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The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #16: LIL BUB & Her Dudes (Mike Bridavsky and Matt Tobey)If you've somehow managed to live your life thus far without knowledge of Lil Bub's existence, welcome to the next level. Lil Bub is a beautiful and magical space cat who lives with her dude (recording engineer/musician Mike Bridavsky of Russian Recording) and his family in the lovely burg of Bloomington, Indiana. Lil Bub is a special needs cat, a "perma-kitten" who has an extreme case of dwarfism and who will forever stay tiny and adorable. She is arguably one of the most famous cats on the internet (hanging out with Robert Deniro, Whoopi Goldberg, Michelle Obama and a...2015-12-2239 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Ep. 14: Ryan Allen (Thunderbirds Are Now!, Destroy This Place, Ryan Allen And His Extra Arms)Part of why I've started doing this podcast is to pick the brains of folks who I find inspiring, both in their creative energy and the quality of their output. (It doesn't hurt if I'm friends with those folks prior to our conversation, either.) Ryan Allen exemplifies so much of the spirit of why I started The Royal Basement that it just made sense to have a chat with him. Ryan is an ambitious man and a musical lifer; a lot of folks tend to slow down or quit making music completely when kids are brought into the equation, an...2015-12-222h 00The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Episode 15 - UNLIKELY FRIENDSIf there is one band in Seattle that's making the kind of music that my ears want to hear, it's Unlikely Friends. Steeped in the world of early/mid-90's college rock, the men of Unlikely Friends take from the strengths of their previous/current other projects (D. Crane with BOAT and Charles Bert with Math And Physics Club, respectively) and create a unifying project, one that marries the raucous anthemic qualities of BOAT with the pristine glistening pop of Math And Physics club. It never sounds overthought or underprepared, but somewhere right in the middle, that perfect zone...2015-10-031h 07The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Ep. 13: Sam Cohen (Apollo Sunshine/Yellowbirds)Triskaidekaphobes, beware! It's episode 13 of The Royal Basement podcast!
This episode, we are joined by Sam Cohen, an astonishing guitarist/songwriter/producer based out of New York. Sam used to play in Apollo Sunshine before starting up a new band (Yellowbirds) that has since morphed into a proper solo project. Sam released Cool It, his first proper solo record, earlier this year on Easy Sound. Sam plays the Pickathon Music Festival just outside of Portland, Oregon on July 31, 2015. 2015-07-301h 37The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #12: THE DODOSA lot of bands that make it to the decade mark start to recycle ideas and hit some auto-pilot moments musically, falling into creative ruts and making some less-than-adventurous choices. San Francisco's The Dodos, however, are an exception to that rule. With their sixth album (Individ, released in January on Polyvinyl), The Dodos are continuing to climb to their creative peak; while the band has always relied on curveball rhythmic changes and deceptively technical guitar playing, Individ finds The Dodos writing more urgent, cohesive songs that balance beautifully between sprawling epics and concise blasts.
I sat down wit...2015-05-141h 14The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Episode #11: Trapper Schoepp & The ShadesI'm convinced Trapper Schoepp is lying about his age. It's rare to see someone who hasn't even hit their thirties have such a knowledge and respect for the greats of classic American pop songwriting. Trapper is a man who cares about his craft and pays serious attention to the masters, and even as a grizzled old man myself, it's intimidating to meet someone who has such a vast well of musical knowledge to draw from. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trapper's music feels immediately familiar to me, like a sweet breeze of relief in the middle of an overbearing humid Mi...2015-05-111h 13The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Episode 10: Soft Sleep (Tony Ruland & Kyle Holland)Tony Ruland (The Lonely Forest) and Kyle Holland (Cumulus) grew up in the same hometown (Anacortes, WA) and toured together with their recently departed groups. After a bit of time sitting on some microcassette guitar demos, Ruland recruited Holland alongside Erik Walters (Silver Torches, The Globes) and Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie) for the new glassy pop project Soft Sleep. Tony and Kyle stopped by The Royal Basement as part of their Seattle media barnstorming tour to debut their new single "Unravel" (Rocket Heart Records) and talk about their former bands, technology, making records, the legal precidence of...2015-03-021h 15The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #9: Eric Slick (Dr. Dog) PlaylistHere's a set of songs picked out by Eric Slick (Dr. Dog/Lithuania/Maybe In Your Band?) for your aural pleasure.
