On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined once again by special guest Thomas Nassiff. Thomas returns for a deep dive on the new album, After the Party, by The Menzingers. We talk about the band in general, their catalog, and what they mean to us. Then we go through the album and talk about our favorite songs and how we think this album may just be something “special” for the music scene. We end with some chatter about the latest Japandroids’ release, and do a little bit of catching up as well.

Read More “After the Party (Encore Episode 142)”

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined by special guest Jacob Tender. This week we discuss AbsolutePunk.net, SpinMedia, UnderTheGun and a lot of behind the scenes chaos that plagued the music web community over the past few years. Then we move into a discussion about creating things and the balance between hobbies, work, and everything between. We look at what it’s like to create things, when to know if they’ve failed, and why it is we both feel a need to create and put things out into the world. There’s also talk about the new MacBooks with Touchbar, some thoughts on AirPods, as well as collecting media and how we track what we listen to, read, and watch.

Read More “Hobbies, Work, and Everything Between (Encore Episode 141)”

On this week’s episode of Encore I am joined by special guest Deanna Chapman. The main topic this week is all about our most anticipated albums of 2017. What made the list and what did we decide to leave off? Do we really have to mention Brand New … again? We also talk about movies we are looking forward to, discuss music on TV shows, and nerd out about comic books a little bit.

Read More “Most Anticipated of 2017 (Encore Episode 140)”

This week’s episode of Encore looks at a variety of listener questions, things like: favorite music for road trips, recent albums we think may end up being classics, and music we turn to for the specific moods we may be in. We also talk about new music from Japandroids and The Menzingers and our desire to listen to something “new” versus falling back on old favorites. We’ve also got a contest to win the new book from Laura Jane Grace, and Thomas gives details on that in the middle of this episode.

Thanks for listening!

Read More “Scale of Loneliness (Encore Episode 137)”

On this episode of Encore, Thomas and I break down some of their favorite “fall albums.” What makes an album a fall album? Why did we pick what we did? And what other habits do we have when the weather gets cold? We also talk a little about Yellowcard’s final show, Laura Jane Grace’s upcoming book, and our usual shenanigans. We’d love to hear from you about what albums you listen to as the weather gets cold, so hit the little quote bubble on this post to jump to the forums and discuss!

Read More “Fall Albums (Encore Episode 136)”

It’s been a few weeks since Thomas and I have sat down and talked, so we really enjoyed catching up on this episode of Encore. There’s some talk about new Apple products, AirPods, Apple Watches, and then a lengthy talk about seeing Blink-182 live and all the bands that opened for them on their recent tour. We end with a bunch of really fun listener questions about albums, music, life, an and had a blast trying to decide what band we’d want to see if we could travel anywhere in the world. This is a fun one.

Read More “It’s Been Too Long (Encore Episode 134)”

This week’s episode of Encore is with special guest Deanna Chapman. (Thomas is on vacation and watching football games and stuff.) On this episode we talk about how the music scene has changed over the years and what first drew us to it. I’m always curious about what brought other people into this music scene, how it differs today, and the role technology and social media has played in shaping it. We also talk about Batman: The Animated Series, some of our favorite apps, Apple Music/Spotify/Bandcamp, and other fun stuff.

As always, thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.

Read More “A Back-Up Thomas (Encore Episode 132)”

This week’s podcast finds the hosts talking about traveling and the routines related to flying. We discuss (as spoiler free as possible) ‘Stranger Things,’ we gush about the new The Menzingers’ song, and we talk about Green Day’s new one as well. We also talk about looking up tour dates, song lyrics, and what bands may end up standing the test of time and why. We finish up with some Olympics talk. Because OLYMPICS!

Read More “Planes Fly Fast (Encore Episode 130)”

This week’s main topic of Encore is focused on when we listen to music, and specifically: background music. Do we listen to music in the background while working? What about while doing other activities? What kind of music? What genres? Can we watch TV while working in the background? When do we listen to podcasts? And on top of that there’s talk about music’s role in our lives as we get older and grow up. What role does music have in our lives now? We also discuss some follow-up about last week’s Blink-182 episode, My Chemical Romance teasing things, Pokémon Go, and much more.

Also, we tease a special supporter bonus episode that is all about our “Top 3” pizza toppings and drinks. Supporters: that is now up in your awesome thread.

Read More “Background Music Monsters (Encore Episode 129)”

This week’s episode of Encore is all about Blink-182 and their new album California. Thomas kinda really hates it. I like it more. We discuss our history with the band, what we think about the songs, why I’m more positive on the album and the “feel” it gives off, and why Thomas thinks it’s super boring. We also have some talk about Snapchat and the NBA making us excited and sad all at the same time. These are the episodes that are a lot of fun to do — I like when we disagree.

Read More “I Have Takes That Need to Be Heard (Encore Episode 128)”