Musician Kento Oiwa interviewed by Markly Morrison for the Olympia Music History Project.

Formed in the mid-1990s by Japanese immigrants Kento Oiwa and Michiko Swiggs, IQU was a group unlike anything folks in Olympia–or anyplace else, for that matter–had ever witnessed.. 

I spoke to Kento in a hotel room on an assignment from the Olympia Music History Project, where this interview was first published. Beyond his involvement in IQU, Kento was also an active DJ and event organizer in the Olympia music scene throughout the 1990s. As you will hear, he’s a killer theremin player too.

Kento also helped organize the storied Yo Yo A Gogo festivals that filled downtown Olympia with people from all over the world, including friends from Japan like the Bloodthirsty Butchers and Copass Grinderz. This episode has been gussied up with some tasty music clips for your enjoyment. If you like, you can read the full transcript and dig a little deeper into this story–and other stories connected to it–at olympiamusichistory.org

Swamp Dogg is coming to Olympia this weekend 7/13/2025! First, he'll be performing at Scherler Sundays, it's a free show that starts at 3pm. After that, Olympia Film Society will be hosting a free 8pm screening of the new documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted at the Capitol Theater in Downtown Oly. No reservations required, all totally free! More info about the show can be found at freemusicolympia.org

This is my 2020 interview with Jerry Williams, better known as Swamp Dogg. It was really fun to hear his wild stories again. Enjoy, and hopefully see you this Sunday!

The band Danielson started when Daniel Smith worked with his siblings to satisfy a requirement for his senior thesis three decades ago. If you’re not familiar with their music, one thing you’ll notice throughout today’s show is that nobody else sounds anything like them. Daniel and I are talking today about the thirty-year evolution of the group, why he sings the way he does, how the group incorporates visual art into their work, producing records for others (including friends of the show Soul-Junk and Hermit Thrushes), creating the soundtrack to the film Electric Jesus, a new album in the works via Joyful Noise Recordings, collaborations with Sufjan Stevens, Half-Handed Cloud, Kramer, Jad Fair and so many others. Since recording this interview, Danielson has released a short film for their song “Come and Save Me” directed by Chris White that stars Fred Armisen and features previously unused lyrics by the late Larry Norman. Daniel spoke to me from his studio in New Jersey.

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!

This week’s guest is Sean Schuster-Craig who performs under the moniker Jib Kidder. Sean describes his music as “ADHD Psychedelia.” He grew up in the south and is currently based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jib Kidder first made a splash when his song “Windowdipper” was featured on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Since then, he’s primarily made sample-based music and incorporated that into his singer-songwriter collage style. We spoke on his process and influences, fruit flies, comic books, poetry, burgers, and his forthcoming album called “Jump The Gun,” which you can hear a sneak preview of on today’s show!Support the program by subscribing, leaving a positive review and rating, or by donating at patreon.com/lowprofile today.

Over the course of the last four decades, Kentucky-born David Grubbs’ musical activity has ranged from hardcore punk to the fine arts. In addition to his work as a solo artist, David is noted for his groundbreaking avant-pop group Gastr Del Sol and his collaborative efforts with a diverse group of influential musicians including The Red Krayola, Pauline Oliveros, Will Oldham, Tony Conrad, Royal Trux and John Fahey. In the 1980s Lousville KY punk scene he was a founding member of the band Squirrel Bait (look for their new jeans). David has also published three books in the past decade: “Records Ruin the Landscape,” about John Cage and early experimental music, and two book-length poems, “Now That The Audience Is Assembled” and “The Voice in the Headphones,” all available from Duke University Press. He’s a Professor of Music at the City University of New York, and his latest album is an improvised collaboration with the Tokyo based Taku Unami. I spoke with David about all of this and more in late July. If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to this show wherever you get podcasts. If you have any friends who might enjoy this show, please let them know! You can also support the show by making flexible contributions at patreon.com/lowprofile, where you can also find giveaways and bonus content. And it never hurts to leave a rating or review on iTunes.

Today on the twenty-fifth episode, I’m bringing you the goods: the definitive article on the sleeper underground pop duo Donnie and Joe Emerson. The two oldest siblings of their family, Donnie and Joe made the leap from agriculture to popular culture with their 1979 album “Dreamin’ Wild.” The strange thing is that it took over three decades for their music to catch on. Talk about being ahead of their time! And now there’s even a major feature film in the works about their story, which you’ll hear more about later.The song that put them on the map is called “Baby.” In recent years it’s been featured in several movies and HBO’s Big Little Lies, not to mention several cover versions by new artists. I had the privilege of speaking with not only Donnie and Joe, but also their parents who risked everything to help their kids live their dream, from custom jump suits to building a studio and producing a record on their farm in Fruitland, Washington.Also, this episode includes the premiere of a previously unreleased Donnie and Joe instrumental song from 1983 called "Auzie Theme."If you enjoy this program, you can follow it on instagram @lowpropodcast, and if you’d like to help support the show you can visit patreon.com/lowprofile. *(Patreon supporters will also be entered in a drawing to win a SUPER RARE Don Emerson solo LP called "Can I See You" from 1983)*Also telling your friends and giving the show positive ratings and reviews on iTunes couldn’t possibly hurt.

