The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

• Ep498: Birthing the End – Closing a Chapter of SWANS with Michael Gira

  SWANS founder Michael Gira discusses his final orchestrated album "Birthing," his creative process, and plans to transition to a simpler musical approach after decades of creating intense, transcendent live performances. Topics Include: Michael introduces "Birthing" as SWANS' final orchestrated album. Future SWANS work will be much simpler. He's 71 and finds intense performances physically demanding. No clear vision yet for his next musical phase. SWANS will tour US in October, then Europe. He finds Australian tours difficult due to jet lag. Triple vinyl/double CD includes concert film and documentary. Marco Porzia filmed the SWANS documentary. Christopher Nicholson filmed a solo performance in Norway. Great shows happen when "the music plays us." Natural venue acoustics enhance the performance experience. Songs transform and lengthen throughout tours. One song evolved to 82 minutes during tour. Three-hour sets leave performers exhausted afterward. Songs begin on acoustic guitar before band elaboration. He listens to guitar sound hole to hear potential harmonics. Directs band through gestures during live performances. The recording happened immediately after European tour ended. Uses same old Guild acoustic guitar for decades. Vinyl editions required some song edits for length. Gira doesn't listen to much music anymore. He art directs all SWANS releases personally. Created unique limited editions with handmade elements. Has done crowdfunding since 2000 for recording budgets. Once recorded personalized songs for top contributors. Will miss the elation of building live crescendos. No current plans for more fiction writing. Reluctant to write autobiography despite family encouragement. Can mentally play entire album from memory. Recently rediscovered early Led Zeppelin's brilliance. Order the SWANS LP "Birthing" here. Commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

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• ep497: mclusky is still here with andrew falkous

  andrew "falco" falkous discusses the reformation of his band mclusky after a nearly 20-year hiatus, their upcoming album on ipecac recordings, the rare catalogue of vinyl releases and more! Topics Include: falco confirms mclusky's new album "the world is still here and so are we." album will be released on may 9th on ipecac recordings. falco feels ipecac is the perfect label home for mclusky. he hopes this is just the end of "act one" for their reunion. falco approaches life expecting problems but finding humor in them. humor is essential to mclusky's songs without becoming a joke band. falco keeps files of potential song titles for future use. songs usually emerge from playing together in the same room. first takes often contain the magic that makes songs special. falco writes most lyrics but damien wrote lyrics for two songs. "your mother is a ballpoint pen thief" came naturally in writing process. falco describes songwriting as writing 1000 bad songs to get 10 good ones. performing gives falco confidence he doesn't have in other social settings. the current mclusky lineup consistently delivers intense live performances. "mclusky do dallas" remains their most popular album by far. steve albini recorded both "do dallas" and "the difference between me and you..." "lightsaber cocksucking blues" started as a throwaway whole lotta rosie parody. the line "flying is fearful of me" just emerged while performing. "she will only bring you happiness" had radio potential until "sex criminal" line. self-sabotage is part of mclusky's essence, even when unintentional. falco considers swearing an essential part of rock music. australia has been mclusky's strongest market since early in their career. melbourne, sydney and brisbane show strongest streaming numbers for mclusky. the band has toured australia approximately ten times since 2002. prescriptions music is falco's label for future of the left and christian fitness. falco considers mclusky "mostly my band" but credits all members' contributions. damien sayell (current bassist) recently recovered from a health scare. jack egglestone (drummer) has jazz training and remarkable listening skills. mclusky reunion began with charity shows for venues like le pub in newport. the current lineup feels like a distinct band, not future of the left playing mclusky songs. recording the new album was spread across three weekends over 18 months. bob weston remastered "mclusky do dallas" giving it a different sheen. future of the left albums and more christian fitness reissues are planned. their favorite songs on the new album are those recorded most recently. the name "mclusky" came from a character in british tv show "grange hill." order the new mclusky album here commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.patreon.com/VinylGuide listen on apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 listen on spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

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• Ep496: The Adjacent Possible w/ Damian Kulash of OK Go

  Damian Kulash of OK Go discusses his evolution from punk music fan, working with Dischord records, and creating boundary-pushing music, vinyl packaging and viral videos Topics Include: New album "And The Adjacent Possible" available for streaming now. Discussion about physical media's role in OK Go's output. OK Go primarily known for videos that "live in the ether." Damian was into physical record packaging during college years. First record was Herbie Hancock's "Rockit," bought at Tower Records. Young Damian damaged the record trying to scratch like DJ. Later played with Herbie Hancock at Obama's 50th birthday party. Musical journey from hip-hop through Prince, Beatles, Led Zeppelin. DC punk scene was influential, with bands playing in cafeterias. Started Level Records at age 15,with funding from Dischord Records. Ian MacKaye lent teenager Damian money to start label. Level Records produced 7-inches and compilation CDs for friends' bands. College made running a record label difficult for Damian. Studied art semiotics at Brown University. Worked as NPR radio engineer and Photoshop retoucher after college. Indifferent to Napster's rise during OK Go's early days. Band finances operated like "roadrunner off the cliff" cartoon. Discussion about gift economy model working for the band. Belief that making things you love matters most, not success. Music sometimes gets overshadowed by video's visual impact. Videos gave OK Go longevity beyond typical radio-hit bands. New album theme explores Stuart Kaufman's "adjacent possible" concept. OK Go doesn't have unified sound; band is "like a mixtape." Treadmill video was originally made for "nerdiest fans" only. Videos aim to create real events that connect with viewers. Physical pressings of OK Go albums are costly in secondary market. New vinyl features elaborate pop-up sphere in custom packaging. Hidden track on second album deliberately blocked copy-protection software. Record label "Paracadute" means parachute in Italian. Ten-year album gap wasn't intentional; life and pandemic happened. Directed "The Beanie Bubble" film with his wife for Apple. Film directing different from making music videos; less adrenaline-driven. Video production typically takes 3-6 months from concept to completion. Some video ideas abandoned when technology made them commonplace. Order the OK Go LP "And The Adjacent Possible" on vinyl here EXTENDED, Commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

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• Ep495: Private Function Still On Top w/ Chris Penney

  Private Function frontman and instigator Chris Penney discusses the rare, collectable and controversial vinyl art of the band and reveals some details of their new album. Topics Include: Chris Penney injured himself at a house party. Private Function opened for Green Day recently. Bassist Milla broke her ACL during a show. Band got stuck in a cyclone for six days. New album has a shrugging emoji as its title. Album features 2,590 microscopic album covers on the sleeve. Each album copy comes with a magnifying glass. Album name is hidden somewhere in the artwork. Available for pre-order April 23, shipping May 23. Being released in Australia, America, and Europe. Chris started in a band called Mesa Costa. Private Function began with demo recordings at home. First release: "Six Smoking Songs" cassette (100 copies). Reissued with "bin night" sounds layered over it. Another reissue with Christmas carol audio added. Released fake pregnancy tests as band merchandise. "St. Anger" album named after controversial Metallica album. Had to change Spotify artwork due to Metallica similarity. Released an obscure 8-track version of the album. "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" album had Queen-themed artwork. Special "Mystery Bag" vinyl contained bags resembling drugs. Their song "Aubrey Wodonga" became strangely popular in Spain. Released "The First Two Tapes on a 12-inch." Included Subway job applications with the album. 10 copies included handwritten letters of recommendation for Subway. "370HSSV0773H" album featured scratch-off lottery ticket material. Winner received $2,999 and their face on reprints. Needed special gambling exemption to sell in South Australia. Special "gold" edition contained the band members' urine. Another special edition contained beer-making ingredients. Upcoming album will have 100 special variant copies. Chris was banned from America for six years. Recently received American visa for touring. Australian tour in June, European tour in July. Planning potential U.S. tour later this year. Preorder the new Private Function album here EXTENDED, Commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

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• Ep494: Redd Kross Documentary Director & Record Collector Andrew Reich

  TV writer & Record Collector Andrew Reich discusses his decade-long journey creating a documentary about Los Angeles music legends Redd Kross and the McDonald brothers' musical partnership. Topics Include: How Andrew made the leap from TV writing to filmmaking. Wife's suggestion sparked the documentary idea. Heard Steve McDonald's abduction story on a podcast. TV writing different from documentary making - can't control narrative. Documentary structure doesn't follow traditional storytelling beats. Director learned new storytelling techniques through editing. Documentary required extensive collaboration with editor Aaron Elders. Filming spanned approximately 10 years (2015-2025). Jeff McDonald's hairstyle changed dramatically throughout filming. Andrew discovered Redd Kross through "Teen Babes from Monsanto" album. Became fan at 13, requesting records for radio station. Redd Kross connects diverse bands from Black Flag to Go-Go's. Director considers Redd Kross one of Los Angeles' greatest bands. Documentary coincided with band's current renaissance and revival. Making the movie spurred new Redd Kross creative activity. Band created "Born Innocent" song specifically for the film. Initial filming was sporadic until Kickstarter provided funding. Created oral history structure from interview transcripts. Collected extensive archival material throughout production process. Film deliberately kept under 90 minutes for accessibility. Cut "Desperate Teenage Love Dolls" section despite importance. Film focuses on brothers' relationship rather than complete history. Steve's abduction possibly influenced band's fantasy/dress-up aesthetic. Andrew admires documentaries like "Anvil" and "Dig." Avoids rock critics in documentaries, preferring eyewitness accounts. Parents' interview about abduction was emotionally challenging. Wishes he had footage of certain legendary shows. New photographs emerged after film completion for eventual Blu-ray. Describes record collecting journey starting in New Jersey. Now focuses on first pressings of albums he loves. Sold unnecessary records to fund first pressing purchases. Australian bands currently producing best new punk music. Prefers seeing smaller shows over expensive arena concerts. Purchased rare Redd Kross/White Flag split single. Film rentals now available worldwide at reddkrossfilm.com/rent Rent "Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story" here. EXTENDED, Commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0 Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

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