Shows
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 143: Dan Searle, ArchitectsI published the video that accompanies this episode of the podcast, wherein I speak to Dan Searle, drummer, and co-founder, in British metalcore titans Architects, on the Spoook YouTube feed, earlier this week. It had an excellent response, and, if you allow me a moment of tooting my own trumpet, not without reason, I don’t think. It’s rare in 2023, to hear a musician – especially one as significant as Dan – to speak so frankly about… well, anything really. Not that what Dan is saying is especially controversial, but the ever present threat of cancellation, for the most innoc...
2023-03-291h 12
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 71: Art Alexakis, EverclearEagle-eyed fans of this podcast will have noticed that I published an episode that saw me in conversation with Soul Asylum the other day. Well, with fellow 90s alt.heroes Everclear touring in the UK next month, alongside that band, what now follows is a conversation with the latter group's singer, guitarist and sole constant, Art Alexakis. This is an excellent episode, largely due to Art being just that little bit older than most acts from his heyday. There's a bit more wisdom there - hard earned after having a life front-ended by drug addiction - and...
2022-10-2931 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 70: Ariel PinkBefore January 6th, 2021, and the Capitol attack, insurrection, riots, or whatever you want to call it, Ariel Pink was a critically adored indie rock musician, who, in my humble opinion, made some of the most interesting records of the modern era. Afterwards? Not so much. He wasn’t actually part of the riots, but that doesn’t matter in a world where truth is at a premium, and in the year and then some that has followed, he’s lost his record label, his fanbase, and to all extents and purposes his career. I don’t share the same...
2022-10-271h 18
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 69: Will Hodgkinson on singalong pop in 70s BritainSlightly different episode for you today pop fans. Will Hodgkinson, if you’re not already aware, is the Chief rock and pop critic for The Times newspaper. He’s written about music for The Guardian, Mojo and Vogue, and he has been, for as long as I’ve known, one of the smartest voices on rock ‘n’ roll around. And he’s just written a new book, called In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop In 70s Britain – out now on the ever awesome Nine Eight books - which is a serious look at a subset of hugely popular music, that has never real...
2022-10-2233 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 68: Dave Pirner, Soul AsylumHave you joined the Substack yet? This episode is a conversation with Dave Pirner, from Soul Asylum, about hanging out with Bill Clinton, the Minneapolis music scene and punk beginnings, mental illness, the tragic death of bassist and founding member Karl Mueller, unlikely collaborations with histrionic Dutch metallers Within Temptation, and, how the video for the band’s breakthrough hit, 1993’s 'Runaway Train', helped reunite missing kids with frantic parents. There's probably more in there too. It was a thrill doing this one. I really, really loved this band growing up. Soul Asylum hit the uk ne...
2022-10-2036 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 67: Graham Coxon, BlurI cannot even begin tell you just how obsessed I was with the pop band Blur when I was a teenager. And so it was extremely exciting to get the opportunity to speak to that band’s guitarist, Graham Coxon – who was always my favourite – for this edition of the podcast (and for a bigger newspaper article coming soon). I’ve interviewed Graham before, years ago, in my NME days, in a coffee shop in Camden. I remember the coffee machine being loud and not being able to hear what he was saying. It was quite farcical really...
2022-10-1623 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! James McMahon on OCD on BBC Radio 6 MusicHello! So, you might have noticed that I talk about OCD quite a lot on the show. It’s a condition that I’ve lived with all my adult life, and sadly, it’s been as pertinent to my career as a music journalist as music has been. In fact, it’s something I’m writing a lot about right now, so stay tuned for that - though you should really join my Substack!But it occurs to me that some of you might not know exactly what OCD – or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – is. It is, after all, one of th...
2022-10-0812 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! Spencer Charnas, Ice Nine KillsHave you joined the Spoookstak?It’s October. It’s spooky season. It is, as they say, the most wonderful time of the year. And so, what better time to repopulate this interview I did a few years back, for my old Spoook podcast, with Spencer Charnas from Ice Nine Kills!If you don’t know the Boston band, they fuse horror and hard rock and are one of the most fun live experiences to be found within that genre today. As Spencer drives to rehearsals, we talk formative forays into the horror genre, the group...
2022-10-0821 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! Jeff WayneI thought I’d repopulate this interview I did with Jeff Wayne for the old Spoook podcast that I used to do way back when. Conducted during the misery of lockdown, the audio isn’t great – I really didn’t know what I was doing when it came to making podcasts back then – and yet it really is one of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had with a musician ever. I’ve been a fan of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds as long as I remember. I’ve bought the record again and a...
2022-10-0531 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 66: The SheepdogsFor almost twenty years now, The Sheepdogs, from Saskatchewan, Canada, have made some of the best classic, seventies fried rock ‘n' roll known to man, woman or beast – and their new album, their seventh, released in June and entitled Outta Sight, is as good a collection of songs as they’ve released to date. This is another interview I conducted a few months back, when the weather was ridiculous – though I did remember to keep the windows to Spoook Towers closed this time. Who better to discuss the shifting shape of the rock music industry with than singer a...
2022-10-0433 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 65: Geoff Rickly, No DevotionDo you think a rock band can be cursed? Sounds unfeasible to the rational mind, but how else do you explain No Devotion, the group containing ex-members of Lostprophets and sometime Thursday singer Geoff Rickly?Their band was literally born from unspeakable horror, their singer has navigated drug addiction and an extraordinary union with the notorious pharma bro Martin Shkreli – and I’d like to direct you to episode 11 of Shame – also on this feed a few episodes back - if you’re interested in more to do with that madness. And there’s been muggings and broken leg...
2022-10-0345 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 64: Winston McCall, Parkway DriveParkway Drive played London last night. I couldn’t make it, but I did manage to grab frontman Winston McCall for a pre-soundcheck chat about the worrying statement that led to his group's cancelation of their north American tour earlier this year. “The relentless nature of being in this band has given us very little time to reflect on who we are as individuals, who we want to be and the toll it is taking on ourselves and our friendships,” they wrote. And then, three months later, came album seven, Darker Still. What’s going on there...
2022-10-0124 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 63: Badly Drawn BoyJoin the Spoookstak! So, you know that Embrace interview I uploaded the other day? The one I’d done a month or so back, in the stifling heat of a vicious, ice cap melting UK summer? The one I’d left the window at Spoook Towers open during – not something I normally do, but I was genuinely fearful that I would melt and become more puddle than man if I didn’t. Well, this episode – with Badly Drawn Boy, aka Damon Gough - should come with the same proviso. It’s not the best audio. It is, howeve...
