Interviews Episodes

This week, we're scratching The Itch to get cinematic! Our guest, Bear McCreary, is the man responsible for scores of scores for films, shows, and games. He created music for The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, Black Sails, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, God of War, and literally 100 other projects. And somewhere in all that work, he also found time to assemble an all-star team of collaborators for his own metal albums, 2024's The Singularity and this year's The Singularity: Ekleipsi...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a triumphant return! Des Rocs first appeared on The Itch over four years ago to discuss his debut album A Real Good Person in a Real Bad Place. Since then, he's toured the world, dropped his excellent second album Dream Machine, and even sailed the seas on Shiprocked. And we've covered his live show on the podcast at least half a dozen times. Now he's back with his third album, To Hell and Back, and we were well overdue for a proper catch-up. Though we...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to Bloom... and so are our guests! Mike, Joe, and Dip of King Falcon join us in this episode ahead of the release of their new EP and man, do they have some stories and some spicy hot takes. Coming to us live from a freshly repaired van parked off a highway exit mid-tour, the guys had plenty to share about their journey, which has led them from a label to independence, a blues rock style to a broader indie alternative sound, and once... into a head-on coll...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for some Southern spirit! Dylan Turner and Megan Kane of Parker Barrow Hold the Mash on their new album because, well, you don't really need it when you've got so many bangers. The adorable couple behind the band joins us to talk about how their love of bands like The Black Crowes inspires their music, how solidifying their lineup evolved their creative process, and how they keep both their marriage and their connection to their church community going strong ...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to be dangerous! Brayden and Ryan of Fury in Few are back to answer the question How Bad Do You Want It? on their outstanding debut album. The guys take us on a track-by-track journey through the record, exploring their methods of adding "character" to songs, stretching themselves sonically to make the music they truly want, and how they're making social media work better for them without becoming part of the content creation machine. Plus, we'll discuss t...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to get Villainous! Amanda Lyberg of Eva Under Fire returns to give us an exclusive track-by-track breakdown of the band's highly anticipated new album__. From the opening song that tells the story's last chapter to the record's particularly violent end, Amanda is making it clear that she's laying claim to her identity, regardless of what anyone has to say about it. We'll talk about the title track collaboration with Maria Brink of In This Moment, the huge ...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a two-for-one deal! Ekoh and Lø Spirit have spent years forging unique paths as independent solo artists. But a collaboration a few years ago led to the realization that, well, they love collaborating. They formalized their alliance this year with a new band, Ninth Key, and put themselves on the map (and the charts) immediately with their debut single, "If I Wasn't Me". With a strong ethos and a stronger work ethic, Ekoh and Lø have set out to claw ...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a class reunion! The Itch's Favorite Punk Band™ Winona Fighter is about to head out on the idobi Radio Summer School tour with Honey Revenge, South Arcade, Games We Play, and Chase Petra. And just in time to hit the road, they dropped a new single, "Bombs Away," their first new music since both versions of last year's Itch Album of the Year My Apologies to the Chef. Lead lady Coco Kinnon joins the three-timer's club to talk about the tour, the single, and...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to ride the wave! Wave Day II in Santa Ana, California is only days away, and our boys in Aurorawave are so excited about it that the whole band stopped by to talk about their signature show, which also features Lexi Layne, Playuh, and the live solo debut of Sonny Dread of P.O.D.! And of course we've got to cover their instantly legendary Shiprocked experience, where they won over the crowd so much with their beach set and impromptu video shoot that they end...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to get charmed! Our guest is drummer Mark Reznicek of Toadies, whose long-awaited eighth album The Charmer is out now. It's been nine years since their last album, but given the wild story of how their follow-up to 1994's platinum-selling Rubberneck was delayed all the way into the nu metal era, they're a band that understands the benefits of patience. Their endurance as a band has in no small part been due to the continued love and support they've received i...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a youth movement! Our guests are Chaya and Nyrobi Beckett-Messam, collectively known as ALT BLK ERA. They're sisters who grew up with a passion for music that led them to start creating at a young age. With strong family support and a penchant for engrossing themselves in various genres, they put their individual personalities and styles together to release their debut album, the fantastic drum and bass/rock hybrid Rave Immortal, just last year. Now they'...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for riffs! Jamie Hall of Tigercub joins us to discuss the process of creating their new album Nets to Catch the Wind. By the time a band reaches their fourth record, it can be easy to fall into familiar creative patterns and produce work that isn't as satisfying for the artist or the audience. But with Jamie's awareness of his own habits and a bit of inspiration from their creative partner Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, the band's new album may be both their big...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to get schooled! As in, our returning guest, Brandon Yeagley of Crobot, just started one! In addition to being a present father, a dirty groove rocker with a new album, and the king of the Shiprocked Stowaways, he's recently added two more titles to his resume: co-founder of Electric River Records and teacher at his new Let There Be Rock school in Pottsville, PA! Somehow, among all of those roles (and a few we more we didn't even get to cover), he found time...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a three-peat! Arya Goggin of Skindred (The Itch's Official Favorite Band™) joins the three-timer club to discuss their ninth album, You Got This. As with all of their albums, this one is full of genre-hopping earworms ranging from pop rockers to old school ragga-metal jams. In this conversation, we explore how the album got its title (and get some insight into how Skindred almost "jumped the shark" on a previous album), how a Hennessy bottle made it into ...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to sing the blues ... again! Grammy nominee Kenny Wayne Shepherd returns in celebration of the 30th anniversary of his debut album Ledbetter Heights. In addition to a re-recording to be released in May, Kenny and his band are playing the album in full on this tour alongside some old faces and some who will be playing the songs for the first time! Plus, we discuss Kenny's recent tribute to B.B. King and collaboration with Bobby Rush, showing that you can still...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to celebrate St Louis! It's episode 314, and who better to spotlight our city than Steve Ewing! Rock fans best know Steve as the dynamic frontman of Lou legends The Urge. But for over 15 years, St. Louisians have also been receiving the gift of flavor at Steve's Hot Dogs! And if fronting a band and running a business weren't enough, Steve doubles down on both, performing regularly with the Steve Ewing Band and venturing into gourmet grilled cheese with ...

