The Creator-Destructor Podcast

Episode 31 has arrived after a few months of being relatively quiet on the podcast front, but have no fear, we're kicking back into gear full force in 2019! This was an awesome talk - I went down to San Jose, CA to Cole from GULCH’s printshop, Printhead, and sat down with him and Elliot for an hour to talk about all things GULCH. We talk about work ethic, how Cole feels about being a new father, the differences in sound between Spinebreaker and Gulch, why the San Jose/Santa Cruz hardcore scenes are so strong, how the band started, how they write their songs, their no-shirt aesthetic, and so much more. Tune in and drop out!

We’re back with Episode 30 of the podcast - this time with the righteous Will Levy of THE STORY SO FAR! Will is a super chill guy and fellow Bay Area homie, and we sometimes meet up for coffee in Oakland to shoot the shit. We did that a few weeks ago and thought “Fuck it, let’s go do this on a podcast” - I’m glad we did, because it was a ton of fun, and we discuss lots of topics: getting angry, isolation tanks and cryotherapy, Steely Dan and how they polarize people, living in Berkeley, leaving Instagram and returning, whether our phones are listening to us, how small talk is awful, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jim Carrey movies, flying and how much it sucks, vocal harmonies, the new TSSF record and their change in sound, Tom Delonge, the Smashing Pumpkins, Japan, camping, living in New Zealand, Will’s love for Taco Bell, and so much more. Sidenote: If you want to play a drinking game while listening, take a shot every time one of us says “that’s sick”. Tune in, folks!

Episode 29 is a banger! The long-time shredder Frank Costa of REALMS OF VISION joins me in the apartment to talk about his time in ANIMOSITY and ENTHEOS, the intensity of the highs and lows of touring in his earlier years, switching from being a guitar player to a vocalist/frontman, the disbanding of ANIMOSITY, sobriety and learning from past mistakes, hitting personal lows and growing from those experiences, discipline and getting up at 5:30am, working out and it’s benefits, turning away from addictions and towards healthy habits, getting control of your mind, harnessing positivity through new creative outlets, the creation of REALMS OF VISION and what the band means to Frank, and so much more. Frank is the epitome an inspiring and talented musician, and an incredibly strong, admirable human being who has prevailed through life’s darkness in such an impressive way. Join us, will ya?

We’re back with Episode 28 of the podcast, once again in conversation with the almighty Laura Nichol of LIGHT THIS CITY / HEARTSOUNDS- The 3rd time she’s been on! This time around we discuss all kinds of things: what podcasts Laura listens to, Bravo reality shows, comedy shows, Laura’s weekend alone and how she spent her time, hating humanity at the grocery store, car crashes, gross social media behavior, true crime TV shows, Borat & Bruno, the Freddie Mercury movie, Straight Outta’ Compton, West Coast vs. East Coast hip-hop, unfortunate hook-up stories, accents we love and hate, a certain venue in LA that absolutely sucks, Ozzy and Black Sabbath, our last meals of choice and foods we hate/love, weird trends in porn/porn habits, and finally, the latest happenings with Light This City and a recap our recent West Coast tour, Laura’s lyrics, how Laura got stranded on a jetski, and so much more! You don’t wanna miss this one! Listen at creator-destructor.com/podcast, iTunes, or all Podcast apps!

We’ve returned with an all new episode of the podcast, with none-other than Eric Mueller, the CEO and visionary behind Pirates Press Manufacturing and Pirates Press Records! I’ve known Eric for over half my life, starting all the way back in the 7th grade when I was making CDs for my first bands! Eric was already in the vinyl game back then, and has since created & grown Pirates Press into an absolute beast of a company that undeniably dominates the vinyl industry, and offers an amazing service to any artist looking to bring their music to life via wax. Eric has always been an inspirational figure in my life - someone with an intense amount of drive and vision, and the dedication and hard work to back it. It was a pleasure to sit down with him for an hour and talk about the current state of the music industry, what it takes for smaller bands to succeed, the benefits of unique physical packaging and concepts, and his own relationship with music! I had a blast, and hope you enjoy the episode!

