Daddy Unscripted Podcast

Episode 41 of the podcast is the second half of my conversation with fellow podcaster Jonathan Hart. I don’t normally dedicate episodes, but I have to dedicate this one to my other favorite 41 that is out there right now: Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale.

Don’t get in a huff about that dedication; we don’t talk about sports or the Red Sox in this episode at all. This is more of a discussion on the journey of life for Jonathan that parallels our previous episode. At times, it even intertwines with that conversation. We start out with the music that was the soundtrack of Jonathan’s adolescent years. As many music lovers know: music can play a large part in shaping who you are. That was very true for young Jonathan, and hasn’t stopped impacting him in that way.

Jonathan admits that his love for the Grateful Dead and other bands from the 70’s fueled the divide in ideology that had been previously embedded in his family’s paternal code. He went on to break the streak of men joining the military as he embraced a more loving and pacifist mindset.

Jonathan and I have a lot of similarities from our late teen years. We both spent time working at a record store, using a great deal of our paychecks to make our way to Grateful Dead shows near us.

Over time, Jonathan, like many others, embraced Phish as another band with a giant community. Jonathan talks about how this has also become a unique part of his life with the world of podcasts. He spent a great deal of time having his own influence on the blog universe that surrounded both the Grateful Dead and Phish in the internet’s toddler years. Eventually, he was asked to be a guest on the Helping Friendly Podcast. That ended up parlaying into him becoming one of the regular hosts of that show and his eventual creation of the Brokedown Podcast, a podcast centered around the Grateful Dead.

With the wonderful response online from the first half of our conversation, I’m sure a lot of you will also enjoy this parallel history and behind the scenes look at Jonathan.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

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All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to [email protected]

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This is Episode 40 of the podcast. My wife is a huge U2 fan, so she would enjoy me saying that as: “This is 40”. However, this episode does not feature Bono as its guest, or any other musician from Ireland. Don’t be dismayed; Jonathan Hart has a pretty darn interesting story to tell.

It starts with what happened before Jonathan was even born. We do a deep dive into his paternal roots and talk about his lineage. That lineage is steeped in a very proud service to our country by his Father and his Father’s Father. Jonathan, however, did not feel suited for that same lot in life and his life went down a much different road.

Jonathan became a first-time Dad at a very young age with his girlfriend of a couple of years. Things went downhill before their little girl was even 2 years old; starting with the couple splitting up to the Mom deciding she couldn’t or didn’t want the role of Mother anymore, leaving Jonathan to figure it out on his own. With the help of family, that’s exactly what Jonathan did.

It’s the kind of story we are honestly very used to hearing on the other side of the coin: with the Dad leaving the Mom to take all of the responsibility. It makes me sad and embarrassed that this is a cliche within my gender. Alas, it is… and has been for decades upon decades. I have always been a huge proponent of single Moms and all of the work they do. So, it was quite interesting to me to have a single Dad like Jonathan tell his story of a similar plight.

Jonathan has worked hard, now with a wife and a bigger family that the two have created together. It’s also of interest that Jonathan has done all this while still finding time for his passion: live music. He and his wife not only find time to follow some of their favorite bands, but Jonathan has a podcast of his own: Brokedown Podcast, a podcast centered around the Grateful Dead.

We will talk a lot more about podcasts, the Dead and Phish in our next episode. This episode is dedicated to all things Dad and gets into some really interesting topics and stories. The story of Jonathan ending up alone with his wife to take care of the birth of their child is quite a doozy.

I’m sure you will all enjoy hearing Jonathan’s stories and learning a lot more about this man; not only the man behind the Brokedown Podcast, but also one of the co-hosts of Helping Friendly Podcast, as well.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com or via email to [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 39 of the podcast is extremely special because it features my first ever guest that is not actually a Dad.

Have you picked yourself up off the floor now? Close your lower jaw… I know this is mind-blowing news. But, you’ll come to see why I made this decision once you’ve listened to this episode.

The reason I’ve bent one of the founding basis’ of this podcast is because Dr. Anthony Balduzzi brings a lot to the podcast and to you: the listener. Not only is the story of his very brief time on earth with his own father a solid enough reason, pretty much, for him to have his story told, it’s what Dr. Anthony chose to do with his life after that.

You saw it in the title of the episode: The Fit Father Project.

There is no coincidence with the timing of the release of this episode. In the USA, Thanksgiving Day was just last week. So, not only are December’s holidays right around the corner, but you may have just put on a couple of new pounds. What better way to get a jump on all of that?

This conversation is as much for me as it is for so many of you. And, again, you do not at all need to be a Dad to get something out of this episode. You don’t need to be over 40 either! Big bonus if you happen to be both or either of those. But, the story Dr. Anthony tells about his Father’s passing when he was young should affect all of us!

I’m tempted to say, also, that the story Dr. Anthony tells about his accidental costume malfunction during what would have otherwise been a friendly game of Twister when he was a teenager is also a story that begs to be heard. That’s an exclusive, by the way. So, don’t tell me that the Daddy Unscripted podcast has never done anything special for you.

