ATX Metal Podcast

As COIVD continues to be a part of our daily lives, we learn how to adapt to the new normal. So, we here at the podcast thought it was interesting that HopeFool was formed during COVID. The podcast found them via submission and played a track of theirs on the "Does It Stank" session. Liking the music and the story, they reached out to see how life was for them and to get to know them a little better.

The band was born out of emails, texts and zoom conferences. They haven't even played a show. Michael tells the story about renting an Air BnB to jam in person, since the guys live all over the place. Dylan (guitarist) actually moved from Colorado during the pandemic to pursue music. Also, all members are bartenders so, they got hit twice as hard. Michael actually tested positive for COVID and explains how he reacted to it. Thankfully he is doing ok.

The guys are planning on releasing some new music. Due to their situation, they have a trove of music they have written in the short amount of time. They plan on dropping singles here and there in the run up to the album release.

Fun Facts: The drummer used to be in Casket of Cassandra, formerly a ATX local fan favorite. Also, Michael has never been in a band nor has he performed live. Today's track featured in the episode is by HopeFool titled "The New Age"

Well, nothing new to report from here except that Ryan is still in his closet calling people.
In this episode, Andy Flores from Xposed Underground was kind enough to take the call.

Andy is making due during the COVID-19 pandemic. He owns and operates his own mobile mechanic
service. His wok has slowed but he still has customers, mainly consisting of military service
members. Ryan can empathize as he is also a mechanic by day. He describes how he goes about
being safe when it comes to interacting with his customers.

Andy is also well known down in San Antonio when it comes to the metal/live music scene.
He runs Xposed Underground which came from two ideas: An old show on MTV called "Reverb" and
being involved in the local music scene. He books/promotes shows at this really cool location
in SA called Vibes Event Center which contains The Rockbox and Vibes Underground. He also has
done work at Fitzgerald's and a couple other spots around that neck of the woods.

There's also some big news inside. The ATX Metal Podcast and Xposed Underground are teaming up
to bring even more of a spotlight to local metal/rock in the San Antonio and Austin area.
Andy goes into his first show for Xposed and how it has grown.

Andy has been involved in metal since he was in high school since 2001. They talk about
days of The White Rabbit and how he came up in the scene. His band, Evol Assassins, play
around Texas and he chats about how his band does what they do. He tells us about one of
his last shows that they opened up for the headliner, Cold. He thought they sucked. The fans
told him otherwise.

Ryan has found a new source of metal on his local radio. 93.3 HD3 for No Control Radio

the song featured in today's episode is "Memory" by Evol Assassins

Seth joined the band Oh, Sleeper late 2018 and made it official early 2019. If you are not familiar with Oh, Sleeper then you should hit pause and go check out their discography. Its solid (and a personal fav). Seth went on about the beginning of the tour and how everyone got along really well. The line up was stacked with Thousand Below and Bloodline (up and coming band form Dallas, TX). But sadly, the tour had to come to a close with the spreading pandemic and shut downs.

Seth explained that he was more at risk to catch/spread the virus because he was behind the merch table, high-fiving and shaking hands with fans. This is just a part of the job but at the same time, he was taking this into account as he has members in his family that may be a little more vulnerable to the virus. The last thing any of us want to do it be the cause of someones sickness, regardless of the circumstances. Seth said something that stood out. He said that

Seth said that he found himself in a round about state of grief and that that was ok. In today's environment of mental health being on the fore-front of a lot of conversations, doing what you love (like being a touring musician) and having that taken from you can take a toll on a a persons mental state. Seth also lets us take a peek into his home life and the struggles of actually being home.

He also lets Ryan know that there maybe be something cool coming from Oh, Sleeper on Twitch so stay tuned. Words of wisdom from Seth to follow: "Your band is your ice cream shop. No one gives a f**k that you make ice cream. A lot of people make ice cream. Its what you do to get people to come back for your ice cream." ~ S.W. 2020

The song featured in today's episode is "The Island" off Oh, Sleepers latest album "Bloodied / Unbowed"
Photo credit : @aadamstokes

Like most people today, Drake is just like the rest dealing with all that is COVID-19. With the majority of the country practicing social distancing, work and band life have taken some turns. Drake, working in construction, has seen a dip but is hopeful that things will pick back up. One of the things he is noticing is that he is seeing families spending more time together outside. Taking walks, playing, kids riding their bikes. Even during tough times, somehow people are still enjoying themselves the best they know how.

Oddfellas is relatively new to the podcast as far as their music and performances. About two years ago, Ryan happened to be a judge for the Heaven and Hell Fest Battle that took place at Come and Take It Live in Austin, Tx. Drake goes into how he didn't think they had a shot but his drummer talked him into it. With an 8+ hour drive (one way), little money to spare and big dreams in their back pockets, they made the trip to the battle. Drake explains how he listened to the other bands at the battle and felt they didn't have a good shot at winning.

Rounding out the episode, Drake lets us know that Oddfellas is coming out with something fresh, different in the coming months. They will be releasing the single "Cold" which has a new feel to it vs their older catalog. He also informs us that they have recorded some "live" sessions but made some adjustments for the best quality.

If you want to reach Oddfellas, hit them up on Twitter where they are pretty active.

The song heard in today's episode is "Dead" of their self-titled album "Oddfellas".

So, it has been a minute since the last L.I.C. episode. Partly because Ryan has gone back to work full time as Texas has moved into another phase of reopening their economies. During the down time, the guys at the podcast kept the ball rolling with reviewing new music via their “Google Drive” and “Does It Stank” segments. Fortunately, they found Levels buried deep in the mix.

Jacob handles the heavy stings (bass) for Levels by night and is a software engineer by day. So as Jacob said, he wasn’t as affected work-wise, like others were. But the band stuff did take a hard pause like most as well. The band had a rather nice tour setup for the spring that was going to venture into Canada and link up with a band that Dalton (drummer) had set up but due to COVID-19, they had to put that to the side.

The guys talk about how the band is trying to stay busy and connect to their fans. The latest single “Encapsulate” really gets you out of your seat and moving and they have also been writing more new music so that when things are ready to return to normal, they want to return with an even bigger and better show for their fans.

With the circumstances and the rules changing almost weekly, the guys talk about how local support is going to be vital to the reopening success for local venues and local bands. Buy a shirt, a cd, a hat is you can because that goes right back into the bands pocket.

The music featured in today’s episode is Levels latest single “Encapsulate”. Head over to their social media accounts and show them some love.