Advertise on podcast: Waterproof Records with Jacob Givens

When we think of this album, we can hear that iconic opening bass riff followed by Perry Farrell crying out "Comin' down the mountain!" Nothing's Shocking came out in 1988, and I wouldn't get my hands on a copy of the album until the very first Jane's Addiction LIVE album landed in my older brother's hands as a cassette, and I was introduced to this unbridled circus of sex, drugs and rock n roll. This week I decided to combine both the first and second albums together and talk about chasing the addiction of this swirling, sensual band.

As the refrain "I'm a loser, baby..." echoed around the world in 1994, it was easy to assume that Beck might be here today, gone tomorrow as a slacker one-hit wonder on MTV's buzz clip floor. But Beck proved us wrong when he dropped Odelay in 1996, as teenagers now shouted "I've got two turntables and a microphone!" With that, Beck was here to stay showing a cohesive, weird, genre-blending album with the signature hodgepodge samples and sounds by the Dust Brothers. 

Behind my older brother's bedroom door was a giant poster of The Cure's Boys Don't Cry. I remember hearing Robert Smith's voice wailing over cavernous guitars, syncopated beats and dramatic synths... but it took me a moment to understand what it meant to be lost in The Cure. In 1992, Wish arrived with layered guitars and an album that traveled between pop, rock and haunting melodies that would open my bedroom door to this legendary band.

A lot of incredible new music released in 2023, some of which were new bands I just discovered while others were some of my favorite artists releasing new records. This week on Waterproof Records, I list off my top 10 in no particular order, as well as include 15 honorable mentions along the way.

During the many years I did stand-up comedy in Los Angeles, you tend to gravitate toward funny, like-minded people as you wait for your turn at late night open mics. Which is exactly where I first met this week's guest, Jordan Olds, before he left L.A. and made his way back east over a decade ago. Cut to 2016 when a hilarious heavy-metal themed talk show called "Two Minutes to Late Night" turns up, and I recognize a familiar face beneath the black and white corpse paint of the show's charismatic host, Gwarsenio Hall! I am so excited to sit down and laugh with Jordan/Gwarsenio on this week's Waterproof Records about our stand-up comedy history and our love of heavy music!

It was the summer of 1994. I had just finished my freshman year in high school, spent a week recording my first album with my church youth group band, and Green Day's Dookie was cranked in all of our car stereos. This week on Waterproof Records I reminisce about this very specific window of time when pop punk interrupted all the alternative music seriousness and reminded us have fun again.

This week I welcome Seattle based singer, songwriter and composer, Daniel G. Harmann, who most recently released a full cover of the Counting Crows debut album "August and Everything After." Daniel is a good friend and talented musician who has spent decades honing his craft and releasing oodles of good tunes. On this episode we discuss the twists and turns of pursuing a creative life, how an injury forced a new perspective, and how August and Everything After landed in his life at the perfect time. 

It's 1993 and the creeping bass riff of Tool's "Sober" starts to play on MTV when my eyes witness this unsettling claymation music video that features zero footage of the band... and I loved every second of it. The lyrics were intelligent and thought-provoking, and this dark, heavy sound with complex time signatures and haunting vocals sounded so different from everything else at the time. Join me this week as we explore the Undertow of Tool.

The opening bass line from "Cannonball" is an instant time warp back to 1993. I remember watching MTV and seeing Kim Deal from the Pixies on my screen and realizing she had a twin sister in this band I had never heard of called The Breeders. Decades later and Last Splash holds up as one of the standout albums of the 90s, with its unique tempo shifts, care free aesthetic and of course the sound of the harmonizing Deal sisters.

I would be a few years late to hearing 1993's Slip by Quicksand for the first time, but once "Head To Wall" landed on a gifted mixtape in the mid 90s, I was ready for more! That signature raspy voice belting out the gut-punching chorus was none other than Walter Schreifels, the legendary musician from New York Hardcore bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today, who would go on several amazing bands like Quicksand, Rival Schools, and a multitude of other side projects. I was thrilled to invite Walter onto Waterproof Records to talk about coming up in the 80s hardcore scene, what inspired him to write music, and we ended up getting a little philosophical too!

From the moment the album kicks off with "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," I was hooked. The speed, the fury, the thrash-- everything about Megadeth was turning my love of metal up to eleven.  Let's go back to 1990 when one of the best possible line-ups of this band dropped a metal masterpiece, securing it as one of my all-time favorites of the genre. 

Upbeat piano chords, distorted bass guitar and well-crafted harmonies was exactly what I needed when I stumbled upon the trio known as Ben Folds Five in 1995. The 90s music scene was always reminding us to expect the unexpected, and by the time this band hit their sophomore release titled 'Whatever and Ever Amen,' they delivered the perfect blend of humor and heart that created a timeless classic.