Season 2 finale. Band members Peter Stampfel and Robin Remailly recall the ups and downs of the Holy Modal Rounders, and remember their recently deceased band mate Steve Weber. Special guest introduction by musician and artist Jeffrey Lewis! Season three coming sooner than you think...

An interview with friend of the show Ashley Eriksson of the band LAKE (who has a new album called "Roundelay"). We discuss her early musical output, her new disco project, animation and much more! 

If you want to know what Thelonious Monk, George Jones and the electric rake have in common, you need not look further than Eugene Chadbourne. He has been surprising audiences for over four decades with his alarming hybrid of free jazz and country music. He has an unfathomable catalog of collaborative and solo efforts. Musician and co-host Arrington de Dionyso joined me at the local Quality Inn to spend some quality time with the good doctor. Co-produced by Miles Rozatti, featuring bumper music by Warren Lee. Support the Low Income Housing Institute at lihi.org, and support this podcast by sharing, subscribing, rating and reviewing. Be a patron by donating at patreon.com/lowprofile

Here is a musical storyteller from Australia whose music is a vibrant collage of country, blues, hokum, calypso, rock and jazz that hearkens back to the early 20th century. His singing evokes imagery of carnival barkers and medicine men, singing tunes full of adventurous whimsy. I went with Miles Rozatti (who also produced this episode) to catch him on tour in Tacoma back in February 2020 and got to have a lovely chat together. If you'd like to support Low Profile, you can do so by doing any of the following: Subscribing,Sharing with friends online and IRL,Five Star Reviews, Giving donations at patreon.com/lowprofile---Hear more episodes at www.lowprofilepodcast.comor wherever you catch your pods!This episode is also supported by in-kind support from San Francisco Street Bakery in Olympia, Washington.

Washington Phillips was a jackleg preacher and a gospel singer in the early 20th century. He invented a one-of-a-kind instrument he called the Manzarene which sounded as celestial as the heavens. Little was known about him until music writer Michael Corcoran started knocking on doors and looking for clues, striking gold again and again. He compiled his findings into a book that is included with a CD called "Washington Phillips and his Manzerene Dreams." Markly and Miles spoke with Michael about his research on Phillips and other early gospel blues greats for this insightful feature-length interview. If you enjoy this podcast, please give us your support by subscribing, telling friends, posting on social media, rating and reviewing on Apple podcasts, or by making flexible monthly donations at patreon.com/lowprofile today.

Cornershop have been making catchy and original music since 1993. Their sound includes elements of punk, disco, Bollywood, glam rock, and funk, always upbeat, no black keys used on the piano. Their lyrics often address issues of ethics, racism and politics. I spoke with Tjinder Singh in London about the group's evolution and their new LP on Ample Play, "England Is A Garden." Please support this show by rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts, subscribing, and making a recurring donation of any ammount by visiting patreon.com/lowprofile.This episode was mastered by Miles Rozatti, as usual!

Heatwarmer is a jazz-laden pop trio that originated in Seattle. They say their biggest influence is Star Wars, and they have a new EP called "Electric City." Markly chats over face time with Luke Bergman, Aaron Ottheim and Evan Woodle about all things Heatwarmer and how they are riding out the Covid-19 fiasco.

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!

Danbert Nobacon spent 28 as a founding member of the anarchist pop group Chumbawamba before the band called it quits in 2010. He shares stories about the group's origins and antics, from his first group Chimp Eats Banana to dousing the Deputy Prime Minister with a bucket of ice water at the Brit Awards. If you thought you knew Chumbawamba based off of "that one song," you'll be surprised. This episode is supported by... you! Please rate and review the podcast, subscribe, and make a small donation at patreon.com/lowprofile to help keep this show afloat.

