Only Three Lads - Classic Alternative Music Podcast

Hear ye, hear ye! We hereby declare this month SKEPTEMBER at O3L! That's right, the releases of the UK fiercely independent label Skep Wax Records have been so uniformly excellent this year that we thought it was high time to dedicate an entire episode to them.

Skep Wax is run by indie legends Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey, whose long history runs through seminal bands like Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, Catenary Wires, and Swansea Sound. The label carries forward the DIY spirit that drove labels like Sarah Records and K Records, with the simple premise...

Anyone who have ever had any sort of aspirations of making it in the music business know this well - the chances of “making it” are so slim you might as well play the Lottery with the expectation of becoming a gazillionaire or stand motionless in the same spot waiting to be hit by lightning.  All of the things they tell you to keep you motivated are important - having a dream, drive, determination, and, of course, talent…but that’s clearly not all there is to it.  There are connections and industry politics, but, more than anything, it takes a wo...

Hey you! Not so F.A.S.T.!** This week, we welcome one of the coolest people on the planet, Nicole Laurenne, to talk about one of the coolest instruments on the planet...the organ!

Nicole has been working double duty this year, constantly touring and turning in amazing albums with both of her projects. All-female garage punk band The Darts released the riotously fun, fiendishly campy rock n' roll blast of Halloween Love Songs, while Nicole's smoky, jazz-soaked project Black Viiolet weighed in with the velvety, soulful record Dark Blue. Both records wonderfully capture two sides...

This week, Uncle Gregg, Brett, and Third Lad Stephen Hunking (guitarist/vocalist of cult '80s/'90s band Hypnolovewheel) dig into albums that critics raved about...but the record-buying public just didn't show up for.

Stephen joins the show to talk about Hypnolovewheel's history — from a hilarious and chaotically-worded "drummers wanted" flyer that started it all, to their new reissue campaign kicking off with the compilation Parallel Universe (out now on streaming and Bandcamp), to reclaiming their masters decades later, and their reunion performance at Dromfest in the Catskills over Labor Day weekend.

Surrender to the rhythm as we drink up the Pub Rock scene with author Mark Wilkerson!

U.K. , early 1970s: In response to the glitz of glam and the pomp of prog there emerged a DIY, back to basics scene known as pub rock: no-fuss, grass roots rock’n’roll bands playing in tight, sweaty rooms to packed throngs in the Victorian pubs of north London. Pub rock was a relative flash in the pan, lasting only a handful of years, but it produced a seismic shift, bridging the gap between rock’s Baroque period and the ensuin...

During last week's episode, Jon Langford from The Mekons joined us on the heels of Horror-ble, their newly released dub reimaging on their 2025 album Horror.  While we’ve got dub on the mind, we were reminded that we have been sitting on a long lost interview with pioneering English producer, remixer, and label owner Adrian Sherwood. Throughout his career, Adrian has worked with reggae greats such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Mikey Dread, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Blur, Primal Scream, Sinead O’Connor, KMFDM, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, Einsturzende Neubauten, and so many others, formed the early...

Ahoy, mateys! This week, we hoist the sails for a swashbuckling, deadline-fueled speed date with a genuine punk legend: Jon Langford of The Mekons (as well as The Three Johns, Waco Brothers, and Men of Gwent). We catch up with Jon somewhere in upstate New York next to a farm stand selling tomatoes and honey (which Jon assures us is "quite civilized").

The Mekons are going on 50 years as a band, from their chaotic early days on the Leeds art-punk scene to classic records like 1985's Fear and Whiskey and 1989's The Mekons Rock n' Roll. And...

This week, we're talking about some of the metal albums that we would recommend to alt-rock fans, whether it be the thundering classics whose influence crossed stylistic boundaries or the albums that could serve as a gateway into the genre for the uninitiated. And, when we say "uninitiated", we might as well be talking about Brett.

Fortunately, not only has Uncle Gregg been a connoisseur of metal for many years, but our Third Lad is the singer/songwriter/guitarist V of alt-metal band Buried Beneath Me. Fusing the raw aggression of post-hardcore with the...

