Features / Interviews

An in-depth discussion with a band or artist, generally in the form of a straight Q&A – no editorializing.

Browse all 451 features in this category

Arms Aloft

Interviews • June 23, 2025

Remember Election Day 2024? Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you've blocked it out. That's fair, but there was one pleasant surprise that day: a new EP from Wisconsin's Arms Aloft. It took a while to claw out of the darkness in November, then Year End 2024 coverage took over the Scene Point Blank editorial calendar but now we caught up with Seth Gile of the band to get the story of how Red Lanterns came to be. Given that much of the conversation is about being particular, it seems fitting to run this interview six months later. The EP is streaming now. Will it be released on vinyl? Keep reading for more cryptic answers. Scene Point Blank: It's been a chunk of time since the last LP and I don't see you playing as many live shows locally either, though maybe that's just my own post-covid homebody lifestyle. How do you describe the band's approach or activity level these days? Seth Gile: Oh, I’d say you’re absolutely right. We’ve slowed down, more than a little bit… but it’s also been 8 years or whatever since What A Time came out. We were super busy for a couple of years and then, yeah. COVID hit everybody who does anything pretty hard, and we were no exception. Then everybody gets increasingly busy with real life. Lauren moved out west a while back, Jack’s had some sick guest spots all over, tattooing… and so on! Cool stuff but makes it harder to schedule Punk … Read more

Ilya Arbatman (Rotary Club)

Book store co-owner

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • May 13, 2025

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal … Read more

Chuck Ragan

Fly fishing tour guide

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • April 14, 2025

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 … Read more

Retirement

Bike Shop

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 23, 2025

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 … Read more

Sumu

Individual Coach

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • February 28, 2025

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal … Read more

Features / Interviews: browse all

Browse all 451 features in this category

Our series

We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.

  • Against Orthodoxy

    A regular series by Robert F.

  • Beyond Casual Observation

    A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.

  • Don't Quit Your Day Job

    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.

  • era vulgaris

    Guest column by T of Vegas

  • Feast with the Famine

    A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!

  • Fest 11

    A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida

  • Fest 12

    Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.

  • Fest 13

    SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.

  • Fest 16

    Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.

  • Fest 19

    Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.

  • Fest 20

    All our coverage from the long-running music festival

  • Fest 21

    Articles about the Fest 21

  • Fest 22

    Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.

  • History 101

    We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.

  • Jukebox Jury

    An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music

  • On The Air

    A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.

  • Only Death Is Real

    There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.

  • Remember that one time...?

    A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.

  • Running on Nothing

    Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.

  • Scatenato Ma Non Troppo

    We survey some of the other music releases out there.  Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.

  • Scene Point Local

    A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.

  • Table Talk

    Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table

  • The Greatest Story Ever Told

    A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career

  • The Set List

    A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".

  • What's That Noise?

    One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.

  • Year End 2012

    A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music

  • Year End 2013

    It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.

  • Year End 2014

    Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

  • Year End 2015

    Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.

  • Year End 2016

    Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.

  • Year End 2017

    Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.  

  • Year End 2018

    Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.

  • Year End 2019

    Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

  • Year End 2020

    Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.

  • Year End 2021

    Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).

  • Year End 2022

    Our favorite music and more from the year 2022

  • Year End 2023

    Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023

  • Year End 2024

    Our roundup of the best music—and more—of 2024.

All artists / bands / labels we've interviewed