Low Times » Podcast

In episode 33, Maggie Serota sits down with prolific singer-songwriter Matt Pond and discusses how he broke his leg on tour, his failed ambitions towards becoming a history professor and what inspired him to transition from a casual to a serious musician. Photo: sfcritic.com Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 33 Play:

Blake Schwarzenbach fronted the bands Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil and Thorns of Life as well as his current band forgetters. Maggie Serota sat down with Schwarzenbach in his Brooklyn apartment and discussed the time Jawbreaker opened for Nirvana, infusing aspects of theater into his musical performances and his tenure as an English professor. The Thermals are a three-piece punk band for Portland Oregon. The band (Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster and Westin Glass) sat down with Daniel Ralston to discuss the band's early days, their feelings on using Kickstarter to pay for records and how their audiences have changed in their 10+ years together. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 32 Play:

Author Mark Yarm sits down with Maggie Serota to discuss the bands, personalities and tensions that made up the Seattle music scene, starting from the mid-80s to the mid-90s and extensively documented in his oral history Everybody Loves Our Town. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 31 Play:

Kliph Scurlock, drummer of the Flaming Lips, sat down with Tom Scharpling to discuss how he ended up in the band, his love of John Bonham and his teenage battles with the Westboro Baptist Church. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 30 Play:

Will Sheff, frontman of Okkervil River sat down with Daniel Ralston to discuss almost producing a Lou Reed Record, his complex system for listening to music, hanging out with Bruce Springsteen and his role in the film The Comedy. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 29 Play:

Episode 28 features a conversation with Travis Morrison, who is probably best known for fronting the Washington D.C. indie outfit The Dismemberment Plan. Morrison meets up with Maggie Serota at Low Times HQ to discuss making mix tapes in his youth, the Dismemberment Plan's varied musical influences, and the status of the band's forthcoming album. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 28 Play:

Tom Scharpling talks to Dan McGee of Spider Bags about his time playing in his first band, the controversial DC Snipers. McGee also discusses the transition from playing punk rock to writing music that has more in common with Townes Van Zandt, in addition to his practice of lying to journalists about the bands' origins. Maggie Serota sits down with entertainment lawyer John P. Strohm to chat about his roots in the Boston music scene of the late 80s, founding The Blake Babies with ex-girlfriend Freda Love and Juliana Hatfield and playing in The Lemonheads with Evan Dando. He also discusses the shift from trying to eke out a living as an indie musician to becoming an attorney specializing in working with artists. At the top of the show, Daniel Ralston pays tribute to Jason Molina of Magnolia Electric Company and Songs: Ohia who passed away over the weekend at age 39. Dan McGee photo by Jeremy M. Lange. John P. Strohm photo by Steve Ebrahimi. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 27 Play:

The Low Times crew performed our first live show in Chicago on January 17th as part of the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival. We were lucky enough to be joined by two Chicago institutions, Steve Albini and Richard Marx. Steve Albini talks about working with the Pixies on Surfer Rosa, his early days in Chicago and answers some rapid fire questions. Richard Marx joined us to discuss his early days working with Lionel Richie, the jingles his father wrote, and whether appearing at Low Times Live is the most low-rent thing he's ever done. The photos below (and the "Nighthawks at the Diner" above) were incorporated into the introduction to the show. We provided them here for reference. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 26 Play:

Peter Hook is the bassist in legendary bands Joy Division and New Order. He recently released a memoir called Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division. Peter Hook sat down with Maggie Serota to discuss his time in Joy Division and New Order as well as his recently released book.  He also tells Maggie about the weirdest bootleg Joy Division merchandise he's seen. Daniel Ralston spoke to New York's own The So So Glos about their lowest points on tour, their involvement with Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium and their early love of punk and 3rd wave ska. There is also a story about choking a dude. Maggie and Daniel are also joined by Josh Kantor, the organist at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. He talks about how he got the job, trying to psyche out the Yankees and his time playing in The Baseball Project. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 25 Play:

Daniel Smith is the frontman of Danielson, the indie pop gospel group from Clarksboro, NJ. He also performs under the name Brother Danielson and with his family members in Danielson Famile. He spoke to Tom Scharpling at his home studio about his early days in music, how his faith has positively and negatively impacted his life and playing music with his family. Tanlines is a Brooklyn-based synth-pop duo comprised of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm. They sat down with Maggie Serota to discuss the wave of acclaim that followed their debut album, 2012's Mixed Emotions, their band dynamic and opening for Rick Ross. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 24 Play:

Hosts Tom Scharpling, Daniel Ralston and Maggie Serota hunker down in Low Times HQ to select members for their fantasy bands from "Best Of" lists curated by a diverse sample of publications. After some discussion and a whole lot of arguing, each member has assembled their own fantasy band. Listeners can then vote to determine who assembled the best band. Vote here! Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 23 Play:

Tom Scharpling sits down with Jay Ferguson of Sloan to discuss the band entering its third decade, the peaks and valleys of the band's career, label troubles and a little chat about Paul McCartney. Maggie Serota meets up with writer Rob Tannenbaum who, along with Craig Marks, co-authored the oral history I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story Of The Music Video Revolution. The two discuss Kurt Loder's arrival to the network, the trials and tribulations of working with Prince and The Dead Milkmen's infamous appearance on Club MTV. Jay Ferguson Photo: Marshall Angus Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 22 Play:

Guy Picciotto is a member of the legendary Washington D.C. band Fugazi. Picciotto initially made his mark on punk history back in the mid-80s when he formed the hugely influential but short-lived post-hardcore band Rites of Spring. He came over to Daniel Ralston's apartment to discuss his early days in Rites of Spring, the self-consciousness he felt while being onstage without a guitar during his early years with Fugazi and the offers to license their songs for use in commercials. He also discusses the "ice cream eating motherfuckers," what it's like when the four members of Fugazi get together now, and hanging from that basketball hoop. Photo: Joshua Taneer 1998, Fugazi Live Series Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 21 Play:

Tom Scharpling talks to G.E Smith who served as the musical director on Saturday Night Live for 10 years and toured with the likes of Bob Dylan, David Bowie and Hall & Oates. This is an in-depth chat where G.E. and Tom touch on all aspects of his career including his recent stint as the lead guitarist on Roger Waters' historic The Wall tour and playing the Republican National Convention as a hired gun.   Daniel Ralston spoke to Swedish indie pop singer-songwriter Jens Lekman about breakups, having hits in different countries and why he was "the last man to discover irony". Maggie Serota talks to Django Haskins, leader of the band The Old Ceremony, about his musical family, performing music while living in China and the often strange experiences of hearing his music used in TV and movies. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 20 Play:

Corin Tucker is the guitarist, singer and songwriter in the Corin Tucker Band who have release two albums. She is (her word) also in Sleater-Kinney, one of the most influential and critically acclaimed bands of the past 2 decades. Daniel Ralston spoke to Corin Tucker about her life in music. They touch on her early days in Heavens to Betsy, the progression to Sleater-Kinney (with a lot of talk about their record The Hot Rock), as well as her decision to take time off to raise a family. She also tells Daniel what it is like having a son who is getting into dubstep, and what she'd do if she ended up at the Gathering of the Juggalos. The Vaselines is a Scottish band comprised of the songwriting partnership of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee. Although the band was initially active for just a few short years back in the late 80s, The Vaselines enjoyed an unexpected surge in popularity after Nirvana famously covered a few songs. Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee sat down with Maggie Serota backstage at Brooklyn's The Bellhouse and discussed working with Belle and Sebastian's Stevie Jackson, their disdain for 80s nostalgia and the experience of making music with an ex. Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Download: Episode 19 Play: