Jesus has a beard. Aaron from Worship This! has a beard. Coincidence? Absolutely!
From Left to Right: Joshua Taylor, Aaron Novak, Jeremy Provchy & Jeff Hart at The Ontario in NYC.

Are you a fan of bands that are in the same vein as Hot Water Music, Samiam, Polar Bear Club or Jawbreaker? If you are, welcome to your new favorite band! This week I’m proud to bring you my new best friends forever in the Akron, Ohio band: WORSHIP THIS!

I first discovered Worship This while on a month long tour with Arliss Nancy. It was a humid, hungover Saturday afternoon at the annual Death To False Hope Records Fest in Durham, North Carolina at Motorco. The main auditorium was cool and comfortable with strong Bloody Mary’s. I sat down not to watch music, but to not move for a few minutes. I didn’t want to be assaulted by yet another super loud rock band, or so I thought.

The gentlemen from Worship This took the stage and did what no woman would have dared the night before. They rocked my ever loving brains out, not that I had many to begin with after a long day of heavy drinking.

I was instantly in love with the powerhouse quintet and the power the brought that warm, rainy summer afternoon in North Carolina. I was not alone, as many other DTFH fest goers were overwhelmed by the power and grace these fine young lads unleashed upon us that afternoon.

I met up with the boys a week later in New York City. The band was hand picked to open up for Anti-Flag, whom were putting out Worship This’s new record, Tomorrow, I’ll Miss You on their recently relaunched A-F Records. When we couldn’t make the interview work at the venue, we traveled across town to Brooklyn to the Canadian themed dive bar, The Ontario to continue drinking through the night until we reached the perfect level of intoxication to do a ridiculous interview. I think we hit that point.

Songs on this week’s episode include “I, Human” and “Indifferent” from Tomorrow, I’ll Miss You, released in 2013 on A-F Records.

For more information on Worship This! please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/WorshipThisOH
http://worshipthis.tumblr.com
http://store.anti-flag.com/index.php/a-f-records-1/worship-this.html
http://dontworshipthis.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/WorshipThis

CHECK OUT THE MOST EXCELLENT VIDEO FOR “INDIFFERENT” below! From Turnstyle Films (http://www.turnstylefilms.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/turnstylefilms)

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One of the many adventures we had at 2013′s Denver Comic Con was watching William Shatner reading WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to a small group of children and their very excited parents!

Hello Friends!

Boy do I have a great episode for you guys! Last weekend I was fortunate enough to end a wonderful month long tour as tour manager for Fort Collin’s Alt-Country/Punk band Arliss Nancy, by coming home to Colorado and experiencing the wonderful DENVER COMIC CON!  What an experience. I got to meet so many wonderful and incredible people over the course of that weekend! It was a fantastic fun time that I will never forget.

Rather than ramble on about the weekend (which I do in the actual episode! You can skip all that rambling and get to the goods which start at the 14:12 minute mark!) and let the episode speak for itself.

I will add that I learned that next year to jump out of the gate running and interview as many people as I can on the opening day of the convention. I also learned to sit my butt down and do my research. It doesn’t matter if you are on a month long tour! RESEARCH! And I also learned that if I want to try to interview the larger Television and Film Stars, to smooze their PR handlers EARLY!

For information on who was on the episode and links to where you can find them, please click on the “READ MORE” link below!

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE THE GUILD PANEL Featuring Felicia Day, Sandeep Parikh, Robin Thorsen and Erin Gray at this link: http://mostlyharmlesspodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Guild-Panel-Denver-Comic-Con-6-1-2013.mp3
You can save the mp3 by Right Clicking the link and choosing Save Link As! Enjoy!

Steve Wiebe – Star of The King Of Kong Documentary:
http://www.stevewiebe.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_of_Kong:_A_Fistful_of_Quarters
http://www.thekingofarcades.com/
http://www.thekongoff.com/

Light The Series:
http://www.lighttheseries.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LightTheSeries

Thomas Zahler – Love And Capes:
http://www.loveandcapes.com/
https://www.facebook.com/loveandcapes
https://twitter.com/loveandcapes
http://www.thomz.com/
http://shop.idwpublishing.com/comics/series/g-l/love-and-capes.html

Sean Tiffany – Oilcan Drive:
http://oilcandrive.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/OilCan-Drive/185748888116490
https://twitter.com/oilcandrive

Matt Wagner – Mage & Grendel:
http://www.mattwagnercomics.com/
http://www.legendary.com/comics/thetowerchronicles/
http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-The_Shadow_Year_One

Noah Van Sciver – The Hypo & Blammo:
https://twitter.com/NoahVanSciver
http://nvansciver.wordpress.com/
http://noahvansciver.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/noah.v.sciver
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Noah-Van-Sciver-creator-of-BLAMMO/212383602404

Midspace Creators Zak Kinsella & Nick Salmon:
http://www.zakkinsella.com/
http://nicksalmon.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/ZakKinsella
https://twitter.com/NickSalmon

https://www.facebook.com/MidspaceComic

Anthony Montgomery – Ensign Travis Mayweather of Star Trek: Enterprise & Miles Away
http://www.anthonymontgomery.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anthony-Montgomery/33244826628
https://twitter.com/MrAMontgomery
http://www.antarctic-press.com/html/version_01/viewitem.php?id=5958&bk=store.php?id=Miles+Away

Amy Reeder – Rocket Girl, Batwoman & Madame Xanadu
https://www.facebook.com/amyreedercomics
https://twitter.com/amyreeder
http://amyreeder.tumblr.com/
http://amyreeder.blogspot.com/
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1214128832/rocket-girl-comic-book (

Jim Mahfood – Tank Girl, Clerks & 40oz Comics
https://www.facebook.com/jim.mahfood/
https://twitter.com/JimMahfood
http://www.jimmahfood.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FOODONEART

——–

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You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

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James Carroll, Lead Vocalist and guitarist for Make Do and Mend on the streets of New York City with some cracked out homeless kid with a microphone!

