LONELIER THAN GOD

Today I’m talking with guitarist & producer KURT BALLOU — a true luminary of the heavy music scene, on both sides of the mixing board. 

In 1990, he co-founded the pioneering metalcore band CONVERGE, whose 11th studio album, LOVE IS NOT ENOUGH, arrives on February 13.

Kurt also owns & operates GOD CITY STUDIO in Salem, MA, where he records, engineers, produces, & mixes a breathtaking array of bands. He’s given an instantly recognizable mix of grit & clarity to scores of landmark punk, metal, & hardcore records, including LPs by his own band, as well as Cave In, Isis, P...

Today’s conversation is with TIM DOW, one of my all-time favorite drummers. 

He’s played in and/or toured with SHINER, YEAR OF THE RABBIT, SEASON TO RISK, THE JOY CIRCUIT, ON, VAE VICTIS, & more. 

He was in Shiner from 1993 to ‘98, & drummed on their early landmark records, SPLAY & LULA DIVINIA, as well as on their first 6 EPs. Both LPs have since been remixed & remastered, & then reissued in 2024 on SPARTAN RECORDS. 

After leaving Shiner, he played in a couple of early 2000s L.A. bands with Failure’s Ken Andrews: first the p...

Sat down today with KEITH M., singer & guitarist of the Brooklyn post-hardcore/screamo band MEMORY ENTRY. 

Earlier this year, they released their 5-song debut EP, Our World is Going to Disappear, on IODINE RECORDINGS, & they’ve got new stuff on the way. Link below.

Since 2020, Keith has hosted THE NEW SCENE PODCAST, which released its 300th episode a few weeks back. He’s done wide-ranging interviews with members of Quicksand, the Jesus Lizard, Jawbox, Melvins, Seaweed, & many others, as well as with friends of this pod, Chris Enriquez from Spotlights & Josh Brigham from Hopes...

Today I’m joined by DEREK NIEDRINGHAUS & LYLE HODGES, who were both involved, in different ways, in the making of Centaur's debut album, In Streams.

Derek plays bass in Centaur, & does art design for the band, including the iconic & oddly soothing Gaudí-inspired In Streams cover. He also plays bass in CASTOR, who just re-released their discography in remixed & remastered form as a vinyl set called Moving Backgrounds, on Earth Analog Records. He previously made music in Sarge, the Big Bright Lights, & National Skyline, among others.

Lyle was a studio assistant, tape op, & Whi...

Today I’m joined by SCOTT KIMBLE & DON KING from the Champaign, Illinois band TERMINUS VICTOR. 

Their most recent album, EVERENDING, came out in 2023, & was tracked by Matt Talbott @ Earth Analog. It’s textured, it’s heavy, a little sludgy, a little spacey; it’s awesome from front to back. Highly, highly recommended. Link in the show notes. 

Before T-Vic & its predecessor HUSHTOWER, Scott played in Little Black Spiders, Wicked Walls, & the Falbonauts, & Don played in Social Imaginary & Bristle. 

We make a couple references here to a previous conversation the guys had wi...

Joining me today from Scotland is GEOFF EVANS, an admin for the fan-driven HUM Reddit & Facebook groups.

With over 13,000 members between them, these pages have helped keep the band in the public consciousness for decades, & they're both reliable sources of news, discussion, & music recommendations. 

In this episode, we talk about the joy of the live experience, wearing your fandom on your sleeve (literally), & the parallel universes of unreleased music.

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REDDIT // FACEBOOK

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"Inklings" Versions:

Chicago, IL // 2010

Austin, T...

Today’s conversation is with JOEY GINALDI, drummer of the Pennsylvania bands MAGIC AMERICA & CLEVER HOUR.

Magic America just released their debut album, Get in the Truck, a couple weeks back on Funeral Party Records. The first video, for the song “Carried by Angels,” is now up on YouTube. 

Clever Hour, which also features Jake Clarke from Superheaven & Evan King from Magic America, put out their 5-song self-titled debut EP in 2024. Links below.

