Psychic Temple is the extended-family project of Chris Schlarb, the proprietor of the retro-chic Big Ego studio in Long Beach, California. Chris is an old friend of mine, going back to the turn of the century when I lived for a brief period time in Long Beach. This episode is being released shortly after the announcement of the dissolution of Psychic Temple, which is addressed during a quick follow-up call at the top of the show. This episode was engineered by Chris Schlarb at Big Ego in the summer of 2023. Chris shares with me about his musical background, his creative endeavors, and some of his work-for-hire as a record producer, including the final Psychic Temple album, Doggie Paddlin’ Through the Cosmic Consciousness. The portrait of Chris Schlarb for this episode was hand-drawn by Jack Habegger. Low Profile is supported by YOU at patreon.com/LowProfile. Producing this show costs time and money! Thanks for chipping in. Low Profile receives in-kind support from these Olympia independent businesses: Rainy Day Records, Old School Pizzeria, Schwart'z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, and Scheler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.
Mayo Thompson is the founding member of The Red Krayola, an experimental rock group that has existed in various formations since 1966. He’s collaborated with The Raincoats, Pere Ubu, and the Fall as a record producer, is an active visual artist, and has recently published his second novel, “After Math,” a sequel to 2020’s “Art, Mystery” (both available via Drag City Publishing). Mayo joins Low Profile to discuss the unconventional processes of several Red Krayola albums, his lone solo album “Corky’s Debt to His Father” and its recent live embodiment, his experience as a writer, a long-standing collaborative relationship with the conceptual collective known as Art and Language, and working with others including Lora Logic, featured on the previous episode. The interview is conducted by a panel featuring returning cohosts Dylan Shearer and Jack Habegger teaming up with Markly to tackle this heavyweight guest. The unedited interview is available for supporters at patreon.com/lowprofile in this episode: The Red Krayola “People Get Ready, The Train’s Not Coming” (00:02) The Red Crayola “Hurricane Fighter Plane” (08:30) The Red Crayola “Freeform Freakout no. 3” (15:05) The Red Crayola “Transparent Radiation” (16:32) Mayo Thompson “The Lesson” (18:25) The Red Crayola “Coconut Hotel” (25:03) The Red Krayola with Art and Language “Ergastulum” (34:02) Mayo Thompson and the Corky’s Debt Band (live) “Worried Worried” (35:53) The Red Krayola with Art and Language “The Milkmaid” (39:13) The Red Krayola “If S Is” (45:57) The Red Krayola “Bad Medicine” (51:43) The Red Krayola “Breakout” (55:12) Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. Instagram: @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Support this show: patreon.com/lowprofile Illustration by Jack Habegger Scherler Sundays (live episode tapings + free concerts) is happening again in Olympia for Summer 2024, visit scherlerbeer.com for updates!
James Spooner is a writer, filmmaker and visual artist from Southern California. He grew up as one of two black punk rockers in the small town of Apple Valley, and he wrote a critically acclaimed graphic novel about his experience called “The High Desert,” released in 2022, twenty years after the release of his groundbreaking documentary “Afro Punk.” When I read the book, I found it so moving that I immediately reached out to him and invited him to be a guest on this Afro Punk, The High Desert, Black Punk Now!program. James joined me for a live interview in Olympia at the Capitol Theater after a screening of his film, and we discussed his experience growing up as a black punk in the desert, the avenues that led him to direct his first film, being the father of a Gen-Z black punk, his career as a tattoo artist, and his new anthology book “Black Punk Now,” which was edited by Spooner and Chris L. Terry and came out last October. Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. Instagram: @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Patreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile
Who smoked more: academics like John Cage, La Monte Young and Vladamir Ussachevsky- or the underground scenesters, like Glenn Branca, Arthur Russel and Laurie Anderson? Why is turntablist Christian Marclay on the cover of "Transfigured New York," but not in the book, even though she interviewed him multiple times? Could AI design be to blame? How did the old guard of "New Music" feel about the commodification of computer-based music production four decades ago? In the 1980s, Brooke Wentz hosted a radio show in the middle of the night that focused on experimental music, which was developing all around her in New York City. Over the course of a decade, many of the artists Brooke played on that show would join her in the studio. Her journalism days are through, (now she works on the business side of the industry) but she has just released a book with selected interviews back in the day called “Transfigured New York: Interviews with Experimental Artists and Musicians," available now from Columbia University Press. This may be a bit of a shock to you, but I’ll say it- I’m a big fan of oral history interviews, and I’m a big fan of experimental music. I’m pleased to feature Brooke and her work here today, which includes a couple of clips from her interviews (with Morton Subotnik and John Lurie, respectively). She joins me today from a working holiday somewhere in Mexico. The artwork for this episode is a drawing by my kid Camille, based on a photo from "back when" sent to me by today's guest. Terrific. Many thanks. Low Profile is stoked to be a part of the Ruinous Media network. This show is also supported directly by you on Patreon ( patreon.com/lowprofile ) Low Profile also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company. More on the book: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/transfigured-new-york/9780231558631 Instagram: Brooke @seven_seas_music and Markly @lowpropodcast Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub Patreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile
When I started this show five years ago, I made a short list of artists I wanted to feature. Near the top of that list was the British musician Vashti Bunyan. Vashti Bunyan released her beautiful album “Just Another Diamond Day” in 1970, and it was almost immediately buried in time. She’d had her fair share of disappointment in the music business and walked away from it altogether, until some three decades later when people like me discovered her music for the first time. Suddenly, Vashti was in demand, and her music career was back on track. In her recent memoir, “Wayward” from White Rabbit publishing, she chronicles her early days in the pop music world, collaborations with members of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, her unbelievable horse and wagon journey throughout the UK that inspired her first album, and her unlikely return to the music world. Vashti speaks with me today from her home in Scotland. This the Season 9 premiere, and also the first episode since Low Profile has joned the Ruinous Media Network. It was produced by Markly Morrison, edited by Rose Nielsen, with artwork by Jack Habegger. Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon. The program receives in-kind support from Olympia, WA independent businesses San Francisco Street Bakery, Rainy Day Records, Old School Pizzeria, and Three Magnets Brewing Company.
On this year's final installment of highlights from the Scherler Sundays live series, headlining act Gun Outfit is a twangy , dreamy rock band that started in Olympia in the mid-aughties, and relocated to Los Angeles several years later. Carrie and Dylan still have family around these parts, so they brought their kid up to visit with the kinfolk, along with the rest of their crew as they share some favorites from their catalog and surprise with a handful of new tunes. Amps For Christ is the long-term project of Henry Barnes, and he's a friend of the show (See episode 15). He also happens to play guitar in Gun Outfit, so he gets a bit of a double feature today. Opening the show is a new power trio called Blues Faeries, comprised of Olympia heavy hitters Jon Merrithew (C Average, Mosquito Hawk, The Noses), Dave Harvey (Nudity, Tight Bros From Way Back When) and Jaysen Lee Peters (The Cold Sweats). We'll get to hear insights and anecdotes from all the performers here as well. This year's Scherler Sundays concert series was such a blast, and it was great to see so many of you there! Looking forward to plotting one in 2024...This episode was engineered by Kefa Crow, documented by Andrew Ebright, and mixed + edited by Rose Nielsen. If you like this show, please consider supporting it with flexible monthly donations at patreon.com/lowprofile to help cover the expenses associated with running a conglomerate like this.Scherler Sundays is hosted by Three Magnets Brewing Company in downtown Olympia, WA. They make lots of good beer, including their NA brand Self Care which features delicious craft flavors unlike any other. Low Profile also receives in-kind support from San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria and Rainy Day Records in Olympia. For a full archive of previous episodes, visit lowprofilepodcast.com and dig around.