2022-09-2135 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThe Journalist and the Pharma Bro - a conversation with Christie SmytheThis episode originally aired on May 30th, 2022. ***Oh hello! James McMahon here. It's been a time! I’m currently working on season 2 of Shame, a podcast about... shame, but I thought I’d share one episode of it early, mainly because the person I’m speaking to today - the journalist Christie Smythe - is writing a book, Smirk, about her relationship with the notorious ‘pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli.You know Martin Shkreli. Hedge fund dude. Bit of a troll. Actually, and I say this as a Wu-Tang Clan fan, a lot of a troll. M...
2022-09-2153 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastAn interview with Jon Ronson - he literally wrote the book on shame...This episode originally aired on January 26th, 2022. Watch this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaUIeKjfOW4&t=1773s***And so to the Season 1 finale of Shame! When I started this podcast, I did it for three reasons. One, because I have my own experience with shame, and, at various points in my life, I’ve been gripped by it. This podcast was me working that out, episode to episode – and it’s helped. Meeting other people who’ve had the experience of being shamed, or who carry shame about from som...
2022-09-2146 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastHow shame changes us - with journalist Katherine BrodskyThis episode originally aired on January 17th, 2022. ***Well, it’s been a time, has it not. Yeah, it’s been ages since a new episode of Shame… a podcast about shame. But now it’s 2022 and now it’s time for a rush of episodes to wrap up Season One of this episodic exploration of the emotion… shame.We kick this run off with a conversation with the journalist Katherine Brodsky, who not only has her own story to tell about the psychological terror of her own public shaming, but on what our societies th...
2022-09-2148 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThe brilliance (and cruelty) of gossip, with journalist Rachel ConnollyThis episode originally aired on November 10th, 2021. ***I’ve had people gossip about me. And I’m no saint, I’ve probably gossiped about other people too. Sometimes when I’m bored I’ll Google ‘professional wrestling gossip’ – I can’t believe I’m telling you that – so I’m as bound to the rewards of tittletattle and scuttlebutt as much as anyone. We all gossip. But what’s the appeal? And what’s it got to do with Shame?I stumbled upon an article by the journalist Rachel Connolly the other day. It was called ‘Th...
2022-09-211h 04
The James McMahon Music PodcastLife after Italy. Life after shame. The Amanda Knox interviewThis episode originally aired on November 2nd, 2021. ***Fourteen years ago – yesterday in fact, on November 1st, 2007 – British exchange student Meredith Kercher was murdered in Perugia, Italy. She was just 21 years old. The truth about what happened that night isn’t hard to source, despite the hash of misinformation, prejudice and sloppy policework that began being assembled the very moment police were called to the murder scene. What happened to Meredith Kercher is a tragedy. To her loved ones she will be forever missed. But this isn’t a podcast about Meredith. This isn’t a true crime...
2022-09-2155 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastHow to survive the internet mob - with author and journalist Kat RosenfieldThis episode originally aired on October 25th, 2021. ***On episode eight of Shame, I'm talking to the American author and journalist Kat Rosenfield about exactly why people shame – and what we can do about it. Kat’s got first hand experience of this – I invite you to listen to her interview on Episode 85 of Blocked & Reported, one of my very favourite podcasts – where she breaks down a disturbing incident that threatened to derail her career. As a journalist she’s explored themes of shame, polarisation and digital outrage further – her most recent piece for the Unherd p...
2022-09-2139 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastDon't do that. Do this. The rise of The New Puritans, with journalist Rachel CunliffeThis episode originally aired on October 5th, 2021. ***On episode seven of Shame, I’m speaking to my fellow journalist Rachel Cunliffe, who serves as the Deputy Online Editor of the enduringly fascinating New Statesman. Rachel wrote an article a few weeks back under the headline, ‘Why New Age puritans are the enemies of progress’. Hmmm. I’m into that. This was the standfirst; ‘From sex to Covid to climate change, some people just really like telling others what to do.’ Sounds like someone I should speak to for this podcast, right? Way ahead of you chief...
2022-09-2142 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEscaping God... and shame... with music journalist Jeremy AllenThis episode originally aired on September 30th, 2021. ***I guess it was only a matter of time before this podcast got to the subject of religion - and I’m sure it’ll revisit the subject further down the line - but I thought it might be nice to have a conversation with my fellow music journalist Jeremy Allen.Jeremy was a teenage evangelical preacher – all fire and brimstone and all that righteous, and perhaps, deluded stuff. And he’s an alcoholic. And he’s been in a psychiatric hospital. Big brain, probably even bigger hea...
2022-09-2146 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEverything you ever wanted to know about cancel culture - but were too sure of your moral superiority to askThis episode originally aired on September 3rd, 2021. ***On episode five of Shame, I’m talking to noted US TV producers Rob Rosen and Desma Simon, the creators of a podcast I’ve been gripped by these last few months. It’s called Cancelled and I think it, and the podcast you’re here to listen to, share a great deal in common. The reality of being cancelled is shame at the deep end. In my mind, it’s weaponsized shame, and while the more socially progressive among us might perform all sorts of mental gym...
2022-09-2152 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThey tried to shame Gail Porter. Gail Porter fought backThis episode originally aired on August 17th, 2021. ***On episode four of Shame, host James McMahon has a conversation with the British broadcaster Gail Porter. He's been watching Gail on the television since he was a teenager. He may even have had a poster of her on his wall during those formative years! And this conversation duly hangs around an incident that took place during the final months of the 20th century, when the now defunct - but once hugely popular - men's magazine FHM beamed Gail's naked rear, without her knowledge or consent, onto the w...
2022-09-2144 min
The James McMahon Music Podcast'Maura isn't here to defend herself from being shamed - that's my job now' - a conversation with Julie MurrayThis episode originally aired on August 13th, 2021. ***If you have any interest in the true crime genre, you will know the name Maura Murray. She's the internet's favourite missing person, and you probably think you have an idea of who she is - certainly who she was. These are the facts; Maura was an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9th, 2004, after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill, USA. Her whereabouts remain unknown. She was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior...
2022-09-2142 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThey tried to shame Gail Porter. Gail Porter fought backThis episode originally aired on August 17th, 2001. ***On episode four of Shame, host James McMahon has a conversation with the British broadcaster Gail Porter. He's been watching Gail on the television since he was a teenager. He may even have had a poster of her on his wall during those formative years! And this conversation duly hangs around an incident that took place during the final months of the 20th century, when the now defunct - but once hugely popular - men's magazine FHM beamed Gail's naked rear, without her knowledge or consent, onto the...
