Flightless Bird — "Nest Sessions: Chat Pile"

Host: David Farrier
Guests: Stin (bass) & Ray Gun Bush (vocals), of Chat Pile
Date: January 8, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special "Nest Sessions" edition of Flightless Bird, David Farrier sits down with Oklahoma City’s Chat Pile — bassist Stin and vocalist Ray Gun Bush — to talk about the band's unique origins, their Oklahoma roots, the bizarre and toxic history behind their name, nostalgic dispatches from growing up in the Midwest, and the quirks of life on the road as an American noise rock band. The episode features a warm, wry exploration of Americana through the lens of dark music, awkward church camps, and crunchy snacks, culminating with an exclusive live, stripped-down performance in the studio.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of "Chat Pile"

• What’s a chat pile?

  • Stin explains: In Pitcher, OK, “giant mountains of toxic waste called chat piles” are byproducts of WWI-era lead mining. The piles became infamous for poisoning the local town, which “sort of became a ghost town over time.” (01:00–01:54)
  • A tornado scattered the already toxic chat piles further, compounding the area’s environmental devastation.
  • Not everyone in Oklahoma knows what a chat pile is — “really regional,” says Stin. Even local relatives are often in the dark. (02:10, 02:24)

• The Name’s Significance

  • The band’s name is intentionally evocative and local: “It has this kind of darkness to it without being, like, super obvious.” (03:42)
  • “So many people are like, 'the name is stupid, what's a chat pile?' And then they'll look it up. It's like, actually, the name's pretty cool.” (03:54, Ray Gun Bush)

2. Growing Up in Oklahoma: Weird Histories & Land Runs

• Oklahoma in the 90s:
  • The band members recall oil-boom prosperity, but also acknowledge troubling settler-colonial history — “one of the most famous land run[s] happened,” forcibly displacing Native people. (05:47–06:08)
  • Schoolchildren reenacted land runs as part of the curriculum: “They would literally shoot a gun...and then we ran and stick to clown.” (06:45–07:13, Ray Gun Bush)
  • “You get one side of the story.” (07:07, Stin, on the biased narrative in schools)

3. The Christian Camp Experience

• Denominational Divide:

  • Stin (Baptist) attended the infamous Falls Creek camp: “That’s where you go to get laid and stuff”—though, as he clarifies, “that never happened for me.” (08:12–08:16)
  • Ray Gun Bush (Disciples Christ): “Way more chill...Protestantism,” less strict.

• Camp Life:

  • Days regimented with Bible study, “but then they let all the kids loose on this wider campus,” leading to the legend of camp hookups. (09:13–09:39)
  • Attendees secretly resented the required services: “I was always like, this sucks. I hate the church aspect of this so much.” (09:58, Ray Gun Bush)
  • Stin describes “three hour church service every single night for a week.” (10:23)

• Interpersonal Impact:

  • The camps served as “an excuse to actually meet kids your own age that, like, you don't really have access to.” (11:28, Stin)
  • Ray’s fondest memory: Learning the plot of Apollo 13 over lunch.

4. Broad Strokes of Growing Up Christian in Oklahoma

• “80% of people I know have been to Falls Creek or something similar.” (12:53, Stin)
• The band’s drummer, Luther Manhole, grew up entirely secular — “unheard of” in Oklahoma. (13:08, Ray Gun Bush & Stin)
• On family and faith: Ray Gun Bush’s late father was a minister. “I think he’d appreciate it, honestly. I think he would be proud of me doing something with my life at all, you know?” (13:26–13:48)

5. On Touring America: The Myth vs. Reality

• “What I’m learning is just kind of how homogenous America is in a lot of ways...you guys just have all the same chain restaurants that we do.” (18:08, Stin)
• “The difference is your parents didn't force you to go to church camp and mine did. You know, like, that's pretty much it." (18:24, Stin)
• There's a running joke about the supposed “coolness” of cities like Minneapolis: “One of the craziest lies I’ve heard my whole life is Minneapolis is a super cool place.” (18:29, Ray Gun Bush)
• Some genuine favorites: “Chicago...this is actually, like, different and good and awesome. I like New York, too. I like LA.” (18:59, Ray Gun Bush)
• LA as a favorite: “It just feels comfortable to me. And there’s, like, beautiful succulents growing everywhere.” (19:09, Stin)