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF THE MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DENVER COMIC CON! VISIT http://www.denvercomiccon.com for more information!

I’m currently tour managing Arliss Nancy from Fort Collins, Colorado. I procrastinated long enough and did not get my passport in time to join the band in Montreal for Pouzza Fest. What did I do instead? I went to visit friends and family in New York City! While I was there I managed to do a few interviews!

The first of those interviews was with James Carroll, lead vocalist and guitar player for Make Do and Mend. We talked a bit about life, the universe and everything, but mostly we sat down and talked about the singer’s early upbringing in Connecticut, how he ended up in Boston as well as how Make Do and Mend came to life and their joining into the ranks of superlabel: Rise Records.

This interview was done at the Knitting Factory in New York on the first night of their month long tour with Cheap Girls and Diamond Youth.

Songs on this week’s episode include “Lucky” and “Disassemble” from Everything You’ve Ever Loved, released in 2012 on Rise Records.

For more information on Make Do And Mend  please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/makedoandmend
http://www.makedoandmend.me
http://www.myspace.com/makedoandmend
http://www.twitter.com/makedoandmendyo
http://www.mdam.bandcamp.com

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You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

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Canadian Comic Artist, Damian Willcox, battles Baltimore, Maryland’s Octaves to a battle of goofiness! Who do you think won?

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF THE MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DENVER COMIC CON! VISIT http://www.denvercomiccon.com for more information!

This week we bring you a JAM PACKED episode! We open the episode off with an interview with Calgary, Alberta Canada’s Damian Willcox, comic creator extraordinaire! Years ago, Damian created the cover of the now-defunct Mostly Harmless Magazine #2! We’re turning that design into a T-shirt and thought we would check in with Damian in Canada to talk about how he became the cartoonist he is today!

Then we jump into the van with Octaves from Baltimore, Maryland after their May 28th show at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The intoxicated interview talks about the early musical interests of the musicians, as well their hometown and how they create the music they create! All this while lead singer, Phil Fosler makes us all laugh our asses off! One of the most fun interviews to have happened on this show!

Songs on this week’s episode come from Octaves’ Bridge 9 Records debut: “Which Way The Wind Blows.” Those tracks include “Premature Congratulations” and “Poppycock!”

For more information on DAMIAN WILLCOX please visit:
http://www.dorkboycomics.com/
https://www.facebook.com/damiandraws/
https://twitter.com/dorkboycomics
http://dorkboycomics.tumblr.com/

OCTAVES:

http://Bridge9.com/Octaves
http://Twitter.com/Octavesmd

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You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

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Damian farted and Dave Hause of The Loved Ones fame, is calling him on it. This fabulous photo is by the great jenny o.

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF THE MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DENVER COMIC CON! VISIT http://www.denvercomiccon.com for more information!

I’ll never forget the day that The Loved Ones came blasting out of my tiny little computer speakers and knocked me across the room. My roommate, then a computer programer for a Department of Defense subcontractor came home to tell me he spent the entire day surfing Myspace and discovered a little band with members of Kid Dynamite. He knew I’d like it, but he was wrong. I loved it.

Over the years I’ve followed Dave Hause career from The Loved Ones frontman, to his humble start as a Punk Rock Singer Songwriter. While I’ve loved his output and his career, it was Dave and his  longtime cohort Colin McGinniss talk of their  hilarious tales and antics from their years as roadies of seminal Punk/Hardcore outfit Kid Dynamite in the Four Years One Gulp DVD that ignited my man-crush for Hause.

Finally my years of patience paid off handsomely as Hause  rolled into Denver as a part of this year’s Revival Tour, playing nightly with the  the country’s best singer songwriters of the punk rock variety.

We sat in the Revival Tour bus and discussed him having his father’s name and the weight that carries. We talked his early church career and how those early days factored into his current songwriting career. We also talked of his days with Kid Dynamite, Sick of It All and The Bouncing Souls and how that helped him become the musician he is today. We talked about carpentry and oh so much more in today’s podcast!

Songs on this week’s episode include “C’mon Kid” and “Time Will Tell” from Restorations, originally released in 2011 on Paper + Plastick. The album was re-released in 2013 on Rise Records.

For more information on DAVE HAUSE  please visit:

https://www.facebook.com/DaveHauseMusic
http://www.davehause.com
http://www.twitter.com/hausedave

THE LOVED ONES:

http://www.fatwreck.com/band/index/82

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Damian’s beard has a life of its own! Damian’s fighting it because it desperately wants to make out with Jimmy Stadt from Polar Bear Club!!

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF THE MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DENVER COMIC CON! VISIT http://www.denvercomiccon.com for more information!