What's going on, you ask? Well, we can't make any promises, but we have a sneaking suspicion that we're gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove...because this week we focus on the classic albums of 1971!

Our Third Lads love the music of 1971 as much as we do, as evidenced by their sparkling jangle pop and harmony-drenched folk-rock - the Scottish father/son combo Kevin and Scott Robertson! The pair have been recording music for a nearly a decade as part of the band The Vapour Trails, and now have treated us to...

We're back with a brand new Weekend Six Pack, bringing you six fresh tracks that have made us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

This time out, Brett welcomes Swedish singer/songwriter David Myhr, formerly of the band The Merrymakers, who released two albums in the '90s including the pristine pop classic Bubblegun (which was released in the U.S. on past Third Lad Dean Brownrout's Big Deal label). David has a new album on tap for September 18th (physical) and October 2nd (digital) called Everything Is All About You, and we've got the joyous forthcoming single "...

Whoaaaaaa, man. This might be the nutmeg tea talkin', but we're seeing double. Two episodes with twice the requisite amount of Lads. It's time for the exciting conclusion of our conversation with '60s psych-pop pioneers the Strawberry Alarm Clock. in which we discuss our Top 5 songs that best represent the psychedelic era.

Bassist George Bunnell, keyboardist Mark Weitz, drummer Randy Seol, and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Steve Bartek (also a founding member of Oingo Boingo!) join us to discuss the band's history, the music of their peers, and - perhaps most importantly - the first new SAC...

Pass time with the SAC...as we welcome '60s psych-pop pioneers the Strawberry Alarm Clock to O3L for a very special two parter!

During part 1, bassist George Bunnell, keyboardist Mark Weitz, drummer Randy Seol, and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Steve Bartek (also a founding member of Oingo Boingo!) join us to discuss the band's history, the creation of one of the greatest and biggest hits of the psychedelic era, "Incense and Peppermints", the underappreciated second album, unscrupulous managers, and - perhaps most importantly - the first new SAC album of original material since 1969, Where's One? , out...

It's BANDAMANIA as we welcome Brazil’s sensational pop combo Banda AL9 to celebrate the release of their new album, Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9, on Wicked Cool Records.

Known for their dazzling harmonies, retro-inspired style, and infectious melodies, Banda AL9 have quickly become one of the most exciting new acts in modern pop.

This is the audio edit of our very first livestream event, where we were joined by an international group of fans, including representation from Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and the U.S. Even if you didn't catch it live...

Some artists are forever defined by their hits — even when they don't tell the whole story. This week, we welcome returning Third Lad Jackson Reed to celebrate the bands and artists whose deepest cuts, overlooked albums, and adventurous careers are far cooler than the songs that made them famous.

From one-hit wonders with hidden masterpieces to chart-toppers whose signature song barely scratches the surface, you can expect passionate defenses, surprising picks, and plenty of recommendations for listeners ready to dig beyond the obvious. Oh yeah, and a whole lotta other things like hockey, Canadian politics, and meditating wi...

Brothers!  Sisters!  Comrades!  You say you want a revolution?  Alright, shoo-be-do-wa.  Well, you can count us out…in…cuz this week we're talking about songs of revolution!

For example, how about the 1980 debut single by New Orleans band Red Rockers, “Guns of Revolution”?   And the band does indeed come out guns ablazin…it’s a sub-2 minute blast of resistance, rebellion, and a call to action to shake things up. It's a fiery anthem that captures the frustration, idealism, and spirit of the era, a track that had the punk rock press falling over themselves to dub...

It's time for another Weekend Six Pack bonus - the show within the show where we bring you half a dozen new tunes, including:

Proud members of the Pantheon Podcasts family.