There is so much good information in this episode. That’s the truth. I got a lot out of it while we were recording and it had that same oomph for me when I was editing it. Dr. Anthony was so inspiring. And, I was completely straight-forward with some of my own health scares and told him from the get-go how important this conversation was to me. For my own health’s sake, and for all of my listeners’ as well.

So, put down that fork, everyone… and feast on this instead!

Here are the links we talked about at the end of the episode for the Fit Father Project:

Free Meal Plan For Men Over 40: Click Here

Free 24 Minute Fat Burning Workout: Click Here

Weight Loss For Men Over 40, The Official Guide: Click Here

The Fit Father Project Social Media Links:

www.fitfatherproject.com

https://www.facebook.com/fitfatherproject/

https://www.youtube.com/c/Fitfatherproject

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

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In this, the 38th episode of the podcast, I found myself talking with Terry Ogburn.

In a few of my experiences at conferences, for marketing or podcasting, I’ve run into Jessica Rhodes a few times now. Jessica is the CEO & Founder of Interview Connections. I honestly didn’t know if anything would ever come from any of our conversations at these conferences until one day I received an email with a suggested guest. The email, from one of Jessica’s staff, basically said that Terry would be an excellent guest for the podcast because of his life experiences.

Terry has had significant success when it comes to the world of business. He has also helped a great many corporations and entrepreneurs find their way into success, whether as a start-up or helping a struggling business find their way. But, Terry’s road in life has gone through its own levels of struggle… even to the extreme of tragically losing the life of one of his children years ago. We discussed all of this in our conversation here. Terry even detailed his family history, living in a military home.

Our conversation touched a little on grief, but it even went a bit into the metaphysical world. We talked about some of Terry’s connections with his son, after his son had passed away. It was really a fascinating discussion.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is episode 37 of the podcast, and number 2 of 2 with fellow podcaster and music lover, RJ Bee. Although this episode is heavily steeped in our discussion about music and the band Phish, this may be the most that one of my “Fork in the Road” episodes focuses on fatherhood. Usually, these secondary episodes with guests are complete offshoots onto other topics. However, you’ll still find some fatherly gems between RJ and myself in this one.

RJ and I share some strong similarities within our musical teenage years. We both spent a lot of our teen years following bands that toured heavily, had tremendous communities and people who taped each of their shows enabled us (and hundreds of thousands of other fans) to collect and listen to shows like the true fanatics we were.

So, let us just thank tapers. Oh, what’s that, you ask? I’m glad you asked, because tapers deserve a lot of praise and gratitude. A taper, simply put, is someone who goes to a concert and tapes it. But, there’s a lot more that goes into it. These people put a lot of their own money into very expensive equipment and then help coordinate the distribution of those recordings to other fans. My devout love for the Grateful Dead — and the eventual multitude of other musicians and bands that ended up leading me into loving — would never have become even close to what it was and is without the existence of tapers.

RJ and I were on two different collecting paths way back when. He was heavily following and collecting tapes of Phish, while I was doing the same on the west coast with the Grateful Dead. During this episode, we bounce our experiences off of each other with those two bands, but our efforts were pretty much identical.

Today, we find ourselves on another identical path: as podcasters. RJ is one of the founders and hosts of the Helping Friendly Podcast aka HFPod. The podcast focuses on the Phish universe and the people that are affected by the music and everything that goes along with being part of that vast community.

One thing that makes this episode unique – and, possibly, somewhat confusing near the end: we ended up adding a segment of recording on a day much later from our original recording. So, the bulk of the episode was recorded before the summer. Yet, we recorded again following the summer. So, there is a small section that discusses an event that took place much later than the original recording. Don’t let that throw you for too much of a loop. We are not soothsayers or time travelers… as far as we know, at least.

I’ve said this before of previous episodes…you don’t have to be a fan of Phish or the Dead to enjoy this episode. It won’t hurt… that’s for sure. We end up reverting back to our previous episode in this conversation and reflecting on fatherhood here, as well.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is episode 36 of the podcast, 1 of 2 with fellow podcaster RJ Bee. RJ is quite an intelligent man. I don’t just say that because we share a very common interest in music, but because he has been working for years in the world of politics and communications.

When RJ and I first connected, we both asked each other if we thought we would be good guests on each other’s podcasts or not. It was almost like a lightning round on a game show as we took turns interrogating one another. I guess you could say that I won, since I got to have RJ on my podcast first. Which I am quite pleased about.

RJ is another in what is becoming a fantastically long line of guests who have very unique upbringings. He tells a lot about his youth throughout those times all the way through to the somewhat recent sudden loss of his own Dad. We discussed that at some length and there is a phone call between RJ and his Dad that we discussed in this episode that I’m at a loss for the proper adjective for. Serendipitous? Miraculous? Take a listen and you can decide for yourself.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 035, for those keeping count. This is the 2nd of 2 episodes with web designer and artist Sam Jennings. Sam is my second guest that has a large connection to a man I adore: Prince. A lot of this episode is us talking about the period of 9 years that Sam worked very closely with and for Prince. He gives a deeper view into the man that at times was so private. We talk in depth about the positive influence that Prince had on our lives, from the time we were both teenagers.

