“Rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, in order to provide articles for people who can’t read.”
- Frank Zappa
KENNY BLOGGINS
I wanted to call this part of the about page “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.” Turns out dibs have already been called on that. I’m 25, Virgo, and speak almost exclusively in hyperbole and sarcasm.
To encapsulate the last few years of my life, I graduated cum laude from the University of Kentucky in 2007 with a B.A. in Journalism, Political Science, and “Wingin’ It.” I served as general manager for our campus radio station WRFL, volunteered with the Action Arts Collective, wrote features for the Kentucky Kernel (as well as the satirical equivalent The Colonel) and various other publications online or otherwise, help to get a short-lived college political commentary mag off the ground, had a brief stoner metal band, started more projects than I could keep up with, and eventually landed a very awesome job booking touring national artists and local bands, as well as doing promotions and operational tasks, for the city’s largest and most acclaimed music club, The Dame, for 2.5 years. I tell many stories from my tenure at The Dame due to the insanity that a music venue inherently harbors.
After livin’ the dream for a while, I moved to the big city (Chicago), got a big boy job (doing search engine optimization and copywriting in an office and totally selling out), and partied hard when the revenue stream permitted. I’m now living in Louisville – The Highlands specifically, and love it. I do freelance graphic and web design when I can, as well as writing for various online and print publications including the online adversary to Pitchfork Tiny Mix Tapes and Louisville’s award winning alternative newsweekly LEO Weekly. I can’t talk about my day job currently since some of the shit I say on here could get me in trouble, or at least awkward situations.
In my spare time, I record my own post-rock informed guitar noddlin’ and sound collage stuff under the name Meridian Signals. I also like to do usual stuff… be a dude, hang out, light things on fire, beer, draw skulls on stuff, get mah dance on, et al. I’m obsessed with Flying Saucer Attack and Jock Jams. That shit’s so good. Everybody dance now.
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::: Last FM
MRS. KENNY BLOGGINS
Lana, a.k.a. Lana Montana, L-Dog, L-Train, Lanasty, Mrs. Kenny Bloggins, etc., doesn’t exactly write for this blog, but she is certainly a contributor. She avidly reads rock biographies like a scholar, and introduces me to a lot of under-the-radar artists of the ’60s and ’70s that were monumental in larger bands’ careers. Lana is a veritable fountain of knowledge. She provides lots of inspiration, acting as an all around muse. Lana also points me to a lot of amazing YouTube videos that subsequently end up on this blog. She’s currently working on a David Byrne-esque art project – a visually unique flowchart intimately connecting every important artist in rock and roll to Eric Clapton. It’s going to be weird and awesome. There’s a very good chance that she’s smarter than you (no offense). I mean, chick owns and has read the first Harry Potter book… in Latin. Lana’s currently working on her teaching degree, and will make the world a less dumb place. We thank her for this.
Lana has been lately diggin’ all up on Glenn Branca, Animal Collective, The Kinks, The Vaselines, Fairport Convention, Ciccone Youth, Cream, and tons of other classic rock. We both love the Fleetwood Motherfuckin’ Mac. She’s also a self-described “pretentious defender of unpretentious music.”
MICHAEL HANSEN
My first introduction into the world of music began as half a college radio show, but we decided to not let it get too popular (mostly sticking to Wikipedia readings and live organ solos) or they might have figured out that neither of us were actually enrolled at said college. Once I got my high school diploma I enrolled at Emerson in Boston. I was a film major, but after receiving one too many scratched dvd’s from Netflix I decided to sell out and study PR instead. Occasionally, I help out local outfit A Million Hands Records, makin’ music videos and compilation cd’s to hand out or stick between the cushions at Jordan’s Furniture.
Usually I spend my free time riding the T, writing letters to Jandek, and getting out of the city for a while to explore wooded areas. One of my current projects is to bring the Decibel Tolls to Boston and it’s surrounding areas, so if you’re local, and want your music to be featured on the site, or want to collaborate with us to set up a show, feel free to send me an email. The weirder the better.
I usually tend to throw on: The Fall, Sun City Girls, J Dilla, Swell Maps, Boards of Canada, Crass, Microphones/Mt. Eerie, Beat Happening, MF Doom, Jesus & Mary Chain, Neu! or Iggy Pop.
XAVIER VAN ZANDT 
While not related to Ronnie, Steven or Townes, Xavier Van Zandt has a rock and roll pedigree to rival them all.
His formative years were spent tethered by headphones to WKXZ, the single radio station in his hometown. Early influences include Air Supply, Kenny Rogers and Naked Eyes. Having come of age before the dawn of the internets and compact discs, he became expert in the art of flipping vinyl and finding sub-1 minute songs suitable for filling the gap at the end of mix tapes. Xavier spent his college career catching hell for refusing to book cover bands and notching a business degree in his spare time. After more than a decade serving corporate masters, he has taken his ill-gotten gains off the table to donate his time to a non-profit microfinance organization. He has published articles in a variety of publications and contributes regularly to The Decibel Tolls.
::: Last FM
NORWOOD DERR
I reared my ugly head in Buffalo, NY sometime during the ’80s. My parents decided minutes later that it would be a good idea to raise my sister and I in the tree huggin’, peace lovin’ capital of our country, better known as Berkeley, CA. Music became a significant interest of mine in 2nd grade, after my parents took me to my first Backstreet Boys concert. How about that for a curveball? I left my Backstreet Boys behind in exchange for a skateboard, The Misfits and some peach fuzz. I then picked up the guitar, mastered “Ode to Joy,” and started my first pre-teen punk band. I don’t really remember high school (too busy playing Counter-Strike), but I’m almost positive I graduated. I attend Syracuse University and will be graduating soon with a degree in English. I have contributed to a few local magazines and e-zines in the past, none of which are worth mentioning. I am currently working for admirable rock’n'roll critic Piero Scaruffi, while at the same time pursuing the fame, fortune and glory of professional video games. Go ahead, laugh it up! Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu, Faust, Monoshock, My Bloody Valentine, David Pajo, The Red Krayola, Tortoise, DNA, The Gun Club, Storm & Stress, Carlos Paredes and most importantly Generation-X. Thanks for visiting the site!
Thanks again for visiting, and Godspeed on your righteous ridin’ on the series of tubes.
