A Handstamp interview with Yasi Salek: Weenie Roasts, Pickle Patches, cover bands, Hole and Prince
The 'Bandsplain' podcaster discusses the pains and pleasures of live music
Nobody is more committed to the details of their favourite bands than Bandsplain creator, podcast host and studious rock researcher Yasi Salek. Since refreshing the form of deep-dive music journalism, the Californian has built up an enthusiastic, like-minded audience, who depend on her to guide them through rabbit holes even the most fervent fans couldn’t navigate. As a regular listener, I knew I had to come correct.
Connecting from a relative’s house in L.A. - the city she calls home, despite her public displacement from the tragic 2025 wildfires, recent major festival ambassador Salek told me about her access to live music growing up in the nearby suburban town of Torrance.
Yasi Salek: “I only lived there until I was about 15, so most shows were like house parties or VF community centre type shows, I don’t think you have that kind of thing over in London.”
Handstamp: We sort of do have a version of that. I grew up playing those sort of shows in community centres in my teens, as a quasi Red Hot Chili Peppers band, if you can imagine that.
Yasi Salek: “[laughs] I can’t, did you get bullied?”
Handstamp: Surprisingly not. This was around the height of the By the Way commercial crossover popularity. Unfortunately, I was the Anthony Kiedis of the group, so to speak.
YS: “So you did the scatting?”
Handstamp: Exactly. We did the song ‘Stone Cold Bush’, which is one of the most explicit songs in the catalogue.
YS: “And you were like 14? Amazing.”
Handstamp: Yeah and there’s a pretty substantial rap section in the middle of it, so I’m glad there’s no video of that. So, it was very much a DIY scene around you growing up?
YS: “Well, yeah. There were probably some popular, bigger venues around Torrance at the time, but I left pretty young so I wouldn’t know about them.”
Handstamp: Left for where?
YS: “Singapore.”
Handstamp: Were there many opportunities for live music where you were in Singapore?
YS: “Yeah, well we went to nightclubs a lot. So, I had a lot of early DJ experiences. But, I also had friends who - similarly to you - were in cover bands. There was a nu-metal cover band, which I think my ex-boyfriend was in, who would do System of a Down songs. But in Singapore, they mainly had huge bands play there, because it was a tour stop for them. Smaller acts don’t really go there.’
“Going back though, one of my first and most formative concerts was 1995, when I was like 13. It was the KROQ Weenie Roast - the alternative rock station KROQ’s big summer outdoor festival. It was in Irvine, I begged my dad to go, I was like ‘I need to go to this or I will die.’ So he came with me.”
Handstamp: Do you remember who played?
YS: “Rage Against the Machine played, Bush played, Hole played. It was the infamous year when Courtney (Love) jumped into the crowd and somebody ripped off her underwear. Elastica, Sponge - real 1995 hours. We were in the lawn section and there were bonfires for Rage Against the Machine. Dad wasn’t happy.”
Handstamp: Important question for transatlantic clarity - what is a weenie roast?
YS: “[laughs] A weenie is a hot dog. So basically like a barbecue.”
Handstamp: Thought as much. A BBQ with Rage playing…
YS: “Exactly. I want to say White Zombie and Sublime played too.”
Handstamp: I lived my whole life without hearing the name Sublime really, until in recent years, I’ve heard them mentioned on thousands of podcasts.
YS: “[laughs] Maybe it’s because all the kids who grew up on Sublime have collectively become podcasters.”
Handstamp: Perhaps some 90’s revivalism too. So after Singapore, when did you return to the U.S?
YS: “For college, when I was 18. I went to UC Santa Barbara.”
Handstamp: Is that when you dove into music journalism?
YS: “It’s so generous of you to call what I was doing at that age ‘music journalism’, but yeah. I interned at the Santa Barbara Independent, a weekly newspaper. I did movie and music write-ups and worked at a record store.”
Handstamp: How did those two developments affect your relationship with live music?
YS: “I was already so excited to see more shows when I got back from Singapore. There were shows happening all over the place. Steve Aoki owned a house called The Pickle Patch and would have hardcore shows there, it was awesome. All the great bands would come through there.’
“All kinds of bands came to play downtown in Santa Barbara, at the small clubs - I think Velvet Jones was one of them. You had to have a fake ID to go, but I would, so I could do my write ups for my unpaid internship.”
Handstamp: Well, that work paid off. As a podcaster, you have a real focus on detail, to say the least. It certainly feels like you’re coming at things in an authentic way though. Are you still able to go to shows with that type of fan-like enthusiasm?
YS: “Yeah, I never really had any interest in being a critic. Any writing I ever did was through the lens of fandom. There are such great critics, who have that type of the mind, can take something in and introduce cultural context, placing art in time for people. That’s a great skill. I guess I do a version of that, but it’s more like, gushing admiration. I just find most bands interesting, even if I don’t love the music, I like following the story.’
