Behind the Vinyl Steven Macri

We were lucky enough to catch Mercedes Arn-Horn of Softcult on the same day of when they released their new hit single, One of the Pack. It's a song with a special and important meaning that Mercedes gives her honest and authentic self during the song and while talking about it  on our podcast. In the words of Mercedes, "In Softcult we pride ourselves on being femnists and advocating for equality in every shape-and-form. We are kind of bringing back riot grrl ethos to the shoegaze world." There is still an ongoing debate about who belongs where and this song spotlights that there can discomfort at times for women - even in the music community. It's an absolute jam with an incredibly paramount message beind it. If anything, this song shows that Softcult is ready for the big stage with another gem of a song. 
What catches my attention most about this band is that nothing has been handed to them. They have seen adversity and are stronger as a group because of it. It helps that Softcult is centered around twins (Mercedes & Phoenix) who share a similar vision. But, in the beginning they had a small taste of success when a major label signed them at a young age. This positive feeling only lasted for so long when they saw business side of music. After putting in countless hours and seeing a long list of their songs shot down - they made the decision to go out on their own. They now make every decision surrounding the band. The twins even go as far as doing all of the production, art work, tour scheduling, and most importantly, picking which songs get released to the public. Mercedes and Phoenix decided to bet on themselves and it worked out! 
Tate and I really enjoyed having Mercedes join us for an epic conversation. There's even a portion of the interview where we all talk about horror movies! We will release Mercedes' favorites later in the week. 

We have a good one for you tonight! While the Richmond, VA crowd gets to see Glitterer live (jealous, much!) we are dishing out an interview with Ned Russin. For several years now several of my friends have been sending me music whenever Glitterer released songs. Ned's new project, that officially came to be in 2017 when he released a self-title album, quickly grew on me. Whenever someone has a successful project, it's often tough to seperate oneself from that image. However, Ned had a goal in mind and quickly got to work - creating the songs mostly on his own by playing every instrument except for the drums. While Ned had a plan and hit the ground running with Glitterer, this project recently welecomed other members into the band. These members played an "instrumental" role in creating the album the record, Rationale (released in February of this year). It also seems like they will continue to be a main stay for the live experience and possibly future releases. 
Ned has been consistently touring since he was 19-years old after he dropped out of college to do the band exclusevely. The only schedule Ned has known is being on the road. But, he has since put a focus on other things such as finishing up his degree and working at a record store. Glitterer tours when they can and it's always a special moment whenever someone can catch them live. There are a lot of fun stories in this one such as studying on the road while in Title Fight, his parents valuing an education, writing an releasing a book three years ago (Horizontal Rust - check it out!), and looking up to his older brother during the early years. 

Kevin Devine is someone that every young musician should listen to. Throughout this conversation he gave some of the most well thought out responses I have seen on the podcast. He analyzes everything and looks at music from a lense that not every musician can see through. He is also a genuine personality and is one of the nicest people out there. The interview itself was all over the place - It started with living on Staten Island covering Nirvana songs and ended with a quick conversation about how terrible our favorite sports organizations are. This is truly a must listen so tune it up and let us know your thoughts!

Matt Pryor joined us to talk about his new book, "Red Letter Days" which hit shelves on January 23. He left us with a ton of great advice for young musicians and took a deep dive in a good chunk of the fun stories that appear in this book. It's certainly a page turner so pick up a copy if you have not done so already!
Purchase the book here:
https://polyvinylrecords.com/product/red_letter_days

I’m going to take you back to about a year ago. It was February of 2023 and Gouge Away was in the midst of a return. This was after several years of staying relatively quiet and a behind the scenes breakup. Gouge Away was in Portland having a band practice when they reached out to Militarie Gun about showing up to watch them play on a kick-ass bill of Spiritual Cramp and Supercrush. Ian Shelton and the rest of the members of Militarie Gun had other plans for the night. After some convincing, they set up plans for Gouge Away to make an epic return. In the middle of their set they turned the spotlight over to Gouge Away, who came on the stage to play two songs (One new). It was a night to remember and got the ball rolling for the new music that Gouge Away planned to eventually release. "Idealized" came out shortly after, and the band released "Stuck in a Dream" on January 9. This is setting the table for Deep Sage to arrive on March 15. It’s a record that Christina Michelle says will be different, and at times “weird,” but if the first two songs tell us anything: it’s that Gouge Away hasn’t lost a step. This group is ready to not only break through the surface, but also become one of the premier hardcore bands. It has been a rollercoaster of a ride for the group. They released Burnt Sugar in 2018 and toured non-stop up until the pandemic. Then came the low-key breakup where Christina Michelle never thought the band would be together again. Now, the band is back, with a refreshed sound, a mature outlook, and ready to show the world that they are here to stay.  
 
Gouge Away:
 
Website - https://www.gougeaway.com/
 
Bandcamp - https://gougeawayfl.bandcamp.com/album/deep-sage

For a majority of his music career, Erik Kase Romero has been behind the scenes. Romero has developed into a prominent music producer – most notably working with the Front Bottoms (also plays instrumentals in the live experience), Lorde, and the Bouncing Souls. Romero has developed a name for himself in the industry and his musical genius is something that musicians desire. A quick peek at his website takes the viewer into a magical journey that involves a large list of production. It’s a list that would be considered a “dream” for anyone just breaking into the business. Romero is now a seasoned veteran and in some ways can be picky when thinking about who he will invite to his home studio next.
Romero has been involved in bands on the local circuit for years now. But, what seemed like a silly idea, quickly became a reality over the past year. Romero made the decision to branch out with his abilities and start a solo project. While it has been a great success so far, it was no easy decision. As previously stated, Romero has always been in the background through production and instrumentals in various groups. His solo act is serving as a time where he has the mic and the listeners get to hear his powerful words. His single still already caught the listener’s attention for how vulnerable and relatable Romero is through his lyrics. While Romero will continue to push his songs through social media and has several live shows coming up, he does not care for commercial success. This project is not meant to result in headlining huge venues, but instead it’s another chance to grow as a musical mind, and have some fun while doing so. How to be still and still be here is set to be released tomorrow. Make sure to give it a listen and support Romero as he takes on this solo adventure.
Audio edited by Tate Daniels
Graphic by Rosemary Young
Host Steven Macri 
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