How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we caught up with Chuck Ragan, known as the gruffest voice of Hot Water Music and an impressive solo career. Besides music, Ragan is also a professional angler and fishing guide. Scene Point Blank: First, the basics. You are a fishing guide, is that your job title? Chuck Ragan: Yes. I’m a fly fishing guide and instructor. The vast majority of my trips are fly fishing but have always been set up to accommodate conventional anglers as well. Scene Point Blank: What does that mean in relation to your role at Cast Hope? Chuck Ragan: When I began guiding I started working with Cast Hope. I’d fallen in love with the cause and the mission of sharing the outdoors with youth and their mentors to help with awareness of our waterways and the importance of connecting with Mother Nature. Scene Point Blank: Do you guide people on rivers, primarily? Are you a boat captain as well? Chuck Ragan: I’m mostly working in rivers, yes, but also work in a number of our foothill lakes and reservoirs in Northern California. Some of the rivers I work are deemed navigable waters in which I have to have a merchant mariners credential, TWIC card and a … Read more
How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day … Read more
There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not … Read more
There is perhaps no bigger music fan than Peter Jesperson. His passion for music translated to jumping feet first and … Read more
What makes a gruff vocal melodic punk band stand out? That's the question I'm asking myself as I listen to Errth's debut on repeat. I've been playing this record for probably a month straight and I dig it. It checks the heart-on-sleeve style I enjoy but I'm struggling to figure out why, exactly. I think on this, it's the tones … Read more
If you read enough press releases, you start questioning if you even know what genre names mean. Post-punk has been one of the most abused terms of the past 2-3 years and it seems to mean wildly different things to different people. To me, it’s always meant an ear for angular guitars and noise atop more traditional song concepts. 1186 … Read more
Li Jianhong's philosophy surpasses the direct relationship of a musician with their instrument of choice. Instead, Li has advocated for Environment Improvisation, where the urge to create and improvise is established by the artist's surroundings. Looking at Li's website you can find numerous instances that inspired him to settle down and start improvising, drawing energy from the surroundings. The music … Read more
Some reviews are written after years of listening to a band and knowing nearly everything about them. Sometimes I listen to a record on repeat for weeks before I even look up the correct song titles – Deseos Primitivos (Primitive Desires) is the latter. This promo came to SPB as literally a one sentence quote about the band and its … Read more
Semi-feral punk outfit NightFreak are back with a self-titled LP filled with breakneck riffs and 70s metal bombast. The Chicago group haven’t slowed down since 2022’s Speed Trials but they … Read more
I’m pretty sure I became aware of Mike Krol when The Whiffs posted about playing some shows with him. Krol is a bit of an anomaly. Not only is he … Read more
I get a lot of music here at SPB and, unfortunately, my memory isn’t perfect. But I consider it a good sign when my first thought on hearing a new … Read more
When The Sketch opens, I find myself quickly thinking of “Got The Time” by Joe Jackson. For the most part, that comparison fades by the time the power chords kick … Read more
If I have to give the elevator pitch, I’ll call The Anomalys garage rock with an ear for surf and psyche rock -- turned up to 11 and blasted through … Read more
Lookers, of Rhode Island, release their new album Deeper today, and SPB is excited to premiere a video for the title track from their new album on Almost Ready Records. The band is equally mood, mysterious, seductive and somber, with influence that ranges from post-punk to pop. We asked vocalist … Read more
Just released in February, SPB’s featured stream for the month of March is a fierce and heavy split LP between Illinois bands Righteous Propaganda and Mycelium Cloak, out now -- … Read more
Joliette, a post-hardcore band from Mexico City, just shared a new single today in advance of their next album, Pérdidas Variables, which releases on June 20 via Persistent Vision Records. … Read more
New band ButcherBird has an EP out on May 30 via Drowning Sea God Records, Drought/Deluge. The label calls the band "extreme, proggy and punky with noises from pedals that … Read more
Museum of Light shared a standalone single recently, the song comes from the Diviner sessions, but didn't fit the mood of the album. The song notably features a spoken word … Read more
Kansas City noise-rock band Season To Risk recently released 1-800-MELTDOWN for Record Store Day (Init Records), following that up immediately with a run of live dates in the central US. … Read more
Scottish punk band Cleavers will release their debut album, Bad Luck, You Can Make It Next Time, on July 11 via Grievous Angles on LP, cd, cassette, and digitally. The … Read more
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