In any healthy, growing community, it's essential to have people who start young and mature into roles of leadership. In music communities like that of punk and hardcore, it could be someone skilled at booking tours or managing venues. Sometimes, it’s an excellent stage manager who ensures everything runs smoothly. Other times, it might be band members who take younger bands under their wing. Often in the music scene, it’s those who encompass some, if not all, of these roles. These are the individuals who keep the scene alive. Adams Hussler is one of these individuals.

Adam is a man who wears many hats in the hardcore scene. On stage, he is the lead singer of Miami's Powerplay. As an experienced leader, he owns Get In the Van Booking, where he and his team are dedicated to helping bands reach the next level. Perhaps most importantly, Adam is one of the "Stage Daddies" (a stage manager wearing the perfect short shorts) in The Shed at Furnace Fest.

In this conversation, we really cover it all. Adam has extensive knowledge of the hardcore genre, which he generously shares. He offers valuable advice drawn from his many years of experience in performing, booking, and navigating the various challenges of being in a band today. He provides us with quite the playlist made up of his band and dozens of other acts to listen to. And we, of course, discuss Furnace Fest. We even delve into politics! A man who wears many hats can engage in many topics, and for Adam and me, everything revolves around hardcore. Enjoy!

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Get In the Van playlist 

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The world of music is full of people who are talented, but only a handful "make it big". There are many musical artists of all genres who put in the work that never end up in Rolling Stone or AP Magazine. Yet, the artistic desire never stops burning. The temperature may change, and the colors evolve, but the fire is still there. Such artists gain respect without the fame. These are the ones that influence local scenes and entire underground movements.

For the first episode of 2026, I am joined by Jason Szeman, lead singer of Toronto-based band Burning Out. Jason is a member of the Furnace Fest Community, known for both music and a love of horror movies. This is a conversation of the former, and the story(s) of Jason's life in the hardcore and punk scene. From starting as a drummer to being possibly forced into the role of frontman, Jason is an artist forged by the underground scene that has definitely put in his time. Now a bit older and with an idea of just how valuable time is, Jason fronts Burning Out, a punk/emo band some would call a local supergroup (Jason would not), recently signed to friends of the pod Limestone Records. As we share pit calls and stories of our musical experiences, Jason talks about the journey that brought him where he is now. And where that is is a band with fellow musicians who have been through the fires and are still burning together.

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Sometimes, the best-laid plans do not play out. Sometimes, things go better than planned. That is the case with this newest episode. As with every episode, the goal was to tell stories, but this conversation went deeper.

Jon Ringer is a friend that I met through Furnace Fest when he joined the Airbnb that I stay in each year. Like many of us, Jon listens to a lot of music. In this episode he and I discuss what it is like to be a lover of all types of music, and how we try, and sometimes struggle, to keep up with everything. We also speak on our pasts with music and how we try to honor the music that came before. During this conversation we share a few stories, like being in a music video, discussing the times of butt rock like Limp Bizkit and Creed, and of course, we venture into the hardcore and emo scene. So grab a plate and join us for this musical buffet conversation that begs us for a part 2 still to come!

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Music has history, and for us fans, we have our part in that history. Some of us live from the audience, some from the stage, and many from both. The younger you start the more there is to be written, which means stories!

Josh Sowards is a friend of mine who entered the same underground music scene I did in the early 2000s. Despite a decent age gap, we became friends. This was helped in part by us being from the same small no music scene town. We shared multiple concerts, festivals, and more over the years. When Josh started a punk band in high school I tried my hand at being a manager. We even once found ourselves in a hotel room with the owner of Drive-Thru Records. That story and much more in this episode as old friends reconnect!

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Okay listeners this is it! THE END OF AN ERA!

This is the last episode focusing on Furnace Fest, and I am very happy to have my friends Kenon Koffkey and Kelsy Hoagland with me to discuss the amazing time we have had over the last four years.

Four years of such a monumental event is a lot to process. For that reason, this is a long episode but a great time. The three of us come from somewhat different backgrounds, as we first find ourselves at Sloss Furnaces in 2021, but we all experience the amazing music and community that has been created. We laugh, we maybe cry, and we get sidetracked but at the end of this era, we all find each other.

ENJOY!

Check out Kenon as a regular guest host of Church & Other Drugs!

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GUEST SUMMARY BY KATIE BAKER

This week on Pit Calls, Alexander Hoagland of Feral Vices returns with our friend Katie Baker to discuss all things Furnace Fest. We recount our favorite moments from previous years, the things we look forward to this year, how to prep for a music festival, and the proper way to pronounce Saosin. Join us for the End of an Era!

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Welcome listeners to an episode of Pit Calls that is not just about music, the upcoming Furnace Fest, but about people and the community that music creates. This episode particularly focuses on the community that Ward and his guest Dres have found in Furnace Fest. Along with the community we discuss why Dres is a music lover, what living with synesthesia is like, and more!

