ATX Metal Podcast

As with all things COIVD-19, things are becoming more and more hectic. There was some technical difficulties getting this one going but, they made it. Practicing for the band is tough as Cameron (guitarist) lives just north of Austin while the rest of the band lives in Houston. Cameron works in landscaping and for him, things haven't changed too much but he can tell that things are different.Like with most people, Adrian (vocals) has seen a drop in hours where he works as a line cook. Hes down to 25 hours a week but he is still happy that he has work. He talks about how where he lives, things are still pretty active as far as people going out into public and taking the advice from local officials in regards to stay at home orders.The Monster Inside had plans on going back to their producer in Louisiana but plans have changed. They just released the song "My Mark", which is the featured song in today's episode and its good. They go over how they made the song and whats to come for the band in the future. Adrian also talked about how hard it was to bring this thing home to completion.

Seth joined the band Oh, Sleeper late 2018 and made it official early 2019. If you are not familiar with Oh, Sleeper then you should hit pause and go check out their discography. Its solid (and a personal fav). Seth went on about the beginning of the tour and how everyone got along really well. The line up was stacked with Thousand Below and Bloodline (up and coming band form Dallas, TX). But sadly, the tour had to come to a close with the spreading pandemic and shut downs. Seth explained that he was more at risk to catch/spread the virus because he was behind the merch table, high-fiving and shaking hands with fans. This is just a part of the job but at the same time, he was taking this into account as he has members in his family that may be a little more vulnerable to the virus. The last thing any of us want to do it be the cause of someones sickness, regardless of the circumstances. Seth said something that stood out. He said that Seth said that he found himself in a round about state of grief and that that was ok. In today's environment of mental health being on the fore-front of a lot of conversations, doing what you love (like being a touring musician) and having that taken from you can take a toll on a a persons mental state. Seth also lets us take a peek into his home life and the struggles of actually being home.He also lets Ryan know that there maybe be something cool coming from Oh, Sleeper on Twitch so stay tuned. Words of wisdom from Seth to follow: "Your band is your ice cream shop. No one gives a f**k that you make ice cream. A lot of people make ice cream. Its what you do to get people to come back for your ice cream." ~ S.W. 2020The song featured in today's episode is "The Island" off Oh, Sleepers latest album "Bloodied / Unbowed"Photo credit : @aadamstokes

John is a busy man. From being an EMS tech on an ambulance as a day job, John also is the vocalist for his band Snake Father. As with everything COVID-19, John has to step up his precautions while on the job. He explains that they are treating everyone as though "they are hot, until they are not". Playing it safe on a daily basis is an understatement for his line of work. John goes into some details about what he is seeing and hearing about the virus as it continues to plague us as a whole.John took Snake Father from Corpus Christi to Austin in 2018 and hasn't hit the brakes yet. When he got here, he didn't know anyone and had to try and see where he and his brand fit in. From its creation, it started out as a solo project where John wrote it all from his apartment. SF has gone through a couple line up changes but that hasn't stopped the passion and the drive. Now John finds himself yet again in his apartment with time on his hands. During the down time, SF went to The Noiz Faktory Recording Studios in Georgetown, TX to take advantage of the mandatory down time. Eric Meyer is the owner and operator of The Noiz Faktory and he opened his doors to multiple bands during the quarantine so that they could get some solid content to share with their fans while they are stuck at home. John takes us back to his time there and how happy he was with the result. *** And if you think you have the chops as a guitarist and would be a good fit, SF is currently on the hunt for one.The song featured in today's episode is Snake Fathers single " Davidian" and can be found on all major platforms

As Ryan has been making the rounds on people to call, he saw it fitting to contact a local doctor to get the words from those on the front lines. Christine has been practicing medicine for a long time and is now faced with something that no one has seen. COVID-19 is a new strain of virus that has spread causing a global pandemic. Cedar Park isn't a large metro area but yet is a fairly large suburb of Austin and so far Texas hasn't seen an extreme number of cases. We haven't seen any major upticks in our area but that doesn't mean that it can't happen so she has to be ready for what is to come.Dr. Mann has a direct impact on her community and has decided to run for Congress to represent District TX-31. She has to win the run off coming up soon so make sure you get out there and vote. She is trying to unseat John Carter. She talks about her campaign and also her amazing staff. Dr. Mann was recently featured on a NOW THIS Politics ad recently published on Facebook. She also talks about her loss two years ago but how that hasn't deterred her or her passion.The audio heard at the beginning of the episode was from "Coronavirus (COVID-19) PSA - Pop Culture MashUp" and I highly recommend you heard over to the the Freeman Show YT channel to watch the entire thing. Its amazing!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEgQ8AAlG8A

