Earlier this week, The Bad Penny caught up with Joe Love, vocalist/guitarist of brand-new, badass Boston band Merry Brigade, who freshen up grunge-era alt-rock with a modern sound. The quartet — which also features Dave Holmes (guitar/backing vocals), Kevin Delprete (bass) and Ben Chase (drummer) — self-released their debut EP, DDD, in mid-March. After taking that first step, Merry Brigade are moving full-steam ahead, with their first full-length slated to come out later this year and a second LP — which the band is already toiling away at — poised to materialize in 2027.
Continue readingArchive for the Interviews Category
Merry Brigade’s Joe Love Took Tips From Soundgarden, David Foster Wallace for His Aspiring (and Inspiring) New Band
Posted in Interviews, The Visionaries, Videos with tags David Foster Wallace, Joe Love, Merry Brigade, Soundgarden on 05/02/2026 by Kurt OrzeckWhite Denim Aiming to Put Out New Punk LP ‘Sooner Than Later’
Posted in Interviews with tags James Petralli, White Denim on 04/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
White Denim’s James Petralli talks celebrating 20 years of the band, maintaining a positive outlook, and more ahead of the release of his 13th album, 13. Read my full feature on FLOOD.
Photo credit: Charlie Weinmann
On Tyranny: Hip-Hop MC TINO Says of His New Trans-Rights Song: ‘[They] Just Want to Be Loved Too’
Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags authoritarianism, fascism, free speech, George Floyd, No Kings, protest, TINO, trans, trans rights, tyranny on 04/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
No Kings 3, which took place last week and drew an estimated 8 to 9 million participants – exceeding the turnouts of the first two protests – provided more wind in the sails of the pro-democracy movement that is barreling toward a critical juncture at the November midterm elections.
Red-hot MC TINO – who hails from Dayton, Ohio – didn’t make it to the protest. But since the early 2010s, the hip-hop high-achiever has kept his mind trained on educating and galvanizing his audience with socially conscious messages while ensuring his lips are trained on spitting transcendent rhymes.
Continue readingPuma Blue Walks Us Through ‘Unnatural’ Processes Behind New LP ‘Croak Dream’
Posted in Interviews with tags Croak Dream, Jacob Allen, Puma Blue on 03/28/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Rather than compiling a double album or reimagining material into acoustic form, Puma Blue’s Jacob Allen created two entirely separate albums from the same creative spark. Released a year apart nearly to the day, last February’s antichamber and this past month’s Croak Dream are something of a yin and yang to each other. “antichamber was all about what’s nestled inside you that you’re not ready to look at, whereas Croak Dream feels like an explosion of letting it all hang out and being free—less curated and sheltered with you exposing your soul,” Allen explains.
Read my full interview with the band via FLOOD.
Who’s the Boss of American Experimental Post-Black Metal? Bosse-de-Nage, That’s Who
Posted in Interviews with tags Bosse-de-Nage, Bryan Manning on 03/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
For a band that’s played fewer than 20 gigs in their 15-year existence, scoring an interview with the vocalist for Bosse-de-Nage was quite the get for yours truly. Bryan Manning spoke about the eight-year gap between the experimental black metal band’s last album and their new record Hidden Fires Burn Hottest—and shared what his dream concert would entail. Read my short-but-sweet interview with Manning at FLOOD.