In this eighth installment of highlights from 2023’s Scherler Sundays live series, we have another all-Olympia showcase. This time, we hear performances and stories from Morgan and the Organ Donors, XOHNO, and Chance of Ghosts. The MODs feature Sara Peté's soft dreamy vocals and rhythmic 60s garage riffs, with "Wildman" James Maeda weaving in subtle guitar complexities, all held together by COCO's Olivia Ness and Bikini Kill's Tobi Vail on bass and drums. You may have seen wife and husband duo Sara and James playing a couple of songs together when James opened for Michael Hurley at last year's Scherler Sundays. If you missed it, check it out here!X.O.H.N.O. is Olympia’s own glossy arena pop anthem machine, blending the shimmering sweetness of Donna and Summer’s vocal delivery with the hard-hitting dance floor grooves of producer/songwriter DR WOW. Expect a hefty serving of earworms.And kicking off today’s show is Chance of Ghosts- a new post-punk group comprised of folks who have been rocking Olympia since before you were probably born. It’s a perfect storm, featuring members of Tiger Trap, C Average and more!This episode was engineered by Kefa Crow, documented by Andrew Ebright, mixed and edited by Rose Nielsen.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.Instagram: @lowpropodcastFacebook Community: Low Profile Listener HubPatreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile
Recorded at the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, this remains one of my favorite interviews in the last five years of working on this project. Tjinder Singh’s Cornershop has been a long-standing go-to band in my rotation since I came across them on MTV in the mid nineties, watching back-to-back videos for “Sleep on the Left Side” and their ubiquitous hit “Brimful of Asha.” Since then, they have continued to release tons of great singles, albums and collaborations. It’s a tasty mix of Punjabi folk, psychedelic rock, disco, dub, pop and everything in between. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the world of Cornershop. Find a full archive of this program at lowprofilepodcast.comThis show is supported by you at Patreon.com/LowprofileLow Profile receives in-kind support from Three Magnets Brewing Company, Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery and Schwartz’s Deli in Olympia, WA.
In the seventh installment of highlights from this year’s Scherler Sundays concert and interview series, we’re getting another healthy helping of Olympia, WA rock and roll music. First up is Riley Kendig and his newly christened Magenta Sextet in their first public appearance, performing fully-realized arrangements of tunes off his excellent debut bedroom pop cassette entitled “Yr Car.” Next up, local power trio UK Gold takes the stage for a blistering onslaught of urgent post-punk outbursts. This episode was engineered by Kefa Crow, documented by Andrew Ebright, and mixed by Rose Nielsen.Recorded outdoors before a live audience behind the historic Carnegie Library in downtown Olympia, WA on July 30th, 2023.Much obliged to Three Magnets Brewing Company, Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery and Old School Pizzeria for sponsoring this live event. Support this podcast by giving flexible monthly donations via patreon.com/lowprofile
On July 23rd, 2023 a meeting of the minds occurred behind the Carnegie Library in downtown Olympia, WA. Pat Maley and Mary Sharp (formerly of Oly rock duo Little Red Car Wreck) arrived with their new band Guidon Bear to warm up the grassy knoll for Anna Oxygen, who has lived in New York for almost twenty years, and Tae Won Yu + Rachel Carns, better known as Kicking Giant. In between all the music, I spoke to the five of them about their glory days in the 90s Olympia punk scene, and got caught up on what’s been going on since. Spoiler, a lot’s been happening! This episode was engineered, mixed and edited by Rose Nielsen, and documented by Andrew Ebright.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon.com/lowprofile, plus in-kind support from Olympia’s Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery and Three Magnets Brewing Company.
It's a bonus episode! Here's a little radio piece I made back in January to promote a Blind Boys of Alabama concert here in Olympia. The gospel singing group has been in existence since 1939 or so, with its members changing over time... you know, like Menudo, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band or the London Philharmonic. I spoke with Ricky McKinnie, who's been in the group since 1989. He tells me about his background in gospel music, his own experience of blindness, the group's latest Grammy nomination, and the ins and outs of a group that has been evolving for over three quarters of a century. Short and sweet, hope you like it!