2022-09-2144 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastMeet the man who curates Twitter's shame - a conversation with Rob Manuel, creator of @FessholeThis episode originally aired on August 7th, 2021.***This week, James McMahon is in conversation with Rob Manuel, who created and curates Twitter's dumping ground for shame, @Fesshole. Rob knows a lot about the internet. A fair bit about people too. The internet and the way we use it will be a recurring theme in this podcast series - and where better to begin that story within a story than by speaking to a man who sees shame at its most unpolished and anonymous?Shame is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a...
2022-09-2144 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastComing to The James McMahon Music Podcast... 'Shame'Something different to usual on this feed. I thought I’d let you know that I’m going to be posting series one of one of my other podcasts, Shame, within The James McMahon Music Podcast hub. There’s eleven episodes in said series, and they take in interviews with author and broadcaster Jon Ronson, podcaster and exoneree Amanda Knox, journalist Rachel Cunliffe of The New Statesman and author Kat Rosenfield. There's also TV presenter Gail Porter, as well as lots of others, and the podcast – which originally aired on its own feed last year – concerns the negative...
2022-09-2101 min
The James McMahon Music Podcast'I was a victim of revenge porn — I won't live in shame'This episode originally aired on August 2nd, 2001.***Hello and welcome to episode one of Shame, a podcast about the wretched emotion that is… shame. I'm your host, James McMahon. I'm a journalist from London, via Yorkshire.This is a podcast about shame, yes, but it’s also a podcast about healing and learnings and psychology and grit. We’re kicking this series off with an interview with Megan J Renee, a twenty-three-year-old woman from Limerick, Ireland, who at the age of 19 became the victim of revenge porn. Her story is inspiring – I don’t think it...
2022-09-2132 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastWe need to talk (rationally) about incels. We need to talk about shameThis episode originally aired on August 19th, 2021. ***On this bonus episode of Shame, James McMahon speaks to investigative journalist Naama Kates about the tragic events that took place in Plymouth, England, last week [12/08/21]. And about how understanding shame can perhaps help us better understand the Incel subculture that's so misrepresented within our culture - and help us avoid further tragedies. Since 2019. Naama has created and helmed the excellent Incel podcast on the Crawlspace Network. What she has to say is extremely interesting, and dare I say important.Shame is a Spoook Media production. Sp...
2022-09-2119 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 62: Danny McNamara, EmbraceYeah, it's been a while hasn't it. Have you signed up to the Spoook Substack yet though? You haven't? Oh, go do that now. Wonderful things are happening.So here's the deal. I listened to Danny being interviewed by my friend Katy on her excellent podcast, Sound Effects. She’s interviewed me for it before, too. You should check that out, really. But her interview with Danny McNamara of British indie legends Embrace - a band I've always greatly enjoyed - is really quite extraordinary, and the singer talks in depth about his history with Obsessive Compulsive Disor...
2022-09-1544 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 61: Ricky Ross, Deacon BlueSeven million record sales, twelve UK top 40 singles, two number one albums; the music of Deacon Blue - and that group’s singer Ricky Ross - defined much of my childhood.And so it’s a total thrill to speak to the Dundee born songwriter on this episode. Ricky has a new solo album, Short Stories, Vol. 2, out now on Cooking Vinyl, a tour coming late September, and his first memoir, Walking Back Home: Deacon Blue and Me, published by Headline, out now too. And it's the latter which we principally talk about today. I’m writing a book...
2022-08-0529 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 60: Josh Raven, The FaimIf you're a fan of pop rock, you've come to the right place; on this episode I’m speaking to The Faim - specifically singer Josh Raven - and the two of us discuss the Australian band’s recently released second album, the ferociously catchy Talk Talk.Let me tell you something about interviewing bands. Sometimes it’s easy. You speak to a musician and the truth pours out of their mouths. Sometimes it’s much harder. It’s like digging for diamonds. You have to get right in there and wiggle the shiny bits in the soil until...
2022-07-2724 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 59: Kathryn WilliamsBeen a long time coming this episode. I’ve meant to speak to Kathryn Williams – whose music I’ve loved since I was a bruised hearted teenager in the North East of England, a region that neither of us were born in, but came to call home – for ages now. Life happened. But with Kath's excellent new, 14th studio album, Night Drives out and about, I thought I needed to make it happen... and fast! Kath is on a writing retreat, so I was grateful to her for making the time to speak to me. She’s al...
2022-07-2431 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 58: Jeremy Popoff, LitIf you found yourself cutting a rug on a rock club dancefloor in the late '90s – and, ahem, I’m just speaking hypothetically, obviously – then it’s highly likely that you were doing that, at least sometimes, to Orange County rockers Lit, specifically their 1999 mega smash 'My Own Worst Enemy'. Even now, I am obsessed with that song, and I’m not alone – last year the band even released their own podcast, charting the cultural impact of a song I truly believe is one of the genuinely perfect pure pop singles released within my lifetime.Now the band are...
2022-07-1828 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 57: Brad Roberts, Crash Test DummiesCrash Test Dummies 1993 release, God Shuffled His Feet – their second album – was one of my favourite albums when I was a teenager, it’s arrival into the world syncing perfectly with my blossoming love of music and it’s collection of ambitious, and dare I say, wonderous, alternative rock, enduring for many years beyond that. The Winnipeg group are now back as an active concern, and touring the globe to celebrate the 30th anniversary of said breakthrough release – and with a new album, their first since 2010, being worked on as we speak. What follows is a conversation I had last week w...
2022-07-1528 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 56: James Shaw, MetricIf you haven’t yet checked it out, I urge you to listen to Metric’s new album – their 8th – at the first available opportunity. It’s called Formentera. It came out last week, just before I did this interview, and from its first song onwards – the sprawling, and dare I say magnificent, multipart symphony that is 'Doomscroller' - it’s one of the best collections of progressive indie pop songs I’ve heard so far this year. It is remarkable.No really. It is a remarkable album. Why are you here still? Go check it out.But if...
2022-07-1226 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 55: Darren HayesOkay, here’s what you need to know about this episode. 1) I think it’s one of the best episodes of The James McMahon Music Podcast to date. 2) Savage Garden were a band I loved to bits as a young teenager, so it was a total thrill to have this conversation. 3) Darren’s new single, ‘Poison Blood’ is not only my favourite single released so far this year, but one of the best songs about mental illness I’ve maybe ever heard. 4) I’ve heard big bits of his new solo album, and it’s beautiful. 5) Darren is a Star Wars n...
2022-07-0834 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 54: Buddy Nielsen, Senses FailFormed in 2001, and hung around the New Jersey group’s only constant, vocalist James ‘Buddy’ Nielsen, Senses Fail are one of the most interesting bands in post-hardcore today.Now eight albums in, their newest, Hell Is in Your Head, which is released on July 15th, is an excellent collection of songs that deal with the singer's existential fear of death – which is a subject that I have some experience of. As I talk about on this podcast often, I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and the origins of my illness concerned a near debilitating terror whenever thoughts of demise o...
