Apologue Podcast

Apologue Productions

Apologue Productions

  1. Jul 14

    #421 Mark MacDonald of Last Second Dropout

    Last Second Dropout (Canadian led band, formed at Berklee and based in Brooklyn) returns with a reimagined version of their song “Aspartame,” available on all streaming platforms June 12. Last Second Dropout – “Aspartame” – Digital Assets Originally released earlier in the band’s career, the new version, produced by Garth Richardson, captures both the evolution of the band’s sound and the perspective that comes with revisiting a song years later. Blending pop-punk, alternative rock, emo, and hip-hop influences, “Aspartame” pairs explosive guitars and emotionally charged vocals with modern production and a sharper sense of urgency. Canadian lead singer Mark MacDonald explains: “’Aspartame’ is about the difference between the truth of what power people and corporations try to tell you is the truth. It’s also about Diet Coke unless you’re Coca-Cola and you’re gonna sue us then it’s about Diet Pepsi.” Last Second Dropout is a NYC/Toronto-based alternative band that is a little pop-punk, a touch emo, a tad alternative rock and with some hip-hop influences, that create emotionally driven songs built for both catharsis and connection. Known for high-energy performances and emotionally honest songwriting, the band continues to grow through touring, independent releases, and a dedicated online fanbase. Social Links Website Spotify Apple Music Instagram Facebook TikTok YouTube Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  2. Jul 7

    #420 Craig and Moa-Linn of FUSES

    Born out of a long-distance correspondence, Sweden/New York-based transatlantic duo Fuses craft songs that feel like signals sent across oceans. Their debut album ,Sawdust in the Transmission out June 26 via Having Fun Records, the rock imprint of Toronto’s We Are Busy Bodies, bridges geography and emotion with a sound steeped in 60s folk rock and classic country. Echoing the timeless jangle of The Byrds, the pastoral storytelling of Fairport Convention, and the bittersweet warmth of artists like Gram Parsons and Jason Molina, the record connects the Swedish urskog with the Canadian muskeg. Lush vocal harmonies and reverb-soaked steel guitar create a sound that is both melancholic and hopeful, timeless yet uncommon. Drummer and bassist Moa-Linn Rosenlöf (Orkan, Spela Död) first met guitarist Craig Fahner when his Toronto-based group Motorists played Gothenburg in 2024. What began as a chance meeting quickly evolved into a daily creative exchange. Plans to reunite in New York City were ultimately derailed by visa complications, but the setback became the catalyst for the album. Instead, the pair spent a week sending Ableton sessions back and forth across the Atlantic, planting the seeds for a collection of songs that would later be brought to life during a dedicated recording session at Gothenburg’s legendary Nacksving Studios, a site deeply connected to Sweden’s 1970s political progg movement. The week proved especially momentous: the day after completing the recordings, the duo traveled to a courthouse in Borås and were married, sealing both their creative and personal partnership.

  3. May 26

    #419 Paul McKenzie The of Real Mckenzies

    Founded in 1992 by the larger than life, Scottish punk-rock poet laureate, Mr Paul McKenzie, this merry band of miscreants has spent more than three decades circumnavigating the globe to bring the McKenzies gospel to an ever-expanding throng of rebels, scallywags and ne’er do wells. There’s not many bands that can boast of a 30+ year career as staggeringly adventurous, wildly tempestuous and utterly death-defying as The Real McKenzies. It would be a serious mistake to write them off as just another Celtic punk band (they’ve been around longer than the Dropkick Murphys after all). They are an unstoppable juggernaut of touring mayhem. A ferocious troupe of insanely talented minstrels, storytellers and entertainers melding traditional acoustic and electric instruments to create a sound like no other. Their list of accolades is long. From sharing the stage with the likes of NOFX, Rancid, Flogging Molly, Metallica and Shane McGowan to appearing in film, books and video games to early releases with the almighty Fat Wreck Chords, their legendary status only continues to grow. On Yer Bike is an absolute beast of an album. A newly revitalized and laser-focused Paul McKenzie has never sounded better and his longtime bandmates have never been tighter. Boasting thirteen epic tracks, including the Sawney Bean trilogy (a trio of songs about  Scotland’s most infamous cannibal highwayman), the songs rage across topics including but not limited to love, literacy, historical sagas, eating sardines with your mother and, of course, cannibalism. Soaring bagpipes, heart pounding percussion and ultra melodic shoutalong Celtic punk rock are the orders of the day and are delivered piping hot from one of the most respected and adored pioneers of the genre. The Real McKenzies Online INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | TWITTER | TIKTOK Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  4. Apr 29