1. Hermit Thrushes--Braided Stones
2. Celestial Shore--Valerie
3. Bjork--Stonemilker
4. Mt. Eerie--Sauna
5. D'Angelo--1000 Deaths
6. Anomie--So Long
2015-02-2531 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #9: Eric Slick (Dr. Dog/Lithuania)Eric Slick seems to be a man who doesn't deal well with idle time. Spend a little time poking around on Google and you'll find an impressive trail of music, film projects, and other assorted art pieces for a man who hasn't even hit his thirties yet. Most well known as the drummer for Dr. Dog, Eric Slick has an impressive background in the world of avant-garde/improvisational music, drumming for Project/Object (a Frank Zappa tribute band) and working alongside his sister and King Crimson's Adrian Belew in Adrian Belew's Power Trio. When not touring with Dr. Dog, Eric is...2015-02-251h 24The Royal Basement PodcastAlex Robert/Black Whales "Shangri-La Indeed"Alex Robert of Seattle's Black Whales played a few songs along with his podcast chat. Here's one of 'em. It's called "Shangri-La Indeed" and originally appeared on the band's record of the same name. Recorded live using a Fender Telecaster (1972 Custom Reissue) run through a Sears Silvertone head and a Fender Bandmaster cabinet with minimal pedals. 2015-02-1902 minThe Royal Basement PodcastAlex Robert/Black Whales "The Warm Parade"Alex Robert of Seattle's Black Whales played a few songs along with his podcast chat. Here's one of 'em. It's called "The Warm Parade" and originally appeared on the band's 2014 record Through The Prism, Gently. Recorded live in The Royal Basement with minimal microphones and pedals. 2015-02-1903 minThe Royal Basement PodcastAlex Robert/Black Whales "You Don't Get Your Kicks"Alex Robert of Seattle's Black Whales played a few songs along with his podcast chat. Here's one of 'em. It's called "You Don't Get Your Kicks" and originally appeared on the band's 2014 record Through The Prism, Gently. Recorded live using an old Suzuki Omnichord run through an MXR Carbon Copy pedal. 2015-02-1903 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #8: Alex Robert (Black Whales) Part 2Alex Robert was my bandmate before I could really call him my friend; we were introduced as part of Sonny Votolato's band (I was playing drums, Alex playing keys) and became friends through playing someone else's songs. Alex is the singer and guitarist of Seattle's Black Whales, and maybe one of the funniest people I've met in the city of Seattle. He's also one of the thirstiest music consumers I know, and is one of the hosts of Peel Slowly, a psychedelic pop internet radio show/DJ night that is chock full of obscure gems. Alex stopped by the bas...2015-02-191h 16The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #8: Alex Robert (Black Whales) Part 1Alex Robert was my bandmate before I could really call him my friend; we were introduced as part of Sonny Votolato's band (I was playing drums, Alex playing keys) and became friends through playing someone else's songs. Alex is the singer and guitarist of Seattle's Black Whales, and maybe one of the funniest people I've met in the city of Seattle. He's also one of the thirstiest music consumers I know, and is one of the hosts of Peel Slowly, a psychedelic pop internet radio show/DJ night that is chock full of obscure gems. Alex stopped by the...2015-02-191h 02The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Ep. 7: Chris Porterfield (Field Report)One of my favorite musical discoveries of this winter has been the moody, verbose layers of Milwaukee's Field Report. How I've never encountered singer Chris Porterfield's work before is beyond me, but the striking LP cover of Marigold drew me in while looking online for a soundtrack to cooking breakfast one day. Porterfield sells his songs in a plain-spoken, reed-y way, and builds simple melodic structures up into walls of articulated noise that glide along gracefully while dealing with darker topics (alcoholism, suicide, lost loves) that confront the grittiness of reality while still retaining an optimistic gleam.
Ch...2015-01-311h 12The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #6: Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals/Neon Neon/Gorillaz)I had the opportunity to chat with Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals/Neon Neon/Gorillaz) when he came through Seattle, WA recently while promoting his new film/book/album (American Interior). Gruff and I chatted in the basement hallway of Barboza about personal and creative exploration, learning new languages and preserving old ones, and his songwriting process and tools. Unfortunately, there's a decent amount of noise in the background throughout most of the interview; opener Willis Earl Beal provided a lulling background during the first part of the interview, but it gets a little loud in the second half o...2015-01-211h 16The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #5.2: John Davis (Superdrag/The Lees of Memory/Epic Ditch)Welcome to Episode 5 of The Royal Basement Podcast! This episode, I caught up with John Davis, the frontman of Superdrag and his new project The Lees of Memory, via telephone from his home in Nashville. John talked a lot to us about his creative process, his tools of choice, and delivers a really killer guest DJ set of tunes that I can't quit listening to. (That Stewart Pack song is particularly CHOICE.)
