Badass Records

Derrick Benitz joined me for Episode No. 160, and I'm super-grateful that he stuck with me through a period of correspondence, ultimately making the trek over in late January to bullshit with me about photography, growing up, Spotify playlists, and being happy/healthy in life.

Find Derrick on Instagram under the @nomadphotog handle, and please peep his handsome Web site, derrickbenitz.com.

Whilst we were fat chewing, Derrick and I managed to touch on a few of his favorite albums. They were these:

Metallica (1991)

Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992)

Continuum (2006), John Mayer

The Decemberists' The King Is Dead (2011)

From the Wreckage (2014), The Wind & the Wave

Taylor Swift's 1989 (2014)

Really enjoyed Derrick's company. Really appreciate all that support the show.

Cheers.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets I lifted from a song by the greatest rock band in American history. Song's called, "Roggae." Album's from 1998, and titled The Story of the Ghost. All of that's here c/o Phish Inc.

Solomon Alpert joined me for Episode No. 159. Solomon is a son, a brother, a husband, a father figure, and a Reentry Counselor at Benilde Hall, a facility which helps folks by fostering sustained recovery, stable housing, economic self-sufficiency, and improved mental and physical well-being. An honorable career and facility, to say the least.

This week's guest came highly recommended courtesy of his wife, Lisa, who joined me for Episode No. 147 (and is tentatively slated to join me once more, this time for the newest installment of Becoming a Swifty), and he did not disappoint. There's nothing better than a healthy mix of good vibe and qualifiable intelligence.

Solomon and I talked about growing up, being first-borns, education, figuring out one's professional self, and a bunch more. We also talked about a few of his favorite albums, which were these:

Heaven or Las Vegas (1990), Cocteau Twins

Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville (1993)

Chutes Too Narrow (2003), The Shins

Toro y Moi's Freaking Out! (2011)

If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015), Drake

Carly Rae Jepsen's Emotion (2015)

Many thanks to both Solomon and to everyone that supports the show. This is a look into (mostly) Kansas City folks, who they are, what they're into, and what tunes make them groove.

Cheers, y'all.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained in this episode. They are snippets from Benevento/Russo Duo's, "Walking, Running, Viking," which I probably used already once before, so shame on me. It's from their 2006 release, Play Pause Stop, however, and we're blessed with its existence c/o Royal Potato Family.

Pleased to've met Jeremiah James Gonzales and learned all about Redder Moon for Episode #158. Redder Moon's blend of gothic new-wave/post-punk can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. They've got something in the neighborhood of eight releases available to check out, including a single from late last year, with more stuff coming soon.

Jeremiah was kind enough to share a portion of an evening in January with me, and I enjoyed hearing about his songwriting, recording, and band history. We talked about growing up, family, friends, and a few of his favorite albums, too, which were these:

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988), Iron Maiden

The Cure's Disintegration (1989)

Angel Dust (1992), Faith No More

Interpol's Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)

Badass Records podcast episodes air Thursdays where you stream and on YouTube. You can keep tabs on the show via Twitter and Instagram. Everything lives on the site (badassrecordspodcast.com), and guest inquiries should be delivered to badassrecordspodcast at gmail dot com.

Thank you for your support of the progrum.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio content contained within this episode. They are clips from a STS9 track called, "Tokyo," which is from their 2005 release, Artifact, c/o STS9.

Ladies and gentlemen...It's Lukas!

The brain child behind Sentimental Creatures was kind enough to make the hour-long commute to the B.R.P. studio amidst winter conditions last month, and I was grateful he did, as we talked growing up, God, earning first-gig cap feathers, and a ton more.

Lukas and his outfit can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, plus all streaming services.

Learning about all that has transpired in a short time for both Lukas and Sentimental Creatures was exciting, as was our conversation about a few of his favorite records, which were these:

Prince's self-titled, (1979)

Hysteria (1987), Def Leppard

Jeff Buckley's Grace (1994)

self-titled (2013), The 1975

Fun chat with good people.

While we were talking, we both reminisced about our respective third-grade teachers. And even though the particular memory I shared about mine wasn't anything profound, it did jostle fond memories of my time in Sarah Sangster's Annistown Elementary classroom in Snellville, GA.

