017: Xavier Pastrano (Skin of Our Teeth) & High School Poetry

WELCOME TO THE EDUPUNX PODCAST!

This week, we bring you a very chill conversation with Xavier Pastrano, who is the bassist and lead singer of the sludge/stoner metal band, Skin of Our Teeth. Xavier is also a high school English teacher in Sioux Falls, South Dakota! The dude is incredibly passionate about poetry and literature and we connect on our shared experiences as English teachers - since I taught high school English for a couple of years as well.

We also get into race relations a bit, since Xavier was raised as a mixed kid by a single white mother. And since Xavier lives in a very conservative state, we get into the politics of being a more progressive educator in areas where inclusiveness might not be a priority in the education system. Needless to say, we had a lot to discuss - so much so that there will be a bonus episode later this week of just us talking about music and vinyl!

EPISODE NOTES:
- Xavier discusses how his Black Like Me unit with his students was deeply impactful for his students.
- It was powerful to hear how Xavier's students reacted to the racist murder of Emmett Till.
- Xavier and I have a shared love of the post punk/dark wave band She Wants Revenge.
- I was glad to learn that Xavier took one of his students' favorite artists, Twenty-One Pilots, and demonstrated the poetic devices at play in their song, “Car Radio."
- I discuss how I used four songs in Thrice's "Alchemy Index" album as a demonstration of Shakespearian sonnets.
- It might not be the recipe that Xavier references in the conversation, but here is a recipe for eggless egg salad!
- In classic English teacher fashion, Xavier lists "Catcher in the Rye" and "Perks of Being a Wallflower" as two of his favorite books of all time.
- For his all-time music favorites, Xavier displays his true varied taste in music by naming, Baroness (specifically the "Blue" album) and No Doubt (specifically “Tragic Kingdom”) as the top of the list.
- Make sure to check out new album from Monolord (“Rust”), and the uniquely polarizing, Zeal and Ardor ("Devil is Fine").

MUSIC NOTES:
- This week you get to hear tunes from the new album by stoner/sludge band, Skin of Our Teeth, titled, "Omnicide," which is due out on November 10th. Xavier is the lead singer and bassist (he also does some drums too) of this two-man band; yes, only two people are making all that noise you're hearing throughout the episode. They even trade off between drum and bass throughout their sets, which is pretty damn sweet.
- If you like what you hear, visit skinofourteeth.bandcamp.com to snag yourself a CD or a digital copy of the album now!

ADVERTISING NOTES:
- Since Xavier and I discuss the creativity of some of our students, I wanted to hype the work of one of my former students once again!
- If you need some design work done, check out the work by my buddy and former student, Nevan Doyle! He is one of the best up-and-coming graphic designers and artists today!
- Visit Mishko.co to check out his artwork, videos, and music! You can commission him to create artwork and/or videos for your band, brand, program, company, and/or office! Make it happen!

FOLLOW, RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE, AND SHARE!
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Thanks so much for tuning in and I'll see you next week!

Up the punx!
Let's get to work.

- CRAIG.

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