Nick Krgovich of Vancouver, BC has been writing and recording music since his early teens. His previous bands include Gigi, p:ano, and No Kids. He's been a member of Mount Eerie and Dear Nora. His latest solo release is a concept album about his first experience with heartbreak, entitled "Ouch." Nick and Markly got together at 9am over coffee some 200 miles apart and had this conversation, along with plenty of music clips and some exclusive previews of his upcoming projects. Please subscribe, rate and review this show. You can also support the program financially by visiting patreon.com/lowprofile

For the first episode of season two, we travel to Claremont, CA to get to know Henry Barnes, better known as Amps for Christ. Topics include the connotations of having such a band name, homemade instruments and oscillators, and the songs and sounds that shaped him. Recorded on location at the Folk Music Center.

For our season finale, just in time for the end of the world series, we focus on a smattering of songs written for the love of America's pastime and talk to legendary singer/songwriter Terry Cashman.

Born in 1904, this expert fisherman from Mississippi made his first guitar out of a cigar box and went on the become the most beloved entertainer in his hometown of Lake Mary. He only released one album in his lifetime, but as we found out, there is much more to the story. If you like real home-grown blues, look no further as we go searching through time for Scott Dunbar.

A generation before New Edition hit the scene and one of its members went solo with a hit called "My Perogative," there was another recording artist named Bobby Brown who came from a whole different school of thought. For obvious reasons, he now includes his middle name. Bobby Frank Brown, a psychedelic-spiritual one-man band, has garnered praise from the likes of Kenny Loggins, George Winston, Ram Dass, and Allen Ginsberg, and is somebody I never thought I would be able to get in touch with. His debut masterpiece "The Enlightening Beam of Axonda" (1970) is a sonic anomaly that captures the sound of an innovative solo performer, using oscillators, hand percussion, primitive drum machines, zithers, electrified droning metal pipes, and a six-octave vocal range he is not shy to demonstrate. He traveled all over, living out of his van-cum-soundsystem, and sold thousands of his self-released records and 8-tracks to passers by over the course of his heyday. I managed to track him down on the phone in Reno, NV for an interview, following a panel discussion with Jaysen Lee Peters and engineer Miles Rozatti, and he told us about his participation in the Mexico City Olympics, opening for Fleetwood Mac, his concept for a massive anthology, and why he wants to start a new religion. It's never a dull moment with Bobby.

Meet your new favorite band, Soul-Junk. Founded in 1993, with albums dating back as far as 1950 (we'll explain later), singer/songwriter/producer Glen Galaxy has eluded all preconceptions of gospel music by remaining true to his artistic vision. I met with him at his San Diedo studio, Singing Serpent, and dropped a bunch of songs into the mix. If you've never listened to this band, sit down. You're in for a lot of surprises.

She first hit the airwaves in the early 70s and never stopped making music. Her voice is like cotton candy or a glass of brandy, singing soulful reggae music perfect for summertime. We chatted her up about her beginnings, family, and the road to her newest album, "The Girl Who Cried."

Markly brings his weekly pub trivia game "Questionable Music" to the radio in this exciting segment from the new two-hour Patreon release featuring Markly Morrison and Jack Habegger being interviewed by KAOS station manager DJ Jonny H.

Full show available at patreon.com/lowprofile

Play Questionable Music in-person at Three Magnets Brewing Company in Olympia, WA, Monday nights at 6:30.

Friend of the show Sean O’Hagan returns to the Low Profile to discuss “Hey Panda,” the first release from The High Llamas in eight years. When we last spoke in 2021, he had dropped the High Llamas moniker and forged a new path under his given name, embracing more contemporary influences.  In the years since, he’s recruited Llamas new and old to reroute the course of the band he’s led since the early ‘90s, and invited exciting guest performers to come along for the ride. “Hey Panda” is out on March 29th from Drag City Records. Today Sean explains the process that led to this album, collaborating with Bonnie Prince Billy and Fryars, recent production and arrangement work with other artists, and a bit of the contemporary music he’s been getting into lately.

Once upon a time in England, a teenager named Susan Murphy brought her saxophone to audition for a new punk band called X-Ray Spex- a group that was not looking for a sax player. Despite that fact, she made the cut, and like her fellow new band mates, she adopted a stage name: Lora Logic was born. When her tenure with the band was unexpectedly cut short, a friend with a studio encouraged her to forge her own path, and in 1979 the underground scene was introduced to her next project Essential Logic- a groove-laden and experimental sort of progressive punk rock. Somewhere along the way she became a Krishna devotee and let her music career take a back seat, re-emerging on occasion with a new set of songs. Nearly 50 years after it all began, Essential Logic is back with a new album called “Land of Kali,” and a box set called “Logically Yours.” Dylan Shearer co-hosted this episode, and we spoke with Lora at length about everything- how it all began, how things have changed, her nuanced collaborative relationship with X-Ray Spex vocalist Poly Styrene, why she plays the sax, her travels to India, and collaborating with her daughter on the latest iteration of Essential Logic. Lora also shares a favorite vegetarian recipe.

