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PODCAST · music

Variable Bitrate

by curbside.audio / Jacob Tender

Host Jacob Tender is joined by colleagues and friends from all walks of life to talk about what moves them.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 14, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. 23: 'Personal Mario Arcade Machine', with guest James Cassar

    Verified Twitter user James Cassar is a music industry writer, label owner, and podcaster. We discuss his start with Modern Vinyl, the formation of Near Mint, association with Modern Baseball, and his impending memoir.

  2. 22: 'That Was The Kit', with guest Jake Floyd

    Jake Floyd is the Bassist of The Orphan the Poet from Dayton, Ohio. In this episode, you'll hear a lot about the Ohio scene and living nearby AltPress. Jake and Jacob have been planning to podcast together for some time, so here it is!

  3. 21: 'People Don't Talk About Relationships Enough', with guest Dan Cox

    For years, Dan Cox cultivated a massive following of passionate fans for his blog, Pup Fresh. Between himself and his partner Willy, Pup Fresh created a spot for themselves in the scene without invitation. They use their following to spread their opinions about controversial topics in the scene....

  4. 20: 'On My Bus, Nobody Goes To Sleep', with guest Danny Samet

    Danny Samet has toured with bands like Say Anything, Two Door Cinema Club, Motion City Soundtrack, Thrice, The Academy Is, and so many more. In just 5 years he's made a name for himself as a professional crew member and a great person to have on the road for weeks at a time.

  5. 19: 'Self-Hatred and Logistics', with guest Benjamin Liebsch

    You, Me, And Everyone We Know called it quits for good this year. Ben, the frontman and songwriter for the project has since been hiding out amongst the rest of us normals while slowly working on something new.

  6. 18: 'They Were Playing Second Of Four', with guest Johnny Minardi

    Johnny Minardi drops knowledge on the early years on Fueled By Ramen as well as his endeavors as a professional A&R. Hear more about how he launched the careers of bands like Gatsby's American Dream, Hidden In Plain View, The Academy Is...

  7. 17: 'Dude, Not Ballin', with guest Mike "Gunz" Gunzelman

    Mike Gunzelman aka Gunz is a media personality and host of The Gunz Show on Idobi Radio. Having grown up in the industry by way of Blink 182, Geffen Records, Drive-Thru Records, and other early starters of the scene, Gunz made a name for himself early and continues to be successful with over...

  8. 16: 'I Would Just Like Band Pages', with guest Tyler Sharp

    Tyler Sharp left his dream job at Alternative Press and I've been dying to know why. We talk about what it is that makes midwest kids blog so much, how he was able to write 8,000 news stories, canceled NBC program Heroes, and what Tyler plans to do now.

  9. Creative Consultation: Adapt

    Creating can be tricky when life's obligations so often get in the way. To make it work, you have to adapt.

  10. 15: 'It's Hard For Helpers', with guest Sheridan Allen

    Sheridan Allen runs Punk Talks, an organization that advocates for better mental health in the music industry. We discuss Sheridan's decision to become a social worker for a living and using her passion to better the music scene she so desperately wanted to be a part of.

  11. 14: 'Have A Nice Package Together', with guest Nate Sirotta

    Nate Sirotta is the founder and playmaker at Impulse Artists, a boutique publicity and digital marketing agency that's worked with some insane talent to great success over it's few years in business. Nate and I talk about PR and how to get into it from any angle. He's been doing this thing for a...

  12. 13: 'Treat Every Band Like The Next Big Thing', with guest Ian Baldwin

    They say to never judge a book by its cover, but isn’t the cover a part of the book itself? The face of the body of work? This week we talk to Ian Baldwin of Hear&See about design and how it applies to the music industry specifically.

  13. 12: 'Nothing Too Big and Nothing Too Public' with guest Dana Reandelar

    Dana Reandelar didn't think that she had enough to say to be on this show. In this episode we prove that she was wrong. Dana is a music writer that has a secret past as a multi-instrumentalist. She's also up on the latest in Frank Ocean, so we spend a good deal of time dissecting 'Blonde'.

  14. 11: 'When You Eventually Unfollow Me', with guest Jack Appleby

    Jack Appleby is a Social Media Strategist by day at Ayzenberg Group, a killer marketing agency in California that's worked with really awesome brands over the years. In his spare time, he talks music at a number of publications and has even dabbled in the label/management side of things once or...