After working with Prince, Sam went on to work with Pearl Jam with the same goals in mind as he had accomplished with Prince. His tenure did not last as long with the Seattle-based band, and we discuss the not-so obvious differences between these two employers of his.

If you are a fan of Prince, these conversations with Sam are so meaningful and informative. I am still ecstatic that he was able to come and sit with me for so long to record these episodes. I will add that if you happened to skip the previous episode with Sam and I because you think you don’t want to listen to us talk about Dad stuff: think again! There is quite a bit of other material in that episode. Sam talks a bit about how important family was to Prince, as well, in ways that are unique to those who knew him well. So, if you enjoyed this episode or are a fan of Prince, check out our previous episode next!

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is episode 34 of the podcast, 1 of 2 with web designer and artist Sam Jennings. Sam is my second guest that has a large connection to a man I adore: Prince. Even with this being our episode to talk about fatherhood, we do touch on some of the personal and business aspects of Sam’s near decade of working with Prince. It was quite interesting to hear how much importance Prince put on family during the time Sam was involved with him.

Sam joins the esteemed group of guests that do not come from a traditional One Mom One Dad family situation. One of the things that gives this podcast an ability to have an extensively long lifespan is that everyone is different. But, the added bonus is that everybody’s Dad is different… and everybody’s family life is different, as well. Sam’s family history is quite unique, so I was very interested to get into how that proved to be successful for all of them.

I have no problem repeating this: I feel, dare I say, blessed by the people I am speaking with for the sake of the podcast. Sam is yet another outstanding human being; not only as a son, or even just as a Dad… but also as a person. His generosity and kindness of spirit are characteristics that I constantly strive for in my daily life. Sitting with him for a few hours enabled me to see a lot more of why I had pursued him to be on the podcast in the first place. I feel fortunate to reap the benefits of this and the upcoming episode with Sam and I am excited to pass those rewards on to all of you too!

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2nd half of my conversation with Brad Rothschild, we pick up right where the previous episode left off: having a very laid-back chat which eventually leads into what Brad does for a living. He’s a documentary filmmaker with films you may have even seen on Netflix or iTunes (Tree Man and Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald).

Brad also makes up half of the team that does The Amen Corner podcast. His partner, Steven A. Cook, you may recall was a recent guest on my podcast as well. But, don’t let yourself think for a second that means the 4 episodes of them are anything alike. They really aren’t.

This episode not only goes into a lot of Brad’s process with his films, but it kind of meanders into some funny territory. We go so far as naming David Lee Roth’s yoga clothing company that he may not even realize he owns. Brad also at one point tells me that my podcast is the cocaine of podcasts. Yeah. I will just leave that here because I’m sure that will bring a lot of new listeners in, right?

I hope you all enjoy this second episode with Brad. I had a great time talking with him. I’m sure you’ll agree that his episodes just kind of flow in a surprising way, for two guys who have never really spoken together before.

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play

Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Father’s Day is a good opportunity for a quick little episode. There are a few holidays I will do this with. Something that should please some of you who may get frustrated that my episodes don’t fit into your shorter work commute.

This is my 2nd Annual episode to celebrate Father’s Day. It’s now my 27th Father’s Day without my Dad; the 9th such holiday that I, myself, am being heralded as a Dad. I still do not take that title or job lightly.

For those of you who missed 2016’s Father’s Day episode, let me reset you. My Dad’s last Father’s Day was during my Senior year in High School. The doctors had very recently diagnosed him with brain cancer. I was 17 and that was the last time I would be able to praise him according to the holiday for being the fantastic Father that he had been to me and my 7 siblings.

I still go through a number of emotions when I think back to my 17 year old self, completely unable to process what was going on. It is what it is, but I can’t stop regret from flooding over me when I think about it. Regret for the things I never said, for my fear of being present and dealing with the situation better. Even just to take a handful of minutes to think about what he must have been going through. Aside from the obvious of his steady decline from the cancer, the shame he was feeling of having his teenage son… his youngest… his baby helping to take care of him during that time.

Now as an adult, and a father, I cry just thinking about how I would feel with my kids having to take care of some of the things I was doing for my Dad in those final months and weeks of his life. I know it brought his humility level to a place no adult or parent ever dreams of going. He was a great man, a wonderful Father and at the most basic level of everything: I miss him greatly, whether it is Father’s Day or not.

I took the liberty with this episode to repeat one of the things I did in Episode 008: I played a very small snippet for you all to hear my Dad tell a little bit of a story. It’s a memory that I will never forget. Not only because it involves us going to a baseball game. But because it was one of those weekend days that I spent one on one with my Dad. With 8 kids and a wife, you can guess how divided his free time was.

During this episode, I also thanked each and every one of my guests for their time and wished them all a Happy Father’s Day. Yes, I’m releasing this after Father’s Day this year. But we are all Dads every day of the year, right?

Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:

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Twitter: @DaddyUnscripted

Facebook: Daddy Unscripted

www.daddyunscripted.com

All music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey’s McGee.

You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.