Propagandhi Archives - Page 2 of 2

The Rutabega is a two-piece pop-infused rock band consisting of Joshua Wayne Hensley and Garth Mason. Based in South Bend, Indiana, the Rutabega began some 15 years ago, as a solo outlet for Hensley’s fragile yet strong songwriting. In 2011, he connected with Mason, a multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer, who has bolstered the Rutabega to become this mighty, beloved musical force. In the summer of 2016, Comedy Minus One released the band’s excellent record Unreliable Narrator, and the Rutabega have been playing select shows ever since, including upcoming dates on October 15 in South Bend, Indiana, on October 20 in Chicago, Illinois, and October 21 in Mattawan, Michigan. Here, Josh and Garth and I discuss high rotation Rutabega, Jay Arner and Jay II and my family’s love affair with both, down in the Bad Breath Club, getting my head around South Bend, the Studebaker Car Company Factory there that shut down decades ago, South Bend on the mend, an openly gay Mayor in Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Governor Mike Pence, progressive bubbles, whether or not most Americans want to discuss the presidential election, good versus evil, living through history, music as a realm expressing one’s thoughts about the whole world, new songs, personal and political, creativity and hopefulness, the band Space and Noise Productions, Josh’s early solo recordings and the origins of the Rutabega, nicknames Josh’s dad gave him, questioning answers, a rutabaga, a Studebaker, how Garth encountered Josh and then joined him in a band, multi-instrumentalism, Jon Solomon should’ve better prepped me for this interview, all of the instruments that Garth can almost play, South Bend’s segregated music communities, the city’s dubious crime history, Indiana music pride, “my favourite music is made by my friends,” discovering other good bands when you’re in a band, Canadindiana, Sloan, the Weakerthans, Propagandhi, Neil Young, Weed, Eric’s Trip, thoughts on Canada, the Inbreds and Mike O’Neill’s bass playing, the evolution of the Rutabega, 2013’s Brother The Lights Don’t Work, the Rutabega’s future, the song “Problem Solving Skills,’ the finer distinctions between the American and Canadian versions of ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ and that was it.

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therutabega

Related links: comedyminusone.com/bands/the-rutabega vishkhanna.com

John Darnielle is one of the most esteemed songwriters working today. Currently based in Durham, North Carolina, he is the founder and leader of a beloved contemporary folk and rock band called the Mountain Goats who have been prolific over the past 25 years and praised for their infectious, impassioned, and vivid songs. In 2008, Darnielle’s first book, Black Sabbath: Master of Reality, was published as a unique, fictional entry in Bloomsbury’s 33 ⅓ music series and he has also contributed a regular column called “South Pole Dispatch” in the American heavy metal magazine, Decibel. This past September, HarperCollins published Darnielle’s second book, Wolf in White Van, a dark, dizzying novel about isolation and connection and interpersonal impact that was promptly longlisted for a National Book Award. Here, John and I discuss active, entertaining three year-olds that don’t always sleep so well, parent partiality, the unique temporal structure of Wolf in White Van, mapping out the characters and getting to know them and the story, the famous case of Judas Priest being taken to court by parents after their children shot themselves, heavy metal, the fictional role-playing game Trace Italian, sci-fi and D&D, playing games with Jason Morningstar, trying on new identities, collective creative engagement and the life of the mind, typification and sub-genres, formulating the Trace Italian game that’s depicted in the book, why Sean Phillips created this role-playing game while he was in the hospital for doing an inexplicable thing, playing a game where you can only advance via mail order instructions, life and limitations, generating questions, the role music may or may not play in this book, not leaving music behind, Laurel & Hardy get chased by the alphabet, getting a typewriter at six years old, whether or not he might be good at most things, the book not the song, what’s coming up next for him and the Mountain Goats, a book tour might be more exhausting than a music tour, going dancing or seeing Robert Plant live, dad clocks, cooking on the road, coming to Canada and why crossing the border can be an unpleasant experience, how Propagandhi is the best, border guard mind games, other people have it worse, the song “Today’s Empires, Tomorrow’s Ashes” by Propagandhi, and that was it.

Related links: mountain-goats.com vishkhanna.com

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