Musician Kento Oiwa interviewed by Markly Morrison for the Olympia Music History Project.

Formed in the mid-1990s by Japanese immigrants Kento Oiwa and Michiko Swiggs, IQU was a group unlike anything folks in Olympia–or anyplace else, for that matter–had ever witnessed.. 

I spoke to Kento in a hotel room on an assignment from the Olympia Music History Project, where this interview was first published. Beyond his involvement in IQU, Kento was also an active DJ and event organizer in the Olympia music scene throughout the 1990s. As you will hear, he’s a killer theremin player too.

Kento also helped organize the storied Yo Yo A Gogo festivals that filled downtown Olympia with people from all over the world, including friends from Japan like the Bloodthirsty Butchers and Copass Grinderz. This episode has been gussied up with some tasty music clips for your enjoyment. If you like, you can read the full transcript and dig a little deeper into this story–and other stories connected to it–at olympiamusichistory.org

Swamp Dogg is coming to Olympia this weekend 7/13/2025! First, he'll be performing at Scherler Sundays, it's a free show that starts at 3pm. After that, Olympia Film Society will be hosting a free 8pm screening of the new documentary Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted at the Capitol Theater in Downtown Oly. No reservations required, all totally free! More info about the show can be found at freemusicolympia.org

This is my 2020 interview with Jerry Williams, better known as Swamp Dogg. It was really fun to hear his wild stories again. Enjoy, and hopefully see you this Sunday!

Today, instead of your usual Low Profile programming, I’m sharing an interview I conducted with Pat Maley in 2023 for the Olympia Music History Project.  The whole transcript is available at olympiamusichistory.org . Pat and I are discussing the history of Yo Yo Recordings, a studio and record label that he ran from the 1980s to 2006, recording hundreds of touring and local artists.  Inspired by the International Pop Underground Convention in 1991, Pat Maley, Michelle Noel, Kento Oiwa, Pat Castaldo and Ed Varga started YoYo A Go Go, an independent music festival that ran for 5 or 6 days in a row.  There were four YoYo A Go Go festivals between 1994 and 2001, and all the people I just mentioned will be getting together for a panel discussion to reminisce, reflect and celebrate these events through collective storytelling and slides. This event is called “That Summer Feeling: Thirty Years of YoYo A Go Go” and it’s happening next Friday, April 18th 2025 at 4pm at The Evergreen State College, in the COM 1 Recital Hall. No tickets or reservations are needed, this event will be open to the public. Here’s my conversation with Pat.

Illustration by Jack Habegger

When I first developed an interest in rough-around-the-edges cumbia music, a friend (thanks Matt!) introduced me to the music of Dick El Demasiado, purveyor of “cumbias lunaticas.” Over the years I’ve managed to glean a bit more about him, then I recently saw a documentary about him called Dick Verdult: It Is True, But Not Here. I learned Dick El Demasiado the musician is a mere sliver of what Dick Verdult the artist has to offer. His culture-jamming tendencies are a reflection of his culturally scattered upbringing- born in the Netherlands, raised all over Europe and South America, and currently living in the Spanish town of Calanda. When Arrington de Dionyso and I spoke to him last November, he was at home in Spain. Dick discusses the music that spoke to him in his youth, moving 20 times in his first 20 years, writing ugly poetry, creating music alone vs with a group, having an audience in a notorious street gang, that signature skeleton costume, and his definition of cultural distortion.

Gratitude to Jack Habegger for all the the portraits you've seen this season! Such strong work.

Want to hear the show more often? Be a part of the movement! Whenever I have enough money to cover a full work day sourced from supporters like you [at Patreon.com/lowprofile ] I will work on a new episode. I am currently taping season 10 for release in 2025, but in the meantime I have some fun stuff on the table- unpublished interviews with Gastr Del Sol, Elf Power, Dollar Country host Franklin Fantini and DJ Screw biographer Lance Scott Walker, plus live episodes from Scherler Sundays 2024 with interviews and performances from Chris Cohen, Mirah, Michael Hurley, Danbert Nobacon of Chumbawamba, Little Wings, Jonny Kosmo, Lori Goldston and Oh, Rose.