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

About fifty years ago, three brothers started a garage band in Detroit. Their sound was forward-thinking and ferocious, and their band name – Death – played no small part in killing their music career. That didn’t stop them from doing what they loved, in private, where they amassed dozens of songs that have yet to see the light of day. Their debut album For the Whole World To See was recorded in 1973, but was never released until 2008 when one of the singer’s sons discovered the group’s lone single. Since then, a documentary has been made about the group, and several more albums have been released. Today I’m speaking with vocalist Bobby Hackney about the group’s genesis, reformation, and the music he and his brothers made during the nearly three-decade interim. He also shares about his love for reggae music and his new book Vermont Reggae Fest - The Power of Music. Death has a new split single on Drag City Records with the band Rough Francis. That group’s guitar player, Julian Hackney, helps introduce today’s episode.

Low Profile is a part of the Ruinous Media network. This show 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.

This episode was edited by Rose Neilsen

Episode artwork by Jack Habegger

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. 

Today, instead of your usual Low Profile programming, I’m sharing an interview I conducted with Pat Maley in 2023 for the Olympia Music History Project.  The whole transcript is available at olympiamusichistory.org . Pat and I are discussing the history of Yo Yo Recordings, a studio and record label that he ran from the 1980s to 2006, recording hundreds of touring and local artists.  Inspired by the International Pop Underground Convention in 1991, Pat Maley, Michelle Noel, Kento Oiwa, Pat Castaldo and Ed Varga started YoYo A Go Go, an independent music festival that ran for 5 or 6 days in a row.  There were four YoYo A Go Go festivals between 1994 and 2001, and all the people I just mentioned will be getting together for a panel discussion to reminisce, reflect and celebrate these events through collective storytelling and slides. This event is called “That Summer Feeling: Thirty Years of YoYo A Go Go” and it’s happening next Friday, April 18th 2025 at 4pm at The Evergreen State College, in the COM 1 Recital Hall. No tickets or reservations are needed, this event will be open to the public. Here’s my conversation with Pat.

Illustration by Jack Habegger

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

The movie "Dreamin' Wild," about the unlikely and belated fame of Donnie and Joe Emerson, is released in theaters today. It stars Casey Affleck, Beau Bridges, Walton Gogging and Zooey Deschanel.  Today I'm sharing my interview with the real Donnie and Joe, along with their parents Don Sr. and Salina Emerson.  They spoke to me from their parents' farm in Fruitland, WA.  Enjoy!

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.

When I first developed an interest in rough-around-the-edges cumbia music, a friend (thanks Matt!) introduced me to the music of Dick El Demasiado, purveyor of “cumbias lunaticas.” Over the years I’ve managed to glean a bit more about him, then I recently saw a documentary about him called Dick Verdult: It Is True, But Not Here. I learned Dick El Demasiado the musician is a mere sliver of what Dick Verdult the artist has to offer. His culture-jamming tendencies are a reflection of his culturally scattered upbringing- born in the Netherlands, raised all over Europe and South America, and currently living in the Spanish town of Calanda. When Arrington de Dionyso and I spoke to him last November, he was at home in Spain. Dick discusses the music that spoke to him in his youth, moving 20 times in his first 20 years, writing ugly poetry, creating music alone vs with a group, having an audience in a notorious street gang, that signature skeleton costume, and his definition of cultural distortion.

Gratitude to Jack Habegger for all the the portraits you've seen this season! Such strong work.

Want to hear the show more often? Be a part of the movement! Whenever I have enough money to cover a full work day sourced from supporters like you [at Patreon.com/lowprofile ] I will work on a new episode. I am currently taping season 10 for release in 2025, but in the meantime I have some fun stuff on the table- unpublished interviews with Gastr Del Sol, Elf Power, Dollar Country host Franklin Fantini and DJ Screw biographer Lance Scott Walker, plus live episodes from Scherler Sundays 2024 with interviews and performances from Chris Cohen, Mirah, Michael Hurley, Danbert Nobacon of Chumbawamba, Little Wings, Jonny Kosmo, Lori Goldston and Oh, Rose.

If your want to listen to more oral history from some pretty radical musicians, scope olympiamusichistory.org and dig around. I'm the audio editor and there are over 30 hours of interviews currently available on the website. We're in the middle of recording new interviews, so expect another 10 or so interviews early this summer!

