Author: Matthew Ussia

Episode 85: The Rumproller

Kristofer Collins stops by our unfortunately named podcast to discuss his new book The River is Another Kind of Prayer. During the course of our conversation, we do a deep dive on his poetics, Kristofer reads to us several poems, and I make sure that by recording this episode, I’m not committing wire fraud.

While you could buy The River is Another Kind of Prayer from some big internet book consortium, wouldn’t you rather get it from City of Asylum or White Whale Bookstore?

This is only the second podcast I have recorded over the phone, and I did a lot of work on the sound quality. That said, there is a deliciously nostalgic landline analog hum throughout. Also, swearing.

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Episode 84: Site Work

Robert Walicki lives in two worlds. He is a poet and a plumber. His poetry bridges the gap between these two worlds, and we discuss his amazing new collection entitled Fountain in depth. Robert reads a number of his poems, including one about seeing The Cure in the 90’s.

We also discuss the value of art and culture in this era. I get on that interregnum thing again, and Bob reveals the worst car he has ever driven. Buy Fountain from Main Street Rag, buy Robert’s other collection Black Angels from the big book selling website, and follow Robert Walicki on Facebook.

As always, I swear, and I forgot to pay Bob the dollar I owe him.

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Episode 83: Tilted World & the Economy of Words

Bart Solarczyk is a Pittsburgh poet whose ability to capture a moment in time with very few words fills me with envy and admiration. His new book Tilted World is out on Low Ghost Press, and in this podcast Bart reads extensively from the book (Hey, they’re short poems!), and we talk poetics, de-industrialization, and the inherently surreal nature of Lunchables.

You can get all of Bart Solarczyk’s books (including Tilted World, Walt Whitman’s Watching, Right Direction, and Vicodin and the Christian Broadcasting Network) directly from him at a reading or hit him up via email at bsolarczyk[at]comcast[dot]net if you’re not local. However, the best thing to do is to hit him up at the Tilted World Book Launch Party on Saturday February 22, 2020, where you can also say goodbye to the Coffee Buddha.

As always, there’s light but pleasant swearing.

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Episode 82: Playing Alone, with Others

Erica Moulinier and Aaron Grey run the small post-punk label Play Alone Records. Play Alone‘s expanding roster of bands includes: Shadow Age, Silent Age, Silence, Empty Beings, Death Instinct, Wisteria, and Ky Voss. We talk about all these bands as well as the importance of stewardship, how to run an independent label in the age where recorded music has no monetary value, and how fun it would be to time travel back to the first show The Cure ever played.

You should check out The Official Play Alone Records Website to sample all these great bands and stay on top of upcoming releases.

And would you believe we almost forgot to swear?

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Episode 81: Appalachian Gothic

Bonnie and the Mere Mortals stop by to discuss the blending of goth and country. During the course of our conversation, I say “interregnum” a lot (again); we discuss what it means to play American music in a time of weirdo nationalism; I prod them about the ins and outs of collaborative song writing; we profess our love for Dan Bell videos; we share an admiration for West Virginia; and surprise surprise, the goth band decides it would rather live in eternal darkness.

You should check out Bonnie and the Mere Mortals excellent EP Tennessee on Bandcamp or one of those streaming services everyone seems to care about. Find out about upcoming shows through the Bonnie and the Mere Mortals Facebook Page, and if you want to book them they have an old fashioned web page.

I honestly don’t remember if anyone swears, but hey, the explicit tag feels comfy.

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Episode 80: The Hardest Working Man in Hardcore

Adam Thomas is in 6 bands. Yes, you read that correctly. You might be in a band with Adam Thomas right now and not even know it. In this episode, we talk about every damn one of them, from Concealed Blade to Empty Beings, S.L.I.P. to Chronic Abuse, from No Time to Heavy Discipline, and we even give a shout out to Blood Pressure, may that band rest in peace.