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This week, we place our focus on songs that one established artist wrote for another artist. And what better ceremonial Third Lad than Robert Ellis Orrall, a songwriter who has not only penned his own hits ("I Couldn't Say No" with Carlene Carter - #32 Pop, 1983; "Boom! It Was Over" - #19 Country, 1992; "A Little Bit of Her Love" - #31 Country, 1993) but has also written many hits for other artists like Shenandoah ("Next to You, Next to Me" - #1 Country, 1990), Clay Walker ("What's It to You" - #1 Country, 1993), Reba McEntire ("What If It's You" - #15 Country, 1997), Olivia Newton-John ("I Don't Wanna...

This week, we're slaying the proverbial demons of jangle pop with Andy Jossi (Switzerland) and Gretchen DeVault (USA) from transatlantic "jangle gaze" duo The Blue Herons!

The Blue Herons create wistful dreampop with a cinematic sense of space and emotion, lit by sparkling layers of guitars and clear, expressive vocals.

Since their debut in 2020., their music has drawn comparisons to The Sundays, Alvvays, Hatchie, and Sea Lemon.

Their latest album, Demon Slayer (Shelflife Records), broadens their sonic palette and emotional range. Written over the course of a year, the album took shape through an inspi...

Are you ready to rumble?!? Very few topics seem to provoke as much heated debate as power pop - what (and who) is power pop? This week, we dare tackle our Top 5 Power Pop Songs of the '90s. Raise your pitchforks!

Nah, we're not worried...because, truth be told, power pop during the decade would have looked drastically different without our Third Lad this week, Dean Brownrout. As the co-founder of the crucial indie label Big Deal, Dean is responsible for releasing some of the greatest power pop records of the era, including The Wondermints, Gladhands...

In the '60s, thousands of young rock n' roll hopefuls picked up instruments and took to the garage to play music that was loud, raw, primitive, and spiked with attitude. It was a sound that was later branded as "garage rock", and it became massively influential when these wild records were rediscovered by a new generation of bands through seminal compilation albums like the Lenny Kaye-curated Nuggets compilation (Elektra, 1972). Many bands included garage rock staples in their repertoire and released cover versions, which is our focus today.

One of the songs on the Nuggets album that...

In the 1980s, college radio served as a vital alternative to increasingly corporate and playlist-driven commercial radio. These stations became incubators for emerging alternative genres, provided early exposure for artists who would later become influential acts, and championed independent labels, local scenes, and adventurous programming.

In a tenth anniversary book issued in 1989, CMJ, the trade journal for college radio, published a list of the Top 250 most played songs from the publication's first decade (1979 - 1988). These week, we are picking our Top 5 lists from the CMJ chart.

The full list is here: https...

This week, we grab the reins on a discussion of self-produced albums; that is, records on which the artist takes control over their own vision and not only performs the music, but takes responsibility for the final production as well.

Joining us on this an exploration is a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and pop craftsman who has been a vital part of the New York City music scene, George Usher.   George was a member of Beat Rodeo on their second and final album from 1986, Home in the Heart of the Beat, he’s written with Richard Barone from The...

Climb aboard the mothership...because we wants to funk YOU up!

This week, we celebrate the music of the P-Funk universe - revolving around the nucleus of the George Clinton-led Rock & Roll Hame of Fame bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. Joining us as our Third Lad is none other than "Kidd Funkadelic" himself, P-Funk guitar hero Michael Hampton!

Led by visionary bandleader George Clinton, the wildly influential collective known as Parliament and Funkadelic — together dubbed “P-Funk” — revolutionized funk music in the 1970s by blending deep grooves, psychedelic rock, outrageous sci-fi mythology, and fearless social commentary into a univer...

Choo-chooooo! All abooooooooard! This train may not run on time, but it does run off the rails...and fast.

This week, the Lads complete their "Metal MAY-hem" trifecta by covering the heaviest metal of 'em all: trains. Joining in on the fun is Wallace Dietz and Dan-O Deckelman, who make up the creative engine of the Richmond, VA post-punk locomotive The Melody Chamber. Their self-titled debut (HHBTM Records/Too Good to Be True) landed not only in Brett's Top 5 Albums of 2025, but some of you in the O3L Community also named it as your favorite release...