Joey’s also recorded and/or toured with many other bands from the northeast, including Knifeplay, Webbed Wing, Pony...

Joining me today is RAY HARKINS, vocalist of the Southern California melodic hardcore bands TAKEN, MIKOTO, &, most recently, BLOODGUILT.

Taken burned brightly from the late ‘90s until 2004, releasing one LP & 2 EPs on Goodfellow Records. They’ve since added a demos & b-sides compilation, a collected version of the first 3 records, & a 2018 EP titled With Regard To, on Other People Records. Links below.

Ray’s also run the DIY music & culture podcast, 100 WORDS OR LESS, for the better part of a decade, with over 670 episodes in the archive. He’s interviewed everyone from Ken Andrews & Page Hami...

Today I’m talking with LAURENT SCHROEDER-LEBEC & LARRY HERWEG, from the Chicago heavy rock band PELICAN.

Since 2001, they’ve released 7 LPs, plus a host of singles, splits, EPs, live albums, & compilations. Their most recent record, FLICKERING RESONANCE, is highly recommended & came out a couple months back on RUN FOR COVER RECORDS.

Pelican just finished a run of US shows & are currently touring Europe thru mid-August. They’ve also got plans for new material on the way.

In this episode, we talk about the Midwest music underground, loudness as celebration, & the elemen...

Joining me today is BALTHAZAR DE LEY — singer, guitarist, bassist, producer, engineer, studio technician, &, most recently, amp maker. 

In the early ‘90s, he joined HUM, which was, back then, written in all lowercase. He played bass on their first record Fillet Show, & toured & wrote songs with them over the course of several years. 

He then formed & fronted MENTHOL, formerly known as Mother, whose 3 beloved LPs combined off-kilter riffing & synth lines with surrealistic & Faustian tales of the '90s alt rock signing boom. 

When Menthol parted ways, he began engineering records for oth...

Today I’m talking with the artist, musician, filmmaker, & sociocultural prophet GERALD V. CASALE. In the early ‘70s, Jerry co-founded the mutant-pop performance art group DEVO, who have since released 9 studio albums, 10 EPs, a soundtrack, 10 live albums, 16 compilations, 25 singles, & 9 video albums, not to mention creating some of the most distinct & unforgettable images in American music history.

DEVO are currently touring North America in celebration of their 50th anniversary. A feature-length documentary on the band will premiere on Netflix on August 19th, & recently they’ve been restoring & rereleasing their early short films, including 1976’s THE TRUTH ABOUT DE-EVOLU...

Today’s guest is JACOB GIVENS, TikTok phenom, musician, podcaster, actor, writer, & comedian. 

His enthusiasm for music has attracted over 500,000 followers across his social media platforms, & he’s racked up millions of views from viral videos about iconic moments in 90s alternative & beyond. 

He also runs the podcast WATERPROOF RECORDS, where he’s done episodes on HUM, the Flaming Lips, Deftones, the Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, & many more. 

In this episode, we talk about the pull of theatricality, the power of ‘90s vocal hooks, & the feral euphoria of palm muting.

Today’s guest is the multi-talented JEFF GARBER — singer, guitarist, composer, producer, & engineer. From the mid-to-late ‘90s Jeff played in the Champaign, IL indie rock band CASTOR, who released 2 LPs, a single, & some compilation tracks, all of which have just been remixed, remastered, & pressed to vinyl on Matt Talbott’s EARTH ANALOG label. That set is called Moving Backgrounds; it’s now up for pre-order on POLYVINYL RECORDS. Link below.

Jeff’s next project, NATIONAL SKYLINE, which he started with Nick Macri (C-Clamp), Derek Niedringhaus (Castor), & Jeff Dimpsey (HUM), put out over a dozen releases, some on indie lab...

Sat down today with Carson Wilcox, the drummer of the Dallas, TX bands BLEED & NARROW HEAD. 

