Dispatches from the Underground
On Dispatches from the Underground host, NYC punk Joey Steel, and guests explore the depths of underground, sub, and counter-culture while also trying to grasp a UG perspective on the mainstream and pop culture we are subjected to endure. Dig deep/Get down.
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DftUnderground Episode 408
04/24/2022
DftUnderground Episode 408
Erin Hughes and Al Ghostcat are back! This episode we try to get underneath a topic that has been floating around the mainstream new a lot lately, democracy. There has been a lot of discussion about the undermining of democracy in the US and other places in the last few years especially, so we took this episode to get far down below all the hoopla and see what exactly we democracy see is to us today. Joey callously talks a ton of shit about this beloved philosophy / institution and Erin and Al have the objectionable task of sifting through all that shit to get to some productive perspectives. But they do a healthy amount of shit talking too. There are some real thoughtful parts to this episode, and some truly offensive parts for the looking for that as well. Whatever you hold dear in the realm of American institutions prob gets a good dusting up on this one. As this as one of the topics Joey has been wanting to dig deep into for some time, and needed to get to before we wrapped up this podcast. This week we dump on democracy. Plus we listen to some brand new tunes from , , and . GET DOWN.
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DftUnderground Episode 407
02/28/2022
DftUnderground Episode 407
Erin Hughes and Al Ghostcat get down this week to talk with Joey about misogyny in punk. It’s great that people are paying attention to the gross man shit that has been happening in society at large as well as our corner of it in the punk community. Calling this gross-man-behavior out is the first step to changing these offenders, changing ourselves, and changing our world. Talking about misogynistic behavior in the abstract can be confusing and diffuse. So today we confront a recent incident involving the punk band Stolen Wheelchairs and their troubling, misogynistic behavior. There are endless other examples we could have discussed, this one was the most recent we were aware of, so we used that as a vehicle to get under this overwhelming issue. One of the most wonderful and challenging realities of the culture we have today is that the misdeeds of culture creators surface. We are able to judge the art and the artist together. We are able to use this information to shape and protect our communities, however we often don’t have any personal connection to the situation we are judging. Far from the people involved we struggle to understand every facet of the complicated situation and come down with a clear verdict in our hearts. So instead of talking to the people involved in the situation we try to get under the issues from a distance, like so many of us need to in these situations where none of us have personal ties to the story. We talk about the admitted behaviors they participated in, the complexity of our distance from the situation, and their entirely inept response to a deeply wrong and misogynistic act. We also talk a ton of shit. AND we listen to tunes from , , , and
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DftUnderground Episode 406
09/24/2021
DftUnderground Episode 406
On this episode we try to untangle all the BACKWARD ass coverage of this 9/11: 20th anniversary memorial. We try yo get underneath all the endless bullshit people are telling themselves about who they were 20 years ago and the weird myth shit that was flying around all the media coverage of this day and how it has been used. Also…we talk a ton of shit! This is DEFINITELY NOT your normal 9/11 coverage. We don't lament any deaths except for who were murdered using the guise of that fateful day in 2001. But we also don't spin any conspiracy shit, so we walking a thin line. See if we hold up. plus we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 405
07/18/2021
DftUnderground Episode 405
On the first part of this episode, Joey talks about the challenges facing the community as the world opens up again and the opportunities we have to redefine what it means to truly be together again. Whether it be in punk communities or others, we have a unique opportunity to reflect on who we want to be and intentionally reorganize ourselves to be that, together. On the second part of the episode we look at the relationship between mass movements and elections. As we have gone from a summer of MASS protests only a year ago which clearly declared Black Lives Matter and demanded justice and accountability from the police to this summer where the streets are quiet of any major protests but filled with discussion of Biden’s plans and at least in NYC talk of the future (likely) police officer mayor of NYC. We look at some possible reasons for this change and talk some trash in the process. Plus we listen to some tunes from , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 404
02/22/2021
DftUnderground Episode 404