“As far as shows go. All that’s changed is I’m old, I’m tired and it’s way harder for me to be like ‘oh, you’re band goes on at 11.30pm and you’re the fifth of five bands? I am not going to be making that, but I hope it’s wonderful, I’ll leave that to the youth.”
Handstamp: I recently spoke to your occasional collaborator Chris Black, about some of his bugbears..
YS: “Bugbears? Is that like a pet peeve?”
Handstamp: Yeah. May not be an American thing?
YS: “Incredible. I find it delightful, go on.”
Handstamp: Do you have any notable pet peeves or bugbears at shows?
YS: “It’s not a pet peeve, but it’s so daunting to go to a show at a major stadium now. It’s so far, it’s so hard, the parking is $150. I do love it when I’m there though, especially if it’s a band I love, so sometimes I have to put my big-girl pants on.’
“Anything I say will make me sound like an old man yelling at clouds, but I don’t LOVE people filming the whole time. It bums me out.”
Handstamp: I think there should be some agreed rules in place, as per phone etiquette.
YS: “I mean, my hands are not clean. Obviously, I’ll catch a song or two. But then I think ‘who needs my poorly-filmed old iPhone footage, what are even doing here?’ So, I’m trying to practice only grabbing a snippet of one song and calling it a day. Because then you can enjoy it, rather than trying to be Martin Scorsese. Let the music wash over you, have a spiritual experience.”
Handstamp: Recently, I was at a show and a guy in front of me had some sort of jumbo tablet over his head for three songs. Luckily, I didn’t experience that at a recent Cameron Winter show I attended. I know you saw him too.
YS: “That show is SO good. I didn’t film one second of it. Chris Ryan and I went to see him here in L.A. at the Barnsdall Arts Center. Whatever the opposite of a pet peeve is - for me, that’s a seated show. This show was all seated, nobody got up and everybody just basked in the beauty and wonder of Cameron Winter’s music.”
Handstamp: You are a dedicated anglophile, as evidenced by your recent Britpop series. Have you seen any shows over here?
YS: “I saw the Arctic Monkeys.”
Handstamp: Friends of Bandsplain!
YS: “Friends of Bandsplain. It was great.”
Handstamp: Where did you see them?
YS: “Couldn’t tell you, babe. One of your enormous football stadiums. I am coming back soon, so maybe I’ll take a look at the concert calendar and see if I can see something. I want to do a live show over there!”
Handstamp: You should, that would be fun. Can you pinpoint some of your all-time favourite shows?
YS: “I almost feel like Cameron Winter might squeeze his way into the list, because that was so wonderful.”
Handstamp: Enormous praise.
YS: “But yeah, I don’t like to rank things, so can I just give you a bunch?”
Handstamp: Of course.
YS: “I went to Lollapalooza, same year as the Weenie Roast. My cousin Sima was 10 years older than me, so cool, had a cool short haircut and a Volkswagen Cabriolet, she took me. So many great bands, Pavement played, The Jesus Lizard played. The headliner was Sonic Youth, but Hole played before. I’m a known Hole Stan and they were SO popular in 1995. A LOT of people left after their set, so we got to get to the front three rows and Sonic Youth played one of their greatest performance, played for like two hours and it was transcendent. That’s one of them.’
“I saw The Breeders in college at a place called The Coach House. It was post-Cannonball hysteria, so there wasn’t a crazy amount of people there. But I’m almost certain Pat Smear was playing with them and Kelly Deal smoked a cigarette, hanging out of her mouth the entire set.’
“I saw The Dave Matthews Band at The Hollywood Bowl within the last five years. I took a bit of mushrooms and had a religious experience. I know he’s somebody who hasn’t translated too well over in Europe.”
Handstamp: I’m sure he has a following here, but no he’s not a household name as he is over there.
YS: “When I was 14, same cousin, Cabriolet, off we went to Big Bear Mountain, an hour or something from L.A. There was a thing called Board Aid, a benefit that happened every year, with snowboarders and music, to raise money for AIDS research. I was obsessed with Blink 182 and they were playing. It was early, so they played the Snowboarders Lounge and there were maybe 15 people there. I got to meet them after, with their old drummer.”
“A Prince show is another one of the best live experiences of all time. I got to see him when he did his 21-night stand at The Forum in 2011. My friend Alanna was close with his DJ, so we were right at the front row, standing next to Magic Johnson! Prince played the most epic several-hour-long set, including a heart-shattering rendition of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. Then he DJ’d his own after party at the Forum Club, most likely so he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone annoying. Absolute legend.”
You can follow @YasiSalek on social media and listen to Bandsplain on your preferred podcast platform. Subscribe to Handstamp Substack for future interviews, follow
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