Bleed just released their excellent S/T DEBUT LP on 20 Buck Spin. It fuses a wide range of styles from the alt-metal of the late '90s & early 2000s, but it's also got elements of lesser-cited bands like Curve, Filter, & God Lives Underwater. It's a super cool compound of things. I also highly recommend the SOMEBODY'S CLOSER EP that came out a couple years before it.

Bleed are currently touring the West Coast with One Step Closer u...

Today’s guests are RICK VALENTIN & ROSE MARSHACK from the Champaign, IL indie rock band POSTER CHILDREN. They co-founded the group in 1987 & have since released 12 LPs, along with various singles, EPs, compilations, & a feature film. 

They’ve been on indies, majors, & everything in between, & they took an avant-garde approach to music tech & media — doing enhanced CDs, early mp3 releases, DIY websites & design, & the proto-podcast podcast RADIO ZERO, which they’ve broadcast from 1998 to the present. 

Rick & Rose also run 12 INCH RECORDS, home to bands like HUM, Love Cup, Dis-, & their non-Poster Children projects Salaryman...

Today’s guest is CARLOS RAMIREZ, co-founder & editor-in-chief of NO ECHO, a worldwide hardcore website that just celebrated its 10th anniversary. It’s a vast & respected resource for all things hardcore, metal, & punk, updated daily across the web & the usual social media platforms.

Carlos played bass in the mid-to-late '90s NYC powerviolence band BLACK ARMY JACKET, who released their discography compilation Open Casket in 2023 on Brainscan & State of Mind Recordings. He later played in LAKOTA, DENY THE CROSS, & HOPE COLLAPSE.

In this episode, we talk about the ‘90s revival in underground music, the am...

Today’s guest is CHRIS ENRIQUEZ, music industry professional by day, drummer to many many bands by night. 

Chris has worked for a wide range of heavy music media, including Revolver, Guitar World, Loudwire, Brooklyn Vegan, The Hard Times, Alternative Press, & as of 2025, he left all brands to join NEW NOISE MAGAZINE.

In the late ‘90s & early 2000s, he played drums in the influential Long Island post-hardcore band ON THE MIGHT OF PRINCES, whose full story is told in the documentary film Hold on to a Time, which Chris produced & directed. Link below.

Today’s guest is BRAD WOOD, super-producer, mixer, engineer, & musician. 

Brad’s done hundreds of records, many of which are by some of my favorite bands — Tar, Sunny Day Real Estate, Codeine, Veruca Salt, Seam, Liz Phair, Triple Fast Action, Far, That Dog, & so on. 

Brad also worked on HUM's second album Electra 2000, a couple of their early singles on 12 Inch & Mud Records, & on “Diffuse,” which was originally a compilation track but later added to the reissues of E2K on Martians Go Home & Earth Analog Records.

In this episode, he looks bac...

Today’s conversation is with KELLII SCOTT, the drummer of FAILURE. He’s also played in Liquid Jesus, Blinker the Star, Veruca Salt, Dumpster, Campfire Girls, & others.

Since the pandemic, Kellii's been doing remote drum sessions for any musician looking for percussion work on their recordings. Message him on Instagram @kelliiscott for details (link above).

In this episode, we talk about the post-Sunset Strip LA rock scene, the legacy of Failure's hit song “Stuck on You,” recording their landmark album Fantastic Planet, why drumming with restraint is so difficult, & the ways in which the tour...

Today I’m talking with PHIL HARDER, a filmmaker who’s directed music videos for HUM, Low, Failure, Babes in Toyland, Firehose, Local H, Bailter Space, Afghan Whigs, Seaweed, & many others. 

In 1985, he & producer RICK FULLER started HARDER/FULLER FILMS, a music video & commercial production house that generated a wide range of visual work across 4 decades.

In December of ’97, they shot the “Comin’ Home” video with HUM at the Icehouse in Minneapolis, using a mixture of DIY effects & big budget gloss, staging the band in a psychedelic dream of espionage, locusts, & trippy liquids.

In t...

