P.S. Noticed that you can hear Scale the Summit playing during the interview? Yeah, I had to miss them live while still being able to hear their tantalizing and sexy guitar playing. Twas quite a painful ordeal.

CynicInterview (Audio)

CynicInterview (PDF)

Interview with Cynic’s Paul Masvidal is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

The interview itself is quite enlightening. Muenzner touches on some very interesting topics, such as a side of touring that not many really think about, and the aftermath of their bassist’s departure from the band.

Also, I’ve saved the interview in two different formats for your convenience (I spoil you guys, I know). Enjoy!

Obscura Interview (Audio)

Obscura Interview (PDF)

Interview with Obscura’s Christian Muenzner is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

Bröötalisk: I had a nice little chat with Mikael Akerfeldt last week, and he told me that while you two don’t see each other often, you’re like a brother to him. Is the feeling mutual?

Townsend: Oh yeah. Definitely. I remember we would sometimes call each other up at night. Well, it’d be night for me in America, and it’s 2 in the afternoon over in Sweden. We would talk over the phone getting drunk off of wine and playing each other demos. He’s one of the few people out there that I feel like I can do that with.

“The cheeseburger was honestly as big of a ‘fuck you’ to the world as I could possibly give.”

Bröötalisk: You’re latest album, Deconstruction, features numerous artists, ranging from Tommy Giles all the way to Fredrik Thordendal. What was it like working with these people, and would you ever want to do it again?

Townsend: It was a lot of fun. I picked the artists that I wanted to work with based on how well I liked them as a person, and not necessarily on their music. I remember the record label trying to make a really big deal about the album because of all the “A-listers”. They wanted to throw a huge sticker on the cover that listed all the artists featured. I had to talk them out of it because I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I was making the album simply because I wanted to see if I could do it. I wouldn’t want to do it again though. I feel like I’ve already done what I wanted to do, and now I want to try something new.

Bröötalisk: Speaking of Deconstruction, I have to ask: how did you come up with the plot of the album? Where did you get the idea to make a cheeseburger the meaning of life?

Townsend: It was one of those things where, again, I wanted to see what I could do and how far I could go musically. I feel like a lot of artists do the whole “Main character goes on a quest to find the meaning of life” thing, and this was kind of my take on that. As for the cheeseburger, I wanted to basically say that we have no idea what the “answer to life” is, and we as human beings cannot even begin to comprehend what it is. And that’s my problem with religion as well. How do you know there’s a higher power? I believe that we cannot even fathom what the “big picture” is because our minds aren’t that complex. The cheeseburger was honestly as big of a “fuck you” to the world as I could possibly give.

See? I told you.

Bröötalisk: I’ve heard a lot of rumors about your next album. Is it going to be Z²?

Townsend: Could be.

Bröötalisk: Epicloud?

Townsend: Could be.

Bröötalisk: Ghost II?

Townsend: Could be. I really have no idea. With every album, I write one or two songs where I go, “Okay that’s the direction that I want to go with this album”. I have a few songs written, but none of them really stand out to me yet. I honestly just need a month off. I’ve been touring and writing like crazy and now I’m going to Europe where I’m not even fully prepared…I just need some time off *laughs*.

Interview With Devin Townsend is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

METAAAAAAAAAAAAL

Bröötalisk - I’m a huge fan of both you and Steven Wilson, which makes me very excited over the news about Storm Corrosion. Care to shed light on this mysterious project? Perhaps an album date, what we can expect, etc?

Åkerfeldt – It’s one of those projects where you have to head it to understand what it is. You can talk about certain things and say what it’s like musically and stuff like that but it really doesn’t give much of a clear picture of what it is. We’ve been thinking about working together for such a long time and this is the result finally happening. We recorded 6 songs I think and they’re different from anything I’ve ever been involved in. Some of those songs are some of the most beautiful type of music that I’ve ever been involved in. And it’s a big relief. I’m happy it happened. It’s great. *laughs* What can I say? I love it. But if you’re a diehard metal fan, you might have problems with it. That is, if you’re not open minded. If you just listen to metal music then it’s not for you.

Interview with Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

Terrible metaphors aside, we’re excited to bring to you an excellent live, in-studio performance this week in the form of bay area songstress, Dina Maccabee.

Dina has had a long and fascinating musical path. She has performed with the likes of Wilco and Sufjan Stevens, recorded with bay area freak folks Vetiver, among many others. After a decade plus of performing with other artists, Dina has stepped out on her own with 2010′s Who Do You Suppose You Are, a work that illustrates Dina’s uncanny knack for composing genre-bending earworms, effortlessly drifting between folk-rock balladry and post-rock spaciousness with the flick of her wrist, evoking artists as creative and daring as Jim O’Rourke and Slint.

