An Interview with Private Lives!

Interview conducted with guitarist Chance Hutchison

Shock Treatment: Who is currently in Private Lives and what does everyone do in the band? 

Chance: Chance - Guitar, Jackie - Vocals, Josh - Bass and Andrew - Drums 

Shock Treatment: Tell me about the origin story of the band. How did you all meet and decide to form the band?

Chance: Jackie and I are married and during the covid lockdown we started demoing songs for fun. In Quebec, we were very restricted and there was a curfew of 5pm or something wild. We got bored and started writing songs together. We both came from playing in other bands but had never worked together on anything. It was a bit of a happy accident. 

Shock Treatment: Did you have a particular sound and feel in mind when starting this band or did it just gel once you all started playing together? 

Chance: We’ve gone through many different vibes! Haha! When the band initially started the influences, though direct, were less obvious outside of the Kinks. Also, at the beginning, this was not looked at as a real band and more of a recording project. When we started rehearing with other people, the vibe naturally changed. We’ve also had lineup changes, and each one of those has also lent itself to a natural shift in direction. Mostly now, we just want to make fun music that people can dance to but that hopefully will also make you think a little bit.

Shock Treatment: You guys released your magnificent second LP Salt Of The Earth last year (2025). How do you feel it compares to your 2023 debut Hit Record? 

Chance: Well, for one thing, Salt of the Earth was recorded entirely in our home studio. This was not the case for Hit Record so it came with a lot of learning and testing and having to kind of accept the recording for what it was. I had never mixed anything outside of a demo song so it added a lot of pressure (placed on myself) but I think it came together pretty cool. I have recorded a lot since (Salt of the Earth) and would like to think I’m a lot better now, but I guess only time will tell! 

Shock Treatment: I always found the expression “salt of the earth” interesting, it’s so bizarre to me. What led to the decision to title the new record that?

Chance: Honestly, I just really like how it sounds. I had used it for a song title and when we were considering record titles, it just sort of stuck. I was pushing for Music For Humans but everyone thought it sounded too sci-fi…. 

Shock Treatment: You just released a killer new 7” single on Bachelor Records, “Think I’m Coming Around” b/w "Television Faces”. Can you tell me about that new record?

Chance: Oh yeah, we’re super stoked on the 7”! I recorded that one in the basement and then got our friend David Forcier to mix and master it! I’m very happy with how it turned out. The recording was easy and pretty seamless and the mix turned out great. Dave did a killer job. The artwork is my favourite thing that Josh (our bass player) has done for the band. He handles all the graphic design for merch.

Shock Treatment: Tell me a bit about the European tour the band just returned from. I know you guys have toured the U.S. but is this the first time Private Lives has been overseas?

Chance: The tour was so great! For our first time over there, we really couldn’t have asked for anything more! Great turn outs, people dancing every night and buying up records. Touring in Europe is unlike touring anywhere else in the world. Everyone is so understanding and nice and are more than happy to help out bands looking to play their town.

Shock Treatment: The band is currently based in Montreal, yeah? How do the hometown crowds treat you? What other local bands do you guys like playing with?

Chance: Hometown crowds are so so. In North America everyone is afraid to dance cause they’re not really sure if it’s cool or not. I think everyone should relax a bit and take in the moment a bit more.

There are so many good bands from our city at the moment like Puffer, Beton Arme, Young Blades, Street Panther, Retail Simps, Helene Barbier, Night Lunch etc etc 

Shock Treatment: So what's coming down the pike for you guys in 2026? 

Chance: We’re just putting the finishing touches on a brand new 7” that will hopefully be out before the end of the year! Aside from that, we’re playing around the city a few times before summer and working on finishing the writing for LP3.

Shock Treatment: Where can people follow the band, listen to your music, and buy your records?

Chance: You can listen and buy via bandcamp. https://privatelivesmtl.bandcamp.com/

I try and keep the insta pretty active @private___lives

Disposable Dogs vs Disposable Dogs

I know in this little "vs" feature I've done every now and again, I will usually  review two different bands or two different records that somewhat go together, at least in my mind they do. But this time however, I want to write about the same band's two LP's since they both came out so close to one another and both seem to kind of tell a story. Maybe not a linear story in the traditional sense, but definitely a tale told in two parts, in spirit and sentiment. A story that is relatable to most in these recent, turbulent times that is easy to wrap your head and emotions around. Or if you choose not to go down that particular rabbit hole, look at it in terms of an impossible struggle, loss, and desperation that is sure to ignite a time most refer to as the apocalypse. The songs on these two records are the hymns of devastation, there's no mistaken that. You can choose how close you want to let them in. 
 

