Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico

Tommy Ng, leader of the indie rock band Jesus the Dinosaur, joins us to promote the band's new single "Sweet Nothing" and share the interesting journey that brought them from Atlanta to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“For me personally, I’m describing what it feels like to be in a social setting while being maxed out on my social meter. I have a big people-pleasing problem (working on it), so I’ll keep pushing through social interactions even when I have nothing left to give, so what comes out of my mouth at that point is usually just that: filler, forced smiles, canned responses, bullshit. Just enough to pass as pleasing and agreeable to everyone." — Tommy Ng

Music Clips from The Charms, The Dogmatics, The Long Wait, and Jesus The Dinosaur

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

Please support us at patreon.com/twistedrico

Kier Byrnes has played a Belgian prison, performed for the troops in the Middle East, and toured 17 countries with his band. Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners blend Irish folk and traditional country — accordion, chicken-pickin' guitar, whiskey-soaked ballads, foot-stomping jigs — and have the hardware to show for it: New England and Boston Music Award wins, plus a spot on Americana UK's Top 10 for 2025. Kier joins us for a conversation about road life, roots music, and what keeps the kettle burning.

Music Clips by The Charms, The Dogmatics, Shurr Jr., Alice Austin, Black Helicopter, and Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

Michael Robert Kelly is the guy you call when your band needs a bass player. In addition to fronting his own project, The Brother Stereo, he's stepped in for his brother Matt's band, the Dropkick Murphys, and logged a ton of shows with the legendary James Montgomery Band. Most recently, while on tour with the Violent Femmes as Brian Ritchie's bass tech, Kelly got the call to fill in after Ritchie suffered a serious bicycle accident. He tells us the whole story.

Music clips from: The Charms, The Dogmatics, The Zulus, Blame It On Whitman, The Long Wait, and The Outlets

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

Singer/songwriter Katy Nathan first came on our radar when she was running a Joe Perry fan page. Now she's back to talk about her debut single, "Torrential Downpour."

Music Clips by The Charms, The Dogmatics, Victory At Sea, Black Helicopter, Ape Hangers, and Katy Nathan

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

In this episode, we're joined by legendary rock 'n' roller Charlie Farren, who gained prominence as the lead singer of The Joe Perry Project on the 1981 album I've Got the Rock 'n' Rolls Again, and later with his own band, Fahrenheit.

Music Clips by The Charms. The Dogmatics, Victory At Sea, Blame It On Whitman, FBI, and Charlie Farren

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

Contact: [email protected]

In this live episode recorded at WMFO in Medford, MA, we're joined by legendary hardcore drummer Mark McKay (The Long Wait, Slapshot) and an acoustic performance by Tad Overbaugh, accompanied by Chuck Vath.

Music

Tad Overbaugh - "July", "Hurricane Season"(LIVE)

Black Helicopter - "Egypt MA"

The Dogmatics "I Love Rock N Roll"

additional music clip from The Charms

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

WMFO Audio recorded by Mike Newman on March 21, 2026

This episode features brothers and bandmates Jacob and Nicolas Bitove of Toronto's self-described "punktronic" band ROMES, here to talk about their brand new album Sonic Trash.

If you haven't discovered ROMES yet, they've been carving out a gritty, high-energy sound that blends raw rock attitude with glitchy electronic vibes. Sonic Trash leans hard into that aesthetic — distorted synths, punchy beats, and a chaotic DIY energy that somehow feels both nostalgic and fresh. Drawing from industrial, dance-punk, and hints of '90s grunge, it's loud, a little messy in the best way, and absolutely full of personality. The kind of record where it sounds like they hit "record" and just went all in.

Music Clips by Black Helicopter, Tad Overbaugh, Shurr Jr, Speedfossil, and Romes

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

Please support this podcast at patreon.com/twistedrico

In the episode, we're joined by Ramona Lundberg of the Norwegian pop punk band Ramona's Tea Party to discuss their new album, Pour Your Heart Out.

Music clips from Ramona's Tea Party, The Zulus, The Long Wait, The Charms, The Dogmatics

Produced & Hosted by Steev Riccardo

In this epsiode, we are joined by Bill Hein and Andrew Zicklin, co-owners of Label 51 Recordings and Flatiron Recordings both based in Denver Co. We get into both labels, plus some history between Bill and the host, who worked together at Enigma Records back in the 80’s.

Music Clips by The Charms, The Dogmatics, Victory At Sea, Black Helicopter, The Long Wait , and Applied Knowledge

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo

In this episode, we're joined by rock star, actor, radio personality, and one of the coolest dudes around — Michael Des Barres. We look back at his remarkable life of rock 'n' roll and acting, which included bands like Silverhead, Detective, Chequered Past, and The Power Station, along with a stellar assortment of TV and film appearances. These days, Des Barres is back in the rock ring with his explosive new single "Kiss or Kill Me" on Rum Bar Records — and he's here to tell us all about it.

Music Clips from The Charms, The Dogmatics, Blame It On Whitman, The Long Wait, The Zulus, and Michael Des Barres

Produced and Hosted by Steev Riccardo