Paul F. Tompkins and I are now eternally bound together. I saved his life during our conversation, and then he saved my life. Plus he volunteered to co-host WFPK’s newest show, The Hat Hour — which is obviously more momentous. And if hats don’t rev your engine, take heart. We also discuss podcasting, comedy and mustachery.

Four words: Brutus the Barber Beefcake. Sure, I discussed other salient topics with Mark and Rose of Vandaveer. But those four words still loom large in my mind. In fact, the image of a jigsaw puzzle displaying the Beefcake’s sweaty biceps and firm pecs won’t leave my head. I’m haunted by it.

The idea of selling out is so intrinsically bound up in the concept of artistic integrity and (sub)cultural expectations that it’s hard to unpack — especially in less than a paragraph. But Matt Drenik and I discussed the seemingly paradoxical notion that “selling out” can be a purer endeavor than eschewing the establishment. Plus we gush about GBV, and that’s always fun, too.

If the whole comedy thing falls through for Kyle Kinane, he can take solace in the fact he could be the marketing director of White Castle. If you don’t believe me, then you haven’t heard his amazing ideas about the crave case. But thankfully, he’s also a funny dude that knows the atomic weight of scategorium.

During our hour-long chat, Mike Watt laid out his thoughts on everything. Well, maybe not everything. But he did touch on sociology, psychology, philosophy, history, physics, math, music, art and aesthetics — so you can see what I mean when I say “everything.” Plus he chose a K-pop jam for one of his guest DJ picks. I love that dude.

Before I ever talked to Ryan Patterson, I knew he was a legitimate punk rocker — not because of the music or the tattoos, but because of his lifestyle. And after meeting him years ago and talking to him regularly, it’s become even more apparent just how much the punk rock ethos permeates what he does on stage and off stage. He is an inspiration, to say the least.

There are a lot of myths about what makes a band “important” or “relevant” online (look at me, using scare quotes like I’m Carles or something). I’m not sure if it’s because the music blog community is such a tight-knit group or if bloggers (myself included) just have trouble seeing the forest for the trees sometimes. Either way, Daniel Gill helps cut through some of the blog buzz hyperbole.

For someone who usually lurks in the shadows, Brendon Small was extremely open and forthright during our conversation. While he didn’t spill all the beans, he gave me the skinny on where Metalocalypse is heading in the future. We also discussed his approach to animation and voice acting in depth, which was a thrill for a cartoon nerd.

You can tell that David T. Lewis is passionate about both music and helping people navigate the waters of life inside the music industry. That’s obvious enough because of his job title: director of career services at McNally Smith College of Music. But it became even more apparent after we discussed things like nostalgia, failure, inertia and focus.

I’ve noticed a theme developing in some of my After Dark conversations. They regularly involve busy people with their hands in a lot of pies — renaissance men (and women), if you will. Maybe it’s because of my chronic inability to feel like I’ve made forward progress. Then again, maybe it’s just because people like Aaron Turner do a lot of awesome stuff that I want to know more about.

It was refreshing to hear someone talk fondly about his rural roots — someone who embraced those roots wholeheartedly instead of eschewing them and only ironically indulging on occasion. I would say William Elliott Whitmore is full of folksy wisdom, but honestly that’s just condescending. As a country boy myself, I’d just call it regular wisdom.

I wonder if Anthony Fantano’s title of the internet’s busiest music nerd qualifies him to give life coaching advice? Strange question, I know. But in addition to discussing the state of music blogging/vlogging in general, he offered what seemed to be primo tips on how not waste every minute of my day. So you know, I’m curious about his credentials.

During our conversation, Michael Shannon exuded a quiet intensity that I hadn’t yet encountered on After Dark. It gave the entire interview a subtle sense of urgency that most don’t possess. In fact, it made our discussion even more poignant when we dug into the topic of a mob hit man’s relative virtue in a world that condones violence at the bat of an eye.

Eric Bachmann has stayed pretty busy the last 20 years. Whether we’re talking Archers of Loaf, Crooked Fingers or even his solo work, you can count on one thing — forward motion. So it’s no surprise that embracing the future was a theme in our conversation. What might be a surprise is that we discussed the sage wisdom of Ice-T at length. And that’s not a complaint.

We’re in dad country now! Everything I’ve read about Jonny Corndawg painted the picture of an outlaw country throwback — and for good reason. His music stands shoulder to shoulder with Paycheck or Parsons stylistically. Plus he has a killer hand-crafted albino alligator skin belt. In the end, though, Corndawg isn’t an outlaw badass. He’s an inlaw goodass.

During a conversation with Of Montreal, you don’t expect to broach topics like the appeal of Ron Paul, college basketball and the positive aspects of smalltown life. If nothing else, you can say the Georgia avant-poppers really do buck conventions — even when those conventions deal with the perception of what it means to be a convention-bucking band. Now that’s next level stuff right there.