  15. 10: 'It Was Probably Misplaced Enthusiasm', with guest @anamericangod

    Joe is the founder of American Dream Records, an independent record label that put out vinyl releases from some pretty amazing bands in the early 2010s. Since then, he's amassed an impressive and growing Twitter following as @anamericangod. Nostalgia swings it's mighty fist as we talk about the…

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  16. 09: 'A Place For Us To Write Freely', with guest Brian Leak

    When this thing started as an Under The Gun branded show, Brian Leak (aka The Lion) was initially supposed to be my cohost. Alas, a change in career led him to Substream Magazine where he is now Editor In Chief. A week removed from dropping his first issue there, we discuss how starting at a…

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  17. 08: 'It's Just A Lot Of Teenager S**t', with guest Mark Garza

    Mark Garza graces us with their presence to discuss what it's like being 18 with a 3 year old record label. Mark is starting college this year and already feels jaded, so Jake tries to help them through. This is a must-listen for young music industry professionals.

  18. 07: 'I'm Giving You A Hard Maybe', with guest Joshua Hammond

    Joshua Hammond is a blogger turned publicist that's been writing around the Midwest for about a decade. After a while, he switched ends of the email chain and picked up publicity, which moved him from Kansas to The Big Apple. We discuss everything from the start of his career at Popwreckoning to...

  19. 06: 'Don't Start The Night Before', with guest Michele Stephens

    Our good friend Michele Stephens swings through to chat about tour PR, the lifeblood of her career in music. As a tour publicity pro at Epitaph Records, she lends her expertise and drops some hints about what not to do when trying to cover the alternative music scene's biggest roaming festival,...

  20. 05: 'Live In The Chinese Factory', with guest Ian Kenny

    It only took five episodes of this thing to land a juicy exclusive. Jake talks to Ian Kenny of King Neptune about what exactly happened to NGHBRS, the project he’s been known for leading into this new project.

  21. 04: 'I'm Probably Going To Be Honored Forever', with guest Connor Feimster

    Connor Feimster calls the Variable Bitrate hotline to banter over the news and his life as a working-class music photographer slash actor slash editor slash tour manager. Turns out Connor is a big Paul Simon fan, and super knowledgeable to the Swan-core scene. Enjoy!

  22. 03: 'An Arms Length Away From Avril Lavigne', with guest Maria Gironas

    It is round three of the show, and my pal Maria Gironas has joined me to chit the chat. First, we talk about her gigs with various outlets and then dig into her experience in music PR. Tears fall as we mourn the impending loss of Yellowcard and Blink's magic as well. Warped Tour comes up even...

  23. 02: 'The Challenge Of Entertaining People', with guest James Shotwell

    It’s round two of the Variable Bitrate podcast. This time, Jacob is joined by James Shotwell, his former partner at UTG and friend for the ages. The two of them talk about moving on from big projects, James’ new endeavors, why Bayside’s new record could be their best, and some of the week’s…

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  24. 01: 'Why Would You Break The Formula?', with guest Dan Bogosian

    Jacob Tender is joined by longtime friend Dan Bogosian to chat about his tenure in the music industry and what's going on in the news. Jacob fails to reign in the conversation in time to talk about Radiohead while Dan makes as many Queen Moo references as possible.

  25. 00: 'There IS Going To Be A Record', with guest John Bazley

    Jacob and guest John Bazely examine some of the headlines in music news and dive deep into Chance The Rapper's Coloring Book as well as that new song from Brand New. John talks about starting his record label and Jacob gets Pinegrove'd hard.

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Host Jacob Tender is joined by colleagues and friends from all walks of life to talk about what moves them.

HOSTED BY

curbside.audio / Jacob Tender

Produced by Jacob Tender

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Variable Bitrate have?

Variable Bitrate currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Variable Bitrate about?

Host Jacob Tender is joined by colleagues and friends from all walks of life to talk about what moves them.

How often does Variable Bitrate release new episodes?

Variable Bitrate has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Variable Bitrate?

You can listen to Variable Bitrate on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Variable Bitrate?

Variable Bitrate is created and hosted by curbside.audio / Jacob Tender.
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