Scherler Sundays is returning to downtown Olympia, WA every Sunday in July and August at 3pm. See a curated afternoon of bands and solo artists, plus live interview tapings for Low Profile. Catch artists you’ve heard on this show- Swamp Dogg, Stephen Steinbrink, Soul-Junk, and LAKE- plus other incredible acts like Pearl and The Oysters, Wut, Afrocop, Winehouse, Sunbathe, plus an extended throwback showcase curated by the Olympia Music History Project, and the return of Michael Hurley!

Get your tickets NOWHERE. All you have to do is show up. See you there!

For more information, visit freemusicolympia.org

 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.

The band Generifus from Olympia is kind of a big deal- the group’s unassuming founder, Spencer Sult, is gifted with a poignant, understated sense of delivery. Active sincew the mid-aughties, he continues his long-term project writing songs that reflect his personal take on every day Monday in interactions with nature, society, music, and probably business. Generifus has a new album out called Rearrangel- it came out a week ago as of the release of this episode. Spencer joins me today along with band mates Andrew and Wilson in the live studio at KAOS in Olympia. They’re performing a handful of new songs, and we also had a surprise visitor who brought some pizza. It’s gonna be a good time.Thanks to Isaac and Ian for documenting this episode, I couldn’t have done it without you.  This is the season seven finale.  Thanks to band members Spencer, Wilson and Andrew, to Adam at KAOS for the studio time, to Isaac and Ian for documenting the program, and to Spencer’s dad Bruce for explaining what the hell a Generifus is. If you'd like to hear more of this show, visit Lowprofilepodcast.com, where you’ll find a complete archive of previous episodes. This is the end of season Seven, and you’re invited to come be a part of Season Eight at Scherler Sundays this summer-  ten outdoor concerts and episode tapings on the lawn behind the old Carnegie library in downtown Olympia, every Sunday from June 18-Aug 13 at 3PMWe’ll have beer from 3 Magnets Brewing Company, Bombay street food from Akashic Food Truck, and unique merch table goodies every week.Thanks to San Francisco Street Bakery, Rainy Day Records and Old School Pizzeria and Three Magnets for sponsoring the bands at this event.You can find all the particulars at scherlerbeer.comIf you love this show and want to be partially responsible for its creation, please consider supporting with a flexible monthly donation at Patreon.com/LowProfile. There you’ll find things like unedited interviews, video clips, behind the scenes updates and whenever possible, early release episodes. Thanks a lot for your help there! I love making this thing but it’s a lot of work and every little bit helps. Thanks for listening today, and hopefully I’ll see you for the next taping at Scherler Sundays on June 18th with Elf Power, Your Heart Breaks and the Kinetic Paranormal Society.  Hope you have a good summer.

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

Today, my co-host Madison Nadine and I sit down with Mike Stax joining us remotely from his home in San Diego.  For kicks, Mike records and tours with his band, the Loons,  but he’s better known as a writer, having published the magazine UGLY THINGS for 40 years and running.  In 2022,  he  started an excellent new podcast bearing the same name. Ugly Things is an established authority on the golden era of obscure underground rock music, and today we’ll be talking to Mike about a guy named Craig Smith, later  known as Maitreya Kali. Smith was a rising star in the LA music world in the 1960s— He was on The Andy Williams Show as a member of The Good Time Singers, filmed a TV pilot, and formed a band called Penny Arkade, championed by Michael Nesmith. While traveling in the middle east, Craig’s life was thrown off the rails by a tragic incident.  Smith rebounded from the trauma by taking on the spiritual name Maitreya, a self-proclaimed deity among men, and would-be cult leader… had he found a devoted following.  He faded into obscurity after self-releasing a pair of records, and Mike Stax took it upon himself to track down Maitreya-- or at least, as much of his story as possible.  His findings resulted in the 2016 book “Swim Through the Darkness: My Search for Craig Smith and the Mystery of Maitreya Kali.” Mike shares about his experience in living out this mystery novel,  the people he met along the way, further developments since the book’s completion, hamburgers, Ugly Things, and the Loons.Illustration by Lani Morrison.Low Profile is made possible 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

Phil Elverum (The Microphones, Mount Eerie) returns to Low Profile with his audio engineer friend Matt Fenton to discuss the time they gave the Kamloops, British Columbia band Peace a chance. They discuss their behind-the-scenes experience facilitating the 2006 debut by the band Peace, “On Earth.” It was the first project Elverum signed to his own label PW Elverum and Sun, up to which point had only released his own music.  One might argue that the album has not particularly aged well, but regardless, just ahead of the album’s deluxe 3xLP+Coffee Table Book expanded reissue, Low Profile is proud to present the sordid tale of this 17-minute cult classic.  You’re welcome.This episode contains numerous cuss words.  Click here for a bleeped version.Visit the website for this episodeLow 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