On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Brent Smith of Shinedown.

For the past couple of decades, Shinedown have been relentless in their mission, channeling pain, addiction, and the power to overcome into seven studio albums and countless shows.

During the pandemic, they cracked the mainstream, subverting their hard-rock roots with the viral piano ballad “A Symptom of Being Human” and inviting Jelly Roll onstage for “Simple Man” at Blue Ridge Rock Fest in 2021.

As Shinedown prepare for a busy year, Smith connected with Madden about his diverse musical influences, the journey of building the band’s 20-plus-year career, and their highly anticipated headlining tour with Bush and Beartooth.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is bringing you an encore episode of his conversation with Lainey Wilson.

Over the past decade, Wilson has blossomed into a bonafide country star and recently performed in the 2025 Grammy Awards.

The Southern-bred singer has written tracks with Luke Combs, made her acting debut in Yellowstone (as well as had her songs featured on its soundtrack), and devised her own genre, “bell bottom country.”

The sound combines Southern rock, soul, and a distinctly Nashvillian POV, where she now resides. That’s best heard on her latest album, Whirlwind, which continues to play with the boundaries of her sound and includes a wistful duet with Miranda Lambert.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Bert McCracken of The Used.

From the beginning, The Used have captured the outpouring of McCracken’s rawest emotions.

“It’s more than my journal. It’s so intimate. It’s terrifying… I can’t help it. It’s a big part of what I believe music is about,” McCracken reveals.

From 2002’s self-titled to 2024’s MEDZ, the band have navigated lineup changes, inner turmoil, and loss — and then channeled that pain into unrelenting songs that ripple with urgency and emotional intensity. In a conversation with Madden, The Used frontman opens up about being an outsider, putting tragedy into his music, and the band’s 25-year career

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Joshua Roberts of Magnolia Park.

Since unleashing their debut album in 2019, Magnolia Park have pointed ahead, combining emo-soaked rock with ambitious world-building. But though their sound is rooted in classic pop punk, their music has taken a darker turn over the years.

Lately, the band have been fixated on nü metal, embracing the heaviness to tell a bigger story with their upcoming neo-gothic concept album VAMP. 

In a conversation with Madden, the Magnolia Park frontman explains his love of anime, racism in rock music, and being the hero of your own story.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is bringing you an encore episode of his conversation with LA rapper Lefty Gunplay. 

Lefty Gunplay is a rapper out of Baldwin Park who uses raw, witty wordplay to dig into his time in prison, hopes for the future, and pride for his city. 

Gunplay released his latest album, “Most Valuable Gangbanger,” in November of last year, and was featured on Kendrick Lamar’s sixth album, ‘GNX,’ released the same day. 

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Joss Stone.

Back in 2003, Stone broke out with her debut album, The Soul Sessions, when she was 16 years old, which largely reinterpreted ’60s and ’70s songs. Since then, she’s released eight other albums, received two Brit Awards, and won a Grammy for her cover of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” with John Legend and Van Hunt.

In a conversation with Madden, Stone discusses coming up in the music industry as a teenager, her take on horror movies, and what creating a live album was like.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Jackson, aka OMG, is an actor, rapper, and songwriter best known as the oldest son of Ice Cube.

For his debut feature film, he played his father in the 2015 N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which was nominated for an Oscar. Since then, he’s gone on to appear in several other films (Den of Thieves, Ingrid Goes West, Cocaine Bear, etc.) and co-host the No-Contest Wrestling podcast with TJ Jefferson. 

In this conversation with Joel, he discusses growing up with a famous dad, risking it all for family, and his new movie Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera, which hits theaters on Jan. 10.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Ricky Hil.

As the son of famed designer Tommy Hilfiger, Hil has been tasked to carve out his own space within music and culture. He turned to emo rap in the 2010s, creating a murky sound that helped to influence GothBoiClique — namely Lil Peep. The duo even made a couple of songs together, which remain unreleased.

In a conversation with Madden, the rapper explores his lifelong relationship with music and fashion, the complex process of self-realization, and the work ethic he learned from his father.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Vishen.

Vishen Lakhiani is an entrepreneur and motivational speaker who’s the founder and CEO of Mindvalley. He also authored two books, The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass — and will release his third, The 6 Phase Meditation Method, in January.

In a conversation with Madden, Lakhiani delves into the importance of meditation, friendship, and the life lessons that we can take into 2025.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes.

Goldsmith wrote Dawes’ 2009 debut album, North Hills, in his early 20s. More than a decade later, he’s only continued to grow as a songwriter, resulting in the band’s ninth studio full-length, Oh Brother, which was released this past October.

Before the band hit the road to tour those songs with Winnetka Bowling League, Goldsmith caught up with Madden about balancing being happy while also wanting more from life, getting better at being himself, and their latest album.

Listen to their conversation on Artist Friendly wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also watch the episode over at Veeps. 

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Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden

Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King

Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary

Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer

Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray

Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray

Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer

Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices