Matt Connarton Unleashed 6-13-26 hour 3

0:00 Speaker 1: W MNH will rip the domoses.

0:06 Speaker 2: You are listening to Matt Connerton unleashed on W M and H ninety five point three.

0:29 Speaker 1: Why I'm a desperate to have no anchor.

0:37 Speaker 3: To prowl, just like a pap.

0:41 Speaker 1: I can't remain for anna wal don't see that's fun of the image. This it brought by in July, so.

0:56 Speaker 3: Straight that time. I can't remain for an a warm e know what about?

1:08 Speaker 1: Say man in my mid man, my lad got tea?

1:17 Speaker 4: No, I got it out from you got your head?

1:20 Speaker 1: Let me go? No, I got up, so you got your head. Called me back to the man with a man jose, He said, no one to that.

1:38 Speaker 5: I can't remain for any warm. We put your water to the side. Count Bud, I can't remain for.

1:58 Speaker 3: Any warm anyone, you know?

2:03 Speaker 1: Take past.

2:05 Speaker 3: Do but get your in.

2:08 Speaker 4: Take pass No I got no, but get your inn. Take pass no, no your hire, take past doubt, but.

2:20 Speaker 3: Get you again, don't.

2:26 Speaker 1: It's not.

2:28 Speaker 3: Now.

2:32 Speaker 1: The words are sak great classion.

2:33 Speaker 6: No where they'll be another turns are riding upstairs.

2:38 Speaker 1: There's nothing else to see you now. No words are safe gay fashion.

2:43 Speaker 3: Nowhere they'll be.

2:45 Speaker 7: Another turns riding the stairs.

2:47 Speaker 1: There's nothing else to.

2:49 Speaker 5: See, my child.

2:50 Speaker 8: The words are.

2:51 Speaker 5: Saint fashion the word They'll be anywhere another turns.

2:56 Speaker 1: Riding the stairs, there's nothing else to sit.

3:00 Speaker 4: Few words that set past you know where they'll pick it.

3:04 Speaker 7: I know that it's a riding scars health to see.

3:24 Speaker 1: Cat Chuck, Dan, cat Chuck, dumb cat Jock. Don't that's part of the image.

3:37 Speaker 9: Oh that's a banger. I love that. That is called No Anchor. The band is The Joy Thieves and the album is called Apocalypse Pending. And we've got let me bring that up here. We've got Dan Milligan from The Joy Thieves here with us via Microsoft Teams. Hello.

3:51 Speaker 8: Dan, Hey there great, Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it absolutely.

3:55 Speaker 9: I'm really excited to talk to you because, uh, I love that track. I love everything. Of course you send us the whole album. I was into the whole thing. It's really really good and I love the project. But I almost don't know how to describe it. It's like it's a supergroup, but it's really more like a super collective, right, because you've got a lot of people involved in this, but they're all come with some pretty impressive resumes.

4:17 Speaker 10: Yeah. You know, as of.

4:18 Speaker 8: Now, we've been going for maybe like seven or eight years, and I think there's over eighty people who've been involved now from bands from all over the world. So yeah, it is, I guess like a supergroup, but it involves people not just here in Chicago where I am, but all over the planet.

4:33 Speaker 9: How do you, I mean, how do you manage all of that? Because you're the what is your role in this? You're you're the producer, right and I assume you play some things too, or what is your role here? And how did you? Are you the progenitor of the joy Thieves? Did you start this project?

4:49 Speaker 10: Yes? I sure did.

4:50 Speaker 8: I started it just by myself and it slowly grew over time. So I'm a professional drummer, so I do all the drumming on the tracks for the most part, and then myself and my production partner do all the mixing as well as the You know, when you have this many members, everyone's sending you tracks from all over the place. Someone's got to sit through all those things and make some decisions in the studio and do the production stuff.

5:12 Speaker 10: So that's what I do as well.

5:14 Speaker 9: Is this what you had intended it to be? When you started it, did you imagine it growing to this proportion in terms of the involvement of all these people?

5:23 Speaker 8: Never, never, ever, in a million years, did I think it would be anything like this. When it first started, it was literally just I was writing music in my home studio for myself.

5:31 Speaker 10: Yeah, that's all there was.

5:32 Speaker 8: It slowly started to grow after that, and then it started to rapidly grow after that. So I mean, I think on our first album there was maybe thirty people, and now, like I said, there's over eighty contributors.

5:44 Speaker 9: So that's incredible. And how did you come to work with all these people? I mean, obviously I'm asking a very broad question because I'm sure every story, you know, every interaction with every person is different. Some of these people are probably people you've worked with before, you know very well, maybe you've never met, but you email tracks back and forth or dropbox tracks back and forth because we live in an era where you can do that. But I mean, how did you pull all these people into this project?

6:10 Speaker 9: So?

6:11 Speaker 8: Yeah, as you said, one at a time, right, I mean, some of these people are people that I've known ever since I was a kid.

6:16 Speaker 10: I've played music with forever.

6:18 Speaker 8: The vast majority of these people are musicians that I have been a fans of over the years that I just reached out to them to see if they might be interested in helping do something like this. I will say during the COVID years it kind of helped because all the musicians of the world were literally sitting in front of their computers with no gigs and nothing to do, and so at that point it really exploded. Everyone was looking for creative projects to be a part of, and I guess I just happened to be right there at the perfect time.

6:45 Speaker 9: Yeah, that comes up a lot on this show too, COVID and how the pandemic affected how we make music, and I've always said, you know, obviously it was a terrible experience, but we have to find the silver linings where we can, and one of the few silver linings with the pandemic was I think it really kind of forced a lot of musicians to sort of reevaluate what they're willing to try in terms of making music and collaboration. You know, all the means to do that, all the technology already existed, and a lot of musicians were already doing it that way.