We've got another six pack of fresh tunes for you in our "show within the show" bonus! This week, Brett chats with composer/keyboardist Johnny Iguana from Chicago band The Claudettes, as they prepare to release their 7th album, Garage Glamour, due June 5th from Pravda Records. “Garage glamour” is about as apt a term as you can get to describe a band who has defied neat categorization over the years - mixing gritty blues, passionate soul, rabid rock n’ roll, cabaret jazz, cinematic drama, slinky funk, and a DIY punk spirit into a sound that’s all theirs.  Outside o...

O3L's Metal MAY-hem continues, but this week we're talking about a different kind of heavy metal: the kind you drive.

From “Rocket 88” to “Little Red Corvette”, the automobile has long been a popular subject in song, representing freedom, escape, prosperity, power, control, solitude, safety, danger, or passion.  Some artists simply sing about cars because cars are cool.

Much like a classic ‘57 Chevy or ‘69 Rambler, our Third Lad this week is an American treasure.  Ben Vaughn is a singer/songwriter who has built an eclectic catalogue of wry, literate songs, from the roots rock of The Ben Vaughn...

It's Metal MAY-hem over here at O3L! This week, we're talking about some of the metal albums that we would recommend to alt-rock fans, whether it be the thundering classics whose influence crossed stylistic boundaries or the albums that could serve as a gateway into the genre for the uninitiated. And, when we say "uninitiated", we might as well be talking about Brett.

Fortunately, not only has Uncle Gregg been a connoisseur of metal for many years, but our Third Lad is the singer/songwriter/guitarist V of alt-metal band Buried Beneath Me...

Are you all sitting comfybold two square on your body? Then I'll begin.

We return to the topic of the concept album...with a spin. Some concept albums simply don't work without context. Others function as a cohesive collection of songs, even divorced from a weighty backstory or overarching theme. Those are the records that Brett Vargo discusses with this week's Third Lad, Bill Kopp.

You may remember renowned music scribe Bill Kopp from his O3L appearance a few years back discussing his book on classic San Francisco indie label 415 Records, Disturbing The Peace...

DON'T you forget about us. DO listen to this week's O3L!

That's right...we're covering songs with "do" or "don't" in the title.

Our Third Lad is French songwriter/guitarist Stéphane Schück from The Salt Collective, the unique international collaborative project who recently released their second full-length album, A Brief History of Blindness, on Propeller Sound Recordings. The record features vocal, instrumental, and/or songwriting contributions by a wildly impressive "who's who" of indie rock, including Chris Stamey and Gene Holder (The dB's), Mitch Easter (Let's Active), Andy Partridge (XTC), Jason Falkner (Je...

Hope you like curling up with a good podcast, because this week we're all about books...well, specifically, songs that are about or inspired by literature. How high brow of us!

Our Third Lad for this discussion is "literate folk-pop" singer/songwriter Robert Deeble. Literary themes are central to the heart of his music, and his recently released 7th album, The Space Between Us, is no exception. It's another invitation into the secret, beautiful world he has been building since his 1997 debut, Days Like These.

Learn more...

We're gonna make you an offer you can't refuse...because this week, we go way back to discuss some of our favorite songs of 1972 with the marvelous Anne Richmond Boston from The Swimming Pool Q's!

Possessing a crystalline voice, Anne's journey led her from church and high school choirs to the quirky new wave of the Swimming Pool Q's. Following their debut album The Deep End on DB Records in 1981, the Q's were one of the first Atlanta/Athens areas bands to be snapped up by a major label. For A&M, they recorded...

It's the darkest, most spiteful O3L yet!

Thanks to an expected guest standing us up at the last minute, after 322 episodes of musical positivity, this week it's all about pushing each other's musical hot buttons. We each curate a list of five songs that we believe the other will loathe. Detest. Hate.

Which means you get more scorn. More disgust. More Uncle Gregg rants. More annoying Brett "grunge voice" imitations. Lucky...you!?!?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices<...

