Tuxis Giant has an album coming out this week called “You Won’t Remember this, and I had a chat with Vocalist, guitar player, Matt O’Connor about it. We got into the contrast of joy and tragedy, Midwest family feels, dove into some lyrics, and talked about Huey Lewis, as one of the songs on the record is named Huey. It was nice having Matt O’Connor on for a second time!

Tuxis Giant:

INCREDIBLE INTERACTIVE Music Video for "Huey" HERE: https://worrybeadrecords.com/huey?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaeDkODvqPb58g0aTwVWTpH5Mc6hXPZCtvZEINzrhBUl_wyaiHOaJ7mKuA304w_aem_RSNH3SRHel0RJyuvNvquWg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuxisgiant/?hl=en

Bandcamp: https://tuxisgiant.bandcamp.com/album/you-wont-remember-this

Original Photo by Omari Spears:

Website: https://www.oshoots.com/music?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaf-0XeSFIltiVy0b05y_pxI_QQMnEG_SpY6DLTBmO1XtJIelZLfXQb79_LuZg_aem_1b7gNxBEkjZp8qJIp3RWEA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o.shoots/?hl=en

In this interview, I was joined by writer, musician, and professor, G’Ra Asim, the author of Boyz in The Void: a mixtape to my brother. His nonfiction book reflects on his own identity while navigating Blackness, and I’m taking this from the descriptions of the book, while blending music and cultural criticism and personal essay to explore race, gender, class, and sexuality as they pertain to punk rock and straight edge culture. Using totemic punk rock songs on a mixtape to anchor each chapter, the book documents an intergenerational conversation between a Millennial in his 30s and his Generation Z teenage brother.” Some bands used as totems and or cultural references include but are not limited to: Against Me, Bad Brains, Propagandhi, Aye Nako, Bad Cop Bad Cop, Fefe Dobson and Run DMC.

I’m also joined by guest host, Jwyanza JK Hobson, a standup comedian, showeruner for Asia Out Loud, and a musician. A New Yorker who's been living in Saigon, Vietnam since 2016, JK and I used to play a lot of shows together with our respective bands when we both lived in Los Angeles. Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s in New York City, JK’s no stranger to the Metal and Punk scenes, and a fun fact I learned, he once ended up in a mosh-pit with Jam Master J.

G’Ra’s book was particularly impactful for me because there isn’t a ton of literature, at least that I know of, that dive into what it’s like being Black and existing in punk rock and punk rock adjacent spaces. If you know some, please send it my way! He also adds so much nuance to what those scenes mean and represent, not only through race, class, and gender, but also transcending these categories. From my perspective, G’Ra not only carves a space for his identity throughout the book, he also carves out a map for how people to just be themselves.

(This paragraph is not in the podcast introduction) Some things that stood out to me that we covered were leftist orthodoxy, avoiding binaries, Code Queering instead of Code Switching, Otherness, America as a Composit Culture (not something else), politics that punks espouse, Subsumptive Analogy, and ways that Black people can be underimagined. AGAINST ME, BRAND NEW, PROP

G'Ra Asim Website: https://graasim.com/ and link to his band Baby Got Back Talk: https://www.babygotbacktalk.com/

A playlist with songs and bands referenced in Boyz in the Void: a mixtape to my brother: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/10cgOOA4yc290fGMdoS1qB?si=b30de79a06f146bd

JK Hobson: https://www.instagram.com/jkhobson/

I recently interviewed Brendan of the band Tiberius. They’re releasing their new album Troubador this fall in November. Right, they have a single called “Sag” that’s out. There’s a fun Music vid on YouTube for it too! Link Below

We talked about how Tiberius creates music together, the music communities in Allston/Brighton neighborhoods of Boston, the importance of the DIY music community, ego death, Rutland, Vermont, and what ambition could mean as an artist.

Tiberius – "Sag" (Music Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XhEQW0D8uI&list=RD9XhEQW0D8uI&start_radio=1&ab_channel=AudioAntihero

They are on tour now! Check links for dates!

Linktree! https://linktr.ee/Tiberius?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaeXRnoMkvAY9Y-x0H2PkEERCRqK0qdr3w-KdW3B9H7JwF7LTfWUXJz3x3BoJA_aem_ugu3slja2YuhwbvQx_wrJg

Tiberius Lineup: Brendan Wright (they/them): Vox, Guitar, Synth. Kelven “KP” Polite (he/him): Bass. Pat King (they/them): Pedal Steel, Banjo. Sam Blumenstiel (he/him): Drums. Harley Spring (they/them): Live Guitar.