This is the fifth installment of highlights from this year’s Scherler Sundays concert and interview series. Today’s show was recorded on July 16th behind the Carnegie Library in Olympia, WA and features performances from San Diego band The Gift Machine and Hot Rush, plus Joshua James Amberson reads from his latest book “Staring Contest.” The Gift Machine is returning to Low Profile, after being featured way back on episode 7. Their latest album is called “Consolation Prize.” This episode was engineered by Kefa Crow, documented by Andrew Ebright, mixed and edited by Rose Nielsen.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon.com/lowprofile, plus in-kind support from Olympia’s Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery and Three Magnets Brewing Company.
Karl Blau makes his fourth appearance on Low Profile- first as featured guest back on episode 29, and then taking over the show producing interviews with Temple of Bon Matin and Hermit Thrushes. Now episode marks his first appearance on the program as a live performer, with a smoking hot quartet behind him. After the performance, we discuss his goings on in Philadelphia and back here in the Pacific Northwestern United States. Good thing this was an early show, he had to head to a gig down in Portland right after. Enter Olympia’s own Tim McBride and the Divide, a band that started just in time for the global pandemic and re-emerged about a year ago, uncaging a skillfully crafted world of punk rock storytelling. Tim and co. stick around for a disarming round of “gotcha journalism.”This episode was recorded live on July 9th, 2023 at the Scherler Sundays with Markly Morrison concert series in downtown Olympia, in the parking lot of Three Magnets Brewing Company.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.Instagram: @lowpropodcastFacebook Community: Low Profile Listener HubPatreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofile
Alice Stuart was a singer-songwriter from Washington Sate. She passed away yesterday. In celebration of her life, here is Rob Smith's interview with Alice from 2021. This episode is a cross-release between Low Profile and Rob's podcast, Welcome to Olympia. Rob also produced this one, be sure and check out his show if you like what you're hearing. Love eternal to Alice and those close to her. I'll be cooking dinner tonight in the crock pot we got from her yard sale a couple of years ago. Check out her discography after you hear pieces of it on this episode.
Recorded live on 07/02/2023 from this year's Scherler Sundays concert series, prog-pop trio Heatwarmer returns to Low Profile in person performing a handful of songs from their latest album "It's A Nightmare" and catches up on what's been going on since the geographically dispersed group's previous appearance on this show. Olympia honky-tonk mainstays The Purple Shadows kick this event off with a hearty helping of original cosmic American music.
On today’s show, Jason Traeger of the Traegermethod podcast is filling in for me as host, presenting performances and conversations with Olympia synth rock artist Doctor Sleep and Tacoma rapper Ralph Reign. Interestingly enough, both of these guys incorporate a Nintendo Game Boy into their distinctly different sounds. This episode is being cross-released on both Low Profile and Traegermethod via the podcast universe. If you like one show, you’ll probably like the other, and there’s a lot of episodes to dig into. This is the second installment of Scherler Sundays 2023, recorded by Andrew Ebright and Kefa Crow, in front of a live audience behind the Carnegie Library in Olympia, Washington.
This is the season eight premiere of Low Profile! This season is gonna be coming at you every Friday for the next couple of months, and it’s all pretty fresh stuff. Right now we are in the middle of Scherler Sundays, a weekly concert and interview series hosted by 3 Magnets Brewing in downtown Olympia. If you’re in the area, it’d be great to see you there, every Sunday at 3pm through August 13th. This is the first one, recorded on June 18th 2023. First up is a puppet theater troupe from Arcata, CA called the Kinetic Paranormal Society. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties with the recording of their performance and it just didn’t turn out, but we did manage to get a good recording of my interview with Bartleby, one of the puppets. You can hear their scripted podcast wherever you’re hearing this, just look for the Kinetic Paranormal Society podcast. After that, it’s a performance from Your Heart Breaks, the long term project of musician, filmmaker and visual artist Clyde Peterson. We’ll be talking about his new documentary about the band Earth, and his new Your Heart Breaks album “The Wrack Line” out now on Kill Rock Stars records. Finally, a set from our friends Elf Power, who drove out west from Athens, GA to play a show in the rain. Vocalist/guitarist Andrew Rieger catches up with Markly at the end of it all.
