The Who Cares Anyway Podcast

With this episode, we take a trip back to Silicon Valley (as it was just coming to be known) at the dawn of the 1980s. The same area that gave rise to the Sleepers and U.X.A. during the original 1977/1978 punk era also spawned a variety of interesting but largely unsung bands during the post-punk/new wave era, including Half-Church, the Start, Zru Vogue, and Quiet Room. Several of these groups (all but Zru Vogue) had releases on Win Records, the label founded and run by original Sleepers bassist Paul Draper. Philip Peters was the vocalist and primary songwriter for Quiet Room, whose short lifespan ran from 1980 to 1982 and included a gig opening for Duran Duran at the I-Beam in San Francisco. Their official discography (at least during their lifespan) was limited to a single 7-inch, but more recently, Peters added a new release, thanks to the discovery of some old tapes by former bandmate and recording engineer Bart Thurber. From the Bandcamp page:“In 1982, Philip Peters started writing what would be the next Quiet Room songs. The backing tracks were recorded by Bart Thurber, but never finished, put aside and forgotten till 2025 when the original 4 track tape was found. Philip then completed the 6 songs by adding vocals and some over dubs as was intended back in 1982. So here for the first time the completed “lost Quiet Room Demos" as the new album.”In this episode, we hear more about this new release from Quiet Room, along with a whole bunch of Palo Alto-area underground music history from that interesting window of time.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/09/16/wca-podcast-ep-28-philip-peters-quiet-room/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

From WilliamWinant.com:2014 Grammy-nominated percussionist William Winant has performed with some of the most innovative and creative musicians of our time, including John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, John Zorn, Keith Jarrett, Anthony Braxton, James Tenney, Cecil Taylor, Roscoe Mitchell, Steve Reich and Musicians, Yo-Yo Ma, Frederic Rzewski, Ursula Oppens, Joan LaBarbara, Annea Lockwood, Joelle Leandre, Zeena Parkins, Danny Elfman/OingoBoingo, Mr. Bungle, Sonic Youth, and the Kronos String Quartet.In this, the first newly recorded episode of the podcast in almost a year, we hear from the esteemed percussion maestro about moving to (and staying in) the Bay Area; studying (and teaching) at Mills College; collaborating with the likes of Mr. Bungle and Caroliner; hanging out with Harry Partch; and crossing genre boundaries, from contemporary classical to rock to free improv and beyond.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/07/14/ep-27-willie-winant-percussionist-extraordinaire/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

While probably best known for his 1991 book England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, Jon Savage was also an early chronicler of the San Francisco punk scene, championing bands such as the Sleepers, Avengers, and Dils before most audiences outside of the Bay Area or California had even heard of them. In this episode, we hear about his involvement with the zine Search & Destroy; his trip to the West Coast (both L.A. and San Francisco) in 1978; his first-hand observations on the differences between the punk scenes in the U.K. and California; and more.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/06/01/wca-podcast-jon-savage-englands-dreaming/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

The podcast returns with a special archival episode in honor of Stephen Bartholomew Clarke (Dec. 10, 1956–February 20, 2025), guitarist for the group Arkansaw Man (1980–1983).I can't say that I knew him well at all, but I was able to interview him for the book, and he was very generous in sharing his recollections of not just his own band but also the Sound of Music, Richard Kelly and Club Foot, bike messengering, Flipper, and more. We spoke for nearly two hours, which I have edited down to a “tight” 40 or so minutes while doing my best to spruce up the audio quality.RIP to Mr. Clarke, and sincere condolences to his friends and family.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/wca-podcast-in-memoriam-stephen-bartholomew-clarke-arkansaw-man/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

A new podcast series from the makers (uh, maker) of The Who Cares Anyway Podcast.Interviews with musicians and artists from around the world on making music in the digital age, Metal, electronic, experimental, and gray areas in between. Available wherever you get your podcasts and at fatalstrategies.substack.comMusic credits: Blind Idiot God, "747"Terminal Sound System, "Gridlike"Dreams of the Drowned, "Midnattskogen Sorte Kjerne"Zweizz & Joey Hopkins, "No Clue" This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

In this, the final episode of the podcast, I am joined by David Costanza and Anne Speroni, who have played together in several different bands, including the Whitefronts (1982-1987) and Art of Flying (1998-present).We follow their story from Santa Barbara (where the Whitefronts formed) to San Francisco (where they relocated c. 1985) to Questa, New Mexico, where they built their own 8-track recording studio after moving there in 1987. The studio has since moved to nearby Taos, NM, but they are still making music and still being as impractical as ever.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/wca-podcast-ep-24-david-costanza-anne-speroni-whtefronts-art-of-flying/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

Composer and all-around audio wizard James Goode joins the podcast for a weird and wide-ranging discussion. A mere sampling of the topics discussed:growing up in Provincetown, Mass.playing the tape recorder (his first "instrument")meeting the Residents (sort of)joining Faxed Headnot joining Carolinerstudying music at Mills Collegecollaborating with prog keyboardist Roger Powell (formerly of Todd Rundgren's Utopia)touring JapanOther topics include synesthesia, eight-channel audio mixes, Cape Cod Piece, interpretive mime, and (towards the end) perhaps the most in-depth discussion of how some of those noises on the Faxed Head records were created.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/06/15/wca-podcast-ep-23-james-goode/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

