Tag: Nirvana

Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #88: Vanessa Dunn of Vag Halen

Vanessa Dunn is the lead singer of Vag Halen, one of Toronto’s most exciting and confrontational rock bands. On Facebook, they describe themselves as “Toronto’s feminist art rock band that brings the bad with a dash of ass! Armed with a repertoire of classics, Vag Halen muff dives into the salty cock rock waters, blowing nether regions with their commitment to all things queer and all things rock.” Having seen the band myself, I can verify that that is all totally, totally true. Vag Halen storm Guelph on April 12 for a set at Kazoo! Fest at Van Gogh’s Ear. The band is on at 11:30 PM sharing a bill with Whoop-SZO, Biblical, and Legato Vipers. Here Vanessa and I discuss the pizza in Parkdale, growing up in Scarborough and celebrating the suburbs, where Vag Halen came from and what it might stand for, Katie Ritchie of the Organ, good Van Halen (David) and bad Van Halen (Sammy), how the band covers songs by different cock rock, hair metal bands who are male-centric, as an attempt to assert and understand the role of women and queer culture in such realms, the sexy, revealing attire and stage presence of Vag Halen, the power and cultural contributions of Tawny Kitaen and Miss Elizabeth, Vanessa’s acting background, whether or not we’re well past the era where musicians can get away with blatantly misogynistic and homophobic aesthetic stances, Nirvana’s decision to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with women like Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, Lorde, and St. Vincent filling in for Kurt Cobain, why Axl Rose is the worst, most complex person, how personas or behavioural patterns in musical genres can perpetuate problematic lyrics and attitudes, running into Alice Cooper at a restaurant, Vanessa’s love of Depeche Mode and the Jesus and Mary Chain but her passion for hard rock, whether Vag Halen will ever write its own songs, the generally positive reception for the band in Toronto and Vanessa’s place as a role model, what’s new in Vag Halen’s set these days and why things are gonna get heavy at Kazoo! Fest, and nothing more.

Related links: twitter.com/VagHalen kazookazoo.ca vishkhanna.com

vaghalen

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #84: Charles R. Cross

Charles R. Cross is a Seattle-based music writer and author who has written nine books, including the award-winning and definitive Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain. He was the editor-in-chief of the Seattle music magazine The Rocket, covering the early rise of local bands like Nirvana and he’s regarded as both an esteemed expert and reliable firsthand witness to the media’s mania about the arts and culture cultivated within the Pacific Northwest almost 25 years ago. His latest book is Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain, which is an intriguing chronicle of the myriad ways in which Cobain’s life and death affected various strains of culture—everything from hip-hop music and high fashion to geographic interest in Aberdeen, Washington and a more serious medical assessment of addictive personalities, suicide prevention, and the moral gridlock that stymies the so-called ‘war on drugs.’ Here, Charles and I discuss his recent trip to Cobain’s hometown, Aberdeen, Washington, the library where Cobain spent a lot of time as a youth, the fiasco that was Aberdeen’s ‘Kurt Cobain Day,’ the good people of that town versus the hapless public officials who grapple with his legacy, how a weird conversation with Larry King inspired Cross’ latest book, the divisiveness of Cobain in his work and lifestyle, how Cross viewed Cobain after finishing his biography Heavier Than Heaven, grappling with Cobain’s suicide and how his life was shadowed by its prospect, how making music and art actually may have prolonged his life, how dwelling upon Cobain proves to be insightful as a writer and fan, holding Kurt’s suicide note and reading his journals, the infuriating crassness of cashing in on Cobain’s death, how Cross feels he’s now said all he can say about Cobain, how he’s struck this close, trusting association with Courtney Love, the latest about the biopic that will supposedly be based upon Heavier Than Heaven, the Nirvana song “Sliver,” and more.

Related links: charlesrcross.com youritlist.com nirvana.com vishkhanna.com

herewearenow

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Categories
News Podcast

Ep. #38: Krist Novoselic

Krist Novoselic is an American musician. filmmaker, author, columnist, and political advocate who has played in bands like Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift, Flipper, and, on occasion Foo Fighters. He is best known for playing bass in the Washington State-based rock trio, Nirvana, which he co-founded in the mid-1980s with the late singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain. In the past few months, Novoselic has made the odd live appearance with fellow Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Pat Smear in a unique collaboration with Paul McCartney. Nirvana’s final album was an amazing one called In Utero, which came out in September 1993 and to honour its 20th anniversary, a special edition of the album with lots of cool additions is set to be released by Geffen on Sept. 24. So Krist and I spoke briefly about this.

Related links: nirvana.com vishkhanna.com

nirvana

Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.

Podcast: Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS