The Shit Talk fellas had a very enjoyable chat with the super talented studio engineer, producer and mixer Eric Stenman. Eric has been working in the music industry for over 35 years, both playing bass and guitar and running studios, wearing all sorts of different hats along the way. Going back to 2011, he has worked with Aaron Bruno and Los Angeles based band AWOLNATION. In recent years, Eric and Aaron connected with some heavy material that Eric had been working on in the shadows. Fortunately for all of us, we now get to hear what they came up with, and it is absolutely stellar.

The Barbarians Of California have smashed onto the scene with the release of their first album And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth. It’s packed with all kinds of musical flavors from punk to metal and thrash, punctuated by some moments of surprising calm. Fellow AWOLNATION members Isaac Carpenter on drums and Zach Irons on guitar round out the band’s lineup and they’ve delivered a heavy, super energetic, slammin’ first album. We’re all hoping that they hurry up and tour this album and then release more material!

You can follow The Barbarians Of California on Instagram at @barbariansofca

00:00 Intro

01:25 The origins of The Barbarians Of California

05:40 The band’s sound

08:40 Potential future plans for TBoC

10:50 Balancing heavy music while working on other styles of music

13:20 The nostalgia of working in an old school fashion

16:50 Finding new music to listen to

19:52 Bazooka! (And associated guitar tones)

23:20 Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)

25:29 Working with AWOLNATION and meeting Aaron Bruno

28:51 Eric’s musical collaborator wish list

31:25 Working with Deftones

33:21 Graphic/art design work for TBoC

35:58 Wearing different hats while working in the studio

41:08 Stopping to appreciate the good things and becoming “successful”

43:28 Eric’s perfect day and what’s really important in life

Be sure to head over to www.shittalkreviews.com for all the interviews and album reviews. You can even read up on how to best plant your perennials for the best flowers your grandma will ever lay her eyes on!

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