From his website: "Matt Wallace is an American record producer born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who started out making records in his parents' garage in the early 80s. He attended UC Berkeley intending to teach, but pursued producing full-time after graduating. Some of his most notable work is with Faith No More, The Replacements, O.A.R., and Maroon 5. With over 30 years of experience, he now produces at his studio, Studio Delux, located in the Sound City Center in Van Nuys, California."Here, we focus on Mr. Wallace's early years as a recording engineer and producer, from working out of the aforementioned garage circa 1982 to establishing his 8-track studio, Dangerous Rhythm, in Oakland, which served as his headquarters until the late 1980s. We talk about his memories of working with not just Faith No More but also Glorious Din and Spahn Ranch (whose Odell Nails was our guest on Ep. 21). We also talk about the role of the recording engineer/producer and how it has changed over the course of Mr. Wallace's career. (And Faith No More fans, don't worry: there's plenty of FNM material toward the end, including some interesting behind-the-scenes tidbits about the recording The Real Thing and Angel Dust.) Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/04/25/wca-podcast-ep-22-matt-wallace This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

With this episode, we take a slight detour to the Detroit, Michigan, area circa 1985-1987. Odell's band Spahn Ranch hailed from this area, but they recorded their one and only LP—1987's Thickly Settled—in the Bay Area with Eric Cope (Glorious Din) acting as co-producer.Here, Odell recounts his first encounters with Eric, Glorious Din, and the zine Wiring Dept., along with his memories of recording at legendary producer/engineer Matt Wallace's studio in Oakland and his overall impressions of San Francisco from his brief stay in the area. We also hear about the origins of Spahn Ranch, their place on the fringes of the Detroit hardcore/post-punk underground, and the eventual formation of Odell's next band, Majesty Crush, out of the remnants of Spahn Ranch's latter-day lineup.Links, show notes, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/03/27/wca-podcast-ep-21-odell-nails This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

Esteemed Friend of the Book Bill Gould joins the podcast to talk about LA, the Vats, Geordie Walker and Killing Joke, Flipper, MTV, and American Zen.Links, music credits, and show notes: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/02/13/wca-podcast-ep-20-bill-gould/Order the book:Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SYLTvB | Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/91315/9781915316059 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

The multifaceted Mark Gergis takes us through a few decades' worth of his wide-ranging travels (musical and otherwise), from growing up in the East Bay and discovering Negativland in 1985 to co-founding Mono Pause with Peter Conheim in the early '90s to traveling throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East in the 2000s and beyond.We also talk about his involvement with Sublime Frequencies (which dates back to the I Remember Syria and Cambodian Cassette Archive compilations from 2003 and 2004, respectively), the relationship between the Oakland and San Francisco scenes in the '90s and '00s, and the common threads that unite his recordings/performances as Porest with his archival/curatorial work. (Oh yes, and also about assassinating Henry Kissinger—metaphorically, of course.) Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2024/01/04/wca-podcast-ep-19-mark-gergis/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

From ChristineShields.net:Christine Shields is an artist and musician from Northern California. She grew up in various locations, most of them rural, from the Central Coast to the Sierra foothills.... At the age of 17 she moved to San Francisco, attended the Art Institute, and played in her first band as a drummer. Her creative life, built around necessity and imagination, has taken many forms, including painting, comics, music and illustration. She currently resides in Sacramento, California.In lieu of a pithy summary, I instead offer a list of hashtags to indicate some of the names or topics discussed:#Bananafish #SFArtInstitute #ArchipelagoBrewingCompany #Caroliner #DameDarcy #DArcydDollinger #SeymourGlass #HarveyStafford #Revolver #BonerRecords #NevadaCity #Chameleon #Chatterbox #ValenciaStreet#BlueHole #IanChriste #GrouseMountainSkyride #ScrewMagazine #JamesGoode #JainaBee #Pencilvania #TheMissionSchool #AdobeBooks #LaraAllen #TimMooney #ChrisJohanson #RonnieBurnsShow notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/12/07/wca-podcast-ep-18-christine-shields/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

