Apologue Podcast

Toronto’s melodic punk lifers Wasting Time are back with their new single “Ripped Blue Jeans”, out December 12 via People of Punk Rock Records. It’s a nostalgic rush of anthemic hooks and heart-on-sleeve energy that could’ve soundtracked any MTV’s 120 Minutes marathon. The track captures that feeling of late 90s freedom, cracked sidewalks, stickered guitars, the smell of sweat and stale beer in community-hall venues, and long summer nights when the world still felt small enough to dream your way out of it. Formed in 2017, Wasting Time has steadily built a catalog rooted in melody and sincerity: five EPs, three full-length albums, and a streak of singles that echo the honesty and grit of Alkaline Trio, No Use for a Name, MxPx, Blink-182, and Green Day. Their latest release, Hurry Up and Wait, cemented their reputation as one of Canada’s most reliable carriers of melodic punk tradition, and “Ripped Blue Jeans” only deepens that lineage. Mixed and mastered by Matt Gauthier at Arc Studios, the single offers the first taste of their upcoming full-length, Are You Out Of Your God Damn Mind?, due out in the new year. The song hums with the spirit of a simpler time, before algorithms and playlists, when discovery meant burning mix CDs or catching a new band between Tony Hawk Pro Skater soundtracks. You can almost see the baggy Dickies, chain wallets, and flannel shirts tied at the waist. It’s a nod to every kid who ever scribbled lyrics in the margins of a school binder or fell asleep to Dookie playing on repeat. Wasting Time capture that pulse without imitation; it’s not nostalgia for its own sake, but a reminder of why those songs mattered in the first place. Wasting Time Online INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | X | YOUTUBE | TIKTOK Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Mason Lowe, drummer of Seattle’s feel-good classic rock outfit Bread & Butter, returns with his second solo release, ,Crashes Your Party out October 10, 2025, on Bubblebutt Records. The two-song 7” single explores the highs and lows of a self-destructive flameout, pairing swaggering fuzz and reckless charm with tender introspection. Together, the songs tell the story of a character who burns bright and fast, and the quieter aftermath that follows. “I’m drawn to people who are kinda outlaws,” Lowe explains. “They’re bold, they’re surprisingly smart. They can be troubled, they do things on their own terms. I’m the opposite. I worry about everything. I’m wondering what other people are thinking… I’m worrying right now!” Lowe continues, “I’m drawn to people with that wild energy – some of my best friends are wild! The story arc in this pair of songs is something I’ve seen up close… many times. I put it to music.” The dark, groovy A-side “I’m Not Sorry” comes barreling through your speakers like the Kool-Aid Man to “punch a hole in the scene in the shape of my body.” Fuzz bass and layered rhythms belie the narrator’s inflated ego, while unusual instrumentation like bass harmonica and xylophone create an unsettling, “bad fun” vibe. Its counterpart, the sweet and melancholy B-side “Crashin’ In,” reveals the tenderness behind the bravado. “I was so dang proud of that song,” Lowe says. “And I just wasn’t ready to let go of that character. So I looked at this lost person and rolled back the clock. What high were they coming down from? What was a night with this guy like before everything fell apart?” Following his acclaimed 2023 debut Morning People on Killroom Records, Lowe continues to expand on the sunny, harmony-rich world he built in his basement during the pandemic. Where Morning People was bright and sentimental, Crashes Your Party leans darker and more cinematic, yet still sparkles with Lowe’s signature mix of humor, hooks, and heart. The two sides connect lyrically and emotionally, with lines that mirror one another from song to song, verse to verse. As always, there’s a wink behind the melancholy, the kind that makes you hum along while wondering if you should maybe call your therapist. MASON LOW ONLINE INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | BANDCAMP | WEBSITE |TIKTOK | TWITTER Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Oakland power pop band The Goods return with Don’t Spoil the Fun, their first full-length album, arriving October 24th, 2025 via Dandy Boy Records. Written and produced by frontman Rob Good (Ryli) in his Oakland studio, the record captures the band’s signature mix of jangling guitars, big melodic hooks, and heartfelt songwriting. Joined by bassist Cherron Arens and guitarist Gabriel