Advertise on podcast: Gut Feeling

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is a conversation with Mark Palm, guitarist and vocalist for Seattle power-pop institution Supercrush, and onetime vocalist and songwriter for Vancouver-to-Seattle-based heavy rock outlet Devotion. Throughout the talk, Mark hits on: new Supercrush singles and covers coming out in 2026; the band losing their HMS Studio space in the SODO district, and the grungy history of the old building; the demolition of North Vancouver’s Seylynn Hall; Devotion’s pipeline from detuned hardcore to sludging metallic groove; naming your album Bastard Son of Affluence Blues, and what your parents might think about that; obscure Canadian amps; getting someone to work your wah pedal for you; communicating solitude; neon-glow nocturnality; early work with drummer Aaron O’Neil (Lights Out, Supercrush), guitar soloist Graeme “Smokestack” Honeyman (Go It Alone, September), lead guitarist Sean Meyer (Supercrush); and more.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is a conversation with Marc and Brent Belke, brothers and co-founding guitarists of Edmonton, Alberta-formed and later Vancouver, BC-based hardcore icons SNFU. Throughout the talk, Muc and Bunt hit on: the new Come With Me, I’m On My Way horror comic featuring four gruesome tales inspired by classic SNFU songs; Trust Records’ upcoming 40th anniversary project behind debut album ...And No One Else Wanted to Play; Edmonton’s early ‘80s punk and skateboarding scenes; the absurdist and sometimes misunderstood lyrics of late frontman Mr. Chi Pig; the making of 1995’s The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed; the ‘90s punk boom, and touring with Green Day and Bad Religion; gear and guitar solos; Strain bassist and SNFU roadie Eric "Flexyourhead" Thorkelson’s very bad day; Brent’s current film score work; and more! 3Press Comics’ Come With Me comic is out now, along with an SNFU tribute 7-inch from Dad Religion; Trust Records’ Play repress out soon; and a repress of Voted is out in November via La Agonia De Vivir. You can also read a 2020 feature I’d written around some of the most poignant, poetic and occasionally profane lyrics Mr. Chi Pig brought to the mic over at Exclaim!

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is with Shira Blustein, the Calgary-born, Vancouver-based restauranteur behind celebrated vegetarian spot the Acorn and the newly launched Lila. Shira has also been a part of punk and indie music for the past 30 years, including time spent with Mediaucracy, Chupacabra, Blood Meridian, Hard Drugs, the Choir Practice, A Pale Blue, Ashley Shadow, and more. Throughout our talk, Shira touches on: meeting her Lila partner at a band photoshoot in 2010; Calgarian crust punk; who barfed at her first punk show; signing to V2 Records; film industry sound design; connections to Black Mountain, the Black Keys, Destroyer, Kylesa, Thor and more; and her new Cure cover band, Strawberries and Cream.

Hello! It's nearing the end of 2023, and per tradition I've invited Adam Mitchell onto the podcast to get into some of his favourite records of the year — this time including music from Guided By Voices, Park Hye Jin, Home Front, and People's Temple. Adam also weighs in on traveling to Mexico to record a 7-inch as a member of punk outfit Pura Mania; upcoming projects from both Spectres and Madness Cartel; and dialing into third-wave ska classics in happenstantial fashion. That's it until 2024!

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Tom Thacker, the Fraser Valley, BC-raised founding guitarist of pop-punkers Gob, and longtime member of Sum 41. Throughout the talk, Tom touches on: getting Gob off the ground with co-founder Theo Goutzinakis; bringing punk rock shows to suburban Langley, BC in the '90s, and possibly dusting their Punk Strikes Back concert series off in 2024; record store jobs; the sonic influence of Vancouver hardcore; running away from a bull on his way to a bush party; and whether or not original Gob drummer Wolfman Pat was in fact Andy Dixon from d.b.s.'s dad. Gob's recent round of vinyl reissues are out now through Dine Alone Records, while Tom's also bracing himself for a mega-tour supporting Sum 41's upcoming final album, Heaven :x: Hell.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Jordan Blilie, the onetime co-vocalist for surrealistic hardcore outfit The Blood Brothers. The band recently delivered a deluxe anniversary reissue behind 2003's Burn, Piano Island, Burn, which is out now via Epitaph. Throughout the talk, Jordan touches on: the dynamic, daring, and essential tandem he maintained with co-vocalist Johnny Whitney; the difference between vocal confidence and vocal competence; going into "survival mode" in the studio; working with Ross Robinson (Korn, Limp Bizkit); making a truly bizarre major label debut; and plying one's trade as a "grotesque mess."

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Vanessa Heins, a Toronto-based photographer who has worked with artists in the worlds of punk, folk, pop, hip-hop, and so much more for more than 20 years. Throughout the talk, Vanessa touches on: growing up in Vancouver; getting her start behind the lens in high school while taking photos of her friends' punk bands (including future members of Said the Whale); setting a scene comfortably; an upcoming tour with City and Colour; and memories of shoots with the likes of Alexisonfire, Beastie Boys, Carly Rae Jepsen, U.S. Girls' Meg Remy, John Prine, Sister Ray, and more! You can find Vanessa's work over on Instagram.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is with Jack Duckworth, the Vancouver Island-born, Glasgow based musician currently crafting darkwave odysseys as Soft Riot. The synth-heavy solo project's snarky, urgent and playful new No album comes out August 11 through Jack's own Possession Records and the Netherlands' Wave Tension Records. Throughout the talk, Jack gets into: Soft Riot's latest collection; finding his way back to guitar; cosmic coincidences; Vancouver Island punk in the early '90s; playing his first-ever show with an Acid casualty fill-in singer; hitchhiking; the quaintness of early internet culture; and his time in bands including The Forgotten, Anthony Monday, Slough of Despond, The Measure, and Radio Berlin.

