))
Each Friday, My First Band features a long-form interview with a different notable musician about all of the projects that preceded what you know them for. We discuss their musical origins, and we trace a few of their embarrassing high school bands and other associated bands that happened before they broke out. This show digs deeper than any Wikipedia page or band bio would ever dare to go. And, sometimes, the guests will even share some of their old songs. You can expect to hear a lot of in ...
…
continue reading
1
200 – Andy Junk (Holy Shit!, The Fragments, Chinese Telephones)
1:36:54
1:36:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:36:54
This week's guest — the 200th and final My First Band guest! — is the incomparable Andy Junk. These days, you can see Junk on stage as a member of Holy Shit! and Chinese Telephones, taking photos at a ton of concerts in Milwaukee and beyond, and spreading Lakefront Brewery's sales territory to faraway lands. Before he was in two long-running and re…
…
continue reading
1
199 – Ian Olvera (Daydream Retrievers, The Sleepwalkers, Wire & Vice)
1:19:56
1:19:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:56
This week's guest is Ian Olvera, whose work can be heard in a variety of ways. Beyond being a current member of Blueheels and the bandleader of Daydream Retrievers, Olvera has helped record and mix music from a wide variety of other musicians at Wire & Vice and Mystery Room Mastering (and on his own), and he's been a live sound engineer for a bunch…
…
continue reading
1
198 – Mark Waldoch (The Celebrated Workingman, Hallelujah Ward)
1:16:44
1:16:44
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:16:44
This week's guest is Mark Waldoch, a Milwaukee mainstay who has been a prominent part of the city's music scene for more than 25 years. Over that quarter-century span, the multi-instrumentalist and owner of Brew City's most booming voice has released outstanding material with The Celebrated Workingman, under his own name and with his current Hallel…
…
continue reading
1
197 – Julia Blair (Dusk, Holy Sheboygan!, Crutch of Memory)
1:06:22
1:06:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:22
This week's guest is Julia Blair. In addition to being a member of two long-running and accomplished Wisconsin bands in the form of Dusk and Holy Sheboygan!, Blair released her excellent debut solo album earlier this year. Between putting out that album (and touring in support of it), Blair and her Holy Sheboygan! bandmates released the band's fift…
…
continue reading
As a founding member of All-4-One, Jamie Jones has been an integral part of Platinum-selling releases that feature some of the biggest R&B hits of all time. He's toured all over the planet, performed for world leaders, won a Grammy Award, spent months atop the Billboard charts and had a song on the soundtrack of an animated Disney feature. Though h…
…
continue reading
This week's guests are Gold Steps singer Liz Mauritz and guitarist Zach Duarte. Though the band is currently making a name for itself in Milwaukee with frequent shows, garnering loads of listeners on streaming sites and winning over new fans on a nightly basis during its ambitious tours, the up-and-coming "alt-pop-hyphenated-punk band" actually got…
…
continue reading
1
194 – Jeff Meilander (Seven Days of Samsara, Spitalfield, Redwall)
1:11:26
1:11:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:26
You might not know who Jeff Meilander is, but you're likely aware of his work. As the owner, founder and jack of all trades at Redwall Screen Printing, Meilander's company has made merchandise for professional sports franchises, multinational corporations and countless bands and brands from all over the country. Currently, Redwall calls a 100,000-s…
…
continue reading
This week's guest is Charlie Parr. Over the course of his 30-year career, the Duluth-based guitarist and singer has released more than a dozen albums, played thousands of shows all over the U.S. and beyond, opened for legends like B.B. King and Doc Watson, and has remained thoroughly captivated by the guitar the entire time. Along the way, he's per…
…
continue reading
This week's guest is Chris Barker, who you probably know better as "Chris No. 2." The longtime Anti Flag bassist has been an integral member of the iconic and important Pittsburgh punk band since late 1998. Over that span, he's played on some influential albums, performed all over the planet and helped spread activist ethos to generations of listen…
…
continue reading
1
191 – Josh Berwanger (The Anniversary, Berwanger, Gemini Parks)
1:19:07
1:19:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:07
Over the last quarter century, Josh Berwanger‘s work has taken many different forms. After his time in accomplished early aughts emo outfit The Anniversary was through, the Kansas-based songwriter dabbled in alt-country with The Only Children, ventured in the direction of indie rock with his Berwanger project and joined forces with members of The G…
…
continue reading
1
190 – River (a.k.a. Sarah) Shook (Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Mightmare)
51:23
51:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:23
This week's guest is River (a.k.a. Sarah) Shook. As the bandleader and namesake of Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Shook has ardently toured throughout the U.S. and Europe. They've released some excellent albums, including Nightroamer, which came out on Thirty Tigers in February. Following the release of that acclaimed album and ample touring in suppo…
…
continue reading
This week's guest is NNAMDÏ. The Chicago-based singer, rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist has put out a ton of great music since 2020 (including his acclaimed new Sooper Records / Secretly Canadian album, Please Have a Seat). He's performed with Wilco, Sleater-Kinney, Black Midi, Jeff Rosenstock and Speedy Ortiz. He has garnered acclaim fro…
…
continue reading
1
188 – Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show, Beautiful/Anonymous)
1:04:33
1:04:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:33
This week's guest is Chris Gethard. Though Gethard isn't a musician, he is a cult comedy legend, the namesake of The Chris Gethard Show, an actor (who you might know from films like Don’t Think Twice and TV shows like Broad City and The Office), the host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, a soda pop appreciator and historian, a point of New Jersey…
…
continue reading
1
187 – Mike Reed (Small Brown Bike, 84 Tigers, LaSalle)
1:43:09
1:43:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:43:09
This week's guest is Mike Reed. These days, Reed can be heard as the guitarist and vocalist of 84 Tigers, a tremendous Michigan-based project that's preparing to release their debut album, Time In The Lighthouse, on Spartan Records this fall. Prior to that album's Oct. 21 release and the band's upcoming appearance at The Fest, Reed spoke with My Fi…
…
continue reading
This week's guest is No Trigger vocalist Tom Rheault. Though the long-running Massachusetts melodic punk project doesn't put out albums very often, they really make it count when they do. The 20-year vets released Dr. Album — only the band's third album ever, and its first since early 2012 — last month, and now they're playing some shows in support…
…
continue reading
1
185 – Josiah Johnson (The Head And The Heart)
56:48
56:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:48
This week's guest is Josiah Johnson! As a vocalist and founding member of The Head And The Heart, Johnson was part of a certified Gold-selling album, he toured the world with some of music's biggest acts and performed at many of the planet's most renowned venues, he played various late-night shows and had songs featured on countless TV shows, and h…
…
continue reading
This week's guest is the great Rhett Miller. The Americana legend has been a member of Old 97's for close to 30 years and, along the way, he's released seven solo albums. Miller's eighth album, The Misfit, is set to come out on Sept. 16, just a few days after Old 97's begin their long-awaited tour in support of 2020's Twelfth. Prior to both of thos…
…
continue reading