2022-07-0626 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 53: Martin Courtney, Real EstateEver since the band released their self-titled debut back in 2009, Real Estate – led by my guest on this episode, Martin Courtney – have been one of my favourite bands. Real Estate released their last record - the excellent The Main Thing - back in 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the western world. And yet out the subsequent madness/sadness came the New Jersey born songwriter’s second album, the woozy, dreamy, indie rock swell of Magic Sign, which again sees Martin retreat to the fragile innocence of his teenage years, framing those experiences as a road map for an...
2022-07-0232 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 52: StepsOn this episode I’m talking to a group that have been doing what they do – famously, in the words of former manager Pete Waterman, ‘ABBA on speed’ – for the entirety of the time that I’ve been an adult. In fact, I’d like to dedicate this episode to my old friend Stacey Smith for teaching me the dance moves to '5,6,7,8' in the sixth form common room of Armthorpe Comprehensive, many moons ago...I am of course talking about the British pop sensation Steps, and what follows is a conversation I had last week with Lee-Latch...
2022-06-1828 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 51: MNYSYeah, I know I said I was going to take a short break from this podcast now that we’ve hit 50 episodes, but tomorrow, that's Friday June 17th – MNYS, My New York Summer, or Nick Cozine to give him his real name, releases a new EP, …Before The Internet, on the ever excellent Pure Noise Records.It is a lovely collection of songs by a young man who I think is a bit of a star, and so I wanted to tell you all about him if you don't already know his name(s). This is a clumsy...
2022-06-1626 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 50: Jay Buchanan, Rival SonsBloody hell, we’re 50 episodes old. Which is quite amazing to me actually, so do allow me a moment or two to bask in the glory of the achievement. So much has gone on since this podcast began eleven months or so ago. A global pandemic. Several mental health meltdowns. Hospitalisation. And tonnes and tonnes of great conversations with musicians and bands. It’s been a blast and this podcast has mattered, and does matter, enormously to me. Charge your glasses ladies and gentlemen, and all that exist in-between. Here’s to another 50, at least.This milestone episod...
2022-06-0230 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 49: Jon SpencerI’m speaking to rock 'n' roll royalty on this episode – the great Jon Spencer, of Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash, and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – and now, Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers, whose new album, the excellent, wild, weird, strange and characteristically uncouth, Spencer Gets It Lit, is out now. Have you ever wondered how many times Jon Spencer has said in his life BLUUUUUUES EXPLOSION? Wonder no more. His favourite ever Sex Pistols song? I’ve got you covered. What he was doing when the world fell off its axis? We get into a bit of th...
2022-06-0129 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! Man On ManFancy another bonus episode of the James McMahon Music Podcast? This is an interview I did with Man On Man – that would be boyfriends Joey Holman and Roddy Bottum, the pop conscience of the great Faith No More – in the latter half of the plague days. Originally for the on hiatus - might be back, I don’t know yet - The Spoook Podcast, the audio is a bit scuzzy because I didn’t use a microphone back in those days, but we get into some interesting stuff about the state of the world, community, religion, sexuality… and Bigfoo...
2022-05-2447 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! Joe Duplantier, GojiraYeah, I know there was a brand new episode of this here podcast just the other day, but since it had been a while I thought I probably owed you something a little extra. And I’ve been listening to Gojira loads recently – like, loads, basically all the time – and so I thought, ‘why not share with the listers of The James McMahon Music Podcast that interview you did with Joe Duplantier from Gojira last year’. Which is one of my better thoughts, I’ll be honest with you. And so here it is. It was originally published on...
2022-05-1320 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 48: James Veck-Gilodi, Deaf HavanaFriends, it has been a time. Oh yes. It has been a time. But hey, considerably later than I intended to publish this episode, here’s episode 48 of this here music podcast – recorded on my guests birthday no less! – a conversation with James Veck-Gilodi from British pop rock champs Deaf Havana, a band who are in every way possible, returning harder, faster, stronger… and dryer too. Which is great news. I’ve thought that James was one of this country’s very best songwriters for years now and I couldn’t be happier to learn that he’s foun...
2022-05-1231 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 47: Liam Cornier, Cancer BatsShall we dedicate this episode to Taylor Hawkins? Yeah, let’s do that. You might like to read some words I wrote about the great man’s passing at Spoook.substack.com. But for now, let’s get down to business. And the business of this podcast is rock.On this episode I’m speaking to immortal megadude Liam Cormier, chief wailer in Toronto, Ontario hardcore punks Cancer Bats. This, I believe, is the band’s first interview since the departure of founding member Scott Middleton, and so we dig deep into who’s doing what now, how the new...
2022-03-2829 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 46: Little BootsThe last time I talked to Victoria Hesketh, for she is Little Boots, I was out of my mind, in my east London flat, with late 00’s indie rock chaos raging all around. My friend Rob was there. Heavy metal Rob we used to call him. And for some reason he’d decided to pick Victoria out of everyone who was present to have a row with. A row about Tool. Y’know, the proggy metal band Tool, who are so beloved by their fans they have rows with fast rising popstars about Tool's alleged genius at Friday night house...
2022-03-2040 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 45: Greg Barnett, The MenzingersOoooh, have you signed up to my Substack yet? It's where I write about music... and all sorts of other things. Spoook.substack.com, FTW.There’s been a bunch of really long episodes of this podcast recently, so it’s about time there was a short one. And yet it’s a good one I think, even if the audio is a bit scratchy in places, and it’s one with one of my favourite living songwriters, Greg Barnett, from Scranton, Pennsylvania indie rock titans The Menzingers. The purpose of our conversation is to talk about Greg’s d...
2022-03-1619 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 44: Laura Kidd, PenfriendI’ve been thinking a lot recently about how to grow this podcast, and my Substack - spoook.substack.com - and Spoook – the creative hub that bore it and so many of my other projects – and my comics, and the music I make. All the things. Actually, I should rephrase that. I’ve been thinking, not about how I can grow, but how I can connect.Part of this thought process has been inspired by Bristol based creative whizzbang Laura Kidd, aka Penfriend, aka She Makes War, aka founder of The Correspondent’s Club, aka host of the Att...
2022-03-1455 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 43: James Smith, Yard ActNot just a new logo – thanks Drew Millward – on this new episode of The James McMahon Music Podcast. Oh no! This time round I’m speaking to James Smith, singer – or should that be speaker – in Leeds based mumble punks Yard Act. That band might just have made my favourite album of 2022 so far. The record is called The Overload. It’s their debut. It got to number 2 in the actual UK pop charts, and as I wrote on my Substack but a month ago – no really, you should subscribe! – it’s a record that speaks to me about the thing...