Monnot, Good channels the classic shimmer of The Byrds and Big Star with the energy of Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet – crafting songs that feel both familiar and fresh. The album’s focus track and accompanying video, “Sunday Morning Out of the Blue,” also arrives October 24. It’s about the push and pull of trying to make a relationship work  –  the kind of argument that leaves you both worn out and closer at the same time. Built around bright guitars and melodic basslines, the song captures that uneasy calm after a fight, when things finally start to make sense again. Across its eleven tracks, Don’t Spoil the Fun explores the search for love, connection, and meaning with warmth and empathy. “These songs were written over the last five years – some of them even pre-date our first EP,” says Good. “We recorded several versions before finally landing on something that felt right. This album is us leveling up our sound and finding our own style.” From the chiming immediacy of lead single “April Fools” to the wistful reflection of “Remember,” the album moves fluidly between exuberant and introspective moods. “Photograph” memorializes a lost Oakland venue, The Golden Bull, where The Goods played their first show, while “Aurora” celebrates staying rooted instead of chasing dreams elsewhere. “Me and My Ghost” turns a song written for a friend into a self-reflection on solitude, and “Keep It Safe” closes the album with a gentle reminder to protect one’s mental health amid chaos. With their blend of bright guitars, fuzz-drenched hooks, and honest storytelling, The Goods craft a record that balances classic influences with a distinctly modern heart. Don’t Spoil the Fun arrives October 24, 2025 on Dandy Boy Records. D I S C O V E R Bandcamp: https://dandyboyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dont-spoil-the-funInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_goods_musicYoutube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpoBK9seWqis1TndDBjI4vQSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2MPqTq6PBP2ZEWnNQEhVqB Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Toronto’s pop-punk powerhouse The Mendozaz are set to unleash their most ambitious and hilarious work to date, the eight-song concept EP The Completely Fictional History of This Great Nation of Canada, out November 3 on Cartridge Heart. Fronted by guitarist-vocalist Jonny alongside Michael on vocals and bass and Dic on drums, The Mendozaz have carved their name into Toronto’s punk scene with relentless touring, wild live shows, and anthems built for gang shouts, beer spills, and grinning through the chaos. They’ve long been known for wrapping sharp hooks in self-aware humor, but on this record they go bigger, faster, and louder, with a clear mission to turn every basement, bar, and festival stage into a frenzy. The EP is bookended by a pair of songs so preposterously profane that reinforcements were needed. Members of Joan Smith and the Jane Does and The Meringues were brought in to provide extra fuel for the f-bombs. All songs were written by The Mendozaz and recorded between This Place Needs A Name and Arc Recording Studio by Matt Gauthier (Handheld, Wasting Time), who also handled mixing and mastering. The result captures the reckless charm of their live show while pushing their storytelling and arrangements into sharper, stranger, and funnier territory. The accompanying video-single “A Piercing Shriek of Death” sets the tone perfectly. “This was the first song written for this record,” says Jonny. “It’s based on a very-true Canadian legend that we made up about an expedition of ice fishers being eaten alive by a school of great white sharks near Hudson Bay. I had an old recording of an instrumental jam we did six or seven years ago that I really liked. I channeled my inner Serj and came up with something unlike anything we’ve ever done. When recording the demo our engineer almost fell out of his chair laughing during the blood curdling scream. He’s okay (I think). I needed to be authentic while channeling the plight of the victims of this totally-legit horrible tragedy. Thoughts and prayers.” It’s a mix of heavy riffs, absurd humor, and unflinching commitment that defines the EP as a whole.THE MENDOZAZ ONLINE INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | WEBSITE Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Welcome to Episode 400!! Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, musician, actor, radio host, and man-about-town originally from Cleveland, Ohio but now living in New York City in a totally sweet apartment with a party deck and everything. Hot chicks come over to hang out and eat cheese plates and stuff with him all the time and it’s awesome. Anyway, on the show business front, Dave has appeared on Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Adult Swim’s Joe Pera Talks with You Amazon’s The Tick, Peacock TV’s Girls5Eva, Comedy Central’s @midnight and Inside Amy Schumer programs, TBS’ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TV Land’s The Jim Gaffigan Show, and TruTV’s Comedy Knockout among a bunch of others. He is a frequent on-air host for HBO and Cinemax and has been on channels like MTV, VH1, BBC-America, and the Sundance Channel a whole bunch too. Dave also starred in his own television program The King of Miami on the Mojo Network, which was cancelled even though Dave really liked it. The show also aired in the United Kingdom on Sky TV’s Film24 Channel. And you can still watch The King of Miami on Hulu too, which Dave is super pumped about. Oh, and Dave was a correspondent on Hoppus on Music starring Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus on the Fuse channel, which ruled. Dave has been on other shows and in obscure movies too but let’s keep moving for now. Dave performs live comedy over the world and has appeared at such festivals as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, SXSW, San Francisco Sketchfest, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Sasquatch Festival, Bumbershoot, Bonnaroo, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, the Crap Comedy Festival in Oslo, Outside Lands in San Francisco, and then some other ones too. He has also performed comedy at Sing Sing Correctional Facility twice and even ripped some guitar solos inside a Mexican prison a couple times too. In 2007, Variety magazine named Dave one of their “10 Comedians to Watch,” something he still won’t shut up about. Some things are hard to let go of. Dave hosted his own radio show The Goddamn Dave Hill Show on WFMU in Jersey City, New Jersey every Monday night from 9pm to midnight for years and now hosts the podcast Dave Hill’s Podcasting Incident, which is also broadcast on the UK’s Fubar Radio, So…You’re Canadian with Dave Hill, and History Fluffer, on which he is joined by Jim Biederman, Jodi Lennon, and Chris Gersbeck. Dave is also a frequent contributor to public radio’s Live from Here with Chris Thile and  This American Life. He has also appeared on podcasts like WTF with Marc Maron, The Adam Carolla Show, The Nerdist, and then roughly 78 other ones besides those. Dave is the author of four books, including his brand new book The Awesome Game: One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey, in addition to Parking the Moose (Doubleday Canada/Penguin Random House 2019), Tasteful Nudes (St. Martins Press, 2012) and Dave Hill Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Blue Rider Press 2016). He has also written for the New York Times, GQ, Salon, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, New York Observer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, VICE, Guitar World, and a bunch of other places too. Comedy legend Dick Cavett called Dave “a major figure among American comic writers, past and present,” which is pretty much the coolest thing that has ever happened as far as Dave is concerned. Dave is also a musician who currently sings and plays guitar in the power pop band Valley Lodge, whose song “Go” is the theme song to HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the psych/garage rock band Painted Doll. He was also a member of Cleveland rock bands Sons of Elvis and Cobra Verde as well as Diamondsnake, a heavy metal band with Moby. Additionally, Dave has played guitar for Walter Schreifels and muscle metal band Thor and bass for Lucy Wainwright Roche and former Faith No More singer Chuck Mosley. He also contributed musical scores to films such as Dirty Deeds, Shoot First and Pray You Live, and then some other ones besides those two. Additionally, Dave’s mostly imaginary Norwegian Black Metal Band Witch Taint is currently bringing its own disturbing brand of comedy and music to audiences all over the world after having existed merely as an absurb email chain for over a decade. They’ve also sold a lot of T-shirts. Dave has made out with a lot of chicks, is sweet at guitar, and smells really great. You can ask anyone. Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Friendly Rich is a composer from Brampton, Canada.  Mr. Rich has composed background music for 3 seasons of MTV’s The Tom Green Show.   