The Vinyl Detroit Podcast

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Brian continued his discussion with Jennifer Baron of The Garment District about their 2023 stellar release Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World of HHBTM.Jennifer was one of the founding members of The Ladybug Transistor among a number of other projects spanning music, art, photography and so much more. Jennifer’s interests are wide and far reaching. Jennifer carries much of the instrumentation load on the album along with a number of musicians including her cousin Lucy Blehar, Gary Olson of The Ladybug Transistor, Shivika Asthana of Papas Fritas and many others.Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of The World was one of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast’s favorite albums of 2023 with its layered sound featuring a number of vintage and rare instrumentation. Lucy’s vocals are pure magic reminiscent of 60s era rock.Episode 31 Part 2 of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast featuring Jennifer Baron of The Garment District  is now streaming on all major platforms.Links: https://linktr.ee/vinyl_detroit

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Brian spoke with Jennifer Baron of The Garment District about their 2023 stellar release Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World on HHBTM.Jennifer was one of the founding members of The Ladybug Transistor among a number of other projects spanning music, art, photography and so much more. Jennifer’s interests are wide and far reaching. Jennifer carries much of the instrumentation load on the album along with a number of supporting musicians including her cousin Lucy Blehar, Gary Olson of The Ladybug Transistor, Shivika Asthana of Papas Fritas and many others.Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of The World was one of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast’s favorite albums of 2023 with its layered sound featuring a number of vintage and rare instruments. Lucy’s vocals are pure magic reminiscent of 60s era rock and the recording is simply sublime.Episode 30 Part 1 of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast featuring Jennifer Baron of The Garment District  is now streaming on all major platforms.Links: https://linktr.ee/vinyl_detroit

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Brian spoke with Sarah, Brian and Kelly of Velocity Girl in one of the finest episodes of this podcast.Amid a flurry of activity by the band, Velocity Girl took time to speak about the band’s early years, writing and recording and the current resurgence of 90s independent music.Kelly, Brian and Sarah share their experiences going from the fledgeling early years on Slumberland Records to their very smart jump to the iconic Sub Pop. There was no indie band bigger and more important than Velocity Girl. Emerging from the late 80s DC scene, Velocity Girl achieved greatness which included a number of singles, 3 LPs and a track on the platinum Clueless soundtrack.Finding influences as diverse as shoegaze, Creation Records, Sarah Records and Flying Nun, the band was eventually signed to iconic Sub Pop at a time when grunge was at the forefront. Brian, Kelly and Sarah shared their recording and production experiences including their stay at Steve Albini’s house during the mixing of Copacetic! They even recalled a funny story about Fugazi’s carrots…The band shared some very exciting news of upcoming Velocity Girl releases and shows including a sold-out performance at the Bowery Ballroom in New York. Episode 29 featuring Velocity Girl was a special conversation with the band discussing the career and recordings of one of the most important indie bands of the 90s.

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Brian spoke with Mel, one of the founding members and only lineup constant in the wonderful Hermit Crabs.With the recent vinyl reissue of their pop masterpiece, Saw You Dancing, Mel was gracious enough to sit down in December 2022 and speak extensively about the album. Saw You Dancing was originally released in 2007 on Matinée Recordings as a digital-only release. The fine folks at Daydream Records felt it needed a proper vinyl release, which dropped in August 2023.The Hermit Crabs were deeply rooted in the Scottish pop scene; joining the likes of fellow Scots Teenage Fanclub, Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian and others. Being from Scotland usually garners the usual comparisons to those that came before. The Hermit Crabs, however, forged their own sound by writing and recording timeless pop songs. Some of which so delicate and beautiful one would fear a stiff breeze cloud blow them away; destroying their beauty.During this discussion, Mel shared many fine details about the recording of Saw You Dancing, how she connected with the folks from Daydream Records to even quoting Neil Young!Fans of The Hermit Crabs as well as fine-crafted indie pop alike will find this episode wonderful. The Vinyl Detroit Podcast is proud to present Episode 28 featuring Brian’s conversation with Mel from The Hermit Crabs discussing the band’s excellent 2008 album, Saw You Dancing.

