When I look back on my life and what albums had an immediate impact on me from the 90s, one jumps out that I felt never got their due. The band was M.I.J and the singer of that band, Jeff Hanson. Jeff tragically died in 2009 and left a wealth of material from three solo albums on Kill Rock Stars to an album and EP on the legendary Caulfield Records. I wanted to find a couple of folks to talk about Jeff and his life, stories, and legacy. Speaking about Jeff in this episode is Bob Nanna from Braid...
May 06, 2020•51 min•Ep. 170
Today, we welcome Whitmer Thomas. You’re saying, who is Whitmer? Whitmer is a comedian that recently had a 1-hour comedy special on HBO called The Golden One. It’s also an album of music with the same name that you can listen to on our favorite DSP. Whit was a musician before a comedian and has quite the extensive knowledge of punk, hardcore, and emo from his days playing in emo and screamo bands. To that, Whitmer jokes throughout his HBO special about bands we all know and love. You should sear...
Apr 24, 2020•52 min•Ep. 169
Today, we welcome a legend. Guy Picciotto from Rites of Spring and Fugazi. You may also know him from Happy Go Licky or One Last Wish. Insert another obscure band to tweet at me later. In my years of doing this podcast, I never expected to have such legends of the genre. I’m glad I waited because Guy speaks about his feelings about the word emo and how it’s changed over the years. Really eye opening and wasn’t expecting him to expound on that as much as he did. Definitely stick around for that. ...
Feb 17, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 168
Today we welcome Matt Saincome, Bill Conway and Krissy Howard from The Hard Times! The world famous satirical site stopped by Washed Up Emo on their recent book tour to talk about how the site started, how they come up with all the funny headlines, some regrets they’ve had, and I challenge them to come up with some emo headlines on the spot. A truly inspiring tale of finding something you love and making it your job. Washed Up Emo is a partner of the Double Elvis podcast network. Learn more abou...
Feb 03, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 167
Today we welcome drummer, William Goldsmith from Sunny Day Real Estate. You may also know him from The Fire Theft, Foo Fighters or his new band called Assertion. William and I had an amazing discussion about how he got into music, meeting Jeremy Enigk, the formation of Sunny Day Real Estate, and the lasting impact of the band. We also talk about how he met his close friend and bandmate in Assertion, Justin Tamminga, who you’ll hear speak up at times during the podcast. William’s story is one of ...
Jan 20, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 166
Today we welcome Steve Pedersen from such bands as Cursive, The White Octave, Slowdown Virginia, and Criteria. The boys in Criteria, after 15 years, have a new album entitled “Years,” coming out on 15 Passenger Records next month and Steve was kind enough to spend some time with Washed Up to talk about it. If you’re listening to this in the future, it’s out now on streaming services. In this episode, we dive into how Steve met Tim and Matt from Cursive, what was the glue and luck behind the Omah...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 165
Today we welcome Jimmy LaValle from The Album Leaf. Jimmy and I met up in Los Angeles to talk about his early days from the 90s in San Diego being exposed to DIY and screamo to touring with bands like The Get Up Kids, Piebald, and Jimmy Eat World. We also dive into The Album Leaf project, how he met Sigur Rós, the Sub Pop Records days, and how he’s now busy with film scoring. It all makes sense and how each one happened all started with putting yourself out there and being involved. Jimmy’s stor...
Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 164
We welcome again on the podcast for a 3rd time, Matt Pryor from The Get Up Kids. In this episode we discuss at length, the 20th anniversary of their album "Something to Write Home About." Matt and I discuss the making of the record, we go track by track on stories and lyrics behind the songs and the release of the record on Vagrant. We also dive into the aftermath after it’s release and boom of emo that followed. We spend time reflecting the album’s lasting impact with fans and the band that con...
Nov 25, 2019•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 163
Today we welcome singer, guitarist and lyricist, Scott Hobart from Giants Chair. Giants Chair are a midwest band that in the early 90s influenced many in the scene we know today. Starting out on the legendary Caulfield Records, Giants Chair have been off and on over the years and continued to be talked about when this genre and era is mentioned. Now they’re about to release their new album “Prefabylon” out December 6th on Spartan Records. If this is the future, it’s out now on streaming services...
Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 162
Today we welcome Tracy Wilson from Dahlia Seed. You may also know her from her other bands Souvenir, Ringfinger or Positive No. If it is a no, let me explain. Tracy is an icon in the emo scene because she made her own path and her own rules on how to make it in the scene. Tracy and I talk about her many bands, jobs and stories over the years that intertwine the icons of the scene and little known ones that deserve a second look. A free flowing interview done in my apartment in NYC that was reall...
