Sayonara Cupcake

Dr Guy Mankowski On His Eye-Opening But Somewhat Controversial Biography of Former Hole Bassist Kristen Pfaff

EP43 → dr. guy mankowski, psychologist, senior lecturer in creative writing at the university of lincoln, author of several books including how i left the national grid, albion’s secret history, and former lead singer of the band alba nova. he joins me to discuss his eye-opening and at times controversial biography of former hole bassist kristen pfaff…and the remarkable woman behind the music.when he reached out and asked if i’d be interested in talking about his kristen pfaff project, i was immediately curious…but i also had questions.working with the private writings of someone who died so young is a huge responsibility. unlike reading the journals of someone from centuries ago, many of the people in kristen’s life are still here. they have families, their own memories, and their own experiences. before i even opened the manuscript, i genuinely found myself wondering what kind of story this was trying to tell.he kindly sent me an advance copy of the manuscript, and something unexpected happened.what completely hooked me wasn’t the tapes or the mythology that has surrounded the grunge scene for decades…it was the first half of the book, before seattle, where kristen comes to life through her own essays, journals, family memories, photographs, and the people who knew and loved her.once the story reaches seattle, it naturally enters a world that, at best, was experienced through foggy lenses. addiction, grief, youth, trauma, fame…everyone lived that period differently, and recollections naturally vary.because of that, i found myself far more interested in reading kristen in her own words…from her teenage years through university, watching her empathy, curiosity, and remarkable intelligence reveal themselves long before the world knew her as the bassist of hole.by the time i finished reading, i wasn’t thinking about headlines or controversy anymore. i finished it with a genuine sense of mourning for someone i finally felt i knew…not simply as the bassist of hole, but as a daughter, sister, student, activist, counselor, writer, and remarkably empathetic human being.that’s the conversation this book led me to have.

Mitch Wilson - No Knife and Lunar Maps, On Recent Tour with Mrs. Magician, Playing Again, & The Art of Leaving Breadcrumbs

EP42 → Mitch Wilson & The Art of Leaving Breadcrumbsthis week, mitch wilson returns to the podcast… guitarist, filmmaker, radio host, former no knife member, current mrs. magician touring musician, and one of my favorite people to talk music with…we talk about rediscovering the joy of playing live after years away… joining mrs. magician on tour… learning keyboards under pressure… using a whammy bar for the first time… the strange timing of life… and how sometimes music comes back to you exactly when it's supposed to…we wander through san diego's music community… community radio and why it still matters… playlists… discovering bands decades after they formed… why records still matter… analog versus digital… and the difference between simply hearing music and truly living with it…along the way we somehow end up discussing our kids' surprisingly great taste in music… practical jokes… pigeons… more rabbit holes… touring before GPS… AI… the state of independent musicians today… and why leaving breadcrumbs for the next generation feels more important than ever…as always…no scripts…no gatekeeping…just two friends following the conversation wherever it leads…fair use disclaimer: materials are shared under 17 u.s. code §107 for purposes of leaving breadcrumbs, educational, and historical discussion. no ownership is claimed over copyrighted materials. all rights remain with their respective owners. if you are a rights holder, please dm for credit or approval. sayonara cupcake does not monetize and exists strictly as a labor of love.#sayonaracupcake #podcast #mitchwilson #mrsmagician #noknife #sandiegomusic #independentmusic #physicalmedia #musiccommunity #musicpodcast #musichistory #leavebreadcrumbs

Brian Holwerda on Blackout Party, Remembering Tim Lowman aka Low Volts, The Casbah, AI Music, San Diego Scene & Escaping To Montana

EP41 → Brian Holwerda, Blackout Party, Dark Winged Bird & The Weird Roads That Lead Us Back To Art this week, i’m joined by singer-songwriter Brian Holwerda… former Blackout Party frontman, Montana wilderness dweller, fellow music obsessive, and one of the genuinely kind humans to come out of the San Diego music scene…we talk about the old Casbah days… hauling gear through alleyways… “bro-adies”… photographing bands before iphones existed… and that very specific era of San Diego music where everybody showed up for each other, even if there were only fifteen people in the room… we get into Brian’s early years growing up in the Bay Area, chasing music in Los Angeles during the eyeliner-and-demo-deal era, eventually landing in Nashville, and finally finding peace living out in Montana surrounded by rivers, bison, horses, dogs, snakes, and actual silence… a big part of this conversation centers around our friend TiLo / Tim Lowman… his creativity, warmth, humor, flute playing, Low Volts, motorcycles, community, and the enormous impact he had on so many people around him. we talk grief… memory… getting older… and the strange reality that sometimes you don’t realize how much a person mattered until they’re suddenly gone… we also spend a lot of time talking about art and authenticity in the age of algorithms… AI-generated music… social media… touring… virality… and why maybe having twenty real people in a room still means more than a million passive clicks online… there are also tangents involving Gene Wilder, giant african land snails, crocodiles escaping during Bangkok floods, pigeon hospitals, Montana ranch life, The Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, parenting, songwriting, and why both of us seem increasingly interested in disappearing into the woods to avoid excessive peopling… A conversation about music, memory, friendship, loss, and the weird roads that somehow still lead us back to art… Sayonara Cupcake is a community for music + art lovers. We share stories, poetry, music, and things worth falling down the rabbit hole for — no monetization, ever. 🫶📍 Find us on Instagram → [https://www.instagram.com/sayonaracupcake/](https://www.instagram.com/sayonaracupcake/)(where the community lives)🔗 Everything in one place → [https://linktr.ee/sayonaracupcake](https://linktr.ee/sayonaracupcake)• Shared under Fair Use (17 U.S. Code §107)• All rights belong to their respective owners• If something’s yours and needs credit (or removal), just reach out — we’re nice, promise