is back this week, this time talking about punk shit. We talk about the best and worst of the culture we love. We talk about what attracted us here and why we still revel in this gutter today. We also talk about the elitist gate-keepers and backward shits who make us doubt our affinity. We talk about being drawn to the provocative and confrontational elements but also being frustrated by the inability of punk to grow and break with some basic ass elements it continues to cling to. This episode is a lil longer because we we talk a TON of shit about the state of punk today and the place we would like to take it to as well, but I can’t stress enough the amount of shit talking we do in this episode. We really outdid ourselves here. We go there time after time. Strap yourself in, this one gets bumpy. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 403
01/19/2021
DftUnderground Episode 403
Jehiel Winters from NYC’s gets down to talk about the right-wing riot that invaded the Capitol on on Jan. 6th. We work past the mainstream media’s superficial analysis on this riot as an attack on democracy at large and go deeper to look at the white supremacist roots of this event. We talk about the Trumpian trajectory these fascists have been on for years, and how this minor racist rebellion will likely have major ripples in the days and years to come. On the second half of the show we discuss what all this shit means for us in our daily struggles for justice. We talk about the role the police played and also how we should see the fight to combat these right-wing extremists in relation to the struggle against systematic injustice by the police and the struggle for Black Lives. Don’t fret, we still manage to talk a ton of shit, get attacked multiple times by chickens, and properly explain how this Capitol riot in Gulliani’s Beyond the Thunderdome fantasy gone wild. PLUS we listen to tunes from The Clash, , , and
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DftUnderground Episode 402
12/29/2020
DftUnderground Episode 402
Al from , Trashy, and and Kacie Kerrigan are back! We ring in the new year the only way we know how, talking shit and playing tunes. This episode we turn our sights to figuring out what is in store for us in 2021 but we don’t ignore the opportunity to take one last final dump on this dumpster fire of a year. We talk a ton of trash, sort through the things that need sorting through, find any kernels of goodness to carry with us into the next year, and make some extremely short sighted predictions about the fresh hell that awaits us next. It’s fun, but there is some feeble attempts to get some perspective in there too. PLUS we listen to a bunch of 2020 tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 401
12/14/2020
DftUnderground Episode 401
Al from , , and and Kacie Kerrigan get down to start a two part discussion about just how rough this year has really been. On this episode we focus on trying to get a grip of our grief. We like so many others have suffered debilitating losses in our community. Grieving all of our friends, families and community members who have passed away has been overwhelming. Not being able to get together has made this so much harder. So we talk about grief in a few different ways from weird social media posts to petty self reflections to socially distant commiserations and more. Al, Kacie, and I all recently lost a dear, dear brother and friend here in NYC. Alec Baillie of was someone we knew very well, toured with for years, and w personally were very close to. His passing has been absolutely heart breaking to us and so many more here. We and so many others here in NYC and around the world loved Alec with our whole hearts. By no means do we try to fully explore all of the beauty and the complexity of Alec Baillie. He meant so much to so many people. We make an attempt to touch on some of that in this episode. But mainly we wanted to honor our friend in some small way and also we wanted to talk about our journey to mourn him in some functional way. Hopefully in talking about this here it can help some other people get some perspective on this painful topic. We know this is a hard topic, so we also tell some dumb stories and talk a ton of shit, as usual. It’s not all sadness, there is some joy in the pain. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 400
09/27/2020
DftUnderground Episode 400
Justin, host of the podcast, gets down this week to talk about his podcast and our relationship to this growing movement for racial justice. Justin talks to us about his recent reckoning to be more active in this monumental moment. On the first part of the show we talk about whether OUR ideas are in fact changing or our world is changing. We discuss whether we should be confrontational or understanding in dealing with those changes in our ideas and/our our reality. On the second part of the episode we talk about the challenges of organizing and what actions on our part would be commensurate with the times. We know Black Lives Matter, although we can all know this better, so we ask what can we DO to better understand this and live it. . We are all coming into this moment from different perspectives, but it is exciting and exhilarating, and occasionally frustrating too, to see how ideas and actions clash as they do in this conversation on how to move forward together. PLUS we listen to music from the newly released benefit compilation for with tunes from , , , and . And we also play a shot from the past with Time Zone.
