This has been a long time coming. Ben and I met at my dad's place where he and the rest of the guys on his tour stayed the night before taking me on the road with them. We...
As I've been reading through the Star Wars: Ralph McQuarrie archives these past few weeks, I feel as if I've been sucked back in to the space concept art black hole that consumed much of my...
Johnny Minardi is something of a legend in the alternative scene. He launched the careers of some scene favorites and aided in the release of countless more. He has scores of stories regarding the glory days of Fueled By Ramen...
It took a while, but I finally got Gunz on the show. After a few weeks of rain delays and train crashes, the Idobi posterboy gives us the dish on his career in broadcast journalism. Mike Gunzelman aka Gunz is...
Donald Glover (Community, Atlanta, the rap game) has been officially cast as Lando Calrissian in the Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed Han Solo stand-alone film set for 2018, a role long rumored and greatly anticipated. The role of Han...
It's been a few weeks, but here we are, waxing poetic about the greatest science fiction saga of all time yet again. In the 12th episode of Bantha Fodder, Mike and Jacob talk about traditions. Specifically "the...
Through Pixar's Co-op program, animators Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats spent bits of spare time over the course of 5 years to create a six minute short telling the tale of an aged and depressed old-western sheriff. Hamou-Lhadj...
I almost took a job at AltPress out of high school, there have been times I regretted going a different route, but knowing what I know now, I'm glad I didn't make the move to Cleveland....
Gimlet Media's Starlee Kine (as well as her entire staff) got the boot before production had wrapped on Mystery Show's second season. While working on an episode, actually. Starlee Kine, via the Mystery Show Facebook: I’...
Of all the new shows this year, Gimlet Media’s Heavyweight is easily the one most worth trying. 1 Show description via Gimlet Media: A podcast about journeying back to the moment when everything went wrong. Hosted by Jonathan Goldstein....
My guest last week had to cancel on me due to an on-the-job conflict. This left me with no guest for the first time since starting this show 16 weeks ago. Determined to keep the feed alive every single week,...
Just when I think the podcast is becoming easier to produce on a weekly basis, it isn't. In actuality, this episode was very easy to produce. It has the shortest run time, has one of the best speakers...
Nate Sirotta of Impulse Artists sat down with me this week to share some great tips surrounding PR. Whether you're in a band, write for a blog, or have an interest in doing publicity yourself, this is a...
Ian and I have been in contact since 2012 when his band States Away wanted to premiere their album on my music blog. Since then, I've been lucky to have Ian as a sounding board for my design...
To start, we get to know Dana. Dana is a freelance writer that has a secret past as a talented musician. Then, as promised, Dana and I go long on Frank Ocean's Blonde. This episode is the first...
Anyway, Jack and I have worked together and around each other in a number of ways over the years. He gave me a real job in college that was both really fun and super helpful. To pay him back, I...
[YouTube videos removed by CBS] This morning, Pinegrove made their TV debut on CBS This Morning. They performed 3 songs, Cadmium (above), Aphasia, and Angelina....
A lot of the folks on this show have been people I've never spoken to in person before. Joe is one I've only seen a single photo of. He's sort of an enigma, that...
It's been a long wait, but the time has come. Frank Ocean has released a visual album, Endless, on Apple Music. Watch it here. Thank you Frank. It's going to take a few days to absorb...
James and I are back to our respective states after his wedding (which was really fun). That means we can continue watching Stranger Things! Naturally, James' recording laptop took a bath before recording so we're working with...
After months of following up with the poor guy, I got Brian "Lion" Leak on the show with me. Initially, when this thing was going to promote Under The Gun and its writers, Brian would have been my...
Yes Lawd! Those who listen to Variable Bitrate will know that I greatly love two things, Tiny Desk Concerts and Anderson .Paak. Today, those things collide and it's a wonderful thing. I normally listen to the audio podcast...
When I was in the first grade, I read both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber Of Secrets. By the time I reached the third grade, I had mastered the existing four books multiple times.[1]...
I started this music writing thing "officially" in January of 2011. I was a senior in high school at the time. Mark Garza, founder and owner of Funeral Sounds (a record label and online publishing company), Label Manager...
Joshy boy, joshy boy, cast me a pod. My good pal and longtime friend calls in to talk Americana, a mature genre of music that truly speaks to him, but we eventually start talking about My Chemical Romance and All...
We're back! After a short hiatus imposed by our increasingly busy podcasting schedules and the sheer length of time it took to prepare and produce this episode, Mike and I haves something really special for you. We'...
I've got the podcasting bug and a lot of ideas. As a result, I wanted to try a pop culture show centered around one specific television program called Stranger Things. Netflix has been crushing it with the exclusives...
Yea, I uploaded this one roughly 12 hours late, but it's still Monday so guess what? It counts. Some scheduling conflicts two weeks back—as well as some heat-induced illness this weekend—ended up affording me the buffer...
After years of jamming his music in my car to and from school, I finally got the opportunity to talk to Ian Kenny of King Neptune. Ian spilled all the juicy deets on the fate of NGHBRS and revealed what...
A few years ago, a photographer on my Facebook feed was asking for the names and contact information for graphic designers that could make him a logo for his photography business. Swept up in a gust of inspiration, I mocked...
Three weeks in. It's all happening. Episode 3 has Maria Gironas in the digital chair opposite me. I ask her about her history in PR, Warped Tour, and that Alkaline Trio Blink 182 song. Good times. I'...
Hey, look at that. I've actually set a weekly schedule for this thing. My second guest probably comes as no surprise, being that he's been my on-again-off-again partner in crime for the better part of a...
Here is the first official episode of Variable Bitrate featuring my hairy friend Dan Bogosian. Dan and I ran through his career so far, some news stories, and a few bands we're digging right now. He also told...
Here it is, the pilot episode of my new podcast, Variable Bitrate. It was a lot of fun putting this one together. This was the first podcast I've edited since college and it felt good to get back...
We hit two digits in the run of our little Star Wars program. It feels good. We have some higher production episodes coming up, so expect some longer droughts in-between. In the tenth episode of Bantha Fodder, Mike and Jacob...