n a new episode of Into Music from KMUW, host Jed Bodwin sits down with Stephen Pedersen to discuss the making of SEIZE!, Criteria’s first new album since 2020 and their upcoming release on Spartan Records. The conversation dives deep into Pedersen’s love of heavy, percussive riff writing, the unique aluminum-neck Travis Bean guitars that shaped the record’s sound, and the alternate tunings that became the foundation for much of the album. Beyond the music itself, Pedersen opens up about the emotional themes running through SEIZE!, including fractured friendships, changing workplace dynamics, loss, marriage, and the uneasy process of confronting...

Longtime Omaha native Stephen Pedersen of Criteria (formerly Cursive / White Octave) joins me to recall his childhood of basketball, talk about his love of playing the sport, early days of Saddle Creek records, and the new Criteria album due out May 22nd. We also tried a new segment of "Band Name or NBA Player" with... mixed results.

Josh English is a founding member of the Boston band Six Going On Seven who recently released their first album in over 20 years. Titled Human Tears, the LP bridges the gap between the group’s early years and its current, seasoned state. In this conversation English discusses how he and bandmates James Bransford and Will Bartlett made the decision to move forward with new music, his lifelong passion for his craft and what the future holds for the trio.

Allen Epley returns to the show and we discuss skiing, Line 6 Delay Pedals, the making of Shiner's 2020 LP Schadenfreude, how the band learned to write together again after 15 years apart, playing 3rd guitar for Sunny Day Real Estate, Allen's band Birdhands, Shiner's new LP BELIEVEYOUME, the making of the record, navigating creative differences, Allen's post-Shiner band The Life and Times, his gear setup for the band, Allen's solo record Everything, his band BirdHands, his podcast Third Gear Scratch and more.

In this episode, I sit down with Josh Newton, a musician whose fingerprints are all over some of the most compelling underground sounds of the past three decades. We trace his path from the fertile Kansas City scene of the ’90s, where Shiner carved out their space alongside the era’s noisy, angular bands, to his wild ride as a bassist in Every Time I Die, one of hardcore’s most unpredictable live acts. Josh shares stories from the early days of playing noisy, experimental music, the transition into heavier and more chaotic environments, and how he’s navigated the balance between passion...