In addition to the usual music industry pitfalls, small labels like Carpark face even more adversity. Todd Hyman gave me a little insight into exactly what that entails — like losing marquee acts to larger labels after laying the groundwork for years. But as Todd reasoned, it keeps him hungry and looking for something new and interesting instead of resting on his laurels.

All these years, I thought helmets were used in football for safety reasons. Turns out, I was way off on that front. Thankfully, Future of the Left frontman Falco clued me in. The helmets and face masks are there to keep football players from kissing each other. I don’t know why that never occurred to me. It makes so much sense. Too much sense, even…

This was a tough conversation for me to have, because every person in the building was in attendance for one purpose: to hang out with Anders, Blake and Adam of the Comedy Central show Workaholics. And since I was trying to interview them, it made things a little tough. The boys were troopers, though. They even educated me on the history of lady fingers.

For a few hours after my chat with Andrew W.K., I just assumed he was going on and on about some ridiculous flapdoodle about some conspiracy theory stuff. Then, after a little digging, I realized that he was at least remotely serious about the aeon of the individual and the revolution of the crowned and conquering child. How serious? Well, that is indeed the question…

If you’ve ever wondered what a week at SXSW does to you, this is it. This interview was conducted around 1 a.m. on Friday, and everyone involved was…um…in rare form. Most After Dark conversations go off the rails at some point, but with this one, Doc Brown was screaming, “Rails? Where we’re going, we don’t need rails!”

I wanted to get a photo of Seth, Josh and me together in the studio to prove that the three of us finally ended up in the same room at the same time, but when there are only three people in said room…someone has to take a picture. So we’ll say Seth is like the Buzzgrinder Holy Ghost in this picture. He’s there, but you just can’t see him.

There are three big reasons to listen to R. Ring’s in-studio session: This is the only recorded music that’s currently available from the band. Secondly, Kelley Deal is what you might call a character. Lastly, the balloon animal impresario Dr. Silverfoot makes an appearance. This was easily the most hilarious and off-the-rails in-studio session I’ve ever experienced. And I loved every second of it. Every. Second.

I’ve been a fan of Dan B. Harris ever since he beat Brian Williams to the music-blogging-network-news-personality game. So it was a pleasure to finally get him on the show. Dan went from hanging with 50 Cent in Africa a few days before our conversation to reminding me that you can’t be sentimental about things you haven’t experienced.

Why yes, I did indeed utter the phrase “hillbilly places” during my conversation with Henry Rollins. What can I say? I’ve seen Joe Dirt too many times. Hank, on the other hand, was well-spoken and thoughtful. You know, the usual. He had some edifying and insightful words about parenting to boot, even though he doesn’t have children.

I haven’t geeked out this much about Guided by Voices on the air since — oh wait, since two days ago. I might as well rename the show GBV After Dark at this pace. Then again, you’d find no complaints from me. But Steve Brooks and I did talk about other things here and there, like the walled garden of metal and arena rock anthems.

Very rarely do interviews go from topics like miming “The Thinker” with a toilet superimposed in the photo to discussions of identity and self-awareness. But that’s what happened during my conversation with Doug Jones. And in a bit of strange coincidence, he picked a song from Whitney Houston as the song he wanted played at his funeral — a week before she passed away.

What needs to be said about a conversation that involves Cookie Puss? Not much, that’s what. That said, there’s plenty of gold to mine in this interview above and beyond ice cream cake — like discussions about which Neil Young record is his best or the advantages of being a studio wizard when you’re also a musician.

Considering how much John Sellers and I love to talk Guided by Voices, this conversation could’ve turned into a self-indulgent fanboy fest of Pollardian proportions pretty easily. Instead, we only devoted about 30 percent of it to the Fading Captain and his platoon of hard-drinking mirthmakers. The rest centered on Midwestern life and Huey Lewis versus Hall and Oates.

On occasion, I’ll post tracks from my sessions with folks in the WFPK studios. Here’s the first one, from R. Ring. When Mike Montgomery of Ampline and Kelley Deal of the Breeders do the Wonder Twins unite thingy, they take the form of R. Ring. These two jams are the only pieces of recorded music from the band you’ll find anywhere right now.

During our conversation, Andy Greenwald and I took on the evolution of pop culture over the last decade. We also discussed what Grantland.com is accomplishing online. More importantly, he mentioned LiveJournal and Friendster in the same sentence. Most importantly though, he got “emo about Fleetwood Mac.” His words, not mine. I wish they were mine, though.