Polar Bear Club are one hell of a band. Jimmy Stadt, lead singer du tour of PBR is on hell of a guy. I joined Jimmy backstage at the band’s April 10th stop at The Fillmore Auditorium with Bad Religion and The Bronx. I had known from previous interviews that Jimmy was super intelligent, well spoken young man. I was thrilled to find out how well we got along and the magnus opus of an interview that followed.

Jimmy and I spoke for almost two hours. I chatted with Jimmy for forty-five minutes before we even turned on the microphone. We talked about Podcasts, the art of doing an excellent interview and our love of Chuck Ragan and Hot Water Music. All this was before we turned on the microphone to discuss Jimmy’s early discovery of music. As well as how Jimmy turned a love of being on stage as an actor in plays to being the frontman of The Polar Bear club. Not to mention we talk about the things he has learned from his acting experience apply to his stage persona and songwriting talents.

This interview is a little over an hour long, and every second is oozing with intellegent interview goodness! Thank you to Skotty Bell for helping to make this interview happen and thank you to Jimmy for participating!

For more information on POLAR BEAR CLUB please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/PolarBearClub
http://twitter.com/polarbearclub
http://polarbearclubband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bridge9

https://twitter.com/JIMMYPBC

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For those of you without ITUNES, You can download directly from below! Just Right Click and SAVE LINK AS!
http://traffic.libsyn.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast/MH33_Polar_Bear_Club_Jimmy_Stadt.mp3

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Jay Bentley of Bad Religion. This look is modeled after BLUE STEEL, the film with Shaq.

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF THE MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DENVER COMIC CON! VISIT http://www.denvercomiccon.com for more information!

December 21st, 2012 came and left us with a wimper. The end of the Mayan calendar was to bring about the end of the world. All it brought me was a horrible hangover, as well as interviewing Jay Bentley, bass player of Bad Religion!

I woke early on that faithful Friday morning. I has spent the evening eating and drinking heartily at a company Christmas party. That night I kept myself glued to the computer as I listened to True North over and over again, while reading every piece of information I could on Jay Bentley, Bad Religion and True North. I woke that next morning after four short hours of sleep, still drunk from the night before. Rather than fight the hangover I gave in and drank the last remaining beers and called up Jay Bentley.

He sounded tired as he answered the phone. We were ten minutes starting the interview. Jay was putting his baby daughter down for a nap. While he sounded tired as the interview started, he didn’t stay that way for long. Quickly his robust laugh and witty personality kicked in as we chatted away.

I was blown away to be talking to one of my heroes. I had for years looked up to Bad Religion and Jay Bentley and here I was on the phone with him. He talked candidly about the recording of Suffer, No Control, Grey Race and many other of their early albums. He talked with great love and joy for his children. He laughed heavily about his secret love of Elton John. We talked True North, both the album and the idea. We would have talked for hours if the next interview had not chimed in.

Alas, the world did not end on December 21st, 2012. If it had I would have died a happy boy.

This interview originally appeared on AmpMagazine.com before they closed their doors. If listening is not your thing, please visit: http://www.ampmagazine.com/54670/bad-religion-bassist-jay-bentley-talks-about-fatherhood-the-bands-earlier-albums-and-how-they-translated-into-this-new-record/

If you are curious about how Damian approaches an interview, read his commentary on this interview at:
http://mostlyharmlesspodcast.com/the-art-of-an-interview-damian-interviews-jay-bentely-of-bad-religion-and-give-us-advice-on-conducting-a-better-interview/

For more information on BAD RELIGION please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/badreligion
https://twitter.com/badreligion
https://twitter.com/jay_bentley
http://www.epitaph.com/artists/artist/5/Bad_Religion

Please Like MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast

You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

For those of you without ITUNES, You can download directly at:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast/32_Bad_Religion_Jay_Bentley.mp3

Or you can click PLAY and listen right here on this here page:

Most recently I interviewed Tom May from The Menzingers. Their tour manager, Scotty Bell, is a good friend of mine and wrote me telling me that Tom thought the interview was great and that my questions were “really gonzo-esque and off the wall.” Scott was thinking of interviewing bands and asked me for tips.

As with the other, people who has asked, I wrote him a couple of thousand words about my process. I’m never sure if those e-mails ever make sense, but I wanted to take a little time today and write a little bit about my process and show you how it plays out.

Before I get started, a lot of the tricks I use come to me naturally. I’m dyslexic, and what that means is I don’t think in a normal linear way like most people. I think backwards, sideways and upside down, while normal people think left and right. The stuff I do, I’ve been doing since my senior year journalism class. The other talents I honed by just doing interviews. I have also been told by many of my friends, and ever since the ripe age of 14 years old, that I should have been a shrink. A lot of my “talent” comes from a natural curiosity towards the human condition, the rest of it comes from research, research, research.

When I first started interviewing bands, the internet was still in its infancy. While there were plenty of interviews to find through a quick AOL or ALTAVISTA search, there is not the sheer amount that there are today with all of the blogs, magazines and podcasts out there in the world. Go ahead and Google BAD RELIGION TRUE NORTH INTERVIEW JAY BENTLEY. You’ll find a half a dozen or more interviews with Jay about the newest album. You’ll probably find that most of them are terrible and full of stock questions.

