Name of host: John Lawler
Name of show: Psych!
Time: Fridays 3pm-6pm
How would you describe your show to someone who has never listened?
[It’s] all over the place. I don’t like to stick to one genre; I don’t like to stick to one time period either. I like to jump around, I like to […] broaden the idea of what psychedelic music is because it’s not just the reverb and delay that a lot of bands have used for the past 40, 50 years to give that [psychedelic] effect. There’s a lot of songs with great storytelling that I feel have that psychedelic nature.
How do you decide what the songs you’re going to play for each show?
I like to kind of pick out a theme, like one [sub-category] I regularly do because I can usually find new songs from are western or cowboy songs. There’s one by King Gizzard called Billabong Valley and it’s about the Australian Bush Rangers and their adventures from that time. It’s not just some cowboys riding around on their horses, but rather a specific story. Or I really like surf-punk, so I’ll also do some of that.
I’ll also regularly check my YouTube recommendations because I can find new artists that way. I look at Spotify’s new releases all the time, and I look at Bandcamp a lot too.
What’s the idea behind the name of your show?
It’s basically a double meaning, like about psychedelic music but also since it’s not traditionally psychedelic meaning, it’s kind of like a “Psych! Got you!” meaning.
What are some of the influences for the music that you choose?
My biggest influence for [music] that I like is Pink Floyd because that’s what I got into in high school and what opened me to things that weren’t mainstream at the time, like King Crimson — which is popular now but anyways. That kind of turned me on to some of the more modern bands, like Tame Impala and the Claypool Lennon Delirium, which has John Lennon’s son.
How would you say that your music taste evolved over time?
Well, I used to really be into emo and punk in middle school, and then I moved through that to Weezer and other 90s bands. Then, during my senior year, that’s when I started getting into Pink Floyd and more psychedelic music, which is what I’m into now.
Are there any particular artists, songs, or albums you’ve been enjoying recently and that you’d like to recommend?
I really like Claypool Lennon Delirium, I really like Earth (the band), which does these long, epic, metal instrumentals that aren’t fast but are [made up] of a lot of slow build-ups. I’m also really interested in the new Unknown Mortal Orchestra album that’s coming out — they’ve been dropping some singles, so the album should be out soon. I’m also looking out for the new MGMT record coming out this year.
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