Archive for the Interviews Category

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10 Best Bay Area Bands, According to Death-Thrash Hometown Heroes Absolute Darkness (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/15/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s always cool to get positive feedback from readers, especially those of you who keep tabs on what some lame-ass AI tool referred to as “the iconoclastic website The Bad Penny.” Hell, we’ll take it – and much more importantly, we’ll take your liking of this consummately non-mainstream and non-corporate hub for news, interviews, games, reviews and more about rad bands that mostly lurk underground.

Aaaaaanyway, it’s even more flattering to get kind words from musicians; after all, none of us would be on this website, writing and reading any of the posts, engaging in discussions and finding fulfillment in music in general were it not for those who actually make it. All of which is to say that the new series with the loose title The Bad Penny Passport is attracting so much excitement from artists that it feels like getting blindsided by a tsunami. And that enthusiasm is showing in the bands’ submissions, none better exemplified by this golden treasure of a contribution from Bay Area death thrashers Absolute Darkness.

The band began 10 years ago fueled in part by their love of death metal but also thrash metal, the genre du jour in their San Francisco hometown. Now, the band consisting of guitarist/lead vocalist Ron Dorn, lead guitarist/backup vocalist Douglas Vetter Guitars, bassist Orson Sojo and drummer Scott Russell are readying their second album, Witness to a Dying World, for an October 23 release. There’s more on that below; but first, let’s get schooled by Absolute Darkness and what they believe to be the 10 best Bay Area bands of all time.

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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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Queer Artist Logan Lynn Reflects on ‘Incredibly Meaningful’ Boise Screening of Award-Winning Documentary

Posted in Interviews with tags on 09/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Twenty years into Logan Lynn’s career as an artist and activist, the Portland resident trekked to Boise last week to screen his increasingly feted documentary The Pain and the Power. Presented by rock band Portugal. The Man’s KNIK Records’ PortuGAY Division, the film is touted as “a personal portrait tracing a 30-year career forged at the intersection of queerness, faith, addiction, trauma and self-reinvention.”

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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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Like David Yow, Unsane’s Chris Spencer Almost Filled the Role of Vocalist for Punk Legends Flipper (Exclusive)

Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, News with tags , , , , on 09/13/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
David Yow of the Jesus Lizard (photo credit: Josh Pelta-Heller for Phawker)

David Yow’s could very well lingering in obscurity without his iconic tenure as the frontman of the Jesus Lizard (and Scratch Acid) before that. But he’s also sprinkled in some bizarre side projects along the way, including his abstract-art “music” album Tonight You Look Like a Spider, released in June 2013 on Joyful Noise; a stint as the vocalist for L.A. underground rock trio Qui that culminated in their 2007 album Love’s Miracle; and guest appearances at concerts by Shellac, Melvins, the Dicks, Girls Against Boys and Cop Shoot Cop.

But one of the most notable excursions Yow – who self-deported from the U.S. for Portugal during the Trump regime – took in his equally florid and flatulent career was when he took on the role of vocalist for influential punk band and one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite groups, Flipper. After forming in 1979 and taking a decade-long break from 1994 to 2004, Yow filled in for ailing singer Bruce Loose during shows in 2015. Four years later, Yow reprised his role as substitute vocalist for Flipper’s 40th Anniversary Tour in 2019; at that point, Yow was effectively a member of the band, which advertised their shows as “Flipper with David Yow.”

But little do fans know – if any – that Yow wasn’t a shoe-in for Flipper’s replacement vocalist. Chris Spencer, frontman of Unsane – another hugely influential noise-rock band from decades past, along with the Jesus Lizard – recently revealed in an interview with this writer: “I was really a big Flipper fan, despite them having 30-plus members over the years. The ethos of that band was just great.”

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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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Top 19 Best Bandcamp Free Downloads #20: Extreme-Metal Special – Amarok, Death by a Thousand Cuts, Ashes of Abaddon

Posted in Interviews with tags , , on 09/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Welcome to the 20th installment of The Bad Penny‘s Bandcamp Freebie series, in which we handpick our favorite free songs on the platform and dish them up for your consumption. Are we gonna get out of this thing alive, dear readers? Let’s not think of that, shall we, even though I just asked you.

Ladies and gentlemen, we entreat you with our latest batch of free music of the highest quality. (And the lowest price.) Not as many full-lengths time around as in recent editions past. But we think you’ll survive. All the titles featured here are free. And yes, you ARE welcome.

(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)

1. Amarok’s self-titled debut (and splits with Hell, Pyramido and Enth)

If you’re asking whether two songs qualify as an LP, you’re living in the fuckin’ past. Speaking of which, Amarok – the best black-metal band ever to come out of Chico, California (go ahead, try me) – joined forces about 15 years ago, and this release was their first. But after COVID and some other delays, they’re roaring back like lion kings and ready to rip your anus straight out of your rear end with Overcome, the title of which clearly refers to the challenges the quartet has faced. Amarok – not to be confused with Agalloch or AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock” – rip their new record out of its sheath on September 25, and if you don’t pick it up, you’d better watch your back, because these no-nonsense dark lords will come after you. (PS: Amarok are playing with Hell on October 2 at Clock-Out Lounge in Seattle, so there’s a better chance than not that the bands will play the songs on their aforementioned split.)

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The 10 Best Irish Bands, According to Alt-Pop-Addicted Electronic Producer Phenom Vaticanjail (Exclusive)

Posted in Interviews, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/12/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

(Alert for those allergic to sarcasm: Copious amounts of it are laced throughout the next paragraph or two.)

Latin-Irish electro-pop musician and music-sampling absurdist wasn’t born in a Vatican jail – or her current home city of Dublin, for that matter. Rather, the artist producer was birthed in Chile, a country whose best artists we recently ran down in the last installment – courtesy of heavy garage-rock band Niño Nuclear – of our massively popular, Grammy Award-winning series unofficially and succinctly referred to as The Best Bands in the World, as Decided by Musicians Who Live in the Same Places From Where the Bands on the Top 10 Lists Originate and, for the Most Part, Still Reside. (If you haven’t already noticed from The Bad Penny‘s ardent abstention from most social media – save YouTube – we’re really good at marketing.)

All that’s stated above provides a seamless segue into the next edition in our still-fresh series. Through it, we hope to “visit” as many countries as we can, and listen to native artists themselves rather than Spotify as to what we should be pumping into our ear holes.

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