Less than three weeks ago, The Bad Penny connected with our favorite new rocksteady/punk band Big Special, who famously played their first headlining gig at Dublin Castle in 2023 and haven’t looked back since. Now playing for crowds running as high as 2,300 attendees and the like at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, they’re still pushing their second album, the consummately wryly titled National Average, which came out July 4.
Continue readingArchive for the Interviews Category
On Tyranny: Charlie Nieland on How LGBTQ+ Artists Can Push Back Against ICE, MAGA
Posted in Interviews, News, On Tyranny, Sound Off, Videos with tags Charlie Nieland, homophobia, On Tryranny on 11/09/2025 by Kurt OrzeckSongwriter/producer Charlie Nieland–whose works regularly deal with his emotional, romantic and artistic struggles deserves–miraculously makes his art all that much more enriching for his students, classmates and the land as well. But when The Bad Penny caught word that had become more politically active as of late, we redoubled our efforts to interview him about how American Authoritarianism is already impacting artist communities, whether they know it or not.
Much to our delight, Charlie agreed to take part in The Bad Penny‘s latest episode of our “On Going” series.
Listen to our compelling conversation, become part of the effort to save and strengthen democracy across the world – and pick up Charlie’s latest works, Shame; and the just-released Stories From the Borderlines:
Here’s a taste of a new Charlie track:
Hope over to his Bandcamp page to dig deeper into him.
Furthermore, check out The Bad Penny‘s ongoing On Tyranny series, which we launched in the spring, here. Recent installments include interviews with Moonspell, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Deaf Club, Cosmic Reaper, Ted Hearne, Terzij de Horde, Chairmaker, MyVeronica, the Gunshy, Planet on a Chain, Necrofier, Cheap Perfume, Bobby Conn, Truculent, Spiritiste and many more.
Psycroptic Say They Left Prosthetic for Metal Blade to Be With Friends Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Revocation, Goatwhore
Posted in Interviews with tags Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, goatwhore, Metal Blade, Prosthetic, Psycroptic, Revocation on 10/27/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Psycroptic signed to Metal Blade Records after their deal with Prosthetic Records ended and the tech-death metal band became free agents. Psycroptic bassist Todd Stern told Music Connection the Australian act picked Metal Blade in part so they could rub elbows with their amigos Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Revocation, Goatwhore and The Red Chord.
On Tyranny: With Authoritarian Takeover Now Complete in U.S., ‘We’re Just Focusing on Survival,’ Queer Artist Nic Pugh of Midniter Says
Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags Midniter, Nic Pugh, SugarTank! Records on 10/27/2025 by Kurt Orzeck“It’s just too much,” kindhearted musician Nic Pugh says on Monday, Oct. 27, in the latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s increasingly popular “On Tyranny” series. In it, musicians open up about how they are damaged, targeted and made to feel unwelcome in Authoritarian America.
While mostly disconnected from politics in the past, the artist behind indie-electronic pop project Midniter explains how he arrived at the decision to speak his mind about Authoritarian America. It’s no easy task, with Trump and Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” theory of controlling the U.S. media now in its 10th month.
“Right now, I don’t feel like there’s necessarily a benefit for me having an interview other than the fact that I just feel I need to do it,” the queer indie electronic artist/singer/songwriter notes. Pugh’s efforts to raise awareness about social issues goes beyond making music; he founded SugarTank! Records with Nic Holman, who are in the riot-grrrl-inspired quartet Dreamboat. The label’s primary goal is to support and celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and allies in the artists’ hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Continue readingFrom the Vault – Inside The Label: I’m Better Than Everyone Records
Posted in Features, Inside The Label, Interviews with tags Beaten Back to Pure, Deadbird, Down, eyehategod, Hail!Hornet, I'm Better Than Everyone Records], Phil Anselmo, Samothrace, US Christmas on 10/26/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
“It was something new,” label founder Karim Khan said. “[Everything] caught me by surprise. And from [that] record, I discovered bands like Eyehategod”
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In last week’s chapter of Inside the Label, we put our high beams on Bloodshot Records, a ‘print founded 15 years ago by two people whose combined previous record label experiences amounted to basically nothing. Nan Warshaw and Rob Miller’s labor was one of love, derived from a sheer and uncompromising appreciation for independent music (rowdy, beer-soaked independent music, in particular).