"The merit in action lies in finishing it to the end." - Genghis Khan

Well, you'll definitely want to finish this six pack to the end, because this week it's all about Meritorio in action. That is, Meritorio Records, the splendid Madrid-based record label founded by Álvaro Lissón that has been connecting some of the finest indie pop/rock artists with worldwide audiences for nearly a decade.

During this six pack, you'll hear the following recent tracks by a selection of Meritorio artists:

1) Prism Shores - "I Didn't Mean To...

What the world needs now...is O3L, sweet O3L!

The lads are joined by guitarist/vocalist duo Eric McFadden and Kate Vargas — collectively known as Sgt. Splendor — to count down the top five songs this messed-up world needs right now. The conversation explores how music can heal, empower, and unite in difficult times.

Guest Bios:

BIFF! This week, we're focusing on Album 1-2 punches...that is, albums where the first two songs knock you out.

BANG! Our Third Lad is Ben Crum from long-running Elephant 6 band Great Lakes.

POW! More than 25 years and eight records on from Great Lakes' classic debut, Ben Crum returns with a fantastic new Great Lakes album, Don't Swim Too Close (HHBTM Records). The immediately accessible record draws from classic rock tradition, echoing both the Americana spirit of The Band and Neil Young and the proto-indie rock of Television and the Velvet Underground. Crum's dry humor...

It's the first full weekend of Daylight Savings Time here in (most parts of the) U.S. You bring the sunshine, and we'll supply the tunes!

Brett Vargo chats with electropunk pioneer Peter Pepper about his journey from a "dirtbag punk kid" growing up in Florida to becoming an underground cult hero of a genre he accidentally helped to create. He is currently a renowned multimedia creator, world-traveling storyteller, and founder of the AdventurePunk movement - a philosophy centered on curiosity, reinvention, and crafting meaning through exploration and doing something rather than nothing...even if it's hard. <...

This week, we’re covering bands who released one…and only one…proper album in their career.  Sometimes they say everything they need to say in one album long statement.  Sometimes, they attempt to chase the same feeling of the first album and can’t quite repeat the magic.  Sometimes they’re not given a chance. 

Our Third Lad knows a little something about being in a "one and done" band.  Frank Boscoe’s great ‘90s indiepop band Wimp Factor 14 released exactly one proper album for Little Teddy Records, 1993’s Ankle Deep.  Fortunately, more music followed with his mid-to-late ‘90s b...

Croon•er (n) ['kru:nər]: a singer, particularly a male one, who sings sentimental songs in a soft, low voice.

Decades before Elvis, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, or Uncle Gregg captured the hearts, imaginations, and undergarments of a swooning audience, crooners ruled the earth. The term typically conjures up golden throated singers like Bing Crosby, Nat "King" Cole, Tony Bennett, and Mel Torme interpreting the timeless songs of Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. But one crooner reigned supreme: Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. He was "The Voice," pos...

This week, we celebrate the life and music of Elliott Smith, tracing his journey from noisy indie rocker to lo-fi DIY troubadour to the reluctant voice of a generation. Elliott released three records with his band Heatmiser and five solo classics before his untimely passing at the age of 34 in 2003 (with two posthumous collections that followed), leaving a rich, beautiful, emotionally wrought catalogue of music that continues to influence artists today.

We explore the complex, brilliant, funny, but ultimately tragic figure that was Elliott Smith, and we are fortunate to have a Third Lad who had a...

Get ready for six new tunes that hit the mark every single time! Speaking of bullseyes, this week we welcome the charming and talented Nicole Laurenne from "spooky kitten garagepunk" band The Darts and torch/soul/trip-hop project Black Viiolet to O3L! Learn about Nicole's fascinating journey, get a glimpse of her creative process, and marvel at a work ethic that has produced two great new albums in the first quarter of 2026 and a seemingly endless touring schedule throughout the rest of the year.

The Darts: https://thedartsus.com

Black Viiolet: https://blackviiolet.com<...