2022-03-1051 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 42: Dream NailsI recorded this episode, with ‘punk witches’ Dream Nails - their words not mine - back in January. A lot has happened since then. Some of it bad. Some of it very bad. Some of it very, very, very bad. But some of it pretty good too. The London based riot grrrls have just been announced as the support to 90’s alt gods Pearl Jam and the Pixies at their big summer London show this coming July. They’re also off on tour with the fast rising Nova Twins – who themselves are coming to this podcast soon - oh, and with C...
2022-03-0432 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 41: Peter Solowka, The UkrainiansBorn from the jangliest part of The Wedding Present as the eighties became the nineties, for the last 31-years, Peter Solowka's The Ukrainians have done more than most to preserve the culture of their heritage. There really was only one band I wanted to speak to in this wretched week. With war rearing its monstrous head in Europe once more, with Russian soldiers on the streets of Ukraine and the world on high alert as to what happens next, I got on the phone with Peter to talk about the history of his band, his thoughts on...
2022-02-2830 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 40: Patrick Kindlon, Drug ChurchFrom Albany, New York – though as we’ll learn, soon to feature a resident of Australia – next month, on March 11th, the great Drug Church release their fourth record Hygiene on the consistently fruitful Pure Noise Records. Long episode, short intro. Heavy stuff throughout and with a brilliant Cro-Mags anecdote to boot. Know this – on this episode we get deep into mine and singer Patrick Kindlon’s ever shifting, hard to pin down politics. I’m sure we’ll reconvene at some point for part two. Who knows, we might even talk about music on that one. Maybe.
2022-02-2248 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 39: Dan Andriano, Alkaline TrioDuring the first few minutes of this podcast – an interview with the great Dan Andriano, the heart and soul of Alkaline Trio, one of my favourite bands ever – you can tell I’m nervous.That said, we groove into a really nice chat. About Dan’s new solo record, Dear Darkness – out now on Epitaph, with a bit of help from his backing band, The Bygones – but also about the dichotomy all creative types feel between doing and resting, where that gorgeous, sombre, smooth, inherently sad voice box comes from, punk beginnings, fatherhood… and when we might expect Dan, in...
2022-02-1325 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 38: BitchYou might remember Bitch – that’ll be one Karen Mould – as one half of Bitch and Animal, the Ani Difranco endorsed queercore duo from the late nineties and early noughties that made a string of intriguing records like What’s That Smell, Eternally Hard and Sour Juice and Rhyme. Then she made a string of solo records as just Bitch, until, in 2010, she went quiet, seemingly lost to the endless difficulties of being an independent artist.And yet now she’s back with a new more electro fused sound and her fourth post Bitch and Animal record, Bitchcraft...
2022-02-0835 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 37: James Spence, Rolo TomassiTwo Yorkshiremen. One amazing, and increasingly eclectic punk-cum-noise-cum-post-hardcore-cum-shoegaze-cum-prog-metal band. On this episode I’m talking to James Spence from the great, Sheffield born outfit Rolo Tomassi, whose new studio album – their sixth – Where Myth Becomes Memory - is released this Friday, on February 4th. It’s a quite remarkable record, and so our chat digs into the making of said record, the band’s ever evolving sound, that time I travelled through Holland and into Germany with them and Trash Talk… and football obviously. Hope you enjoy the conversation!The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media product...
2022-02-0125 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 36: Scott Wilkinson, Sea PowerI’ve been a fan of Sea Power for years and years. Because really, the idea of an Ordnance Survey Pixies is a very, very good one. I haven’t spoken to singer/guitarist Scott Wilkinson – or Yan as he’s sometimes known – for decades, mind. I think in fact, around about twenty-years. Last time we spoke we were backstage in a Scout Hut. Yes, Scout Huts have backstage areas. Obviously, a lot has changed in that time – within Britain, an increasingly contentious idea, let alone word - inside his band and outside of it too, which is what we get into...
2022-01-2432 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 35: The RasmusOooh oh oooh oh! On this episode I speak to Finnish rock megastars The Rasmus – 5 million albums sold and counting! - who, at the time of writing, are in the process of competing to represent their country at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. They’ve got a new member, a new single, stuff to say about the backstage areas of UK music venues, and, I want to talk to them about the time I saw someone with a massive tattoo of singer Lauri’s face on their back...The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook...
2022-01-2021 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! A conversation with Lou BarlowBecause I don’t half love you lot, here’s a bonus episode of this here podcast – an interview with Lou Barlow, of Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, one of my absolute favourite musicians of all time – that I did sometime in 2021. I actually spoke to him for a segment of episode 3 of The Spoook Podcast, which is another podcast I did/do/dunno yet, watch this space, but I just thought it made sense to republish it here. It’s a good conversation once I penetrated the awkward veneer of a man whose written so many of my favourite s...
2022-01-1036 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 34: Dean McMullen, Muncie GirlsAh shit indeed, and welcome to 2022’s first episode proper of The James McMahon Music Podcast. And on this episode! I’m speaking to Dean McMullen, one third of Exeter indie punks Muncie Girls – a band I was truly obsessed with for a time – who is on the very precipice of releasing his first solo work, the excellent ‘Clouds Hold Up The Sun’, on the legendary Fierce Panda Records - out January 14th! Recorded in the days leading up to Christmas, we get right into it; about Dean’s creative journey through lockdown, the genius of Elliott Smith – and wh...
2022-01-0830 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastBONUS EPISODE! Lost tapes from the 2010 NME Awards!Been a while since I uploaded an episode of this podcast – Christmas and New Year kind of got in the way. And so in an attempt to make up for the longer than usual radio silence, I’ve cobbled together a special episode of The James McMahon Music Podcast, made up of a bunch of interviews I did at the NME Awards in 2010, that I’d forgotten I had until now. I think as a historical document, it makes for interesting listening, and there’s previously unheard interviews with Biffy Clyro, Mumford & Sons, Jamie T, Slash, Muse, Kaya Scodelario from Ski...
2022-01-0440 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 33: Derek Sanders, Mayday ParadeIt’s hard to defend pop punk these days. The party is long over, the darkness taking the place of the morning sun. It is a scene littered with the corpses of fallen and exposed heroes. But, while Rome fell – or at least the backstage area of Warped Tour – Mayday Parade kept on doing what they do; which is, crunchy guitars, yearning lyrics, melodies dropped from heaven above. The five piece, from Tallahassee, Florida, may well be – whisper it – pop punk's most consistent band. And their new album, the recently released What It Means To Fall Apart, only gives weight to...
