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On Tyranny: Frontman of Canada’s Elephant Stone Says ‘Being an Artist Already Makes You Political’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , on 08/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“Canada feels more united than I’ve ever seen it.”

–Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir

When The Bad Penny caught wind that a band had released a song called “Fascists Killed Yer Rock ‘N’ Roll” as a single, we immediately invited them (Elephant Stone) to participate in our ongoing series On Tyranny, which focuses on how fascism affects artists artistically, emotionally and personally – and lets them set an example for other musicians that it is OK to criticize and protest the government.

Rishi Dhir, leader of the psych-pop squad from Montreal, graciously accepted our offer and answered some questions related to artists and the potential ways in which they interact with authoritarianism. We bring you the interview, which was conducted over email, on the eve of the 20-year-old group’s new album, ASHA, coming out tomorrow via Elephants on Parade in tandem with Little Cloud Records.

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The 10 Best Chilean Bands, According to Guitarist for Santiago-Based Noisy Punk-Rock Squad Niño Nuclear (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Interviews, Lists, The Visionaries, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Well, try this one on for size: Five days ago, we published the Venezuela installment of The Bad Penny‘s new series in which we touch base with a seasoned musician from a non-U.S. country to get real-life recommendations (as opposed to artificially generated ones from Spotify) about the best bands in that artist’s homeland. Diego Ramirez, frontman of heavy garage-rock band Joudy, cultivated the list for that edition of the series, and one of the artists he deemed exceptional is another heavy garage-rock band Niño Nuclear. (If you don’t know about Ramirez’s harrowing escape from Venezuela due to rampant violence, be sure to read the story and watch the accompanying video interview in this edition of The Bad Penny’s On Tyranny series.)

While Niño Nuclear relocated to Santiago, Chile, in 2019, the band left an indelible mark on the country where they were born – but are thriving even more so now. After hearing Ramirez talk glowingly about the members of the group – including guitarist/bassist Frank Pereira; Mechu and Julio, who both provide vocals and play guitar; bassist Fernando and drummer Leo – we thought what better musician to enlighten us about the top 10 best bands in Chile for the latest edition in our series.

Here are los seleciónes de Señor Frank:

1. Paracaidistas

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On Tyranny: Calculus Was ‘Scared’ to Cover Politics; Now He’s Liberated With New LP (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , on 08/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

After many periods of reflection and deliberation, The Calculus went through a transformation resulting in him wanting to focus more on the world around him – and political matters in particular, as they now infiltrate every aspect of our lives.

“I came to realize that anything is right or left,” he continued. “It’s all division and distraction from looking at people that are hoarding money while everyone’s suffering. We have a guillotine, it’s time to start chopping heads. Things need to be changed from up top in order for things to start getting better.”

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On Tyranny: Frontman for Hardcore Heroes Angel Du$t Says ‘Brown People Are Being Ripped From Their Families and Sent Off God Knows Where. It’s a Really Dark Time.’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Some bands – especially hypocritical ones that refer to themselves as “punk” or “hardcore” – have the audacity to blaspheme those traditions by lamely copping out with “we don’t do politics” as an excuse.

Baltimore’s Angel Du$t – who would burn retinas if they were any hotter right now – are not one of those cowardly bands.

In the latest edition of On Tyranny (published without that header on Post-Punk), we interviewed Justice Tripp – the band’s mainstay member and lead vocalist – who does not mince words. Ever.

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On Tyranny: Brandi Carlile’s ‘Concert for Minneapolis’ Is Now Free to Watch on YouTube

Posted in Features, News, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It seemed inevitable from the moment that Brandi Carlile walked onstage to perform a massive benefit concert in the wake of the ICE-provoked melees that occurred in Minneapolis six months ago that her performance would be historic. Now the soaring singer-songwriter is helping solidify the importance and magnitude of the show by making it available for free on YouTube for all to see.

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On Tyranny: Think Your Band Has It Rough? Meet Ukraine’s Season of Melancholy, Staying United Amid Russia’s Bombardment of Kiev

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Some bands break up after it’s discovered that the bassist slept with the guitarist’s girlfriend. Some bands break up because the drummer wants to go in more of a doom director, whereas the lead guitarist is intransigent over the group staying true to its thrash roots.

Season of Melancholy – who hail from Kyiv, Ukraine – aren’t breaking up anytime soon, even though when The Bad Penny caught up with them on Saturday, Russia had rained hellfire on their environs with bombs. The smoke was still clearing when three members of the group, which refers to themselves as “romantic metal,” caught up with us to talk about music, war, brotherhood, unity, strength, courage and survival. We’re not talking any of that Pete Hegseth bullshit about “real men” and “high-T”: The musicians who comprise Season of Melancholy are braver than everyone watching this video put together.

