding to spite people, and the things we do for love.

Topics: All-ages shows, Diet Pop Records, forming your first band, membership drives, trundle beds, city planning, getting kids involved in the local music scene, Romo Tonight, live performance, viable outlets, ambiguous teen voices, the way things used to be, booking shows, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Art, oil painting, jealousy, the perfect film, the story of Everest, George McFly as Nightcrawler, Twin Peaks, Pee Wee Herman, remembering the Alamo, set design, Head Over Heart, art therapy, donating to KXCI, pop culture art shows, Mr. Show, Back To The Future, Diet Pop Records, Karima Walker, attention to detail, Halloween costumes, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Telling jokes, Female Storytellers, political science, spectating to performing, the Fisterhood, Christmas ham, open mics, comfort levels, Tucson's comedy community, receptiveness to newcomers, comedy infrastructure, improv, failing in front of people, overthinking, personas, Romo Tonight, looking for the first laugh, heckling, welcoming atmospheres, rude crowds, the light, bombing stories, a comedy path, an easier point of entry, and the things we do for love.

  Topics: Sister shows, burritos, tacos, high bars, energy domes, a pie-free existence, Vermont, small buildings, a bundle of nerves, speech apprehension, Forest Fallows, the heart, songwriting in MIDI, a random collision of events, isolation, Montreal, a lack of claustrophobia, finding home, youthful ambition, impenetrability, inclusivity, intersectional feminism, Charlie barking, exploding popularity, Catcast, calling in, kindness, goals, exclamation points, and the things we do for love.

  Topics: Roller derby, two weeks, youth culture, flat versus bank, Whip It, Austin in 2001, the power of gravity, Dirty Terry, fitting things to the initials, fresh-meat skaters, staying calm, burlesque, jams, Miss Evil, baby steps, Bambi, professional amateurs, jammers, simultaneous offense and defense, self sustaining, street teams, nonprofits, iconic venues, storytime, libraries, secret clubs, being in charge of everything, derby brats, always being ready to crush, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Anniversaries, stuntin' on them haters, dividing records by country, Chunklet, Barcelona, Placebo Records, labels as curation, Toxic Ranch, myth building, the desert, scalding water in a hose, Nardwuar-esque segues, sharing your passion, seeking these conversations, the strange directions punk takes people, Ian McKaye guilt, Lil B, entry points, shoulder tapping, the year punk broke, Sonic Youth, lines falling away, connectivity, The Lego Movie, the struggle, the future, the quest, choke slams, finding an edge, gratitude, maximum dysfunction, the peak, lifting the swear ban, Hammerhead, a better real world, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Baby Gas Mask Records, background noise, following Ween around, turning unspeakable tragedy into something positive, circumstance, home studios, Skid Row cassettes, Debbie Gibson, growing up in the film Whiplash, finding REM, fringe music, the Tucson to Philadelphia connection, infrastructure issues, coping mechanisms, running a record label, the vinyl trade, filling gaps, learning curves, the death of selling out, creativity as a local industry, and the things we do for love.

Topics: A litter of kittens, world travels, anniversaries, Uptown Girl, future scientists, clarinets, teaching your children, moments, jazz vocalists, a Patsy Cline sort of deal, the cast of the film Dig, videos, photo shoots, discovering confidence, the Grand Ole Opry where everyone got dosed, Matt Rendon, like Disneyland, focused relaxation, interruptions, Liila, Nashville, healthy competition, collaboration, accessible inspiration, and the things we do for love.

