So, The Vile Cherubs

The Vile Cherubs

First things first: It’s a GREAT band name. Jesse Quitslund came up with it, but in the podcast I’m sharing today, he makes reference to Ramsey Metcalf emblazoning it on his jeans or something first. Either way, it was a thing. And now it’s a podcast.

So much I could say, but I’ll let the pod do it for me (and at 3 hours 45 minutes, it appears to have a LOT to say!). I’ll just share this: Even before the podcast was floated to us, I’d been sifting through memories of the D.C. scene for my next writing project. Many phone calls with Tim Green and Jesse trying to weave fractured (often lysergic) memories back together. And then @endonendpod reached out: Perfect timing!

Mid-‘80s D.C., high school “dances” at which no one danced, the Reagans. Ancient paisley shirts growing uncomfortable in the summer heat. The angst of misfit teens, finding salvation in music the rest of the world had left behind. Discovering there was a scene bubbling up all around us: Dischord Records , Sammich, Get Hip!, far too many bands to name. And most of all, just extreme gratitude for the friends who helped usher me into the wider world.

Find the podcast here; listen if you dare. By my calculations, it’s about 4 times as long as all the actual music The Vile Cherubs ever made. But it was a lot of fun, and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with you.