Track listing: Salamander Chessgame, Highway Patrolled By Aircraft (20th Anniversary Remix), Sanderson's Discovery, Lizzie Really Liked Her Whites, An Evening with Tentative Tennyson, Life's Chance, Simple, The Lionel Boogie, Like Sawyer On The Mississippi, Ironhorse Daydreams, Sivey, Won't You Be My Spirit Guide?, Lonegan's Diary (Extended Version)

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dino DiMuro for Cupchairs' "In The Chair With..." YouTube series. When asked about a career goal he'd either previously accomplished or that is still on his horizon, DiMuro beamed: "Releasing a vinyl album." Lo and behold on August 5, 2025 Dino made his dream a reality by releasing both digital and vinyl versions of his latest album, Fill It Up With Regular. It's an 11-track lifelong quest of sorts--an exploratory yet still-rock-centric journey that channels DiMuro's influences, primarily Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa. 

While I'm no expert critic when it comes to either Beefheart or Zappa, I do appreciate the value of creativity and pushing the envelope of what society considers acceptable or 'the norm.' While DiMuro doesn't tread into the reaches of Zappa's more elaborate experimentation, Fill It Up With Regular absolutely mocks its own name by not being the least bit 'regular.'

"Salamander Chessgame" kicks off the record with a straight-ahead rock beat and pretty standard rock band instrumentation. The lead guitar steps into the spotlight as it twists and turns its way through the song's chord progressions. "Highway Patrolled By Aircraft" brings to the mix bold lead vocals, keying-in on the paranoia of Big Brother watching us. Written in the early 2000s, DiMuro might not have realized the situation he portrayed would become the norm in 2025. Who would have thunk that we'd eventually all carry mini-computers with us 24/7 that transmit our every location and movement.

There's some time-signature fun to be had in "Sanderson's Discovery," a playful number featuring some frolicking piano licks. Things take an eccentric turn when our ears meet with "Life's Chance, Simple," a 1-minute trip through a wormhole of backwards tracking, various keyboards, and what sounds at one point mysteriously like a spacey bong bubbling away. "Like Sawyer On The Mississippi" could be a track that Lennon and McCartney decided might be just a bit to odd for inclusion Sgt. Peppers--you can decide--but it certainly channels much of the same 60s/70s psychedelia.

Understanding that even the most musically appreciative may not always want to listen to an 18-minute long jam session, DiMuro cut the album's final track "Lonegan's Diary" down to a modest 7 minutes for the digital version of the record and a mere 3 minutes on vinyl. Fear not, though, the short "radio edit" on vinyl is in no danger of knocking Taylor Swift off the Billboard charts. The world just isn't ready for that.

Check out Fill It Up With Regular and the rest of Dino's discography at dinodimuro1.bandcamp.com. And keep an eye out for his interview on Cupchairs' "In The Chair With...Dino DiMuro," which should drop any day now.