Topics: The meaning of home, the meaning of all sorts of stuff really, iconoclastic tendencies, the suburbs, the outdoors, Tucson, roots, home ownership, radio production, libraries, conversations, ethics, humanity, ice scrapers, limits, John Dillinger, making up silly songs, life as a creative endeavor, philosophy, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Romo Tonight Live!, The DraftNet Podcast, ghost peppers, tattoos, taking things beyond the limit, childhood dreams, Tucson, Letterman, constant reinvention, big plans, packed houses, fault lines, busted hems, Lana Del Rey, structure versus looseness, intimate venues, the Andy Richter in your life, writing material, controlled chaos, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Tucson, capturing moments, unspeakable tragedy, the kindness of strangers, obsessively shooting photographs, Arizona Public Media, the border, drought, tacos, Beyond, Prom Body, Romo Tonight, three big announcements, podcasts, long-form journalism, the desert, Whispering Wires, echoes, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Screenwriting, failing, succeeding, eliminating pretension, treating your creative endeavor like a job, finding your voice, background noise, basketball, going beardless, birthdays, responsibility, adorable children, following through, proving people wrong, chasing a dream, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Lathe cuts, the Speedway Scene, pied pipers, sound reproduction, hexagon-shaped albums, Murfy The Dog, brushing like a dentist, New Zealand, carving out a niche, grooves, tricks of the narrating trade, 1965, beer stilts, Joyful Noise Recordings, infinite patience, the holidays, baby penguins, out-thinking the competition, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Cover songs, costumes, swan dresses, mustaches, party atmospheres, health care, food banks, Bowie, psych rock, REO Speedwagon, Journey, Big Star, Pink Floyd, the most fun, preparation, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Billy Bates, filmmaking, paying your dues, art as life as art, Old Tucson Studios, tow trucks, The Best Show, Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker, Harsh Mistress, gravity ghosts, going on tour, Tucson in the fall, The Loft Cinemas, seven years, Mary Pickford, and the things we do for love.

Topics: The Best Show, meeting your heroes, the life rights to Sheriff Joe, hometown pride, Titus Andronicus, getting excited, building an infrastructure, looking back at 13 years, artifice, sound collages, competitive streaks, butterscotch cathedrals, the Friends Of Tom, and the things we do for love.

Topics: KXCI, community radio, cynical programmers, protecting vital cultural resources, taking advantage of rare opportunities, the thrill of live broadcasting, eliminating vocal crutches, talking to just one person, the continued evolution of the music industry, the future of freeform radio, hard work, miracles, and the things we do for love.

Topics: KXCI, Locals Only, freeform radio, getting involved with your local music scene, figuring out how radio fits into people's listening habits, validation, finding out how much you don't really know about your town, elephants, dune drifting, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Freeform radio, freeform art, free (you get the idea by now), what a nickel can get you, starting major projects from scratch, wolf gangs, providing a platform, the revitalization of downtown Tucson, addressing arts inequality, paperwork, exuberance, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Music festivals, Night of the Living Fest, putting fun first, memorable experiences, carnival games, getting rid of inhibitions, backup plans, letting noise wash over you, Dia do los Muertos, two sides of the same coin, Double Nickels on the Dime, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Sun Bones, Tucson Portraits, high school bands, evolving organically, interruptions, taking your shot, helping fellow musicians, the ground floor, seeing things through to the end, dinosaur noises, beautiful strangeness, a life without regret, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Yo La Tengo, vulnerability, taking years to figure something out, longevity, Hoboken, WFMU, freedom, integrity, green arrows, finding a good pair of headphones, cover songs, octopads, a once-in-a-lifetime series of events, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Tucson hip hop, grimy raps, Big Meridox, the Jivin Scientists, hiding music from your parents, Chuck D, having your mind blown, Philadelphia, Wilson Pickett, cyphers, regionalism, sampling, figuring out the difference between the real and the false, sacrifice, the golden era, dramatic life events, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Genuine enthusiasm, organizational skills, music education, helping your friends, Sun Bones, legitimizing the operation, supporting a scene, following through, returning to form, the PA tryout that shall not be named, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Rejection, form letters, sad pianos, self reflection, self doubt, vitamin B, big dumb awesome guitar riffs, King Tuff, 1976, doing it for yourself, being too cool for the room, nice tweets, coach Eric Taylor, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Basketball, public address announcing, billionaire blues, dunking, the undeniable impact a sports team can have on a town, realizing you are not very athletic, the perfect grandfather, spectacular displays of athleticism, getting very specific, Greggulating, the band that shall not be named, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Music that gets under your skin, nostalgia, Human Behavior, things you can't quite put into words, mental illness, doom folk, the spirit of hardcore, DIY touring, podcast parties, clanking glasses, downtown ambiance, chains, antlers, an eerie glow, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Billy Joel, the absence of moderation, plastic bowling pins, justifiable on-stage meltdowns, his punk record, a new appreciation for the man's discography, Amityville, New Year's resolutions, improper mastering techniques, seat belts, figuring things out, dogs on twitter, fathers and sons, tonic, gin, feeling completely lost in your early 20s, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Live music, public transportation, shows that start on time, the phenomenal Tucson music scene, Prom Body, Katterwaul, Best Dog Award, Sun Bones, Human Behavior, Lenguas Largas, Topaz, healthy living, running for a while, aging gracefully, and the things we do for love.

