That's How I Remember It

Tommy Stinson is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Tommy is a rock and roll hero of mine, and I was thrilled to have him on the podcast. We talked about Sly & The Family Stone’s “It’s a Family Affair,” old Minneapolis clubs The Nacirema and Duffy’s, loving Minneapolis band The Suburbs, starting on stand-up bass, what he learned from his time in Guns N' Roses and whether he remembers anything from the show at 7th Street Entry where I first saw the Replacements. Was a thrill to have Tommy here, listen and subscribe!

Johanna Samuels is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Johanna first hit my radar with her awesome 2023 release Bystander, produced by long-time friend of the pod Josh Kaufman. Now she’s got a fantastic new record called Sorry Kid coming out this week and we talked about that as well as waterbugs, morally complex endings, having a panic attack at Moulin Rouge, going to movies by yourself, and Blue vs. Pinkerton. As always, I had a blast talking to Johanna, it’s a great episode. Please listen and subscribe!

Lenny Kaye is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Lenny is a true rock and roll legend, and he’s done it all. He’s Patti Smith’s long-running guitar player. He compiled the seminal garage rock compilation Nuggets. He’s written books, produced records…I’m barely scratching the surface. And now, in 2026, he’s put out his first-ever solo record, titled Goin’ Local. We talked about the new release as well as Jamaican Gospel records, his book You Call it Madness, his songwriter uncle, playing “You Really Got Me” with Ray Davies, Soul Asylum, Jim Carroll, and so much more. Lenny is a truly fantastic and encyclopedic rock and roll mind, and it was a pleasure to have him join me here. Listen and subscribe!

Jonathan Meiburg makes music as Shearwater and is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. He’s about to release a great album called The New World, and we talked about that as well as keeping dog noises on recordings, not having children, field recordings, caracaras, his travels on a boat in Antarctica, isopods and so much more. Jonathan is a fascinating person, and I really loved our conversation. Check it out and remember to subscribe!

Robyn Hitchcock is my best on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Robyn has a great new book out called Stranded in the Future, which details his life in the years between 1968 and 1978. He also has an excellent new record The Confuser, which is his 25th solo record. We talked about all of that as well as his ability to remember birthdays, astrology, writing hungover, Trout Mask Replica, seeing Dylan at Isle of Wight in 1969, spanners, and much much more. I was thrilled to have the chance to talk to Robyn and it turned out great. Listen and subscribe!

Mike Campbell is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Mike is the legendary Heartbreakers guitar player who stood beside Tom Petty for decades, and he’s also played with many other rock giants - Bob Dylan, George Harrison, more. His book last year Heartbreaker is possibly the best book I’ve ever read on band dynamics, and he’s just released a cool new record with his band The Dirty Knobs, called Mission of Mercy. We talked about all of this plus hearing the Beatles for the first time, meeting most of his heroes, the “it’s just the normal noises” intro to the Heartbreakers classic “Even the Losers,” and gratitude. Great conversation with a true rock and roll legend. Check it out, and please subscribe!

WILL JOHNSON is my guest on this week’s episode of That’s How I Remember It, and it’s a special one to me. I love Will as a friend and an artist. I’ve said as much in the new book “Patience For The Ride”, which features essays about the man and his music from illustrious folks like Patterson Hood, Jim James, and Jason Isbell. For the past few years he’s been a member of The 400 Unit and also fronted Magnolia Electric Company on recent shows. He continues to put out incredible solo records, including last year’s Diamond CIty. On top of all that, he’s got a very special sense of memory. All of this lines up to make for a beautiful talk and an excellent episode. Check it out now, and subscribe also!

Charlotte Cornfield is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Charlotte first came on my radar through her great 2023 record Could Have Done Anything, which I wore out after millions of listens. She’s back with another great one, Hurts Like Hell. We talked about making that record as well as her great memory for show dates, songs about sandwiches, Rush, studio memories, and making January records. Great talk and I highly recommend listening to her record as well as this episode. Also, please subscribe!

Joshua Ray Walker is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Joshua is a great singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas, and in 2023, he was diagnosed with cancer. He was told at one point that his situation was dire. So, he went to work. He is now cancer-free, but has put out three records in a twelve-month period, which he calls “The Cancer Trilogy.” We talked about the most recent release, Ain’t Dead Yet, due in late May, as well as his second birthday memories, The White Stripes, The Longhorn Ballroom, Dan Fogelberg's “Same Old Lang Syne,” and his desire to create when he was ill. I’m very happy that Joshua is cancer-free, and super psyched that he joined me here for a great conversation. Listen and subscribe!

Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. I met Kevin years ago at some festivals our bands played together, and have always really enjoyed speaking with him, so I was thrilled to have him on the show. We talked about the great new BSS record as well as AC/DC, losing a parent, Rosie Grier, not having children, Dinosaur Jr., and the Broken Social Scene set at Lollapalooza 2006 - the best music festival set I’ve ever witnessed. This was such a great talk, huge thanks to Kevin for joining. Listen and subscribe!

José González is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. José is a fantastic guitarist and songwriter who just released a great new record Against The Dying of Light. We talked about his prior studies in biochemistry, pushing away intrusive thoughts when playing live, his roots in punk and hardcore, Quicksand, Richard Dawkins and ending on a hopeful note. Really great conversation, was a pleasure to have Jose on the pod. Check it out, listen and subscribe!