Disposable Dogs - S/T LP (No Front Teeth Records / Take The City Records) 

This LP dropped in the later part of 2025 and it was near impossible for me change around my list of best record of the year, since I had already done so like 100 timers already. If this record had come out just a little bit sooner, it definitely would have made the cut. Disposable Dogs feature members of all kinds of modern Oi! and Punk bands like The Gaggers, Oil!, Trenchkoat Scunthorpe Yobs etc. Musically they fall into similar camps as Street Punk like The Riffs mixed with "Kids of the Black Hole" bleak yet melodic Adolescents, and all this is attached to some brilliant anthemic Cocksparrer like choruses. Powerful enough to raise your fist and declare truth! The war is not over and if defeat should arrive in the dead of night like a cold fog, it will not signal the end, so declarith the Disposable Dogs! The fighting human spirit will not bend or break like a flower in a storm. No goddamn way! The struggle will continue on the rubble amongst the dust, the fires and these songs will be screaming in the distance like air raid sirens.  

Disposable Dogs - Living In The Fallout LP (Bovver Pressed Records / No Front Teeth Records)

If the band's first self-titled LP were the anthems of going forward into battle, Living In The Fallout are the hymns of the resistance after the war was lost. The quality of the songs is still there, like a friendly flag, shredded by shrapnel, seen only in the distance during flashes of random explosions. This record is darker, meaner and dug into the trenches of the battlefield. Because that's what it takes to win the war, it's time to go lean and shed all that is non essential to victory. Instead of giving one the strength to gear up and jump in head first into the melee, these songs make you want to put your fist right through the conquerors that somehow snatched victory out of your bloody, war torn hands. Whether it be socially, philosophically or economically, you take your pick, select your war. But no matter which front you wish to descend upon,  Disposable Dogs will be there to ignite the fires in the engines of resistance and make sure they never falter. Remember, sometimes the only way to get out of the fire is to go through it.

LP's available at the links below: 

Take The City Records - www.takethecity.shop

Bovver Pressed Records - www.bovverpressedrecords.com

No Front Teeth Records - www.nofrontteeth.co.uk

Erica Rose Interview

 

Shock Treatment: How and when did you decide to pick up an instrument and gain the desire to start learning to play and write music?  Erica Rose: I had dreams of being a rock n roller since I was a little kid. I technically started (or, at least, tried) to start learning guitar in second grade. However, I didn’t have the patience and my folks decided to stop wasting the little money they had on lessons when they walked in on a lesson where I had the guitar on top of my head and was attempting to play that way! I picked up guitar again in high school. I’d go over to a family friend’s house. He’d have me choose songs I wanted to learn and show me how to play them. That’s how I really learned. I believe my first song was “Can’t Explain.” Shock Treatment: Tell me about Appaloosa. How did you meet them and decide to form the band? Erica Rose: I started Appaloosa while I was pregnant and right after I’d moved back to Seattle after about six years in NYC. Since I was a teenager, and started playing in bands, I’ve always played in at least two bands. I was terrified of not playing in a band after having kids, but realized I needed to be much more intentional about how I did it (and work that much harder). I wrote the first 5-7 songs after I’d come back to Seattle (fairly late into my pregnancy). I wanted to start my ‘dream’ band; a mix of power pop, glam and tough rock n roll..and that was the beginning of Appaloosa. I had the songs ready to go and began the process of starting the band right after having my kids. It took a long time to find people that wanted to be in a band with me. There was (unfortunately) an opinion that because I’d just had twins, there was no way I could possible devote myself to a band (not true!). Eventually, I found the right group of people. There’ve been a couple lineup changes over the years, but Leif has always been in the band, we work really well together, he’s totally like a brother. The current lineup with Ian on drums and Kevin on bass rules!

