Got plenty of things brewing and one of them is my opportunity to interview Kurt Ballou. He’s known as the guitarist of Converge, the head of God City Studio, and so much more. We’ll be talking about a variety of topics ranging from working as a biomedical engineer, creating God City Instruments, artists he has yet to work with that he would love to collaborate with, recording gear that he’s still on the hunt for, his spirit animal, his favorite ice cream flavor, and so much more! What should I ask Kurt? (@godcitymusic@converge #kurtballou #converge #godcitystudio #godcityinstruments ) 📷 1: @_lalaphoto 📷 2: : @soundframesphoto
Let me introduce you to the team here at IWC. These two are what make the dream work. Diego, head of marketing, is a lab mix with 7 years of experience and not much to show for it. That being said, he’s the life of the party and ball is life. Sadie, head of accounting, a Malinois/Shepherd who knows what mix is all business and can crunch numbers like no one’s business. Not that there’s any numbers to crunch right now. She’s looking for a career transition but she’s been a solid addition to the team. No promotions in store for these two anytime soon but plenty of treats and fetch keeps them content.
Tune in tomorrow 05/24 to hear my conversation with Brian Cook (Russian Circles, Sumac, Botch) about what he listens to when he’s pumping iron at the gym, his favorite soft rock ballads, how he started playing bass, finding structure in daily life, the origins and influences of his upcoming solo album, how to move past doubt during the writing process and more!!! (@bubblegutz@russiancircles@sumacbandofficial )
Going to interview cartoonist/illustrator - Rory Blank. I’m pretty confident that this interview will be filled with maximum laughter and good times. I’ve known Rory since high school and have been a fan of his art for a looongggg time. We’ll be talking about becoming the Garbageweight champion on the @partyworldrasslin circuit as the wrestler - Hot Dog, what he listens to while drawing comics, his all time favorite video games, going viral on the internet, leaving a desk job to pursue becoming a cartoonist, his thoughts on NFTS and more!!!! What should I ask Rory? @roryblank
Revisiting the interview I did with Dylan / @theevaultofheaven of @fullofhell - we talk about the subjectivity of success and the career path undertaken as a musician. We even talk about this photo I took where they played an airplane hanger! 01/30/16 - it was ages ago but still seems like yesterday. I had a blast on this one and can’t wait until live music is up and running again so I can catch them when they’re in town. Ep 10 in the IWC catalog! #fullofhell
My next interview is going to be with Brian Cook of Russian Circles, Sumac, These Arms are Snakes, Botch and more. I’ve been a fan of Brian’s for a long time and as a bassist I have looked up to him and his style of playing for longer than I can think of. I can listen to his bass riffs days on end on repeat. There will be an assortment of questions and topics of discussion such as who are the bassists that have influenced him the most, writing new material during the pandemic, his all time favorite effects pedals, getting into weight lifting, his favorite film soundtracks, and more. I’m obviously going to ask about puppies and his favorite beer so I got you covered there as well. What would you like for me to ask Brian? @bubblegutz@russiancircles@sumacbandofficial 📷 #1: @geert_braekers / 📷 #2: @joe_din
My interview with @jimwardofficial is up today and we talk about a whole bunch. One topic of conversation is one of our favorite bands - Fugazi. Jim talks about playing with Fugazi in Des Moines, IA on 11/16/98. I found this flyer on the @dischordrecords Fugazi Live Series website. The live recording of the show is available for sale there as well so I think I’m going to have to check it out and take a blast into the past! We talk about so many different things and obviously with both of us being from El Paso - I had to bring up two things I enjoy. Tacos and tequila. Check out the new episode but just make sure it’s not on an empty stomach!
Tune in tomorrow 05/10 to hear my conversation with Jim Ward (Sparta, At the Drive In, Sleepercar) about the influence of his parents record collection, his admiration for Fugazi, being a small business owner in his hometown of El Paso, recording Relationship of Command, the importance of mental health, his upcoming solo album Daggers on @dinealonerecords and more!!! (@jimwardofficial@spartaband )
Throwing it back to 06/20/2016 when I conducted my first interview with Abbey / @trvebeliever66 of @thebandoryx . How time flies! They’re still crushing it and they recently put out a new album Lamenting a Dead World on @translationlossrecords . As a friendly reminder, you can find out more about Abbey/Oryx and the new album on the latest podcast episode of Interviews with Chris. Due to IG limits you can find the rest of my first interview with Abbey and a ton of other artist interviews that used to be on the old IWC blog at interviewswithchris.com - hope everyone is doing well out there!
I’m excited to say that my next interview will be with Jim Ward of Sparta, At the Drive In, Sleepercar! I’ll be asking an assortment of questions and talking about a wide range of topics from being a small business owner in his hometown of El Paso, his upcoming solo album Daggers, what’s currently spinning on his record player, his web series Friday Beers, to if there was a signature Jim Ward mixed drink what it would be and more! As a fellow El Pasoan, it’s going to be fun to tap into some unknown history from my hometown. What would you like to ask Jim? @jimwardofficial@spartaband@sleepercarmusic #atthedrivein #atdi #sparta #sleepercar #jimward #elpaso - Photo credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre / @ep_visuals
Tune in tomorrow 04/26 to hear my conversation with Abbey Davis (Oryx) about her love for true crime documentaries, opening up for Electric Wizard, how she got into drumming, if she'd rather hang out with Ozzy Osborne or Alice Cooper, writing the new Oryx album Lamenting a Dead World and more!!!! (@trvebeliever66@thebandoryx )
My next interview will be with Abbey Davis of Oryx! We’ll be talking about her favorite metal albums, what inspired her to pick up playing the drums, Oryx’s new album “Lamenting a Dead World” coming out later this month on @translationlossrecords , opening up for Electric Wizard, and much more. What should I ask Abbey? @thebandoryx@trvebeliever66 #oryx