Buck Meek is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Buck is, of course, a member of the incredible Big Thief band. He also makes excellent solo records including the recently released one titled The Mirror. We talked about making that record as well as sense memory, feedback loops, icehouses, influential guitar teachers, the connection between grief and love, and trusting songs. This was a great talk with an incredible musician, really pleased to have Buck on the pod. Listen and subscribe!

Julia Steiner from the band Ratboys is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. Ratboys originated in the dorms at the University of Notre Dame and have put out six albums since forming in 2010. This year's release, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, is an absolutely fantastic rock record, and we talked about making that as well as watching Super Bowls as a band, having a personal stake in your stories, iPods, obsessive iTunes maintenance, The Beatles' “Lady Madonna,” and so much more. Really a great episode, check it out!

Milo Aukerman from the Descendents is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. In summer 1987, I went to a Descendents show at First Ave in Minneapolis for what was to be the band’s final tour. Halfway through the show, the band announced they were recording a live album. That album became the classic Liveage! record, in my mind an all time great live record. Milo and I talked about that as well as Tom Lehrer, Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe ('), getting turned onto music by Rodney on the ROQ, LA bands like The Dickies and X, his science career, his time in Madison Wisconsin, coming back to the band after a long break, and 40 years of their classic record I Don’t Want To Grow Up. This was a huge one for me, and Milo was awesome. Check it out now, and subscribe!

Courtney Marie Andrews is my guest on the first That’s How I Remember It of 2026. Courtney is a great songwriter, poet, painter - a true artist who does a lot of things. We talked about love and grief on her great new record Valentine as well as light affecting memory, Marin County, the musical Annie, playing covers, Warren Zevon’s Preludes, and poetry vs. songs. Really enjoyed this and happy to be back with new episodes of THIRI. Listen and subscribe!

For Those I Love is a project by Irish artist David Balfe, and he is the guest on this week's episode of That’s How I Remember It. I first became acquainted with David from his self-titled 2021 record that went on to win the prestigious Choice Music Prize for "Irish Album of the Year." He’s back with another great record called Carving the Stone and we talked about both LPs as well as recording conversations, the word “stotious”, housing issues in Dublin, writing about violence, and the first night we met in Dublin. David is a fantastic writer and thinking and I was so pleased to have him join me here. This is the last episode of 2025, see you next year for more great conversations. Listen and subscribe!

Rhett Miller is my guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. The Old 97s frontman has a cool new solo record A Lifetime of Riding by Night, which came out in October. We talked about that as well as remembering lyrics, teaching songwriting, persistence, The Kingston Trio, vocal surgery, Strangeways Here We Come, chain wallets, our mutual trip to Joshua Tree in 2012 and the time we met at a CMJ panel. I’ve known Rhett a long time now and really enjoy speaking to him, this was a great conversation. Listen and subscribe!

Ryan Miller of Guster is the guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. We recorded it live this past August at One Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine as part of Guster’s very inspiring On the Ocean Festival. It was an amazing day and great to sit down with Ryan and talk about the last Guster record Ooh La La, The Scorpion’s “Still Loving You”, high school bands, writing songs on new instruments, Matt Johnson and The The, working with new producers, Guster’s college rep program and community building in this modern age. I came away from the weekend in awe of all Guster had put together and it was super great to speak with Ryan about the way they’ve approached things.

Dave Hause is the guest on this episode of That’s How I Remember It. I first met Dave as a member of the band The Loved Ones, and we went on an epic tour of the States in 2008 together. Since then, he’s made a bunch of solo records, including the very excellent Dave Hause and the Mermaid LP, which came out in September. We talked about the new record as well as The Hooters, Billy Joel’s “Angry Young Man”, being a roadie for Sick of It All, hardcore as folklore, sobriety, remaining accessible to younger people, his annual Sing Us Home festival, and so much more. Dave is an awesome and thoughtful artist and friend, and this talk was really great. Listen and subscribe.

This November, I'm going out on tour with my friend Patterson Hood. We're calling it the Devil in the Details tour, and we're gonna be appearing on the same stage at the same time playing our songs with one auxiliary musician, a guy named Ben Hackett. This tour is gonna be magical, and I'm already excited about it. In fact, I'm so excited about it that I decided to dig into the vaults and re-air the first-ever episode of That's How I Remember It, which featured a conversation between myself and, you guessed it, Patterson Hood. So if you can, I hope you'll come hang out in one of these places: Seattle, Portland, Bend, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Dallas, and Austin. The devil's in the details indeed. Get more details of the dates at craigfinn.net. This episode originally ran on June 8, 2022. For the first episode of That’s How I Remember It, I spoke to Patterson Hood, one of my all-time favorite songwriters. Patterson’s work with the Drive By Truckers has examined life in the Southern USA and beyond, lyrically tearing down old monuments while constructing new ones to more worthy recipients. We talked about turning memories into mythology, honoring deceased friends, and how his classic song "18 Wheels of Love" might be built on a shaky foundation. We also reminisce a bit on the Drive By Truckers/The Hold Steady “Rock and Roll Means Well” Tour from 2008. Huge thanks to Patterson for being my first guest. I’ll be talking to Brian Koppelman, Fred Armisen, and other great guests in weeks to come, so please subscribe and keep listening to That’s How I Remember It.