As soon as you set eyes on Sound Supply, your “why didn’t I think of that?!?!?” reflex kicks in. It’s an intriguing little startup company that’s run by the Mortensen brothers, who previously spent time playing in bands and putting out records. Their past definitely shines through in the mission and implementation of Sound Supply, which makes it an even more interesting prospect.

Here’s something I never thought would happen: that Craig Finn would be more interested at any given moment by hot country than by hardcore. But sure enough, the combination of introducing Europe to the Void/Faith split LP through multiple think pieces and having his car radio stuck on a pop country station accomplished just such a feat.

Surprisingly, the Ethel Mirman joke at the beginning of my conversation with Eugene Mirman (which was at the behest of Kyle Meredith, mind you) didn’t submarine the entire thing from the get go. I mean, if things had gotten weird, we wouldn’t have discussed things like time travel, wifesitting or miniature Bill Gates. Yep, definitely not weird at all…

It’s not like people are beating down Dan Didier’s door, begging for a new Promise Ring record. But just in case that happens soon, he has the perfect strategy for dealing with said situation: release the last demos TPR recorded before initially disbanding. According to Dan, they were awful. When people hear the gross demos, they’ll say “no thanks!” to a Wood/Water follow-up. Smart.

It was edifying to discuss selfhood and artistic expression (even in subtle terms) with someone whose identity was bound up in an external entity years ago. It’s not like Jason had to completely reinvent himself after The Promise Ring hung it up, but it’s interesting to examine the idea of defining who you are by what you do. How much are we defined by external endeavors?

Ryan Penagos is living the nerd dream. I should know. I’m a nerd. He gets paid to spread the word about what Marvel Comics is doing, from books to movies to TV. But we also share another equally nerdy passion: music. Needless to say, a conversation between dudes pulling double nerd duty is like the audio equivalent of The Big Bang Theory. Except this is good. Zing!

When Dave O’Brien postulates that guys like Merle Haggard, Public Enemy and Johnny Cash are the epitome of punk, don’t laugh it off. He might be a baseball writer, but he is spot on with that evaluation. The dude knows his stuff, from rap to rock to country to funk. So when he starts talking about punk’s essence, you’d better listen. Plus, he has a Johnny Cash tattoo, which is badass.

My conversation with Sub Pop head honcho Jonathan Poneman was particularly edifying, at least partially because he helped put my faux nostalgia in check — I say faux nostalgia because you can’t wax sentimental about the indie scene circa 1988-1993 when you didn’t actually experience it. Either way, one quote from Poneman still stands out to me: “I try to embrace the time I’m living in, because you can’t summon the old times back and the future will come soon enough.”

I’ve admired Richard Swift ever since I first heard his keyboard work on Old by Starflyer 59. So it was nice to find out that have a few things in common, like our affinity for cheesy music. Hells yes, INXS and Toto! Oh yeah, and we talk about Swift’s work with Damien Jurado and his love for analog listening. But most importantly — cheesy music!

I’m going to start with a small request: Don’t boycott Damien Jurado just because he doesn’t like The Lord of the Rings. His new album, Maraqopa, is too good to ignore. I mean, sure he disparaged guys who go to Yes concerts wearing wizard capes during our conversation, but he also professed his love for Jobriath. And that evens things out on the scales of justice, am I right?

I know what you’re thinking — nothing says rock and roll photography like macrame and crochet. And while that may or may not be true, Peter Ellenby and I are nonetheless embarking on a wondrous crochet odyssey involving an iconic Roxy Music album cover. That’s right, I said a crochet odyssey.

Take note parents: Katie Aselton should be the preferred role model for all teenage girls. She’s an everyday badass who, in her own words, “is not afraid to use her big girl voice.” She’s cultivated a successful acting career and a burgeoning career as a filmmaker. In fact, her latest film, Black Rock, was the hit of Sundance this year. See, sure beats Miley Cyrus.

This conversation is not for the faint of heart. Then again, if you’ve seen any of Jon Lajoie’s stand-up material or his video shorts — you’re probably well aware of that fact. That said, Jon does his best to stay on the up and up, but I managed to drag him down to my level. Necrophilia was even mentioned. You’re welcome. Or should I say I’m sorry? Nope, you’re welcome.

After talking to modern day renaissance man Mark Duplass, it’s easy to feel like you’ve wasted your life. He’s an accomplished filmmaker, actor and musician. But hey, at least you can take solace in the fact that he doesn’t seem to understand fantasy football. According to Mark, fantasy football is about basketball. That’s right. Now who’s patting who gently on the back?

Here are some facts I learned about Paul Scheer during our conversation: He owns seven gold lamé suits. He wears one every day — but only for four hours at a time. Taylor Swift tops his list of hot country artists. He recently celebrated his 21st birthday with lots of Goldschläger. He pays for music in raw chicken. In other words, it was an illuminating, fruitful discussion.

