Thanks for tuning in!
We are back for another round of "Talking Stuff with Mike D" This week I got some answers from my good friend who is always hustling in the Ohio music scene. I've been playing shows with her for years. She's a powerhouse!

Mike D Vs Wes Meadows

Q: Who are you? Where are you from?

A: I’m Wes Meadows and I’m from Berea OH. It’s a bit southwest of Cleveland. I also lived in Columbus for a few years in the mid- 2010s.

Q: What instruments do you play?

A: I play guitar, trumpet, and sing the best. I’m pretty okay at trombone, baritone, drums, and bass. I’m not very good at all at keyboards, but I still try. I can’t make a single sound from a reed, though. They’re my biggest enemy.

Q: Tell us about little about your band "Totally Destroyed".

A: Totally Destroyed came out of a need for me to collaborate on loud, noisy stuff following the end of my previous band The You Suck Flying Circus. Natty Bumppo, the other guitarist/singer, has been a person I’ve wanted to collaborate on songwriting with for a long time, and I’m hype to finally be doing it after over a decade of friendship. I recorded their solo albums, and their old band Etc Etc Etc’s EP and full-length, and their other projects have frequently ended up on my record label or the shows I book, but we didn’t sit down and write a song together until October 2024. We’ve got 10 tunes out now, and another 15 in the oven, so I’d say it’s going great. Our other full-time members are Evan and David of the band Debris, and we’ve got people who occasionally help us out like Lilith from Leechwife, Sprout from Ten Toes Spumoni, and Chris from Wednesday Demonstration. We’ve got our spring wide open, if you’re reading this, book us in your town.

Q: What other bands do you play with?

A: I’m currently down to only a few bands, in terms of projects that I’d play live shows with. Totally Destroyed is the biggest focal point for me right now, and if I’m booked for something, that’s the band I’d prefer to play with. But I’m also still down to do shows as I hope so. (My quarantine emo band) and I love playing shows with my solo songs, either alone or with others. Scorpio Death Club, another quarantine project, plays a show or two a year now too. I have a few bands where I don’t write, I just show up and play my couple of parts (usually trumpet) for shows I’m in town for, like Owney The Postal Dog, Home Is Where, Flipcoin, and The Heavy Forgiveness. I’ve got a half dozen studio-only projects too: Glassbiter (cybergrind), Major Depression (skramz), Rocky River Nature Preserve (slowcore), Vox Holo (improvisational noise), Soda Jerkz (ska), and Midway Valley (pop punk). I probably forgot something. Oh well. I have to change my answer to this kind of question every year anyway lol

Q: Where do you like to play?

A: I love playing the midwest and New England, because there’s so many major cities piled right on top of each other. I love the kind of tour where I have to drive less than 4 hours a day, and I always strive for that. Saves gas and saves me from boredom. That’s probably a cop-out answer, though, and I don’t like cops. So I’ll say Pittsburgh is my favorite city to play in. Long-standing champions of DIY in that place for sure. Shouts out to The Mr Roboto Project, especially. Probably the best DIY space in the world.

Q: How long have you been involved with the DIY scene?

A: I learned guitar and started trying to play in bands when I was 13, and I’m 31 now. So, I’ve been doing the thing for 2/3 of my life now. That’s so weird to think about, but it makes me happy. I like to think that I’ll do it forever, til I die, as the saying goes.

Q: Where was your first show?

A: I think my first ‘official’ show was at a friends house in their garage in Berea with my first band, This Side Up. We were not good and there is no evidence of this show on the internet and I’m gonna keep it that way. We only played one original, and 5 covers. Our bassist and drummer left shortly after to start a Metallica cover band, and it would end up being our ONLY full-band show. We had 4 singers: me, the pianist, and our two saxophone players. We had like 7 members or something. We never did shit because it was so hard to get all of us together in a room. It was a mess. But we’ve all gotta start somewhere.

Q: Where can people listen to ya?

A: All of my projects are on bandcamp, and most of them are on all the streaming sites (YouTube, Spotify, etc). I’d prefer if you listened/purchased on bandcamp, but I’m not a cop. Get it wherever you get it. Hell, bootleg it if you want it, I don’t mind.

Q: What's your favorite local restaurant?

A: This one’s pretty hard. There’s a lot of good food in Ohio. I’d have to go with the garbage platter from PJ’s subs in Columbus. Fried chicken, mashed taters and gravy, Mac n cheese bites, and steak shavings, with gravy and hot sauce on top. They only serve it sometimes because it’s a pain to make apparently, but god do I love it.

Q: What is Flowerpot Records? How long has it been active?

A: Flowerpot Records is my life’s work, honestly. I started it my sophomore year of high school, just carrying around a box of $1-5 CDs and tapes that I dubbed of my pals bands. Now, I’ve helped a bunch of bands

MD: Thanks for doing thing Wes! Love ya lots and I wish you nothing but the best for any project you've got going on!

Be sure to tune in next Monday for another guest on Talking Stuff with Mike D

https://www.mikedefendant.com/talking-stuff-with-mike-d