Calling All Freaks!

My guests this episode are Nico Daunt and Corbin Corbin, the guys behind the new and very cool FREAKSCENE.us Indie/D.I.Y.  social media network now taking the underground by storm.

What is Freakscene? How is it different from Instagram or the other oligarch-owned, algorithmically driven, surveillance and advertising platforms masquerading as ‘social media’ in 2025?

As Corbin and Nico explain in our conversation, FS is not intended to be just another 'virtual community'. Instead it is an online space where already existing real-life D.I.Y. communities, organized by regions and cities, can network, strengthen and grow, free from corporate overlords. Its design harkens back to an era of the internet before it sucked, with lively forums and up to the minute flyer walls, all 100% free from algo-bots deciding what you will and won’t see. 

The mission and vibe of Freakscene.us will likely sound familiar to TMpod listeners who came of age in the punk/HC/indie scenes of the 80’s and 90’s. Freakscene is bringing that same resourceful, handmade energy to your devices right when it’s most sorely needed.

I salute the work Nico, Corbin and all the volunteers have put in making FS a reality and I encourage everyone interested to get involved, after all, just like every cool underground scene, it is what we make it.

LINKS: 

FREAKSCENE.US

Freakscene Insta

Corbin’s photo archive

Nico’s website

TRAEGERMETHOD on FREAKSCENE

Jaron Lanier 'Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Account Right Now' talk

Music in order of appearance:

Porridge Radio ‘Born Confused’

West America ‘The World Destroys Itself’

Porridge Radio ‘7 Seconds’

Aaron Hartman is a bassist best known for his 30 year collaboration with visionary artist /vocalist / multi-instrumentalist/ Arrington de Dionyso in trance punk world travellers Old Time Relijun. His propulsive upright bass playing works as the blood pumping heart of that very heartful combo. 

On Halloween of last year Aaron and I sat down in his living room in Portland, OR. to talk about his new foray into the realm of podcasting with LaJolla Babylon: Making of a Suburban Punk on the Ruinous Media network. The pod consists of Aaron reading from his lightly fictionalized memoir of his ‘feral’ Gen X youth in San Diego, as told through his avatar character Adam Waxman. Each episode, before and after his readings, he checks in and processes what was covered with his New York based comedian / actor half sister Katie Hartman. 

The warm and funny intergenerational rapport between ‘coddled millennial’ Katie, 12 years his junior, and Aaron makes for delightful listening. It’s a compelling snapshot of time and place, a coming of age story and portrait of a family that gets a little harrowing, alot humorous and is always intimate.

Our conversation goes beyond pod talk as well, we cover the gifts and hazards of touring, the pain and redemption of life in bands, as well as our common experiences in the indie/punk/post-hardcore scenes of San Diego and Olympia, WA. in the 80’s, 90’s and oughts.

It was great to talk with Aaron and I hope TMpod listeners will check out La Jolla Babylon. Thank you for listening!

Links:

La Jolla Babylon: Making of a Suburban Punk

Instagram

TraegerMethod Poadcast Instagram

Music: 

Old Time Relijun

‘In This World’

‘Mystery Language’

‘Baby Dragon’

IQU ‘Flower and Moon’

Elijah Moore is a much loved and revered veteran of the Pacific Northwest indie rock/pop scene best known as one of the creative forces behind the band LAKE.

In addition to his bands, Palisades and LAKE, Eli has been a frequent collaborator with other artists such as Karl Blau, Your Heart Breaks, Laura Viers and most recently with Jonathan Davis of the Folk Implosion and Nick Delffs.

In this conversation recorded in the summer of 2024, Jason and Eli talk about his path in life and music, their personal friendship and the music and art he finds and has found most inspiring.

LAKE's new LP 'Bucolic Gone' is available now for preorder

TraegerMethod podcast is happy to return after a long hiatus with one of Jason’s all-time favorite musicians Elijah Moore. 

Thank you for listening!

