Badass Records

Sound your funky horns...it's Episode #50 of Badass Records Podcast, and what a ride it's been so far!

I hope there're many more episodes to come and that you'll keep tuning in to see the latest and greatest conversations with all of my amazing guests.

But, now -- without any further ado...let me tell you about how excited I am to share this week's episode with you.

Sometimes, as we make our way through our days, we stumble upon opportunities for new connections. I could be sitting here typing these words, preparing to drop my 50th podcast episode, and the road to today could've looked different. That difference could've been tiny; it might've been huge. And who knows. Maybe everything'd be just fine.

Things went the way they went, though, and I wandered across a connection with Steph' Rupp. And instead, everything is great.

She's a daughter and a sister and a business owner with an electric smile. She's a designer, a photographer, and a professional ultimate frisbeer with a killer sense of humor. She's a dog lover, a soon-to-be wife, and a cheese connoisseur like no other. And above all of that, she's my Web/design gal.

I'll pause here for the thunderous applause in your head to subside.

<still pausing>

Although she initially turned down an invite to join me on the B.R.P., she -- of her own accord -- changed her mind and surprised me one day in a cute, little, nonchalant corner of an e-mail message about something else. And to paraphrase, she did so because she believes in examining new things and challenges.

What's not to love.

Steph' Rupp gave me a heckuva list of records to touch on, and they were these:

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) & The Black Parade (2006), My Chemical Romance

Fall Out Boy's From Under the Cork Tree (2005), Mania (2018) + everything in between

They're Only Chasing Safety (2004), Define the Great Line (2006), & Voyeurist (2022), Underoath

Loveless' Loveless I (2021)

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers (2022), Kendrick Lamar

If that's not a (Nature Boy) Ric Flair, "Woo!" right there, I don't know what is.

But...but.

Checking out her records was a treat. Our chat was a treat. And she...is a treat. So please check out this super-special episode, and don't forget to give the Merch' page a peek on your way out.

Thank you.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are clips from a tune called, "Yo!" which I borrowed from the badass record, Bass Is the Name of the Game (1988) by DJ Magic Mike (c/o Warlock Records).

It's Episode #49, party people!

I can't properly express how excited I was to sit down and talk life and tunes with MABkc.

Hoo boy! I am so excited for him and all that he lovingly has on his plate: wife and child(ren), new location(s) for Industry Soundz, paused recording projects calling him back, and perhaps a podcast in the near future. It's all real fantastic stuff, and I hope that each of those things continue to bring him joy and prosperity.

Anyway, MAB picked six records, two a piece by three different artists. And they are these:

Me Against the World (1995) and All Eyez on Me (1996) by 2Pac

Jay-Z's The Dynasty (2000) and The Black Album (2003)

From Me to U (2003) and What the Game's Been Missing (2005) by Juelz Santana

After some nine years since our first meeting (and like my guest mentioned), it was amazing that we were able to reconnect and make this conversation happen. Please consider giving it a view or a listen, and don't forget to check out the Merch' line on your way out. Thank you for winding up here.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a tune by Phosphorescent called, "My Beautiful Boy" and the track is from his 2018 album, C'est La Vie (c/o Dead Oceans).

When I opened the door to welcome Cole Welch into my home, one of the first thoughts I had was that he looked familiar, and it turns out that we not only went to high school together, but were on swim team together for a season as well.

Great start to meeting a perfect stranger.

Anyway, for Episode #48 of Badass Records Podcast, we waxed philosophic and touched on a few of Cole's favorite records. And they are these:

Over-Nite Sensation (1973), Frank Zappa

Rush's Caress of Steel (1975)

Desire (1976), Bob Dylan

The Police's Synchronicity (1983)

Life's Rich Pageant (1986), R.E.M.

Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream (1993)

August & Everything After (1993), Counting Crows

The Color & the Shape (1997), The Foo Fighters

Porcupine Tree's In Absentia (2002)

Sky Blue Sky (2007), Wilco

It was a really good time, so -- just like I always say about this time -- I hope you'll check out our chat. Buy some merch'!

Cheers.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are clips from "Chase" by Giorgio Moroder off of Midnight Express (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), c/o The Island Def Jam Music Group.

