Damian Burford: “I didn’t want to listen to music. I wanted to listen to people talk about music. . .”

Jenn Cohen | March 1, 2013 | 0 Comments

by Tim Wenger

photo from MySpace

CMB: First things first. Let’s hear how this podcast got started, a little about your background, and how you began to get people’s attention.

DB: When I was a wee little lad living in the desolate wasteland that was my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, I had a monthly subscription to WIZARD: THE GUIDE TO COMICS. I would read each issue over and over and over again. I was obsessed with comic books and I wanted to be a comic book writer when I grew up. At the time, I had come up with the brilliant idea that I could interview comic book creators, become friends with them and that would short cut my way into the Comic Book world. Only I didn’t know any comic book creators!

As I moved into my teens, I discovered punk rock and ‘zines. That same little idea worked its way into my head and I decided that the best way to be in bands was to interview them and befriend them. I poured myself over issues of Flipside, Maximum Rock N Roll, and Punk Planet. I was 17 when Unwritten Law came into town and I got the chance to interview a few members and I was hooked.

The music scene in Shreveport was non-existent, and I got the chance to move to Colorado with a band I had become friends with, Raised Under Reagan. I jumped at the chance to get out of Louisiana and move to a state that had a scene and support system. I started Mostly Harmless Magazine in 2001, but due to a number of false starts Issue #1 did not see the light of day till 2006. Two issues saw the light of day. People seemed to LOVE the zine, but I couldn’t sell advertising to save my life and the cost grew too great for me to continue that quest.

In 2008, I conned JJ Nobody to allow me to take over for his departing talent buyer for the Triple Nickel Tavern in Colorado Springs. I started meeting more and more of my punk rock heroes, but I was too busy booking and running shows to interview bands. I even wormed my way in to tour manage for Drag The River and Austin Lucas during my tenure at the Nickel.

After a few years working at the Nickel, I took a job as an Assistant Manager for The Soda Jerk owned venue: The Black Sheep. I suddenly went from running my own venue and wearing all the hats, to wearing far less hats. I had a ton of time on my hands and was looking for ways to fill those extra hours.

At the time, I was working a dea- end job at a failing tech company. I exhausted my iPod’s 80 gigs of music and began questing for something more satisfying to fill the endless days. I turned to Henry Rollins spoken word and soon discovered Henry was a guest on the WTF Podcast hosted by Marc Maron. My whole world was opened up, and I soon began violently consuming WTF, The Nerdist, Doug Loves Movies, and Making It with Rikki Lindhome. I began searching for a podcast in the vein of Marc Maron. I didn’t want to listen to music, I wanted to listen to people talk about music; their lives and their process, and how they became the people they have become. At the time I started the Mostly Harmless Podcast, I couldn’t find anything like that. There were a few shows that existed, but many of them relied on playing music and the standard radio format, or had god-awful quality.

The itch and the urge to interview bands and musicians slowly returned. On my last tour with Drag The River and Austin Lucas, I found myself in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the back porch of Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton‘s “Suburban Home.” We were drinking whiskey and eating late-night BBQ. I listened to Austin and Stephen both regale their eerily similar stories of how meeting the band X helped inspire their musical careers.

When I returned home, I slowly started to piece together my recording equipment, but it wasn’t until Chuck Ragan returned to Denver for a three-night stint that I decided to go for it. I had hosted Chuck at the Triple Nickel and reached out to him and his PR agent. I showed up to the Ogden Theater on the first night of his stint in Denver only to find myself NOT on the guest list! I was so excited and nervous about interviewing Chuck that I showed up a day early. Even better, the Ogden would not allow me to bring in my recording equipment! Chuck is such a gentleman, and even though he was running behind and having a terrible day, he joined me in the lobby of the motel across the street from the Ogden and we commenced the interview there.

I officially launched a month later with an interview with Micah Schnabel from Two Cow Garage, talking about his newest solo record. The record was written as a suicide note and we talked about how, through the music, he was brought back from the edge and healed. The episode exploded out of the gate and I’ve been running ever since. I’ve had a few hiccups here and there, but overall it’s been the best experience of my entire life.

CMB: What is the Colorado Springs music scene like? Was it pretty easy to get into working at the Nickel and Black Sheep?

DB: Getting the job at the Nickel was dumb luck. I lived with the ska/punk outfit the Right Aways. I toured with them as well as the local post-punk hardcore band, Harrison Bergeron. I had booked shows in my hometown of Shreveport and I wanted to get back into it. I started spending more time at the Triple Nickel. I had become friends with the booking agent, Ryan Kinder, who was leaving. He was a fan of the zine and my desire to be a part of something. Ryan talked JJ into letting me take over for him, and the rest was history.

After a few years of working at the Nickel, I had become close friends with the managers of The Black Sheep. I felt like I had hit my glass ceiling at the Nickel and wanted to be a part of a bigger, larger picture. The Black Sheep needed another assistant manager to help with the running of the shows. Again, I just happened to know the right people at the right time.

As far as the music scene here, well it’s tough. We have three military bases, the Air Force Academy, Colorado College and UCCS. The landscape of the music scene here is forever changing. The children who grow up, and have such a large part to play in the foundation of the music scene leave as soon as they can to the bright lights of the bigger cities. It seems to be that life here is largely around the military and starting a family.

