The Guestlist With Sean Cannon

DOWNLOAD So during my conversation with Mariachi el Bronx, I found out that they only dry clean those mariachi suits once a year. Those are dudes after my own heart. Well, not just because of their dedication to smelly clothes — they’re also relentlessly committed to the punk rock version of the band and the [...]

DOWNLOAD What started as an impromptu conversation with Matthew Vasquez at Bonnaroo quickly turned into a discussion about songwriting, collaboration, Christianity and Katy Perry. In fact, most of it flowed from a comment I made about the defunct Christian rock act Noise Ratchet (which featured Delta Spirit’s rhythm section). An odd starting point, I know…

DOWNLOAD There was a time when having a hardcore or metal band at a festival like Bonnaroo would make people scratch their sweaty, sunburned heads. But heavier bands (like Pelican this year) have peppered major fest lineups recently. So I took this opportunity to chat with the boys about the phenomenon.

DOWNLOAD When I talked to Daniel Glass at Bonnaroo, he was an affable, unassuming guy. Based on his demeanor, you’d never guess that he’s one of the most well-respected and accomplished label executives in the world. It was striking. But not as striking as his progressive, pragmatic attitude and brutal honesty.

DOWNLOAD So while I was at Bonnaroo, I got to chat with Judah Friedlander. And it blew my mind. Not because he’s World Champion. Not because he’s hilarious. Not because he knows Tina Fey. (Although all those things are pretty badass!) Nope, it’s because he was on Coast to Coast AM! COAST TO COAST! It [...]

DOWNLOAD On June 23, Tenacious D was set to play Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. On June 22, I found out I was heading down there to interview Jack Black and Kyle Gass before they took the stage. With such little time to plan, my usual neurosis was ratcheted up a few notches. But it all worked [...]

DOWNLOAD Buddy Bradley was easily one of the most memorable characters in the ’80s and ’90s alternative comics scene. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have a conversation with Buddy’s creator — the iconic Peter Bagge — about how much he relates to Buddy, his band Can You Imagine? and exactly how [...]

DOWNLOAD Even though Bazan and Jurado have been close friends since high school, this is the first audio interview with the two of them together (there was a magazine interview a while back, for you completists out there). The craziest part is that this marked the first time they’d seen each other in almost two [...]

DOWNLOAD Aaron Draplin was onced described to me as the Mark Twain of graphic design, and I’m inclined to agree after both sitting across the table from him and witnessing his presentation, “Tall Tales From a Large Man.” He’s an inspirational character — with an emphasis on the word “character” — and his wisdom hit [...]

DOWNLOAD Nothing says Canadian dream pop like digressions into chicken kingpins and volcano farts. Such was my conversation with Evan and Denise of Memoryhouse. In addition to those enthralling topics, we also dug into identity, authorship, musical consumption and the state of mainstream pop. Plus Nickelback. Can’t forget to mention Nickelback, right?

DOWNLOAD I’m not sure what I can say on here, because I don’t know what phrases Weird Al owns the rights to. I mean, I already have to pay Al a few thousand bucks after infringing on so many of his copyrighted phrases during my conversation with Scott Aukerman. But I will say this — [...]

DOWNLOAD There are so many angles to my conversation with Nathan Salsburg that I’m not sure where to start. He’s an accomplished guitarist and works for the Association for Cultural Equity, which manages the Alan Lomax collection. We ended up waxing philosophical about sociology, aesthetics, neoplatonism and dumpster diving.

DOWNLOAD During Bill Cosby’s conversation with my colleague Erin Keane, the Cos relayed the story of how he initially decided that comedy — and more broadly, storytelling — was in his bones. He also gave some insight into his writing process and his distaste for rehearsing his material.

DOWNLOAD For a lot of folks my age, Paste Magazine was coming-of-age reading — doubly so for a kid growing up in a rural area with few music mag options. So breaking down the digital landscape with co-founder Josh Jackson was surreal. Also, I was really tempted to put a picture of Pacey Witter on [...]

DOWNLOAD I’ve been a fan of Luke Temple since he was “the man with the golden voice,” so being able to break down his metamorphosis from solo musician to band leader was intriguing. But once you add in discussion topics like semiotics, neurology, music journalism and Bulgarian choral arrangements — well, that’s when it gets [...]