The Creator-Destructor Podcast

Episode 16 is a god-damn banger! I was fortunate enough to get the hilarious and righteous Alex Herrera & Elliot Morrow of the almighty SPINEBREAKER on the podcast, and we spent 2 hours shootin’ the shit about death metal, hardcore, boxing, punishers, and ALL sorts of fascinating topics - I was first made aware of SPINEBREAKER a few years ago when I heard their debut full-length “Ice Grave” and instantly fell in love. I knew I had to do everything in my power to release that beast, and luckily it ended up working out! Even better, I got to know these guys and quickly realized they are the real deal. Legitimately great dudes, and their sound is so crushing, a perfect hybrid of death metal/hardcore crossover, with a touch of disgusting - One of my favorite combinations, and they do it amazingly. So do yourself a favor and check this episode out! If you enjoy yourself, spread that good word, will ya? Fuck yeah.

The amazing Zack Ohren joins the ‘The Creator-Destructor Podcast’ for Episode #15! If you don’t know who Zack is, he’s an incredibly skilled & renowned producer/recording engineer who has worked with the likes of Machine Head, All Shall Perish, Decrepit Birth, Animosity, Light This City, Heartsounds, and literally hundreds more. Zack’s been a dominating force in the Bay Area music scene for well over a decade now, lending his hand towards numerous metal/hardcore/punk records that have made it onto Billboard charts, or broken through to the mainstream. Zack and I first worked together in 2002 on Light This City’s debut album, and we’ve remained friends since, having collaborated on numerous other records over the years. I consider him one of the funniest and most interesting characters out there, as he’s definitely a master when it comes to his craft. While we talk a lot about the current trends in recording throughout this episode, we also get into some random topics like the latest Metallica album, bands drastically changing sounds and alienating their fanbases, and a bunch of other silliness! Hope you enjoy it! Sidenote: this was recorded back in February, so a few things might sound dated, don't trip!

Happy Thursday, y’all! Episode 14 is here, and it was a goddamn blast! The almighty Scott Goodrich joined Ryan Hansen and I for two hours of fun times and conversation, and trust us when we tell you that we got down on all kinds of stupid shit! We talk a good deal about recording and how Scott’s brain works in those terms, but quickly go down a path of pretty much jumping from topic to topic, covering a wide range of nonsense that we hope you’ll enjoy! If you don’t know who Scott is, he is one of the most ruling producers/engineers out there right now - He recorded the upcoming Heartsounds & Wilderness Dream records (as well as Point of View’s “Vultures” EP), and plays in an awesome band called Daydream. Scott is most definitely one of my favorite people, no question. He lives down the street and we often meet up for coffee and talk shit. It’s one of my favorite things to do, so we decided it had to be done on the podcast, officially! So with that, enjoy Episode 14!

Holy shit, people! It's been a year, but "The Creator-Destructor Podcast" is back in action! I thought it was only appropriate to re-launch the podcast the way we launched it initially, with my best friend and bandmate, Laura Nichol - We talk for 2 hours about alllllmosttttt everything. Well, not everything but definitely the new Heartsounds record and how it's the most personal one for us thus far, what's been happening in our lives in the past year, and a shit-ton of other intensely fascinating topics. Some say that Laura and I have a "dynamic" that is rare, something only found in best friends (who used to be high-school sweethearts) who have also played in bands together their entire lives... Well, y'all can decide for yourselves. Regardless, it was a goddamn blast to setup the mics again and sit down with Ms. Nichol for two hours of friendshippppp. Get into it, people!

Episode #12 of ‘The Creator-Destructor Podcast’ is one for the books! MURDER BY DEATH has been a favorite band of ours for a long, long time, and it was such an honor and pleasure to be able to sit down with Adam Turla and get inside his brain for a little while as they stopped through San Francisco on their current US Tour! There are not many bands as inspiring and eclectic as MURDER BY DEATH, which means that we all had a lot on our minds before this interview, and a lot to ask! We sat down with Adam in the band’s green-room right before the band went on stage, and he really opened up a lot about the band’s songwriting process, their history of life on the road, what inspires them to create the intensely unique music that they do, and much much more- Enjoy this one, people! I know we did….

Episode 11 has arrived, with none other than the almighty Lisa Root, owner of NEW NOISE Magazine! Lisa has been a great friend of the label for years now, and we go way back to 2003-ish, when she was working for AMP Magazine. We hang out for an hour and discuss her experience in the world of Print Magazines, the struggles she’s faced along the way, how she views the current climate of the music industry, her take on social media trolls, and more! I’ve always looked up to Lisa, as she’s one of the most determined and hardworking people I know in the music ‘industry’. We also get silly and talk a LOT about non-magazine related things like our favorite food, weird restaurant experiences, her childhood growing up in rural Pennsylvania, slinky factories, her life in Crockett, CA, and other nonsense! Lisa is hilarious and will be sure to make you laugh, so give this a listen! Oh, and make sure you check out New Noise Magazine while you’re at it!