    #418 Jennifer Foster

    “Jennifer Foster’s new album Powerline is a wonderful collection of songs. No shortage of sweet melodies or intimate lyrics, and all sung in a voice that is lovely and unpretentious” – Ron Sexsmith Jennifer Foster is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose music blends classic pop-folk songwriting with warmth, curiosity, and emotional honesty. Her songs are hooky and heartfelt, inviting listeners in with melody and drawing them closer through her vivid storytelling. Her new album, Powerline, out in April, is an acoustic-driven collection that offers Foster’s most personal songwriting to date. Part love letter, part map, many of the songs were inspired by the New Brunswick farm where she grew up – colourful snapshots of the landscape that shaped her, and of her rich inner world as she navigates relationship, loss, and change. It’s a goodbye to a time, place, and version of herself. Powerline marks Jennifer’s fourth release; her previous album earned a JUNO nomination for Producer of the Year (Michael Phillip Wojewoda). She has collaborated widely across the Canadian music landscape, working with artists such as Ron Sexsmith, Carole Pope, Lori Cullen, Kevin Hearn (Barenaked Ladies), Moe Berg, and The Pursuit of Happiness. You might also recognize her from her five seasons singing as a “Jazzagal” on Schitt’s Creek. Whether she’s playing with her four-piece band or holding a room solo, it’s her warmth and authenticity that draw audiences in. “It was my dad’s dream to have a farm. But he was learning as he went, so my whole upbringing was about experimentation and play”. Like a hobby farm where you find your way and make things up as you go along, Jennifer’s songs have a way of taking listeners to unexpected places – disarming, soul-deep, and very satisfying. Social Links: Facebook Instagram Bluesky Spotify Apple Music YouTube Bandcamp Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  5. Apr 7

    #417 Justin Maurer of J MAU and the Kiss off

    Los Angeles, California’s J MAU & THE KISS OFF emerge from what they lovingly call their “beloved hellhole” with their debut single “Poison,” out March 25. Founded in 2025 by Justin “J Mau” Maurer, longtime punk lifer and founder of Clorox Girls, Suspect Parts, L.A. Drugz, and Maniac, the project finds Maurer turning toward something darker and dustier without losing the bite that’s always defined him. “Poison” is a cinematic honky tonk murder ballad filtered through decades of West Coast punk history. It’s the first glimpse of a songwriter who’s always followed the feeling, even when it led somewhere uncomfortable. Maurer’s story isn’t mythology. It’s messy and real. A CODA raised between Los Angeles and Bainbridge Island by a single Deaf mother, American Sign Language was his first language. Punk became his second. After surviving a turbulent childhood and helping put his abusive father in jail as a teenager, Maurer found autonomy in the underground. By fifteen he was booking shows and touring. By twenty he was releasing records and circling the globe with Clorox Girls. Along the way he built a parallel career as one of the country’s most respected ASL interpreters, working alongside prominent political figures like Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden, stage interpreting for punk legends like Alice Bag and The Avengers, interpreting Deaf actor Troy Kotsur’s historic 2022 Academy Award acceptance speech, and appearing with Kotsur on Curb Your Enthusiasm. His life has always moved between worlds. After stints living in Madrid, London, and Baja California, and in the wake of a divorce that leveled him, Maurer found himself flat on his back in an East Hollywood apartment, cowboy boots still on, old country records spinning. Hank Williams. Buck Owens. Merle Haggard. Gram Parsons. Kris Kristofferson. Townes Van Zandt. He finally understood it. “Real country music is poetry,” Maurer says. “It’s about failure, heartbreak, and the tragic human condition. Music to laugh and cry and live and die by.” That rock-bottom clarity led him to write “Poison.” Recorded at Savannah Studios in Boyle Heights with Ignacio “Iggy” Gonzalez and backed by Patrick “Butterworth” Vasquez and Kevin “Quake” Milner, the track moves like a slow-burning reckoning. Acoustic strum, restrained rhythm, and a haunted vocal that feels equal parts confession and warning. From his window in Pico Union, Maurer could hear children playing at the elementary school across the street. Listening to old country compilations full of doomed protagonists, he imagined himself as a man on the run whose days were numbered, watching that schoolyard and knowing he might never see it again. That’s where the line came from: “When will you see the children play / You never will again.” The refrain doesn’t comfort you. It circles back like a hard truth you can’t shake: “It’s got a way / That poison’s got a way / It’s got a say / It’s got the final say.” The single arrives with an 8mm-shot video co-directed by Maurer’s former MANIAC bandmate Zache Davis and Marta Ribate Gracia-Davis. Grainy, sun-bleached, and edited with a careful hand, it plays like a spaghetti western fever dream, a corrido where the protagonist must confront how he’ll be remembered before the end comes calling. The artwork, designed by longtime collaborator Matthew “Snake” Davis, leans into vintage flash tattoo skulls and silent-film menace. J MAU & THE KISS OFF Online INSTAGRAM| SPOTIFY| BANDCAMP| FACEBOOK| YOUTUBE Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  6. Mar 31

