Welcome to a bonus episode of That’s How I Remember It. This episode was recorded live at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn the first night of the Hold Steady’s annual Massive Nights celebration in November 2023. The first guest is Peter Shapiro, stellar music promoter, owner of the Brooklyn Bowls, former owner of The Wetlands music club, the list goes on. We talked about his philosophies about multi-night events, leaving early, playing zone defense and his first show at Wetlands. After Pete, we visited with Michael Hann, a music writer based in the UK who authored The Gospel of The Hold Steady book that came out in 2023. Michael is a longtime friend and fan of the band and we spoke of surprises in the book, favorite THS shows, first meetings, etc. Throughout it all I check in with my bandmates in THS to hear their recollections of 2023, our 20th year as a band. This was a great event, and it’s a lot of fun to revisit it on the eve of the THS Weekender 2024 shows in London this weekend.
Hannah and Dylan discuss musician towns versus band towns, longing for the shire, loose pants, her career paths of healer vs. astrologer vs. musician, a Saturn return analysis, Hejira as a musical compass, the connection between EMDR therapy and guitar, and family.
The genius behind the indie classic Sidewalk Stories opens up about everything from crushing it at Cannes to nearly burning down his family's apartment (twice!).