The 10th episode of 'The Creator-Destructor Podcast' has arrived! We decided that we should take an episode to just hang out together, laugh, and recount our favorite moments from the past 10+ years of being friends! We introduce ourselves a little more than we have in the past 9 episodes, so we hope you all enjoy the anecdotes and ridiculousness. Collectively we are: Ben Murray (Heartsounds/Light This City/Wilderness Dream), Ryan Hansen (Light This City/Glacier Eater/Wilderness Dream)and Steve Hoffman (Light This City/Viral/Mohicans) all sitting down together to talk about whatever the fuck we want! What did we end up talking about, though? Going to movies and our favorite moments from being in theatres, our current musical endeavors as well as our history touring together in Light This City, our thoughts on Metallica and Scorsese's movies, and MUCH much more- Thanks for the continued support! Enjoy Episode 10!

Warning - This is a funny one, people! Efrem is one of the most genuine, hilarious people we’ve ever met. Not only are DEATH BY STEREO and MANIC HISPANIC incredible bands, but Efrem’s stories about his life on tour throughout the years are simply unbeatable. He shares a lot of wisdom and numerous anecdotes that had us in tears! Special thanks to our good friend Alex Pulisci (AT OUR HEELS) for helping out and chiming in on this interview. This is a longer one, but it is well worth it. Enjoy for yourself, and let us know what you think - Happy Tuesday!

Episode #8 of ‘The Creator-Destructor Podcast’ has arrived, and it is a BANGER, people! Jake Kiley of STRUNG OUT is an absolute legend in every way- He’s been with the band from the beginning (essentially), and has seen everything along the way. He’s a part of STRUNG OUT’s heart and core, and it really shows in this interview! His outlook on the band is so unique, and his perspective is fascinating. We talk about the band’s discography, how they coped with shifting trends in the music industry over the past 25 years, and plenty more. I could have gone on for hours with this one, but we had to wrap it up in just under an hour- Enjoy it, people!

Episode 7! This is another funny one, people. Anna Seregina is an amazing comedian living in Los Angeles, CA, and she happens to be a great friend of ours! She has her own podcast on Nerdist with Dave Ross called TERRIFIED, and she performs in LA on the regggggggg! Go see her, she's incredible, and enjoy this episode! If it makes you laugh, spread the love!

Holy shit people, this is the one! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder in my life than on New Years Day, with a great friend in his Los Angeles Loft/Art Studio. Behold, the hilarious and insanely talented DAVE KLOC! Where would you have seen Dave’s work? Well, he handles most of the artwork for “The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail” on Comedy Central, and also works with a shit-ton of amazing bands and comedians to create some of the absolute most stunning art you’ll ever see! Oh, and he did the artwork for Heartsounds’ “Internal Eyes”, so that’s cool too! What do we talk about? Hockey, Art, Comedy, Metal, Punk, but don’t get fooled people, this is NOT a serious conversation. I don’t think we stopped laughing the entire time. The real “climax” of the episode though, is Dave’s story of meeting Chris Hannah from Propagandhi in 2013, and how he hilariously embarrassed himself. Amazing- Dig it, beautiful people!!

We're keepin' this train rolling with Episode #5! I had a blast with this episode, as Jack and I have known each other for over half my life, and he's a hilarious, smart, and incredibly talented engineer and producer. I’ve always considered Jack a “big brother” figure in my life, and since we’ve known each other for so long, we naturally go into some funny and personal territories. We discuss all of his past bands such as Comadre, and how he feels as an engineer/producer in the musical landscape of 2015. What's even more fun is that I confront Jack about a decade old insecurity I’ve had. But in order to find out how that goes, you’ll have to listen! So sit back and open your ears, because Jack has a lot of interesting things to say, and offers up some great insight into the craft of recording. And as always, please spread the word and subscribe on iTunes!

Episode #4 has arrived! It was such an honor to sit down with Mike and John from the almighty melodic death metal warriors DARKEST HOUR, and I think you'll enjoy this episode if you're a fan of the band! Compared to previous episodes, this one is a bit shorter, but we get right into it. We discuss the band's amazing 20 year career thus far, their "Undoing Ruin" album (which they played in full that night as part of that record's 10 year anniversary), and much more. So check it out, spread the word, and leave us a comment letting us know what you think! Thanks so much everyone, and make sure to subscribe to the podcast on Itunes if you haven't already!

The crushing second single from Spinebreaker's "Ice Grave" LP, out 1/15/16 on Creator-Destructor Records! Preorder the 180g. Vinyl/Digital at www.creator-destructor.com

Episode #3 has launched with Chris Aiken of the legendary STRUNG OUT! (By the way people, we'll be doing this podcast on Mondays and Thursdays, and it's now on Itunes so download that straight onto your phones! The link to do that is below...) But back to Chris: This was one of the first episiodes I actually recorded months ago, after starting this adventure here with 'The Creator-Destructor Podcast'. I traveled to Los Angeles to go see a few A Wilhelm Scream shows, and met up with Chris at a Coffee Shop in Koreatown to discuss Strung Out's career on a sunny Southern California Saturday. We talked about his intensely impressive musical diversity, the band's discography (album by album), his sobriety, booze/drugs, jamming with Marty Friedman from MEGADETH, and a LOT more. We cover a ton of ground here people, so strap in! Enjoy Chris Aiken and all his amazing wisdom! Oh, and spread the word about the podcast, subscribe on your phones on your 'Podcast' apps, and spread the love, people!