Tabitha Jurgensmeyer is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a pro's pro, an adventurer, and an absolute joy with whom to talk.

All things considered, Tabby J. said, "Yes" to doing an episode (no. 47) of Badass Records Podcast where many might've declined in haste.

For that -- and for all of her admirable qualities -- I have a ton of respect for her.

We chatted Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the phenomenon that was the duo of Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds, Boyz II Men, So So Def Bass All-Stars, and Dr. Dre. Specifically and respectively, we covered some P.J.fandom, Californication (1999), Live at Luther College (1999), II (1994), Vol. II, and 2001 (1999).

Please check out our conversation and -- more importantly -- please remember to be kind to one another.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from the Londonbeat smash hit, "I've Been Thinking About You" off of their 1990 release, In the Blood (c/o Geffen Records).

This is a weird one.

For me.

Tony Berrios and I have played hockey together for about five years.

I'm not sure if the number's actually five. It might be seven or it might be three and-a-half.

I just don't know anymore.

Point being: I have come to know Tony pretty well, and -- if you'll pardon the cliche -- they certainly broke the mold when Tony was born.

He is -- without question -- one of the super-fantasticist human beings I've ever met.

Like...he has a serum in his blood that I'd love to distill and drop beneath my tongue before my morning coffee. He's always in a good mood. Super-smart. Awesome sense of humor. Great dad. Spectacular hockey player. The list goes on.

But...but...

Tony and I recorded this episode almost six weeks ago, and his interview did not go without the token number of gaffes; in this one I talked too much and I probably spent too much time in the beginning talking to him about his mother.

Tonight -- as I write this (after we played an awesome game of hockey together) -- Tony has probably nestled himself into bed and will embark upon another trip to Chicago in the morning. And things don't appear to be looking amazing in that the message from Tony's mom's doctor to Tony and his sister were to be prepared.

As in, Come up and prepare to send for the wife and kids.

Tony's mom is in I.C.U., and so is Tony's mom's mom, and the former doesn't know about the latter.

It's a hard thing for me to envision: having a deep, meaningful relationship with a parent into my 40s (Note: Oh, and, happy belated birthday to Tony, too.).

Anyway, I kid you not when I tell you that choosing the intro/outro audio for this episode was one of the hardest decisions I've made in recent memory. I landed where I did because, well...I'm not exactly sure, but I feel good about it, and sometimes that's as deep as a thing goes.

Regardless of all of that, Tony dropped by and we bullshitted about Nirvana and Pearl Jam and A Tribe Called Quest and Common. I mean, we touched on those first three artists, but mostly I gushed about Common, and Tony was like, Yeah, dude...I know.

Specifically, we talked about In Utero (1993), Ten (1991), The Low End Theory (1991), Resurrection (1994), and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997).

It was good, good fun, though.

Tony's the best. I wish him and all of his people peace and love, and I won't even begin to try and articulate how grateful I am that he carved out a little time to do an episode with me.

Where you at, Moose?

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from the title track of Chuck Mangione's 1977 record, Feels So Good (c/o A&M Records/UMG Recordings, Inc.).

Oh, The Kid....

What can be said about The Kid that hasn't been said already...

He's a son and a brother and a husband and a dad and a musician and a super-student of music.

I love that The Kid's folks're still hangin' and that he and all of his siblings found and chose fantastic partners. And they all have beautiful children and they're just...they're just a really good clan.

So, I was stoked that I got this cat to come chat with me for Episode #45, and when he chose Mr. Bungle, I couldn't've been less surprised.

Really dug our conversation.

Hope you check it.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro video. They are samples from a track called, "Something About Us," which I've lifted from Daft Punk's 2001 record, Discovery (c/o Warner Music France/ADA France, (patent symbol) 2001 Daft Life Ltd.).

Sammy Sanchez is a son, a brother, a boyfriend, a bartender, and a music aficionado in the truest sense of the word.

Having recorded Episode #30 with his father, Cesar, I was pleased as punch to get to sit down with a member of the next generation, and wax both tunes and philosophical.

Sammy selected Small Change (1976) by Tom Waits, Pink Floyd's Animals from a year later, and LCD Soundsystem's 2010 release, This is Happening, and boy were they a treat to discuss with him.