Dres Hasala and I have been friends for a few years now and is also the facilitator of the Airbnb that I have stayed in for every Furnace Fest. Dres is a lover of multiple types of music, including the heavier genres that make up the playlist of Furnace Fest Community each year. In being part of the FFC Dres has also become a creator of community by running a large Airbnb to bring festival goers together. What is found is a community of common music lovers, but what is created is family. So listen to us dive into all of the things and discuss just what makes the music community so important.

Conscious Object Jewelry

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Music is all about passion and art but it is also work, and like all things that take work it has highs and lows. It also takes talent, desire, and fun! My guest on this episode brings all these to the mix with his bandmates in the Jacksonville band GLAZED.

Justin Belichis is the vocalist and guitarist of the emo/pop punk band GLAZED out of Jacksonville, FL. Over the years he and I have developed a friendship as I have become a fan and occasionally had the joy of booking the band. In our conversation, we discuss our history and of course pit calls, but Justin also talks to us about hopes and dreams, and what to do when best-laid plans fall apart. Like when the po-po break up what should be a big show back from break! Some of you have seen footage and heard about a show in Jacksonville that the cops ruined a few months back. Well, GLAZED was part of that show. But as Justin shares, times can be tough, but the band can bounce back by stepping back and focusing on their art. New album, tours, split ep, and more! Justin and his bandmates may take hits but they are still going strong in the pit! We get to hear all about it!

Listen to Lickety Split with Glazed and Sleep In here

GLAZED on ⁠Bandcamp

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Listeners to Pit Calls know the importance of Furnace Fest, the hardcore/emo scene festival held at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, AL, to this podcast. In fact, sharing stories with others at FF in recent years is what led to this podcast's existence. So it is with that knowledge, that I am very excited to have my friend Ryan Luther on to talk about FF and much more.

Ryan and I have known each other for many years from our days in the Tallahassee music scene. He was booking shows and living as an integral part of the scene while I had just started getting into it. Now he is one of the 4 men who have revived the Furnace Fest experience that so many are thankful for in our lives.

Due to technical difficulties, the first few minutes of the episode were lost but I recap them for you in the intro. Then we dive right into the conversation with Ryan. Come jump in the furnace with us!

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Whew, buddy are listeners in for a treat! In this episode, I have a great conversation with Jake Brown, a skilled musician and great collector of stories. We discuss everything from the early days of music in Florida to catfishing the music media. 

Jake has been a member of several bands, including but not limited to Twothirtyeight, Moments In Grace, Frodus, and his current project ISYA. During our conversation, he shares insight into the scene in the late 90s and his experiences as both a musician on the road and time working for venues. We also touch on bands like Underoath, Goo Goo Dolls, From First To Last, and many more. Be prepared for a wild and entertaining journey full of laughs and some tall tales! Did I mention catfishing the music industry? Properly chaotic indeed.

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Welcome to a fun one with my guest Jed Payne, the host of the Church & Other Drugs podcast. Jed has a long history in the music scene that includes time spent on the stage and in the pit. Together, we dive deep into our experiences of surviving this wild music scene of hardcore and metalcore. We laugh a lot as we discuss some of the most intense and painful moments in our 20+ years of two-stepping through the crowd of acts like Knocked Loose, Better Lovers, and many more. Discover how Jed and his friends have become loved and hated as pit referees at last year's Furnace Fest, where Jed saved a man! We also explore pit etiquette, hardcore crews, injuries, and much more. So strap in and get ready for a wild ride!

Check out Jed's Podcast and art! Church & Other Drugs

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I get into the pit with friend Tyler Fieldhouse. Tyler is the guitarist of the post-hardcore/emo band Gilt and also the guitarist of the very new hardcore project Second Impact. Tyler shares some insight on a journey from an art school college kid to an emo punk rocker. We also mention bands to listen to like The Callous Daoboys, Home Is Where, and Blind Tiger to name a few. Along the way are stories of band lineup changes, bleeding for the kids, and much more. Whether you are hardcore dancing on the floor or crying in the corner, you are sure to enjoy this one! Check out Gilt! www.instagram.com/giltfl BANDCAMP Merch And Second Impact! www.instagram.com/secondimpactfl Follow Pit Calls ⁠www.instagram.com/pitcalls

As the year comes to an end I am working on my albums of the year list. In doing this I am listening back to albums that stood out to me, and some of them I think more people should know about. So this is part 2 of albums you should hear from 2025.

I am also posting about these on the Pit Calls Instagram feed, but here you can hear about the first four here in one short episode. Enjoy!

Eyes - Spinner ⁠listen here ⁠

The Swell Season - Forward ⁠listen here⁠

Elio - Autonomy ⁠listen here⁠⁠

Terror Management Band - Austerity Gospel ⁠listen here⁠

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Welcome to the first-ever episode of the Pit Calls Podcast! My name is Ward Hughey and here at Pit Calls Podcast my guests and I share floor stories, and the overall life of experiencing music.

For this first episode, I have my good friend and singer/guitar player of the duo Feral Vices, Alexander Hoagland here to share some stories with us. We talk pit call violence, Furnace Fest, Every Time I Die (RIP), drunken performing, and much more! This one is THROUGH THE ROOF! Enjoy!