7:16 Speaker 9: But I think the pandemic forced a lot of musicians who maybe had been resistant to try and that, you know, next thing, you know, like you've got classic rock bands getting together remotely online to do concerts on YouTube and stuff like that. And of course, you know, we saw this increase in people working and collaborating with people who they might not otherwise have ever had the chance to because now all of a sudden, they had a lot of time on their hands, as you alluded to, but also people just became a lot more open to the idea, well maybe I really can work with someone remotely and we'll we'll drop box tracks back and forth and however this is going to go.

7:50 Speaker 9: So I think it really kind of changed just how people in a broad sense, just how musicians think about all that, and kind of open musicians up to working that way a much greater level.

8:01 Speaker 10: Yeah, I absolutely agree.

8:03 Speaker 8: It was kind of a fast forward button as soon as that happened, where you know, it might have taken people a few years, a few more years to get into working like that, but all of a sudden, it was it turned into kind of that or nothing right, right, So so yeah, no, people were all of a sudden, it's very very inspired to do things like that. And fortunately we had started this band three years prior to that, so the machinery of how we were working was already kind of set up. So literally, after reaching out to people, all I have to do is say, like, look, we have the process in place.

8:30 Speaker 8: All you have to do is this, And it was very easy to bring people aboard at that time.

8:34 Speaker 9: That's a good position to be in where you sort of already got the infrastructure in place, so.

8:38 Speaker 10: You're exactly yes, exactly right.

8:40 Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, that's excellent. I'm really curious about the album title Apocalypse Pending, and there is sort of a you know, as I listened to the lyrics of these tracks, there is sort of a I mean, you know, they're very upbeat and energetic and fun to listen to, but there's also a little bit of that doom in there. How literally should we take this title? Is that what the album is about, the the pending apocalypse? Or is there some other meaning attached to it? Or or maybe it's just a cool title. I don't know.

9:09 Speaker 9: I like the title, but but what what what should I take from it?

9:13 Speaker 8: The well, the the title came from actually the lyrics from a song, uh the guy who did all of the vocals on this particular record.

9:20 Speaker 10: His name is Chris Connelly. People might know him. He's a solo artist.

9:23 Speaker 8: He's also worked with like Ministry and Pig Face bands like that, And he did all the vocals on this record, and he wrote all the lyrics. And when he turned in that particular song to me, those two words just kind of jumped out as as an interesting.

9:37 Speaker 10: Way to kind of package this entire thing.

9:39 Speaker 8: Okay, And I think also a lot of this album was fueled by the energy that was going on at the time here in the States, and it was it just it just hit the The two words just seemed to fit perfectly for where.

9:53 Speaker 9: We're headed, right right, Yeah, I mean, I hope you're wrong, but but but but I understand. I mean you you probably hear from a lot of people who've said, who've said to you, Yeah, I kind of I'm feeling that. And and that's why this, uh, that's why this connects with me.

10:08 Speaker 8: Yeah, absolutely, And kind of when we were working on this, it was right in the middle of when Ice was doing all sorts of raids here in Chicago and all this kind of crazy energy and and Chris, he's actually he's from Scotland. Yeah, so so he's here in the States, but he grew up in Scotland and he starting to get nervous. I mean, they're the people who are were born in other places were starting to get nervous.

10:28 Speaker 10: He's one of them.

10:29 Speaker 8: And a lot of that kind of fear and anger was coming out in this music.

10:32 Speaker 10: And that's a that's a huge part of it.

10:34 Speaker 9: Yeah, and I can see where people would connect with that. I just as as an aside, I know someone who's from Canada who is in the country legally but is afraid to go home to Canada to visit because she's she's worried that she won't get back in because exactly right, just things are so things are so crazy right now.

10:51 Speaker 8: Exactly And that's the kind of fear and apprehension and tension that we're all feeling. When we were making this record, it was it was in high gear at that time.

10:58 Speaker 9: So yeah, yeah, I was just reading that you've is this quote true, You've you've described the lyrics as being quote violently anti fascist.

11:07 Speaker 3: Yeah.

11:08 Speaker 10: Absolutely. That quote comes directly from Chris, the guy who wrote all the lyrics.

11:11 Speaker 9: Oh gotcha, gotcha.

11:13 Speaker 8: So he's and he does all of that. I don't write the lyrics. So that's a direct quote from him, so I can guarantee you that's exactly what he means.

11:21 Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, No, that's great. I love it. I love it well. So when you started, you know, kind of going back to when you started this during the pandemic, was there ever a point where you felt like maybe this idea wasn't going to work? What like? Did you run in any challenges creatively where you thought this, you know, trying to approach it this way even though the technology is there, even though we're ready to do this, I'm not so sure. Were there any stumbling blocks or was it pretty smooth?

11:45 Speaker 8: You know, because we started, like I said, a few years before COVID, so we've been doing this for a while. So, like you said, the infrastructure was in place. So I will say, we always tend to bite off more than we think we can chew in the beginning on a lot of these projects.

12:00 Speaker 10: Sure, and there are so.

12:02 Speaker 8: Many moving parts, and I will say there was never a time where I thought this isn't gonna work. But I will say there are times that are very challenging for myself and my production partner James, because we're the ones everything has to go through us.

12:14 Speaker 10: Someone has to be staying there at the.

12:15 Speaker 8: Very front and make a lot of these decisions and it can be overwhelming. But that said, no, there was never a time where I thought this isn't gonna work. Every single thing about this project has felt very natural and very good.

12:26 Speaker 9: Oh that's good. That's good. And what about your your partnership with ArmaLite, Am I saying that correctly? ArmaLite Industries?