Miss Sangster had great energy and the real "it" required for getting kids' attention and keeping it. She was always bright, cheery, witty, caring, and juggled savvy with empathy like no other I'd had (or would have). I've Googled former teachers before, and this one had me quasi-curious as to whether she was still at it, or even around; I was saddened to learn that she had passed a couple of years ago. She married in 2000, and became Mrs. Davenport, which made me happy for her. Shouts out, though, to Miss Sangster. May you rest in peace.

Anyway...please consider giving Sentimental Creatures an IG follow, so you can stay in the loop with upcoming gigs and release updates. Thank you for supporting the show.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Galactic tune called, "Cineramascope," from their 2010 release, Ya-Ka-May, c/o Anti Inc.

Amber Lea is a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother figure to her husband's two kids. She's an incredibly intelligent woman with a great sense of humor that has taken on the challenge of facing health and medical issues with an admirable sense of strength.

She's also the owner of Dear You Tattoo (4470 Rainbow in KCK), and she's my guest for Episode No. 156.

I usually chat with my guests for a few minutes before we launch into the conversation, and somewhere along the way in that transition, I cut off Amber's name in introducing her, and went straight in to Dear You details, so my apologies to Amber for that oversight. Talking with Amber was really great, though.

Every once in a while, I get to sit down with someone who gets the art of conversation and the concept of being real in doing so, and Amber is, for sure, one of those rarities; I consider our chat to've been a blessing.

We talked about family and growing up and the pursuit of genuine customer service. We shared a couple of laughs about a few random things like Cheech & Chong, and raved over a few MTV Unplugged (which has been around for 29 seasons and over 100 episodes!) performances. And of course we talked about a few of Amber's favorite albums, which she was kind enough to break into two lists:

All-Time Faves

Ministry's With Sympathy (1983)

Pretty Hate Machine (1989), Nine Inch Nails

Portishead's Dummy (1994)

Mezzanine (1998), Massive Attack

Modern Brain Ticklers

Services (2015), Tempers

Public Memory's Wuthering Drum (2016)

I'm Waving, Not Drowning (2020), Matte Blvck

Health's Disco4, pt. 1&2 (2022)

Please check out Dear You on Instagram (@dearyoutattoo), or peruse their super-handsome Web site, dearyoutattoo.com. They've been at it for going on a decade, and will definitely make you feel valued as a customer.

On a personal note, this marks three full years of weekly episodes for the podcast, so I'm pleased to've gotten this thing off the ground and kept it alive for this long. Now on to the next 52 weeks!

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from a tune called, "Vandenburg Suite," by The New Mastersounds. I lifted it from their 2005 album, This Is What We Do, c/o One Note Records.

Kyle Maggart of Brothers Music in Shawnee joined me for Episode No. 155, and I enjoyed the heck out of our conversation.

His joint can be found at 12206 Johnson Drive, and they can be reached at 913-766-3869, or followed on Instagram as @brothersmusickc.

We talked about growing up, getting into music at a young age, starting a business, and collecting a ton of vinyl.

Naturally, we talked about a few of Kyle's favorites, which were these:

Blue Train (1958), John Coltrane

The Band's Music from The Big Pink (1968)

There's No Place Like America Today (1975), Curtis Mayfield

Toots & the Maytals' Funky Kingston (1976)

Graceland (1986), Paul Simon

UGK's Too Hard to Swallow (1992)

I'd be remiss if I didn't give shouts out to the late, great Patrick "Potshake Dubwise" DuBois, and his fantastic KDUR FM radio show, Roots, Ragga, Radio, out of Durango, CO's Fort Lewis College (Go, Skyhawks!). Patrick was as kind as they come, and I'll always be grateful to him for both that and for showing me a few corners of the college/community-radio ropes.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't give Kyle props for saying that Southern American Gospel might be the next frontier. One of the cooler collection of words spoken to date on the podcast.

Please consider paying Brothers Music a visit if you're in the area, and give them an Instagram follow. Thank you to Kyle, and to everyone who tunes in.

Cheers.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. I poached them from an Andrew Gabbard tune called, "Cloud of Smoke," off of his 2023 release, Cedar City Sweetheart, c/o Karma Chief Records, a division of Colemine Records.

Jamie Searle, a.k.a. @jjeromemusic, joined me for Episode No. 154, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to've met him and gotten to know him a little bit.