Nancy Guthrie Case — A Former Detective Breaks Down What We Know, Surveillance Gaps & What It Means

EP40 → The Nancy Guthrie Case — A Former Detective’s Perspective, Surveillance & Modern Investigations this week, i’m joined by my brother — a former police sergeant and detective with 29 years in law enforcement — and we take a closer look at the nancy guthrie case… this isn’t a news breakdown or play-by-play… it came up because i had a feeling people in this community might have questions, and i wanted to bring in someone who could offer real perspective from experience. he also brings a unique lens, having worked in mesa, arizona — about two hours from where this case took place — so we’re able to talk through terrain, conditions, climate, and how cases like this can play out in that specific environment. we walk through what’s been shared publicly, how investigations typically work, and why things can look one way from the outside but feel very different from the inside. we get into early response, how scenes are handled, and why those first hours matter so much, along with how information is sometimes held back for reasons people don’t always see. we also talk about surveillance — ring cameras, missing gaps, and the reality that even with technology everywhere, things still aren’t as airtight as people assume. the conversation expands into how different agencies work together, what roles actually look like behind the scenes, and how experience, resources, timing, and communication all play a part in how a case develops. we touch on AI and misinformation, and how easy it is now to be convinced of something that isn’t real — which affects not just the public, but how cases are understood in real time. we talk politics… without getting political — no sides, just perspective — and underneath all of it, this comes back to something human: a missing person, a family waiting for answers, and the reality of not knowing. we also get into practical things like home security, awareness, and simple steps people can take to better protect themselves and their families. this isn’t about having all the answers… it’s about asking better questions and understanding the complexity behind what we’re seeing. Sayonara Cupcake is a community for music + art lovers. We share stories, poetry, music, and things worth falling down the rabbit hole for — no monetization, ever. 🫶 📍 Find us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/sayonaracupcake/ [https://www.instagram.com/sayonaracupcake/] (where the community lives) 🔗 Everything in one place → https://linktr.ee/sayonaracupcake [https://linktr.ee/sayonaracupcake] • Shared under Fair Use (17 U.S. Code §107) • All rights belong to their respective owners • If something’s yours and needs credit (or removal), just reach out — we’re nice, promise

AI, Truth, War & The Illusion of Reality (Without Getting Political)

EP39 → LV & Marty: AI, Truth, War, Algorithms & The Illusion of Reality this week, it’s me and marty… and this one goes everywhere… it starts simple… health, routines, getting older… trying to hold onto discipline while the world feels like it’s speeding up… and then pretty quickly… it turns into something bigger…we get into AI… not just what it can do… but how fast it’s moving… making music, solving problems, teaching, creating… and also confusing the line between real and fake… to the point where you can’t always trust what you’re seeing anymore… videos, news, even people… everything starts to feel a little uncertain…that opens the door to a bigger conversation about truth… perception… and how two people can look at the exact same thing and see something completely different… not metaphorically… literally… and what that means for how we understand the world right now…from there… it gets heavier… war, geopolitics, fear, uncertainty… and yeah… we talk politics… without getting political…it’s less about sides… and more about the feeling… what people are actually experiencing versus what we’re being told… the distortion of information… how stories shift as they move… and how easy it is to lose clarity in the noise…we talk about the mood… in the u.s., abroad, online… the anger, the tension, the sense that things are shifting… maybe faster than we’re ready for… and whether we’re heading toward something bigger… or just stuck in a cycle that keeps repeating…then it swings back… into something more human… taking care of aging parents… raising kids in a world that doesn’t feel stable… trying to stay present when everything around you is pulling for your attention… and the quiet realization that time… is the only thing that actually matters…it dips into social media… algorithms… how they shape what we believe… what we see… what we think we discovered on our own… and how easy it is to get pulled into a version of reality that isn’t the full picture…and somewhere in all of it… there’s this thread…how do you stay grounded… when everything feels uncertain…what do you trust… when everything can be manipulated…and how do you hold onto what matters… when the noise never stops…like always… it branches… but it circles back… to something simple…focus… perspective… and choosing where your attention actually goes… because that might be the only real control we have left……oh—and somewhere in all of this… you finally get to hear the legendary story of the night of the eagles…Sayonara Cupcake is a community for music + art lovers. We share stories, poetry, music, and things worth falling down the rabbit hole for — no monetization, ever. 🫶📍 Find us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/sayonaracupcake/(where the community lives)🔗 Everything in one place → https://linktr.ee/sayonaracupcake• Shared under Fair Use (17 U.S. Code §107)• All rights belong to their respective owners• If something’s yours and needs credit (or removal), just reach out — we’re nice, promise