The New Scene

Episode 267: Mike Ricketts and Chuck French of Planes Mistaken For Stars

Keith meets individually with Mike Ricketts and Chuck French of Planes Mistaken For Stars to discuss their personal history and trajectory with music as well as the story of Planes Mistaken For Stars. We cover the band's history as well as the making of their most recent LP "Do You Still Love Me?". Planes' front man and guitar player Gared O'Donnell was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer during the making of the LP which subsequently kicked the creative process into high gear. Tragically, Gared succumbed to the disease in November of 2021 but his memories live on through the band, his friends and his family.

Episode 266: Einar Selvik of Wardruna

Keith sits down with Einar Selvik to discuss growing up in Osterøy, Norway, early music influences and becoming obsessed with the drums at an early age, joining Gorgoroth and recording their 2003 LP "Twilight of the Idols" while carrying future visions of what would become his future project Wardruna. We also discuss the history of Wardruna, the earliest recordings which date back to 2002, how Einar committed himself fully to his vision and developed the project over the years, the making of Wardruna's latest LP "Birna" and the themes behind the record, collaborating with Aurora, providing the soundtrack for "Vikings", what's next for Wardruna and more. 

Episode 265: Bryan Torres of Death Lens + Artist Spotlight: Haunted Horses

Keith sits down with Bryan Torres to discuss growing up in La Puente, California, how his cousin saved him from life in a gang and turned him onto music, early hip hop and garage rock influences and the formation and early days of Death Lens. We also discuss how Bryan left behind his full time job and decided to take on music full time, the evolution of Death Lens, the changes the band made internally to push forward their progression, signing with Epitaph Records, recording their latest LP "Cold World" with Brett Romnes, what's next for Death Lens and more.

Artist Spotlight: Colin Dawson of Haunted Horses. We discuss the band and their latest LP "Dweller" out now on Three One G records.

Episode 264: Aaron Bedard of Bane

Keith sits down with Aaron Bedard to discuss growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts, how Aaron became interested in music by way of the Dead Kennedys and Sex Pistols, discovering the hardcore scene by seeing Black Flag, Circle Jerks and other bands, and joining his first band at 16 years old. We also discuss the formation of Bane, the early days of the band, Aaron's vocal influences, a look into the history of Bane's debut LP "It All Comes Down to This" and the follow up "Give Blood", how the hardcore scene and Bane helped Aaron deal with past trauma, addressing his trauma for the first time on the song "Wrong Planet", Bane's initial breakup, Aaron's life after the band, the Stu McGuire benefit show and Bane reunion, the future of Bane and more.

Episode 263: Brendan Murphy of Counterparts / END

Keith sits down with Brendan Murphy to discuss building gaming PC's, adjusting to life in sobriety, the arduous task of beating Elden Ring, Counterparts' recent surprise drop of the "Heaven Let Them Die" EP and the making of the record, END, the history of the band, the creative process behind their latest LP "The Sin of Human Frailty", if "Necessary Death" has the best modern breakdown, navigating online criticism and more. 

Episode 262: Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage / Times of Grace

Keith sits down with Jesse Leach  to discuss growing up across the country and settling in Providence RI, discovering the local scene, early music influences including Dropdead, Bloodlet and Threadbare, Jesse's early work in music and personal experiences that informed his outlook and creative process. We also discuss Killswitch Engage , their recent tour of Australia and New Zealand with Iron Maiden, the logistics of playing to a stadium sized audience, Killswitch Engage's history as a band, their quick rise to notoriety after the release of their debut Self Titled LP and the massive follow up LP "Alive or Just Breathing", Jesse's departure from the band shortly after its release, Jesse's post-Killswitch band Seamless and how he learned to live as a touring musician in that band, some Times of Grace history, rejoining Killswitch Engage for the "Disarm the Descent" LP, how Jesse rediscovered his artistic voice for their upcoming LP "This Consequence" and more.

Episode 261: Best of 2024 with Ryan Savitski of One Step Closer

Keith shares his top records of 2024 and meets with Ryan Savitski of One Step Closer to discuss The New Scene's favorite record of 2024: "All You Embrace".

Episode 260: David Grossman of Rosetta / New Miserable Experience + Artist Spotlight: Mean Jesus

Keith sits down with Dave Grossman to discuss his career teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Rosetta, the band's history, touring China and Russia, the arduous process of recording their 2013 LP "The Anaesthete" and how the record changed things for the band moving forward, Dave's new band New Miserable Experience, their 2024 LP "Absent Lovers", the band's creative process, what's coming up for Rosetta and New Miserable Experience plus more.

Artist Spotlight: John DiGiorgio of Mean Jesus. We discuss the history of Mean Jesus and John's time in Converge during the Poacher Diaries era of the band.

Episode 259: Mike Cunniff of Boston Manor

Keith sits down with Mike Cunniff to discuss growing up in Blackpool UK, making friends in his hometown that would become Boston Manor, the intense creative process behind their 2024 LP "Sundiver", how Mike revisited past music influences and incorporated them into the record as well as their 2022 LP "Datura", living a split life as a scientist and musician before fully committing to the band, how Mike and his bandmates give back to their community through charity and booking local shows, international travel expectations vs. reality, mental health and more.

Episode 258: Jared Cortland of State Faults

Keith sits down with Jared Cortland to discuss growing up in Santa Rosa California, discovering the local scene, early music influences, the early days of Brother Bear who eventually became State Faults, all of the work that goes into developing a new band and some on-stage mess up stories. We also discuss State Fault's hiatus due to personal and creative exhaustion and the subsequent formation of Slow Bloom, the return of State Faults partially inspired by an article written by Dan Ozzi, their return LP "Clairvoyant", the band's new momentum being sidelined by the pandemic, the writing and recording of their 2024 LP "Children of the Moon" which began during lockdown in 2020, the themes behind the record, the band's creative process and more.