BIO

After years of touring with his past projects Portugal. The Man, Anatomy of a Ghost, and The Burning Room, Dewey Halpaus found himself in need of a slower pace. He left the road and started a family, but later discovered that he wanted to be re-immersed in the music scene he stepped away from about ten years earlier. This yearning to reconnect morphed into ​The​ ​Peer Pleasure Podcast.

Dewey formed his podcast around one basic concept – to give listeners access to a more personal side of the artist, while creating a comfortable and relaxed setting for the guest. Dewey opted to emphasize attentiveness and empathy rather than just asking questions from a list like stereotypical interviews.

To get started, he reached out to twenty five friends from his touring days and simply asked if they’d like to sit down and chat on his new podcast. All but one person said yes, which gave Dewey high hopes for this new venture. After his first round of interviews, ​The Peer Pleasure Podcast​ was released with Andrew Forsman from The Fall of Troy being his first guest.

Since then, he has featured many incredible artists such as Fat Mike (NOFX), Ian Mackaye (Fugazi), and Anthony Green (Circa Survive). Dewey also expanded his repertoire to industry leaders, comedians and actors, some of which includes comedian Josh Johnson, Dan Sandshaw of Equal Vision Records, and John Heder from ​Napoleon Dynamite.​ ​​The majority of his guests have been brought to him through friends and word of mouth, but Dewey has also put in a lot of hard work through hours of reaching out to contacts and finding new angles.

When listening to the podcast, you automatically notice how authentic and empathetic Dewey is. His genuine interest in the guest reels listeners in and sways them to seek out even more episodes. His attentiveness and ability to pick out key talking points throughout the conversation is undoubtedly impressive given the unpredictable nature of where these conversations can lead. “It’s kind of like keeping a volleyball in the air. You can drop it from time to time, but you have to keep it going,” he remarked when asked how he keeps the conversations flowing.

This podcast doesn’t only bring him joy, he also considers it his therapy. Having the ability to talk to so many people on the show and listen to different perspectives gives him inspiration to open his mind and feel alive.​ ​Using that inspiration, Dewey is hoping to grow this project to where he has the ability to fully accommodate his guests down to the very last detail, while also supporting his family.

While ​The Peer Pleasure Podcast a​llows Dewey to re-immerse himself within the industry, it also gives him the opportunity to create something very personal. After his father’s passing, Dewey was able to listen to years of tapes from his father’s old radio shows. Being grateful to be able to hear his father’s voice even after he was gone, he wanted to do the same for his children. “All of my musical endeavors have been really loud music and screaming, you can’t hear my voice. This is a journal for my kids to go back and listen to once I’m gone. I want to leave them with a piece of something.”

The partnership of ​The Peer Pleasure Podcast ​and Equal Vision Records brings many new exciting opportunities for Dewey and the future episodes. EVR will be just another way he can expand his reach and bring in even more variety of episodes.