Episode 26 has arrived- with none other than the almighty Mike Bingham of SPIRITUAL CRAMP! Mike has always been a super-genuine, talented, and interesting musician, performer, and human. It felt natural to sit down with him and talk about a number of things - germaphobia, OCD, getting sick on tour, growing up in a small town like Santa Rosa and moving to San Francisco, the desire for constant stimulation, anxiety in social situations, touring with American Nightmare, riding Mopeds and breaking your ribs, making a Bay Area band work with it’s financial burdens, being a freak and working on not caring, feeling like a fraud, depression, therapy, self-care, and much more!

Episode 25 has arrived, with my good buddy Tim Decker of Altbrau! In a nutshell, Tim is a beer person. He loves beer. He dreams about beer and all it’s complexities. Maybe that’s me projecting, but the man sure is passionate about the ale. He’s worked for years in the beer industry (as a sales rep for Lagunitas, and currently working for a Cider company), and we discuss trends within the adult beverage industry, the oversaturation of beer gardens and breweries in the Bay Area and elsewhere, weed possibly affecting the sales of alcohol, the complications of starting your own brewery, constant doubt in entrepreneurial endeavors, depression and the effects of depressive thinking on goals and dreams, insomnia, and all kinds of gnarly shit! Whoa. I’m sure that sounds like a lot, but it’s a good time! Enjoy the episode, people!

Episode 24 has arrived, and it’s a gore-soaked death metal-fueled good-time with Ria Wallace of CARTILAGE, and Mike Flory of LOGISTIC SLAUGHTER! They also happen to be an adorable heavy metal couple who are super-shredder guitar players, and are some of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure to sit down with! We sat down for an hour or so and had a really fun conversation about extreme metal (obviously), their brutally sick bands, the ‘heavy metal banter’ voice in between songs, touring, horror movies, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, “Voyeur” (the Documentary), Darkest Hour, non-metal influences in songwriting, and so much more – So join us, won’t ya? If you are a fan of insanely crushing extreme death metal, go check out both of their bands too, as they most definitely deserve your ears’ attention! Enjoy it!

Happy Friday, everyone! The latest episode of the podcast has arrived, with my good buddy Shane Hendry, drummer extraordinaire of Oakland punk band, Reunions! Shane is a real funny dude who likes to have a good time, and he ain’t afraid to show it off! We first met back in June on the Heartsounds/Western Settings West Coast Tour, when Shane filled in for Western Settings on drums. I took a liking to Shane right away, as he seemed like a goofball, and much like me, enjoys making fun of everything possible. That was my reasoning in having him on the podcast, and inevitably, this was a super silly, ridiculous episode where we spent the first 2/3rds discussing Shane’s drunken shenanigans, ASMR, The Office, Breaking Bad, American Psycho + more, and the last third live-commenting on Tom Delonge’s speech, where he promotes the fact that he is crowdfunding a spaceship to break through the space-time continuum. It was wild, and we had a lot of laughs. I hope you enjoy it!

Episode 22 has landed, with none other than the San Jose Sweethearts in POINT OF VIEW! Creator-Destructor Records signed the band in 2012 upon hearing their fantastic “Burner” EP (which we re-released in 2013 os a 12” One-Sided EP), and most recently released the band’s “Vultures” EP earlier this year! These guys are seriously one of the best punk bands in the Bay Area, and "Vultures" does not disappoint. It was long overdue, but I finally got the chance to sit down with Curtis Wallace and Michael Bragg for an hour to talk about the latest with the band, thoughts on NOFX, smoking cigarettes, Curtis’ sexy smoky voice, vegetarianism, dogs, drinking, quitting the booze, Amsterdam, and more fascinating topics! Sidenote: We recorded this episode before I left for a month of touring with Heartsounds, so a few comments are a bit dated, as you’ll see… Regardless, I had a blast catching up with these two righteous dudes - Enjoy the episode!