Since 1994, he has recorded exclusively for his own eclectic record label, The Pumpkin Pie Corporation, and in Europe more recently by Hazelwood Records. Rich just completed his PhD in Music Education from the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Lee Bartel.  His doctoral research was on musical playgrounds as a vehicle for community development. Friendly Rich’s music has brought his toured to New York, Montreal, Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Prague.  In early 2008, Friendly’s music was released in Europe by Hazelwood Records, and the Lollipop People successfully toured there every year since then, playing such festivals as the Fusion Festival in Germany and the Balkan Fever Festival and Danube Festival in Vienna.  He has also presented The Lollipop People at several Canadian festivals including Guelph Jazz Festival, Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, Halifax Jazz Festival, Newfoundland Music on the Rocks and at the Western Front in Vancouver.  Over the years, The Lollipop People have performed alongside such artists as Of Montreal, The Tiger Lillies, Trevor Dunn, and Amanda Palmer.       Friendly Rich’s is set to release a new studio recording, Man Out of Time on the label, We Are Busy Bodies in 2023 followed by a European and Canadian tour. Things are busy with Friendly Rich and The Pumpkin Pie Corporation, but as Friendly says, “one can either produce, or become produce”.   Photo Credit – Jim Tobin D I S C O V E RWebsite: http://www.friendlyrich.comBandcamp: https://friendlyrich.bandcamp.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendlyrichFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/friendlyrichTwitter: https://twitter.com/Friendly_RichYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/friendlyrichSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1SWneDpUI2N0Bz46xl1cg5?si=zo59VzLcR9mAZr6F_m9ksg Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends

Lillian King’s debut album In Your Long Shadow arrives October 24th via Pronounced Kroog, with its first advance single “Tiber Creek” landing August 26th. Written shortly after the passing of her father, “Tiber Creek” offers a haunting glimpse into the album’s emotional landscape, transforming a simple walk across Washington, D.C. into something expansive and meditative. Her father’s ritual walks to the hospital along the National Mall, past memorials, monuments, and the invisible flow of Tiber Creek buried beneath the city, anchor the song’s vivid imagery. Lillian’s voice, warm and mournful, carries a quiet intensity through every line, reflecting on place, memory, and the way certain moments linger long after everything else changes. “Tiber Creek” also marks the beginning of Lillian’s collaboration with Spencer Krug, whose indie rock resume needs little introduction—Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Moonface. Krug, who rarely steps outside his own projects, connected deeply with Lillian’s stripped-back performances while on tour together in 2024. Signing her to his label, Pronounced Kroog, was instinctive. That rare co-sign lends weight here, but Lillian’s voice carries the story, elevated by her bandmates Robert Salazar (drums) and Nick DePrey (keys), with producer Jack Henry shaping the soundscape. The track leans into mood more than spectacle: dusty drums, upright bass, and creaky piano lines swirl around Lillian’s singular vocal tone. The arrangement leaves room for quiet moments to land, capturing the bittersweet ache of mid-winter reflection. This is indie-folk at its most elemental, echoing the timelessness of Bill Callahan or Sharon Van Etten, but with a wind-whipped edge that’s entirely Lillian’s. Photo Credit: Kirsten Southwell LILLIAN KING ONLINE INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP Checkout my YouTube Channel with long form interviews from the Subversives | the History of Lowest of the Low. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuxFWKuRdmn9j8UTW6AHwS_fAlso my Weekly Tour Vlog is up an live on the YouTubeshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9d1VSeOHYuwphwhc4zd0VgY66f1OUQZp Pledge monthly with Patreon https://www.patreon.com/apologueShop Apologue products at http://apologue.ca/shopCheck out new Four Square Here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/brighton-beach-ephttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/seven-oh-sevenhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/industry-at-home–21st-anniversary-remix-remasteredhttps://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/foursquare/when-weeks-were-weekends