Archive for the Features Category

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Video Interview: A Jolly Good Time With Baltimore Experimental Post-Punk Band Crying Laughing

Posted in Features, Interviews, The Visionaries, Videos with tags , , , on 09/16/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s not every day you come across a band touted as “bridg[ing] the gap between cerebral jazz-rock, raucous post-punk shredding, and tightly composed minimalism in the school of Steve Reich/ Terry Riley/ Philip Glass.”

But listen to Talking, the debut album by Baltimore-based experimentalists Crying Laughing, and you’ll be hard-pressed to conjure a more apt description of the quintet’s adventurous sound. The band released the record Friday on Hausu Mountain, which is rapidly becoming one of our favorite record labels.

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Pet Sounds #94: Tiger Bear Wolf’s Frontman Shares the Touching Tale of His Sorely Missed Wonder Dog, Robo

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , on 09/15/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Jon’s daughter kissing Robo on his head

“The moral of the story is:
Say yes to every dog.”

-Jon Moore of Tiger Bear Wolf

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It would be sacrilege, blasphemous, a crime worthy of punishment by death were The Bad Penny not to rabidly pursue a band named Tiger Bear Wolf to participate in our ongoing – and, thanks to our rad readership, very popular – Pet Sounds series. In keeping with that thought, we chased down the post-hardcore math-rock band from Greensboro, North Carolina – and wouldn’t you know it, they were immediately into the idea.

Tiger Bear Wolf consists of four human beings – Jonathan Moore (guitar, vocals), Noah Howard (guitar, vocals), Matt Bostick (bass) and Lawrence Holdsworth (drums) – who recently released a self-titled album 17 years in the making. (Yes, you read that right.) In a story that will pull at your heartstrings, the pink-cheeked punks found themselves on a roll after putting out their first two records in 2002 and 2005. But Tiger Bear Wolf’s third effort was not the charm. Hard drives containing the songs intended to be on that next record went awry, and the band wasn’t able to recover the material until much later.

A source of solace and comfort for Moore during those trying years when the Tiger Bear Wolf recordings were lost was, no doubt, his dog Robo. You might want to keep a box of issues handy for this very special installment of Pet Sounds, as Robo is no longer with us and the rare photos that Moore so generously shared with us are rather breathtaking. Either way, here is the story of Robo the dog, unwavering companion to the frontman of the band Tiger Bear Wolf.

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On Tyranny: Hardcore-Meets-Metal SoCal Crew Throwlight Throw Shade on ICE, MAGA, Anti-Immigrant Hate in Incendiary Interview

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

As the 100th band we’ve interviewed for our On Tyranny series, which we launched in February 2025, we couldn’t have found a more fitting subject than Southern California hardcore/metal/rap enthusiasts Throwlight. The young band is tearing it up in conservative Orange County without any hesitation whatsoever, spitting in the face of the most frustrating aspects of the era in which are suffering through: compliance, willful ignorance and inaction.

While many artists are gratuitously tossing a remark or two into their live performances about how they disagree with the fascist takeover of America, Throwlight – consisting of vocalist Rocom, guitarist Chris Ellis, bassist Kevin Betz and playfully nicknamed keyboardist King of Somewhere – are putting their hearts totally into the fight. Their passion for resistance is as intense as the fury they unleash on their latest single, “No Kings,” which came out last month on limited-edition cassette.

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Favorite Films: Nightrage Frontman Marios Iliopoulos Is Enthralled by King Kong, ‘Dark Knight,’ ‘Wild at Heart’

Posted in Favorite Films, Features, Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/13/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“It’s a difficult thing to be an artist, man. You use your brain and a lot of energy. It’s the same with us musicians. We are working a lot with our mind. Some people think we are lazy or that actors do nothing, but it’s a lot of mental work.”

-Nightrage’s Marios Iliopoulos

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One of The Bad Penny‘s favorite people in the whole wide world is Marios Iliopoulos, a rare human being who has a heart so big that it’s perplexing how his body can contain it, who has zero ego even though he fronts the best Greek metal band of all time, and who has generously donated hours of his time to speak with us about everything under the sun.

Previously, we brought you our conversations with Marios about his band Nightrage, the scourge of authoritarianism and fascism spreading across the world and his heartwarming friendship with sorely missed At the Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg.

Now we present you with what might our most entertaining chat with Señor Iliopoulos, as part of The Bad Penny‘s ongoing Favorite Films series. In case it’s not already obvious, the feature revolves around us speaking with musicians about movies that have won them over.

Without further ado, here’s our exchange with Nightrage innovator Iliopoulos about his flicks of choice.