Episode 21 was a long time comin', and god-DAMN am I glad we made it happen! The legend Nuno Pereira of the almighty A WILHELM SCREAM joins 'The Creator-Destructor Podcast' for an hour of silly, ridiculous (but also real) conversation about Dunkin' Donuts, Fatherhood, Constipation, Propagandhi, Crying as an Adult Man, New Bedford, Weight Loss, the present and future of A Wilhelm Scream, fan's expectations, working life, and soooo much more! We setup in his backyard (with my new super-sick pro mics and mixer), so it sounds better than ever! Laura and I first met Trevor and Nuno from AWS in 2005 when they were touring through California with STRUNG OUT- This was when we were touring in LIGHT THIS CITY, but we were Wilhelm super-fans (and still are, obviously). I still remember hearing "Mute Print" for the first time and absolutely losing my mind. After Heartsounds formed, we were fortunate enough to befriend these Massachussetts sweethearts and tour with them more than once- What a weird life, huh? It was such a blast to sit-down with Nuno for some quality time, one-on-one conversation. Enjoy Episode 21 with the most powerful voice in Punk! Get into it, folks.

Episode 20 has arrived, with the almighty Sami Fink! I've known Sami for some years now, and she is most definitely a righteous human being who lives in Oakland, plays in Composite (a great dark wave/post punk band), and generally exhibits a very socially conscious, concerned effort to improve the state of our dealings with each other as human beings. I wanted to talk to her specifically about the current state of gender politics, abuse, and similar topics as they relate to the Oakland punk scene, and extreme music in general. The last half hour we go pretty deep, and dive olds probably more than I should have, but it was a great conversation nonetheless. Enjoy this episode, people! And thanks to Sami for stopping by for this engaging conversation! Side note: This was during the heatwave, so we recorded in my living room, sorry for the excess noise!

The 19th episode of 'The Creator-Destructor Podcast' has arrived, with none other than the one and only Trey Derbes! Trey has been one of my best friends for 7 years now, having met in 2010 at a Wilhelm Scream/Heartsounds show in Los Angeles. Heartsounds needed a full time drummer at the time, and Trey mentioned to us that he was interested. The next day I get an email with the entire album played front to back, perfectly. The rest is pretty much history. Trey and I play together in Heartsounds & Wilderness Dream, and he also shreds in Mohicans as well. We’ve been all around the world together, seen eachother during our worst and best times, and shared many laughs about complete nonsense. He’s an amazing drummer, photographer, and overall hilarious great dude, and this podcast was SO fun! We talk about all kinds of things, so dive on in and join Trey and I for an hour and a half of good times.

Episode 18 has arrived, with none other than the almighty Chris Brock from EARLY GRAVES! Chris is the band's cofounder, guitarist, & songwriter, and we've been friends for about half our lives at this point - We both grew up in the Bay Area playing in metal bands, and although we touch on that, this two-hour conversation deals with a lot more than just metal! We discuss mental illness in a way that I haven't really gotten into before on the podcast, which was interesting to say the least! We also discuss the current political climate and it's absurdity, and a ton of other fun & lighter topics like the worst punishers we can recall, Slayer, Twin Peaks, and all SORTS of madness. Above everything though, Chris is a total shredder, and I've had all the respect in the world for him throughout the years we've been making music, both separately and now together in Early Graves. So get into it, people! This is definitely one of my favorite episodes so far...

We finally did it! The almighty Eric Harris of GYGAX and I sat down for a few hours in Ventura, CA at the Gygax Guild HQ to discuss life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Well, more like how much Guns N’ Roses and Dave Mustaine suck, the history of Gypsyhawk/Gygax, Death, Life, Drugs, Egos, Thin Lizzy, Fathers, Magic, and soooo much more. This is a must-listen for any fans of Eric’s bands, or for any fans of tight shit in general. I’ve known Eric since 2006 when we first met while I was playing in Light This City, and he was playing bass in Skeletonwitch. Ever since that fateful night in Cleveland where our life-long friendship started, we’ve grown to become close buds who share love for commanding that high forest, and defending good times. So do yourself a favor and give Episode #17 a whirl, will ya?