12:33 Speaker 10: Yeah?

12:34 Speaker 8: Absolutely, they're from London, They're a label from London. They have actually released everything that we've ever put out, and from the very beginning, the very genesis of this band, and we put I put together a few recordings, some demos and stuff and sent them out to Armolite, and from the very beginning they were just all aboard. They saw the vision completely. They have been amazing and stood by us for all this time.

12:57 Speaker 9: Oh that's outstanding. That's outstanding. I've also seen, you know, this referred to as industrial music, and obviously, I mean that's kind of a sort of a broad category. But do you feel like, how do you gauge kind of the interest in industrial music? Because I feel like it's always been for since I was a kid. It's well, I don't know if we even had the term industrial music when I was a kid necessarily, but sometimes I like to forget about how old I actually am. But but I feel like it's always sort of existed in this niche or niche as I guess people like to pronounce it lately, and it doesn't it's so rarely sort of connects to the mainstream.

13:37 Speaker 9: And I'm a radio guy, so I tend to think of it from the perspective of radio. So over the years, you know, there's been you know, there was nine Inch Nails and some others that are that you would put in that category of industrial, but there it seems like there's never a lot of mainstream industrial acts and and I'm not sure why that is, because you know, well, I'm a big fan, so I'm biased. I love industrial music. But but do you feel like recently there's been kind of a renewed interest in this type of music?

14:09 Speaker 10: Yeah, you know, over the past few years, I think definitely.

14:12 Speaker 8: So it's one of these categories that's it's so broad that it's just kind of almost useless to call somethan do kind of just because there are so many variations, right, right, But I will agree with you, typically there's not a lot of that finds its way to the radio waves. But I will say, I mean, we come from a very song oriented point of view. A lot of that music doesn't. And that's part of the reason that I really like a lot of that stuff. It's very experimental, it's very you know, there can be long kind of experimental pieces.

14:41 Speaker 10: We are song focused. Yeah, And I think that comes.

14:45 Speaker 8: Out very clear in all of our recordings that we have stuff that could be played on the radio, but hopefully still fits in that category somehow.

14:52 Speaker 9: Right, No, that makes sense, That makes sense. It's very accessible. It's just a matter of getting it to the right people to hear it. What can you tell me about the video for for No Anchor?

15:07 Speaker 10: Sure?

15:08 Speaker 8: Well, the did the video for No Anchor was just a lyric video that we did. And and the guy who's in into doing the vocals, that's Chris. That's Chris Connelly, the guy who's sang all the vocals on this. And you know, it's kind of fun when we make videos because this project exists literally just as a recording project.

15:27 Speaker 10: This is we don't play shows.

15:28 Speaker 8: We don't tour on, we don't do any of that, so right, some of the some of these videos give us the chance to actually get together in a room and perform and do some fun stuff, which I really do enjoy.

15:38 Speaker 9: Right, No Anchor, I apologize Dan, Yeah, No Anchor is a lyric video. I said the wrong I met the wrong end of the rifle, the wrong end of the rifle. I really like this video a lot. That's what I meant to ask you. This is the Visually this is I mean, it's it's disturbing, but it's it's it's fascinating. I'm actually playing it right now again just to kind of refresh my mind on it. But I love the I love the effects on this just visually it's you know, and it's funny too, because we were talking about technology and how you can do things differently than you used to be able to.

16:11 Speaker 9: There was a time when to make a video like this it would be so expensive, you know, to make a video and get it on MTV and all of that. But now you can do it. And I'm curious to know about the making of this video, But you can do something that looks incredible for but it's much more accessible to be able to do something that is really visually stunning like this video.

16:34 Speaker 10: Absolutely, and we're lucky that we've had.

16:37 Speaker 8: Actually, our very first music video was made by this guy, Joel Lopez from Lumber Productions. He's the same guy who's made every single music video that we've done, including that one. So very early, kind of like the label, very early, we stumbled across somebody who was the perfect match for what we were trying to do. And you'll see our videos, everyone has its own kind of look, but they're all from the same guy.

17:00 Speaker 9: Oh okay, that makes sense. Well, yeah, you found you found somebody who definitely really captures something there, so it makes sense as you would want to work with them. Yeah, I suggest people check out the video. It's just it's just really cool. It kind of reminds me a little bit of some of the videos I would see on MTV in the nineties that were, you know, like not again so little industrial music kind of made it into that MTV mainstream. But I would watch one hundred and twenty minutes on Sunday nights and see some some things that you wouldn't see in regular rotation on MTV, and I would see videos that you know kind of had an esthetic like that.

17:31 Speaker 9: Maybe it makes me a little nostalgic for that, but no, it was just really cool and it's it's such a great song. So, yeah, you did Mention live. So none of these so none of these songs ever get played live, right, because there's really no way for you to do that, because it's such a large collective.

17:47 Speaker 8: Exactly, the closest we come as when we're making videos, we actually did in twenty twenty one, we actually got together in a studio with a group of people and did some live some live recordings in the studio, And that's the closest we ben. We have no plans on doing any tours or gigging or anything like that. Is just there's so many moving parts and I never say never, I guess, I guess it could happen, But at this point in time, that's kind of not the point of what we're trying to do.

18:12 Speaker 10: The point is writing and releasing the music, right.

18:15 Speaker 9: Right, So what's Obviously you're focused on this album and promoting this album, But do you kind of know what's next for the Joy Thieves, what the forward trajectory is?

18:26 Speaker 8: You know, there's always stuff cooking in the background. Which is always one of the fun parts is you know, by the time an album actually comes out, we're already knee deep in something else that we're working on.

18:36 Speaker 9: So that's good.

