Austin public radio host Laurie Gallardo sees the darkness in you — and she loves it. She's expanding her already-iconic footprint on KUTX with a new podcast, (SPF 1000) Vampire Sunscreen, in which she'll ask Austin creatives, traveling artists, and anyone, really, what darkness means to them.
Gallardo identifies as a goth; her cool, all-black clothes and more recent signature dark lipstick don't come through over the airwaves, but she certainly looks the part in the studio. The podcast, though, is specifically not goth, she says. Although it centers on that single question, goths don't have a monopoly on darkness.
"This is something that's open to everyone, because everyone, at some point in their life, has had to sit down and say, 'Well, something happened that I'm not really crazy about,' or 'This is a very challenging thing that I'm facing at the moment,'" says Gallardo. "And you can go to a dark place. How do you handle it? I think that is universal. ... This is something that everyone can sit down with and take a second, and a third, and a fourth look at."
Fittingly, then, the band Urban Heat has taken their first look as the podcast's inaugural guests — if you don't count the four experimental episodes Gallardo put out years ago on SoundCloud. Now she has a team working on editing (Song of the Day producer Jack Anderson) and production (Pause/Play host and producer Elizabeth McQueen), so she can focus on the conversations.
Fans of Urban Heat — a synth-driven trio with wide, gothy vocals, but who shrug off any specific claim to the scene — likely already see the rich darkness in their music. Compared to lots of other groups, though, this one doesn't indulge much in angst or morbidity, and a musical self-reflection in the episode sets the podcast's dark-but-not-depressing tone. As much as it's not a goth podcast, it's also not a music podcast, so the conversation reaches much further.
Kevin Naquin says darkness is the absence of light; both where we come from and where we return. Paxel Foley says everything is dark, even if it's hidden under convenience, entertainment, or necessity. Finally, Jonathan Horstmann says darkness is the shadow self, prompting inner work. The rest of the free-form, 35-minute chat expands on each of these ideas and gives each band member a chance to "turn the table" and ask Gallardo a question.
Urban Heat at the KUTX studio. (Left to right: Jonathan Horstmann, Paxel Foley, and Kevin Naquin)Photo courtesy of KUTX
Perhaps realizing it would have been cliched, no one turns the question around to the host: What is the darkness to you? Thankfully, CultureMap has no qualms about this gaucheness.
"My answers vary from day to day," she says. "I'll remember something, [like] 'I would love to talk about this,' or 'Oh, this what I was thinking two years ago.' It's going to be ongoing for me, personally. And if someone should ask me, I have to warn them in advance: Well, this is what I'm thinking of at the moment. This is what I'm going through right now. ... You might get a different answer each time. Maybe there'll be a consistent thread, because, you know, the human experience — that's how it is."
With a single anchoring question, this podcast will almost certainly get regular listeners developing their own answers over the first season. That's good news for Season Two, if it ever arrives. In looking for guests Gallardo is aiming for the stars, she says, using McQueen's tips to make some "pretty big asks."
So far, she's recorded episodes with local artists local musicians Qi Dada from Riders Against the Storm and L.C. Franke; Houston visual artist Dawn Okoro; and nichely beloved Dusty Gannon of Vision Video, also dubbed "Goth Dad" on social media.
"[Dusty Gannon and I] didn't really know each other, but he was fascinated by this, and his band was coming through town," says Gallardo. "He's an absolutely delightful, caring person who just — I can't wait till the second episode comes out this week, because you'll know. That has been such a gift, and I don't take it for granted, and I'm excited that other people are excited."
Most folks who have made peace with the darkness can tell you humor comes with it hand-in-hand. This podcast is no different, starting with the title. Gallardo — a Jack White fan to rival the best of 'em — borrowed the phrase from Chris Brecht of Project ATX 6, who was affectionately roasting White in a photo of the pale singer standing in the sun. (Gallardo doesn't voice this wish, but it would certainly be fun to hear White's take on her question on the podcast.)
The phrase is meant to get a giggle out of audiences, and it does its job. But it also has some more serious implications about self-protection and what we let get under our skin.
"I've had issues with that since I was a kid. Don't talk about it, and it's not happening. Hide it, stifle it," Gallardo says. "A lot of people don't talk about things, and therefore it's not happening. ... [We're uncovering] different truths, but universal truths through different filters."
Riffing with longtime KUT publicist Erin Geisler, the two conclude, "We all need different SPFs."
KUTX is celebrating the new podcast at a free launch party at The Contemporary Austin - Laguna Gloria on October 3. Gallardo and local musician and craftsman Thor Harris will be recording a live episode, and guests are invited to enjoy some themed cocktails.
Listen to (SPF 1000) Vampire Sunscreen online at kutkutx.studio.
