Josh Zanger (Bloodshot Records)
SPB: The covers compilation for your 20th anniversary is rather extensive. When did you start work on gathering the cooperating artists?
Zanger: Everyone on staff made lists of acts that we’d love to hear cover Bloodshot artists - past and present - back in late 2013. Our collective list was pretty massive and had bands on it that would never do a cover song for our comp, but we tried anyways.
Nate Cook (The Yawpers) SPB: What’s the worst or harshest thing that’s happened to you in the middle of a tour? Cook: We were in Bern, Switzerland. I’d spent the last 6 months unable to move due to a collapsed disc in my neck. It had finally stopped crippling my … Read more
As 2019 comes to a close, we caught up with Bloodshot Records, a Chicago-based label that was founded in 1994. The label is celebrating 25 years in 2019. While an official compilation, Too Late to Pray: Defiant Chicago Roots marks that accomplishment (and we definitely think you should check it … Read more
Joshua Fleming (The Vandoliers) SPB: How do you describe your sound to strangers? Fleming: It’s Texas Music. Read more
Josh Fleming (Vandoliers) SPB: Take us through your gear setup from your last tour? Fleming: We roll around the country as a six-piece band, stuffing everything in to the back of a Ford Transit named Vannah Montana. I play a Gibson SJ200 and SJ100 ‘cause they are giant and I … Read more
Ruby Boots SPB: How does a musician’s politics affect your appreciation of them? Does it factor in, or can you separate the two ideas? Ruby: I feel like using the word 'politics' as opposed to morals and values adds to the great divide that we are currently living in, I … Read more
Courtney Ranshaw (Black Adidas) SPB: Is there an instrument that's central to "the Black Adidas sound"? Ranshaw: I’d like to showcase an instrument that’s central to one of the songs on the record and has made its way onto a few songs of ours over the years. This is our … Read more
Al (Dromedary Records) SPB: What keeps you interested in running a record label as time passes and your own life changes? What keeps you motivated? AL: I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years, and there have certainly been times where it slowed way down or I took breaks, … Read more
Greg Norton (Ultrabomb) SPB: Has the current political climate affected Ultrabomb and did it influence lyrical content? Norton: Yes, absolutely. I’d say 80% of the lyrics for this album were written last summer as Trump was rolling out his gestapo squads, and the media’s lack of response to accurately reporting. Read more
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