18:37 Speaker 8: There's always a plan for new music, and there's always gonna be forward motion on this thing, and hopefully that means bringing possibly even more people and involving more people and seeing where it goes and just watching it progress.

18:50 Speaker 9: Oh, that's fantastic. In a moment, we're going to play this track, Ambush Vines, because I think tell me if I have this right? Was this the previous single before No Anger.

19:00 Speaker 8: No no Way there was The Wrong End of Your Rifle was the first single, oh, and No Anchor was the second single?

19:07 Speaker 9: Oh I Got You? I Got You?

19:08 Speaker 7: Oh.

19:08 Speaker 9: I think Ambush Vines was a focused track. Okay it is, Yes, you know what. I'm going to actually play them both at the end of our conversation because I really like both tracks. I like the whole thing. Thank you, we have talk, Yeah, we have time. I can see them both in. But where before we let you go, Dan, where's the best place for people to go online to keep up with everything that you're doing? Because I want people to be able to find you. And like I said, the album is incredible. People should listen to the whole thing.

19:31 Speaker 9: But where's the best place to go online?

19:33 Speaker 10: You can go to the joy Thieves dot com.

19:35 Speaker 8: That's probably the best place because that links to all of our other sites, you know, and we're on obviously all the socials, and then we do we do a lot of our sales through band camp yep. So we also have a band Camp page under the joy Thieves, So any of those places will work great.

19:49 Speaker 9: I'm glad you're on band Camp too. That's something I've really been pushing on the show for a couple of years now. Band Camp, I think, is such a great resource and something that people don't necessarily realize. And I always try to and part this to my listeners. If you purchase a track on band camp, you know, not only not only is band camp very artist friendly, so you're helping the artist, but you also get the highest quality file of the track that you're going to get versus say, you know, if you're just streaming it on YouTube or something, you know, you get a high you get a high quality file from band Camp.

20:21 Speaker 8: Absolutely, I'm a huge band Camp fan and we and that's why we do a lot of work through them and we release everything through them. And honestly, just as a listener, I go to band camp all the time. That's where I buy all my music.

20:31 Speaker 9: Oh good, good, Yeah, that's excellent. Yeah. We love band camp so very good, very good. So we're gonna go ahead and hit this. I think I'm gonna play the wrong end of your Rifle and then I'm gonna play Ambush Vines. But another a great couple of tracks. But uh, Dan Milligan, thank you so much for joining us. We'll definitely do this again in the future. It sounds like you've got a lot coming up in the future of the Joy Thieves and and we'd love to have you back, and of course we'll talk about anything else that you're up to as well.

20:54 Speaker 9: But I really love this this album. Congratulations on Apocalypse Pending. I think it's great, and everyone to check it out. Go to band camp and check it out. And Dan, thank you so much for joining us today.

21:05 Speaker 10: Hey, thank you so much. This has been a lot of fun.

21:07 Speaker 9: Oh great, thank you, all right, talk to you soon.

21:09 Speaker 10: Bye bye, okay, bye bye.

21:11 Speaker 9: All right. That is Daniel Milligan from the Joy Thieves and Yeah, we're gonna play both of these. These are these are worth playing. Uh, let's see, so we've got the wrong end of the rifle and then we're gonna follow that up with ambush vines, two great tracks from the Joy Thieves. Check this out. I don't know.

21:37 Speaker 11: Why I feel on rest this something came alive my.

21:40 Speaker 12: My bullet profast a great portal to my heart from my walkie talky to the shop Pece sound o blush it overall.

21:51 Speaker 1: To stir it out.

21:53 Speaker 12: But did you catch the streets A bunny line defeat.

21:56 Speaker 3: Don't go for.

22:00 Speaker 1: The siren says it's over.

22:04 Speaker 7: Come.

22:05 Speaker 1: The line down here till the sirens says it's ober. Not one to cliss with my infistors.

22:11 Speaker 11: More like Conniac arrest us menace hag literate, said heavily on Conchester.

22:20 Speaker 3: Manas the con said, fist up paying a lamb.

22:24 Speaker 1: Color brand.

22:25 Speaker 3: Nay your senter said Jack Cane play and nothing looking sniff pas as a running.

22:36 Speaker 1: Your knife phone suck on that name line afraid as will those pigs.

22:43 Speaker 12: Chris through Buddy captious and could take a orgasm with a bullet raising usury. But we never filed it no play, not even partially tell me any of these freaks. You recall the last time the id hat fool the brains along with cigarettes old.

23:00 Speaker 1: It's a pull of broad lock. You want me back.

23:04 Speaker 3: Again, You want me back, You want me back, You want me back, a cat, you want me back, you want me back. Mas Bec said that convey the land, discover and branding case gonna say, I said I can't, May I not make looking stuff? Players say, I'm riding and my bout.

24:07 Speaker 1: Had to ride, and my poul had to rub it, and my bout did you go up? Let a grand

24:31 Speaker 1: kya come recollec the track la pass.

24:44 Speaker 3: Veracon quack quack quiet hack.

24:55 Speaker 1: It.

24:56 Speaker 11: That's a love dream to the Mercedory, resolute to sound no buddy strangers lost on driven side?

25:05 Speaker 3: Is that your body can are of the legal about what's.

25:09 Speaker 1: Them all on?

25:10 Speaker 3: Sacred crowd?

25:12 Speaker 1: Strangers lost on driven side? The first fine of minders. We are white took the vote to read.

25:21 Speaker 6: The size bogus all to let the grass cartact on the self.

25:26 Speaker 1: Roll to buy the price.

25:28 Speaker 11: If you're in flying the guy along the great divide nigger a revic, Why.

25:35 Speaker 9: But they're on a self ro.

