Deanna Chapman, Ashley Aron, & Caitlin DeWeese (of Missaligned Podcast) - Sound In The Signals Interview
For those not familiar with the podcast how did you get together and start the podcast? How did it end up being a podcast that premieres its episodes and is part of Modern Vinyl?
Deanna: I was contacted by Chris Lantinen to start a podcast with some other women in the music scene as a part of Modern Vinyl. I then asked Ashley if she was interested and posted in the PropertyOfZack staff group, where Caitlin quickly replied and said she was interested and we basically got things rolling from there.
What got you interested in music and not just music but also the culture that surrounds music?
Deanna: My freshman year of high school I knew I wanted to somehow be involved in the music industry and I surprisingly never changed my mind once over those four years. I started going to a lot more concerts and when I was at Drexel University, I really started to follow a lot more of the news surrounding the industry. It’s just something that stuck with me once I started going to shows and I was so fascinated by it that I just engrossed myself in learning as much about music and it’s culture as I could. And I’m still learning today.
Ashley: My initial interest in music started in middle school. I’d always been interested in rock music as a kid. My older sister was really into Broadway/musical theater, so that stark contrast definitely made me the punk child of the family. It was in 6th or 7th grade that my friend gave me a burned copy of Green Day’s American Idiot, which was kind of what sparked it all. It really took off when I discovered My Chemical Romance, who are my favorite band of all time. Stumbling across their Myspace page was crucial because it showed me that the people who loved this band weren’t just a group of fans, but a community. When I went to my first local show just after 8th grade, that community came to life. It’s an important part of my being, honestly. I’ve combined my love for music with my skills in business/social media over the years and it’s been downhill from there.
Caitlin: I was lucky to have parents and a family who really appreciated music, but I first heard Jimmy Eat World in 2001 or 2002 in 7th grade and things changed for me. My interest and participation in the scene really picked up and I became involved with local bands and attended a billion shows around the Dallas area throughout high school. We have seen everything change so much over the past decade or so and I think it’s important to pay attention to what’s happening because it affects so many different people. I’ve been lucky to have roles at both PropertyofZack and AbsolutePunk where I have a platform of influence.
There has been a lot of talk about some of the issues in the punk/emo scene. What are some of your opinions on not just the treatment of women but also the way bands can take advantage of their fans and vice versa? How can the community help improve some of these issues?
Deanna: I think we touched on this in the first few episodes if people want some more in depth thoughts on it, but I have noticed that a lot of people on Twitter are taking a step in the right direction with combating how women are treated and more and more people are starting to stand up to the bands and artists who have crossed a line, and sometimes repeatedly. Jessica Hopper’s timeline is a great place to start and Safer Scene, which we haven’t discussed on the podcast, but I’m sure it’ll come up in future episodes. It’s just disappointing how much of an issue this has become to the point where a lot of women probably find it hard to feel safe at shows.
Ashley: I think the best way the community can improve these issues is to keep them relevant. Situations come up that are talked about for a month or two, and then they fizzle out and nothing comes of it. Bands can take advantage of fans a ton of different ways, everything from asking for money they don’t intend to use as they say they will all the way to sexual harassment. It’s important that anyone who falls victim to these things speak up and make it a known thing, you know? You can’t change the people who are taking advantage of others; they need to come to the realization [on their own] what they are doing is wrong and will not go without consequence. If they don’t, then we as a community need to just get rid of them. No tolerance for toxicity.
Caitlin: There is definitely a culture of entitlement in both fans and artists that has been perpetuated by the internet. Fans think they deserve constant direct contact with artists, and artists often expect to be revered (which is understandable based on the way they are treated). There is very little professionalism seen between artists and fans because of this closeness and I think that is where the problems stem from. Artists and fans have been told for years that this kind of behavior is acceptable and that “it happens”. We have to completely change our frame of mind if we want to see any real progress.
I think up to this point episode 3 might be my favorite. I thought the content was really interesting. When you are thinking of what you want to discuss and what listeners want to hear how do you come up with the show ideas?
Deanna: Thanks! We typically open up a Google Doc for each episode and toss some ideas around until we all find a topic that we’d like to talk about. We also have a few standard features like the influential album and we’re working on some more ideas so every episode isn’t exactly the same.
Ashley: Thank you so much! A lot of it is drawing upon things that are grabbing our attention & issues we feel confident speaking about. As three females in the music biz, I think it’s safe to say we have some credibility to talk about being known as “the girlfriend” instead of a part of the press, or having others think you are high maintenance just because of your gender. That first-hand experience definitely helped round out the episode, in my opinion. I love reading what articles Caitlin & Deanna put in the doc; most of the times they are pieces that I am interested in but otherwise may not have found.
Caitlin: There is SO much good content/articles being published every day that it’s easy to find stuff to talk about . We are all different ages and have different tastes so having three perspectives helps too.
Is there a topic you haven't talked about yet, but you would really like to?
Deanna: Personally, I’m a huge tech fan so I would be all about talking about things like various music apps, gear, etc. I could probably do a whole episode just about headphones. But it really depends on what all three of us can talk about so I may be alone on that. There’s so much to discuss that I’m sure there will be plenty for us to find and talk about.