My approach has always been, do a ton of research and FIND OUT WHAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ASKING these artists. These guys get hundreds and thousands of interview requests over the course of their career. They’ve answered all the questions over and over and over again. They are tired of boring stock questions. They want and crave something different. I try to give that too them. My style has been described as “benign weirdness,” by Punknews.org contributor Bryne Yancey, and it is all on purpose. I want to give the artists a different experience. Does it always work? Not at all, but I’ll be damned if I don’t give it my all.

The absolute worst question to ask any artists is, “What are your influences?” It’s boring, it’s lazy and these guys have answered this question a hundred thousand times. I like to ask people about their earliest memories and the things that grabbed them in their youth. Isn’t that the same question? No, what we get to with the earliest memories question, is further to the artist’s root. We get them to open up to their earliest memories and a time before they built the defenses and well rounded answers they host in their arsenal. By getting them to talk about this younger time, we can usually find something different and special that no one else has. Also, but talking to them about that time period before their guards have been hoisted, we get them to open up and drop many of those defenses.

I could go on for DAYS about questions not to use. Again, try to be your own person and interviewer. Develop your own personality and own it. You can use bullshit stock questions, even I have my arsenal of bullshit stock question. What I do with them is to use them sparsely and reword them, while mixing them in with the bizarre shit I come up with.

I’m actually more interested in the person writing that song and I think that by knowing more about the character of an artist can open you up and show you more of the hidden meanings behind the songs. So I focus more on the people and their character than the songs. Still, this is a piece about selling this iconic band’s new album to the masses, so we have to take time and deconstruct more of this album, but more on that early.

With this interview, the goal of this is to sell TRUE NORTH and BAD RELIGION to the world. It’s less about Jay Bentley’s early life and early career. I’ve got a 1,500 word count cap, and even thought this piece eventually appeared on the website as a 3,000 word interview, it’s the best of both worlds. It’s both about the character of Jay Bentley and it is also about the new album TRUE NORTH.

These are not rules, but rather the guidelines I use to make my interviews work. Again, find your own voice and style and stay away from bullshit questions. Above all else, RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH and think to yourself, “WHAT ARE THEY NOT ASKING?”

I’m probably full of shit, but let’s get into dissecting this interview.

Thanks again to Lisa Root for having faith in me and assigning this fantastic interview to me!

Or if you would rather read the interview without my comments, you can read it at: http://www.ampmagazine.com/54670/bad-religion-bassist-jay-bentley-talks-about-fatherhood-the-bands-earlier-albums-and-how-they-translated-into-this-new-record/

——————————

 So Jay, I’ve got to admit, I’m a little freaked out to talk to you today. Bad Religion was one of the more seminal bands of my youth. I can’t really believe this is happening, ya know? So I was curious who would freak you out to interview?

Hmmm…

I like to open up the interviews with a personal statement and view point. I like to make an ass out of myself in most situations, but in a loveable way. My buddy Bryne Yancey wrote a press release for the show and described me as having a “benign weirdness.” That is not on accident. I want them to know this is going to be a different experience and I want them to know I am a fan. I make a “gentle” ass out of myself on purpose. Plus, Bad Religion and Jay Bentley really are heroes of mine. By telling him I’ve been following them since I was 16 shows him I am aware and knowledgeable of the band and their career. Also, by opening up with this question, they not only see that this is going to be a different kind of interview, it gets them thinking again about their childhoods and their heroes, taking them back to a simpler time. It gets them to open up, and relax those built up walls.

I can imagine it would be a surfer or skateboarder since you probably know all the band guys.

Yeah, but I know all those guys too! I grew up with Jay Adams, Tony Alva and all those guys. I was at Reseda Skatercross, and that was the beginning of all of that as far as I can remember. Skateboarding sort of had two separate lives. There was this sort of beginning, sort of Logan Earth Ski, and if people today would have seen the boards we were riding, they would go, “You guys are out of your minds!”

By mentioning his early skateboarding and surfing influences, he knows that I’ve done my research and I know my shit.

The second wave [was] when Tony Hawk came in, and that was really when it exploded and got so much bigger than anybody would have ever thought. So I don’t really think skateboarding guys would have really freaked me out. I don’t think anybody would freak me out, to be honest! [Laughter]

You know, actually there is. Brett [Gurewitz] and I are huge ELTON JOHN fans. [Laughter]I know it’s kind of weird. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to meet him and I’ve always had this theory that when you meet people who you really like, there is a potential that they will be dicks and then you won’t like their art anymore. So I didn’t want to meet him and so I just didn’t. Then a few months ago, Brett posts a photo with his arm around Elton John! I was like, “You are such a dick. How was he?” “Oh he was SO nice!”

“Noooooo!” [Laughter]

Here we go, we just got Jay to open up and tell us that him and Brett are huge Elton John fans. I’ll bet you can not find that information anywhere else about these guys! We’ve all got guilty pleasures and we’ve just uncovered Jay and Brett’s by asking a simple question of who he would be freaked out to meet, and that is in regards to myself being a little freaked out to talk to Jay!

Who have you met that’s been a dick?

[Pause] Nobody really. I’ve seen people at their worst, but I think the thing is, I understand why people get the way they get. I don’t like it, but I understand why you are smashing things up. You’re frustrated, angry and a baby, but that doesn’t make things cool. I kind of put myself in their shoes and go, “Alright, I get it.”