25:37 Speaker 1: It's just a state of mind. Beware the average.

25:41 Speaker 12: Fe states of mine is just a state of king.

25:44 Speaker 1: Beware the average spine. It's just the states of mine. Beware the average hire.

25:51 Speaker 3: State of mind, just the state of mind.

25:54 Speaker 1: Beware the average spine. Is that your brother dreamed with hips team bath begs the great Escape, rejoicing as he is pistol whipt.

26:07 Speaker 3: It's that's a legal mass.

26:09 Speaker 11: Scream the clueless sunlities to the gain the block.

26:14 Speaker 3: Back to the gun by higher b gruancer, take a scam.

26:23 Speaker 11: I first fight to mind a weird flight to the moon, to read the size osa, to let a grass cow.

26:32 Speaker 1: TI to a sell road, to ride Surprise.

26:35 Speaker 3: It's your replying. It's gotting along the greater mine.

26:39 Speaker 6: Because I regam like a tad on the silk road. It's just a statified Beware the every fine, the sail of mine, it's just a state of mind. Beware the averys stay a mine.

26:54 Speaker 11: It's just a state of mind everywhere the very side stay of mine.

27:13 Speaker 9: Oh, I love it. I love that project. The joy thieves snipe you again to Daniel Milligan for joining us. We had a great conversation. I thought I really enjoyed talking with him, and I love that project, The Joy Thieves. The album is called Apocalypse Pending. Hopefully they're wrong about that.

27:34 Speaker 9: But Chris Connolly, the vocalist on those tracks as Dan and I were discussing, describes the music has been violently anti fascist, which I'm on board with. So I love that. But yeah, that is The Joy Thieves. Check out the whole album. Go to band camp check it out. Not right now, stay with me for the rest of the show, but afterward, please immediately afterward, I mean immediately, like, don't even I don't care what else you have to do. Immediately go to bandcamp and check out The Joy Thieves and the album Apocalypse Pending.

28:03 Speaker 9: It is really really good. This is Matt Connorton Unleashed and we are live from the studios of wm NH ninety five point three FM in Glorious but hot. Gloriously hot if you ask me, because I like the eat Manchester, New Hampshire. And of course you can stream the show from anywhere. Go to Matt connorton dot com slash live for all your live streaming options, social media links, contact info, show archives, et cetera, et cetera, and of course don't forget the new website Matt connorton unleashed dot com.

28:32 Speaker 9: A simpler site, but lots of great content and a searchable archive. If you're looking for a particular guest who's been on the show, that is your best bet, Matt connorton unleashed dot com. And we've got some cool new stuff that we're adding to that as well. We've got a couple of articles in the on the blog page of the site, but we're gonna be adding a lot more content there, so not just audio for you to peruse, but also some articles you don't really peruse article audio. I said that backward. I think audio that you can listen to, but articles that you can peruse.

29:06 Speaker 9: Articles seem perusible necessarily. I don't know if perusible is even a word. But here we are today is Saturday, June thirteen, twenty twenty six. Very nice to have you with me. Thank you, and let's see let's do a little bit more music industry news. Here's something that kind of as a radio guy, I saw this and I said, WHOA, what's going on here? This is from Music Business Worldwide dot com. As I always say, one of my favorite websites for music industry news says here, ASCAP sues four radio groups for its prolonged unauthorized use of its members music.

29:43 Speaker 9: Now, this is interesting to me because in radio, when you're in a radio station such as I am right now, for example, you know, you take it for granted, you can just play whatever you want. It's radio, and you know it's a complex process. But radio pays, you know, these performing arts companies or we have to report to the I'm not involved in any of it, but we report to the performance performing arts companies. You know what gets played and so you know, are the artists get paid for their songs being played on the radio, et cetera.

30:13 Speaker 9: We won't get into the details of that. But this I saw this and I said, WHOA, what's going on? Okay, So again ASKAPS. Who's four radio groups were prolonged and authorized use of its members music? It says here. ASKAP has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against four US radio groups that it says have broadcast its members music without a valid license. Oh, this isn't something you expect even to hear about in twenty twenty six. Maybe back in the days of pirate radio stations and outlaw radio, but not in this hyper corporatized radio world that we live in now, you don't expect to ever hear stories like this.

30:55 Speaker 9: That's part of why this caught my attention. So the Performing Rights Organization as GAP said on Tuesday, June nine that the four groups operate a total of fifteen radio stations. Now, let's see if we recognize any of these names. It sounds like these are all very small companies, you know, because in radio, obviously, you've got big companies like iHeart Radio, which is I think the biggest solidation in the music in the well, not just in the music industry, not really in the music industry, but in the radio industry specifically.

31:28 Speaker 9: We've seen a lot of consolidation, a lot of big companies buying up smaller companies. You see it in every industry really, but I think iHeart Radio is the biggest. Used to be Clear Channel. But these are all it looks like these are all very small radio groups because I haven't heard of any of these. Huago bro, I don't even know how to pronounce itgo haugo who go, I don't know, I don't know what that is. But I've never heard of them. Who Go Broadcasting Inc. In South Dakota, spoon He Media LLC In Indiana, Taylor Communications in Mississippi, and uh oh, this one's hitting close to home.

32:10 Speaker 9: Barry Lunderville Radio in New Hampshire. Uh oh, We're gonna have to look up what station's Berry Lunderville Radio owns. Why is it called Barry this guy? Literally, I assume there's a guy named Barry Lunderville who started the company and decided to call it Barry Lunderville Radio. Uh Okay, we're gonna look that up in a minute. Okay, it says here. According to the article, ASKAP represents more than one point one million songwriters, composers, and music publishers and licenses the public performance of their work to businesses that play music, including radio stations.