    #416 Jeff Corso of Lethal Limits

    Oakland, California’s Lethal Limits is the solo project of Jeff Corso, a Bay Area punk lifer raised on coastal fog, cracked sidewalks, and the kind of East Bay shows that smelled like dust, sweat, and wet concrete. Based in Oakland and hailing from Half Moon Bay, Corso has spent decades inside the region’s punk and hardcore underground. Elevate, his new EP out March 13, 2026, lands like a familiar jolt. Four songs. No filler. Loud, melodic, and wired with the same nervous energy that once spilled out of basements, skate ramps, and all-ages rooms up and down the 510. Lethal Limits lives where punk crunch meets power pop clarity. The songs hit fast but linger, built on hooks that feel learned the hard way. There’s a strong 90s backbone running through Elevate, the kind that recalls flyer-stapled lampposts, Gilman Street matinees, and the melodic punch of bands like Hüsker Dü and The Pixies without drifting into revival territory. Corso writes like someone who came up when melody mattered just as much as volume, and when songs had to survive blown PAs and half-attentive rooms. Arriving nearly four years after Lethal Limits’ self-titled debut, a roughshod, self-produced full-length that quietly turned heads, Elevate shows a project sharpening its instincts. The edges are still intact, but new shades creep in. There’s flashes of Thin Lizzy-style guitar swagger, heavier 90s grunge weight, and a thicker low end, all while keeping the choruses front and center. It sounds like the natural evolution of someone who grew up on punk, skate videos, and college radio, then kept writing long after the scene changed. Recorded between February and April 2025 by Corso at Vam Vam Studios in Oakland, Elevate was mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden, giving the songs clarity without sanding off their grit. Corso handles nearly everything himself, guitars, bass, vocals, keys, tambourine, while drums from Aesop Dekker (Hickey, Ludicra, Agalloch) add weight and precision beneath the hooks. The result feels immediate and human, like a band playing live in a room, not chasing perfection but locking into feel. Photo Credit: Tom “da bomb” Corso Lethal Limits Online INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | YOUTUBE Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  7. Mar 3

