"Hammer + Echo"
Getting their start in the early '80s, the Kilkenny Cats were one of the most fascinating bands at a time when there were a lot of fascinating bands around. Formed by the North Carolina born Tom Cheek, who had relocated to Athens, Georgia for college, the Kilkenny Cats played a dark and moody blend of post-punk and psychedelia that still, after all these years, feels decidedly timeless. Here's what I mean by that--sometimes when you listen to a band you can hear the years they existed. We won't name. names, but you know what I mean--however, when it comes to the Kilkenny Cats, their music was so singular, they elude the timeline. Although their fellow city dwelling comrades ranged from REM to Pylon to Love Tractor, they were their own thing. Alive with jangling guitars, prowling basslines, foreboding drums and sonorous vocals, the Kilkenny Cats' music was awash in mystery and maybe that's why all these years later, they still sound as pressingly relevant as ever. They were a beloved live act, they had a deal with Twin/Tone, played shows with REM and Husker Du and then? Well, then decades of silence. Why? Well, that's what we're here to figure out and Tom Cheek walks us through it all. Spoiler alert: The 'Cats are back and more music in addition to the wonderful expanded reissue of 1988's Hammer + Echo, will be coming. I'll let him explain.
www.propellorsoundrecordings.com
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Stereo Embers
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"Hammer + Echo"
Getting their start in the early '80s, the Kilkenny Cats were one of the most fascinating bands at a time when there were a lot of fascinating bands around. Formed by the North Carolina born Tom Cheek, who had relocated to Athens, Georgia for college, the Kilkenny Cats played a dark and moody blend of post-punk and psychedelia that still, after all these years, feels decidedly timeless. Here's what I mean by that--sometimes when you listen to a band you can hear the years they existed. We won't name. names, but you know what I mean--however, when it comes to the Kilkenny Cats, their music was so singular, they elude the timeline. Although their fellow city dwelling comrades ranged from REM to Pylon to Love Tractor, they were their own thing. Alive with jangling guitars, prowling basslines, foreboding drums and sonorous vocals, the Kilkenny Cats' music was awash in mystery and maybe that's why all these years later, they still sound as pressingly relevant as ever. They were a beloved live act, they had a deal with Twin/Tone, played shows with REM and Husker Du and then? Well, then decades of silence. Why? Well, that's what we're here to figure out and Tom Cheek walks us through it all. Spoiler alert: The 'Cats are back and more music in addition to the wonderful expanded reissue of 1988's Hammer + Echo, will be coming. I'll let him explain.
www.propellorsoundrecordings.com
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com
www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com)
Stereo Embers
IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
Stereo Embers The Podcast 0461: Sandy Smallens (Too Much Joy, Surface Wound)
Stereo Embers: The Podcast
1 hour 12 minutes 31 seconds
1 month ago
Stereo Embers The Podcast 0461: Sandy Smallens (Too Much Joy, Surface Wound)
"Futility"
It's true--the last time I saw Sandy Smallens was in the spring of 1989 when his band Too Much Joy came to the campus radio station to play on my weekly show. The band were incredibly cool and I've never forgotten that they took the time to traipse into the East Bay hills to get to my school and how nice they were. They even played an unrehearsed acoustic version of Clowns at my request, which was awesome. I'd play it for you now, but guess what? After the band left, I took out the tape and found that I hadn't hit record. It's bothered me for years. At any rate, Too Much Joy and Wonderlick which is Tim and Jay from TMJ, have a lot of news coming out their camp, so they do come up a bit in this chat, but really, the focus here is on Sandy's other band Surface Wound. Informed by the undulating jagged basslines of bands like Gang Of Four and Wire, Surface Wound's new album Futility is a riveting blast of post-punk magic. The Scarsdale-raised, Yale-educated Smallens played football in high school and as a result his bass playing has a real athleticism to it and not only that, but his voice has never sounded better. Filled with prowling basslines and muscular hooks, Futility is filled with fight songs for desperate times. Sandy Smallens is a busy guy--he's in a bunch of bands, he hosts the Four Strings And The Truth podcast and as the guy who launched Spotify's original content department, he now runs the podcast company Audiation. Not only that, but he's a massive supporter of the arts . And, he's one of the nicest guys around.
www.surfacewound.bandcamp.com
Sandy Smallens' podcast: Four Chords And The Truth Podcast:
https://pod.link/1733284004
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com
www.alexgreenbooks.com
BLUESKY + IG: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
Stereo Embers: The Podcast
"Hammer + Echo"
Getting their start in the early '80s, the Kilkenny Cats were one of the most fascinating bands at a time when there were a lot of fascinating bands around. Formed by the North Carolina born Tom Cheek, who had relocated to Athens, Georgia for college, the Kilkenny Cats played a dark and moody blend of post-punk and psychedelia that still, after all these years, feels decidedly timeless. Here's what I mean by that--sometimes when you listen to a band you can hear the years they existed. We won't name. names, but you know what I mean--however, when it comes to the Kilkenny Cats, their music was so singular, they elude the timeline. Although their fellow city dwelling comrades ranged from REM to Pylon to Love Tractor, they were their own thing. Alive with jangling guitars, prowling basslines, foreboding drums and sonorous vocals, the Kilkenny Cats' music was awash in mystery and maybe that's why all these years later, they still sound as pressingly relevant as ever. They were a beloved live act, they had a deal with Twin/Tone, played shows with REM and Husker Du and then? Well, then decades of silence. Why? Well, that's what we're here to figure out and Tom Cheek walks us through it all. Spoiler alert: The 'Cats are back and more music in addition to the wonderful expanded reissue of 1988's Hammer + Echo, will be coming. I'll let him explain.
www.propellorsoundrecordings.com
www.bombshellradio.com (http://www.bombshellradio.com)
www.stereoembersmagazine.com
www.alexgreenbooks.com (http://www.alexgreenbooks.com)
Stereo Embers
IG + BLUESKY: @emberspodcast
Email: editor@stereoembersmagazine.com