In today's episode, Ryan talks with one of his best friends, Shane Miller. Shane and Ryan have been friends around a decade. Shane and Ryan formed a bond over performance cars which then lead to metal. Shane recently moved back to the Round Rock/Austin area and is glad that he did, partly because now he can attend local shows again.As with most things these days, you need a good source of news. The guys really show their love for NPR and good, fact-based reporting so that they can get accurate information brought to them. It is really important to make sure the news you are consuming is valid.Shane has been turning wrenches for a long, long time. He is currently working at a body shop as a mechanical technician. Like he said, "I don't make it look good but I can get it from A to B". Ryan also is a wrench turner and this is one of the areas where they can relate to each other. Shane explains what his company is doing to help their employees even though they had to lay some people off. Ryan and Shane go on at length about the automotive field and discuss creating a podcast about do's and dont's for up and coming technicians.The song featured in today's episode is "Swaggart" by Bury The Rod #supportlocal

Anthony has been running CATIP (Come and Take It Productions) for over a decade. Chris and Ryan met Anthony at Dirty Dog Bar here in Austin TX when they began the Podcast in Nov 2014. CAITP has been supporting the Podcast since 2015 to present. Anthony has grown his business over the years but has also helped grow the local metal/rock scene as well.Since Anthony is one of the bigger players in our community, he has been affected in major way. From booking, promoting and hosting live shows at his venue and at other locations, he has had to make a lot of adjustments. For example, some shows are booking out as far as Summer 2021. Needless to say, scheduling is a nightmare. His band, Critical Assembly, recently released a new EP in March, 2020. They also went down to Mexico for Heaven and Hell Fest with 40k+ people there. This was when things were beginning to really ramp up in the US but, down in Mexico, things were a little more laid back. He recounts his time there."Nothing good came come from some room temp gin that has been stuffed in a fanny pack on a grown ass man" ~ Anthony StevensonThe song heard in today's episode is "Moonwalk Backflip" by Critical Assembly

Well, nothing new to report from here except that Ryan is still in his closet calling people.In this episode, Andy Flores from Xposed Underground was kind enough to take the call.Andy is making due during the COVID-19 pandemic. He owns and operates his own mobile mechanic service. His wok has slowed but he still has customers, mainly consisting of military servicemembers. Ryan can empathize as he is also a mechanic by day. He describes how he goes aboutbeing safe when it comes to interacting with his customers.Andy is also well known down in San Antonio when it comes to the metal/live music scene. He runs Xposed Underground which came from two ideas: An old show on MTV called "Reverb" and being involved in the local music scene. He books/promotes shows at this really cool locationin SA called Vibes Event Center which contains The Rockbox and Vibes Underground. He also has done work at Fitzgerald's and a couple other spots around that neck of the woods. There's also some big news inside. The ATX Metal Podcast and Xposed Underground are teaming up to bring even more of a spotlight to local metal/rock in the San Antonio and Austin area. Andy goes into his first show for Xposed and how it has grown. Andy has been involved in metal since he was in high school since 2001. They talk aboutdays of The White Rabbit and how he came up in the scene. His band, Evol Assassins, play around Texas and he chats about how his band does what they do. He tells us about one ofhis last shows that they opened up for the headliner, Cold. He thought they sucked. The fanstold him otherwise.Ryan has found a new source of metal on his local radio. 93.3 HD3 for No Control Radiothe song featured in today's episode is "Memory" by Evol Assassins

Like most people today, Drake is just like the rest dealing with all that is COVID-19. With the majority of the country practicing social distancing, work and band life have taken some turns. Drake, working in construction, has seen a dip but is hopeful that things will pick back up. One of the things he is noticing is that he is seeing families spending more time together outside. Taking walks, playing, kids riding their bikes. Even during tough times, somehow people are still enjoying themselves the best they know how.Oddfellas is relatively new to the podcast as far as their music and performances. About two years ago, Ryan happened to be a judge for the Heaven and Hell Fest Battle that took place at Come and Take It Live in Austin, Tx. Drake goes into how he didn't think they had a shot but his drummer talked him into it. With an 8+ hour drive (one way), little money to spare and big dreams in their back pockets, they made the trip to the battle. Drake explains how he listened to the other bands at the battle and felt they didn't have a good shot at winning.Rounding out the episode, Drake lets us know that Oddfellas is coming out with something fresh, different in the coming months. They will be releasing the single "Cold" which has a new feel to it vs their older catalog. He also informs us that they have recorded some "live" sessions but made some adjustments for the best quality. If you want to reach Oddfellas, hit them up on Twitter where they are pretty active. The song heard in today's episode is "Dead" of their self-titled album "Oddfellas".

