Archive for the Features Category

« Older Entries

Pet Sounds #88: PR Legend Rey Roldan Is the Proud Owner of Dogs That Murder Pillows

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , on 06/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Rey Roldan is one of the most prominent, amiable and successful publicists in the world of independent music – and he has the résumé to prove it. Now in its 22nd year, his company Another Reybee Production, Inc. boasts a stellar roster that includes The Alarm, Butthole Surfers, The Cranberries, Gipsy Kings, Candy Whips, Shonen Knife, Pansy Division and loads more prestigious artists.

Roldan doesn’t just represent musicians, though – he also takes care of two rescue dogs (Cillian, a 3-year-old Australian Cattle Dog; and Saoirse, an 11-month-old Australian Cattle Dog); as well as a 24-year-old Sun Catfish of the horabagrus brachysoma species. In between working tirelessly as the president of Reybee, Roland granted us some time to talk about his pets.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

On Tyranny: Emperor X Contends That Arts Communities Need Heterodoxy During Global Political Realignment

Posted in Essays, Features, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , on 06/04/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. But The Bad Penny has never received nor published any piece of writing as remotely profound, thoroughly researched, detailed, brilliant, educational and exceptional as a dissertation-style thought piece/ intellectual analysis of this website’s On Tyranny series that Berlin-based American singer/songwriter Chad Randall Matheny, a.k.a. Emperor X, recently sent us. In his comprehensive analysis, Matheny discusses the connection that On Tyranny has to the broader worldwide trend that the educator and noise-pop provocateur refers to as “The Global Political Realignment” that is currently underway.

Before you dig into Matheny’s masterpiece, this seems like an appropriate time and place to tell readers of this website, and specifically On Tyranny, that maintaining it has been and continues to be a tremendous challenge. While I will elaborate on the story of the series at another time – truly, what Emperor X has created here is worthy of your attention more so than any other post on this website – publicists, musicians, friends and family members have recommended I halt or even terminate this series amid the growing threat of fascism in the U.S.

[Emperor X’s new album, Unified Field, will be issued by Bar/None and available for purchase starting June 26. Rest assured that The Bad Penny will cover the release heavily. Read more about Emperor X on his website; and his Instagram, Facebook and Bandcamp accounts.]

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Doppelgängers: ‘WTF’ Podcast Host Marc Maron and Joy Thieves’ James Scott

Posted in Comedy, Doppelgängers, Features with tags , , , , , on 06/03/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Our last edition of Doppelgängers was maybe a little bit of a stretch, but you will lose the argument if you say you don’t see the resemblance between comedian and former What the Fuck?‘ podcast host Marc Maron and Joy Thieves producer James Scott.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Could’ve Parodied Lots More Nirvana Songs After Spoofing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

Posted in Comedy, Features, Videos with tags , , , on 06/03/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen, The Police, R.E.M. and dozens more artists (except Coolio) were cool with, and sometimes even flattered by, “Weird Al” Yankovic parodying their songs. But perhaps no musician was more delighted by the comical accordion player and singer parodying one of his songs than Kurt Cobain.

Continue reading →

2 Comments »

Doppelgängers: Robert Plant and Pink Mountaintops’ Stephen McBean

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , , , on 06/02/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

I mean, kinda, right?

1 Comment »

Pet Sounds #87: Silver Liz’s Dachshund Mix Milo Is Pure Gold

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 05/30/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Eleven years ago, Carrie and Matt Wagner met each other in central Pennsylvania, fell in love, moved to Chicago and founded an experimental pop duo named Silver Liz. It was a pretty busy 12-or-so months, especially because Carrie was studying at Second City Conservatory. The two got married as well, but their lives weren’t complete until another addition to their family entered the picture: Milo.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Led Zeppelin Officially Broke Its Post-Breakup Vow — and Set a Ticket-Sales Record

Posted in Features with tags , , , , , on 05/30/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

When Led Zeppelin’s founding drummer, John Bonham, died due to an alcohol overdose in 1980, the classic-rock band broke up, and its three surviving members vowed to never reunite. Guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant and bassist John Paul Jones did so informally a few times, mostly for tribute events.

But it wasn’t until a 2007 concert celebrating the life of music executive Ahmet Ertegun – who signed Led Zeppelin to his Atlantic Records – that Page, Plant and Jones played a full set for the first time in almost three decades. The show was so historic, and demand to attend it was so high (with 20 million ticket requests tallied), that Led Zeppelin set a new Guinness World Record.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Pet Sounds #86: Black Heart Procession Leader’s Love for His Cats Can’t Be Beat

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , , , , on 05/29/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The Black Heart Procession was the most funereal, and one of the most entrancing, bands on revered Chicago indie-rock label Touch and Go Records’ roster during its heyday in the 1990s. That they fell under the umbrella of “indie rock” was evidence that the term didn’t really signify a sound as much as an ethos, that being the prioritization of art in song craft and the value of musicians’ creative freedom over corporate control.

Founded and led by Pall Jenkins – who could’ve used “Bearer” as his stage surname had he wanted to put a fine point on his aesthetic – the band’s recorded material was as darkly contemplative and emotionally wrought as that of Nick Cave. At The Black Heart Procession’s live performances, Jenkins often dressed in all black but wore a battery-powered beating red heart as a corsage-like flourish to his attire.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

On Tyranny: Diles Que No Me Maten Frontman Says U.S. Is Rapidly Becoming Too Costly – and Scary – to Tour Through

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , on 05/28/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It feels like only yesterday when touring across the United States was one of the greatest dreams the vast majority of bands in the world shared. What a difference a piece of shit president makes. With each passing day, as Trump’s unimaginably horrific, misguided and illegal policies continue to destroy America’s values, economy, reputation, health, security and overall well-being, bands are having to think much harder about whether it’s even wise to tour here anymore.

Over the past few months, The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series – which focuses on how fascism directly impacts musicians artistically, professionally and emotionally – has primary revolved around conversations with American artists. (The series started a couple of years ago with a focus on musicians living under authoritarian regimes around the world.)

In this installment, we once again touch base with a musician based outside the U.S., this time not to learn about how artists can survive, cope and/or adapt to life in a fascist society, but what impacts America’s accelerating death spiral is having on those living beyond the country’s borders.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

On Tyranny: Convulsing Claims Trump Temporarily Sabotaged Fascist Growth in His Australia Homeland

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 05/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Brendan Sloan is a visionary multi-instrumentalist who refers to himself on his Bandcamp page as “once gadigal, then kaurna, now graciously living on unceded wurundjeri land, so-called australia.” The man behind the best one-man death-metal band in The Land Down Under touches base with The Bad Penny in the latest edition of our ongoing series, On Tyranny.

The extremely well-informed Sloan provides a university-grade lesson on the history of his country’s genocide against indigenous farmers, encroaching fascism and antisemitism, and threats posed by growing fascist-right and techno-fascist movements in his homeland.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

« Older Entries