This is just a simple follow up, but you get Jay talking about an aspect of his life that no one else touches on and gives you a unique insight into his life on the road.

Congrats on your newest child. This is your third kid, right?

It’s my third! I’ve got two older boys and now a daughter. 21, 19 and 9 months old!

If you follow my interviews, you’ll know I LOVE talking about children. Why? PARENTS LOVE TALKING ABOUT THEIR KIDS. Plus, reading through the thousands of pages of research you have done, you’ll know that these artists mostly answer questions about the music. They don’t get asked often about their kids, and having kids CHANGES EVERYTHING. So talking to them about their kids is another way to get them excited and opened up!

You just got your other kids out of the house. How scary is it to have a brand new newborn?

It’s a girl and it really is a different thing. You might think, “A baby is a baby.” For some reason, there is a different thing about a girl. Boys are sort of rough and tumble, “Let’s just go do crazy shit!” With girls, it’s like “Come on, let’s go smell the flowers!” It’s a different mentality.

How does having kids affect the direction of your life and work in the band?

Years ago, when all of us started having kids, we sat around and said it really changes sort of the purpose of why we do everything. All of a sudden it’s not about us, it’s about our kids. It didn’t really change the art or product of the band. It just sort of changed why we did it, but it didn’t really change the band too much. With that being said, Brett told me recently, “I learned something a year ago. Don’t write Bad Religion songs with an acoustic guitar in front of your baby.” [Laughter]

 

I want kids, but the idea of having kids scares the CRAP out of me. Again, kids change everything. How does having kids this late in the game, change Jay and the other band members lives, approach and songwriting?

 

You do not write the lyrics, but what kind of effects do the kids have on that aspect?

I know what the guys are writing. We talk about it, and I think that sometimes for Greg [Graffin], having kids sort of allows him that outside perspective of “I remember what it was like to struggle like that,” and “when you are a kid, and have no clue what to do.” I think Greg has written a couple of songs from that perspective. We talk about everything and it has got to be insanely difficult. That has happened. As far as writing something personal to your kid, I don’t think that has happened.

This is just more simple follow up and follow through. I usually already have a lot of follow up questions written down and in my head. I do this by rehearsing the interview with myself. That works its way out to me interviewing myself. It’s role play, but I’m the only one role playing. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m crazy sitting in my apartment talking to myself, but by anticipating the answers I can move and shape the interview and on my own find more fascinating ways and places to take the conversation. This is another one of those ways. We have Jay talking about how Greg tries to write from the point of a younger adult and uses what he sees in his kids to do that. What other Bad Religion interviews touch on that point of view? NONE!

What do your kids think of their “rock star” father?

I don’t know. I’ve always kind of felt like their friends think it’s cool, but I’m the guy who says, “Take the trash out! Make your bed! Do your homework!” I’m just a dick dad! [Laughter]

Are they fans of the band? Or did they rebel and go some completely different way?

They like the band, but it’s not their musical tastes. My youngest son is really heavily into rap. My oldest son is super heavily into heavy metal. And that’s fine. I’m like, “You guys find your own path. Music was generated to fill the hole in your soul. So whatever it is you find that makes you feel good, there you go!”

Again, more follow up. More kids, and more fun. It’s simple, but it’s informative and continues to open Jay up. Hes laughing now. He’s joking and he’s having a good time!

In my research, I found a video interview of you with a very nice set of grey hair! How did it feel to get that first grey hair?

[Laughter]Nothing really! I guess it just happens. I dyed my hair for a long time, just all kinds of colors and black. I got tired of that and that wasn’t that many years ago. Maybe eight years ago or so. So I shaved my head and let my hair grow back. That was when I was really like, “Whoa! I’ve got a lot of grey hairs! Oh well, whatever! That’s cool.” [Laughter]

This is the ultimate follow up. Jay is in late 40′s. Punk rock is not an old man’s game, although that is opening up more and more with all the reunion tours and older bands still around and kicking. Still, we roll straight into this segment and instead of our right asking him about his age, we make a joke and ask a question about his faboulous grey hair. (Also I like the spelling of GREY as GREY as opposed to GRAY, and I think BR’s GREY RACE album has a lot to do with that.

You guys have had 30 years of rock with Bad Religion. How does time affect the writing process? Do you go in thinking that this might be the last album you’ll make?

That’s not really a thought. When we go in to make a record, the thought is, “This is going to be the best record we’ve ever made.” We’ve all said if you’re not going to make the best record you’ve ever made, then why would you make it? I’ve been a part of records that were good, that were bad, and I’ve been a part of records that were actually indifferent. To make records now at this stage in our career, there is no reason to make something that you don’t think is the best thing you have ever made. Obviously that is subjective, and once you have made the record and sent it out on its own path, people could say, “This record sucks!” and that you are no good anymore, but that is not why we do it. We go in and think, “Oh man! This is great!” Being together for so long gives you sort of a map of how you do things, and I don’t want to say efficiently because that sounds to scientific. We know how we work best. We’ve learned over the years and we go in to make a record and if we spend too much time, we are going to fuck it up. It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. At the same time, when we made Suffer, we recorded and mixed that record in seven days. We are never going to be able to do that again. We sort of talk about it, but we’re not going to be able to do anything in seven days. It’s just not going to happen. We’ve kind of learned how to get the best end result that we want, without everybody just sort of either forgetting what it is that we’ve done or you play it so many times that you suck the life out of a song. With this record, Brooks [Wackerman] had a small window where he was off tour with TENACIOUS D, and told him, “Come on out here! Let’s make a record!” Then all the guitars went on and then the singing and everyone was happy. Then Brett mixed it and everyone was happy. And okay! We’re done!