Asuna is a Japanese sound artist and musician who has been performing and releasing albums since the turn of the century. I first became aware of Asuna’s music when his album “Organ Leaf” was released as part of the Sparkling Composers series in the early aughties via Lucky Kitchen Records, whose founders Alejandra and Aeron featured back on Low Profile episode 48. In 2014, when I was on tour with LAKE, I asked our tour manager Koji about a handful of my favorite Japanese artists, and when I mentioned Asuna, he said we would be playing a show together in a couple nights, and later in the week we would be staying the night at his family’s farm house. The rest is history. Last year, he visited the USA as part of worldwide tour performing his immersive sound installation, “100 Keyboards.” With translation help from Mami Takahashi, we were able to record an interview at the Portland Institite for Contemporary Arts, which you are about to hear. We’re talking about his early works up to his latest projects, the logistics of traveling with 100 keyboards, his connection to the experimental music scene in the Pacific Northwest, and the blurry line between noise and ambient music.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.Instagram: @lowpropodcastFacebook Community: Low Profile Listener HubPatreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofileIllustration by Lani WildhoneyScherler Sundays (live episode tapings + free concerts) is happening again in Olympia for Summer 2023, visit scherlerbeer.com for updates!
This week, Low Profile presents music and conversation with Kim Salmon of the Scientists. This program was originally broadcast on the KAOS program Jack Habegger’s Celebrity Telethon. Jack has co-hosted and guest hosted previous episodes of Low Profile, interviewing Lavender Country, Jeffrey Lewis, Michael Hurley and James Maeda. Here’s what Jack had to say about this episode: “A little over a year ago, I connected with Kim Salmon over Zoom to discuss his long, storied career for my KAOS FM radio show. Kim is best known as the singer, guitarist, and driving force of the Australian post-punk band Scientists. Their self-titled debut was released in 1978, featuring a sound that blended classic punk and power pop. In the intervening years, Scientists evolved drastically, incorporating slashes of deconstructed rockabilly, fractured blues, and sludgy no-wave into a unique sound often credited as an early inspiration for the grunge and alternative rock scenes to follow. Scientists’s legacy would cast a long shadow on anybody’s career, but Kim was far from content to leave it at that. After the Scientists initial breakup in 1987, he split his time between his project Kim Salmon & The Surrealists and a reformed version of The Beasts of Bourbon, an aussie rock n’ roll supergroup that Kim had been playing with on the side since the early ‘80s. We’re not anywhere near through the list of envelope-pushing projects that he’s been involved with, either. In this interview we cover his first punk band Cheap Nasties, his acoustic duo the Darling Downs with Ron Peno of Died Pretty, his recent solo work, and the ongoing Scientists reunion. Kim also breaks down a number of his classic songs for us, providing details about their influences and development. The songs are presented here in their entirety, so allow this episode to act as both an interview and a mixtape of all your favorite Kim Salmon tunes!”-Jack HabeggerLow Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.Instagram: @lowpropodcastFacebook Community: Low Profile Listener HubPatreon (donation-based bonus content+goods): patreon.com/lowprofileIllustration for this episode by Lani Morrison
Today I’m talking with the band Califone’s founding member Tim Rutili. Califone began 25 years ago as a solo project after the dissolution of his previous group Red Red Meat in Chicago. You may have heard his collaboration with Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, Ugly Casanova, or his ambient rock group Loftus. Tim has continued to do sporadic collaborative efforts over the years, but Califone has been a constant having released 15 albums as well as a bunch of singles and EPs. Their experimental take on Americana, musique concrete and indie rock is unlike that of any other group around. On May 19th, 2023 they are releasing a new album called Villagers on Jealous Butcher Records. I spoke with Tim about live performances, the new material, the group’s previous album Echo Mine which was a score to a dance piece, their experiments with live improvised silent film scoring, the virtue of acting like a baby, writing and directing the film All My Friends are Funeral Singers, and several of his other projects over the years. Tim Rutili spoke with me earlier this year from his home in Los Angeles.Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses: Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.Instagram: @lowpropodcastFacebook Community: Low Profile Listener HubPatreon: patreon.com/lowprofile