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Pet Sounds #93: Music Supervisor and New Solo Artist Gary Calamar’s Dog Ringo Is the Star(r) of the Show

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 09/13/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Ringo Starr may always be regarded as the weakest link in the Beatles, but when it comes to music supervisor and debuting solo artist Gary Calamar, his dog Ringo is an invaluable source of strength, inspiration and silliness. A longtime music industry executive – and DJ, and author, and five-time Grammy-nominated producer and music supervisor, and songwriter – Calamar is teeing up his first-ever solo record, Odd Numb3rs and Slanted Rhymes, for release October 23 on Big Stir Records. It will feature guest spots by his famous musician friends including Robyn Hitchcock, Maria Taylor and Mark Mothersbaugh.

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On Tyranny: The Format Channel Anger Into Action, Stage Free Shows Benefitting Immigrants and Sticking It to MAGA

Posted in Features, Interviews, News, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

This Q&A with The Format – an influential indie-rock duo consisting of Nate Ruess and Sam Means that reunited last year – was conducted on Friday, September 11, as part of The Bad Penny‘s ongoing On Tyranny series. The feature focuses on how fascism damages artists artistically, emotionally and personally; provides them with space to discuss their fear, anxiety and anger toward the Trump administration; increases solidarity among like-minded artists; and lets them set an example for other musicians (young ones in particular) that it is legal and just to criticize and protest.

Of the 100-plus artists with whom I’ve spoken for this series, you guys are actually putting your money where your mouth is and doing a lot of good work. Please tell my readership what you’ve been up to and the catalyst for getting involved helping immigrants.

Nate Ruess: We’re focusing right now on direct organization and “Saturdays in the Park.” When we’re on tour and in a city on a Saturday, we find a park and set up our PA system and let everybody come and watch us play for free. We’ll invite about eight to 12 different organizations to come and set up tables at this free show, and in between us playing a few songs acoustically, we’ll invite them onstage for five minutes to explain what their organization is all about and why people might want to join or get more information. It gives everybody an opportunity, instead of just feeling good about themselves for donating, to take more direct action.

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Doppelgängers: Shiv Mehra of Deafheaven and Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , , , on 09/11/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

More doppelgängers here.

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Pet Sounds #92: Left Arm Tan’s Best Friend Is Goose … the Dog

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 09/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Seasoned musician Daniel Hines launched his band Left Arm Tan (RIYL Calexico, the Jayhawks) in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2010 with relatively modest ambitions. The charming alt-rock crew also includes Brian Lee (lead vocals, piano, guitar); Mark Belding (horns, steel guitar, guitars, harmonies); Jeff Scroggins (bass, harmonies); Shawn Light (guitars, mandolin, keys, harmonies); and Tim Manders (drums, harmonies).

Hines underwent a series of surgeries last year but also wrote a gobsmacking 57 songs, breathing new life into his band, which had split for a short period. The resulting record, When Tigers Smoked (which means “once upon a time” in Korean, and was produced by Old 97’s and Damnwells collaborator Salim Nourallah), comes out October 9.

Arguably even trustier than Hines’ band, though, is his Australian Shepherd, Goose, who entered Hines’ life during COVID and just turned 6 years old. Enjoy our exchange with Hines and, of course, the pics of him and his pooch (yes, we know you well, dear readers).

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On Tyranny: Fascist Resurgence Spurred Austrian Anti-Capitalist Anarcho-Punks Desolat’s Fiery Return

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 09/10/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“The last five years … had an emotional impact, which motivated me … to do a more political album again,” Desolat vocalist/guitarist Alfred Satani told The Bad Penny earlier today as part of our ongoing On Tyranny series.

Satani further noted that he found making the noise/hardcore/sludge trio’s upcoming October 16 release, People as Idiots & Idiots as Leaders (Reptilian Records), to be “cathartic” as he grapples with the grim reality and prepares for even more dire days ahead.

“I fear the future for my children, because of … environmental topics … and current politics and right wing politics, which totally ignore this thing. I can be even worried for myself, because I hope I live for a few years longer. “It can become pretty rough quite soon,” Satani reveals.

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On Tyranny: Queer NYC Pop Musician Danny Blu on Art as a Vehicle for Empathizing With Trans Community

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 09/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

A day after the release of his new single “Faithless,” and with his album “Type Volume I” on the horizon for an October 13 release, dark pop and industrial noise aficionado Danny Blu joins The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series for a candid conversation about the inextricability of his work fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and his unique musical creations.

The theatrical, New York City-based artist – who also works in the nonprofit world to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from the nonstop assault by MAGA and other malevolent forces that have latched onto American society like Alien face-huggers – is quickly making a name for himself as a prominent defender of marginalized individuals.

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