2021-12-1527 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 32: Bob MouldBob Mould really needs no introduction. He was one third of US punk pioneers Hüsker Dü – arguably the very band (with a respectful nod to Black Flag) that ploughed the furrows for every independent band that followed. He was the fulcrum in brilliant post-grunge types Sugar. And in and between both, he’s released a string of brilliant, and often alarmingly eclectic solo records. He’s as close as I’ve got to a living musical hero, and so I was hella nervous about this chat. You know what? I think things worked out just fine.Bob even i...
2021-12-1436 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 31: Jake Popyura, SupermilkSo there used to be this band called Doe. I loved them. Still love them, really. They had an album – they had a few, but this was my favourite – called Some Things Last Longer Than You. And then they split up. Gone before their time. But then the drummer, Jake Popyura - who I speak to for this episode today - went and did a new thing. They’re called Supermilk and they’ve got two albums now – 2020’s Death Is The Best Thing For You Now and this years Four By Three. I can’t decide which one is m...
2021-12-1341 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 30: Bella Vanek, Foxx BodiesSo, my favourite band at the moment are Foxx Bodies. They’re a riot grrrly punk band from LA. Their singer is called Bella Vanek. She's super cool and wise and empathetic and smart. Her band's songs are about mental illness, and trauma and religion and… yeah, you understand why I like them now, right? Call it McMahoncore. (Trigger warning: there's a fair amount of conversation about trauma in this episode, so if that's not something you need right now, I completely understand).Listen to this episode - episode 30 no less! - then go seek out...
2021-12-0753 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 29: Steve Mason, The Beta BandOkay – so here’s the bad news. Remember I was sniffling and spluttering on the last few episodes? It’s just cold I said. Nope. It was COVID. I’m on the back end of it now I think, but it’s been a nasty business. Probably best to wash your hands after you’ve listened to this episode. But here’s the good news! On this episode, I’m speaking to Steve Mason – formally of The Beta Band, formally of King Biscuit Time, formally – I think – of Black Affair. Steve kindly took some time out of his time in the studio...
2021-11-2446 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 28: Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne/Black Label Society)I’m speaking to a bona fide rock legend on this episode – Zakk Wylde! The man behind the six string for Ozzy fucking Osbourne as well as his own band, Black Label Society, which he also fronts. That band have a new record incoming, their 11th, on November 26th – it’s called Doom Crew Inc and it’s a bit of a gem actually. I probably like it more having spoken to Zakk – not in a ‘you’re a nice guy, now I have to like your music or it’ll be awkward way’ (although that too, to an extent) but in a ‘I...
2021-11-1621 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 27: Bryan Garris, Knocked LooseKnocked Loose, the American hardcore band from Oldham County, Kentucky, are one of a small number of rock bands who might genuinely claim to be the most exciting band on the planet. They’re one of the most interesting too. Hardcore might be the vessel they’ve chosen to music making, but it's not the ultimate destination. This has never been more apparent than throughout their ambitious new EP, A Tear in the Fabric of Life, out now on Pure Noise and a record that sees the band doing new things, in skill ways, that you’ve never...
2021-11-1433 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 26: Matt Caughthran, The BronxHere’s a quick chat with one of my favourite singers in one of my favourite bands - well, a few of my favourite bands if you include Mariachi El Bronx and the much underrated The Drips. I’m speaking of course about Matt Caughthran from The Bronx. We talk about the LA band’s most recent record Bronx VI, what’s next for Mariachi, and how can I get hold of one of those amazing promotional Bronx ouija boards that were knocking about around fifteen years ago. I had one. I think someone stole it. If you’ve g...
2021-11-1128 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 25: Chris Pritchard, Blood YouthThis episode features a conversation with Blood Youth, from Harrogate, Yorkshire, and creators of Visions Of Another Hell, one of the best records I’ve heard in the metal genre in ages. In truth, I’ve liked everything they’ve brought forth – starting with their excellent 2017 debut Beyond Repair, but this - album three, out now on Rude Records - feels like a big step forward. More synth. More darkess. And a new singer, the incoming Harry Rule being passed the baton by the sadly departing Kaya Tarsus.Heads up, I was a bit under the weather when I t...
2021-11-0839 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 24: Henry Cox, Boston ManorOh, I do like to be beside the seaside – especially when that means having a chat with one Henry Cox, leader of increasingly chuggy Blackpool emo popsters Boston Manor. I’ve been a fan of that lot for ages now, and so it seemed like the perfect time to check in with the band on the eve of a return to live action in the USA for the first time since the world went absolutely fucking mental. The plan was to have a chat with them about their excellent new EP, Desperate Times Desperate Pleasures – out now on Sha...
2021-11-0841 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 23: Benjamin Kowalewicz, Billy TalentYou might call this episode something of a Halloween special – all I’m saying is do make sure you stick around right up to the end. And yeah, it was a delight to catch up with Ben Kowalewicz from Billy Talent – I think a really lovely, enriching chat transpired. We crammed a lot in - talking about the bands new-ish single, ‘End of Me’, which sees the band collaborate with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo; the Canadian group's forthcoming sixth record, Crisis of Faith; the current status of drummer Aaron Solowoniuk’s battle with multiple sclerosis… but really, I could just lis...
2021-10-2930 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 22: Justin Pierre, Motion City SoundtrackIf you’ve come to this episode expecting a conversation hung around Justin Pierre’s new, forthcoming solo EP Ghost World – his third so far this year, and out November 12th – then chances are you might be disappointed. Talking about that stuff with Justin was very much my intention, and yet a conversation between me and the sometime Motion City Soundtrack singer about topics much meatier, somehow, seamlessly transpired. I have to shoulder the blame for that – with his old band MCS, Justin’s 2010 album My Dinosaur Life was a record that defines a significant quota of my life. This...
2021-10-241h 07
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode 21: Laura-Mary Carter, Blood Red ShoesI’ve long considered Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes to be one of the most unrated and underappreciated bands in British indie. Formed waaaay back in 2004 by singer/guitarist Laura-Mary Carter and drummer Steven Ansell, their frenetic indie rock has only become more interesting over time. I have some good news – there’s a new Blood Red Shoes album coming imminently. It sounds like Nine Inch Nails apparently. Blimey! And some more good news; Laura’s debut solo release, the sun fried Americana of ‘Town Called Nothing’ was released just last week, in advance of the album proper to follow on De...