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Sharing floor stories! Whether a career musician or a fan in the crowd, we all have stories of concerts we have attended. Epic sets witnessed, epic fails endured. It could be a crazy story about on the way to the show or coming back from the venue. Maybe you met your favorite musician awkwardly in the bathroom! An explanation of that scar you got at the fest. Or maybe you are a musician with moments on stage and from the road. Whatever it is, it is yours to share and on the pit calls podcast my guests are doing just that! Pit Calls podcast! sharing floor stories. Subscribe and share! Follow on instagram https://instagram.com/pitcalls?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

As the year comes to an end I am working on my albums of the year list. In doing this I am listening back to albums that stood out to me, and some of them I think more people should know about. So this is part 1 of albums you should hear from 2025. Part two is coming soon.

I am also posting about these on the Pit Calls Instagram feed, but here you can hear about the first four here in one short episode. Enjoy!

Slow Funeral - Conditions Of Trust listen here

Naturalist - You Don't Have To Worry listen here

Semler - Revival In My Mind listen here

For Your Health - This Bitter Garden listen here

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Music subcultures are a special home for many of us. They allow us to find people like us in a community that lets us be ourselves. In the realm of hardcore and emo subcultures, which seem very intertwined, many of us find this to be a lifestyle. When people from the outside ask about “these bands” and “the pits”, we often are unsure how to describe them. Sometimes the best way to introduce someone is to just throw them in!

I am once again joined in this episode by Kenon Koffkey to reflect on another year of Furnace Fest. We were told 2024 was the end of an era, only to be somewhat surprised a few months later to see Furnace Fest announced for 2025! Kenon and I discuss what it was like experiencing the end, only for it not to be the end. We look back on what we enjoyed about this past year. Kenon also shares what it was like inviting some of his family to experience his music community and the subculture born from it. We reflect, we analyze, and we enjoy the music. Come join us!

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Being a creator often means creating through change. Changes in technology, in inspiration, in teammates, and more. Creating music can be a perfect example, but if you love creating music, you figure out how to work with the change.

In this episode, I catch up with Chris Berseth of Elowel (title makes more sense now). Chris and I have known each other since the days of the Bad Christian Club. Over the years, I have come to know Chris as both a creative individual and a passionate music lover. I first came to see him as someone who had good taste in the heavier genres, but over time, I have learned that his tastes in music are vast. We discuss this love of music and how it has evolved over the years. We also discuss forming a band over the internet, having a fondness for a full house, and transitioning to a solo act. Chris also shares news on his upcoming album being released on the new record label, Limestone Records! Catch it all in this great conversation. Capiche?!

Elowel on Bandcamp

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Metal is a musical genre that many know of, but not many really know. Are you a metal head or a novice? Do you know the sub-genres of thrash, death, black, doom, etc?

I know some metal, but not a lot, and over the years the sub-genres have confused me. That is why I brought on my cousin Codi to help me better understand the world of metal. Codi is a metal head that used to host a YouTube channel with his father called Metal Miners. With his guidance we dip our toes into the world of metal, and discuss some of the different genres that many find when they journey into this world. Join me as I get an education on some of the heaviest music out there. Along the way Codi is sure to piss off some metal heads, because just like there are many sub-genres, there are also many opinions. HORNS UP!

Check out Metal Miners on YouTube

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Sometimes life can feel like a lot of L's. Then out of nowhere, a single decision can lead to a string of W's that feels like you are in a movie, a movie with a soundtrack of breakdowns and punk rock chants. That is the story of Jon Ringer's 2023 Furnace Fest experience.

I am happy to welcome back my friend Jon Ringer to the podcast for the anticipated part 2 episode as he shares with us his 2023 Furnace Fest experience. I first met Jon when he joined the Airbnb community that I have been a part of for the last four years. I knew part of his story, but I did not know just how crazy it all fell into place for him. Listen as Jon tells us how a somewhat last-minute decision to commit to Furnace Fest led to a movie-like experience. From plans to sleeping in a car to being in a viral video, this story is one that only the music community can foster! We also talk about the recent free Turnstile concert and more. Enjoy!

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Music is a powerful art form. It can hype us up, calm us down, make us feel understood, and the list goes on. Music does many things. For some of us, music can act like therapy and help us process our emotions.

Josh Patterson is a deep thinker who often discusses life, faith, and more on his podcast Rethinking Faith. He is also a hardcore and emo fan, or as he and former guest Jed Payne like to call themselves, Emogelicals. In this episode, Josh and I discuss the common occurrence of church kid to emo adult that many in the scene can relate to. We also discuss how music can be therapeutic and help us process our emotions. All of this, how to stop a concert mid-set, and more get discussed as Josh takes the conversation to a deeper level.

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Rethinking Faith Podcast

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Music provides us with many things, and in the case of the hardcore and emo scene, many have found a community, a home. In this episode, learn how my guest found such a home for herself.

Megan and I first connected over Twitter a while back due to us having multiple interests in common. I quickly decided that her love of hardcore and overall music made her a great guest for the pit. In this conversation, Megan shares her journey of finding a home in hardcore, the West Coast scene, goth music, and more. During all this, she educated me on what it is like to be a lady in the scene. Enjoy.

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