191 – Josh Berwanger (The Anniversary, Berwanger, Gemini Parks)

My First Band Podcast

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 Get Up Kids and The Gadjits to form Radar State. Along the way, he even stepped completely away from music for seven years to coach girls high school basketball.

Most recently, Berwanger has embarked on a “genre-blending” aural endeavor called Gemini Parks. With monthly song releases, some shows in the books and a Gemini Parks release planned for next year, Berwanger has a lot of modern-day happenings to talk about. He did just that when he spoke with My First Band host Tyler Maas. Of course, their conversation also touched on early bands, the beginning of The Anniversary, memorable moments from that band, his years away from music, what brought him back to the stage and what’s to come.

My First Band is sponsored by Mystery Room Mastering and Lakefront Brewery. The show is edited by Jared Blohm. You can listen to My First Band on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever else you get podcasts. You can also listen to rebroadcasts of previous My First Band episodes on WMSE every Wednesday from noon to 12:30 p.m. CST. Music used in this episode comes courtesy of Devils Teeth (“The Junction Street Eight Tigers”) and Gemini Parks (“Up All Night”).