32:50 Speaker 9: About ninety percent of the license fees that ASCAP collects are paid to its songwriters, composers, and music publishers as royalties. Most US commercial radio stations license ASCAPS music through an agreement between ASCAP and the Radio Music License Committee, which negotiates blanket license rates on the industry's behalf. That agreement provides access to more than twenty million works for ASCAPS repertory for a fee calculated as a percentage of station revenues. According to the organization, ASCAP and the RmlC reached a settlement in August twenty twenty five that raised the royalty rates paid by almost ten thousand commercial terrestrial radio stations in the US.

33:38 Speaker 9: The deal included year on year increases in the percentage of revenue rate paid by stations. BMI, another US performing rights organization, reached its own RmlC settlement in August twenty twenty five in what it called its largest rate increase ever for radio. By the way, sidebar obvious, but I'll say it for radio. But good for the artists. Okay, radio has to pay more, but the artists are getting more. Radio stations that broadcast music typically license multiple performing rights organizations, including ASCAP, BMI, CSACK, and Global Music Rights.

34:16 Speaker 9: A license from one does not cover the others, and each pursues its own infringement actions against stations that do not pay. ASCAP Chairman of the Board and president and songwriter Paul Williams are Remember Paul Williams. Remember Paul Williams said quote music is the lifeblood of radio and the overwhelming majority of radio stations follow the law. Unquote, by the way, I can picture Paul Williams, but I can't think of any Paul Williams songs. He also said, quote, and that's not a diss on Paul Williams.

34:50 Speaker 9: I just I can't. I literally, I can picture what he looks like very clearly. I cannot think of a single Paul Williams song. Why is that? I don't know. I apologize to Paul Williams. Quote. As songwriters and composers, we earn our livelihoods through our creative work, and music is how we put food on the table, pay the rent, and support our families. Radio station owners know that an ASCAP blank and license allows them to offer music legally, efficiently, and at a reasonable price, while compensating music creators fairly.

35:23 Speaker 9: Quote. Under federal copyright law, broadcasters must obtain permission from copyright owners before playing their music. As CAP said, the four station groups have repeatedly refused to renew their licenses and pay the required fees. According to ASCAP, ASCAP said the defendants of broadcast music written and published by its members without authorization or payment for the last several years. Clara Kim ASCAPS EVP executive vice president and chief Legal and business affairs officers said, quote, we don't take legal action lightly when a station refuses to pay for the music that makes their business posy possible.

36:00 Speaker 9: We have a responsibility to our members to take action unquote. ASCAP said it terminated each broadcaster's license and proceeded with litigation after exhausting attempts to reach a resolution. ASCAP says it is the only US performing rights organization that operates on a not for profit basis. I didn't know that about ninety percent of the license fees that ASCAP collects are paid to the songwriters, composers, and music publishers as royalties, the organization said. Um ASCAP licenses it's repertory to streaming services, television and radio broadcasters into brick and mortar businesses such as bars, restaurants, and retail stores.

36:42 Speaker 9: Now that's something a lot of people don't know. When you say, when you go into a bar and you hear music being played over the ceeo a bar or any kind of business, you know that's again, they have to pay for that. That's not free. They don't just turn on the radio and let it play or put on some music and let it play, or you use a service for that and just let it play, and that's it. They have to pay for that. And venues, music venues, and I don't care how big or small it is, even if it's just a little, tiny, little, you know, dive bar on the corner.

37:17 Speaker 9: If they have someone come in and play live, like maybe they have an acoustic singer songwriter come in and play live in the little bar, this little tiny bar that nobody even knows about, they do have to pay for that. If the artist, I mean, if they're playing original songs, it doesn't matter. But if they're playing cover songs, the bar has to pay for that. They have to pay these licensing organizations for that if they don't. And by the way, this is gonna sound wild. I swear to some of you won't even believe me when I say this, but I swear to God this is the truth.

37:50 Speaker 9: They and I'll tell you in a minute why I know about this. They actually send these performing rights organizations performance rights organisms. They have people they send into bars and other types of venues undercover. I'm not kidding. Undercover. They have people go in to find out what's going on. Oh, you've got a band playing tonight, let's see. Oh are they doing cover songs? Oh? Are these cover songs of any of our clients at ASCAP. Oh, we have a problem, and they will, uh, they will make it known to the owner or the management of that establishment.

38:36 Speaker 9: No, you are about to You've got a heap of trouble here because you can't be doing this. And we're about to. I don't know how it works. We're about to find you a lot of money or something. I don't know how that would work. But so in other words, they actively and they will send. Look. Years ago, when I was living in Conquered there was a place called Cafe Eclipse. And we might even have some listeners of this show. If you've been with me for a long time, you might even remember Cafe Eclipse. Christian and Star Skinner good friends of mine.

39:08 Speaker 9: They were the owners and operators of Cafe Eclipse, and but they had a strict policy there no covers. And it was Christian who told me Christian Skinner who told me that the reason is they had actually had someone in there one night who revealed themselves ultimately to be from one of the performing rights organizations checking out what's going on because and telling Christian. If I remember the story correctly, this person confronted Christian at some point during the evening and said, look, this is where I'm from, this is why I'm here, and you owe us a lot of money, and you've got bands coming into your playing these cover songs and you can't do that.

39:52 Speaker 9: So then they had to make a rule, no more cover songs. I was in a band at the time called the Jinkst.

40:00 Speaker 2: And we.