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Brian spoke with Craig Badynee of PAS/CAL about his band’s brilliant 2008 release “I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura” on Le Grand Magistery.Because of Craig’s vast musical contributions to, in his words, the American canon of music, and being mentioned many times on this podcast, it was important to speak to him. What started out as a plan to speak about Craig’s debut Pas/Cal album, much of this and Part 2 focus on Craig’s family, upbringing in a blue-collar area of Detroit and his vast early influences.His family did not have much growing up…besides each other. The youngest of 6 siblings, Craig found great inspiration from his older brother, Chris, who is 18 years older than he. Most importantly, his father, a fireman, placed his imprint on Craig at an early age through his love of big band music. At the same time, Craig attended Detroit Catholic Central with many of its attendees coming from well-to-do families, where he found intellectuals and “guys wearing tweed jackets” as an aspirational influence on his work.We get to hear Craig speak at length about other influences in his life including his time at Wayne State University where he took a class on romantic poetry to help him with his lyrics! Approaching everything with a sense of humor, Craig’s discussion with Brian is very conversational and relaxed.Craig shares his love and respect for Le Grand Magistery founder and dear friend Matthew Jacobson, who has been a fervent supporter of Craig and his music. Craig discusses Matthew’s iconic art direction for the album as well as the visuals for the earlier PAS/CAL releases.For those fans of Craig’s work in Saint-Januarius’ Blood, Ashia Vida, PAS/CAL or any other of Craig’s recording projects will find these episodes fascinating. At the same time, if you haven’t heard Craig’s music yet are a fan of the Detroit music scene, you’ll find this and Part 2 real treats.

In Part 2 of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast with Craig Badynee, Brian continues his deep discussion with Craig of PAS/CAL about his band’s brilliant 2008 release “I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura” on Le Grand Magistery.Part 2 of Brian’s conversation with Craig starts out talking about his dear friend Christopher "Chip" Porter or Veronica Lake, Audrey’s Diary and much more. In episode 12 of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, Chip referred to Craig as an “arranger” and for those familiar with his work with PAS/CAL, you’d agree. Craig’s notorious numerous melodic changes all within a single track is unlike anything anyone else has achieved.Craig opens up about his brother Chris’ musical education where he told Craig to “figure it out yourself”! Possibly the reason for Craig’s endless experimentation and quest to satisfy himself through his music and his ultimate satisfaction with its result. Craig credits his father with imparting on Craig that music should be a series of interesting ideas and should contain a beginning, middle and end.Craig also speaks about his contributions to the now-iconic Third Man Records series Southeast of Saturn where Craig’s work shows up on multiple tracks. Craig also lovingly recalls being an integral part of the burgeoning space-rock scene of the day with legendary Detroit indie scene mecca Zoot’s once again getting a mention. This was Detroit’s Summer of Love.Craig also shares a fascinating story of how he first met Dave Buick of Italy Records and Third Man Records fame as well as legendary Detroit musician Jack White of The White Stripes.Treasuring his work supporting his daughter’s musical journey represents a testament to a proud father who learned much from his own musical trip. This wonderful in-depth discussion with Craig Badynee was a real treat and important to the arch of this podcast.

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, I sat down with David Gedge, principle songwriter and one of the founding members of The Wedding Present.David and The Wedding Present have been writing and recording music for 5 decades contributing many albums, EPs and live recordings to their catalog. Having written and recorded over 300 songs, David’s immense output is nothing short of legendary. What’s more, the quality of The Weddoes, as their fans call them, is nothing short of excellent.During this extended conversation with David, we explore topics ranging from working with Steve Albini to the importance of the band’s inclusion on the C86 cassette. David also shared details about his adoration of DJ John Peel, his Cinerama project and it’s influence on the current Wedding Present sound. Becuase of the band’s longevity and epic output, I asked David what a good entry point would be for new listeners. His answer may surprise you.2023 sees the release of the band’s newest record “24 Songs” out now on Happy Happy Birthday to Me in the US and on Clue Records oversees. This compilation is the culmination of his 2022 project to release 12 singles containing double A-sides, similar to the band’s ambitious 1992 compilation The Hit Parade.Sit back, relax and listen to my in-depth conversation with David Gedge of The Wedding Present.

