Exploring the Energy with Anzo & Friends

Recently, on a glorious Friday afternoon in lower Manhattan, my lifelong friend Kerry Irvine and I sat together in her art studio on the 80th floor of 3 World Trade Center.  The 360 degree views were as stunning as Kerry’s collection of paintings that adorn the walls of the 31,000 square foot space that she occupies.

Although we only needed 2 folding chairs, a table and my microphones to capture our conversation, on this particular day we were lucky enough to have the entire floor to ourselves.  There was, indeed, great energy in the room.

For those who know Kerry, they know she lost her younger sister Kristy on 9/11 in the South Tower.  Today, her studio overlooks the memorial and Kristy Irvine-Ryan is engraved into stone opposite the entrance of 3 WTC.  What many people may not know, however, is that Kerry also lost her mother Marie Antoinette (“Toni”) to Stage 4 ovarian cancer at just 56 years old.  Kerry swears she feels Toni and Kristy’s presence with every stroke of her brush.

Fast forward to January of 2025, the family suffered yet another loss when Kerry’s brother-in-law, Dennis, died after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer.  Dennis was just 60 years old.

Suffice it to say, the Irvine family has experienced its fair share of grief over the years.  Yet despite these losses, Kerry channels Toni, Kristy, and Dennis’ love and energy into her abstract expressionist artwork.  From this layman’s untrained eye, I see a masterpiece in each and every painting and I encourage everyone to explore her work  kerryirvinefineart.com

On the lighter side and on the subject of music… I learned Kerry is a diehard Who fan (well…she loves Roger Daltrey’s hair but that still counts), Stones lover, Fleetwood Mac fan, and she even had a blind date at a Grateful Dead show at Madison Square Garden.  Who knew?!

Most of all, on this beautiful afternoon Kerry and I shared memories of our loved ones, and we agreed that their collective energy and love is alive and well, today and always.

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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To know Chris Reilly is to love him.  And he is most certainly loved by so many and considered family to so many, especially to the Staib family.  As my girls like to say, "Mr Reilly is my favorite".  And thanks to Chris, I've had the good fortune to know his sister, Karen, who I now consider a friend too!

It being October - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - at the time of the interview, Karen shares her story about how Chris and Karen lost their mother Nancy to breast cancer when she was just 51 years old, and how Karen was diagnosed at 29 with breast cancer, and beat it.  #rockstar.  In the theme of compassion and facing adversity, we invited my lifelong friend, Bonnie Williamson, to kick off the interview by sharing the story of Pink Aid www.pinkaid.org and its mission to raise funds to provide compassionate support and critical services to underserved breast cancer patients.  Thank you, Bonnie, and god bless you for all that you do for Pink Aid and for the women it supports.

Karen and Chris exemplify what love and friendship, and true courage, really means.  They are, undoubtedly, two peas in a pod, and this episode is one for the books.

Join us, and let's see where the energy takes us!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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As of the date of this interview with the Joe Faria Sr & Jr father-son duo and my nephew TJ Staib, the Faria & Staib connection runs 14+ years deep between Joe Jr and TJ, over 36 years deep with Joe Sr, and over 40+ years with Joe Sr's wife,  Danielle (Saladino) Faria, and me.  Safe to say we all go way back!

It was an honor to have this trio in the studio for a look back at their respective journeys at Chaminade High School and to learn about how Chaminade alum garner respect simply by having the name "Chaminade" on their resume.  I also learned that not only were the three of them were proud Flyers, but so were Joe Sr's three brothers.  That's a LOT of Faria & Staib Flyers!

On to music...we covered how the trio collectively gravitates to the likes of Mac Miller, Megadeth, Goo Goo Dolls, and in the case of Joe Sr, Donna Summer.  Yup, you heard it first here people on Exploring the Energy, Joe Faria "loves" Donna Summer's Last Dance.  Who knew?!

And lastly, for those that may wonder why The 5th Dimension's classic hit "Aquarius" kicked off the episode?  You'll have to ask Joe himself for the backstory!

So join us, and let's see where the energy takes us!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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What a treat gathering this tribe to celebrate Jerry Garcia’s birthday at the iconic Greek Theater in Berkeley, California with Dark Star Orchestra. And gathering this tribe was no small feat, with my guests and I representing California, South Carolina, New York, and Hawaii, all under one roof (and later in one very cramped Uber)!