Shock Treatment: Appaloosa released a super limited 7” last year with one fantastic song (Of Human Bondage) and another killer tune on your Bandcamp (Get It Together Kid) both mastered by Kurt Bloch. First off, how was your experience working with Kurt Bolch and as an inquiring fan, are these songs part of an upcoming LP? Erica Rose: Thank you! Working with Kurt is the very best! He’s been so supportive ..and a true friend. I’ve recorded a bunch of solo acoustic songs with him as well as Ragged School songs and it’s always a blast. We get everything done efficiently, but there’s always so much laughter and jokes. These Appaloosa song will, hopefully, be a part of an upcoming LP! Or, that’s the goal! Shock Treatment: Now I’d like to move on to Erica Rose and The Ragged School. Tell me about how this project came to be. Erica Rose: Erica Rose and the Ragged School came about because of the Jacobites! For me the Jacobites are life and death; everything. I’d done a Jacobites cover band for Halloween in 2022. After this, me and one of my friends in the band decided to start a troubadour style project ..and I started writing. Unfortunately, that project didn’t work, but I kept writing songs in that vein; Jacobites meets Nico. I started recording them for fun. My initial thought was to bring the songs to Appaloosa, but after giving that a try, I realized they weren’t Appaloosa songs. My best friend, Pete, encouraged me to start another band devoted to these songs (he plays drums in the Ragged School). Since that point, we haven’t looked back. Shock Treatment: I got your solo LP you put out on No Front Teeth Records in 2024 and I was totally blown away. Quite a departure from Appaloosa! What inspired you to write these songs? Were these songs you’ve had written for a while? Erica Rose: I started writing these songs after a Jacobites cover band I did in 2022. They’ve always been my favorite, but I’d never written like that before. The attempted troubadour project was the initial inspiration. These are all new songs. I was immediately inspired to record them. The first record is a solo project, but it’s evolved into a band which is a dynamic I truly love. It feels like one more evolution; Appaloosa was the first (well, sort of second) band I’d ever tried singing for, this felt like the next step both vocally and musically. Before I started singing, I didn’t know how to articulate these sorts of songs. Now I feel like I have that vocabulary..but always trying to get better and push myself.

Shock Treatment: And speaking of your solo record, tell me how I Knew Buffalo Bill came into your life and your decision to cover Nikki Sudden’s “Gallery Wharf” Erica Rose: It came into my life when I got into the Jacobites! We were going to cover it in that Jacobites/Jacobites adjacent cover band, but ended up not playing it. I love that song so much, it felt so natural to bring it in. I also have a cover of Dave Kusworth’s Orphan (All His Life). Always up for a Jacobites/Sudden/Kus cover!

Shock Treatment: Can you tell me about your newest project and collaboration with Marco in Self Incrimination? Erica Rose: Self Incrimination has been an insanely fun project to work on. I’ve known Marco through No Front Teeth; he put out a couple Appaloosa 7”s and my solo record. We’ve chatted over the years about music and family and such. Last summer he asked me if I’d consider/ want to write vocals/sing for a project he’d begun to write music for. He sent me the songs and I thought they were AMAZING. It was a challenge because I’d never written only vocals before (my songwriting started with just guitar and evolved into guitar and vocals), but it was a great challenge and I had so much fun going through my poetry looking for ideas/inspiration and then turning those words into vocal lines. It’s been so cool to do a project with someone who lives in a different part of the world..to send music/ideas back and forth. I’m beyond stoked on the record. Hoping to do another!

Shock Treatment: So Erica, I once heard someone say that there are several life lessons you learn by being in a band. What is one you feel you learned this way that you still value to this day? Erica Rose: Hmm, that’s a hard one! I can’t imagine NOT being in a band, it’s been a constant in my life for at least 20 years now. While there might not be one specific lesson I’ve learned, being in a band feels like the most natural thing in the world to me. Shock Treatment: What lies ahead in 2026 for you? Any Self Incrimination live shows planned?? Erica Rose: Both Appaloosa and Ragged School plan to record more songs (both aim to have LPs soon!). Both bands  hope to tour and get out of Seattle more as well. I’d love to do some Self Incrimination live shows! Though, we’ve yet to plan anything. We’ll see! ..and I’m always writing new songs!

Shock Treatment: Where can people go to listen to your music and buy your records?

Erica Rose: They can listen on bandcamp:
ericarose.bandcamp.com
Appaloosaseattle.bandcamp.com
Selfincrimination.bandcamp.com

..as well as other streaming platforms!

For Self Incrimination, the records can be snagged through No Front Teeth (or people can hit me up on the gram: @airica666)

Cheers!

Introducing Lithophones!

 

Do you know what what the hell a lithophone is? Because I sure as hell didn't, I had to look the shit up! I thought for a moment these guys made it up! But when I consulted old man Googles, he told me it's an ancient instrument made of rocks that produces sounds when struck. That's what it is, an instrument that knuckle dragging savages used to play. And that name is very fitting when it pertains to these Boston Barbarians! Lithophones consists of members of the Wongs and The Tampoffs so you know what you're in for now, don't you?!