If your want to listen to more oral history from some pretty radical musicians, scope olympiamusichistory.org and dig around. I'm the audio editor and there are over 30 hours of interviews currently available on the website. We're in the middle of recording new interviews, so expect another 10 or so interviews early this summer!

Scherler Sundays is returning to downtown Olympia, WA every Sunday in July and August at 3pm. See a curated afternoon of bands and solo artists, plus live interview tapings for Low Profile. Catch artists you’ve heard on this show- Swamp Dogg, Stephen Steinbrink, Soul-Junk, and LAKE- plus other incredible acts like Pearl and The Oysters, Wut, Afrocop, Winehouse, Sunbathe, plus an extended throwback showcase curated by the Olympia Music History Project, and the return of Michael Hurley!

Get your tickets NOWHERE. All you have to do is show up. See you there!

For more information, visit freemusicolympia.org

It’s been a minute since I’ve put out a new show, and so I thought maybe I’d let you in on what has been keeping me so busy. A couple years ago, I started working on an oral history project funded by the city- appropriately titled The Olympia Music History Project. We (myself, Mariella Luz and Kelsey Smith) have since broken off from the city into our own nonprofit organization, and I’m excited to announce that we are launching olympiamusichistory.org on New Year’s Day, 2025!

So let me tell you about what this is: I was a part of a team that interviewed 30 people who were doing significant things in Olympia’s legendary indie music scene between 1980-2002. We spoke with folks from globally revered bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney and The Gossip, as well as hometown heroes including Young Pioneers, The Noses, Fitz of Depression, even Olympia’s only known ska band of that era, Engine 54. I’ve learned so much working on this project- and I’ve heard all the interviews several times, because I’m the guy who edited them. Have you ever seen that T-Shirt that says “Reading is Sexy?” That was designed by Sarah Utter, the singer and guitarist from The Bangs. Allegedly Patrick Swayze lived here at some point, but I don’t know if he ever got out to any punk shows. And yeah, Nirvana was a part of our scene for a while too, I forget what happened after they moved to Seattle.  And there were all these festivals- International Pop Underground Convention in 1991, The YoYo A Go Go festivals after that, Ladyfest- which became an international series- and a groundbreaking, grassroots rock opera called The Transfused. All these things happened in that 22-year window.  My interview with a guy named John Foster focuses on a couple of crucial things happening, that the scene- at least in part- owes its existence.  The first one is the enactment of the Green Line Policy at KAOS- that’s KAOS, 89.3 FM, Olympia- a game-changing move making it against the rules to play any less than 80% independently released music. That had a huge impact on a lot of creative people that tuned in. The second is the publication of OP Magazine, a dense zine focused on independent music of every kind, and featured contributing writers like Matt Groening, Eugene Chadbourne, Jonathan Richman, on and on. This magazine was globally distributed from right here in Olympia, and served as a regularly updated encyclopedia of indie music- and where to get it. Basically, it was like a precursor to something in-between Pitchfork and Bandcamp, in the pre-internet dark ages. John Foster was at the helm for both of these endeavors, and he was one of the people I interviewed for the Olympia Music History Project, and here is our conversation, recorded in the historic Rockway-Leland building downtown.