Tune in to KZSC tonight (88.1 fm or on this website!) starting at 7pm to hear from Dina and to listen to her perform live in our studio.

Dina Maccabee on The Rising Tide tonight is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

It’s been an exhausting last couple of weeks, but nothing’s going to slow down The Rising Tide! As you can see on the sidebar of our blog, we’ve got a slew of wonderful performances to look forward to in the month of May! Interviews with Pangolin, The Ian Fays, The Beggar and The Coal, and more, so keep an eye out on the blog for more information about our upcoming guests.

Speaking of which, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to this week’s guests on The Rising Tide, a band by the name of The Best Friends.

A 5-piece consisting of UCSC students who all met in the Stevenson dorms in their freshmen year, The Best Friends bring together the best of roots rock, r&b and funk in a way that echoes artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and George Clinton. The group’s cooperative ethic is best seen in a live setting, where the band members share the front stage by taking turns at the microphone. It is here that the group really thrives, whether it be powering through their own original material or laying down an authentic cover song or two, for The Best Friends are the closest thing Santa Cruz has to a legit party-all-night band.

The group is coming onto The Rising Tide tonight to talk about their upcoming shows (including their May 11th show at the Crepe Place with Good People and The Jolly Llamas), possible future recordings, and whatever else 2011 has in store for the group.

This and more on The Rising Tide tonight at 7pm sharp! Listen live at 88.1fm or http://www.kzsc.org/

The Best Friends on The Rising Tide is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

You can check out The Rising Tide on Twitter right here! By following us, you’ll be the first to hear announcements about our upcoming interviews, the first to see photos of recent performances we’ve put up on our Picasa page, and the first to hear about all upcoming news and things concerning your favorite local music radio show!

That being said, let me introduce you to our first of two guests for tonight’s program, The SHE’S.

Hailing from San Francisco, The SHE’S are proof positive that making great music has no arbitrary age requirement. Much has been made of the group members’ relative youth (they’re in high school), but one need not delve too far into their music to find out that the band’s ability to craft melodies with quality pop sensibilities reaches far beyond what one would expect for a group of musicians their age. Their sound can be described as indebted to the likes of the Shangri-Las, Herman’s Hermits and the Beach Boys as far as structure goes, but The SHE’S bring that 50s-60s surf pop style of music into the modern era, having caught the attention of groups like AB & The Sea, Best Coast and Christopher Owens of Girls (who subsequently put the group on the map by having them open their Fillmore show last October).

The SHE’S will be stopping by our studio this friday night to talk about their ascension into bay area indie stardom, the pressures of being in a touted band at their age, and to perform a special acoustic set highlighting some of the songs from their self-titled EP.

After that, we’ll be treated to a very special visit to the station by Hod Hulphers, better known to the people of Santa Cruz as …And Hod.

A solo artist in his own right, Hod has been active in the music community of Santa Cruz for many years, as you can often spot him playing at the Crepe Place where his take on folk and music has found a home. That being said, the reason for Hod’s appearance on the show this week is that he’s in the midst of promoting a very special event taking place this weekend.

On Saturday night, Hod and a whole host of other musicians (including Little Wings, Sugar Shack (featuring Keith Thompson from The Groggs) and the Snow Buddies) will be performing at the Crepe Place to help fund raise for the Santa Cruz’s Bachelor Buddies Production Company’s upcoming production of the film Johnny and the Golden Bouzouki. A parody of 70s action/adventure films, Johnny is Hod’s most recent foray into the art of musicals. Hod will also be bringing the film’s star (Johnny Diamonds) up to the station tomorrow night with him to talk about the film, his own experiences in music, and what the future holds for Hod.

These and more when you tune into The Rising Tide tonight at 8:30pm! Listen online at http://www.kzsc.org/ or tune into 88.1fm.

The SHE’S and Hod on The Rising Tide tonight! is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

We’ve got a wonderful trio of guests for tonight’s program. It’s going to be one of the most musically diverse shows we’ve ever had!

We’ll first welcome into our studio a band from Oakland by the name of Bam! Bam!


This Oakland based two-piece have been kicking around thrashy, lo-fi garage pop jams for the better part of the last year. Though the group has yet to officially release any of their recordings, they have been steadily building a fan-base, taking their no-frills sound with them up and down the coast of California and taking no prisoners along the way. Fans of Black Tambourine, Beat Happening and fellow s.f. lo-fi artist Grass Widow ought to take note of this band, for once they get around to putting out non-demo recordings into the world, their star is bound to take off.

