Last March, we had the pleasure of catching up with L.A.-based psych-pop band Dummy ahead of their set at Treefort Music Fest in Boise. In addition to talking about their second album, Free Energy, and accompanying remix LP, Bubbelibrium DLC, Alex Ewell and Joe Trainor – each of whom plays multiple instruments – talked about their favorite movies. We present you with that portion of our conversation, if you’re looking for something worth watching this weekend.
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“Born out of and in homage to the necessity of irrational purposive activity, the still-pregnant and inadequately mapped labyrinths of absolute idealism, the tragic potential of human Dasein, and the Promethean flame inherent in all acts of creativity.”
That’s a lofty way to describe Serpent Column’s Aion of Strife, a statement presented on the Detroit-are project’s Bandcamp page. But it’s well-earned, as anyone with two functioning ears will discover upon listening to the record, which is equal parts transcendent and terrifying. (Fun fact: Snakes don’t have ears!) The ringleader of the black metal band, who goes by “JH,” has honed his music and writing skills over the course of Serpent Column’s nine-year existence.
The group’s vocalist, Mike Tibbits, has a great deal to say, as evidenced by today‘s release of Aion of Strife. Turns out so does JH, with whom The Bad Penny had the good fortune to converse about a month ago. He says Serpent Column on the whole addressed “an ancient brain creature in a modern civilization.”
Here’s The Bad Penny‘s full interview with Serpent Column:
For more info on Serpent Column, and to get yerself a copy of Aion of Strife, go to its Bandcamp page.
The eminently likable Mike Boyd isn’t just the Director of Publicity at arguably Chicago’s strongest indie-rock label, Thrill Jockey, founded in 1992. Nor is he only the vocalist/guitarist for heavy trio Stander. He also plays guitar at live performances by experimental black metal band Genital Shame. Oh, and he two cats and a dog to boot.
Drilling into the nuts and bolts, Nikola is a gray and white tabby, whereas Mugen is an orange tabby.
“They’re brothers, and they’ll be turning 14 this year,” Boyd told The Bad Penny. “My dog, Saoirse, is a pit bull, and I am unsure about her actual age. But. based on the estimates from when I rescued her, I would guess she’s about 9 years old.
Without further ado, let’s take a gander at Boyd’s three adorable amigos.
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In early September, we presented part of an extensive interview with Eugene S. Robinson, one of the most uncompromising, forthright and no-bullshit rock musicians around. That piece mostly revolved around his decision to leave the United States for Spain; if you want to know the reasons why, go here.
But today, Post-Trash published the conversation in virtually its entirety, covering Robinson’s plethora of music projects, his strict adherence to a set of principles and practices, and how he envisions his future unfolding. Read the lengthy interview with Robinson – whose credits include Buñuel, Oxbow and Whipping Boy – here.
Praise be the wind
And the filth on it’s back
Paint the inside of my hallow body in holy mural
Like a gunshot wound crater
Like a Rothko
Like a fox pissing in a ditch
Her lungs inundated
She will try to cut the back of the wind she rides
Singing out…
Elizabeth A. Carver’s “I Commit to You God”
Consider for a moment how many songs and albums musicians create every single day or every single year. To put a twist on an the oft-used idiom, “finding a needle in a haystack” is almost laughable compared to finding musical gems in today’s infinite galaxy of songs (largely because the vast majority of them can be streamed or purchased for free).
But to cop from another cliché, great music can still bubble to the surface, if it’s remarkably captivating, if the artist takes pride in their craft and if they work hard enough chiseling it to perfect. Oh, and there’s that small matter of working hard too. Even amid the Internet Apocalypse, which continues to be sold to us as a means allowing every musician of however negligible quality to “make it big,” there are still glimmers of hope that transcend the terrible, trendy trappings of the modern era and give us hope that maybe, just maybe, every facet of creative endeavors isn’t rigged.
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The Bad Penny is embarrassed to admit that we only discovered INDECLINE, an American Anarchist art collective whose work has had tremendous impact on the underground and even the mainstream, for more than 20 years. We caught wind of the group, whose members wish to remain anonymous, after they collaborated with Cursive for their video “The Avalanche of Our Demise,” which the Tim Kasher-led indie-rock band released last month. Upon further investigation into INDECLINE, it became obvious that they would be a boon to On Tyranny, for they would certainly introduce new ideas and perspectives in the series we launched roughly a year ago.
And boy did they ever. Formed in 2001, the decentralized group of musicians, graffiti artists and others have fearlessly devoted themselves to bringing attention to the evils of capitalism, the death of democracy in America – and, on a more positive note, how we can build a better society. INDECLINE’s most prominent works of public art include statues of Donald Trump in the buff, glued to sidewalks; and their “Ku Klux Klowns” installation that served as a response to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
We could expound a great deal further on INDECLINE’s history and accomplishments, but much of that information is covered in the longest, boldest and most informative installment in our On Tyranny series. So, without further ado, here is the epic conversation
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What do punk-rockers Psychic Pigs have in common with The Simpsons? The band’s name is a derogatory slur toward cops and their streak of brutality, and the long-running animated TV show features a piggish cop, Chief Wiggum, as one of its central characters. But don’t make the mistake of thinking Psychic Pigs are haters; Brandon Welchez adores cats, as he revealed to The Bad Penny this week as part of our Pet Sounds series.
Based in L.A., Psychic Pigs put out a new album in May 2025 through Slovenly Recordings (quite a coincidence considering that “slovenly” is a commonly used descriptor of pigs). Welchez, formerly of psych posse Crocodiles, crafted the self-titled effort – one of last year’s best psychedelic records – in a mere four days. While we could’ve picked Welchez’s brain about pigs and crocodiles, we focused on his cat, Henry, as Pet Sounds revolves around musicians and their pets.
Here’s how our conversation played out:
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“Stranguliatorius” might not be as difficult a band name to spell and pronounce as “Sanguisugabogg,” but you’d be a fool to wager against the former band’s comparable ferocity. Hailing from Lithuania – name another music act that comes from that country, and we’ll buy you a horse – the ear-shattering, crusty death metal quintet drops its new album today via Horror Pain Gore Death.
The five-piece band, which also laces its songs with grindcore, consists of Iggy (vocals), Švedas (guitars), Mr. Adam (guitars), Dr. Dovis (bass) and Kaplerėzas (drums).
They recently told The Bad Penny in an exclusive statement that, on their third go-’round making a full-length, “Working together again felt natural – a familiar process with people who know how to let the music speak for itself and help bring it out the right way.”
The equally generous and grotesque gang granted The Bad Penny the opportunity to premiere one of the songs on the Flies Don’t Lie, named “When I Lift the Coffin Lid.”
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“I don’t have doubts about something I’ve committed to.”
-Garrett Bussanick
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Garrett Bussanick is arguably the consummate metonymy for experimental black/ death metal, in that he breathes an inextinguishable fire. It’s all-consuming, too; his flames of fury have fired up projects like the active Sire Languish and Aeviterne; as well as his past bands Tombs, Flourishing, Arson, Cardiovascular Sub-Hypothermia and El-Ahrairah.
Pull to God EP is Bussanick’s first solo record, on which he performs all instruments and – thus – presumably bares his soul in full (if he believes there’s such a thing as a soul). Spring Effete issued the four-song release roughly a month ago, and The Bad Penny caught up with Bussanick soon after that.
Below is our conversation, conducted via email.
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The Bad Penny (beta) 