Host: Jason Traeger (@traegermethod)

Guest: Elijah Moore of the band LAKE (@eli_guitar_and_stuff / @laketheband)

Music:

Palisades ‘Road Driving’

Jonathan Davis ‘Change’

Ashley Erickson ‘Come Along w/Me’

ML Buch ‘Flames shards goo’

This very special emergency July Fourth Election Day Special is my attempt to make the case that Joe Biden must step aside and allow for an open Democratic convention.

The arguments and dire predictions I share this episode are not meant to stir panic or fear, they are intended only to encourage action. I call this an 'Election Day Special' because I, perhaps naively, believe that if enough voters raised their voices now to demand Biden step aside it might help sway the powers making this monumental decision to make the what I think is the right one.

In the next few days the decision will be made. If you write your reps, senators, dem governors, the White House TODAY and encourage others to do the same, you will have voted for the best candidate (someone other than Biden) in what I think is the most important election ever held.

"Maybe none of this matters, the decision is out of our hands. Why bother?" If nothing else, in taking action you will have worked the muscle of participation in collective activity. This is something we all need to do more of no matter what the political situation.

Thanks for listening!

To contact reps simply search "find my rep", "find my senator" etc.

Good pod about how an open convention could work.

Episode 92 is finally here, featuring the return of musician, DC punk and now AUTHOR Seth Lorinczi.

Last time we spoke back on Ep 62 we said we’d talk again when his book was released and I’m happy so say that day has come!

Writing show notes is my absolute least favorite part of making this podcast so here’s my first show notes written in with ChatGPT: 

Episode Overview

In this episode of the TraegerMethod Podcast, host Jason Traeger sits down with Seth Lorinczi, the author of the captivating new book, Death Trip: A Post-Holocaust Psychedelic Memoir. This episode delves into the transformative power of psychedelic plant medicines and how they have helped Seth navigate and heal from the deep-seated ancestral trauma stemming from the Holocaust.

About the Guest

Seth Lorinzci is a debut author whose first book, Death Trip, is garnering attention for its honest and compelling narrative. Seth's journey is one of profound personal healing and exploration, offering readers a front-row seat into his experiences with psychedelic therapies. His work is not just a memoir but a guide and inspiration for those looking to understand the intersection of trauma, healing, and consciousness.

Book Spotlight: Death Trip: A Post-Holocaust Psychedelic Memoir

Seth’s memoir takes readers on a journey through his encounters with various psychedelic medicines such as MDMA, 5-Meo-DMT and Ayahuasca. This book is a page-turner, combining gripping storytelling with profound insights into the human psyche and the healing process. Death Trip explores:

• Ancestral Trauma: How the trauma of previous generations, specifically the Holocaust, can continue to affect descendants.
• Psychedelic Plant Medicines: The role these substances play in therapeutic and spiritual contexts.
• Personal Transformation: Seth's personal growth and healing as he confronts and integrates his familial pain.

Now this is me again. We also talk about the newly released LP of demos by Seth’s teenage garage rock punk band The Vile Cherubs ‘Lysergic Lamentations’ OUT NOW on LG Records

I love talking with Seth and his book is absolutely fantastic!

Support the podcast: PATREON

Notes:

Seth Lorinczi

The Vile Cherubs LG Records

Michael Galinsky Saved by Sarno

US and the Holocaust film by Ken Burns

Seth Speaks book I mentioned.

Music:

The Vile Cherubs 'The Man with the Photograph'

Circus Lupus 'Super Genius'

Episode 91 is a conversation with New York based artist, musician, curator, zine maker, scene maker Rich Jacobs.

After having moved in often overlapping punk rock/DIY friend circles for the better parts of our lives, I’m happy to say Rich and I finally got to know one another in the early days of the pandemic talking over the phone, just like we're doing here.

This episode covers his early years, discovering punk rock as a preteen in the early eighties, his family’s moves from So Cal to the Pacific Northwest, where he saw his first punk show, and then to Colorado where he started his first band Atomic Dilemma.