2021-10-2131 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode twenty: Lee Ranaldo, Sonic YouthBit of a dream come true this – 40 minutes with Lee Ranaldo, guitarist in one of my absolute favourite bands, Sonic Youth. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, I really do. If you’d told me at 14 that one day I’d get to talk to a member of actual Sonic Youth about weird guitars, songwriting, Nirvana, Donald Trump, all sorts of stuff… well, I would probably ask, ‘who’s Donald Trump?’, but you get my point. Hey, remind me to tell you sometime about the time I helped Thurston Moore steal a sofa from the NME office and just how much troub...
2021-10-1840 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode nineteen: Cody Bowles, Crown LandsCrown Lands are a rock band consisting of vocalist and drummer Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau (he does all the other stuff). They hail from Oshawa, Ontario and they’re a prog-cum-blues-cum-cosmic-space-rock group who recently released their fourth recording, White Buffalo, on Spinefarm/Universal. It’s a really good record, but an important one too, telling important stories of Cody’s first nations heritage, missing and murdered indigeonous women… and, um, the squeeky voiced rock group Rush. I learned a lot from this chat. I hope you do too. If you can, please donate to True North Aid and...
2021-10-1331 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode eighteen: Chris LoPorto, Can't SwimThis is a fun episode – a conversation with Chris LoPorto from Keansburg, New Jersey emo pop heroes Can’t Swim. They’re a band I’ve really enjoyed the output of since their formation back in 2015 – 2017’s Fail You Again was a record I played to death. 2018’s This Too Won’t Pass was a record I enjoyed greatly. But their new one, Change Of Plans – and there’s a title relevant to these strange times, is it not – is perhaps their best. It’s certainly their most eclectic. It’s out on October 22nd, on Pure Noise, and comes highly recommended!
2021-10-0722 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode seventeen: Tom Gray, GomezThis summer - that would be 2021 - saw a British parliament ran enquiry into the economics of music streaming. It's unlikely you missed the results. For one thing, your favourite musicians were raging. The results were sobering, depressing, terrifying if you’re a professional musician, especially now that COVID has decimated the touring industry… and at the time of writing, have seen no legislation with a review to reform. Tom Gray is a man who wants change. You might know the multi-instrumentalist for his work with Mercury Prize winning, consistently interesting Southport indie rock types Gomez, though Tom h...
2021-09-2552 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode sixteen: Stuart Braithwaite, MogwaiI love Mogwai, so it was a pleasure to speak to Stuart Braithwaite for this sometimes feisty (hey, I was a teenage Blur fan!), often illuminating episode of my music podcast. I did intend to ask the Mogwai guitarist and sometimes singer about the bands lucious tenth album, As The Love Continues, which was released in February this year, topped the UK album charts, and, earlier this month, saw the band in contention for the Mercury Prize. That conversation didn’t happen, but an interesting one – one by two fanzine-loving-DIY-punk-indie rock-fans of an age, confused about where the world they...
2021-09-2139 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode fifteen: Mac McCaughan, SuperchunkI’m speaking to one of my favourite ever songwriters on this episode – it’s only bloody Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Portastatic and – alongside bandmate Laura Ballance – the legendary Merge Records! The reason we’re talking today is because Mac is due to release his very good – and surprisingly eclectic - second solo album The Sound Of Yourself on September 24th, but we cover loooooooads of ground. Most interesting to me was the part of our conversation where we got into the stark reality of making and releasing independent rock music in the year 2021. I’ve been thinking about th...
2021-09-1748 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode fourteen: Anna Prior, MetronomyMe and Anna Prior come from the same place; Doncaster – and we’ve zig zagged around each other for years. We know the same people, we like a lot of the same stuff, but I’ve never sat down and had a proper on the record conversation with her. Anna plays drums in Metronomy – she has done for over a decade – but in a welcome, but unlikely move she recently decided she’d like to make some songs of her own too. And very good it is! Released on her own record label, Beat Palace, her debut single ‘Than...
2021-09-1649 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode thirteen: Tom DeLonge, Angels & AirwavesSo I interviewed Tom DeLonge, formally of Blink-182 and now Angels & Airwaves, for a magazine feature I’m doing. The latter have a new album due imminently. It's called Lifeforms and it’s very good - less proggy than they’ve been on their five albums prior, more pop, more punk. But Tom is also one of the most prominent names in ufology – his aerospace, science and entertainment company To The Stars is arguably the tumbling boulder that has led to a conversation about UFO's - or UAP's as they appear to have been rebranded in an attempt to remove s...
2021-09-1528 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThe 'Indie Heaven' podcast, episode four, BENNETAre you looking for a 90 minute deep dive with an indie band spluttering about at the fag end of Britpop? A good band, one with a modicum of success, but one with a story that encapsulates the strangeness of the late 90’s British indie rock scene. A time where big money and corporate chaos butted heads with DIY and independent thinking. Taking in drug addled A&R, clueless major label marketing departments, paranoia, insecurity, John Peel, the sharpened quill of the music press, inter-band friction, strange, equestrian themed 70’s kids TV, unplanned novelty hit singles… and Shane Richie. Well, you’ve...
2021-09-141h 39
The James McMahon Music PodcastThe 'Indie Heaven' podcast, episode three, NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBINWelcome to Indie Heaven, the part of the James McMahon Music Podcast where I – that’ll be James McMahon – connect with the bands I adored as a sapling and ask… what happened next? It’s a spin-off of sorts of my Indie Heaven website – you can find that at www.indieheaven.co.uk – and on this episode I’m speaking to Gareth Pring – but you can call him Rat – the guitarist in early 90’s indie punk heroes Neds Atomic Dustbin. Few bands are more iconic within their era as the Stourbridge band – two bassists, a gazillion t-shirt prints...
2021-09-1053 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode twelve: Walter Schreifels, QuicksandOn this episode I'm speaking to a man who has been a constant throughout my entire existence as a music fan. Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools – for over thrity years, Walter Schreifels has made music that I’ve both loved, and that has helped shape the way I’ve seen the world and how I’ve existed within it. Now in the third chapter of their existence, the New York groups excellent fourth album, Distant Populations, is out now on Epitaph. I hope you enjoy this big old slab of conversation - primarily about Quicksand, but there's...
2021-09-0947 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode eleven: Justine Jones, Employed To ServeIt's been ages since I last spoke to Justine Jones, chief throat shredder in Woking’s Employed To Serve – which is a bit of an understatement really, ETS might just be the best home grown rock band to tread the boards of British music venues today. Justine is also the label boss at Church Road Records. I reckon it’s got to be almost two years since we last conversed, and… well, a lot has happened in those two years. Having a natter is much overdue, the band have got a new record – their fourth, Conquering, is due to be...