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Pet Sounds #91: A Member of Indie-Rock Squad Morning Line Has a Dog Who Is (Named After) a Drummer

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 08/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Veteran San Francisco Bay Area indie-rockers The Morning Line recently signed to Big Stir Records earlier this week, the label announced Thursday – and wouldn’t you know it, they already have a new studio record spick-and-span for release on September 18. Big Stir are good people, so The Bad Penny quickly jumped on the opportunity to interview frontman Stephen Smith hours after the signing was announced.

We’ll bring you our feature on The Morning Line’s new album, Stars, closer to its release date, but in the meantime, we’ll tide you over with the latest edition of our long-running series Pet Sounds, for which the band surely qualifies. Smith has Dot, a small, 4-year-old black mutt he refers to as a “Teacup Wolfhound” (more on that later). Drummer Peter Craft owns a 6-year-old half-boxer/half-pit called Levon. And guitarist Brian Mello has a 13-year-old cat whose breed is a Korat (a breed from Thailand) and whose name is Dr. Zira.

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Favorite Films: Daedric’s Kristyn Hope Digs ‘Godzilla,’ ‘Companion,’ ‘Halloween,’ Rob Schneider ‘Comedy’

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 08/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck


When we recently caught up with alt/metal frontwoman Kristyn Hope of Deadric to inquire about her favorite films, she responded immediately: “To give you a bit of background, I grew up on VHSs. We had about 200 movies and I’d watch the same ones over and over and over. It was very unhealthy.”

Sounds like a true movie aficionado to us.

She continued: “So anyway, my list of favorite movies is largely based on the ones we had. Because I grew up pretty poor, we didn’t rent movies often. I would go to the) library and get the free movies – you know, like C-level movies.

The proof of Hope’s testimony can be found in the ensuing rundown of her favorite flicks of all time;

Godzilla (1998)

The 1998 version of Godzilla was one of my favorites. I know it shouldn’t even count as a Godzilla movie, but it was the only monster movie I had [available to watch at home]. And I was so into monsters. The idea of a giant kaiju was so cool to me. It was just such an interesting creature. Also, the CGI – for the time – was good.

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On Tyranny: King Youngblood Frontman and Black & Loud Music Fest Co-Founder Cameron Lavi-Jones Says Musicians Don’t ‘Understand How Much Power They Have’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , on 08/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s more evident now than ever: Musicians are at a crossroads. Do they pursue their art, even if it means shedding part of their fanbase that doesn’t agree with their belief in free speech and other American ideals? Or do they try to “stay out of politics,” which is no longer possible in a country where financial hardship, ICE raids and the suppression of dissenters occurs on a daily basis and on a widespread level?

There’s no ambiguity when it comes to King Youngblood and their frontman, Cameron Lavi-Jones. He has chosen to be on the right side of history, is speaking out vociferously about his decision and doing whatever he possibly can to get other artists onboard. As the co-founder of Black & Loud, a festival taking place in Seattle and Portland on August 29 and 30, respectively, Lavi-Jones is expanding his reach to preach and proselytize to a grand scale.

The tagline for the event, which will feature performances by the Neville Brothers and many more, is: “In a world where independent music festivals are struggling, Black & Loud finds its footing and takes the Forefront.”

The Bad Penny could not be proud to present you with our conversation with Lavi-Jones, which we conducted over email a couple of days ago.

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What You Readin’ For?: Melvins’ Buzz Osborne Recommended John Fante’s ‘Dreams From Bunker Hill’ to mr.phylzzz Frontman, Who Attests That It’s a Worthy Read

Posted in Features, What You Readin' For? with tags , , , , , , , , on 08/20/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s been a minute since we’ve published an installment in our series What You Readin’ For, in which musicians discuss and recommend good reads to fans of their music and this website. The latest pick comes courtesy of Clinton Jacob, who handles vocals and guitars for self-described trashy grunge band mr.phylzzz from Chicago. The duo of Jacob and drummer Danny Sein are putting out their newest album, Fear the Lord, September 4 on Amphetamine Reptile, one of the most important noise-rock labels ever. (Fun fact: mr.phylzzz and Buzz Osborne‘s Melvins are the only two active bands left on Amphetamine Reptile’s roster.)

Get a taste of Fear the Lord in the video at the bottom of this post, but before you scroll down, read Jacob’s pitch for John Fante’s tragicomedy Dreams From Bunker Hill, available for purchase on HarperCollins’ website:

I read a lot, but if there’s one book this year that has held my attention more than doom-scrolling my life away, it’s Dreams from Bunker Hill by John Fante.

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