Photo by Zoe Hopper (they/them): https://www.instagram.com/zoehopperphoto/?hl=en

I recently interviewed Sara Mae Henke of The Noisy. They’re releasing a deluxe edition of their debut album, The Secret Ingredient is More Meat, and the Deluxe version is called The Secret Ingredient is Even More Meat. Comes out in October. Some things Sara Mae and I talk about are, but not limited to, sharing the love of silly things, performance as a clown, fighting feelings of inadequacy, creating art that fights patriarchal expectations of desirability, sharing gratitude instead of wounds, Tony Soprano, Grey Gardens, Virgin Suicides, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Check out their latest music video and single "Twos"! Inspired by the documentary film Grey Gardens and the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Noisy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veryverynoisy/?hl=en

Listen Here: https://thenoisy.bandcamp.com/

Photo of Sara Mae by Morgan Kelley: https://www.instagram.com/morg.kelley/

I spoke with Rachel Cholst, a music journalist from New York City who has been writing about the queer country music community for the last 9 years. You may have already seen her work in magazines like No Depression, The Boot, and Wide Open Country. Currently, she is the editor of Rainbow Rodeo Magazine, and as far as she knows, Rainbow Rodeo is the first print publication devoted to queer country music.

There are interviews, reviews, critical essays, and some podcasting. Something I think that is amazing is that Cholst talks about creating, documenting, and preserving history for queer artists in country music. And it makes me think, man, how often do people try to create history and preserve it, and how often is it erased? There is an essay she wrote in Rainbow Rodeo a couple of months ago called “Building the Queer Country Canon in Real Time,” where part of that thread can be seen. We talked about this idea in the interview, too. And it seems, Cholst is continuing to create these threads through Rainbow Rodeo as a platform and as a community.

I did ask her about Beyonce’s album that people contend is country because ownership and tradition are often hotly contended in the realm of music.

And if you think, but Jonah, I don’t like country. Well, well, I have a gateway album recently released that you could check out, and that’s S.G. Goodman’s Planting By the Signs.

Check out Rainbow Rodeo! https://rainbowrodeomag.com/

Review on Rainbow Rodeo: "S.G. Goodman -- Planting By the Signs"

I worked with Eleanor Henderson for a year at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, during the 2022/2023 school year. She was the chair of the Writing department at the time, and I was a lecturer. We had a lot of conversations about teaching, writing, and ideas. We've stayed in touch since, and still to this day, talk about said things, while keeping each other up to date as our lives keep moving on through new milestones. I was so excited and a little nervous to interview her. But she is a teacher, and a novelist, and her presence is very present.

During my time teaching at Ithaca College, I learned that she wrote a book called Ten Thousand Saints where the characters lives were heavily involved in the straight edge hardcore music scene in New York City in the 1980s. Her husband was heavily involved in the scene during the time, and though they met later, by proxy, he spurned her hunger and curiosity to delve deeper into the movement that's influenced so many people and musicians. Naturally, as a gigantic music fan, I thought that maybe we could talk about the book she wrote a bit ago, and it being the 10th anniversary of the movie that was made (for the record, Eleanor is celebrating this!), We get into a little hardcore, Ian Mackaye, ethnography, ethics, writing, expanding or exploring ideas, and life.

She's currently working on her 4th book!

Her other books are: The Twelve-Mile Straight, and her memoir, Everything I have is Yours

Catch them here: https://eleanor-henderson.com/

I met Misha Tentser at graduate school in Syracuse, New York, four years ago and we became friends not long after. He's a poet, writer, and teacher, and it's always a pleasure to talk to him! We get deep into dream logic, mental health, the figurative weight of objects, being nerdy about your art, emotional confrontation of the self, psychogeography, and what it's like to be a writer.

Here are some links to Misha's published work!

"Before" in Midway Journal.

"BoJack Horseman Visits Chagall’s America Windows," "BoJack Horseman Visits the Strip Mall Optometrist" in Had Magazine

"Landscape," "Goodyear, AZ" in Sonora Review.

Gory and I had a nice talk about what it's like for her bing a nomadic musician. She's from Panvel, Maharashtra, India, and it's difficult to play there as a musician unless you are performing covers. This spurned her musical journey. We talked about the challenge of finding a place to play at home, while finding so much by way of traveling to play. Not just artists to colaborate with, but the joy and comfort of becoming a part of a larger music community. She's got.

She just released her first EP, called Teen Error. Link to the different streaming platforms for the album is HERE.