Jamie is a son, a husband, a father, a musician, a songwriter, a producer, and he's the guy that runs The Westport Bowery, so holler at him for any of your booking/entertainment needs for that venue.

Our conversation touched on family, growing up, the lenses of perspective and identity, making art, being outdoors, and the love of music, just to name a few topics. While we were in that last neighborhood, we did pause for a moment to look at a few of Jamie's favorite albums, which were these:

Rubber Soul (1965), The Beatles

Donny Hathaway & Roberta Flack's self-titled release (1972)

Thriller (1982), Michael Jackson

Nirvana's Nevermind (1991)

Malibu (2016), Anderson .Paak

Jamie's other Instagram handles are @chromaticcontact, @mbandskc, and @westportbowery, so please consider giving his @jjerome account a follow, and -- while you're there -- have a peek at those, too. For more information on what goes on at the Bowery, check them out at thewestportbowery.com.

Thank you to Jamie, and to all of you for supporting the show.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from a Lemon Jelly tune called, "Ramblin' Man," which comes from their 2002 effort, Lost Horizons (c/o XL Recordings LTD).

James R. Wilson, Jr. is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, an artist, and -- amongst many other things -- he's my guest for Episode No. 153.

James and I sat down to talk about family, growing up in KCK, fatherhood, the world of creating and making art, skating, and his creations on both YouTube and Instagram.

We also talked a little bit about a few of James' favorite albums, which were these:

Easter Everywhere (1967), 13th Floor Elevators

Muzak Orchestra's Muzak Stimulus Progression 1976 (1976)

The Infamous (1995), Mobb Deep

Propaghandi's Less Talk, More Rock (1996)

Please consider giving James a follow on any or all of his IG channels, which are @waxtron, @waxtronindustries, @ducketsruckus, & @terranova.tapes; his YouTube is Waxtron Industries. And please keep your eyes peeled for his upcoming art show on Saturday, April 12, at Alcott Art Center.

Many thanks to James and to all that support the show.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples found within this episode. They are clips from a Joe Russo track, called, "Molly & Anni," which I lifted from his 2019 release, Phér•bōney, c/o Woodlot Recording.

Ladies and Gentlemen --

Please put your hands together for...Jason Adams!

Hey, hey, hey...It's the second freaking week of January in 2025, and -- to quote my future ex-wife, Gwen Stefani, "this shit is bananas."

Stoked, nonetheless, to have Jason in the studio.

It was lovely to meet him, and I'm jazzed to tell you that, together, we made Episode #152 happen.

Jason is the brains behind Supplemental Sound, and you should not only check his work out on his site, but you should also consider giving him a follow on Instagram.

It was fantastic meeting Jason, and learning a little bit about him, such as what a few of his favorite records are, which're these:

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

Purple Rain (1984), Prince and the Revolution

Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral (1994)

EAT ME, DRINK ME (2006), Marilyn Manson

Billie Eilish's When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019)

So, please check out Supplemental Sound.

Please make sure your pets and loved ones are fed and warm.

Please be safe out there.

And, please be kind to one another.

Cheers.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from a tune called, "Black Day," by Monolink. It comes from their 2019 release, Amniotic, c/o Embassy One.

Robert Bearce is a son, a sibling, a husband, and a father. He's the brains behind The Free Rent Band, and he's my guest for Episode No. 151.

In addition to his numerous other talents, Robert is also an app developer, a music lover, and he's the founder of Briar Fest (briarfestkc.com). It was a pleasure to meet him, and chat with him about his journey so far. We touched on writing, recording, the longevity of the band, his seemingly fearless knack for birthing ideas and launching them into the world.

We, of course, also talked about a few of Robert's favorite albums, which were these:

Led Zeppelin IV (1971) Eat a Peach (1972), The Allman Brothers Band

Johnny Cash's American V: A Hundred Highways (2006)

In Time (2013), The Mavericks

Please check out Robert's Free Rent Band & Publishing page on Facebook, and find their content on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Many thanks to Robert, and Happy 2025 to you all.

Note: In discussing the movie, Friday, I mistakenly called Chris Tucker's character Craig, instead of Smokey.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from a Joachim Pastor single called, "Fixi," from 2016, c/o Hungry Music.