But while neither Warshaw nor Miller had worked at a label before, they had at least served some time in the industry: Warshaw with promoting artists and shows, and Miller with music production.
Continue readingExclusive: Dirty Three Drummer Jim White Reflects on Teaming With Cat Power, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Joan Jett, and More
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews with tags Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Cat Power, Dirty Three, Hal Wilner, Jim White, Joan Jett, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey on 10/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
What do Cat Power, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Stephen Malkmus, Marianne Faithfull, Phosphorescent, Warren Ellis, Mark Kozelek, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Courtney Barnett, Mick Turner, Kurt Vile, Joan as Police Woman, Smog, Nina Nastasia, Matt Sweeney, Martha Wainwright, Simon Joyner, Xylouris White, Joan Jett, New Buffalo, and Kurt Vile have in common? The answer is the gentleman pictured above: Jim White, arguably the most sought-after drummer in the history of underground music.
Best known for incepting Dirty Three some 33 years ago with fellow Aussies Ellis (violin) and Turner (guitar), White is no less in demand now – at the ripe age of 63 – than at practically any other point in his illustrious career. And now, at very long last (more than three decades), the kit master is finally issuing his own records along with producer Guy Picciotto of Fugazi.
Continue readingFavorite Films: Heavy Heavy Low Low Vocalist Lists His Favorite Flicks as Halloween Creeps Closer
Posted in Favorite Films, Interviews, Lists, Reviews with tags An American Werewolf in London, David Lynch, Halloween, Heavy Heavy Low Low, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Night of the Living Dead, No Country for Old Men, Robbie Smith, The Coen Brothers on 10/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
It’s not uncommon for an actor to form or join a band – after all, it takes a certain gene to drive a person to be at the center of attention as much as they possibly can. But this past summer, when we caught up with vocalist Robbie Smith of sasscore squad Heavy Heavy Low Low, we learned that the inverse isn’t necessarily as common.
Sure, he enjoys fronting the band from San Jose, California, and writing and recording their songs – which are so unhinged and berserk that even Guantanamo Bay couldn’t restrain or temper them. Nonetheless, Smith also enjoys stepping away from the physical intensity of the band’s concerts to focus on an artistic endeavor he may value even more than crafting music: filmmaking.
Continue readingFrom the Vault: Brutally Honest Sean Z., Vocalist for Brutal Band Dååth, Professes Love for Three 6 Mafia and Drugs
Posted in Interviews with tags Dååth, Sean Z., Three 6 Mafia on 10/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
[This interview was originally published on IndiePit in 2009. Go here for our far more recent conversation with vocalist Sean Z. in 2023 right here.]
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It’s the phone call that every musician with loft aspirations dreams of getting.
“We leave in two days, and we can practice for one day. Can you go on a U.S. tour with us?”
It was late 2007, and Sean Z. (for “Zatorsky”) didn’t need more than a minute to mull over his decision. Dropping everything, he lunged at the chance to join Dååth as their new lead vocalist – even though he had been told it was only to be a temporary gig.
“I quit my job, I quit my life, I quit my band and went on the road, man.”
And that’s where he’s been, more or less, ever since.
Continue readingMinami Deutsch Nearly Went Broke Touring the States With Earthless – But the Japanese Krautrockers Lived to Tell About It
Posted in Interviews with tags Earthless, Minami Deutsch on 10/24/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Tokyo krautrock treasures Minami Deutsch, which translates to “South Germany” (try wrapping your head around that one) conclude their recent tour of the U.S. tomorrow night. Having occupied a supporting slot for Earthless, a heavy psych-rock band from San Diego that doesn’t seem to ever stop touring, Earthless and Minami Deutsch are clearly well-suited for each other, having played a stretch of 14 gigs in spring 2024 that culminated with their performances at Austin Psych Fest.
The two heady projects recently reunited for another stretch of dates that ran from Oct. 8 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and lasts until they play Belly Up in Solana Beach, California, tomorrow night. Needless to say, Earthless have taken the much younger band — which formed in 2014, compared with the birth year of their partners-in-psych, 2001 — under their wing in a big way. Earthless consistently raved online about Minami Deutsch on their social media accounts, as if they were brethren.
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