“I was there with all these pedals and I didn’t know what I was going to do, so I said, I don’t give a $#*&, let’s start making noises!” – Torsten Kinsella

God Is An Astronaut merch table at C-Club Berlin, Sept 2013

Welcome to part 2 in a series of interview podcasts, called “A Touring Daze,” in which I speak with musicians on the road, while I, myself, am living in a foreign space. Back in September I visited the C-Club in Berlin to see God Is An Astronaut light up the stage. The Irish (formerly) instrumental rock band had dotting across Europe in support of their recent album on Rocket Girl Recordings, Origins. In addition to some great stories of being on tour, guitarists Torsten Kinsella and Jamie Dean shared the unique songwriting process on the recent record of sculpting sounds into songs. This month’s piece is called “Post-Pop Tart Rock.”

The band prepares to wash the audience away during soundcheck.

The audio piece first aired on KZSU Stanford 90.1FM on December 2nd, 2013.

Many thanks to Torsten and Jamie in the band, and Vinita at Rocket Girl for making the interview happen. The next podcast will arrive January 1st and feature Canadian collective Esmerine.

Adam

“When you’re singing a song, it needs to be the only thing happening in the world right now. You need to believe it and you need to make them believe it.” – Jon DeRosa

Welcome to part 1 in a series of interview pieces, called “A Touring Daze,” in which I speak with musicians on the road, while I, myself, am on the road. To kick off the series, I had the opportunity to speak to Jon DeRosa. DeRosa has worked professionally as a musician for the last twenty years under different guises, names, and projects, including Dead Leaves Rising, Vlor, Aarktica, his own name (solo), and Pale Horse and Rider. In the Berlin alternative mainstay Wild At Heart, we caught up before a gig in September. We spoke about his recent work, touring with Lydia Lunch (in support of his recent 7″ single, “Signs of Life“), and who has armed him with artistic inspiration as of late. This piece is called “Crossing over from Ambient into crooner-pop.”

Recently, Decoder Magazine also published a feature I wrote about the interview. The audio piece first aired on KZSU Stanford 90.1FM on October 21st, 2013.

Many thanks to Jon and Rocket Girl Recordings for the opportunity. The next podcast will arrive December 1st and feature Irish rockers, God Is An Astronaut.

Adam