We talk about the punk rock zine culture we both were a part of and the skateboard/straightedge zine scene he cut his teeth in. Rich traces a line from these early publishing efforts to the work he is doing today; creating books of his paintings and drawings as well as acting as an art director on a forthcoming retrospective of the graphic work of our friend, the brilliant late artist/musician Rick Froberg. 

Along the way he pays tribute to many friends, collaborators and influences who have enriched his life and informed his ideas about art and music making and Rich shares some of his strategies for finding joy in an imperfect world.

I really enjoyed talking with Rich and I hope you find the conversation as inspiring and enjoyable as I did.

Thanks for listening!

              REST IN POWER GARY FLOYD

SUPPORT THE PODCAST: PATREON

LINKS: 

Rich Jacobs @movezine  Instagram

The art of Marian Zazeela

Tim Kerr’s Music

Music:

Big Boys ‘Red/Green’ from Live at Raul’s

Atomic Dilemma ’Scars’ 

Tim Kerr with Rich Jacobs ‘One Foot in Front of the Other’

TraegerMethod podcast has finally made it to the 90’s!

Appropriately  Ep.90 is a conversation with a friend I met in the Olympia scene of the 1990’s; punk rock n’ roll multi-instrumentalist powerhouse Jessica Espeleta.

She shares the story of how she arrived in Oly as a teenager when she was recruited to give the scene a try by the guys in Lync after a show they played at 924 Gilman where she was volunteering. Her decision to jump in the van not only led to a new town but it also marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship and frequent collaboration with Lync’s Sam Jayne in Love As Laughter or LAL,  the moniker under which he’d make music for the rest of his life.

We recorded this conversation on what would have been Sam’s 50th birthday and to celebrate his memory she shares some stories of their days together recording and touring and describes the impact their friendship has had on her life.

Jessica has been in too many bands to name but I’ll name a few, that come up in our conversation: WitchyPoo (with Slim Moon), Weird War (with Ian and Michelle from The Make-Up and Niel Haggerty of Royal Trux), Frenchie and The German Girls (with Tobi and Maggie Vail), and SO many more….she and I even played together in a hardcore band called the Reagan Years .

Today ‘Jesspo’ lives in Los Angeles where she plays bass with Bart and the Bedazzled and Wayne Faler and works hard everyday to keep the flame alive in the big city.  We love her for it.

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the conversation!

Links: Jessica's Instagram

SUPPORT THE POD PATREON

Music in order:

Love As Laughter 'Nude Hose'

Reagan Years 'Cold War of My Own'

Lync 'Pennies to Save'

Black Fork 'Live in Rapid City'

Seasick Steve 'Live @ Hardly Strictly Blues Fest'

Bart and the Bedazzled 'Blue Motel' Live

Soddamn Inssein 'Live'

Episode 89 marks the return Chris Squire for part 2 of our series that tells a history of San Diego punk through the life and lens of one of the scene’s legends.

Our conversation picks up where the last one left off in the latter part of 80’s toward the end of Squire’s high school career and the end of the old school SD punk scene. Part 2 moves into the acid drenched, post-hardcore years that in many ways were just as wild and wooly as the earlier period but were far more experimental and far out.

Squire shares his thoughts on the origins of the SD sound as he traces its way from the ground zero guitar work of Battalion of Saints’ Chris Smith filtered through the hands of his brother-by-another-mother Jon Reis who continues to spreads its gospel far and wide to this day with his many musical projects.

Chris and I recorded this conversation before the very recent, tragic and unexpected death of Mike Denny aka Mike Down of Amenity / Forced Down in a cycling accident. I mention in the intro that I got Mike’s contact information from Squire at the end of our talk and was planning to have him on the pod soon but sadly this wasn’t to be. Chris tells the story of how it was he who suggested to Amenity that Mike become their singer after Squire sang with the band at one of their practices. I’m glad we could share some memories of Mike here and we will do so again when we speak next time. RIP Mike Denny

Thank you for listening and supporting the pod: PATREON

If you dig the pod but cannot support it with $ please tell a friend! Word of mouth is the number one way indie pods like this one attract listeners. THANK YOU!