During our candid conversation, we discuss that very special moment when punk divides a young person’s life in two. Adam tells stories from his recent European tour with Chronic Abuse, we get into how much smarts it takes to sound as stupid as Concealed Blade, I might have accidentally ruined S.L.I.P., and we reminisce about life in Carrolltown, PA.

Every single band Adam is in is quite good, and has a unique sound. Check out the Heavy Discipline 7″, the Empty Beings Dead and Pathetic LP, S.L.I.P.’s Slippy when Wet LP, No Time’s great album You’ll Get Yours, Concealed Blade’s self-titled LP, Chronic Abuse’s transatlantic debut, and if you don’t have Blood Pressure’s Need to Control, you’re seriously wasting your time on Earth.

And of course, we swear.

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Episode 79: We Have 12 Years, Maybe Less

In this episode, we talk with Dusty Hanna and Damon Di Ciccio about the new Silence album The Countdown’s Begun and all the apocalyptic feelings that inspired it. This is one of our “close reading” episodes where we take an artistic work and examine it like we’re in a graduate seminar.

This is a long episode, but how often does a band get to do a 33 1/3 type examination of their own album? More importantly, if you’re listening to this podcast, The Countdown’s Begun probably captures a lot of what you’re thinking and feeling at this moment in history. You can and should buy The Countdown’s Begun through Profane Existence, or you can snag it on the Play Alone Records website. Downloads can be had at the Silence Bandcamp Page, and last but not least, folks in Pittsburgh can get the LP at Skull Records or Cruel Noise Records.

In the process of talking in depth about every song on the album, we listen to the song “Soundtrack to the Picture of the Same Name”, we speculate about how the world can go on, and of course I swear a lot.

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Episode 78: The Better Angels of Our Nature

Every time Jason Baldinger writes a new book, it’s his best book, and so for this new podcast we have a hard time, because Jason is here to talk about two new books: The Better Angels of our Nature and Everyone’s Alone Tonight, co-written with the great Kansas City poet James Benger.

In the course of our conversation Jason and I talk about our long state of national emergency, the importance of travel for poetics, why Jack Kerouac kinda sucks even though he’s important to us both, and American mythology. Jason’s new books The Better Angels of our Nature and Everyone’s Alone Tonight can be bought from a big (but not the biggest) internet book retailer, at independent books stores, or just find Jason on Facebook. He is also going to be going on a reading tour starting with the dual book launch party on October 2nd at The White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh at 7PM. Look him up on Facebook to find the other tour dates.

As always, I swear.

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Episode 77: Enter the Skullcast 11

For the last 11 years, mutants have been invading Pittsburgh at the end of August, and we’re talking to two of the people responsible, Dusty Hanna and Erica Moulinier. In this podcast, we look behind the scenes and into the inner workings of Skull Fest. Actually, most of the time we just sit around and geek out over bands we want to see at Skull Fest 11 on August 15th to the 18th in 2019. However, making Skull Fest is an educational experience. Dusty and Erica know all about the kind of guitar pedals legendary British Postpunk bands need to get their signature sound, and last year they learned all about the Cro-Mags’ dining habits. We also explain nicely but forcefully why you shouldn’t move to Pittsburgh if you haven’t already.

Come to Skull Fest! Dusty and Erica discuss this year’s lineup of bands in depth, and while weekend passes have been sold out, tickets to individual shows are available on the Skull Fest Website. Added bonus, if you go to Skull Fest you can see me wearing cargo shorts and maybe I’ll give you a bottled water out of the trunk of my car.

This is yet another podcast where I swear gratuitously as I explain to a guest they are allowed to swear.

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Episode 76: You’ve Known Me Your Entire Life

For this episode, we’re taking a different approach. Instead of an artist promoting a new creation, I sit down with Noah Gainer, someone I’ve known since he was 5, and we have an in-depth conversation about what it means now that he has joined me in adulthood.

In the process, we resist nostalgia. We talk about some very real things that happened to both of us as children, but also the horror of being in one’s early 20’s, and I bust out unlimited quantities of unsolicited old man advice.

As always, I swear. He does too.

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