40:04 Speaker 9: Just the guy thought this was funny. I didn't think it was funny, but you know, because I told them we can't play any covers and we're on stage one night and they started just to mess with me. The the opening part of smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Troy started playing that on the guitar and Frank, who was our drummer at the time, started playing it on the joined him on the drums, and I just sat down on the stage with my arms crossed, like, guys, we can't do this. And I know you think this is funny, but this isn't funny because this actual, real world sort of you know, consequences here.

40:38 Speaker 9: You're going to ruin our relationship with the venue, who do not want to have to pay for us playing the song right now. So and they were just you know, they didn't they didn't keep playing it. They just played at the beginning of it. But it was like, but I did not enjoy seeing a panicked face come running into the room when they hear what we're doing. It's like, come on, guys, let's not jeopardize our relationships here with these venues because we need them anyway. But they will do that. And I've heard stories and talked to people over the years about again.

41:11 Speaker 9: You know, Oh, I've got a tiny hole in the wall dive bar on the corner that you know, you wouldn't think anyone would even notice was there, you know, except for the people who come there to drink. And sometimes we have somebody coming with a guitar and play a little bit. And one night we had someone from BMI come in and put some paperwork down on the bar in front of me and said, you owe us money. So it does happen. It does happen. So I saw that. I thought that was very interesting. Oh, we were going to I'm gonna do this in real time live on the show because I want to know more about these radio groups.

41:47 Speaker 9: One of them is in New Hampshire, and I am not familiar with them. Barry Lunderville Radio. I want to google this. Who is Barry Lunderville Radio? And are they even still in business now? Well, apparently Barry Launderville is dead. I guess because I've got an obituary here from twenty eighteen. Huh, oh wow, he actually looks familiar to me. Barry Lunderville, he died in twenty eighteen, says Barry's life was radio. He began his career at the tender age of fifteen at WLTN. That da goes on and on.

42:27 Speaker 9: All right, I'm just curious, rip Barry Lunderville. Oh sorry, you're gone. Whatever. Um, I'm just curious. Are these people even still in business now that ASCAP has pulled their license? There's a lot of articles here online about ASCAP suing them. Oh, they were involved. Barry Lunderville was involved in some litigation in Oh my god, twenty seventeen. There's an article here from Inside Radio. This is from twenty seventeen. His appeal rejected. Lunderville still owes the FCC two hundred and forty four thousand dollars.

43:15 Speaker 9: That's a fine they got fined for something by the FCC. Oh boy, these are some outlaws here at Barry Lunderville Radio says here. This is from twenty seventeen. A federal appeals court in Boston has rejected an attempt by New Hampshire station owner Barry Lunderville to have a financial penalty issued against him by the FCC canceled or reduced. The agency ended in Lunderville a two hundred and forty four thousand dollars bill after he withdrew a bit submitted for a new FM during an FCC auction. Okay, not as I thought it was.

43:49 Speaker 9: Maybe for something that happened on the air, the FCC fined them or something. But no, nothing quite as juicy as that. Huh. Well, I don't see again. I see a lot of a lot of articles about ASCAP filing infringement lawsuits against Barry Lunderville Radio, but I don't see anything that indicates are these people even still in business. WLTNFM is owned by Barry Lunderville. I'm looking at ltn's Wikipedia page. See. I'm wondering if they're off the air now because of what's going on. The Wikipedia page doesn't have a lot of information.

44:29 Speaker 9: All right, we'll move on from that. We'll move on from that. I think I do want to fit in one more great track from The joy Thieves. I love this project so much. This is another single from The Joy Thieves, and again thank you for Thank you to Dan Milligan for joining us earlier. I really enjoyed speaking with him and I love this project. The album is called Apocalypse Pending, the project is The Joy Thieves, and this is called I'll be Your Hammer.

45:06 Speaker 7: I'll be your hammer, and then we just say it.

45:10 Speaker 1: Try to turn me out, but I won't go away.

45:13 Speaker 5: You see that all my life with the.

45:16 Speaker 1: Needs of friends.

45:17 Speaker 4: But I would expect from pizza, make your product, good bags.

45:22 Speaker 6: Producted bass, parductlick bags, partect bag.

45:33 Speaker 3: Or be a hammer.

45:38 Speaker 10: Or be a hammer?

45:40 Speaker 3: I see h a hammer.

45:41 Speaker 1: I can maybe this way had I cat done, I won't go away.

45:47 Speaker 7: You try to stuff my life.

45:49 Speaker 1: But if tho I don't like the suthing, all I know is the show.

45:53 Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't whether I'm.

45:56 Speaker 1: I don't.

45:58 Speaker 10: Look at me, I don't whether I'm don't make any creep.

46:03 Speaker 1: You made a devices, but now on a device said I'll be your hour, and this is the price. I don't like this, Like I have my ASA shots of the seats, the piece of historic blood as it comes on giving to serreted, and the room.

46:38 Speaker 12: Let's struggle to breathe go aheadles like what flood as she struggled to.

46:44 Speaker 1: You made a device, but now on a deadvice said I'll be.

46:53 Speaker 4: Your wo were like, this is the price.

47:01 Speaker 1: This is a very gristle. You'll just make me strong. You'll try some waiting game strong. It's such good.

47:56 Speaker 9: Oh that is so good. I'll be your hammer. The project is the Joy Thief. The album is called Apocalypse Pending. And I really enjoyed that a lot. I hope you did too. Really good stuff. And again thank you to uh to Dan Milligan for joining us earlier. One other quick music industry news story and then we got to get out of here. Uh this just popped up on Digital music news dot com. Kanye's anti semitism definitely isn't flying in Europe. Prague the latest to shut down a YE show. Yeah, this is this is still following him his uh anti Semitic comments, and I, you know, I wondered it was interesting to see how many people kind of you know, held it against him, and how many people have kind of forgotten about it.