In this episode of the The Vinyl Detroit Podcast, I had the opportunity to speak to Cece of Cosial regarding her excellent debut EP, Sports.Cece was a wonderful guest. At the age of only 19, Cece crafts some of the most beautiful lyrics I’ve every heard as a way to express feelings of being second best. This theme is intricately woven through the contents of each track, all presented with vivid imagery. Surprisingly back by the equally talented trio Mt. Misery, Cosial is something of a supergroup; or at least I like to think so.Currently available only on streaming, Sports features 5 tracks of equally dazzling, yet different themes. Cece is far beyond her years in terms of song structure, composition and ultimately, performance. This raw talent is only starting to scratch the surface of her budding talents.I hope you enjoy episode 24 of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast featuring my discussion with Cece of Cosial.

This episode of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast features Part 1 of my extensive 2-part conversation with Kerry Alexander, who along with her husband Chris Hoge make up the wonderful Bad Bad Hats. The bad’s debut EP, It Hurts, is celebrating 10 years since its release in 2013 with a newly remastered edition available for the first time on vinyl.It Hurts finds Kerry and the band in their earliest form and contains songs written during Kerry’s study abroad (with Chris, her husband writing separately). It Hurts was recorded in Kerry and Chris’ apartment bedroom literally at the end of a bed. Present are sparse yet powerful arrangements across the five tracks.For this special reissue, Kerry and Chris set out to celebrate the 10th anniversary of It Hurts with a full remaster of the EP, which is excellent. Also included on this expanded edition are fascinating demo sketches that are anything but “throw-in” tracks. Instead, they portray the band in their very raw, early days.Kerry’s background growing up includes moves from Minnesota to Alabama and finally Florida before returning to Minnesota to attend university. It is evident throughout my chat with Kerry that she possesses a keen intellect as evidenced by her representing her high school as valedictorian of her graduating class.Having seen Bad Bad Hat perform live on multiple occasions, Kerry’s banter with the audience between songs is legendary. You’ll see why in these episodes as she displays her whip-smart smart responses about the origins of the band, their current living room tour and the missing but then located master recordings of It Hurts. The conversation was so good that it is being presented in a special 2-part series.I hope you enjoy my 2-part conversation with Kerry of Bad Bad Hats where we talked at-length about their band’s 2013 debut EP It Hurts.

This episode of The Vinyl Detroit Podcast features Part 2 of my extensive 2-part conversation with Kerry Alexander, who along with her husband Chris Hoge make up the wonderful Bad Bad Hats. The bad’s debut EP, It Hurts, is celebrating 10 years since its release in 2013 with a newly remastered edition available for the first time on vinyl.It Hurts finds Kerry and the band in their earliest form and contains songs written during Kerry’s study abroad (with Chris, her husband writing separately). It Hurts was recorded in Kerry and Chris’ apartment bedroom literally at the end of a bed. Present are sparse yet powerful arrangements across the five tracks.For this special reissue, Kerry and Chris set out to celebrate the 10th anniversary of It Hurts with a full remaster of the EP, which is excellent. Also included on this expanded edition are fascinating demo sketches that are anything but “throw-in” tracks. Instead, they portray the band in their very raw, early days.Kerry’s background growing up includes moves from Minnesota to Alabama and finally Florida before returning to Minnesota to attend university. It is evident throughout my chat with Kerry that she possesses a keen intellect as evidenced by her representing her high school as valedictorian of her graduating class.Having seen Bad Bad Hat perform live on multiple occasions, Kerry’s banter with the audience between songs is legendary. You’ll see why in these episodes as she displays her whip-smart smart responses about the origins of the band, their current living room tour and the missing but then located master recordings of It Hurts. The conversation was so good that it is being presented in a special 2-part series.I hope you enjoy my 2-part conversation with Kerry of Bad Bad Hats where we talked at-length about their band’s 2013 debut EP It Hurts.