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DftUnderground Episode 399
08/31/2020
DftUnderground Episode 399
Is voting really in our interest? There is almost zero critical discussion in the mainstream media or in any political realm about whether voting in this society is reasonable or beneficial to the people. So we sort this shit out ourselves. We get neck deep into whether there is justice in the voting booth. Brilliant and talented musician joins us to give us a healthy, international perspective on the wild political reality we live in as we talk about elections and democracy under capitalism. We confront our own biases, shoot holes in the mainstreams unconscious, and endless ignorance surrounding this issue, and explore questions of privilege and empowerment related to our present voting predicament. We try to take nothing and no one for granted. AND we have a ton of fun talking shit while breaking it all down. PLUS we listen to music from (R.I.P. Riley Gale), , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 398
07/29/2020
DftUnderground Episode 398
With a new wave of protests against the police happening all across the country following the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor some people have found it hard understand what these protest have been like and what they have been about. That’s understandable given that the mainstream media has us all spun out and confused, so we turned to covering this story how we think it should be covered, in detail, on the ground, and with a conscious bias. We spent some time in the streets and spent some time reflecting and feel like we can give a pretty solid break down of what the protests against the police were like here in NYC after the protests in Minneapolis inspired us all in late May / early June 2020. We give detailed first hand accounts of what happened and what we saw, and also get our heads straight on just how we all should be looking at these protests against the police and this new wave of the Black Lives Matter movement that has swept across the country. Everything the news is unfit and incapable of doing properly, we take as our mission here. We are totally biased, critical, and conscious about our updates from the front lines and from deep down in the underground. PLUS we listen to some tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 397
06/01/2020
DftUnderground Episode 397
Quarantine Coverage Episode #4: Community We are airing an episode this week that was recorded prior to the incredible rebellion that has erupted in the US following the racist and outrageous murder of at the hands of the police. We could not be more proud of the courageous protesters in the streets demanding justice for George Floyd and making is clear that . We are very eager to talk about those issues more on our podcast, however we did not want to distract from Black voices speaking about these issues or muddle anything with our perspective on these issues before everyone clearly heard from those leading this incredible movement. On this issue we choose to listen before we offer our perspective. So we are waiting to talk about these protests until we have listened more carefully and processed the insight and perspectives of Black voices leading this incredible moment in history. We hope to have an episode up soon, but won’t post until we feel we have truly taken the time to understand first. So we chose to air the great episode we had scheduled to be released this week despite the fact that it is not talking about the incredibly important issues burning up our streets. This week we talk about community in the time of Covid. We have three incredible contributions from musicians talking about this moment and helping us get some perspective on what punk community is and what we should be reflecting on during the quarantine. The punk community is so reliant on being able to congregate in a physical space together, since we so often don’t live in a single area and it is hard to maintain any perspective when we can’t be with our community, as we are essentially cut off from each other during this quarantine. So we distill what it means to maintain a healthy underground perspective when we are being bombarded by the mainstream and cut off from our community and friends. With contributions from Paul Rivera of the , Danielle Kolker and Jesse Sternberg of , and Glenn Gentzke of and . Plus we listen to tunes from all these incredible bands AND .
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DftUnderground Episode 396
05/15/2020
DftUnderground Episode 396
Quarantine Coverage Episode #3: Days and in Quarantine Whitney Flynn from Houston based folk punk phenomenon gets down to help us understand how to stay optimistic and focused during these darks days. She lifts our spirits as she talks to us about what she has been thinking during the quarantine, living in the chaos, and moving to NYC. And on the second half of the show we talk about new record “Show Me The Blueprints.” just released on . Plus we hear two tunes from the new record from , as well as a tune from and .
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DftUnderground Episode 395
04/30/2020
DftUnderground Episode 395
Quarantine Coverage Episode #2: May Day. We celebrate International Workers’ Day from our unemployed quarantine by focusing on how this unique moment in history has made people more conscious about the ills of capitalism, the necessity of workers, the potential of science, and the need for alternatives to our current sorry state. Since we can’t be in the streets together this holiday, we celebrate by trying to see the joy in the selflessness we are seeing around us and the potential for change even in the most selfish acts of ignorant conspiracy whackos. We hear from Divin, a punk currently in a more literal lock down. He is in rehab and gives us his perspective on what’s going on there and out here in our own lockdowns. And we listen to music from , and two brand new songs from each of and ’s new records.