Tune in at 8:30 to catch the ladies of Bam! Bam! as they come to our studio to perform some songs live in the studio and talk about what the future holds for the band.

Then we’ll welcome Dan Potthast to our studio.

Once hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, this ska-punk legend has firmly planted himself in Santa Cruz. As a founding member of MU330, as well as the leader of Dan P. and the Bricks (among other projects), Dan has been making music for over twenty years. He’s opened for acts like Streetlight Manifesto, continues to make music that appeals to fans of Buck-O-Nine, and is active to this day.

Dan P. will be joining us live in the studio tonight to talk about making music in his adopted home town and the upcoming show with his band The Stitch Up this Saturday night, March 26th at the Crepe Place, where they will be performing alongside The New Trust and The Smoking Popes.

Last but not least, we have for you a very special interview with Victims Family.

This legendary Santa Rosa punk band is world-reknown for their unique fusion of hardcore punk, jazz and experimental noise. As a Nor Cal institution that has existed for over 25 years, Victims Family have performed with the likes of The Dead Kennedys, Nirvana, Green Day, Faith No More, and hundreds of other incredible bands. Though the group has sporadically broken up over the years, they’ve come back together in 2010 to perform and re-release their first three records on vinyl, starting with 1990′s White Bread Blues.

I chatted up the group’s guitarist, Ralph Spight, last night via Skype on a breadth of subjects, and if you tune in to the show tonight, you can hear our conversation in full. One of the things we did talk about is Victims Family’s show this Saturday night, March 26th at the Catalyst with Catacomb Creeps and (Rising Tide alum) Noise Clinic, which is bound to be a hellraiser of a concert.

These and more when you tune into the show tonight starting at 8:30pm! Listen live at www.kzsc.org or tune in to 88.1 fm.

Victims Family, Dan Potthast and Bam! Bam! on The Rising Tide tonight! is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

Recalling the likes of Dawn Landes, Alela Diane and Feist, this bay area quartet’s multi-harmony take on indie-folk has caught on like wildifre ever since the band began performing together last year. The group’s profile has seen itself rise as they have opened for the likes of David Gray, Jackie Green, and Ray LaMontagne among others. The group released 2010′s After The Flood EP to a rapturous welcoming at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, and have more to come in 2011.

Tune in tonight to hear Honeymoon talk about their meteoric rise in the folk music world, preview some brand new unreleased music and talk about their upcoming tour with the Truth & Salvage Co. which will be kicked off with a performance at the Fernwood Lodge in Big Sur this Saturday night.

Also on the show this evening, Birdhouse.

Birdhouse make no bones about their sound: They are devoted acolytes of The Grateful Dead. In fact, the group began as a Dead tribute band back in 2009. However, along the way, the group began writing their own songs and building a grassroots fan base that has followed them loyally as they’ve gone on to perform at various venues around the city of Santa Cruz, most recently a star-making performance out at the Brookdale Lodge.

Tune in tonight to hear from Birdhouse as they perform a special acoustic set in our studio, answer our questions about what 2011 holds, and tell us about their upcoming performance opening up for Ploughman in the Catalyst Atrium on saturday night.

These and more if you tune in to The Rising Tide tonight at 8:30pm on KZSC Santa Cruz. 88.1fm or listen online at www.kzsc.org!

Honeymoon & Birdhouse on The Rising Tide tonight! is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz

These Santa Cruz musicians have been kicking it since way back in 2009. Though individually schooled in different forms of music, the group takes on indie rock, Afro-beat, math rock and dance rock with equal parts fervor and ambition. The group draws on influence as far flung as Fela Kuti, Discovery, Ryland Bouchard and Tera Melos.

Good People have pulled off a couple coups in Santa Cruz. They opened for local folk punk heavyweights Blackbird Raum and shared a Crepe Place bill with Hermit Convention however after that the band stayed largely inactive. Since summer Good People have rarely performed in public, venturing forth only for a couple of shows. The reason? The  group’s been working on their debut full-length (which has ten official titles, reflecting the band’s quirky nature….for simplicity’s sake we’ll call it Good People) which is coming out soon.

Good People will be in our studios to talk about their band, what it’s like to balance the pressures of being students at UCSC while also trying to make a band work and what’s ahead for them in 2011  this Friday night during The Rising Tide program, starting at 8:30 on KZSC.

Good People on The Rising Tide Friday Night is a post from: KZSC Santa Cruz