This week, we're recovering from being on a boat! We've got another supersized replay for you, this time featuring our back-to-back conversations from 2024 with Luke and Lee of Lowlives. These boys, alongside their bandmates Jaxon Moore and Steve Lucarelli, played a big part in making Shiprocked 2026 a blast for us. They play like their lives depend on it, they make their fans feel like friends, and they consume burgers like mad men. Enjoy this double episode, then check out their debut album Fr...

This week, we're on a boat! And that means that, per tradition, we're replaying an episode featuring a guest that we're currently rocking out with on Shiprocked. But this year our favorite Carnival concert cruise has a bigger boat, so we're giving you a bigger episode! Enjoy a double dose of conversation with Nathan Aurora of Aurorawave, and then check out their new album Monument! You're rockin' with the wave sh*t.... literally. Listen to The Itch Rock Radio Show Rock with us every Sunday nigh...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to explore some new horizons! We're joined Riley Breckenridge of Thrice, who just released their excellent 12th studio album Horizons/West. It's almost unheard of for a band to be this consistently good this far into their career, but Riley and his bandmates made it happen with a little patience and a penchant for... being a bit boring? Join us for an explanation of that, plus some talk about the awesomeness of Radiohead, the awfulness of the Los Angeles Ange...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to start the year with joy. Micah Bournes returns to the show to discuss his new protest album Til We All Free, the first non-rock record to ever make The Itch's Top 20 list. Born out of a sense of urgency after America's sociopolitical climate changed again last year, the album is an exploration of abolition, the difference between legality and morality, and how to stay joyful while facing and fighting injustice. Micah's art inspires and influences The Itch,...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to put a Christmas wrap on our 2025 interviews! Per tradition and unenforceable contract, Amanda Lyberg of Eva Under Fire makes her second appearance of the year (and within a month!) for the return of Christmas Eva! And believe it or not, things have happened since we spoke in November! Join us for a conversation that's very much in the holiday spirit, where we discuss the value of Octane to the active rock scene, a unique and interesting tour that was just ...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for an early Christmas present... and a seasonally appropriate one at that! Aaron checks off a pair of wish list guests as Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells join us to talk about their latest record Bunky Becky Birthday Boy, how motherhood, sobriety, and a full band have tour life looking different these days, and the work that goes into their energetic live shows (the topic that also brought us last week's guest, their frequent keyboardist and b...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for tour support! Kate Steinberg has built a career as a touring and recording vocalist and keyboardist, a voice teacher, producer, and arranger, a songwriter, and... if it seems like this list keeps going, that's because it does. Kate is a multi-talented musician who caught Aaron's attention with her boundless on-stage energy as. she rocked keys and BGVs on Sleigh Bells' recent tour. And that's not the only type of tour support she offers. Kate custom-design...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for gratitude! Once again, we had a record number of interview episodes in 2025, and we're treating you to a true buffet of bonus clips from them with our annual Leftovers episode. Enjoy them while you recover from Thanksgiving, while you celebrate (or mourn) your football team's performance, or while you shop (or don't, which we love even more). Thank you so much to all of this year's guests, and to you for joining us for the ride. Enjoy. Listen to The Itch...