Episode 1: Craig Finn

In our first episode of Known Associates, a new podcast brought to you by New Pony in affiliation with Southwest Review, the Paranoid Style singer-songwriter and journalist Elizabeth Nelson talks to Craig Finn from the Hold Steady. A songwriting institution and accomplished prose writer, Craig has been delighting audiences with his rowdy domestic picaresques and deeply flawed but highly lovable character studies for decades. 

In this episode, Elizabeth and Craig talk about his upbringing in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, where he started his first band, Lifter Puller, as well as the romance of regional scenes and how Minneapolis helped inform his sound (6:09). They also discuss Craig’s enduring fandom of the Minnesota Twins and talk about the time that he went fishing with legendary Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek (13:05). Then, they get into the twentieth anniversary of the Hold Steady’s masterpiece Separation Sunday (17:49) and Craig’s new solo record Always Been, its accompanying book Lousy With Ghosts, and what working with Adam Granduciel and the War on Drugs was like (22:14). Later, they discuss his upcoming shows with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers and how their friendship developed (39:20) and how Craig deals with being called a literary songwriter and the labels that get applied to his band in general (45:49). Finally, they break down Craig’s recent tour with the Mountain Goats, the tedium of touring, the enduring mysteries of buses and frontage roads (52:09), and of course, they discuss Bob Dylan (57:13) and what the future holds (61:50). 

Don’t forget to follow Known Associates and check out Southwest Review’s website here. Pick up a subscription to the magazine while you’re at it!  

Host: Elizabeth Nelson

Producers: Greg Brownderville, Robert Rea, Hannah Smith

Mixed by: Clay Jones