Max Savage of Parquet Courts discusses their new album, Sympathy for Life, his big brother Andrew, seeing shows as a kid and playing the drums, Talking Heads, the Clash, and Pavement, civil unrest in America, future plans, and more! Supported by you on Patreon, Pizza Trokadero, the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad’s Donuts. Support Y.E.S.S. and Black Women United YEG. Follow vish online.
Janet Weiss is a tremendously powerful drummer based in Portland, Oregon. Weiss is originally from California and, over the past 20 years, has played in notable bands like Quasi, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Wild Flag, and Drumgasm among others and she has an administrative, behind-the-scenes position on the IFC show, Portlandia. She is most celebrated, however, for her essential role as the drummer in one of the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands, Sleater-Kinney. After going on an indefinite hiatus in 2006, Sleater-Kinney shocked fans by slyly and sneakily announcing a new album via a new box set towards the end of 2014. That album is the critically-acclaimed No Cities to Love, it’s out now on Sub Pop, and the band is touring behind it now, including a Toronto stop on March 2. Here, Janet and I discuss my 15 minute intro, Tony Kiewel and the secret message in the box, how No Cities to Love is all new songs, Quasi playing Touch and Go’s 25th anniversary show in Chicago and possibly covering AC/DC, how touring so much impacted the band, Sleater-Kinney’s chemistry, making magic in a tiny, airless basement, hanging out with Carrie a lot even after the band ended, playing together again for the very first time, touring again, surprises involving clowns, the song “Surface Envy,” and then it’s enough.
Related links: sleater-kinney.com subpop.com vishkhanna.com
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Palaceer Lazaro is the founder and frontman of the excellent and inventive Seattle hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces. Once known as Butterfly, one of three MCs in the pioneering group Digable Planets, Lazaro was born Ishmael Butler and his actions suggest that he was brought here to make a difference. The critically acclaimed new Shabazz Palaces album is called Lese Majeste, a wonderfully constructed seven-piece suite of 18 songs, which is out now via Sub Pop Records. Its creators have described Lese Majeste’s dizzying array of beats and rhymes as an attack and it’s true; there is revolution in the air whenever Shabazz Palaces touch down. They’re on tour throughout Europe now and have several upcoming North American dates, including stops at the Kool Haus in Toronto on November 21 and the Corona Theatre in Montreal on November 22. Here, Ish and I discuss what’s up in Seattle, attacking suckerism and materialism, aging out of hip-hop culture, acting young versus being youthful, actually contributing to the culture, necessary self-involvement and elevating your community and social media, when hip-hop became the powers that be, the song “Dawn in Luxor” and Egypt, a throughline between “lese majeste,” overtaking majesty, and Watch the Throne, calling people on shit but also not trusting everything we think we know about them, kids in Chicago and down south are the leaders of hip-hop, basketball and jazz, hearing “Rapper’s Delight” and Rakim’s “Eric B. is President/My Melody,” De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, Guelph and Portlandia and Seattle hippie mysticism and betterment, what’s next with the Black Constellation, the songs “Soundview,” “Ishmael,” “…down 155th in MCM Snorkel,” and then we out.
Related links: subpop.com/artists/shabazz_palaces vishkhanna.com
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