The Creative Asylum

This episode is a special treat with an old friend: A conversation with Chad Channing, the drummer who helped usher Nirvana into the world with their debut record, Bleach. We dive deep into his pivotal role on the band’s bands beginnings, and the creative spark that defined those early Sub Pop years. Channing reflects on his time in those sseminal of the Seattle scene, and what it meant to be part of a band before they became the very poster-child for the seismic cultural impact that "grunge" unleashed.Beyond Nirvana, we talk about Chad’s decades of music since Nirvana — from pcollaborating in projects like the Fireants to evolving as a songwriter and performer in his own rite. It’s an honest, insightful look at legacy, reinvention, and the long arc of a working musician’s life — an essential epsidode for grunge historians and anyone fascinated with the deeper personalities that go well past the headlines.

In this episode, a super-fun conversation with the San Francisco–based “Heavy Metal Quilter,” Ben Venom, an artist who stitches together the worlds of metal, punk, skate culture and fine art quite literally. A long-standing fixture in the Bay Area’s punk rock art scene, Venom repurposes band tees and battle jackets into intricate, hand-sewn quilts that blur the line between craft and cultural artifact. We talk about growing up on heavy music, finding community in the underground, and transforming DIY ethos into large-scale textile works that honor the raw spirit of intense music while pushing it into unexpected spaces.Venom’s résumé is as impressive as it is unconventional: from gritty gallery exhibitions to major museum installations, his work has earned recognition accross a broad spectrum of cultural environments. In this conversation, he reflects on bringing subculture into institutional settings, challenging assumptions about what “fine art” can be, and why fabric and ferocity belong together in the same artistic perspective. This is a must-watch for metalheads, art lovers, and anyone who believes rebellion can be beautifully handcrafted.

In this episode, we’re joined by Latina feminist punk pioneer Alice Bag for a fierce, fun and deeply insightful conversation about music, identity, and resistance through art. A breakout presence in Penelope Spheeris' debut film, The Decline of Western Civilization, Alice was one of the earliest artists that defined the confrontational energy of early L.A. punk with her band The Bags. We dig into that explosive era, the community behind that scene, and how she carved out space for Chicana and feminist voices in a movement that reshaped underground culture.We also discuss her acclaimed memoir, 'Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage : a Chicana Punk Story,' her subsequent solo music career, and her recent collaboration with Kid Congo Powers as one half of the duo Juanita and Juan. From punk clubs to classrooms, Alice Bag remains a powerful creative force — and this interview captures her legacy, her fire, and her ongoing mission to make music that both challenges and connects.

In this episode, I sit down with an old friend, rock journalist and author Adem Tepedelen to dig into his latest and most anticipated project: Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond, which is the authorized autobiography of Kim Thayil of Soundgarden which Adem worked on with Kim over the period of three years. Adem discusses how the project came to fruition - writinga book with one of heavy music’s most innovative guitarists, unpacking the stories, history, and creative evolution that shaped a cornerstone band of the Seattle sound. We talk how the book captures both the myth and the reality of a key member of an underground scene that changed rock music forever.We also explore Tepedelen’s broader career as a respected rock and roll author, discussing his previous published books, Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion, with Steve Turner of Mudhoney and A Fabulous Disaster: From the Garage to Madison Square Garden, the Hard Way with Gary Holt of Exodus and more recently, Slayer. 

Prepare to go deep with Michael Hill — the incendiary guitarist, singer, and founder of Tombs, a band that has relentlessly pushed the boundaries of metal, hardcore, and intense and experimental heaviness for close to two decades. In this conversation we trace Michael’s musical evolution from the early days of forging his current sound in the present moment, where his creativity continues to thrive not just through music but through thoughtful focus on being present and being intentional. Beyond brutal dark riffage, Michael hosts two podcasts — the horror-focused Necromaniacs and the genre-spanning Everything Went Black — platforms where extreme music, art, and community collide in mind-expanding ways.This episode also dives into the urgency of free thinking and resistance, as we discuss why it’s essential for artists and citizens alike to push back against the rising tide of authoritarian and fascist impulses in the current Trump regime. We talk about why questioning power isn’t just good politics — it’s vital to protecting creativity, human rights, and the very culture that makes music matter.TOMBS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL1nmsjw_uvq05qHZAu66kQEverything Went Black: https://everythingwentblackmedia.com/everything-went-blackNecromaniacs: https://everythingwentblackmedia.com/necromaniacs

This week we sit down with Hiro Yamamoto — co-founder and original bass player of Soundgarden, one of the most important bands from the Seattle Music explosion that changed the course of rock forever. Hiro’s musical journey is rich and expansive. From the thunder of early grunge to the expansive psych-rock of TRULY, and his instrumental surf-punk band, the Bellingham-based Stereo Donkey, he's now back into the spotlight with the re-release of TRULY’s seminal Fast Stories…from Kid Coma (which includes an upcoming tour that’s got fans buzzing). Recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the founders of Soundgarden, Hiro reflects on a lifetime of riffs, risks, and reinvention.This episode however goes well beyond his musical journey. Hiro and I talk about how the experience of being a Japanese-American — and a person of color has shaped some of his attitudes. At a time when our country is wrestling with disturbing echoes of its worst moments, the racially targeted rhetoric to threats against due process and a codified rejections of basic human rights, Hiro identifies why it's important that your voice be heard if you have a platform to speak from. We explore how those challenges intersect with art, identity and community, and why voices like his matter now more than ever. Join us for an episode that’s equal parts musical history, genuine reflection, and the urgency of the challenges that face us as a nation. 

In this episode, a deep and wide-ranging conversation with Victor Krummenacher — songwriter, bassist, and creative heart behind Camper Van Beethoven, co-founder of Monks of Doom, and a singular voice in alternative music with a remarkable catalog of solo records to his credit. Victor’s musical journey has always been adventurous, exploratory and deeply human and with that, we talk about The Third Mind, his most recent collaborative band that he's a part of with Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Alvin (The Blasters), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale), guitarist David Immergluck (Counting Crows, John Hiatt), and singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes (from Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter)Well past his influential musical career, we talk about the state of art and music-making in the age of AI. Victor shares candid views on why he believes the current AI push may not be the boon many claim will be the future for the creator economy, and what that means for musicians, storytellers, and the future of creative work. The question in my mind is: HOW do we stake out our claim in the creative world where technology threatens to replace the very humanity of real creative energy and effort?

Few cartoonists have captured the anxious, abrasive, and darkly hilarious spirit of American life quite like Peter Bagge. Best known as the creator of HATE, the iconic Fantagraphics series that defined a generation of alt-comics readers, Bagge’s work blends elastic cartooning, savage satire, and razor-sharp social observation. Mentored early on by Robert Crumb during his time editing Weirdo, Bagge absorbed the underground tradition and detonated it—filtering punk attitude, suburban dread, and grunge sensibilities into a style that’s unmistakably his own.In this episode, Bagge reflects on a career that moves effortlessly between the margins and the mainstream. Based in the Pacific Northwest, he’s brought his distinctive voice not only to Fantagraphics and independent comics, but also to unlikely institutions like MAD Magazine and even Marvel, where he put his stamp on an issue of Spiderman. The conversation dives into influence, craft, cultural satire, and longevity—offering insight from an artist who has never stopped pushing at the boundaries of what comics can say, or how loudly they can say it.