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast goes down the '90s straight edge hardcore rabbit hole with Dead Quiet vocalist-guitarist Kevin Keegan, who got his start as the 14-year-old drummer for Kelowna, BC's Decoy. Throughout the talk, Kevin gets into: building up his drum chops to Metallica's Kill 'Em All; getting pulled into his local hardcore scene as a teenage wunderkind; the Refused show Decoy were supposed to play; road trip chaperones; why he ultimately switched over to guitar; voice acting; dog walking; and more! You can also find out more about the making of Dead Quiet's most recent album, IV, over here through my feature for RANGE magazine.

Hello again! The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Justin Gradin, the Vancouver-raised, and soon-to-be-L.A.-based multi-disciplinary artist whom most recently released his debut graphic novel, Mystic Debris (out now via Fantagraphics). Throughout the talk, Justin gets into: Mystic Debris' somewhat biographical origins; upcoming audio-visual projects with Grammy winner and onetime roommate Tobias Jesso Jr.; the ways our bodies hang onto trauma; transcendental meditation; learning to play drums behind his surf rock-loving dad; early bands w Gossip's Nathan Howdeshell; starting up underground punk venue the Emergency Room; making music videos for White Lung and Louise Burns; how he lost his job at a Toys 'R' Us; and more! You can also find out more about Mystic Debris, as well as Justin's favourite drummers of all time, over here through my feature for RANGE magazine.

Hello again! The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Mark Palm, the Seattle-based vocalist-guitarist for contemporary power pop titans Supercrush, and a Vancouver-grown hardcore kid at heart. Did you realize that this Saturday (April 15) marks the twentieth anniversary of the first ever live performance from Vancouver's Go It Alone? Mark sure hadn't, so I gave him a call to drum up some old memories about the early days of the band. Throughout the talk, Mark gets into: earnest, emotional hardcore lyrics; recording a demo as a duo, but building out the line-up a year later as a quintet; the fatal flaw of naming your group Go It Alone; early shows and the first West Coast tour; East Vancouver's Second Ave punk house; questionable guitar tone; the Vancouver Gold EP; and how the band looked by the end of 2003. Back in the present, Mark also offers up some details on Supercrush's forthcoming covers album, and the new compilation he's putting together around some of his favourite Seattle-area bands.

Hello, hello! The latest Gut Feeling podcast is an interview with Murray A. Lightburn, a longtime member of orchestral pop group the Dears who is also about to release his third solo album, Once Upon a Time in Montreal. Murray has described his latest full-length as an "audio version of a biopic," inspired by the life of his father William, a jazz saxophonist who passed away in 2020. It’s a contemplative, massively moving collection of jazz, folk, and r&b-styled moments, all of which being anchored by the golden tone of Murray’s tenor-baritone vocal. Throughout the talk, Murray gets into: early memories of singing in church; moving from teen cover bands to the Dears; learning to sing "from the belly"; when to forgo falsetto; his father's sax style; how vocal range evolves; his recent instrumental score for filmmaker Chandler Levack's I Like Movies; bread-baking; his mother's radio show; and more! Once Upon a Time in Montreal is out this Friday (03/31) through Dangerbird Records.

Hello again! The latest Gut Feeling podcast is an interview with Ted Leo, the longtime punk-and-pop Pharmacist who is just about to jump into a series of reunions shows with his '90s-era outfit, Chisel. Ted gets into the general history of Chisel, from forming the mod-and-punk-inspired band with college friends Chris Norborg (bass) and John Dugan (drums), to the time they technically headlined over Radiohead, to song specifics around their epic-in-scope 1997 LP, Set You Free (which is just about to arrive as an expanded, double-LP reissue through Numero Group). It's a big gear talk, too, with Ted jumping into the "unhip" solid state Fender head he was using in his hardcore days, through to early Chisel; the affordability of his 8 A.M. All Day-era Tele Deluxe, fit with an unflattering Floyd Rose tremolo system; and unlocking the potential of an elegant major-to-minor chord progression. Chisel are playing shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco this February. Hoping there's more to come!

Hello! We've hit the end of 2022, and per tradition I've invited Spectres / Madness Cartel member Adam Mitchell onto the podcast to get into some of his favourite records of the year — this time including music from The Beths, Long Knife, High Vis, and more. We also touch on Spectres' upcoming album, which is currently being recorded in Vancouver with producer Jesse Gander (Brutus, Neck of the Woods), and Madness Cartel activity following the semi-recent re-release of their 2020 demo. That's it for now, but I'll catch you in the new year!

The latest Gut Feeling Podcast is an interview with Hot Hot Heat/Fur Trade's Steve Bays! Steve gets into the early history of Hot Hot Heat, whom just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their pop-tastic Make Up the Breakdown with a a deluxe, remastered re-release through Sub Pop Records.  He also dives into the jingling holiday spirit of Fur Trade's recent "Christmas in a Cage" single, which marks the first new music from the project in nearly a decade, and teases an upcoming full-length through Light Organ Records. Steve also gets into: growing up in Victoria, BC; sneaking off to his first punk show at the age of 12; earlier hardcore and emo projects, including (Instill'), Missiles to Heaven, and Fuck You I'm Stealing Home; the self-recorded solo project that bridges the gap between Hot Hot Heat's insular keyboard hardcore and the rafters-reaching pop of Make Up the Breakdown; side shout-outs to Vue, the Walkmen, and high school classmate Nelly Furtado; and the literal buzz surrounding his current Tugboat Pl. Studio in New Westminster, BC.