Radio rock and metal will always be the dominant force in Colorado Springs, but the reggae scene here has exploded in the last year. Those have been the big-ticket shows at the Black Sheep this year. The Triple Nickel has been doing really well with their new booking agent, Bryan Ostrow, who is in a killer local band called BLIGHTER. He’s been doing really, really great stuff with bands in more of the grindcore/stoner metal variety.

CMB: Let’s hear a couple of the best interviews/times/shows/etc. that Mostly Harmless had been a part of.

DB: It’s been a surreal ride. I’ve been lucky that in my travels with Drag The River and working with The Triple Nickel Tavern, I’ve been able to make enough connections to nab some killer guests. With Andrew WK, I was expecting the madman, but instead I was greeted with a quiet, well thought, humble man.

I was close to being blackout drunk when I interviewed Red Fang, and they made fun of me the whole time. I was blackout drunk when I interviewed Larry and His Flask and it is . . . ridiculous.

But looking back, my favorite episode will always be the interview with Micah Schnabel from Two Cow Garage. Talking about life, the universe, and everything with one of my best friends.

CMB: Do you have a certain criteria for who you want to interview? Or is it just like, “Hell yeah, so and so responded to my email!”

DB: I’ve got to like the artist. I’ve only done one interview with an artist I was not fully aware of, and it is currently the lowest listened to interview. It wasn’t very good, and really half assed. I knew it then when I did it, but at the time I was attempting to have a weekly schedule. Now I don’t have a schedule and it’s driving me crazy. I’m working on setting up more Skype interviews, but without that looming deadline of a show coming up, it’s hard for me to get my ass in gear and make it happen. I’m a guy who absolutely needs a deadline. I’m not very good at playing my own boss!

CMB: What are you listening to these days?

DB: Today I listened to a ton of Dillinger Four. I’ve been obsessed with the Menzingers, Masked Intruder, Arliss Nancy and Tin Horn Prayer. The new Luther record is pretty fucking amazing too. I’ve regressed back to my 18- year-old musical tastes and really the only stuff interesting me is pop-punk these days.

CMB: What makes a great live show great, and not just another band playing another set?

DB: I don’t have a clue. I could rattle off a few dozen ideas, but sometimes a great show is just a happy accident. I’m a punk rock kid at heart and I love three chords, played fast, with some fucking balls. Is that always enough? Not really. I like good songs, good people and good venues.

I watched a stoner metal band the other night and they bored me to tears while everyone around me was blown away. “You need to smoke more pot!” is what a friend of mine said. It just depends on your cup of tea. I just like mine to taste like blood, sweat and PBR.

CMB: What’s the best thing a band can say to get on a bill that they want to be a part of? Also, what turns a venue/talent buyer/sound guy off?

DB: The best way for bands to get shows is to go to shows. It’s as simple as that. The venues and promoters remember who we see out there each and every night and the more I see someone, the more I’m likely to remember them when it comes time to fill that slot. Plus, going to shows helps you make friends, and friends, if you are good, become fans.

You’ve got to do more than just want to play a show. If you are serious about being in a band and working in music, it is a lot of work. Bands need to bring people out to shows. That’s the short and long of it. If you can’t get your closest friends to come see your band once a month, maybe you should rethink being in a band.

Nothing pisses me off more than a local band that does not promote a show, and then complains about how much money they make at the end of the night. Playing music is not enough, if you can’t do the work to bring your fans out, I can’t pay you. Sorry guys.

CMB: What’s next for the podcast?

DB: We’ve just crossed the 10,000 downloads/listens mark on the show. In the grand scheme of things, and compared to many other podcasts out there, that’s small fries. It’s dumbfounding to me that something I made attracted so many people. My short-term goal is to get back on track with a mostly weekly schedule. I’m currently vehicle-less, which makes that goal much harder, but we’re getting there. I’m working on combining my love of comics and interviewing more comic creators on the show!

Long term? I’d love to do a live stage show. I imagine renting a small theater or venue and host a Conan-esque show with a variety of guests and musical performers. I’d like to make it a monthly thing in the vein of Grawlix. Throw it up on Youtube and just generally make an even larger ass out of myself.

CMB: Where do you eat after a show in the Springs? In Denver?

DB: In the Springs we use to frequent King’s Chef. It’s a late-night dining spot with gigantic concoctions of the best drunk food you’ve ever tasted. They’ve since redesigned their late-night hours to a “serve yourself” option, losing all the charm and becoming a hassle. The food is still worth it, but you have to deal with a lot of club kid douche baggery.

I’m hooked on Illegal Pete’s. If they had one down here, I’d be even more overweight that I already am. I’m also a huge fan of Marquis Pizza, and not just because I work for Soda Jerk. When you’ve had a few dozen tall cans of Miller High Life, that pizza sits oh so well.

CMB: What’s your take on electronic music?

DB: Watching some asshole hit a button and dance around his laptop for two hours and make a few thousand dollars?!? Ugh. It’s not my cup of tea. I think it tastes like piss! I don’t like it. I don’t get it.

CMB: What do you think rock bands need to do to stay relevant?

DB: Music is cylindrical. What comes around goes around. As long as people are passionate, rock bands will always be relevant.