The Rustic Overtones came into the studio a few weeks ago and sang their song “Letter to the President” off their most recent album, Light at the End. After their performance, they talked to Lyra about their thoughts, intentions, and influences in writing the song. The song is a fictional story centred around a lonely soldier, with no intended political stance. The band also discussed war, their development and changes since their previous album, staying together forever, and possible acronyms for their band name.

Click on the link below to hear their live performance and the discussion that followed!

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Tommy Gardner, Eddy Maher, and Paul Giammarco of Rock Hunt Finalists Someday Providence dropped by the studio before the Rock Hunt finals two weeks ago and talked to Lyra. They discussed the abbreviation, SP, of their band name and being played on (and being on) MTV shows. They also talked about their MySpace page, on which they had been posting some rather interesting video diaries of themselves in their studio. The band even tried to do some shout-outs to local Rhode Island bands and then joked about being paid to do it. Their new 7-song album comes out May 24th.

Check out the full interview below!

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This past week, Penrose dropped by the station to select the songs for Home Bru’d, answer caller’s questions, and joke around with DJ Shepherd. They discussed their song choices, their concert last night, where they opened for The Bravery at Lupo’s, their marketing strategies, and the making of their song “Slight of Hand.” They were also, in the words of DJ Shepherd, “out of control.” Penrose claimed to be one of the world’s tallest bands, talked about playing Guitar Hero songs at a recent concert, held a moment of silence for Elisha Cuthbert, and challenged DJ Shepherd to a fight.

Click on the link to listen to this highly entertaining interview!

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Last week, Rock Hunt 2008 winners It Was the Best of Times stopped by the studio and took over the airwaves for Home BRU’d. DJ Shepherd interviewed them about how they felt about winning the Rock Hunt, how the band wrote their three singles, and what they thought of the other Rock Hunt bands. They shared the love and played songs by Rock Hunt semifinalists The Coming Weak and finalists Someday Providence, and played songs off of their new EP “Hot Blood,” which is due out in the next month or two. They also very articulately responded to questions about how people might associate them with Paramore. Aside from superficial similarities - having a female singer and fitting into the broad genre of alt-rock - they explained that their music was very different, in writing style, dynamics, and complexity. Check out the interview below, and listen to a few of their songs at myspace.com/itwasthebestoftimes. Click here to see more pictures!

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Rock Hunt finalists the Awesome Brothers - Luke B. and Ashleigh C. - dropped by the studio this week. They talked to Lyra about their complicated stage set-up and the fact that they do not have a drummer. They discussed the origins of their band name and their album name, 300%. The Awesome Brothers also told Lyra about a rather interesting routine that they used to do at their shows, involving fur suits, stripping and outfits with self-portraits. The Awesome Brothers played at the WBRU Rock Hunt finals on Friday.

Check out WBRU’s podcast for the full exclusive interview!

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Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson took over the station last week during Lyra’s show. Listen to the podcast to hear his explanations of all his song selections and his discussion with Lyra on a variety of topics. He talks about his working for college radio while he was in school and the musical interests and influences of the band. Chris Tomson shares everything from his memories of grade school to his experience touring in both England and the US to his excitement over their self-titled first album coming out. He even discusses tape decks, record players, eighth grade, and Seattle.

Check out the podcast for the takeover and interview!

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Eric Avery, the co-founder and formerly the bassist of Jane’s Addiction, came in and took over the station. He talks about his new album Help Wanted, the cover art, the songs, and politics. Avery discusses the changes in his work since Jane’s Addiction, other people’s comparisons of him to Joy Division, his decision to release his album under his own name, and his experience working his album. He spoke about his surprise over Jane’s Addiction’s success and the possibility of touring to support his new album. Eric Avery’s new solo album, Help Wanted, was released on April 8th.

Check out WBRU’s podcast to hear Eric Avery’s takeover in its entirety!

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Biffy Clyro joined us today in studio on their way to perform tonight at the Palladium with Say Anything. The Scottish band performed acoustic versions of three songs off their latest album, “Puzzle” and discussed the record with Lyra. Biffy Clyro brought some unconventional instruments with them, including a salt shaker which ended up emptying salt all over drummer Ben Johnston’s pants. Simon Neil sang and played acoustic guitar, and James Johnston played bass guitar.

Biffy Clyro joked about their Scottish accents and how their record company required them to put English subtitles on their video on their website. They said that their accents slowly become americanized as they tour the United States and mentioned their plans to tour in Australia and how their friendship of nearly 20 years has held up throughout years of touring. They replied humbly to the notion that they are like a British Nirvana and joked about ending with a “bang” like Nirvana.

Check out the podcast for this exclusive interview as well as the songs “Saturday Superhouse,” “As Dust Dances” and “Machines” from their lastest record!

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In this brand new interview, Trent Reznor shares how the ideology behind Nine Inch Nails’ new record “Ghosts” The album consists of 36 untitled instrumental tracks. A collaborative experiment between Reznor, Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, “Ghosts” is a “soundtrack to daydreams.”

Reznor talks about the creative processes behind the creation of the album, what motivated him to create it, and how working without the pressures of a record label impacted his music.

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Meg & Dia dropped by the station and talked to DJ Volta yesterday. They discussed touring with Angels and Airwaves and writing a blog for Alternative Press. Listen to the podcast to hear their thoughts about the importance of bathrooms to the touring experience and more. Meg and Dia will be performing with Angels and Airwaves at the Palladium on Sunday night.

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Check out this hilarious interview with the members of Monty Are I! They talk to Lyra about everything from groupies to polar bears to gatling guns. Listen to this podcast to hear them discuss living together, star wars, websites, and more.

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Listen to an interview with Nick Ghanbarian and Anthony Raneri of Bayside. Ghanbarian and Raneri discuss being back on tour, birth certificates, death certificates, their previous album “The Walking Wounded”, and where they are headed both musically and lyrically. Check out the podcast for their full interview with Lyra.

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