6. Banter, Movie Obsessions, and On-Stage Trivia

• Farrier notes the band's “banter in between” sets — “You're obviously like a big movie guy.” (19:37)
• Ray Gun Bush blends research and encyclopedic memory for film facts, often incorporating local movie trivia into shows. (19:58–20:29)
• The perennial LA deep-cut: Teen Witch (“pure entertainment...a movie I’ve loved since I was a kid, though, for real” — 21:47, Ray Gun Bush)
• The value of “bad” movies: “There are movies that are maybe, like, incompetently made that are some of my favorites ever because they are truly the most entertaining movies ever made.” (22:10, Stin)
• Farrier recounts helping Tommy Wiseau look for his lost car on his first LA trip. (22:18–22:43)

7. "Snack That Personifies America:" The Corn Nut Segment

• Chat Pile brought corn nuts as their American snack of choice: “We couldn't find my favorite flavor barbecue, unfortunately. But I have regular corn nuts.” (23:08, Ray Gun Bush)
• Farrier compares them to popcorn; the band reflects that corn nuts are a “baseball snack...or road trip a lot.” (24:07, Ray Gun Bush)
• Trying new flavors sparks discussion: “The lime. The lime. That is overtaking snacks in the last ten years. I can't handle lime.” (25:14, Ray Gun Bush)

8. On the Music: Exclusive Performance and New Releases

• Chat Pile performs stripped-down versions of “Tin Killer” and “King.”

  • “Tin Killer” is from an indie film of the same name: “I was trying to sort of write from the perspective of a character, but maybe none of that stuff is actually in the movie whatsoever...” (26:02, Ray Gun Bush)
  • “King” touches on “addiction and Stephen King,” particularly King's reputation as the “addict author,” and the repeated motif in his work of protagonists battling addiction. (26:43–27:29)

• Transitioning to an acoustic, podcast-friendly setting was a first for the band.

  • “We’ve never done it before...we really had to adjust the way we approach it.” (27:41, Stin)
  • “When I'm more sing songy with the quieter shit, it sounds great.” (28:17, Ray Gun Bush)

• Where to start with Chat Pile’s music:

  • “We just put out an album on Halloween with an artist named Hayden Pedigo...but it's a little bit different than what we normally do. So if you hear these songs and you like them, you might check out the album before that called Cool World, which came out in 2024.” (28:40, Stin)
  • “We have pretty good SEO, you know.” (29:11, Stin)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It's perfect though, because it does get people to look it up.” — Ray Gun Bush on the band name (03:34)
• “You kind of have to, like, scratch the surface a little bit.” — Stin on the meaning of “Chat Pile” (03:42)
• “We call our fans Chat Rats, but that name is Stolen Valor, because Chat Rats are the townies that play on the chat piles...” — Stin (02:24)
• “I was always like, this sucks. I hate the church aspect of this so much.” — Ray Gun Bush (09:58)
• “My top memory [from church camp] is...this kid was describing to me what happens in Apollo 13.” — Ray Gun Bush (11:59)
• “What I’m learning is just kind of how homogenous America is in a lot of ways.” — Stin, on touring (18:08)
• “Chicago is one of the ones that I'm like...actually, like, different and good and awesome.” — Ray Gun Bush (18:59)
• “Some movies just have the juice, you know? Like, that one just is pure entertainment.” — Ray Gun Bush on Teen Witch (21:47)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Band & Name Introduction: 00:22–04:01
• Oklahoma, Land Runs, and Local History: 04:53–07:17
• Christian Camp Stories: 07:31–13:16
• Parenting, Band Family Dynamics: 13:18–13:48
• Touring America - Myth vs. Fact: 18:08–19:24
• Movie Banter & Bad Movies as Art: 19:37–22:18
• Snack Segment - Corn Nuts: 23:08–25:39
• Studio Performance Backstory: 26:01–27:57
• Where To Find Chat Pile’s Music: 28:40–29:11
• Live Acoustic Performance: 30:17–39:07 (song lyrics, not summarized)

Closing Notes

This episode merges a fascination for oddball Americana with Chat Pile's grounded, humorous, and gently disaffected perspective. The conversation ranges from environmental disaster lore to adolescent awkwardness, generational change, and the shared cultural memories (and snacks) that glue together the American experience—especially in its overlooked corners.

For listeners new to Chat Pile, check out "Cool World" (2024) or their 2025 collaboration with Hayden Pedigo, both available on streaming platforms and Bandcamp.