2021-09-0826 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode ten: Dustin Kensrue, ThriceEverything about the music industry is weeeeeeeeeird. Music and industry are uneasy bedfellows. I mean, I like baked beans. But music isn’t all that much like baked beans, or it shouldn’t be anyway. Applying the same principles to the distribution of music as you might do canned goods jars with me – and there’s an element of that which has always sat uneasily with me with regards to my time as a music journalist. Just prior to the time I was scheduled to speak to Dustin Kensrue, singer and rhythm guitarist in deep thinking, big feeling...
2021-09-0235 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastThe 'Indie Heaven' podcast, episode two, ECHOBELLYWelcome to Indie Heaven, the part of the James McMahon Music Podcast where I – that’ll be James McMahon – connect with the bands I adored as a sapling and ask… what happened next? It’s a spin-off of sorts of my Indie Heaven website – you can find that at www.indieheaven.co.uk – and on this episode I’m speaking to Sonya Madan and Glenn Johansson, Echobelly’s ever constant singer and guitarist since their inception way back in 1992. Which isn’t that long before I became a fan. I was well onboard by the time their debut alb...
2021-09-0144 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastIntroducing the 'Indie Heaven' podcast, episode one, CARTER USMWelcome to Indie Heaven, the part of the James McMahon Music Podcast where I – that’ll be James McMahon – connect with the bands I adored as a sapling and ask… what happened next? It’s a spin-off of sorts of my Indie Heaven website – you can find that at www.indieheaven.co.uk – and I’m kicking this irregular series off with a conversation with one James Robert Morrison – that’ll be Jim Bob – former singer in 90’s chart marauding indie pop types Carter USM and now solo artist in his own right. His latest release Who Do We Hate Today is out...
2021-08-2952 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode nine: Some words about Dave HarperIt's a different sort of episode this week. No interview. No music. Just some words I needed to say about Dave Harper from Frankie & The Heartstrings, a man I have known/liked/loved/battled/danced/laughed and plotted with for 23 years. And one of the most important figures in the history of my beloved Sunderland music scene.If listening isn't your thing, I wrote some words about Dave here. I'll be back next week with a more regular episode. If you can, please support this crowdfunder set up by Dave's bandmates with a view to...
2021-08-2727 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode eight: Pete Kember, Sonic BoomI’m speaking to a bonafide indie rock legend on this episode. Pete Kember, also known as Sonic Boom. But Pete has gone by all sorts of names over the years; EAR (or Experimental Audio Research) or Spectrum. He’s provided production to the likes of MGMT, Panda Bear and Beach House. He’s worked with Yo La Tengo and Stereolab, and he was – until 1991 – a founding member, and – alongside Jason Pierce – now of Spiritualized – a constant in Rugby psyche wonders Spacemen 3. Last year he released – as Sonic Boom – one of the very best records of the year, All Things Being Equal...
2021-08-2451 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode seven: Paul Barrow, Death BloomsMy absolute new/nu favourite metal band right now are a relatively new outfit, from Liverpool, called Death Blooms. Their forthcoming debut album - out 22nd October via Adventure Cat Records and entitled Life Is Pain - is far more fun than that title sounds. Like so many of the best heavy rock bands, there's a great deal of feeling there - a deep well of rage - but this is music to make you feel like you could take on Godzilla with a grin on your face. On this episode I talk to singer Paul Barrow about what...
2021-08-2024 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode six: Matthew Tuck, Bullet For My ValentineIt's really surprising to me that I've never interviewed Matt Tuck before. Both I, and they, have been doing what they do for years now, and for a large period of that time, Bullet For My Valentine have been synonymous with the enormity of British heavy metal, post the emergence, importance and perminence of Iron Maiden. But do BFMV get the respect their achievements deserve? I'm not sure they do. On the eve of the release of the band's seventh, and eponymous debut album, I finally connected with the Welsh band's singer and guitarist.The James McMahon...
2021-08-1928 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode five: Catherine Anne Davies, The AnchoressCatherine Anne Davies - that'll be The Anchoress to her ever growing legion of fans - has made probably my favourite record of 2021 thus far. If the year were to end tomorrow, she, and said record, The Art Of Losing, would almost certainly win something. I don't know what. Some sweets maybe, or a trophy fashioned out of whatever crap I might find in the top drawer of my office desk. It was about time that I spoke to her for an episode of this podcast. If you've ever wanted to hear two London émigré's putting the world...
2021-08-1945 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode four: Thomas and Mark Harfield, GlooGloo are one of the very best bands around - fizzy, efferent, raw, fun; I'm stoked that brothers Thomas and Mark Harfield agreed to have a chat with me for this podcast. Why did Thomas get so angry upon learning an apple is a fruit? Is it better to be at the top or the bottom of a Totem Pole? And why won't anyone just admit they're actually from Littlehampton?The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a record label, a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow...
2021-07-2928 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode three: Angus Andrew, LiarsOn episode three of The James McMahon Music Podcast, James (very hot, in London) talks to Angus Andrew (very cold, somewhere in a forest in Australia) about Liars excellent tenth album, The Apple Drop. It's a record with much within it to explore - no surprise there, that's what Liars do - but what discoveries about himself did Angus stumble upon in making it?The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a record label, a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And...
2021-07-2128 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastCOMING SOON! 'Shame'. A podcast about... shame!Hello. My name is James McMahon, I’m a journalist – I host The OCD Chronicles podcast, amongst many others – and wanted to let you know about a new podcast that I’m launching on the Spoook Media network on August 3rd, 2021.It’s called Shame, and unsurprisingly it’s about that very thing. That negative self-eviscerating emotion that’s used to control us, crush us and keep us locked in misery. For reasons I’ll get into on the podcast, I’ve been obsessed with shame all my life, and so I’m on a quest to understand what it i...
2021-07-1900 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode two: Awsten Knight, WaterparksOn episode two of the James McMahon Music Podcast, James speaks to Awsten Knight from Waterparks, one of the best brains in one of the best of the newer rock bands around. We were supposed to talk about music, but that was always unlikely to happen. Don't sleep on this episode if you're also into ghosts and UFO's.The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually...
2021-07-0530 min
The James McMahon Music PodcastEpisode one: Tim McIlrath, Rise AgainstOn episode one of the James McMahon Music Podcast, James speaks to Tim Mcllrath of Rise Against, about his band's ferocious new record primarily - but also, in a sense, what it means to be human, what it means to grow and what it means to be alive.The James McMahon Music Podcast is a Spoook Media production. Spoook is also a promoter, a shop, a Substack - it's many things. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter. And please do Like, Review and Subscribe - it actually really helps people find our podcasts! Twitter...
2021-07-0134 min