It's an election day bonus episode! Today we’re gonna be digging way back in the archive to episode 4: Focusing on Margo Guryan. This was recorded in early 2019, when I was still figuring out this show’s format.  At that time, it consisted of panelists with a shared interest (Andrew Dorsett and Michael Sean Coleman) nerding out about a favorite artist, and sometimes we’d get the chance to talk to the artist or somebody who was close to them. Margo Guryan passed away three years ago, and at the time of recording she did not agree to an interview, but she and I had some email correspondence that was helpful in researching her, and she put me in touch with her publisher, Jonathan Rosner, who also happens to be her stepson, who joined us about halfway through the show. I’ve re-edited that admittedly rough episode to make it more digestible, and at the top of the show I spoke with Jonathan again about the latest renaissance of Margo’s music- two new reissues, plus a tribute album called “Like Someone I Know" which features Pearl And The Oysters, TOPS, Margo Price, Clairo and many others, available from Sub Pop and Urban Outfitters.

Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon.com/lowprofile where you can sign up for flexible monthly donations that afford me the time it takes to research, record and edit this program. If you enjoy this show and can afford to contribute anything at all, it would be extremely helpful. It adds up in a big way. Believe me, I know things are tight, so if you can’t chip in financially, please tell somebody you know about a favorite episode of Low Profile and share it on the internet. If you are in a position to donate, that address again is patreon.com/lowprofile 

Thanks to this show’s in-kind sponsors here in Olympia, including Three Magnets Brewing Company, Rainy Day Records, Old School Pizzeria, San Francisco Street Bakery, and Schwartz’ Deli- if you come through Olympia these are all excellent places to visit.

If there was such a thing as the American ambassador to 60s French Pop it would have to be Elinor Blake, better known as April March. Elinor began her professional career in the world of animation back in the early 80s before she took on the April March rock and roll alter-ego. You’ve probably heard her music over the last few decades classic cartoons like The Ren and Stimpy Show and I Am Weasel and cult favorite films including But I'm A Cheerleader and Death Proof. She’s rubbed shoulders with all kinds of heavy figures in the entertainment world, including Ronnie Spector, Pee Wee Herman, Frank Zappa, Maya Rudolph, and numerous figues in classic and contemporary Franch pop. I spoke with Elinor in the Summer of 2024 about her storied career, starting with a sneak preview of her upcoming 2025 album Villerville.

Psychic Temple is the extended-family project of Chris Schlarb, the proprietor of the retro-chic Big Ego studio in Long Beach, California. Chris is an old friend of mine, going back to the turn of the century when I lived for a brief period time in Long Beach. This episode is being released shortly after the announcement of the dissolution of Psychic Temple, which is addressed during a quick follow-up call at the top of the show. This episode was engineered by Chris Schlarb at Big Ego in the summer of 2023. Chris shares with me about his musical background, his creative endeavors, and some of his work-for-hire as a record producer, including the final Psychic Temple album, Doggie Paddlin’ Through the Cosmic Consciousness.

The portrait of Chris Schlarb for this episode was hand-drawn by Jack Habegger.

Low Profile is supported by YOU at patreon.com/LowProfile. Producing this show costs time and money! Thanks for chipping in.

Low Profile receives in-kind support from these Olympia independent businesses:

Rainy Day Records, Old School Pizzeria, Schwart'z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, and Scheler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.

Bob Log III is a one man band from Tuscon, Arizona. He tends to tour at least half the days of the year all over the planet, bringing a party, and doing it all by himself, ever since his old band Doo Rag broke up while on tour with Ween back in the 1990s. Nowadays, when Bob's’s not on the road, he lives in Australia. If you catch him on the tour in your area, there’s balloons, an oversized rubber duck, a boat, and even rides! No wonder this guy’s side hustle is writing personalized birthday party songs. He regales us today with tales of busking on the streets of Tuscon with Doo Rag, how he developed his solo act, why it’s hard for him to collaborate, his misadventures in Sweden (like being hired to play the Swedish national anthem for a bunch of metal musicians), and how he challenges himself to keep the party level in the red. He’s also got some surprising health tips for touring performers. I spoke to him on the phone, presumably the one protruding out of his motorcycle helmet.