*DISCLAIMER* (Ryan and Robert really nerd out on the gear)Ryan reached out to Robert to see what things were like down in the RGV area where Robert lives. Robert is in telecommunications and has been for a long time for his line of work. They talk about how he hasn't been impacted too much due to being able to remotely work. The slight change is that the kids are home and he feels like its summer time. He advises them to grab a spoon and go dig in the dirt like we used to, haha. Ryan reflects on his childhood and trying to split a boulder to find quartz.As for the band, they are a regularly practicing band since they live close. But with the COVID-19 pandemic, they can no longer practice in person and have to resort to other means. Robert and Ryan go way into detail about how they have worked around their "in house issues" such as WiFi signal and solutions. It really was boring. Fortunately, Robert tells us how they "Train-wreck" their songs into existence. There was more rambling about WiFi and gear.The song heard in this episode is "In The End We Died" off their album "Possession"

Saul Castillo is a good buddy that wears many hats. Vocalist, Guitarist, Videographer and more. Ryan calls to check in. Saul works in the service industry so he was directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He has had to stay home due to his work place reducing staff. Saul goes into detail about how he has been working with Eric Meyer of the Noiz Faktory here in Georgetown, TX. Since the social distancing makes going to live shows hard to do, they are having bands perform in the studio so they can film it and share it with the fans. You can check out those videos on their YouTube Channels. Ryan goes on a rant about supporting local music which means, when things go back to normal one day, don't forget about those that helped others during these times.

In the on going phone calls, Ryan rings up Hanna Barakat to see how she is doing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hanna is doing ok and is taking it day by day like the rest of us. She is a full time musician here in Austin, TX and was really impacted when venues and events started calling it quits. She had plenty of gigs lined up but one by one, they started dropping. That is when she knew, something was up.To re-live memories from the past, Ryan and Hanna talk about how the band was formed. Lisa, their drummer, went to Berkeley with Hanna. Lisa was on a road trip and Hanna asked her to stop in and play a set during ACL (Austin City Limits Fest). Hanna talks about that and how they found Anthony (guitarist) and goes on to tell how she found Ali (bass).Later in the show, they discuss HAAM (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians) and how they are a crucial life line for Austin musicians and some of the services they provide. Ryan finds it odd that Hep C treatment has been singled out and wonders, whats up with that?

As we continue on the journey to talk to the locals, we come to find that both Andy and Blake have been directly affected in their personal lives. We continue to hear that the local band members have been affected due to a lot of them working in the service industry. Andy works in construction and has had to take time off like many others.The good news is that they haven't stopped writing new music. The guys in Koningsor announce some thing new and upcoming that should be good news for fans. The guys talk about some of the services that they could offer during times of need such as mowing lawns and walking children with drones. Ryan throws out the idea to add shock collars with geo-fencing. This idea may not pan out but who know.

As we continue on our journey to talk to a large amount of band members and people involved with our music scene, Ryan called Brandon, who is all the way in Hereford Texas and Dylan to talk about their day to day.Brandon goes into some detail about his current situation, which with the virus becoming a pandemic, was really bad timing for him in his efforts to move down to Austin Texas. The guys chat about 5G tower conspiracy causing the pandemic (yeah, its a thing), They talk about their writing process and the new single "Isolation" which you hear small clips of inside this episode. "Isolation" is the latest single from Doubting Thieves and can be found on all major platforms.

So, as everyone is aware, there's a pandemic going on with the COVID-19 virus. We are trying to do our part by staying indoors and social distancing and also, staying in contact with the locals.In this episode, Ryan has a conversation with Hunter Nagar of Chernobyl The Secret, a band based out of Austin, TX. They recently ventured off on tour (and made it back) in early March when the pandemic was really starting to pick up pace. They did a west coast run and Hunter did not have such a great first day or so which he explains a little more in detail.As for the band, they have been practicing in person twice a week to stay tight for the longest time but now have had to resort to staying home and working remotely. Hunter talks about how he is being personally affected as well.The music heard in this episode is Chernobyl's latest single "In Search of Solace". Hunter talks about his new found clean singing that is featured in this new track. Hunter also plays guitar in the band as lead and has a some tasty riffs for you as well.Enjoy!

Since the COVID-19 virus has quickly spread across the globe, we have all had to make adjustments in our lives. Some big, some small. Some of the hardest hit people are musicians. Especially the locals. Now that social distancing has been pushed to stay at home orders buy local governments, we have all been forced to try and figure out how to keep going.Ryan sets up show in his downstairs bedrooms closet due to not being able to go over to the studio at Chirs's house. For us, we have only lost the ability to do in person interviews but still have the audio platform to live on. On the other hand for people like Brien and CJ, they have had to make bigger adjustments.Ryan calls them both while "locked in the closet" to find out how they are coping with the pandemic.