RiYL

In April, Anvil! The Story of Anvil marked its 13th anniversary. Five months later, frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner joined the film’s director, Sacha Gervasi, to screen for a limited re-release. The film, which captures the ups and downs of the long-lived Canadian metal band during the recording of their 13th LP, This Is Thirteen, has continued finding new audiences. The Story of Anvil captures a band determined to not just survive, but to one day crack the mainstream. In the wake of its 2008 release, the film helped them do just that. Lips, Reiner and Gervasi join us to discuss the documentary’s lasting impact on the band. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The plan wasn’t to write a book. The money was enough, Douglas Rushkoff says with a laugh. But appearing in from of anonymous billionaires at a desert resort was more than ample fodder for a new volume. Survival of the Richest is an exploration on how the wealthy plan to survive seemingly inevitable catastrophe, and few are as well equipped to explore this rich vein as Rushkoff. The media theorist returns to RiYL to discuss the new book, and what it means for the rest of us when billionaires are planning exit strategies for the end of the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2018’s Sabrina was, quite deservedly, a breakthrough moment for Nick Drnaso. The Chicago-based cartoonist was nominated for a Man Booker Prize and suddenly placing at the top of numerous best of the year list. Four years later, he returned with Acting Class, a book that was, in part, serialized in The New Yorker early on in the pandemic. Like its predecessor, Drnaso’s third book is a sparing look at the modern human condition that refuses to hold the reader’s hand, this time filtered through the lens of a continued education acting course. The cartoonist returns to the show to discuss the making of the book, and new methods for art making and storyteller. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new album is a product of a largely forgotten time in Roches lore. Before youngest sister Suzzy joined the group, the sister act was a duo: Maggie and Terre Roche. The pair produced one album: Seductive Reasoning. Terre’s latest project, Kin Ya See That Sun, explores the group’s early days, touring the country, encourage by early supporter, Paul Simon. It combines live track from the era with a book that began life as an oral history. The Roches found a bigger, more lasting success as one of rock’s great vocal trios. While the group effectively ended when Maggie passed away in 2017, the group continues to attract new generations of fans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Let’s talk about yoga. Let’s talk about the practice behind the familiar, physical movement. That deeper, spiritual resonance heavily informed Rebecca Pidgeon’s latest record, Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound. In fact, the tracks that populate the album were each influenced by different chakras and their corresponding deities. It’s a concept album of sorts, one deeply tied to daily practice under the instruction of Prashant Iyengar. Though focused on her music career, Pidgeon is best known as an actress, best known for appearing in films like The Spanish Prisoner and State ad Main. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of our most requested guests returns to the show. It’s been nearly eight years since we’ve caught up with Will Cullen Hart. The Circulatory System/The Olivia Tremor Control front man has spent most of the pandemic focused on his painting. We discuss his artwork -- one of which falls onto his head, as the interview winds down. But our focus is his continued musical work, from some of the earliest Elephant 6 demos, to forthcoming Circulatory output. Ten years ago this July, The Olivia Tremor Control’s long-awaited reunion came to a close with the tragic death of Cullen Hart’s childhood friend and longtime collaborator, Bill Doss. While the event spelled the end of the group’s live performances, many of Doss’s contributions to a new record, The Same Place, had already been record. Hart discusses the likelihood of that music seeing the light of day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded in hotel rooms while on tour with the Avett Brothers, Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown finds the musician paying tribute to the titular singer-songwriter over the course of 10 tracks. After being temporarily sidelined by the pandemic, brothers Seth and Scott returned to the touring with full force. Though not even a global pandemic could keep them away for too long, with the band releasing its third Gleam EP in August 2020. Still, the past few years did offer a few moments of silent reflection in a job that seems to rarely offer moments to come up for air. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year, Love and Rockets celebrates 40 years as – perhaps – the single greatest American comic of all time. Mario Hernandez, along with siblings Gilbert and Jaime, was a principle driving force in the book’s formative years. Mario would soon take a back seat and ultimately leave the book to his brothers, instead focusing on supporting his family with non-comics work. He’s continued to work in the form over the years, including a number of collaborations with Gilbert. Now retired, he’s begun to reconnect with what he loved about the medium in the first place, with plans to produce work that has been building up in his studio for years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We postpone the interview a few days, as there’s a hurricane bearing down on Florida. Tampa staved off the worst of it, but it’s another one of those things – counting yourself lucky that you made it through another one okay. In addition to managing the occasional natural disaster, Pohgoh’s existence has been a series of ups and down. The group spent the better part of two decades in a kind of quantum state – together, but also not really – until it properly reunited in 2016. This year’s du und ich is the group’s second LP in this latest go-round. It’s a deeply personal record, setting Susie Ulrey’s life with Multiple Sclerosis against an indie-pop backdrop.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the beautiful things about music is that it’s a seemingly bottomless resource. Whenever you begin to doubt it, something new and fresh quickly dispels the notion. Big Joanie’s sophomore LP, Back Home, is just such a record. It’s confirmation that the spirit of punk beats on in new groups, even as it charts new territories. Ahead of the album’s release, singer and guitarist Stephanie Phillips joined us to discuss the band’s journey, Sleater-Kinney, music journalism and the power of Solange.     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.