Low Profile is a part of the Ruinous Media network and airs Fridays at 4PM Pacific Standard Time on KAOS in Olympia, WA. Supported by you at patreon.com/lowprofile, and in-kind sponsors Rainy Day Records, San Francisco Street Bakery, Schwartz's Deli, Old School Pizzeria, and Three Magnets Brewing Company (where you can catch live tapings of Low Profile and music performances Sundays at 3pm until 9/22/2024!)

Catch a live episode! visit Scherlerbeer.com for details.

Illustration of Bob Log III by Jack Habegger

See an animated segment of this interview, created by Andrew Ebright, on my YouTube Channel. https://youtu.be/NlO9Sw85EXw

Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah is the percussionist and vocalist behind African Head Charge, the experimental dub project he co-founded with legendary studio wizard Adrian Sherwood in the late 1970s. With dozens of albums to his credit, he’s been established as an influential and singular performer with a sound all his own. Today I’m speaking with Bonjo about how he found his musical and spiritual calling in the Poco churches of Jamaica in his youth, how an encounter with Fela Kuti changed the course of his life, his collaborations with classic reggae and soul artists like Desmond Dekker, Prince Far I, Creation Rebel and the Foundations, how he turned an experimental studio project into a large live ensemble, and insights into African Head Charge’s latest album, A Trip To Bolgatonga on Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound label.

Scherler Sundays is returning to downtown Olympia for summer 2024!! That means ten weeks in a row of free outdoor concerts and live interview tapings for future broadcast.  Come see your next favorite artist and get to know them in one fell swoop, week after week! This year’s lineup includes Little Wings, Mirah, Tender Forever, Lois, Damien Jurado, Michael Hurley, Chris Cohen, Oh Rose, Jonny Kosmo and more than 20 others, all curated and hosted by yours truly.  It’s happening every sunday at 3pm from July 21st through September 22nd. Find more info at ScherlerBeer.com

If you’re a fan of this show, please consider taking a moment to support this show by committing to a flexible monthly donation at patreon.com/lowprofile. It would mean the world to me if I could set aside a proper work week at a living wage every month, and I believe with enough of the regular listeners chipping in 5 bucks, it could happen.  So thanks a lot to those of you who have continued to support me on Patreon, and if you haven’t yet, give it a try! It will be great for your karma, I bet!

You can find links to more of their work on this episode’s website at lowprofilepodcast.com, where you’ll also find a treasure trove of oral history from exceptional musicians of all stripes. Low Profile is a part of the Ruinous Media podcast network, and this episode’s artwork was drawn by Jack Habegger.  Thanks to Howard Wuelfing at Howlin’ Wuelf Media for facilitating today’s interview.

The band Danielson started when Daniel Smith worked with his siblings to satisfy a requirement for his senior thesis three decades ago. If you’re not familiar with their music, one thing you’ll notice throughout today’s show is that nobody else sounds anything like them. Daniel and I are talking today about the thirty-year evolution of the group, why he sings the way he does, how the group incorporates visual art into their work, producing records for others (including friends of the show Soul-Junk and Hermit Thrushes), creating the soundtrack to the film Electric Jesus, a new album in the works via Joyful Noise Recordings, collaborations with Sufjan Stevens, Half-Handed Cloud, Kramer, Jad Fair and so many others. Since recording this interview, Danielson has released a short film for their song “Come and Save Me” directed by Chris White that stars Fred Armisen and features previously unused lyrics by the late Larry Norman. Daniel spoke to me from his studio in New Jersey.

Low Profile is supported by you on Patreon and also receives in-kind support from these independent Olympia businesses:  Schwart’z Deli, San Francisco Street Bakery, Old School Pizzeria, Rainy Day Records and Scherler Easy Premium Shitty American Lager from Three Magnets Brewing Company.

Instagram: @lowpropodcast

Facebook Community: Low Profile Listener Hub

Support this show: patreon.com/lowprofile

Illustration by Jack Habegger

Scherler Sundays (live episode tapings + free concerts) is happening again in Olympia for Summer 2024, visit scherlerbeer.com for updates!