48:45 Speaker 9: I kind of get the impression that for some people, a certain amount of time has passed where they're able to look past some of the things that he's said. I think he came out one point saying, you know, look, I was on some medication that made me say these hateful things are whatever. I don't know. Kanye doesn't really apologize for much. But if you recall, he said some pretty awful and very anti Semitic things that anyone else that would have ruined their career. But Kanye West somehow has survived.

49:13 Speaker 9: But he's having some trouble here again. It's this is from Digital Musicnews dot com. The rapper formerly known as Kanye West will not be performing in Prague after the venue set to host him backed out. It's the latest canceled show for the outwardly anti Semitic artist. Kanye West, who now goes by Yee, was set to perform in Prague as part of his proposed comeback tour, but the show has been canceled after the venue set to host him backed out. That makes the latest country to say no to the noted anti Semitic rapper.

49:47 Speaker 9: By the way, before anyone says, well, what about his First Amendment rights? Well, it's Prague. It's not the United States. They don't care about our constitution, so uh, don't even buy I just only I mean that should be obvious to most people, but I just know there's going to be somebody out there listening, going ooh for some amendment. Yeah, it's a different country. Relax. Organized by Slovak producer Hugo Varga, the show was scheduled to take place on July twenty five at a horse track. It was canceled by venue owner Zuzana Rambova, who didn't cite a specific reason for the move, but confirmed that the arena quote terminated the organizer's contract.

50:28 Speaker 9: Notably, Varga was one of the organizers of a Slovak rap festival scheduled for last summer, where Ye was also scheduled to perform, but local protests against the event combined with logistics concerns that led to the rapper withdrawing from the lineup, and the festival was ultimately canceled. Varga defended Ye at the time, blaming the failure of the festival on financial regulations and asserting that the rapper shouldn't be barred from performing. Similarly, Rambova said that Ye should be free to perform despite his past anti Semitic remarks.

51:03 Speaker 9: The show in Prague is the latest in a series of canceled performances since Ye began publicly making anti Semitic statements. In April, the rapper was denied a visa to the UK for the Wireless Festival, where Ye was announced as a headliner. Ultimately, the entire event was scrapped. Just a week later, the rapper postponed a planned show in how Do You Say That, Marseilles after rumors that French authorities were looking to cancel it. Since then, shows in Poland, Italy and other countries have also been canceled citing concerns over Yea's anti semitism.

51:38 Speaker 9: The rapper successfully performed two shows in the Netherlands on June six and June eighth, after the Dutch Deputy Prime minister confirmed they investigated his past statements and found no and found insignificant legal grounds for borrowing him from the country. In late twenty twenty two, if you don't remember, he began making anti Semitic remarks on social media, which led to a w of cancelations from sponsors and business partners. By the way, he also went on the Alex Jones Show and declared his love for the Fear.

52:11 Speaker 9: If you don't remember, earlier this year, the rapper issued a full page public apology in The Wall Street Journal blaming his antisemitic remarks on untreated bipolar disorder and a car accident he was in years ago. I'm skeptical in those moments. I forgot about the full page public apology, but that may not have been enough. But that's hard to come back from. All right, we are almost out of time. Thank you all for joining us today again. Thank you to Dan Milligan from The Joy Thieves for joining us, and of course Mick Michael's in the first hour who also was with us from Corners of Sanctuary and we played their new single, their cover of Lick It Up by Kiss.

52:59 Speaker 9: Yes, if you don't know lick It Up or I'm sorry Kiss, I should say, happens to be my favorite band, so I was excited about that. But I really enjoyed both conversations. And if you miss any part of today's show, it will be up in just a little bit at my website. Matt connorton dot com and our new site, Matt Connorton Unleashed dot com. Please check that out if you haven't done so already. Also, if you are interested in hypnotherapy, I am a certified hypnotherapist. You can book me for a free consultation or schedule a session right through the website Matt connorton dot com.

53:30 Speaker 9: All my contact information is there. I actually just got a message last night from one of the member of one of the bands that we've had on the show recently who wants to quit smoking. So, and that's kind of my I don't want to say it's my specialty. We can use hypnotherapy for many different things, but it's definitely the number one thing that people come to me for is to quit smoking. So Matt connorton dot com is the website if you want to keep up with everything Jenny is doing. Jencoffee dot com is her site.

53:56 Speaker 9: She's up to a lot of good trouble, as she likes to say, so I'm not gonna say any thing about where she is right now, but she's up to something good, so we'll leave it at that. But again, thank you everyone who joined me. And I think to close out today's show, I think we should do. We opened with it, we didn't quite open with it, but close to the top of the show we played it. I think we should give this to spend one more time, partly for selfish reasons because Kiss is my favorite band and I really love Corners of Sanctuary their cover of the Kiss classic Lick It Up.

54:29 Speaker 9: I think that is a perfect way to close out today's show. Thank you everybody, Love to you all, and we will talk at y'all a little bit later. Bye, everybody.

55:01 Speaker 1: I so you sell your second.

55:12 Speaker 3: Was stay don't wait to play about it?

56:06 Speaker 1: Very sad. It's finally any sense slatting something.

57:04 Speaker 5: Now?

57:19 Speaker 2: Yeah, you're listening to Matt Connorton Unleashed on WMNH ninety five point three.

58:46 Speaker 9: This week on Matt Connorton Unleashed, we have two exclusive world radio premieres for you. You will only hear these on wm n H ninety five point three FM. Up first, from his new album Lid Liquor, This is Aaron Billado with the Passenger.

59:26 Speaker 3: A little bit you every day and wait.

59:31 Speaker 5: Until the cat ray The Passenger a lad I cannot see it.

59:41 Speaker 1: Let inside sad and sad