We begin with a brief flashback/rewind to the very beginning, as Joe answers a question I'd somehow never thought to ask before—namely, why "Truckin'" (of all songs)?From there, we fast-forward back to mid-1983 and then wind our way through the Joe's Second Record (1984) and Joe's Third Record eras (1985-1986), with Joe sharing his memories of seeing Gregg Turkington (and eventual Pop-O-Pies guitarist) Kirk Heydt's short-lived band Hello Kitty on Ice; transitioning from 415 Records to Subterranean Records; touring the Southwest with the Bill Gould/Mike Bordin lineup of the Pop-O-Pies; working with producer Tom Mallon; and salvaging Joe's Third Record in the wake of some recording-studio disasters.As if that weren't enough, Joe also offers his observations on the "punk-rock winter" of the late 1980s ("It just seemed like some kind of entity was trying to ... not completely obliterate independent music, but temporarily derail it for a time") and then walks us through his unique take on rock 'n' roll history as a series of 12-year cycles beginning in 1952 and ending in the year 2000.Finally, there are some recollections of the 1993 "In Frisco" / "Squarehead" sessions (with Trey Spruance, Danny Heifetz, and Atom Ellis), as well as a bit about Joe's latter-day rock operetta "Lenny in Wonderland" and the recent reissue of the Pop-O-Pies' White EP.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/11/22/wca-podcast-ep-17-joe-pop-o-pie-pt-2/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

Part One of a two-part blockbuster with the man behind the Pop-O-Pies. Here, Joe takes us from New Jersey to San Francisco, from recording the original "Truckin'" demo to putting together a live band, from landing a local college radio hit to signing with 415 Records, from touring the East Coast to meeting Courtney Love and hanging out with Jerry Garcia -- and more.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/11/14/wca-podcast-ep-16-joe-pop-o-pie-pt-1/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

Much like previous guest Vincent Albarano, Ryan Weinstein is someone I met earlier this year via social media but had never actually spoken to before interviewing him for this podcast. Under the name Coffin Prick, he released his debut "solo" album Laughing (Sophomore Lounge) earlier this year—a colorful and gently warped collection of songs and instrumentals that brings to mind Ralph Records, Kramer/Shimmy Disc, and the Butthole Surfers at their most melodic.In this interview, we talk about Ryan's early experiences as a member of sludge/stoner metal band Cavity; the time he booked Neil Hamburger to play in Miami; the influence of Ralph Records acts such as Tuxedomoon, Snakefinger, and the Residents on his music; and the process of recording Laughing and subsequently performing the material live (with two different backing bands) in L.A. and Chicago, respectively.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/10/26/wca-podcast-ep-15-ryan-weinstein-coffin-prick/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

The one and only Barbara Manning joins the podcast to talk about her reactions to the book, her memories of Lowdown Studios, the concept of "Think Audience," her adventures in Germany and New Zealand, the Chico Daze era, life as a high school science (and, more recently, drama) teacher, and her recent/upcoming touring activities.Links, show notes, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/10/05/wca-podcast-ep-14-barbara-manning/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

For this "bonus episode" of the podcast, we speak with Vincent Albarano about his recently published book Aesthetic Deviations: A Critical View of American Shot-on-Video Horror 1984-1994 (Headpress) as well as his one-off zine, Pinhead Music, which delves into the strange-but-true history of the underground music scene in Keyser, West Virginia (population:~5,000). during the '80s and '90s.Show notes, links, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/09/13/wca-podcast-vincent-albarano/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

Suzi Skates was one of the main people I had in mind when I added the phrase "other creative figures" to the official description for this podcast ("series of interviews with musicians, writers, artists, and other creative figures on topics related to the book Who Cares Anyway....").Granted, she moved to SF to study painting, and she did play in a couple of bands, but she made her name (quite literally) as Suzi Skates, messenger on wheels and one-of-a-kind punk-era celebrity.Here, she recounts her move to San Francisco (where she enrolled at the Art Institute in early 1977), the origins of the Suzi Skates concept, her memories of a couple of legendary/infamous punk-era dwellings (1183 Howard and the American Can Company building), and her eventual move to New York City—where, among other things, she sang for a band called Aurora Bora (along with former Plasmatics bassist Chosei Funahara) and even played bass in an early version of Raging Slab (sic).Show notes, liinks, photos, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/08/31/wca-podcast-ep-12-suzi-skates/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

As a drummer, Phil Franklin has been a key member of bands including Caroliner, Faxed Head, and Sunburned Hand of the Man. As a singer-songwriter, he heads up Franklin's Mint, whose most recent album, Temporary,, was recorded in Australia (where Phil moved in 2019) with help from Mr. Bungle's Danny Heifetz. In this interview, we touch on all of the above, along with Mr. Franklin's memories of touring Japan, his thoughts on the New Weird America moniker, and his days in the late '80s groups Egg and the Dukes o' Pop alongside eventual Presidents of the United States of America frontman Chris Ballew.Links, show notes, and music credits: https://whocaresanywaysf.wordpress.com/2023/07/24/wca-podcast-ep-11-phil-franklin This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com

The multi-talented Peter Conheim is our guest on Episode 10 of the podcast. We cover a veritable potpourri of topics, including his memories of the early '90s Oakland warehouse scene from which Mono Pause (and Conheim's own Electro Motive label) was spawned; his film restoration work on such underground classics as Deaf Punk and In the Red (both included in the excellent Ears, Eyes and Throats collection); his thoughts on seeing, hearing, and eventually joining the Mutants; his reasons for leaving Negativland; and his recollections of early 2000s San Francisco in the wake of the dot-com boom and bust. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whocaresanywaysf.substack.com