I interviewed John years ago, when Superdrag was opening up for Weezer on the Pinkerton tour (I'm guessing 1996?). I essentially bum rushed him a...2014-12-1754 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #5: John Davis (Superdrag/The Lees of Memory/Epic Ditch)Welcome to Episode 5 of The Royal Basement Podcast! This episode, I caught up with John Davis, the frontman of Superdrag and his new project The Lees of Memory, via telephone from his home in Nashville. John talked a lot to us about his creative process, his tools of choice, and delivers a really killer guest DJ set of tunes that I can't quit listening to. (That Stewart Pack song is particularly CHOICE.)
I interviewed John years ago, when Superdrag was opening up for Weezer on the Pinkerton tour (I'm guessing 1996?). I essentially bum rushed him a...2014-12-171h 05The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast 4.2: John Nguyen (The Believe It Or Nots/The Times) Part 2/2I recently went back to Kansas City for a week and a half to catch the Kansas City Royals in the World Series and catch up with some of my best buddies. I had a good long chat with one of my best buddies (and former bandmate in The Believe It Or Nots), Mr. John Nguyen. We talked about what got us into music, how different Kansas City and Lawrence are today, shared some stories about our old bands, and John picked out some pretty choice tunes for your ears.
This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation, s...2014-12-041h 22The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #4.1: John Nguyen (The Believe It Or Nots, The Times)I recently went back to Kansas City for a week and a half to catch the Kansas City Royals in the World Series and catch up with some of my best buddies. I had a good long chat with one of my best buddies (and former bandmate in The Believe It Or Nots), Mr. John Nguyen. We talked about what got us into music, how different Kansas City and Lawrence are today, shared some stories about our old bands, and John picked out some pretty choice tunes for your ears.
Podcast is divided into two episodes, so g...2014-12-041h 16The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Episode 3: Chris Murphy (Sloan)Here's episode 3 of The Royal Basement podcast!
This go-'round, we're happy to spend an hour chatting with Chris Murphy of Canadian power-pop legends SLOAN. Touring in support of their 10th full-length record (Commonwealth), Sloan recently did a run through Canada and dipped down into the US for a few tour dates, and we caught up with Mr. Murphy at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle, WA on October 20, 2014. We chatted about gear, the history and future of music, and had Chris pick out a few songs for a mini-DJ set at the end of the episode.
...2014-11-031h 19The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast Episode #2: John Cobb (Part 2 of 2)This is the second part of a podcast that I did with my best friend, John Cobb. We had a couple whiskey drinks and talk about the music scenes of Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, the guitars we used to have, our friends and what they're doing these days, Pizza Shuttle jingles, and a bunch of other blathering. John plays some songs by Panel Donor, Zoom, Floating Action and a few others. It's worth a listen.
View more podcasts at The Royal Basement's page.
2014-10-151h 15The Royal Basement PodcastJohn Cobb--"Old Bars & Worn Teeth" (Royal Basement performance)John Cobb recorded a few acoustic songs with me when he was down in the Royal Basement for his podcast. I'm a big fan of the molasses-y drawl of this one in particular, entitled "Old Bars And Worn Teeth". Enjoy. 2014-10-1003 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Ep. 1.2: Robb MacLean (Limbeck/The Young Dudes)This is the second part of my interview with Robb MacLean of Limbeck/The Young Dudes. In this section, Robb straps on my acoustic guitar and plays a couple new songs and a Limbeck favorite for the people of the universe in an exclusive Royal Basement session. It's alllllllllright. 2014-10-101h 06The Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Episode 1.1: Robb MacLean (Limbeck/The Young Dudes)Well, will you look at this. Just look at it.
It's episode #1 of The Royal Basement podcast, coming to you from a glorious basement in Seattle, Washington. Hosted by musician/designer/critic/cat wrangler Greg Franklin, the Royal Basement is a podcast full of interviews and stripped down musical sessions, guest DJ sets, and occasional cat interference.
This episode, we chat with Robb MacLean, the singer/guitarist of country rock heros LIMBECK (as well as his new project THE YOUNG DUDES). Limbeck were a pretty powerful band in my lifetime (and still are). They're maybe t...2014-10-1059 minThe Royal Basement PodcastThe Royal Basement Podcast #2: John CobbWelcome to the second episode of the Royal Basement podcast, from a basement in Seattle, Washington. In this episode, I catch up with my best friend of 35'ish years, Mr. John Cobb of Kansas City. We chat about commercial jingles, music history, guitars we once had, and why Kansas City was a pretty cool place to grow up when we were there.
This is part 1 of 2. 2014-10-1059 min