Again, I’m not the biggest fan of asking specifics about albums. I’m more interested in the character. With this I manage to tackle both. Remember we’re here to sell their new album, but at the same time we’re trying to introduce the audience to the people behind the new album. Since we’ve already worked on Jay by talking about his heroes and his children, he’s open and he’s talkative. He’s more than happy to tell me about his approach and process when going into the new record. Everything is done for a reason, and is meticulous in it’s approach even if you can not see that.

 I like that I can put on any Bad Religion record from any point in the collective and, no matter how different they are, they all have that Bad Religion feel. Whether you’ve heard it or not, it is a Bad Religion album. Is there a formula? Or is it just the chemistry you get when dumping you guys into a room?

Sometimes there is something that you can say sounds like this and sounds like that. We have 240+ songs, so obviously some songs are going to sound like those. There are only so many notes you can play, and obviously you are going to start repeating things. With that being said, I think that what happens with us is, if you were to bring in a song from any other artist… If Brett brought in a DAVID BOWIE’S “Man Who Fell To Earth,” because I’ve seen NIRVANA do that… If Brett brought that in, by the time we were done with it, it would sound just like Bad Religion! It wouldn’t sound anything like David Bowie at all! [Laughter] People would be like, “What the hell is that? Oh, that’s just Bad Religion.” We kind of strip it all down and play it at a reckless tempo, where it almost feels like it is going to fall apart. The guitars are just turned up and Greg has a very unique voice, then Brett and I go [sings background vocals to me followed by laughter].That’s kind of what happens!

First off, I shit my pants when Jay started singing to me! HOLY SHIT! Haha. With this line of questioning, I’m again talking about the process, but with the phrasing of the question , we’ve got him talking about how they mesh together. It’s about the people and less the process. Again, I’m more interested in the PEOPLE.

  In a past interview you talked about how people have a tendency to not like the albums upon release. I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t like New Maps of Hell or Dissent of Man when they were first released, but when doing research, they blew me out of the water! What makes your albums growers, and not show-ers?

Not to brag, but maybe because they are good! I think they are good records. When Brett left the band in 1994 and we went and recorded The Grey Race, I listened to that record and I said, “This will be the ultimate sleeper.” People won’t get this, maybe forever, but this is a really great record. There is something about that record, to me, that was the ultimate, ultimate sleeper. [Laughter]So I’m still waiting for people to go, “Oh man! That’s such a great record!” The only reason I say that, it isn’t really scientific, it is a little bit more anger. When we recorded Suffer, the general consensus from all the press was, “This is the greatest record ever! You’ll never top it.” We were really fucking angry and we went in and made No Control and they went, “WOW! This is the greatest record ever! You’ll never top it.” Well FUCK THEM! We went in and did Against The Grain, and while we were recording it, Brett almost had a nervous breakdown because he was so focused on it being better than No Control or Suffer that he almost wasn’t paying attention to the Against The Grain record! He was listening to No Control or Suffer and going, “Fuck this has to be better!” He finally said to us, “Hey I’m freaking out. We just need to make records and not worry about whether people or how people compare our materials to our old materials. It seems like we can’t win.” That was how we started thinking that no matter what we did, the people are going to think it’s not as good as this and we can’t be caught up in that because that can really destroy you.

 I let him know I did my research, this instills confidence on both of our parts. We follow it up with me apologizing for not initially liking their last few albums and now loving them. This is a true story. Even now as I’m typing this I’m listening to Dissent of Man and it is far better than the first few listens. So what happens here? We’ve got him opening up very candidly about the band’s frustrations. We’ve got Jay telling us how much he LOVES The Grey Race. We’ve got him talking about Brett’s breakdowns when recording those earlier albums. We’ve got him telling us how they grew up and stopped worrying about the critics and learned to love the album. 

With this I have to point back to the begging of the interview. We might have had some version of these comments without the earlier questions about his kids, grey hair and Elton John, but because we got him to open up so personally about his personal life, we’ve not got him opening up to us about the professional life.

 Why work with Joe Barresi (PENNYWISE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, New Maps of Hell & Dissent of Man) rather than just have Brett produce it yet again? Does that help break the mold?

Brett mixed this record, which is what was happening in the late 80′s and early 90′s. Brett was producing and mixing the records and I think what happened was that it was just one too many hats. “I’m a songwriter, I’m a guitar player and I really want to be involved in the songs, but I don’t want to be involved in the intricate details of where the drum mic goes. I don’t want to get caught up in guitar amps all day long.” So [we brought] in someone else to be part of that and who is totally fascinated with the process of recording, which is Joe. Joe loves the process of recording. He’s just a true studio dog. Having him in there, that opens Brett up to sit and listen to the music as it’s developing, and have ideas about directions for ways the music should go and not be worried so much about the sound that is going to tape. And to be honest, to have a guy like Joe who has done a jillion records, you can look at him and ask, “What do you think of this?” and his opinion is super valid.

