Read my interview with Miki Berenyi, the vocalist/guitarist for Lush whose lyrics candidly taught me at a young age about the ups and downs of romantic relationships, on FLOOD. Conducting this interview with one of the dreamiest musicians in dream-pop was a lifelong dream realized, and it was perhaps one of the last chances to do so, given that she’s now through touring the States.
Remastered and padded out with 14 outtakes and demos, this reissue of My Morning Jacket’s fourth LP, Z, celebrates their breakout moment of glorious, cosmos-reaching rock music. Read my FLOOD review.
Vocals from Ulver, Alcest and Author & Punisher help James Kent thrust his darksynth project Perturbator into lightspeed as it comes closer than ever to a full-fledged band’s sound on Age of Aquarius. Read my FLOOD review.
[Subscribe to The Bad Penny by clicking the “New Subscription” box in the upper-righthand corner of this page.]
“Just existing here in a red state is an act of resistance.”
-The Grasshopper Lies Heavy’s James Woodard
Of all the artists we’ve invited to participate (and who have accepted to be) in The Bad Penny‘s ongoing series On Tyranny, probably no other musician has been more clear, direct and uncompromising than James Woodard, guitarist/vocalist for post-metal/doom/sludge chaos agents The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. The band from San Antonio, Texas, is now in its 20th year but is showing no signs of crying uncle, as a listen of their upcoming record, HEAVY, both purports to be and actually is.
Just as with the album, which will arrive Nov. 14 on Learning Curve Records, our conversation with Woodard about Authoritarian America isn’t for the faint of heart. But you know what else isn’t, sadly? What is happening in the country so many of us claim to be proud of. So, as the right likes to say, put your big-boy pants on and read the unvarnished truth, straight from the mouth of a metal madman who makes total sense.
Continue reading
“Pinky no thinky. Pinky is a spacey tuxedo cat who bonks really hard. She has a giant forehead.”
-Pets’ Chase Ceglie
—
The spirit forces (or algorithms, or whatever) threw down the gauntlet at the proverbial feet of The Bad Penny by making us aware of a band called pets. Immediately, the challenge was on to embrace them as part of our ongoing series Pet Sounds, in which we talk with musicians about their often furry (but sometimes scaly or even feathery) frie nds. Lucky for us, pets agreed to let us befriend them – and they’re the focus of the 70th installment of Pet Sounds, which we launched just over one year ago. (If you think that’s a fast-moving series, be sure to check out On Tyranny, which is keeping pace.)
Adding to the kismet, pets – an ambient-electronic quartet based in New York – issued their latest album, the wryly titled 🌀❓(Spiral Question Mark), today. It’s catchy, freewheeling fun from start to finish, enough to make a cat hop up and down. Speaking of which, Chase Ceglie – who writes music and lyrics for the band; and plays tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, ewi, flute, synths, bass, vocals, string arrangement and effects to boot – was the pets member who volunteered to talk with us about his, you guessed it: cats.
Continue reading
“This is what Joe Strummer prepared us for.”
-The Gunshy’s Matt Arbogast
—
Yesterday, The Bad Penny had the privilege of catching up with alt-folk artist Matt Arbogast of the Gunshy a day after he participated in No Kings 2 in his hometown of Chicago, the epicenter of the latest round of anti-Trump, anti-fascist protests. We were initially scheduled to only speak about his project’s new record, Hurricane Umbrellas, which will hit stores on Dec. 5.
Indeed, we dug into the record, and we’ll bring you those parts of the interview in the coming weeks. But with No Kings 2 on the brain, we’re first delivering Arbogast’s first-hand account of the protest in which he and his family participated on Saturday – a protest that amassed 7 million participants nationwide, making it the largest social mobilization in American history.
Continue reading
“Fun fact: there’s a direct correlation between CEOs and narcissism. It’s no surprise that those who achieve the highest positions of power are also those most comfortable forcing their beliefs on others, through manipulation and worse, in ways they’d never allow to affect their own families.”
-Hail the Sun’s Shane Gann
—
There’s only one place to get a heaping helping of contemporary prog-rock and prog-metal tonight in Boise, and that’s at the Knitting Factory, where Chico, California’s Hail the Sun will open for Raleigh, North Carolina’s Between the Buried and me. The former band are gonna be surging with adrenaline ahead of Friday’s release of their new album, cut. turn. fade. back., on Equal Vision and Rude Records.
The Bad Penny had the distinct honor of catching up with Hail the Sun founding guitarist and backing vocalist Shane Gann last week ahead of the show. During the conversation, Gann revealed his special connections to Boise; talked about his charitable efforts; gave us a preview of tonight’s widely anticipated gig; and also shed light on his side project Murals, a progressive post-hardcore band whose debut, self-titled EP drops Nov. 14 on Equal Vision.
Continue reading
The Bad Penny (beta) 