Today’s guest is JASON GERKEN from SHINER. He’s one of your favorite drummers’ favorite drummers, & he's also played in HUM, Molly McGuire, Gunfighter, The Birth Defects, & a handful of others.

Shiner’s first record, Splay, was recently remixed & remastered via SPARTAN RECORDS, who also just reissued the band’s second, third, & fourth LPs — Lula Divinia, Starless, & The Egg.

Shiner are about to play some dates in the Midwest, including one at Matt Talbott’s bar Loose Cobra in Tolono.

Jason played & toured with HUM in 2015, on a run of shows all o...

Today I’m talking to COLEY DENNIS, guitarist & founding member of the Athens, GA rock band MASERATI. They’ve covered tons of sonic territory, from post-hardcore to electronic to psychedelia to heavy disco to space rock & beyond. He’s also got a new loud & dreamy rock project called RED DWARF STAR, beaming in from Lausanne, Switzerland where he now lives.

In this episode, we talk about the culture shock of the expatriate life, plugging into the early 2000s Athens music scene, & the striking harmony of the light & heavy.

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TIMESTAMPS:

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Today I'm talking to TOM MULLEN from WASHED UP EMO.

Tom’s been in the music business for decades, doing digital marketing, executive work, & an array of creative projects at labels like Vagrant, TVT, Equal Vision, Sony, & others. 

He started the Washed Up Emo website in 2007, & has since expanded it into a podcast with over 250 episodes, a book series, & a DJ night.

In this episode, we talk about how the changing media landscape of the late 90s & early 2000s intersected with alternative music culture, the ambivalence around "Midwest emo" as sub...

Today I’m talking to Sven, the host of CHAMPAIGN IS ALSO A BAND. His show takes a hyper-focused look at songwriters from the Champaign-Urbana music scene (past & present), & each episode tells the story of a song with the people who wrote it. 

HUM fans should definitely check out his interviews with RICK from POSTER CHILDREN & the guys from TERMINUS VICTOR, both linked below.

He also runs a tape label called FAILED POEM RECORDS, which features local C-U musicians & donates all proceeds to a charity of the band’s choosing.

In th...

Tap in for some HUM lore from JOSHUA BRIGHAM, guitarist & co-founding member of Charlotte, NC post-hardcore band HOPESFALL. We talk about MTV as contraband, recording The Satellite Years with Matt Talbott, & the cosmic distance of the road life.

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MT Song Intros // Pittsburgh '98

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THE SATELLITE YEARS 2.0:

BC // Spotify // Apple

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TIMESTAMPS:

02:06 // MTV Confidential

14:06 // Feedback Walls

24:48 // The Satellite Years

33:21 // "Escape Pod for Intangibles"

43:08 // "Apollo" Discussion

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Today I’m talking to NICK VANCE & JIM BRANSCOME, from the CINEMATIC VOID PODCAST. 

CINEMATIC VOID is a beloved cult film series that runs weekly in Los Angeles through the American Cinematheque. It features gonzo gems from all genres, including horror, sci-fi, Eurotrash, transgressive exploitation classics, & lesser-known oddities.

Nick & Jim have also been in many bands -- some together, some apart -- & you can find links to those projects below. 

In this episode, we talk about coming up in the Baltimore punk scene, the ambivalent return of guitar music, & the journ...

Joining me today from Evansville, IN is the multi-instrumentalist, rock ‘n’ roll polymath, & all-around super-talented dude, MATT MCGUYER. He's on guitar & vocals in AMBLARE, guitar & backing vocals in MOCK ORANGE, drums in OFF-OX, & he recently wrapped a midwest tour drumming with FAERIE RING. He's also got a solo project, with an album in production.

In this episode, Matt gives a loving tribute to his late friend & AMBLARE bandmate, Bryan St. Pere, who was, of course, deeply revered for his truly unique drumwork in HUM. We also talk about growing up in a rock n roll family, the...

OVERVIEW //

MISSION CONTROL (LYRICS 1.0; Marion Morris)

IG // lonelierthangodpod@gmail.com

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