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DftUnderground Episode 394
04/06/2020
DftUnderground Episode 394
Quarantine Coverage Episode #1: Getting a Grip. This week we have a DOUBLE SIZED episode with FOUR special guest contributors. All our minds twisted up in this pandemic pandemonium we need to take some time to get a grip of ourselves, our thinking, and this moment. We spend this episode figuring out how to begin being reflective in this isolation. With contributions from Dick Lucas of the in the UK, Chris Mann of the California band , Bobette of Montreal’s , and artist and activist Vittoria from Milan, Italy. PLUS we listen to music from the , , , and a brand new song from
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DftUnderground Episode 393
03/17/2020
DftUnderground Episode 393
Sick of Corona virus coverage? Yeah, us too! So Justin and Jon from the band get down to talk a ton of shit about what WWIX has been doing and we have nothing substantive to add to people’s germ obsession. has a new singer, new tunes, new record, and a new unbelievable comic. I have heard some of the dumbest shit this week while people talking about the virus, let me assure you we have a TON OF DUMB SHIT TO SAY, but sadly you will need to rely on someone else to hear more about COVID-19. We just talk a lot of dumb punk shit, helping you live in the gutter a lil more comfortably. Super fun episode. We could not stop laughing, hope you can’t too. Plus we listen to tunes from a bunch of great DIY NYC punk bands: , , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 392
03/01/2020
DftUnderground Episode 392
Dani, Chris, Donny, and Sara from SoCal’s get down to talk about their genuinely unique blend of punk, why they stopped making it, and why they have started again. And when so many punx are getting timid or confused a out how to or whether to talk politics, Intro5pect gets deep down in it and helps us get our heads right about how to do left wing politics in punk. And we talk a lil shit about going to show also. Plus we listen to tunes from Intro5pect, , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 391
01/31/2020
DftUnderground Episode 391
We get neck deep in bougie-ass politics this week. We talk shit about voting; whether we should do it or not. We talk shit about the incoming from the Democratic primaries, the outgoing of the Trump impeachment, and try to sort through the endless electoral cycle of death in which we find ourselves. And we also talk a lot about why the mainstream media and culture work so hard to keep the confines of political debate narrowly defined. By restricting the topics we consider debatable and whom we can choose to debate about, our collective conscious and unconscious is stifled from growing, and saturated with ideas in the interest of a bunch of bourgie-ass suckas. We talk politics in a way NO ONE else is, and then we drag that shit into into the gutter on our level, where that shit belongs. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 391
01/31/2020
DftUnderground Episode 391
We get neck deep in bougie-ass politics this week. We talk shit about voting; whether we should do it or not. We talk shit about the incoming from the Democratic primaries, the outgoing of the Trump impeachment, and try to sort through the endless electoral cycle of death in which we find ourselves. And we also talk a lot about why the mainstream media and culture work so hard to keep the confines of political debate narrowly defined. By restricting the topics we consider debatable and whom we can choose to debate about, our collective conscious and unconscious is stifled from growing, and saturated with ideas in the interest of a bunch of bourgie-ass suckas. We talk politics in a way NO ONE else is, and then we drag that shit into into the gutter on our level, where that shit belongs. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 390
12/02/2019
DftUnderground Episode 390
Jesse, Whitney, Meagan, and Geoff of Houston's get down to talk about the trials and tribulations of this most recent Cracktober Fest with and . We clear up any of the rumors and gossip swirling around about the tour, and talk about how the band has persevered and even thrived through all its more recent struggles. And we get neck deep in what it touring is really like when you live life on the road. Then on the second half of the show we go back to roots and find out how they got started, and how they all ended up together. And we also talk a lil bit about where they all headed now. We talk a healthy amount of shit in the midst of all those crazy ass stories and also manage to find that sobering, shining light behind all the darkness, just as they help us do in their sweet tunes. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 389
09/13/2019
DftUnderground Episode 389
Libby Lux from Portland based gets down to talk about their recent tour with the and their recent appearance at Fest. We talk a ton of shit and Libby regales us with a bunch of crazy ass stories from this tour, including right wing nuts getting the shit literally kicked out of them, and a flaming biker coming to their show in Virginia. We also talk about the challenges of being a female musician, and how we all can do better to respect the space and talent of the incredible women in our scene. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 388
08/07/2019
DftUnderground Episode 388
Lauren from the Dispatches from the Underground Collective gets down to talk about the recent mass shootings in the US. On the first part of the show we talk about how more gun control laws are no panacea for this problem. On the second half we talk about the ideologies behind these shootings, especially the racism and misogyny that are emboldened by the insurgent right wing and we talk about how capitalism brings people to be susceptible to these ugly ideologies. And lastly we talk about the role we have in underground / DIY scene in combating these wretched ideologies as they pop up in our scenes and scenes in the same realm as ours. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 387