Honestly, this was a bullshit question. This is one thrown in there because again, we’re here to help sell the new album. We do get some nice insight into why Brett no longer records the band and some more insight, but if I had to edit this interview down and had to cut something out, the above piece would have been dropped first.

Let’s talk about the actual record. I like that the song “Dharma and The Bomb” comes out of nowhere with this weird little song that has such a different and distinctive sound. Where did that come from?

It’s probably my favorite song on the album. Brett was still writing that in the studio while we were recording. He was still kind of finishing that up. It was something we were all really excited about. It has a surf vibe to it, and that’s something we haven’t ever really done. As he was writing it, the concept of the song changed twice. It finally became “Dharma and The Bomb.” He and Greg were sitting there talking about lyrical ideas, and I’m just sitting there thinking it’s brilliant. It’s only a two minute long song, and it is the greatest thing ever! [Laughter] Other than that, it’s an odd Bad Religion song, and I don’t mean odd in a negative way, and I like it. It’s one of my favorite songs ever. It’s Brett singing and one of the things Brett wanted, and this is the studio magic stuff, one of the things Brett wanted was a California surf kind of dialect. Greg is from Wisconsin and he doesn’t have that [mimics California surfer] “Hey, dude! What’s up, bro?” That’s just not in Greg’s thing. So Brett was like, “Fuck! What am I going to do? I guess I’m just going to sing it!” You can hear it when he sings, [mimicking Brett's surfer voice:]“Stoked to watch all cre-ay-shin” [Laughter] He was so surfer on that track, and that’s right. That’s it!

Dharma is the strangest BR song ever written. It’s wonderful, it’s different and I love it. I know it will be the most talked about song off the album, but at this point I could not resist the urge of asking. It’s half truthful wanting to know what the song is about and half bullshit so we could talk about the new album.

Am I crazy, or did I catch some “I Dream of Jeannie” references in the lyrics?

Yeah! There is! When it comes right down to it, it’s kind of about terrorists having a dirty bomb and India having an atomic bomb. [Laughing] Oh, here’s a cute little song about terrorists having a little dirty bomb in a suitcase. Awesome! [Laughing] I remember when we got the song tracks all down, and everything was done. The sequencing was done. The mixing was done. I got my first copy and I called Brett, I think “Dharma and The Bomb” into the next two songs in a row [“Hello Cruel World” & “Vanity”], may be the best few minutes of Bad Religion I can remember hearing. [Laughter]

Super simple follow up. In my notes for the interview, I simply had the words, I DREAM OF JEANNIE written down. I didn’t know how to form a question behind it, but this is where listening to the subject comes in. We had the perfect opening and we get a little more depth to the song and the people behind it. Plus we have Jay laughing every few moments! He’s having fun! He’s enjoying this!

After all these years and all these changes in the world, why are people still attracted to Bad Religion?

At this point, I will just defer to the word “tenure.” [Laughter] I think that if you just stay around long enough, people will like you. “Oh, you’re not going to go away now, are you?”

What I mean is more like, you can give a disenfranchised kid a copy of All Ages and he could probably get sucked into the songs and to him, it is still relevant.

I think that as punk rock became… I don’t want to call it “mainstream,” although it is. The word that almost always comes to mind is that it has become a part of the fabric of society. It is no longer a fringe art. It is just something that people don’t fear. It’s certainly nothing like what it started out as. Maybe we’re just a part of that fabric. As long as we keep making records, and as long as we keep going out on tours and speaking our minds and having a good time doing it, we’ll be a part of that fabric. You always wonder when it all ends, how long will it be before you just vanish. In my life, and watching ten and twelve year olds, and you watch a big question mark appear above their heads when you mention THE BEATLES and say, “I’ve never heard of them.” You wonder, how long afterward will it be before people say, “I don’t know who that is,” about us. [Laughter]

We’re wrapping things up. An interview should be like a book, movie or song. It should have a beginning and middle and an end. For me, this is accomplished by writing out all my questions before hand, and then reordering the questions into a train of thought that allows for the proper flow and function. It helps the interviews be a pleasure to read, and not a pain.

With the first question I asked about why people are still attracted to BR, I did not get the answer I was looking for. Instead of moving on the next question, I describe my feelings to him and get Jay to open up even more for us. It’s important to follow up, follow up and follow up! It’s all a part of the listening. I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not the BEST listener. Often, I’m thinking of the next question and how to phrase it in the moment, or trying to remember an idea I had while the subject was speaking. So I don’t often listen, but I try my hardest to calm my ADD addled mind and listen to the subject. I get a lot of flack for my drinking on the podcasts, but the booze calms me down, chills me out and gets me to listen. I’m not recommending you get drunk, but it is one of those tricks that often works for me. Or if you are an avid listener you’ll have heard all the times they went disastrously.

After all these years, when you step out in front of a crowd of thousands and thousands of people, do you have to pinch yourself?

I always get nervous. I’m always humbled. I walk out and I look at people having fun and singing the songs. I can’t believe they know the lyrics. [Laughter] I remember the first show we played, we were opening for SOCIAL DISTORTION. We had six or eight songs. We played them and people were dancing. They weren’t singing the songs, because they didn’t know them. They were dancing and we finished. People were yelling, “Play them again! Play them again!” So we played the same six songs again, and that was really cool. That’s how it started. Every time I go out on stage, I’m the luckiest guy in the world.

