The Royal Basement Podcast Episode 10: Soft Sleep (Tony Ruland & Kyle Holland)
Release Date: 03/02/2015
The Royal Basement Podcast #16: LIL BUB & Her Dudes (Mike Bridavsky and Matt Tobey)
The Royal Basement Podcast
If you've somehow managed to live your life thus far without knowledge of 's existence, welcome to the next level. Lil Bub is a beautiful and magical space cat who lives with her dude (recording engineer/musician Mike Bridavsky of ) and his family in the lovely burg of Bloomington, Indiana. Lil Bub is a special needs cat, a "perma-kitten" who has an extreme case of dwarfism and who will forever stay tiny and adorable. She is arguably one of the most famous cats on the internet (hanging out with Robert Deniro, Whoopi Goldberg, Michelle Obama and a cast of musical royalty like Steve Albini,...
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The Royal Basement Podcast Ep. 14: Ryan Allen (Thunderbirds Are Now!, Destroy This Place, Ryan Allen And His Extra Arms)
The Royal Basement Podcast
Part of why I've started doing this podcast is to pick the brains of folks who I find inspiring, both in their creative energy and the quality of their output. (It doesn't hurt if I'm friends with those folks prior to our conversation, either.) exemplifies so much of the spirit of why I started The Royal Basement that it just made sense to have a chat with him. Ryan is an ambitious man and a musical lifer; a lot of folks tend to slow down or quit making music completely when kids are brought into the equation, and I've always admired Ryan's ability to shift gears into dad mode while...
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The Royal Basement Podcast Episode 15 - UNLIKELY FRIENDS
The Royal Basement Podcast
If there is one band in Seattle that's making the kind of music that my ears want to hear, it's . Steeped in the world of early/mid-90's college rock, the men of Unlikely Friends take from the strengths of their previous/current other projects (D. Crane with BOAT and Charles Bert with Math And Physics Club, respectively) and create a unifying project, one that marries the raucous anthemic qualities of BOAT with the pristine glistening pop of Math And Physics club. It never sounds overthought or underprepared, but somewhere right in the middle, that perfect zone where great songs come...
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The Royal Basement Podcast Ep. 13: Sam Cohen (Apollo Sunshine/Yellowbirds)
The Royal Basement Podcast
Triskaidekaphobes, beware! It's episode 13 of The Royal Basement podcast!
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The Royal Basement Podcast #12: THE DODOS
The Royal Basement Podcast
A lot of bands that make it to the decade mark start to recycle ideas and hit some auto-pilot moments musically, falling into creative ruts and making some less-than-adventurous choices. San Francisco's The Dodos, however, are an exception to that rule. With their sixth album (Individ, released in January on Polyvinyl), The Dodos are continuing to climb to their creative peak; while the band has always relied on curveball rhythmic changes and deceptively technical guitar playing, Individ finds The Dodos writing more urgent, cohesive songs that balance beautifully between sprawling...
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The Royal Basement Episode #11: Trapper Schoepp & The Shades
The Royal Basement Podcast
I'm convinced Trapper Schoepp is lying about his age. It's rare to see someone who hasn't even hit their thirties have such a knowledge and respect for the greats of classic American pop songwriting. Trapper is a man who cares about his craft and pays serious attention to the masters, and even as a grizzled old man myself, it's intimidating to meet someone who has such a vast well of musical knowledge to draw from. Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Trapper's music feels immediately familiar to me, like a sweet breeze of relief in the middle of an overbearing humid Midwestern...
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The Royal Basement Podcast Episode 10: Soft Sleep (Tony Ruland & Kyle Holland)
The Royal Basement Podcast
Tony Ruland (The Lonely Forest) and Kyle Holland (Cumulus) grew up in the same hometown (Anacortes, WA) and toured together with their recently departed groups. After a bit of time sitting on some microcassette guitar demos, Ruland recruited Holland alongside Erik Walters (Silver Torches, The Globes) and Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie) for the new glassy pop project Soft Sleep. Tony and Kyle stopped by The Royal Basement as part of their Seattle media barnstorming tour to debut their new single "Unravel" (Rocket Heart Records) and talk about their former bands, technology, making records,...
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The Royal Basement Podcast #9: Eric Slick (Dr. Dog) Playlist
The Royal Basement Podcast
Here's a set of songs picked out by Eric Slick (Dr. Dog/Lithuania/Maybe In Your Band?) for your aural pleasure.
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The Royal Basement Podcast #9: Eric Slick (Dr. Dog/Lithuania)
The Royal Basement Podcast
Eric Slick seems to be a man who doesn't deal well with idle time. Spend a little time poking around on Google and you'll find an impressive trail of music, film projects, and other assorted art pieces for a man who hasn't even hit his thirties yet. Most well known as the drummer for , Eric Slick has an impressive background in the world of avant-garde/improvisational music, drumming for Project/Object (a Frank Zappa tribute band) and working alongside his sister and King Crimson's Adrian Belew in Adrian Belew's Power Trio. When not touring with Dr. Dog,...
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Alex Robert/Black Whales "Shangri-La Indeed"
The Royal Basement Podcast
Alex Robert of Seattle's Black Whales played a few songs along with his podcast chat. Here's one of 'em. It's called "Shangri-La Indeed" and originally appeared on the band's record of the same name. Recorded live using a Fender Telecaster (1972 Custom Reissue) run through a Sears Silvertone head and a Fender Bandmaster cabinet with minimal pedals.
info_outlineTony Ruland (The Lonely Forest) and Kyle Holland (Cumulus) grew up in the same hometown (Anacortes, WA) and toured together with their recently departed groups. After a bit of time sitting on some microcassette guitar demos, Ruland recruited Holland alongside Erik Walters (Silver Torches, The Globes) and Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie) for the new glassy pop project Soft Sleep. Tony and Kyle stopped by The Royal Basement as part of their Seattle media barnstorming tour to debut their new single "Unravel" (Rocket Heart Records) and talk about their former bands, technology, making records, the legal precidence of a knock knock joke.