06/11/2019
DftUnderground Episode 387
Christina and Cody from and get down to talk about all the sweet shit Basement Dwellers are doing holding down some of the best up and coming punk in DIY NYC. We talk about Cody’s band Alouth and also get neck deep in some of the best of what’s happening at which is happening JUNE 22nd on Randall’s Island from 10 am to 8 pm and as always is ALL AGES and ALL FREE. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 386
03/17/2019
DftUnderground Episode 386
Scott Sturgeon aka Stza Crack of and Whitney Flynn of get down with Al Ghostcat of , film maker Ryan Kollin and artist Kaitlyn Chen in a seedy hotel in Miami for a Post Tour “Party” or whatever you want to call it. We wrap up this winter 2019 tour: “Still Crusty After All These Years” featuring - - and . We tell some fucked up stories from the road, and some good ones, talk a TON of shit … mostly we talk shit … and we talk about punk family and what that means. But we also talk about the new things on the horizon! Whitney tells us about the new album in the works, her solo stuff, and gives us a sneak peak of a book she is writing. Sturgeon talks about the NEW songs that they have been performing live lately, and the NEW ALBUM they are working on, as well. He also gives us exclusive first NEWS of what CHOKING VICTIM is up to right now and in the near future! Plus we talk about the likelihood of the next Cracktober fest and we suss out lot of details about the upcoming brand crack/cocaine and crack/cocaine related accouterments coming to a bodega near you sooner than you wanted. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 385
02/09/2019
DftUnderground Episode 385
Author gets down to talk about his new book which tells the untold story of the FBI informants who penetrated the upper reaches of organizations such as the Communist Party, USA, the Black Panther Party, the Revolutionary Union and other groups labeled threats to the internal security of the United States. I get a better idea of how Arron got this information, what this book is all about and how it applies to the radical and revolutionary work today. And Arron tells some crazy ass stories about digging through FBI files on revolutionaries and some of he wild shit he has found, and how the US government infiltrated into some wildly high positions and fucked up some great groups. Crazy, crazy shit. Plus we are gonna listen to some music from , , Woody Guthrie and Dave Van Ronk.
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DftUnderground Episode 384
01/11/2019
DftUnderground Episode 384
Danielle from gets down to confront misogyny and patriarchy in the mainstream as well in our every day life, and even in our own underground podcasts. Obviously Trump has called a lot of the worst misogynists to be more bold in our already backward society, we try to get a better understanding of the effects of that, as we also look at the incredible movements that have developed to empower women. We make sense of this moment we are in and talk about the incredible potential for change, societally as well as personally to reach toward genuine women's liberation. We are gonna talk about all of that and , as well as a healthy mouth of trash talking about your favorite bros. Plus we are gonna listen to some music from , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 383
12/30/2018
DftUnderground Episode 383
Brett and Chris from NJ’s get down to talk about their new album, their recent tour with and , and how they get their unique sound. Plus we talk about New Year’s resolutions and getting a grip on our life or world or whatever. And we wildly talk shit about everything you care about, a bunch of brutal tour stories, and which famous punks we most want to wrestle … and which wrestlers we’d need to get that done. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , and of course
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DftUnderground Episode 382
11/22/2018
DftUnderground Episode 382
Enrique from the Massachusetts band gets down to talk about their new album . We talk about the journey this wicked collection of musicians goes through when they make this blistering music, and Enrique shows us we can be positive and uplifting even while we are conscious and critical, something we all too often lose sight up when we are constantly buried under the bullshit. And of course we also manage to talk a ton of shit too, mostly about wiffle ball and the obvious intersection of politics and professional wrestling. PLUS we listen to tunes from , , and .
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DftUnderground Episode 381
11/02/2018
DftUnderground Episode 381
Mani Mostofi from the band gets down to talk about current political in the US, the continuing rise of the far right, and political violence, the latter of which is sorely needed at this moment. In the wake of the horrible murders committed by a rightwing shooter in Pittsburgh as well as these whacked mail bombing attempts by a mega Trump supporter, the mainstream media and government officials have made a massive effort to cast all political violence in the same light, lumping together these backward nut jobs or crazy ass proud boys with the righteous struggle of antifascists here in the US. We sort all this out in a way the mainstream media is fully unwilling or unable to do, and Mani breaks it all down with incredible clarity. THEN we talk about ’s new album “”, listen to a few tracks from their album and also listen to a few songs from and .
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DftUnderground Episode 380
10/17/2018
DftUnderground Episode 380
Jesse & Onion from get down to talk about the new split record, “All Cells Are Bogus”, they just put out with . Then there is a healthy amount of stories and shit talking stories from the tour they just wrapped up together. PLUS we listen to tunes from r and ’s new record as well as and .
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