In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt Zeigler brings together Allison Wolfe and Brianna Collins for a wide-ranging conversation about music scenes, creative identity, and what it really means to realize you were there while something special was happening.

From Olympia and the Riot Grrrl era to northeast Pennsylvania DIY basements, the conversation explores how community, distance, adulthood, and urgency shape creative lives over time.

What starts as a blind introduction turns into a deeply human discussion about art, memory, responsibility, and how musicians navigate creative work alongside real-world obligations.

Topics covered

• Realizing the significance of music scenes only in hindsight
• Allison Wolfe on seeing Nirvana before they were Nirvana
• Northeast Pennsylvania DIY culture and Bri Collins’ early show experiences
• Punk, new wave, and gender dynamics inside local music scenes
• Making art without knowing where it will lead
• Adult creative life, multiple jobs, and sustaining a band long term
• DIY ethics versus management and delegation
• Teaching, touring, and balancing creative energy
• Creative urgency, imperfection, and resisting overproduction
• Music, activism, and processing the current cultural moment

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and why this meeting matters
02:00 Identity, humility, and not realizing your impact
05:30 Introducing Allison Wolfe and Bri Collins
08:00 Album art, merch, and early DIY creativity
12:00 First shows and finding community
15:00 Seeing Nirvana before the breakthrough
20:00 Gender, scenes, and learning music pre-internet
29:00 Developing a distinct sound without trying to
35:00 Adult musicianship and multiple careers
41:00 Teaching, touring, and sustaining creative work
48:00 DIY values, management, and control
53:00 Art, activism, and the weight of the present moment
01:37 Closing reflections and future paths

And you already know we’ve got Bratmobile and Tigers Jaw stories all the way through.

With some Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Title Fight, and Menzingers thrown in for good measure, but of course.

@TigersJawMusic
@killrockstars

Watch every Just Press Record episode here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtu0hHezwZzURO5c2pHenPnwm30j2fnX&si=EzonzSvd8QxOxQmH

Is your attention span too short for full episodes? Try some shorts here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvtu0hHezwZwyApHEc6J2P04ChhzJQrcZ&si=bwC-LWp5Jxr1nbCP

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In this episode of Just Press Record, host Matt Zeigler brings together two writers from very different worlds who discover how much they actually share. Author and musician Michael Perry and writer and professor Aaron Gwynn connect over farm life, physical labor, creative discipline, and the unlikely paths that led them to writing books. What begins with stories of rural upbringing and lost fingers turns into a deep conversation about mentorship, gratitude, art, politics, and staying grounded in a world driven by abstractions and online outrage.

Main topics covered

• Growing up on farms and ranches and how physical labor shapes perspective

• Stories of injury, toughness, and humor in working-class communities

• How mentors and teachers recognize talent before you do

• The discipline of practice in athletics, music, and writing

• Finding confidence through critique rather than praise

• Imposter syndrome as a source of gratitude and motivation

• Creativity, literature, and making art without losing touch with real people

• The danger of parasocial relationships and losing community to politics

• Why staying human matters more than choosing sides

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and why these two writers needed to meet
01:00 Farm life, injuries, and the humor of hard work
06:00 Rural upbringing, cattle, and growing up working-class
18:00 Toughness, storytelling, and blue-collar humor
25:00 Lost fingers, accidents, and adapting through skill
35:00 Music, guitar, and physical limitations as creative fuel
39:00 Aaron Gwynn’s path from ranch life to writing books
46:00 Michael Perry’s path from nursing to writing and storytelling
52:00 Positive imposter syndrome and gratitude for unlikely success
59:00 Politics, parasocial relationships, and real human connection
01:01:00 Art, community, and staying grounded in a divided world

In this episode of Just Press Record, Matt Zeigler sits down with Phil Pearlman for a wide-ranging conversation about consistency, identity, and the quiet power of how we show up in the world. Using a short clip featuring Nancy Berger and Julia Duthie as a jumping-off point, the discussion explores how behavior shapes character, why role modeling matters more than advice, and how small, repeated actions compound into meaning over time. The conversation weaves together psychology, leadership, parenting, music, intuition, and personal growth, all grounded in lived experience rather than theory.

Main topics covered

• What consistency really means and why it is about behavior, not image

• How acting eventually becomes identity and shapes legacy

• Role modeling as one of the most powerful forces in families, workplaces, and communities

• Why being yourself consistently is easier than maintaining a mask

• Leadership through example versus “do as I say, not as I do” authority

• Reinvention, aging, and the idea that growth does not stop in midlife

• Intuition, hunger, and learning to recalibrate internal signals in a distorted environment

• Why comparison to others is a losing game and progress should be measured against yourself

• The connection between rhythm, music, and living with intention

• Letting gravity work by focusing on direction, not perfection

Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and the idea of consistency
02:00 Phil Pearlman joins and the role of rhythm and music
06:40 Consistency, authenticity, and being yourself everywhere
11:00 Reinvention, choice, and behaving your way into being
15:00 Masks, identity, and when actions become who you are
20:45 Role modeling and its impact on children and culture
25:00 Leadership, authenticity, and workplace behavior
30:00 Intuition, hunger, and recalibrating internal cues
38:20 Direction, progress, and why comparison fails
44:10 Consistency as rhythm and living with intention
50:30 Joy, imperfection, and showing up anyway
53:00 Where to find Phil Pearlman and closing thoughts