Ep. #141 – Feat. JOATA and Justine Grove

This week, Matt chats with indie pop and hip hop musician JOATA (aka Jose Oyola) and singer/songwriter Justine Grove. The duo share their respective origin stories, influences, and creative processes. They also dig into their love of genre fusion, their passion for playing live music, and their use of writing and performance to thrill audiences and fulfill themselves.

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Ep. #107 – Feat. The Return of Insane Ian

In this episode, Matt welcomes back nerd, comedian, game enthusiast, and musician Insane Ian! The two catch up on Ian’s life since his last Crash Chords appearance 3 years ago. Their conversation ranges from Ian’s appearance with Beefy (“I Don’t Get It”) on Vince Vandal’s latest record, FNFII: Advanced Friends & Fandoms, to his project with fellow comedy musician TV’s Kyle called Scooter Picnic and their latest song “This Groove (Is Too Dope For Us).” They also talk about Ian’s upcoming solo work, his YouTube series “1st Ian-pressions,” as well as how recent life events have affected his focus and his music.

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Ep. #47 – Feat. Austin Aeschliman of Smashy Claw

Today, Matt welcomes Austin Aeschliman of Smashy Claw, an experimental rock duo from Longmont, Colorado consisting of guitarist Austin and keyboardist Nathan Long. A veritable engine for new ideas, Smashy Claw is currently engaged in a year-long project to release a new song every week, each accompanied by a brand new YouTube video. Presented for general entertainment (and to spur public interest in the group), these songs are currently compiled into Smashy Claw’s newest record, Claw Machine. With Matt, Austin discusses the band’s name & its inception, his early influences and what spurred him to start writing, as well as the band’s writing process. Also touching upon the band’s primary sources of inspiration, Austin discusses plans for the future of Smashy Claw and their involvement with The FuMP, of which former Autographs guest Insane Ian is also a member. Filled with macabre imagery, surrealist overtones, and brought to life by its talented animators, Smashy Claw’s YouTube channel won’t disappoint. So go ahead, check it out, and support the project.

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Ep. #39 – Feat. Grace Kendall

Today Matt is joined by Grace Kendall, a ukulele folk singer/songwriter hailing from Asheville, North Carolina. With an album still fresh from March 2015 called Can You Hear Me?, Grace chats with Matt about how she got her start in the wizard rock scene, having performed under the name Snidget before transitioning to her given muggle namesake. Grace also chats about her inspirations, the indie music scene, and some unique ways in which she’s gotten her music out into the universe — including live streamed concerts! They even find extra time to mutually extol the Broadway hit Hamilton, so strap in!

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Ep. #21 – Feat. Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle

Matt has sure taken a slice out of the nerdcore community, but today he sidesteps towards… “nerd rock!” by introducing Seattle-man Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle. Apart from Kyle’s roles as frontman, singer-songwriter, and guitarist for the band, Kyle can tack on “founder of the Charging Hippo Brewing Co.” to his résumé. Along with Kirby Krackle’s latest LP, Mutate, Baby!, the band has also ventured into the world of podcasting, with their series: The Kracklekast. On this podcast, however, you can hear Kyle discuss everything from his decision to pursue nerd rock, to Kyle & Matt’s initial meeting at the NY Comic Con, to a whole slew of complimentary digressions on comics, video games, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Enjoy!

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Ep. #18 – Feat. Mike Phirman

First appearing on Crash Chords in a 2010 interview, following the release of The Very Last Songs I Will Ever Record (Part 1), Matt welcomes back one of the most creative comedy musicians to emerge from the west coast, Mike Phirman. With his humble self-released ditties, Phirman’s capacity for brilliant satire also extends to a penchant for over-blowing benign subjects, such as breakfast, streetmeat, and children’s games. Whatever subject is at his whim, he consistently extracts a hilarious and addicting adventure. This time around, Matt and Phirman discuss the process behind writing a great comedy-music song, Phirman’s many influences, how certain tracks came together, and finally the peculiar position he is placed in as a full-time family man — thus caught between writing funny kids songs and writing funny songs for adults.

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