When it comes to the digital music revolution, there are few people that can speak authoritatively. Dave Allen is one of those people. He worked for eMusic before iTunes. He worked for Intel before the iPod. He was in Gang of Four before the internet. Now he’s a digital strategist, music blogger and college professor. So needless to say, being able to pick his brain was an edifying experience.

I feel like Cheyenne and I have a special bond. Why? Because I dressed up like a bear and danced around for her on film. If that doesn’t foster some sort of a special relationship, I don’t know what does. Although, that’s not particularly relevant to the conversation we had this time around. This one focused more on what she wears when posing for magazine covers. Or something like that…

My conversation with CBS Sports writer C. Trent Rosecrans was intriguing for me on a few levels. We discussed the link between punk and country, the surreal nature of co-existing with your idols and the outlook of the Reds. It also somewhat accidentally touched off a series of conversations for me about the link between sports and music.

If you think the Brooklyn band Small Black is chillwave, you’re sorely mistaken. According to Josh Kolenik, his band is becoming a freak folk Bert Jansch cover act. Or at least that’s what he told me. Plus he revealed how he writes music — by using a computer program designed to assemble melodies. Again, at least that’s what he told me…

Dave Holmes is your typical triple threat — actor, singer, dancer. No wait, strike that. He’s your atypical triple threat — comedian, TV host, podcaster. Either way, the former MTV VJ is a busy bee. Over the course of our conversation, Dave and I exchange fanboy stalker cell phone stories; plus we discuss what it’s like to chase the live TV dragon.

Why yes, Shelby Cinca has indeed fronted bands like Frodus, The Cassettes, Decahedron and countless others. And yes, he’s also designed some sweet digital and print matter (even a video game!). But here’s the best part — he’s a huge fan of Coast to Coast AM and pyramids. If you don’t believe me, listen. We talk about ancient aliens and everything.

If you’ve read Doug TenNapel’s books or played his video games, it’s easy to tell he’s a peculiar character. We’re talking flying whales, 21st century ghostbusters, pet dinosaurs. But when you talk classical philosophy, commerce and music — well, it elevates his unique perspective to a whole other level. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I remember the first time I met Mark Bacon. He shook my hand, told me he appreciated After Dark, then launched into stories about the D.C. hardcore scene’s glory days (he knew I was a fan from listening to the show). It was an amazing experience. Mark is a legit dude on all fronts, so I was ecstatic to have him on to discuss the evolution of harDCcore and the legacy of Fugazi.

Pitchfork Media founder Ryan Schreiber is quite possibly the most powerful music nerd on the Web. Among other things, Ryan and I touched on the state of music journalism and the current trend toward more aggressive tendencies in indie rock — a development that has us both pleased. Plus, he said he loves jam bands. Not really, but I promised him I would take that bit out of context.

For years, Cave In was my white whale. Well…more properly, the seminal metalcore/space rock band was one of many acts I never thought I’d get to see. Thankfully they reunited a couple of years ago, and I got to see them twice. The second time was at Fun Fun Fun Fest, where I sat down for a few with guitarist Adam McGrath to discuss Cave In’s resurrection.

Jeremy Johnson is a busy guy. He’s the proprietor of Meat in Butchertown, the frontman of Workers — and he runs 50 miles a week to boot. Jeremy took some time to give me the rundown (pun intended) on the new Workers album, the lay of the land when it comes to food and drink in Louisville and the top five songs he’s ever seen live.

Jason Pierce is co-proprietor of Louisville’s only combination coffee shop and record store, Please & Thank You. He also creates cute pictures at MPerfect Design. More importantly, though — at least for our purposes tonight — he is a Guided by Voices fanboy. As such, Jason and I geek out about all things Pollard and discuss the latest GBV record, Let’s Go Eat the Factory, which is out now.

Nobody is better at fostering honest, funny and neurotic conversations than Marc Maron. The longtime comedian hosts the WTF podcast, which features Maron talking to his peers about comedy, politics and life in general twice a week. While Maron was in town, he stopped by the WFPK studios to talk about his endeavors, his musical history and the human condition.

Six years ago, Graham Williams haphazardly threw together the first Fun Fun Fun Fest. In the intervening time, the Austin festival has become one of the nation’s most unique and awesome musical experiences every year. Graham took some time to discuss his love for the Lone Star State and his disdain for cookie-cutter fests. Oh yeah, and Texas-shaped waffled came up at one point, too.

Los Angeles noisemakers 400 Blows like to have a good time. That fact is pretty evident during our conversation with frontman Skot Alexander. He recounted one adventure in particular that involved stealing a friends car and wrecking it — at the age of 13. Needless to say, The Germs were the soundtrack .