Topics: The Simpsons, trouble sleeping, bidding farewell to alcohol, chimpan-A to chimpan-Z, boo-urns, healthy skepticism, comforting color palettes, awesome new rock music, a mini Tucson concert calendar, getting way more personal than I originally planned to, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Laughter, harmonicas, sketch ideas, gray jeans, how sock removal signifies the end of the day, sounding like John Mulaney, attorneys watching the detectives, life in Ottawa, President Interpol, Bob Log III, gravitating toward comedy, laugh tracks, dealing with things, twitter personas, friendship, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Art as unifying force, the infinite universe, the amount of things we will never know, Bowie, dumb loud pointless motorcycle revving, planetary science, physics, geology, Spiritualized, wedding songs, practical applications of scientific research, Spacehog, rocket men, space quilts, lunar kits, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Being cool, finding common ground, the color purple, things to avoid bringing to rock shows, sounding like few other bands in town, visual style, leggings, making music videos, being silly, teaming up with talented filmmakers, Head Over Heart, Chicken Man, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Prom Body, four-track recording, making it happen, the buzz, hiding things in a recording that only you know about, a little help from your friends, trading stability for the artistic life, setting things on fire, getting off the assembly line, the Song Of Summer, excitement in all its forms, Tucson pride, paradise, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Writing, finishing what you start, NaNoWriMo, self publishing, Robert Altman, DMX, unswimmable beaches, people who truly understand burritos, coming up with a workable creative process, chasing a dream, The Yorke Report, summah, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Stained glass, Nicolas Cage, being moved by a piece of art, creating things with your bare hands, Raising Arizona, pets, burritos, Stephin Merritt, St. Mary's Mexican Food, men of the year, legal drinking age, Lil Jon, being made fun of by Dave Chappelle, the Supreme Court, fun with impressions so bad I should be ashamed, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Music writing, Simply Thrilled, vulnerability, using music as a way to talk about yourself, enthusiasm as a springboard for more enthusiasm, the desire to tell everyone you know about a song you heard, the rejection of ironic detachment and negativity, starting your own thing, new voices, Good Faces, and the things we do for love.

Topics: England, delightful accents, the underdog mentality, hometown pride, phone fun, The Best Show on WFMU, The Chris Gethard Show, reunion unions, seeking out like-minded people, using comedy to help deal with your issues, that awful Iggy Azalea song, that awful John Legend song, that awful Passenger song, the SideStreets Song of Summer, Redlands, self promotion, and the things we do for love.

Topics: GBV, GBV, GBV, Guided By Voices, lotta dudes, over-laughing, expensive beer, The Simpsons, Los Angeles, slurring your words, holding it together, singing along with Echos Myron, new stuff versus old hits, writing my own songs, listening to records by myself, feeling self conscious, handlebar mustaches, shutting off that part of your brain that tries to limit your creativity, brownies, tacos, Friends Of Tom, my wonderful wife, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Tucson music, finding an audience, encouragement, the importance of knowing that someone is actually listening, burrito brackets, audio problems, ambient noise, Tucson hip hop, reunions, super sweet bass moves, Burning Palms, eclecticism, Lenguas Largas, Big Meridox, Isaiah Toothtaker, the unexpected benefits from the collapse of the music industry, reaching people, and the things we do for love.

Topics: Doing your own thing, literary journals, over-caffeinated brainstorming sessions with big ideas, running, trying to distract yourself, yes all women, senseless tragedies, how men sometimes need to just shut up every once in a while, the loudener, seeing for miles, community events, missed connections, Eiffel Tower, and the things we do for love.