Oct 28, 2019•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 161
Today we welcome Casey James Prestwood from Hot Rod Circuit. Casey and I talk through the history of Hot Rod Circuit and his current endeavors with country music and his band The Burning Angels. Casey recently released a 7” out with fellow friend Josh Berwanger on Lost Broadcast Records that’s worth checking out. If you ever wanted to know the ins and outs of what went down in the early 2000s, Hot Rod Circuit was right there. Casey weaves such a beautiful story through the eras, labels, and both...
Oct 01, 2019•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 160
We welcome back Dan Didier from The Promise Ring to talk about the album “Very Emergency.” Why do you ask? Because today, September 28th, 2019 is the 20th anniversary of this album’s release on Jade Tree Records! To that, I wanted to find a fun way to celebrate and talk about the album. So Dan and I connected earlier this week to discuss many things including the inspiration of the album artwork, the backlash at the time, the one video they did for the album, Kim Colleta’s honest opinion of the ...
Sep 28, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 159
Today we welcome Tim Kinsella. You may know Tim from such bands as Cap’n Jazz, Owls, Make Believe, and Joan of Arc. He’s currently playing music with his wife in Good Fuck. Tim and I spent time talking about his work ethic, the word emo, and the podcast interview starts with us discussing the recent Joan of Arc documentary and where they got the footage and stuff for it and Tim’s thoughts on saving things… Washed Up Emo is a partner of the Double Elvis podcast network. Learn more about your ad c...
Sep 10, 2019•51 min•Ep. 158
Today we welcome Jamie Stillman from EarthQuaker Devices, an effects pedal company out of Akron, Ohio. Jamie was also in bands you may have heard of like The Party of Helicopters, Fringe Candidate, Relaxer (his current band,) and my favorite, Harriet the Spy. Harriet the Spy was a band out of Kent, Ohio that was around from 1993-1998 and was an actual screamo band. They were one of the first screamo bands I ever heard when I started getting into all of this stuff. Also from 1993 to 2002, Jamie r...
Aug 13, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 157
Jade and I connected early on during the first album, "Real Stories Of True People Who Looked Kind Of Like Monsters." I was a huge fan and supporter. Following that debut, it was great to see the mainstream press take a liking to him after the amazing follow-up, "The Yunahon Mixtape." Now the album coming out August 16th, "Basking in the Glow," should propel him to another level. It’s that good. On the podcast, Jade and I discuss his early music life getting heckled, the new album, and there’s a...
Jul 22, 2019•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 156
Today, we welcome Chris Crisci from The Appleseed Cast. Chris has been on my list for the entire 8 years of this podcast’s existence. I am honored to finally have him on the podcast. I loved Chris’ appreciation for the scene, constantly challenging himself, and not resting while making the band work alongside his day job, family and life. The band’s discography is one of my favorites in all of my music and to finally hear some of the questions I’ve had over the years was a true treat. Last, to n...
Jun 24, 2019•59 min•Ep. 155
A few months ago, I asked a couple of prior podcast guests Brian Lowit from Lovitt Records and now Dischord Records and John Davis from Q and Not U, if they thought an in-person interview could happen. Through their help and a little timing of a personal wedding in DC set this plan in motion. As this podcast gets into its 8th year with no signs of slowing down, I thought it was time to have the person partly responsible for why I first got into straightedge, punk, hardcore, and the DIY ethos I c...
Jun 10, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 154
Today we welcome Mitch Wilson from No Knife! Mitch and I have spoken to each other over the years and finally got some time to chat. We got deep into the San Diego scene, meeting Rocket from the Crypt and Drive like Jehu and early days of being on a label associated with a major. How No Knife met The Get Up Kids, their deep relationship with Lazycain and Jimmy Eat World. We find out that we both utilize a set of jokes that we use relentlessly to our friends and family. Finally, chat about his li...
May 20, 2019•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 153
Today we welcome John Vanderslice. I found out about John through his album in 2000 called, Mass Suicide Occult Figurines, on Barsuk Records. It stuck with me and I’ve followed him since. Last month, he released his latest album “The Cedars” on Native Cat Recordings. He’s on tour with Pedro the Lion and worth a listen if you’ve never dived into the mind of Vanderslice. We talk about how he started late in music, how creating music takes some narcissism to survive, about the loss of life, and the...
May 06, 2019•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 152
A documentary was released a few years ago called "Don’t Break Down," about Jawbreaker. Fun fact: Dan Didier, drummer for the Promise Ring, Maritime and Vermont was the producer of the film! After seeing a screening of the film, I was fascinated at how much footage they had of Jawbreaker. I found out later from Dan that Adam was the one that has been saving everything. When I approached Adam to do the podcast a couple of years ago, Adam said we would need to wait as they were just about to annou...