LINKS: Chris Squire Instagram

Music:

Battalion of Saints '2nd Coming' (with Squire on Guitar)

Amenity 'Follow'

Amenity 'This Is Our Struggle'

Episode 88 marks the return of TM Pod’s VERY FIRST guest Los Angeles based creative / clown Paul Schlesinger.

Paul is one of my best friends and favorite collaborators so it’s a special pleasure to catch up with him in the pod context. Our conversation focuses on his life today learning, producing and performing in the very happening LA ‘clown community’. 

He explains that modern clowning has roots stretching back to European traditional clowning and the circus clowns which most of us think of when we hear the word ‘clown’ but that it is also informed by the worlds of performance art, experimental theater, stand-up and improv as well.

This talk couldn’t have come at a better moment for me with my very recent return to stand-up comedy. I hope it is just as interesting for you, dear listener.

SUPPORT THE POD:PATREON

Links:

Paul Schlesinger Instagram

clownpoems Instagram

Eddie Pepitone comedy

Secret Room Press

Music:

Inside Miracles /Paul Schlesinger w/Jason Traeger

'Summer'

'Alt Break-up Song'

'Universe (Lovely Gift of Life)'

The podcast is back. We were gone for a spell. Now we’re back. Episode 87 finds us easing back into the podwaters with a low-key ‘comfort food’ conversation between myself and TMpod regular Sean Kelly (father, Tight Bros From Way Back When, SUBPOP, K Records, west coast punk rock real one)

We share a warm hearted conversation that touches on the joy of vinyl records, old guitars, self directed programs of learning and growing and other stuff that confirms we are walking, talking embodied cliches of late middle aged Portland music/culture guys.

It’s all love and light with some very tiny dustings of existential horror and dread on top to keep things balanced. Thank you so much for listening and for supporting the pod. WE LOVE YOU.

SUPPORT THE POD: PATREON

LINKS of stuff mentioned in episode:

Gossip

Language Transfer

Merle Travis

Los Escarabajos

Hipgnosis Documentary

MUSIC:
Intro:Come Closer ‘Castle Walls’ from 'We Died with Print' LP

Segue: Tight Bros From Way Back When ‘Hurricane’

Outro: Be Fair ‘Hadfield 5’

Hello and welcome!

Our ‘Legends of San Diego Punk’ series continues on the pod…

Episode 86 is a conversation with one of the great flyer artists of early 80’s ‘Slow Death’ scene, the very talented artist / tattooer Bobby Lane.

Bobby paints a picture of his experiences going to his first shows as a teenager in 1980 just as the ‘hardcore’ era was adding a new even more aggressive and stripped down feel to the punk/new wave style that came before.

He shares memories of San Diego / Los Angeles punk graphic masters Mad Marc Rude and Shawn Kerri. Two greats whose styles informed his own and pretty much every other punk who’s ever picked up a pen in their wake, myself included.

We talk about tattooing in San Diego and the evolution of the craft from the earlier period of wall flash, sailors and bikers to the modern era of bespoke designs and market saturation.

We go on to discuss how the rebellious spirit at the heart of punk naturally leads to endless cycles of orthodoxy and overthrow as new generations reimagine, reinvent and make it their own. He cites SD experimental/ecstatic collective/band Crash Worship as the embodiment of this spirit without any of the proscribed stylistic cues. 

I know you’ll enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking with Bobby. I look forward to having him back on the pod soon.

Thank you for listening!

SUPPORT THE POD: Patreon If you love the pod, please tell a friend!

LINKS

Bobby's Instagram

In reference to my episode intro:

Israel/Palestine vids from AJ+

How Israel Was Created

How Israel Automated Occupation in Hebron

Palestinian voice: Noura Erakat

Dr Gabor Mate On Trauma

Music:

Bobby's band Cholla

Crash Worship live in Bremen 1996

TMpod theme by Jason