On this episode of The J-Card Podcast, we have Graham W. Bell. Graham is a photographer, writer, and musician. He’s the founder of Focus Group Photo, which is a photography collective geared towards creating access to shows for up-and-coming photographers. Graham also runs the Rue Defense label, where he has helped release music from Elly Swope, Simple Shapes, Committeemen, and more.
The J-Card is presented by Rue Defense Tape Club, a quarterly, mail-order cassette compilation and DIY audio project. Hosted by Alexei Shishkin, each episode is part music discovery, part oral history, part hangout show. We ask artists, musicians, filmmakers, and other music-minded folks to build us their own personal mixtape and talk about the moments and memories that inspired it.
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⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - Welcome, Graham!
01:55 - What’s Been Stuck In Your Head Lately?
06:03 - Playing in Committeemen + Houston DIY Music
18:16 - Treefort + Starting Focus Group Photo
22:32 - Photographer/Band Relationships & Getting Paid
28:37 - Rue Defense + Releasing Tapes
33:36 - Starting the Tape Club Project
36:44 - Mixtape Segment Begins
38:27 - “Restless and Tired” by Lawn
41:00 - “What Color Is Blood” by Parquet Courts
44:06 - “Vanity” by Porcelain
45:49 - “Dope Cloud” by Protomartyr
49:15 - “Last Draw” by Grocery Bag
52:36 - “Old Rope” by Committeemen
56:06 - “I Want You (Fever)” by Momma
59:16 - “Cross The Street” by Junior Varsity
61:13 - “Dirty Crockpot” by The Phlegms
63:48 - “Stupid” by Trembler
67:43 - Dream Band Game
77:01 - Wrap-Up + Where to Find Graham
80:04 - Final Message + Thanks
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