    #415 Brock Pytel of SLIP~ons

    What do you get when you combine two Canadian music lifers into one guitar-heavy power-pop unit that still believes in volume, melody, and sweat? You get SLIP~ons. Fronted by Brock Pytel of Montreal pop-punk staples Doughboys and anchored by Brian Minato, longtime bassist for Sarah McLachlan, the Vancouver four-piece make rock music the honest way. Plug in. Turn it up. Let it rip. Their sophomore EP Overtime arrives February 20, 2026 via Scamindy. SLIP~ons aim straight for the sweet spot where 90s alternative heft meets power-pop immediacy. Think Sugar-era Bob Mould muscle, Hüsker Dü urgency, and the loose confidence of The Replacements, with flashes of Ash and Dinosaur Jr. in the guitar tones. Rounded out by Rob “Shockk” Matharu of The Spitfires on guitar and Shane Wilson on drums, the band plays with instinct and economy. Nothing is overthought. Everything hits when it’s supposed to. Overtime takes its title from the sudden-death hockey period, used here as an extended metaphor for pressure, consequence, and the moment when everything sharpens. The EP leans heavier and more focused than the band’s debut, pairing Pytel’s gravel-edged vocals with punchy, direct arrangements that waste zero time. The lyrics widen their scope too. Politics surface naturally, filtered through experience rather than slogans. As Pytel puts it, “I made it all the way through side A without a single song about a breakup.” The shift is subtle but intentional, and it gives the record real weight. The EP was recorded by John Raham at Afterlife, formerly Mushroom Studios, a room steeped in Canadian music history. Raham’s resume includes work with Frazey Ford, Dan Mangan, Tanya Tagaq, Destroyer, and Pharis, and his approach here keeps the performances immediate while giving the songs room to move. Mixing duties were handled by Dave Ogilvie of Skinny Puppy, whose touch adds grit and tension without sanding off the edges. Overtime was mastered by Ronan Chris Murphy, whose work spans artists such as King Crimson, Ulver, and Gwar, bringing clarity and punch while preserving the EP’s raw, guitar-forward bite. SLIP~ons Online WEBSITE |INSTAGRAM| BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | TIKTOK Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

  8. Feb 24

    #414 Nicole Laurenne of The Darts

    Seattle’s all-women garage-rock wrecking crew The Darts kick off their new album cycle with “Midnight Creep,” the first advance single from their upcoming LP Halloween Love Songs, out March 3 on Adrenalin Fix Music. The single drops Tuesday, January 13 and finds the band slipping deeper into the spooky, swagger-heavy garage-trash universe they’ve been flirting with since day one. If you’ve ever wished the Back From the Grave comps came with a dance craze, you’re already in the right neighborhood. The Darts have spent the last decade carving their name into the global underground with Farfisa-first garage chaos, sold-out shows across Europe, the UK, and North America, and multiple sold-out vinyl runs. They’re known for genuine, close-to-the-crowd performances and Nicole’s honest connection with the room, a band that brings people into the show and plays from real joy rather than polish. They’ve landed sought-after KEXP live sessions and hit major festivals like Punk Rock Bowling, Binic Folk and Blues, SJOCK Festival, and Bear Stone Festival, earning fans ranging from Dave Vanian to Stephen King to Jello Biafra. With Nicole Laurenne (vocals and keys), Rebecca Davidson (guitar), Lindsay Scarey (bass), and the returning Rikki Watson (drums), this lineup feels like the most dialed, dangerous, and joyfully unhinged version of the band yet. “Midnight Creep” started as a surprise curveball when Lindsay brought Nicole a demo called “Phantom Creep.” Nicole was already quietly writing a Halloween-themed album and immediately heard a chance to chase something different: an honest-to-ghoul old-school monster dance, the kind that might’ve aired on a haunted Shindig episode taped in a basement full of fog machines and paper-mâché bats. She rebuilt the tune into a slinky, organ-driven earworm; Lindsay created a simple, go-go-friendly choreography; and suddenly The Darts had a Halloween banger that felt both brand-new and weirdly familiar. They’ve been testing it on the road for months, from Switzerland to Cincinnati, and everywhere in between. The reaction has been instant every night. Whole rooms start doing the dance without needing to be shown. It’s instinctive, like the ghosts of old 45s are moving people around by the hips. To bottle that energy, they teamed up with Frogman director Anthony Cousins, who shot a gloriously campy video steeped in B-movie mood: basement gloom, creature-feature attitude, and the dance front and center for anyone ready to join the creep. It looks like the lost midnight-movie segment some long-gone TV station forgot to broadcast. Photo Credit- Tina Gross The Darts Online INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_f Also my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubes https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologue Shop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shop Check out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ep https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-seven https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remastered https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

5
out of 5
30 Ratings

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Apologue Productions