Being in the presence of two amazing humans such as Sammy and his father were blessings, to be sure, and -- even though Cesar tipped me off that his boy knows a ton about music -- I was blown away at today's guest's knowledge and attention to detail.

Sammy is the kind of dude the world needs more of right now, and -- until we have that -- I think we really just need to root for the ones we do have and know about.

So, even though I know he's destined for a life of greatness and joy, I'm pulling for him, nonetheless. He's got a bright future ahead of him, and -- if I play my cards right -- maybe we'll sit down together again sometime soon.

Thank you for giving our conversation a listen.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called, "No Way" off of David Gilmour's solo, self-titled debut from 1978 (c/o David Gilmour Music LTD. under exclusive license to SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT).

Andrew LeRoy is a son, a brother, a husband, a father three times over, an attorney, and an all-around good dude. He hosts a mean trivia night and calls a decent game of hoops, both from the same stage, nonetheless.

But before I get ahead of myself, I need to be serious for a moment.

Shortly after we started recording, I discovered that the guest of Episode #43 was on the phone with the late Tom Pickert when he was murdered five years ago in front of his home in my neighborhood. Tom was a married man and a father of two (one of his sons was in my daughter's elementary-school class) who was shot in the back of the head by a coward, and -- if things continue to trend in the way that they are -- that sorry excuse for a human being will ultimately die behind bars.

That last fact obviously doesn't bring Tom back to life or heal the wounds felt by his friends and loved ones, but it helps knowing that -- at least in one instance -- true punishment for acts of senseless gun violence can exist in the world.

I hope that those closest to Mr. Pickert have stepped beyond the trailhead of the healing path, and are able to conjure fond memories of him when they desire.

I'm grateful for Andrew being so generous of his time, though, and it was super-fun to sit with him and discuss a handful of his favorite records. They are these:

Kind of Blue, Miles Davis (1959)

Run DMC's Raising Hell (1986)

Paul's Boutique, Beastie Boys (1989)

Green Day's Dookie (1994)

Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)

Please check out our conversation and -- as you navigate the world this holiday season -- please be nice to people. You never know what they might be going through at the time.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called, "Intro" by xx, which is the leadoff cut from their 2009 record, The xx (c/o Young/XL Recordings Ltd).

Kadesh Flow is a son and an MC and a trombonist and a fantastic human being who was kind enough to sit with me for a spell so that he could share a bit about both himself and a few of his favorite records.

We touched on the following:

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John (1973)

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco (2006)

Trombone Shorty's Backatown (2010)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West (2010)

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

If you wanna learn more about Kadesh, you should Google him. He's on the socials, he's got a Bandcamp, and a YouTube page. Find out where he's gigging with one of his many outfits. Buy/stream some of his music. Get yourself some merch'.

Seriously. It was righteous to see him on stage and a treat to have him in the chair, so please check out our conversation.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called "Who Are You?" off of Karl Denson's Dance Lesson, No. 2 album (2001), c/o Blue Note Records.

Tara Davis is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a business owner, a hostess, an aunt, a fashionista, a friend, and one heck of a next-door neighbor.

Tara's three super-fantastic daughters and her super-dope husband make for quite the clan on the other side of the fence, and our collective families have compiled some fun memories over the last six or seven years. And even though their plates are pretty dang full, both dad and mom have made the time to come do an episode of the podcast with me, leaving me feeling pretty darn grateful.

I've eaten at their Thanksgiving Day table, co-hosted (and attended) school functions with them, camped, had drinks around both their island and their fire pit, and watched our kids do gift exchanges, but having both Tara and Kyle (Episode #20, 6/14/22) do their own episodes of Badass Records Podcast really afforded me the opportunity to hang with them and get to know their stories.

And what fun it was learning about Tara's. We talked a little bit about her musical journey (and what a ham and a cornball she's been along the way), and came to the conclusion that Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) was such a pivotal record for her.

All considered, I couldn't be more pleased to be dropping a tFarley (Note: Check her out on the 'Gram!) episode on Thanksgiving Day. As she herself said, it was "meant to be."

And you, my friends, are meant to be checking out our conversation, so thanks for being here, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of yours.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a tune called "Lucy" by The Dining Rooms, and this track is from their 2001 record, Numero Deux (c/o Milano 2000).