Lithophones are a four piece garage punk outfit from Beantown U.S.A. and these guys channel the mean, sweaty punk rock that these ears yearn to hear. Think Rip Off Records, think Teengenerate, The Brides, The Problematics, think all that cool 90's shit that went away and you so desperately wish it would come back in full force. Well stop pulling on those nasty wishbones and blowing up those dandelion fields because the angels of the bottomless pit have raised this rock n roll band of demons from within the steaming bowels of the earth. 



Right now, you can go hear the band's raw, fuzz drenched demo's on Bandcamp but I got a little sneak peak at some new recordings they're working on and I'm here to tell you it's going to scorch earth. I love it when a band does that, it's what I live for as a matter of fact. These guys are scheduled to play with The Sleeveens and Adult Learners on April 16th at Deep Cuts in Medford, MA. So show up early and make sure you're near a load bearing structure because hurricane season starts early this year and Lithophones are gonna usher in the storm of the century! 

instagram.com/lithophones

Brad Marino: Entity of Disruption!

Shock Treatment: So Brad, can you tell me who’s all in the Brad Marino Band and what everyone does in the group?

Brad Marino: Sure thing, so the “Brad Marino Band” consists of myself along with Bobby Davis on the bass/back up vocals & Craig Sala on the drums/vocals. We’ve sometimes had an additional guitarist but we’re running lean and mean now as a 3 PCS. It keeps things tight and simple. For the upcoming Spain tour, Gene Champagne will be playing the drums.

Shock Treatment: Tell me about this new record you have coming out Agent of Chaos:

Brad Marino: “Agent of Chaos” is my 5th long player. I’m really excited about this one. It’s got 12 tracks all written by me- which surprisingly is a first- in albums past I’ve collaborated with someone on at least 1 or 2 tracks or thrown in a cover to round it out but this one is all songs made up by me. It also has a great mix of songs- all the things that make a Brad Marino record. Punky stuff, Power Pop, Rock n Roll and it’s very cohesive: mainly because it’s the same few guys playing on all the songs. My 1st record “Extra Credit” was just me doing everything and Kris Rodgers doing key’s. Since then, I’ve sort of had a small circus joining me because it was fun to collaborate, so some records have 2 drummers or 3 bass players etc. This one has Gene Champagne on the drums, Bobby Davis does most of the bass, Ron Mullens does all the keyboard playing. It still took a circus as outside of those main 3 guys though we have guest spots from Dave Strong, Zack Sprague, James Cap Nunn but otherwise the main instrumentation and vocals is just the 4 main guys. Another big part of the record is the mix- I love the work Josh Roman did on this one. We started working together on my “Basement Beat” LP in 2022 and he’s done some other projects with me but this one especially sounds great. I really think people will dig this one- some who have heard it say it’s the best I’ve done even. 

Shock Treatment: Speaking of the record, what inspired the name of the album?

Brad Marino: I was listening to a podcast while driving and someone on the show referred to another character as an “Agent of Chaos” and I thought “hmmm agent of chaos- that sounds like me!” It stuck and I decided I just wanted to use it. I rarely speak out on anything but it seems like when I do it inevitably ruffles somebody’s feathers but that’s part of saying what you believe or think about a situation or topic- music, politics whatever- even if it causes a little chaos- and there has been some chaos over the past couple years with some of my relationships in music so that also made it seem like the perfect title.

Shock Treatment: You’re getting ready to take the Brad Marino rock n roll show on the road in Europe soon, are you excited for that?

Brad Marino: Yes! Always excited to go to Europe and play my rock n’ roll. This will be my 2nd tour of Spain with the BMB and 3rd overall jaunt to Europe as the BMB. When The Connection split up I wasn’t sure if I’d ever go back or bother to start a band and here we are doing our 3rd tour-matching what the old band did- so that’s very cool to me especially where I’m at in my life now a little older and wiser-with 2 great young children and wife. It’s great to have that balance in my life and be able to play ‘rockstar’ for a week or so to people who care and show up to support you.

Shock Treatment: What have you found that’s different about European audiences as opposed to your home town crowds?

Brad Marino: The main difference is the people who come to the shows in Europe are fans- they know your songs and own your records before coming to see you. They’re excited to hear these songs performed live and sing along and dance. They also want to take a photo or ask for an autograph- stuff that never happens here in the US. There are some great shows we’ve done in the states too – no doubt. Spain especially is the best- they’re just passionate rock n roll fans there which is why so many independent or smaller bands like mine go there- you can sell out a 150 person room on a random Tuesday and have a great time.

Shock Treatment: For one of your new tracks, “Calling Your Bluff” you did a video. Can you tell me about how that experience went for you and the band?

Brad Marino: That was fun- our friend Tino from the band “Burn Kit” sat in on drums since Gene who played on the track lives in Canada. Videos are kind of a pain to me but they’re good to have for the almighty algorithm.. you need to have a good idea and place to shoot in my opinion. Some kind of vision and that’s the hardest part . For this track- a real 77’ style punk rock n roll tune, I thought the local skateboard shop/park would be a rad backdrop and it was. People were just skating around us on a Saturday- it’s a big indoor park you pay like $10 bucks and can skate all day- pretty good deal. It’s called Red Alert Skateshop in Rochester, NH. It was fun watching the skaters and Tino not only is a musician but a top notch skater as well! Hell, I even got on a board for the 1st time in 20 years!



Shock Treatment: Harkening back to your childhood, did you have a favorite video from a band that you’d get excited about when it’d come on or that maybe inspired you to make one for yourself?

Brad Marino: There was a lot of great videos when I was watching in the late 90’s/00 or so- I spent a lot of time watching MTV or VH1 for sure. I’d be more into doing videos if I could do one as elaborate as those 90’s videos. Some that I remember liking- New Radicals- the one in the mall- that was cool. I also liked “Bittersweet Symphony” – it was simple but effective.. As I’m typing and thinking- Blink 182- “ All the small things” spoofing on all the 90’s videos was obviously a big one on “TRL” ha! In my head for a song sometimes I have a great idea but we just don’t have the resources to do much more than a performance video.

Shock Treatment: And since we already turned on the way back machine, what bands do you feel most inspired you to want to pick up a guitar and start writing music?

Brad Marino: Honestly at first it was those bands on MTV/VH1- it wasn’t so much the song as the reaction to it -when a band was playing or lip syncing to an audience. That draw of the audience- especially the female members of the audience definitely peaked my interest in wanting to play. It all just looked so fun- Back then- everyone looked cool to a 12/13 year old-even if they were impossibly lame to look back on. There also was a lot of good solid rock music still back then that inspired me to want to learn whether it was Smash Mouth, Lit, Offspring, Green Day. As far as songwriting that didn’t happen until later when I was like 15/16 and playing in a band- we were doing covers of Rancid, Ramones, Misfits etc. and that’s when I’d take my first steps at trying to write. As a songwriter now I have a lot of influences but the main ones are obviously Joey and Dee Dee, Mick & Keith, Paul & John, Paul Collins, John Felice, Billie Joe, Buddy Holly those kind of guys. 

Shock Treatment: Other than the European tour, what lies in store for you guys in 2026?

Brad Marino: 2026 is starting off with a bang!- new album and the tour in Spain. We’ll see- Bobby usually books us on some cool shows. He tries to get us gigs opening for bands we like that are bigger than us. We’ve opened for some great contemporary artists and legendary artists we are influenced by. I don’t want to be lugging my gear through a snow-covered sidewalk and up the stairs to play a club show when its 10 degrees outside and playing for 13 people- so we are a bit picky about the gigs we take. I’m sure some cool opportunities will arise but also it doesn’t get much better than 10 days touring in Spain! As usual I’ve already got another albums worth of material ready to record before the most current album even comes out so I have to restrain myself from hitting the studio too quick but my guess is after the tour sometime this summer we’ll get in a studio and start chipping away at a few new tunes.

Shock Treatment: Where can people go to listen to your music and buy your records?

Brad Marino: All the usual places- Spotify/Apple/Youtube. Bradmarino.bandcamp.com. You can buy the new record from the labels : Spaghetty Town Records in the USA. Ghost Highway Recordings in Spain & Beluga Records in Sweden.

Follow Brad Marino at the links below: 

youtube.com/@bradmarinomusic

facebook.com/bradmarinomusic

instagram.com/brad_marino

tiktok.com/@bradmarinomusic

Get the new album Agent of Chaos NOW at the links below:

Spaghetty Town Records 

Ghost Highway Recordings

Beluga Records