The episode is recorded in two segments. First, with fellow Canterbury Saint, Paul “Pablo” Bauer and his better half, Rachel “Rāche” Whitley, our host & fellow Saint, Hollister “Paco” Keville, and my concert wingwoman and oldest daughter, Hannah Staib.

Pablo and Rachel lead the conversation out of the gate with their thoughts on our collective early days “getting on the bus” in the mid-80’s. Decades later, they met and discover their mutual love of The Grateful Dead and ultimately their love for each other, realizing that they were, in fact, true soulmates.

We wrap up the “first set” of the interview by recapping a few highlights from Night 1 at The Greek, and we round out the episode en route to Night 2 with cameo appearances by Cary Platkin, Jad (not-to-be-confused-with “Jed”) Dunning, and Hannah Staib and a few predictions for the show to come.  It was quite a ride, in more ways than one!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Franklins Tower https://music.apple.com/us/album/franklins-tower-live/291317313?i=291317359

Fire on the Mountain https://music.apple.com/us/album/fire-on-the-mountain-live/291317313?i=291317362

Call Me the Breeze https://music.apple.com/us/album/call-me-the-breeze/672720304?i=672720451

Cold Rain & Snow https://music.apple.com/us/album/cold-rain-and-snow-live-at-fenway-park-boston-ma-6-25-23/1724866648?i=1724866652

Scarlet Begonias https://music.apple.com/us/album/scarlet-begonias-live-at-barton-hall-cornell-university/1204914175?i=1204914243

That’s it for the Other One https://music.apple.com/us/album/thats-it-for-the-other-one-cryptical-envelopment/1374273019?i=1374273412

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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What an honor to have the McAuley patriarch Alec "Big Al" McAuley and his two sons, Sean & Tim, in the studio for a trip down memory lane about music, sports and sports legends, and most of all, about love & family.

The spotlight was on Big Al by design, and he did not disappoint.  He brings us back to his life growing up the eldest of 10 children, playing high school basketball with Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and his connection with the one-and-only Henry "Hank" Aaron.  He tells the story of baby Sean arriving four weeks early and how he and the love of his life, Jane, delivered Sean in their apartment with the help of their Italian landlady.  “Here a-comes-tha-baby!”

Fast forward to present day, Big Al and Jane just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary only a few short weeks ago.  Congratulations you two lovebirds!

Sean and Tim take us back to their glory days on and off the football and baseball fields at Cornell Big Red in the late '80's.  The McAuley brothers each share their perspectives on why music matters, and why it matters so much to the entire McAuley family.

Join us, and let's see where the energy takes us!

Swingtown music.apple.com/us/album/swingtown/1440842616?i=1440842907

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar youtube.com/shorts/xtXXTvmSHrQ?si=…

Hank Aaron youtube.com/shorts/…?si=…

Here We Go Again open.spotify.com/track/…?si=87cc639f14434732

Blackbird / Isabella McAuley (4 years old)

Cotton Fields (Sean, Tim, Big Al, and yours truly)

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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After a brief hiatus, it's great to be back!

I'm joined by my friend Matt “Pooch” Kiernan and his band of brothers - Bernie “Bonzo” Kiernan (his actual brother), Scott “Deece” DeSimone, and Gary “needs-a-nickname” Catania.

Matt and I recently become fast friends through our mutual love of music, our love of our family, our passion for golf, and a new shared friendship with his brother and their two closest friends of over 50 years.  I'm honored to call them all my friends now.

Matt is my co-pilot in this interview and he helps us navigate our way through the late 70’s to the present with recollections of having to choose between disco and polyester suits, or rock n’ roll.  Each of the guys have similar but unique perspectives on which music mattered, and why.  Their tastes ultimately spanning the likes of U2, The Clash, Matchbox Twenty, and…. wait for it….. Twisted Sister.

We close with tributes to those we lost along the way, and we pay tribute to their legacy and to the love they still bless us all with today.

Join us, and let's see where the energy takes us!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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This one-on-one conversation was a while in the making, and so well worth the wait. 

Being a longtime customer of Grateful Fred and a fellow Deadhead, I’m honored to have hosted the founder of what I consider to be one of the premier Grateful Dead product producers in the country, Grateful Fred, Stephen McMennamy - https://grateful-fred.com/collections/badges 

The episode is in no way intended to be an “infomercial” for either Grateful Fred or the podcast (I invited Stephen to be my guest, no strings attached), but more so it’s my way of sharing the story of a true entrepreneur, his love for the Grateful Dead, and how his passion to fuel his creative energy has reached new heights that he never dreamed possible. 

Last but not least…. who is Fred anyway?  Tune in. You won’t be disappointed :)

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Grateful Fred

St Stephen 4.27.71

Tweezer 2.28.02

Wondering

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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My friend, John Macario, returns to the show and we pick up right where we left off back in late 2024 when he first shared his amazing story. 

It’s been 19 months since John lost the love of his life and fellow Deadhead, Meg, at age 52 to complications following a liver transplant.  We catch up on how he and their 12-year old daughter, Gloria, are doing facing the world together as the dynamic duo.  John shares how single parenting is going, and how every now and again he gets out to fuel his soul with live music, including the likes of Bulgarina-American pianist, Kristina Marinova.  Marinova’s recent solo release, The Bus Came By and I Got On, is unlike any Grateful Dead music that I have ever heard before and is a must-listen.

In honor of our beloved Bobby “Ace” Weir, John insists that we tune into NPR’s Tiny Desk with Bob Weir & Wold Brothers, where Mikaela Davis sits in on harp. Their rendition of Birdsong is simply magical and instantly transports the listener with its first few notes. 

We wrap up with John’s story of Gloria’s early love of Jerry Garcia, and how at just 5 years old she became attached to Jerry Garcia Band’s 1980 rendition of After Midnight.  “More Jerry, Dad!”  How cool is THAT, I mean really.

Finally, John reveals for the first time how he got the nickname I never knew even existed - “Spiff”!

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Morning Dew / Kristina Marinova
Smells Like Teen Spirit / Nirvana
Please Don't Bury Me / John Prine
Birdsong / Wolf Bros
I Know You Rider / Grateful Dead
After Midnight / JGB

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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In Part II of the continuing celebration of Bobby Weir and his life well-lived, I’m joined by lifelong Deadheads, Ted “The” Bahr and Paul “Nud” Schmitz.  Nud kicks off the conversation by sharing his thoughts on Bobby’s one-of-a-kind “rhythmic-lead” style, and how this unique approach to the guitar was unlike any rhythm guitarist.  We walk through the early days in the mid-60’s when, as Nud puts it, Bobby “couldn’t play very well, and couldn’t sing very well either” through his mastery of the axe by the early and mid-70’s.

Ted brings his Top 20 Bobby Songs to the table for discussion and debate (similar to a recent “spirited conversation” that I had on The Great Debate episode The Great Debate ) acknowledging that some songs on the list aren’t technically Bobby songs at all.  Being a self-described “picky Deadhead”, he’s unafraid to admit which songs he’s heard enough of and which Bobby songs still give him joy with each listen today.

Join us once again, as we celebrate the well-lived life of Bobby “Ace” Weir, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Bobby
Easy Wind
Passenger
Brother Esau
Feel Like a Stranger
The Other One

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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Bobby Weir - October 16th, 1947 - January 10th, 2026

This one hurts, and feels very much like the closing of a chapter.  Yet at the same time, we CELEBRATE.  We celebrate the amazing life of founding member of the Grateful Dead, Bobby Weir, and we kick off with two lifelong Deadheads - both previous podcast guests - Tim “Tmac” McGuire and Kevin “Camp” Campion.  

Tim leads the way, recalling his early days admiring Bobby’s peaceful energy, his kindness, and lightly poking fun at his Daisy Duke short shorts, purple Polo’s, ponytail, tennis sneakers, and half-calf socks.  We talk about how we tend to learn more about those we love after we lose them.  And Tmac reminds us of the “SAY YES, DON’T WAIT” motto that he and I live by, and why that mindset matters.

In the second half of the episode, Kevin, brings us back to how Bobby tackled Bob Dylan songs without missing a word, yet would somehow forget a lyric in staples like Truckin’, and he reminds us of Bobby’s philanthropy, his humility, and his spirit.  

Join us, as we celebrate the life of Bobby “Ace” Weir, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

Hell in a Bucket 09.12.87 Cap Center

Hell in a Bucket reprise 09.12.87 Cap Center

Sugar Mags 03.21.86            

Join us, and let’s see where the energy takes us!

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