The Darkness' Justin Hawkins on guitar solos, still hitting the high notes, 'Dreams on Toast,' more

This week we're talking to James Smith of UK band Yard Act who just released their third album, You're Gonna Need A Little Music. We talk about how it differs from their first two and it's creation which began in Leeds and ended in Los Angeles. Other topics of conversation: Leeds' indie and alternative music history and still fertile music scene, and why the band have resisted moving to London. Plus: James tells us how he recently got into painting, whose the best cook in Yard Act and lots more.  Yard Act tour dates are here -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein photo: Mackai Sharp

This week we're talking Taja Cheek, who you may know as L'Rain. We discuss the fourth L'Rain album, Fata Morgana, which she says is the final part in a quadrilogy that began with her self-titled 2017 debut. We also discussed her already busy summer of shows, including sharing the stage with Tortoise in NYC and an appearance at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, plus the double-edged sword of the "experimental musician" tag, how L'Rain songs are brought to life on record, upcoming touring plans and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein photo: Mackai Sharp  

This week we're talking to the one and only Tricky. Having come up in the '80s as part of Bristol, England's Wild Bunch Soundsystem, Tricky was a member of Massive Attack before going solo in 1995 with his iconic debut Maxinequaye. Thirty-one years later he's just released Different When It's Silent, the first proper Tricky album in six years which is also one of his best.   We talked with Tricky about how the album came to be, how his new manager Alan McGee played into that, how he considers this to be his first "indie" album, the new collaborators on this one including singer-songwriter Mitch Sanders and Bristol rapper Run Red Rambo, and his upcoming North American tour. Plus: how he feels about the term "trip hop" in 2026, why he doesn't act anymore, the influence of The Specials on his music and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein photo: Steve Gullick

This week we're talking to Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge of shoegaze OGs Swervedriver. They start their BrooklynVegan-presented tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of their debut album Raise on August 18th in Cambridge, Massachusetts.    Adam and Jimmy talk about how the band came up through the Oxford scene that also gave us Radiohead and Ride, how they ended up on legendary British indie label Creation Records, and recording their debut album. We also discuss touring with Soundgarden in the US in the '90s, touring with Failure in the 2010s, the current shoegaze revival and lots more. All Swervedriver tour dates are here. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein photo: Steve Gullick

This week we're talking to Panda Bear and Sonic Boom whose second collaborative album, A Question of When, is out this week via Domino. We discussed how this album differed from their first, 2022's RESET, and some of the interesting sounds on this one, including steel drum, yodeling, loops of Mary Lattimore playing harp, and a police siren that had unintended consequences.   We also talked about their decision to not release A Question of When on streaming services and how that ties into the album's themes of action in the face of adversity, how Brian Wilson has influenced both of them, five albums they think everyone should hear, and more.   -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we've got an interview with Destroyer's Dan Bejar that is making its podcast debut but was recorded in 2025 right before the release of album Dan's Boogie. It also happened just after we'd seen a unique trio lineup of Destroyer open for Father John Misty at New York's Beacon Theatre.   We discussed what it was like on tour with Father John Misty where there were more days off than he was used to on the road, recording Dan's Boogie with longtime collaborator John Collins, the record's unique sound, the influence of cinema on the album and its cover art, "Bologna Vs Baloney," and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein Darkness photo by Simon Emmett

This week we've got an interview with The Darkness' Justin Hawkins that is just now making its podcast debut, but was actually recorded in early 2025 as The Darkness were getting ready to release their eighth album, Dreams on Toast. We discussed guitar solos, how he can still hit all those notes two decades on, his Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube channel, and more.   -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein Darkness photo by Simon Emmett

This week we're talking to comedian, actor, writer, and series creator Jon Glaser who you may know from Parks & Recreation ("Jeremy Jam"), Girls ("Laird"), as a writer and performer on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and his own shows like Delocated and Jon Glaser Loves Gear. His new comedy special "Jon Glaser Live at The Bell House" will stream live on VEEPS on July 18.    We talked about what to expect from his comedy special before diving back into his long career which included Second City in Chicago, working on the infamous and influential The Dana Carvey Show and Conan in the '90s, Delocated, Jon Glaser Loves Gear, his album Jon Glaser's Soothing Meditations for Solitary Dogs, his new Substack, sports, sandwiches, drums, and more. We also discuss how he got to open for Slipknot and Belle & Sebastian -- not the same show -- in the 2000s.   You can order the Jon Glaser: Live at the Bell House VEEPS livestream HERE.   If you live in the NYC area you can get ticket see Jon Glaser Live At The Bell House HERE.

This week we're talking Kelley Stoltz, who has been making amazing DIY pop out of San Francisco for over 25 years for such labels as Sub Pop, Third Man and John Dwyer's Castle Face. His latest is If You Don't Know Me, Buy Now! and is his first of possibly three albums out this year. In addition to his own music, Kelley also spent time as an auxiliary member of Echo & The Bunnymen and Robyn Hitchcock's band, and also produces other artists' albums (Sonny and The Sunsets, Thee Oh Sees).   We talked about how his new album works could work as an entry point for the uninitiated, and how he thinks he's only truly found his own sound in the last decade. We also talked about his time living in New York City in the '90s where one of his jobs was sorting Jeff Buckley's fan mail, his path to home recording, the unique sounds of the Ebow, how he went from being a Echo & The Bunnymen superfan -- who had his own tribute band that include Pavement's Spiral Stairs -- to being an actual member of the Bunnymen, and how he ended up playing in Robyn Hitchcock's band. Plus: five records he thinks everyone should own and lots more. 

This week we're talking to Doublespeak, a synthpop supergroup featuring Vince Clarke of Erasure, Yazoo and Depeche Mode, Neil Arthur of Blancmange, and producer and synthesizer expert Benge. They've just released their self-titled debut album which features electropop covers of songs by The Carpenters, The Magnetic Fields, David Essex, Young Marble Giants, ABBA, and more.   We talked separately with Vince Clarke first, and then Neil and Benge together and we all talked about how the project came to be, how they picked which songs to cover and which were the most difficult to do. We also discussed the projects future, including writing and recording a few Doublespeak originals, plus updates on new albums from Erasure, Blancmange, and Benge's band Wrangler, plus a little food talk, five records they think everyone should own, and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein