LONELIER THAN GOD

Today’s guest is DOMENIC PALERMO of the band NOTHING.

This past February, in-between tours of Japan & the U.S., they released their 5th album, A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY, on RUN FOR COVER RECORDS. It veers from raw downer lullabies to overdriven beat-based raptures of distortion, sometimes even within the same song.

Nothing will play their second album, TIRED OF TOMORROW, in full at all 6 dates of this year’s Slide Away Festival, which begins this Friday & Saturday (May 15th & 16th), in New York City, then moves to Chicago & L.A. the following weekends.

As everyone listening already knows, HUM are headlining those shows, marking their first live performances in almost 7 years.

Nicky started the festival in 2024, & it’s already featured a multi-generational variety of shoegaze-adjacent bands like Swervedriver, Astrobrite, Swirlies, Whirr, Knifeplay, Mo Dotti, & many others.

In this episode, we discuss the logistics of festival curation, night-capping at a pseudo-strip club, the weary routines of touring, the kaleidoscopic gloom of songwriting, & meeting Kevin Shields when you can barely stand up.

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SLIDE AWAY '26

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"VERTIGO FLOWERS" VIDEO

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TIMESTAMPS:
02:35: “Cannibal World” (Nothing)
04:07: Japan & M.B.V. Shows
18:24: Album Titles
22:08: Touring Logistics
24:29: Slide Away Prep & Production
32:00: Lineups, HUM, & '90s Influences
43:24: Tired of Tomorrow LP
49:39: “Vertigo Flowers” Song & Video
57:59: “Curse of the Sun” (Nothing)

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I’m joined today by JAY RYAN — bassist, guitarist, screenprinter, poster-maker, author, teacher, & longtime shining star in the HUM-verse.

For 3 decades, Jay’s been designing & making posters & prints at his studio THE BIRD MACHINE for artists ranging from HUM & Matt Talbott, to Stereolab, Melvins, Shellac, the Flaming Lips, Seam, & Silkworm, to his own band, DIANOGAH.

He’s published a trio of richly illustrated books brimming with his designs, from the 90s to now, with lots of helpful captions that situate the works in their respective times & places. The first book is called 100 Posters, 134 Squirrels, & it was followed by Animals & Objects In & Out of Water, & then No One Told Me Not to Do This. Links to everything below.

Dianogah recently released a discography box set titled 1995-2008, which compiles their 4 full-lengths & another LP of singles & compilation tracks. The sets have sold out, but you can still get the remastered audio from their Bandcamp, also linked below.

In addition to Dianogah, Jay plays in the live presentation of Chicago band THE MOST DISTANT OBJECT, who are set to release their second record, VOLITION, on May 4th.

In this episode, we discuss the productive limitations of screen printing, dig into the scratchy histories inside his images, & try to make sense of the ups & downs of the angsty bounce.

[We refer to quite a few posters during the conversation, & a PDF of those is linked below as well.]

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JAY'S BOOKS

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DIANOGAH

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THE MOST DISTANT OBJECT

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POSTERS WE DISCUSS

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TIMESTAMPS:
03:05 // "Lone Tree Point" (Dianogah)
04:11 // Line Work
11:50 // The Bird Machine
15:53 // Gig Poster as Concept & Challenge
24:25 // HUM Posters
32:42 // Matt Talbott Solo Posters
38:34 // Early '90s & Electra 2000
49:24 // "Pinch and Roll" Discussion
01:08:07 // "The Smallest Chilean" (Dianogah)

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Today’s conversation is with JONATHAN PEREZ, co-founder & guitarist of TRAUMA RAY.

This past February, they released their CARNIVAL EP, a highly recommended 5-song trip through the warped abstractions of the psyche. It takes their sound in more meditative & even ambient directions, while also intensifying the pulverizing riffs & rhythms they’re known for.

Following the success of their U.S. run with Loathe last fall, they’re just a couple weeks away from a nationwide co-headlining tour with GLIXEN, which goes from April 10 to May 16.

Jon also writes & records music as JUAN CORDERO, & he released his debut LP, SONGS ABOUT GHOSTS, via SUNDAY DRIVE RECORDS back on Halloween 2023. FFO: Duster, Bedhead, Lowercase, Sparklehorse, & so forth.

In this episode, we move song-by-song through the Carnival EP, talk about surviving the love/hate relationship with your own music, & explore the overlap between everyday life & the cosmos.

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CARNIVAL EP

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SPRING 2026 TOUR DATES

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SONGS ABOUT GHOSTS LP

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HUM @ CHINA CLUB / CHICAGO '93

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TIMESTAMPS:
02:30: "Chameleon"
03:44: Carnival Record Release Show
08:44: "Hannibal" Video
10:36: Carnival EP
14:18: "Carousel"
18:38: "Hannibal"
23:19: "Méliès"
28:50: "Funhouse"
34:12: "Clown"
40:03: HUM's Influence
42:36: "Liftoff"
47:32: "Pewter" Discussion
01:06:39: "Breath"

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Today’s guest is GABE VAN — producer, mixer, engineer, singer, songwriter, & guitarist.

He owns & operates AKIRA AUDIO in Woodland Hills, CA, where he’s done a wide range of in-house sound work across music, film, fashion, TV, & web media.

There he's recorded thousands of sessions, most frequently with drummers KELLII SCOTT of FAILURE & BEN KOLLER of CONVERGE.

He’s also gone on the road to do live sound with Failure, Autolux, Local Natives, & others.

His band MOSSBREAKER released their first album, Between the Noise & You, in 2017 on Glory Kid Records. Check the Bandcamp links below to hear that, along with an early EP, singles, & more recent demos. They opened for HUM & Mineral at the Regent Theater in LA in September 2015.

In this episode, we discuss finding your niche, the stress-tests of guitar tech'ing, & the way sound travels through the memory-space of time.

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https://www.akiraaudio.com

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https://mossbreaker.bandcamp.com/album/between-the-noise-and-you

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HUM on Modern Rock Live [1998]

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TIMESTAMPS:
02:25 // "Runway" (Mossbreaker)
03:37 // Akira Audio
07:53 // Recording Schools
12:55 // Working with Ken Andrews
19:55 // "Between the Noise & You" (Mossbreaker)
23:06 // Hearing HUM
26:45 // "Ms. Lazarus" Discussion
49:31 // "Shamer" (Mossbreaker)

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Today’s guest is TOM WINDISH — a highly respected veteran booking agent, manager, A&R executive, & label owner.

Across three decades, he’s worked at every level of the music industry, from booking shows out of his college dorm room to navigating the global circuits of some of music’s biggest names. His booking roster has included artists of many genres, ranging from HUM, New Radiant Storm King, & Smog to Billie Eilish, M83, & Lorde.

He’s also a frequent speaker at music industry conferences, sharing his experience & guidance with audiences around the world.

In this episode, we talk about bringing bands to campus, the complexities of long-distance calling, & what appeared on HUM’s very first rider.

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TIMESTAMPS:
02:08: Mowing Lawns, Buying Tapes
03:43: College Radio & Booking Bands
10:55: Poster Children & HUM @ Campus Pub
14:33: Venue Networks
16:51: Long-Distance Calls
19:23: Reconnecting with HUM
22:29: Howard Stern Show
26:43: Alternative Boom
33:50: "Yume Utsutsu" (Lamp)

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