Though this is about Vermont and its distinctly DIY spirit, don’t worry: CREEM has no interest in going ham and quilting out your old, ratty Discharge shirts, knitting you a tam, or forcefeeding you our homemade vegan yogurt. We do, however, have an interest when an artist goes DIY and gets back to his roots, kicks it old-school, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Like King Tuff, whose new LP Moo is out now on his own label, MUP, after several releases with Sub Pop. With the shift to DIY coinciding with his Vermont lifestyle, we asked him a thing or two about how he’s livin’, doin’ things his-damn-self, and when the hell we can expect new material from Witch—the heavy rock band he plays in with some dudes in the Vermont area. CREEM’s discussion with Kyle Thomas—King Tuff, not the dude from Exhorder—is below. RIY or whatever.

So what is this about you making ice cream?

I will say that ice cream is probably my first love, and it’s also the thing that is the only constant source of joy in my life, for my whole life.