Apr 22, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 151
Wow, we made it to 150 episodes. Crazy to think about all the folks that have come on to share their story with you and I. To that, a big part of this is agreeing to be open and talk about their music. American Football gets the gold star. Before the reunions, in January 2014, Mike was on the podcast for the first time chatting about his career. For LP2, I had everyone in American Football individually to discuss reuniting and what it was like to write together again. So for LP3 I wanted to do s...
Apr 01, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 150
David Bazan has always been on my list to be on the podcast, it just took almost 8 years. I always sorta thought he’d want nothing to do with me or the podcast. As with this stuff, I got over it and just asked. It worked and fittingly, David has also resurrected Pedro the Lion, with the first album under that name in 15 years. The album “Phoenix” out on Polyvinyl Records, is an amazing return. David and I speak about his religious upbringing, lots of Fugazi and we talk a lot about what music doe...
Mar 25, 2019•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 149
Today we welcome Matt Traxler, guitarist from Brandtson. The band, out of Cleveland was on Deep Elm and The Militia Group back in the day and they recently reissued some lost demos through Matt’s label Steadfast Records. Super fun talking to Matt and a band that if you didn’t realize was around then or now, it’s worth going back and listening to their records. Washed Up Emo is a partner of the Double Elvis podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 18, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 148
I first heard Starmarket on the 3rd Emo Diaries compilation in 1999 and soon after they released their third album “Four Hours Light.” I was instantly blown away with the post-hardcore sound and the next level indie rock/emo sensibility. I never met these guys back in the day and with some reunion shows recently in Japan and their home country of Sweden, I slide into the DMs on Instagram to see if they’d be up to chatting about their band. Fredrik, the lead singer and guitar player, was more tha...
Feb 25, 2019•33 min•Ep. 147
Today we welcome Steve Schiltz from Longwave. Steve is also an accomplished music producer and composer for film, TV and advertising. If you’re wondering why Steve is on. I have three reasons. First, when I moved to NYC, the Brooklyn thing was about to blow up and I was working at a label nearby a lot of these venues in the city where bands like the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others cut their teeth. Longwave were active around the same time as well and I loved them. Second, I was and still am,...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 146
We’re back and stoked to have episode 145 of the podcast with Hutch Harris, most widely know from the band, The Thermals. Hutch and I have been conversing back and forth on Twitter for years. I’d always loved his take on music, especially the punk and hardcore references. As a fan of his band, The Thermals, I was bummed when not long ago they called it quits. In addition to Hutch being a songwriter, I had also enjoyed his writing he’s done with various outlets, especially a recent piece on Pete ...
Jan 28, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 145
Today welcome Erik Ratensperger from the legendary screamo band Jeromes Dream. Jeromes Dream were around for a very short time from 1997 to 2001 born out of the Connecticut hardcore scene. They had a unique way of playing by way of the singer Jeff Smith refusing to use a microphone for shows. Also, the band was known for playing very short sets, usually no longer than 10 minutes. Pretty unique. These guys are right along side Pg.99, Orchid, Saetia in the early screamo era. If you’re unaware, it’...
Dec 17, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 144
Lauren and I connected a few years ago and I found out she listened to the podcast! The stars aligned and we finally caught up recently to chat. Lauren is a massive emo fan and we chat deeply about her early days playing drums in bands around Glasgow, Scotland that helped shape who she is today. She was in a couple killer bands before this including Boyfriend/Girlfriend and Blue Sky Archives. Both are mathy, epic and remind me of the mid 90s. Find those on Bandcamp. You should also know the othe...
Dec 10, 2018•58 min•Ep. 143
If you aren’t aware, Anthony’s YouTube channel, The Needle Drop, is insanely popular and influential for reviewing music. How he ended up with this title of Internet’s busiest music nerd, is quite a story. Recently, Anthony and I connected over the phone to discuss how he got into doing this for a living and what he enjoys most out of reviewing music. Don’t worry, we got nerdy on some real screamo too. Washed Up Emo is a partner of the Double Elvis podcast network. Learn more about your ad choic...
Nov 19, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 142
Today we welcome Justin Courtney Pierre, who you may know from Motion City Soundtrack, Farewell Continental or The Rapture Twins. He recently released his first solo album entitled “In The Drink” that we discuss extensively in this episode and what it took to make it happen. We also chat about his upbringing with friends and family that helped him get into music, his years in speech therapy and the label of pop punk and emo with the band. Plus we talk about his struggles with dependence on drugs...
Nov 12, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 141