I could list this as a bullshit question, and it is, but this is one I am generally interested in. When preparing these intereviews, I try to put myself in their shoes as much as I can. I try to wonder how they handle the world around them. Plus this is a great ender and a great sound bite. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” is the perfect ending to any interview, but I had one better up my sleeve…

What is your “true north”?

For right now, my true north is paddling out on a surfboard. Even if the waves aren’t that great, I can just paddle out and sit in the water and watch the pelicans and the dolphins go by. I feel at peace and at one with nature.

And with this question we end the interview. This is not only about the album, and touching on the name of the new record, but we also get more insight into the man that is Jay Bentley. When I asked him this question, I thought for sure he would say something about his kids, I was expecting that and that would have been the perfect call back to the beginning of the interview, but regardless. This is a good move and a good call back to the album of the same name.

Jay was an excellent sport, and I loved and cherished every moment with Jay. Sadly, I’ve been turned down for my interview request for the April 10th show in Denver at the Fillmore Auditorium, but I’ll live. I’ll always have this interview.

I hope reading through this gives you an idea of my process and can help you out if you want to tackle interviewing people. These tactics can work in any situations. I’ve use a lot of this stuff on first dates.

Also, this stuff is not full proof. This is just works for me and “benign weirdness.” Find your own route. The best advice I can give you is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH and find your own path.

Good luck!

THE ATOM AGE come from an era of secrecy, spies and all around FUN. Yale Stewart, creator of JL8 talks about his early days of Fun and how it created a world wide comic phenomenon!

Today we bring you what will be the start of some new programming here at the Mostly Harmless Pod. We love comic books. We love Movies. We looooove Music! Why not combine our loves and showcase them to the world! So today we bring you an episode that combines our love of Punk/ska with Comics?!?!

Our first interview in today’s episode is with YALE STEWART, world famous creator of GIFTED and of the critically acclaimed, award winning JL8! JL8 is of course the web comic that re-imagines The Justice League (Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Ect…) as eight year old kids in Day care!

We talk about Yale’s early art years and not only how he came to find comic books, but how he came to create them!

We then switch focus to the band that would fit right at home in a re-imagining of a BOND FILM, if filmed in 1950′s southern California. I’m of course talking about THE ATOM AGE. A 1950′s esque rock n roll band meets Rocket from The Crypt meets Voodoo Glow Skulls!

We talk about how the band came to form, how they found their sound, how THE QUEERS paved the way and why they play the music they play!

All this and MORE as this episode of Mostly Harmless With Dammit Damian breaks our all time downloads record!!!

For more information on Yale Stewart & JL8 please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/jl8comiclol
http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/
http://yalestewart.tumblr.com
http://www.twitter.com/yalestewart
Like JL8? Check out Yale’s Gifted comic at:
http://gumroad.com/l/giftedlol

For more information on THE ATOM AGE please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/theatomage
http://www.theatomage.com
http://www.theatomage.bandcamp.com/
http://www.asianmanrecords.com/

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You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

For those of you without ITUNES, You can download directly at:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast/MH31_Yale_Stewart_Atom_Age.mp3

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Who want’s to go first? The Duke Of Nothing takes center stage with the newest incarnation of TURBONEGRO.

“Sometimes dead is better…” is the lesson we’ve come to learn from Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, but try telling that to Turbonegro. Before the death rattle could settle in the Oslo, Norway death punk band’s throat, they have pounced back from extinction. But with any resurrection, there are bound to be some unexpected changes.  This interview was originally published in AMP Magazine Issue #111. 

During the summer of 2012, I found myself suddenly unemployed and with a plethora of time on my hands. I sent my good friend and then AMP Magazine editor, Lisa Root, an email begging for work to fill the unlimited hours I possessed. Of the initial pitch list she purposed to me, only one band intrigued me: TURBONEGRO.

I’d become a fan of their album Apocalypse Dudes thanks to its never ending plays on my former employer, The Triple Nickel Tavern’s Jukebox. I was intrigued by the band’s reformation with a new vocalist, Tony Sylvester and his serendipitous destiny to become the front man of the almighty TURBONEGRO.

I chatted with Tony via Skype from his London home. He’s a charming man with a big blusterous laugh and a certain gravitas that keeps you intently listening. While the piece works well in print, this was an interview meant to be HEARD! Sit back and listen to Tony talk about his humble punk rock beginnings and how those beginnings lead him to becoming the president of the UK Turbojuegend Fan club and then into infamy as the lead singer of Turbonegro. Tony also talks about their newest album, Sexual Harassment, filling Hank Von Helvette’s very large shoes and MORE!

If listening is not your thing, you can read the entire interview at AMP MAGAZINE.

For more information on Turbonegro please visit:
http://www.turbonegro.com/
http://www.facebook.com/TurbonegroHQ
http://volcoment.com
https://twitter.com/TurbonegroHQ

Please Like MOSTLY HARMLESS PODCAST on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast

You can download the episode from Itunes at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-harmless-with-dammit/id439812373

For those of you without ITUNES, You can download directly at:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/mostlyharmlesspodcast/MH30_Turbonegro_Tony_Slyvester.mp3

Or you can click PLAY and listen right here on this here page: