Host Ray Harkins dives deep with creators of independent culture from musicians, artists and other interesting people to find out what inspires them, how they came to be and many other unexpected places.
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Robin Staps started The Ocean in Berlin in 2000 as a revolving cast of musicians before locking into the band's most stable lineup in 2009. Twenty plus years and seven albums later, the group's blend of post metal, prog, and sludge has taken them from Siberian squats to European festival mainstages, and Staps runs Pelagic Records, the label he built alongside the band that's become one of Europe's…
Brian Gorsegner has spent his life circling the same scene from every angle. He fronted Night Birds until the band's final show at the end of 2022, books tours for acts like Alice Bag Band, Career Suicide, and Generacion Suicida through his company Wired Booking, and sits on the town council in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. But most people know him as the guy behind Ancient Artifax , the…
Before Springfield, Illinois had much of a scene to speak of, Ladd Mitchell was already building one, first with Park, then Tiger Tank, logging years on the road during the golden run of early-2000s midwest emo. We talk about joining Park mid-formation and becoming the one constant across four lineups, chasing a deal all the way to a small Santa Barbara label, and what a yearlong nonstop tour…
Adam Rubenstein has been making music since he was a teenager in Indianapolis, when he and his bandmates formed Split Lip on Christmas Day, 1989. Drawing early influence from Burn, Youth of Today, and Endpoint, the band became a cornerstone of the Midwestern hardcore scene. They released records on Doghouse before most of them could drive, and landing a track on the landmark 1996 Anti-Matter…
Kevin Hart has been yelling in hardcore bands since he was a teenager, but Public Opinion is something different, louder in some ways, quieter in others. His dad was a DJ, which means music was never just background noise growing up. These days Kevin processes the hard stuff through songs instead of burdening the people around him, and it shows as Painted On Smile is one of the most genuinely…
Rich Gaccione built Providence Vegan Deli into something rare; a business that functions less like a restaurant and more like a community hub, where free sandwiches go to anyone who needs one, touring bands eat for nothing, and the line between customer and neighbor gets blurry fast. We talk about how that philosophy took shape, the hardcore and punk roots that inform everything he does, and the…
This week I sit down with Anthony Lemus, the voice behind Southern California's Stateside. What started as a warehouse job friendship and a shared love of 2000s emo has turned into one of the more exciting bands to emerge from the current hardcore-adjacent scene — and Lemus is the emotional engine at the center of it. We get into how growing up in Southern California's hardcore world shaped him,…
On this episode, I welcome Chad Green from Frozen Soul to the show. We trace his path from growing up around the Texas heavy music community to finding his place in death metal, building Frozen Soul from the ground up, and watching the band become one of the genre's biggest modern success stories. We also dig into the influence of the Texas hardcore scene on his outlook, the confidence it takes to…
Jack Murray, vocalist of 156/Silence, joins the podcast to discuss the road that brought the band to where they are today. From coming up in the Pittsburgh heavy music scene to navigating years of uncertainty, Jack reflects on the relationships, community, and DIY spirit that helped shape both the band and his perspective. The conversation also dives into the moments when it seemed like…
This week I sit down with Jeremy Walker, co-founder of Fire in the Mountains, for a conversation that goes far beyond festival promotion. Jeremy reflects on the winding path that led him from a life rooted in Vermont to building one of the most unique experiences in heavy music in which a gathering where community, culture, and the natural world carry as much weight as the bands on stage. The…
This week Ray is joined by Matthew Dwyer, the voice behind the beloved Texas band Oakwood. For many people, Oakwood occupies a unique place in underground music history of literally playing only 15-20 shows, but having a "comeback" moment that has now turned into something way more real. Matthew takes us through his life in Texas and the environments that shaped both him and Oakwood. The…
Joey Chiaramonte (Koyo) joins the podcast this week for a conversation about identity, growth, and finding your place both on and off the stage. As the vocalist of Long Island's Koyo, Joey has helped lead one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the modern hardcore and punk scene, blending melodic songwriting with the energy and community spirit that shaped him. In this episode, Joey reflects…