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Ethan Lee McCarthy (Primitive Man | Many Blessings)

Release Date: 09/08/2020

Todd Nief's Show

Paul Bearer is the vocalist for one of the most influential and underrated New York Hardcore bands of all time: Sheer Terror. Sheer Terror came out of the very strange New York Hardcore scene of the 80s — before the music became codified into the metallic, bouncy mosh parts we think of as NYHC today. While Sheer Terror is certainly no stranger to blending metal and punk, their sound is much more Tom G. Warrior plus Oi! rather than syncopated, single-string riffs. Nothing against bouncy mosh parts, but Sheer Terror is much more my cup of tea, personally. Paul and I talk not only about the...

Christopher M. Russo (Mercatus Center) on Monetary Policy, The Fed, and Inflation

Todd Nief's Show

Monetary policy is confusing. What even is The Fed? How do they control interest rates? Is The Fed different than the Treasury? Why do different cities have different feds? And, most importantly, do people with laser eyes on Twitter actually know anything about inflation? These are all things that I've wondered about — fortunately, my friend is a post-graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and an expert on monetary policy. And, he lifted some weights at South Loop Strength & Conditioning while pursuing his education at the University of Chicago....

Spenser Mestel on Voting Rights, Election Reform, and Writing a Book with Mat Fraser

Todd Nief's Show

I first encountered Spenser’s work through his writing for the , and at some point I clicked on enough links to realize that the majority of his work is on voting rights and election reform. I’ve been a subscriber to , so I wanted to get his take on how things went with New York City’s experiment in ranked choice voting in their Democratic mayoral primary. While election fraud and voter suppression are hot-button culture war issues, there are also a lot of low-hanging fruit for bipartisan election reforms. Spenser’s understanding of the voting rights landscape is deep and nuanced, so...

Dave Bland (Full of Hell | Jarhead Fertilizer)

Todd Nief's Show

Dave Bland is one of the most creative drummers currently playing extreme music. While technical wherewithal with blindingly fast blast beats is always appreciated, the ability to adapt to the varied styles present on Full of Hell records as well as the more straightforward death metal of Jarhead Fertilizer requires much more perspicacity. I first met Dave over 10 years ago when he was a high school student who left to go on tour with Full of Hell without his parents’ permission. Since then, Full of Hell has grown into one of the best bands in extreme music, and Dave’s drumming has become...

Matthew O. Jackson, PhD on Human Networks and Microfinance

Todd Nief's Show

Humans have an intuitive sense for who is important and well-connected. We like knowing “movers and shakers,” and we regularly engage in complicated social machinations — conscious or otherwise — to position ourselves close to the seat of influence. But what about the formal study of the spread of information through human networks? Matthew O. Jackson is a professor of economics at Stanford, and his book “” is a fantastic primer on the complex dynamics of human relationships. He’s also done fascinating work on the spread of microfinance in southern India with Arun Chandrasekhar...

Kayhan Vaziri (Yautja)

Todd Nief's Show

Yautja plays lurching, uncomfortable music, so it is fitting that their new album is called “The Lurch.” I first met Kayhan back in approximately 2010 when I was on tour with Weekend Nachos and we stayed at Kayhan’s place in Birmingham, Alabama. At the time, Kayhan was in a band called Legion (funny enough), and since then has gone on to play in several excellent hardcore and metal projects like , , and — of course — Yautja. Yautja’s most recent record is fantastic, so I wanted to get Kayhan on the podcast to discuss how they write such weird but catchy songs. The conversation also...

Simple Solutions to Complex Problems [Solocast]

Todd Nief's Show

I’ve often spoken on the about the desire for “simple solutions to complex problems.” I figured I’d reframe and refine that discussion for a solocast based upon the , Julia Galef’s great new book “,” and some marketing intuition from years of running a small business. Over years of creating content for a fitness audience, I’ve learned that the things that resonate with people are often not the things that are actually correct. Understanding the difference between a “complicated” environment and a “complex” environment has helped me clarify what’s going on here....

Bryan James, PhD on Alzheimer’s and Epidemiology

Todd Nief's Show

At some point in the last year or so, I started listening to the . I was thrilled to learn that the host, Bryan James, is a Chicago local at Rush University — and he’s a CrossFitter at . Bryan and I recently collaborated on an article for BarBend about controlling the spread of Covid in gym, as well: . In his day job, Bryan’s research focuses on the epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease, so I wanted to get his take on some common misconceptions about Alzheimer’s. Most of us have a family member who has been touched by Alzheimer’s or dementia, and my family is no different. Bryan’s...

James Pligge (Harm's Way) Round II

Todd Nief's Show

James Pligge is back by popular demand. This time, we talk about some of the many misconceptions that people have about James and Harm’s Way — as well as James’s ill-fated attempt to make a protein shake with Coca-Cola. To be honest, talking about making a protein shake from Coca-Cola probably doesn’t do a lot to correct any of those popular misconceptions about James… Either way, this is a hilarious conversation. James explains why Harm’s Way is more influenced by The Jesus Lizard than by Madball and also ridicules contemporary powerlifting culture. Learn more from James and...

John Caution (Weekend Nachos)

Todd Nief's Show

I feel like I say this about a lot of my friends that I have on the podcast, but John Caution is one of the weirdest and funniest people I know. I’m happy to talk to John endlessly about funny things that people we both know did 15 years ago, but, in this interview, we talk about the legacy of Weekend Nachos. We talk about the trolling instinct, the impulse to create — either in riff form or otherwise, and being in a band that defined the identity of a lot of angry but funny social misfits. I laughed pretty hard during this interview, and I laughed even harder while relistening to it....

More Episodes

It doesn’t always work well to try to corner artists who you like and make them explain how they do the thing that you enjoy about their work.

Sort of like getting a comedian to explain their jokes. Maybe not the best thing for your ongoing enjoyment of humor.

Still, I will not be deterred, and I wanted to get Ethan from Primitive Man on the podcast to pressure him into explaining how he thinks about the dissonant soundscapes he creates not just for Primitive Man, but for all of the musical projects that he’s involved with like Many Blessings and Vermin Womb.

Ethan — like many creatives — cannot be contained and also has his fingers in visual art (including designing the cover art for the Hate Force record we put out somewhat recently) and booking all kinds of shows.

Check out more from Ethan, Primitive Man, and Many Blessings here:

Website: www.hellsimulation.com
Bandcamp: Primitive Man | Many Blessings | Vermin Womb
Instagram: @primitivemandoom

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Show Notes:

[01:12] How does Ethan use dissonance as a tool in his creativity?
[08:44] How Ethan uses influences from other genres to spark creativity in Primitive Man — although passed through a “horrifying” filter, of course.
[17:21] Are there unexplored avenues of “heaviness” in heavy music?
[25:59] How Ethan’s visual art differs from his musical art.
[32:50] How distrust, disinformation, and the getting implanted with a microchip fall create a dystopian environment.
[48:50] Denver’s extreme music scene and the necessity of new bands taking the reins. How will shows bounce back after COVID?
[56:32] What is Ethan’s role in booking shows and what opportunities will there be for people to get involved when live music returns?
[01:08:10] Check out Primitive Man, Ethan’s Art & Many Blessings

Check out more from Ethan, Primitive Man, and Many Blessings here:

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