Ashley: Yeah, I’m pretty much the opposite of Deanna on the technology spectrum haha but there are endless topics to draw upon. I personally would love to do an episode about how to get involved in music as a high school/college student. I was lucky enough to be a part of the Bandier Program at Syracuse University (shameless plug) which is a unique music industry major. Often, I’ll get emails from high school students interested in SU/Bandier asking how they can gain experience while still being 16/17 years old. There are so many ways to get your hands dirty and networking methods you can learn and small habits to pick up that will keep you fully immersed in the business that I’d love to spend an hour talking about, especially since we all have very different backgrounds in terms of how we got started.
Caitlin: I’m a nerd in the psychology sense and spend a lot of time reading about music and the brain (miss u, Oliver Sacks!!!), but I’m also a teacher and want to delve more into the importance of change for the younger generation.
Outside of the podcast I know you all also do some various other things for blogs and other podcasts. What are some of the other projects you are involved in and how did you get involved with them?
Deanna: Oh man, I have quite a few. I started my record label, Wreck It Records, while I was at Drexel for my senior project and I’m still doing that. I’m currently working with an indie/alt rock band, Verdoux, right now. HiFi Noise is my website I run mostly after work and on weekends. It’s just a way for me to post about music, sports, tech and basically anything I find interesting. Cumulus.fm is a part-time gig I have. It’s a music tech site that allows you to save music from SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. all in one place. I am currently testing out a new layout for the site and once that’s done I’ll go back to working on social media for them. I have a couple other things in the works right now, but nothing has been announced just yet.
Ashley: My real life job is for a digital marketing agency here in LA called Total Assault where I do publicity & social media for our clients. The way I even started talking to anyone at this company was because of PropertyOfZack.com [which is actually how I got to know Deanna & Caitlin]. I was brought on to team POZ in December 2013 to spearhead their Showcase feature, where I posted two features every weekend since I started up until the site closed its doors last month. That opened up a lot of doors for me since POZ is quite a recognizable name in the scene - it was a publicist who pitched me a couple of stellar artists who was ultimately my foot in the door to Total Assault. I’m doing a similar feature to help put up & coming artists in the spotlight on 36Vultures.net called Press Play which will be starting up soon! And last but certainly not least, I am a production assistant for Off the Record, a podcast originally started by Zack Zarrillo and Jesse Cannon. Zack has since stepped down from co-hosting and Jesse is really evolving the show into something I hope everyone takes the time to check out. Really informative yet accessible format with credible folks from every facet of the industry.
Caitlin: I don’t have a ton of spare time outside of work and attending shows in Austin, but when I do I’m writing review and doing photo galleries for AbsolutePunk.
You do recommendations on your podcast. For our readers what have been some of your favorite podcasts, books, albums, etc... this year that you would recommend people check out?
Deanna: I could go on all day with this question so I’ll try to keep it short. For tech podcasts I can’t recommend the shows over at Relay.fm highly enough. For music podcasts, 100 Words or Less, AbsolutePunk, and of course, The Modern Vinyl Podcast are all great, I can’t wait for Bill Simmons to be back with a podcast, but in the meantime, The Lowe Post and Jalen & Jacoby are my favorite sports podcasts. I’m in the process of finishing Make Something Up by Chuck Palahniuk so if you’re interested in some weird, crazy short stories, I’d check that out. I already recommended this on the show, but On Writing by Stephen King is great for anyone who wants to write whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. My favorite albums this year, so far, have been by Tori Kelly, Noah Gundersen, Kacey Musgraves, and The Money Pit. Okay, I think I’ll stop there before I get too crazy. If anyone wants any other suggestions from me, they are more than welcome to hit me up on Twitter (@deeechap).
Ashley: I am SO in love with Broadside’s debut on Victory Records, Old Bones. Broadside was a POZ Showcase band that I had on the feature in February, and it’s truly amazing to see how far they’ve come since then. A few other Showcase band releases I hope you check out: Observations of the Human Condition by Survay Says!, Stare by Havenfield, Solid Ground by Everything Ever, Nothing to Hold/Something to Keep by Bonfires, Small Things by Grizzly, Groovehammer by The Hell, and so many more. I also want to blame Deanna for hyping up Mr. Robot because I’m two episodes in and completely hooked.
Caitlin: Podcast wise I honestly just listen to a lot of BBC America updates because I am an old woman aka I have NO time during the day to listen to music/podcasts because I’ve got a room full of kiddos! But my favorite albums of the year so far have been Sleater Kinney’s No Cities to Love and Jeff Rosenstock’s We Cool? I have a billion other things to check out though. Also, I recommend (re)watching all of Seinfeld if you are anywhere in or near your 20’s.
I guess that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Deanna: I think that about covers it. We hope you guys enjoy the podcast or give it a listen if you haven’t yet! You can send us questions or feedback via Twitter (@missalignedpod) or at missalignedpod@gmail.com!
Ashley: Thanks to Sound in the Signals for interviewing us and thanks to anyone who’s taken a listen to Missaligned. I’m honored to be a part of it and I’m excited to see where this goes. Please please please feel free to hit us up with comments or suggestions! Or you and I can chat about My Chemical Romance, that’s fine, too [my twitter is @ashleyoverdrive].
Caitlin: Thanks for making me feel important. I’m @DontMessWithATX on Twitter and would love to banter!
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