Joining me today from Evanston, IL is ALLEN EPLEY — singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist, & loop-maker — of the bands SHINER, THE LIFE & TIMES, & BIRDHANDS.
Shiner’s about a week away from the second half of their fall tour, with upcoming dates starting October 4th in Lawrence, KS, then moving across the north- & southwest for a couple weeks after.
Those shows will, in part, celebrate the release of THE Y SECTION, a career-spanning collection of b-sides, loosies, & rarities, out October 9 via SPARTAN RECORDS. In early November, they’ve got 4 dates in Japan: one night in Kyoto & Nagoya, & two in Tokyo.
Their excellent 2025 record, BELIEVEYOUME, which we talk about later in the episode, came out just over a year ago this month, also on Spartan. Links below.
From 2019 to 2025, he hosted THIRD GEAR SCRATCH, a podcast about the practical realities of making art today & what it takes to survive creatively in a mostly unforgiving world. There are many many great conversations, but definitely tune into the interview he recorded live @ Fitzgerald’s with Matt Talbott, if you haven’t already. That’s episode 100. It’s a rare view into Matt’s creative process & projects, direct from the source. Link below.
So check out all of that, along with Allen’s other projects The Life & Times, BirdHands, his solo record Everything, & his lesser-discussed quartet Spacesuit, who released a lovely slow, moody, & atmospheric record called Future Girls back in 2013.
In this episode, we talk about keeping the math seductive, the textures of puncturing the fourth wall, the Kansas City-Champaign nexus, & the simple sonics of the psychedelic glow.
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03:15 // “Surgery” (Shiner)
04:27 // Fall Tour ’26
06:20 // The Y Section Compilation
10:34 // “Only Shallow” (MBV/Shiner)
14:45 // “A Sailor’s Fate” & Barkmarket
20:24 // 4th Wall Breaks, BYM, & “The Alligator”
28:23 // Vocal Inspirations
30:31 // CD Renaissance
34:38 // Andy Mueller’s Shiner Designs
42:13 // HUM in KC
49:18 // Downward is Heavenward / “The Scientists” Discussion
01:11:51 // "Christ-Sized Shoes" (Shiner)
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Further Listening:
GRIFTERS, Crappin' You Negative
CHEAP TRICK, "Mandocello"
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