Podcast 2020.14 Mark IV

Gloom Merchants – Kids and Their Children [from Finally Bust a Nut and It’s Exactly How You Imagined, released August 15, 2020]

Hyper Tensions – Solar Stare [from Evil Seeds, released September 4, 2020]

I corresponded with Ryan Dunn of Hyper Tensions.
TMODM: Who are your main influences? What’s next for you?
RD: Main influences: 13th Floor Elevators, Dead Moon, T Rex.
What’s next: Currently recording a song for a split with our friends, and killer rock’n’roll band, Cairo Jag which should be out later this year and then we’re looking to start recording a new full length record this winter. Just gonna keep writing songs and get weirder.

fuguers cove – Tanks/Flanks–>Bar Stool [from PERFORMS The Marshmen “Live on the Fuckin’ Moon”, released August 24, 2020]

This is the second time I’ve included a fuguers cove track on a Turn Me On, Dead Man podcast, and I’ve been corresponding on and off with Justin Bendell about his various projects.
TMODM: It ended up being easy to choose a track of yours for this episode of Turn Me On, Dead Man–“Tanks/Flanks–>Bar Stool” has been going through my head for a couple of days now. Plus, as I mentioned before, I really like the whole idea of a faux live album and introducing the alter-ego band was a nice touch. I’m in the process of posting notes for this episode on the Turn Me On, Dead Man website and I’ve been asking the artists what’s next for them, but I see you’ve already posted three more releases on Bandcamp! So I guess I’ll just ask you: what direction are you going, musically or otherwise?
JB: You got it. The project I have posted on Bandcamp is a triple album concept that I wanted to finish this past summer, but, well, time ran out. It won’t be a magnum opus, but I’m imagining that it might be. The records are related–a triptych of innocence, dark turbulence, and reconciliation, each record with its own mood and energy. The first one will be lighter and major key (South American & Caribbean influences), the second will darker, heavier, & minor key (garage-rock nihilism) and the third more quiet, acoustic, and reflective like Wilco after Jeff Tweedy quit drugs. About 1/2 of it is written.
TMODM: I’m looking forward to hearing it!

Castle Club – Anybody Else [from II, released August 21, 2020]

TMODM: Who are your main influences:
CC: I think we’re all influenced primarily by the same things, we all love and appreciate classic psych and garage stuff, punk rock, krautrock, and various kinds of electronic music, as well as a lot of the contemporary psych stuff that’s happening now like Oh Sees and Gizz. I probably like underground 80’s and 90’s stuff, Pacific Northwest and otherwise, a little more than the other guys in the band, I love Fugazi, Melvins, Breeders etc.
TMODM: What’s next for you?
CC: As far as what’s next for us, we’ve been making and putting out videos for all of the songs on ‘II’ every Friday on the Ghostspace Records YouTube channel, this Friday will be part 6 out of 8. Since we can’t play shows or anything like that we’re trying to make the best of a bad situation and get into the video thing, which is pretty new for us. We’ll also be starting the process of writing and recording the third and fourth Castle Club albums in the next couple weeks and hopefully have those out late 2020, early 2021.
It’s a weird time to be involved in music in really any capacity right now. At the heart of the label is the fact that we’re really just a group of friends who help each other execute our ideas, by being in each other’s bands, helping each other record and putting out our friends’ music. None of that has really changed for us. We just can’t wait to play shows again!

Excellent Skeleton – Stop Waking The Sun [from Stop Waking The Sun, released September 10, 2020]

I corresponded with Adde Jones of Excellent Skeleton
TMODM: Who are your main influences?
AJ: From a recent review of the single by Welsh Music podcasts – which was spot on – Our influences are clear:
🎸TODAY’S TUNE / CÂN Y DYDD🎸
Stop Waking the Sun is the new single by Cardiff shoegaze psych-rockers, Excellent Skeleton https://bit.ly/3hzy15U
Channeling the spirit of My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, it sprawls across an epic 10-minute soundscape combining droning bass and dreamy vocals with overdriven 90s guitars to create a mesmerising wall of sound.
This hypnotic tune is the first taste and closing track on Excellent Skeleton’s forthcoming album, On Mercury Sea.
The radio edit is accompanied by a video that was recorded on Southerndown beach on the last weekend before lockdown. It splices together the band with found footage from the British folk horror movie, Lucifer’s Garden.
–Welsh Music Podcasts 14/09/2020
TMODM: What’s next for you?
AJ: We have an imminent album release – hopefully on vinyl, as well as Bandcamp – which will happen after the release of a second single.
We are also planning to perform a full show in a church with beautiful lights and quality acoustics to make up for the lack of gigs.

Prana Crafter – Chalice of the Fungal Sage [from MorphoMystic, released September 18, 2020]

This is the second time I’ve included a track by Prana Crafter, and I’ve been corresponding with him through twitter.
TMODM: Have you been able to perform in front of an audience in recent months? What’s next for you?
PC: Hey man, Thanks! I have done two live streaming shows (one for Garden Portal which was acoustic songs with vocals and the other was for the Hoover Public Library and was a long cosmic jam). There are 0 opportunities to play in front of an audience in Washington State. I just released MorphoMystic on Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube (which I guess you know since you will be playing fungal sage) and the next project I have is still in the formative stages but will be a audio-visual collaboration between myself, the artist Aubrey Nehring, and a few psychedelic visionaries doing a guided meditation, don’t think I’m allowed to say more about that just yet but I will keep you posted!

CCR Headcleaner – High Def [from Street Riffs, released September 04, 2020]

TMODM: Have you been able to record or perform live in recent months?
CCRHC: We have not played live since s.i.p. started, but we have been writing music and working on a music video for the song Sweets off of Street Riffs. It should debut very soon!
TMODM: What’s next for you?
CCRHC: Our plans for the future are to start recording a new album asap!!!

Liquidacid – Scurry Release [from Divining Road Pt. 2, released August 22, 2020]

White Manna – ARC [from ARC, released August 28, 2020]

I corresponded with David Johnson of White Manna.
TMODM: Have you been able to record or perform live in recent months? What’s next for you?
DJ: We haven’t played live at all this year unfortunately. But we are finishing up more recordings and will probably have a new LP out this winter. Hopefully we can get a tour together for 2021, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Lamp of the Universe – Beams of Ra [from Dead Shrine, released June 22, 2020]

I corresponded with Craig Williamson of Lamp of the Universe.
TMODM: Have you been able to record or perform live in recent months? What’s next for you?
CW: Haven’t played live at all in the 20 odd years I’ve been doing LotU, it’s only been me, in the studio recording alone, playing everything. Maybe one day!
The next thing for me would be just to continue writing music, demoing new songs, slowly preparing to eventually go into the studio…..and doing promo for this recent new album.