Pop Culture Tonight with Patrick Phillips

Actor Andre Gower joins Patrick to discuss the cult classic “The Monster Squad” (1987) and his role as Sean Crenshaw — A die hard monster fanatic who leads his friends into action to protect their town from MONSTERS!

Michael Mallory is a writer on the subjects of animation and post-war pop culture, and the author of the books X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe, and this week we take a look at his book, Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror.

Austin Symphony Orchestra Conductor Peter Bay stops by to discuss the ASO’s upcoming “Symphony of Terror”– Music from your favorite horror movies!

Film Director & Podcast extraordinaire, Kevin Smith joins me to discuss the inspiration behind his latest film “Tusk”.

About Tusk: 

When podcaster Wallace Bryton goes missing in the backwoods of Manitoba while interviewing a mysterious seafarer named Howard Howe, his best friend Teddy and girlfriend Allison team with an ex-cop to look for him.

Broadway Choreographer Greg Zane discusses his work on ZACH Theatre’s “The King and I”

We go “Behind the Score” with Civilization IV composer, Christopher Tin to chat about his new album!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, co-creator Kevin Eastman joins me to discuss the turtles, their origins, personalities, and how a modern day kitchen tool became one of the greatest villains of all time!

We go ‘Behind the Score’ with Composer Michael Price, composer for the BBC series Sherlock, (with David Arnold).

Go Beyond The GREEN SLIME with Patrick as he explores the glory days of Nickelodeon featuring special guests Mathew Klickstein, Composer Edd Kalehoff, and Double Dare host, Marc Summers!

Double Dare Host, and (Food Network) Executive Producer, Marc Summers chats candidly about his experiences working on the popular game show, and reflects on his old network, Nickelodeon… Marc also discusses RESTAURANT IMPOSSIBLE and his newest show REWRAPPED on Food Network.

Edd Kalehoff has written well over 1,000 thematic compositions and his work includes the Emmy-award-winning theme for ABC’s Monday Night Football, themes for The Price is Right, ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, Nightline, The View and Nickelodeon Game Show… Double Dare… just to name a few… Edd explains his process on writing memorable and classic themes!

Author Mathew Klickstein chats about his new book “SLIMED! An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age”, the incredible story of Nickelodeon straight from those who made it happen. Whether you’ve always wondered if Sam ever fell out of Clarissa’s window, what the real story was behind Ren & Stimpy, how an entire network was built on kids-first entertainment, or you just want to relive some of your favorite television memories, it’s time to get Slimed!

As a solo artist and as the lead singer of the Babys and Bad English, John Waite was a fixture of album-oriented rock radio stations during the ’70s and ’80s.

Waite had a talent for power ballads and driving arena rock, occasionally touching on new wave-styled power pop as well. Though he didn’t consistently have hits, several of his songs — including “Missing You,” the Babys’“Isn’t It Time,” and Bad English’s “When I See You Smile”— became radio staples. John Waite formed the Babys in London, England in 1976 with Wally Stocker (guitar), Mike Corby (vocals, keyboards), and Tony Brock (drums).

Initially conceived as a teen pop band, the Babys earned a record contract based on the strength of a video demo they constructed with producer Mike Mansfield. Chrysalis pushed the band heavily, resulting in “Isn’t It Time” becoming a hit in the U.S. and U.K. in 1977. As their career progressed, the Babys began to experiment with synthesized, new wave-inspired power pop, which resulted in a handful of minor hits.

Jonathan Cain became the band’s keyboardist in 1978, and he and Waite developed a close relationship. When Cain left the Babys to join Journey in 1981, the group disbanded. Waite began his solo career the following year, releasing Ignition on Chrysalis. While the album generated the minor hit “Change,” his second album, 1984’s No Brakes, became a genuine Top Ten hit on the strength of the number one single “Missing You.” While “Missing You” was an international smash, eventually becoming one of the best-remembered songs of the early MTV era, No Brakes produced only one other hit, the Top 40 “Tears.” Its failure to produce another blockbuster was indicative of how Waite’s solo career would proceed.

Mask of Smiles (1985) barely managed a Top 40 entry (“Every Step of the Way”), but Rover’s Return (1987) produced no hits, bringing Waite’s career to a standstill. With his career stalled, Waite formed the supergroup Bad English with former Babys Jonathan Cain and Ricky Phillips (bass), ex-Journey guitarist Neal Schon, and drummer Deen Castronovo. The group’s eponymous debut, released in 1989 on Epic Records, became a platinum success after the power ballad “When I See You Smile” became a number one hit. “Price of Love” was a Top Ten hit in the wake of “When I See You Smile,” but their 1991 follow-up, Backlash, suffered from the lack of one.

Hilary Knight is a professional hockey player, Olympic Silver Medalist, MVP of the Canadian Women’s Professional hockey league, four-time World Champion and three-time All American in the sport of women’s hockey.

In 2010, Hilary Knight made her Olympic debut at age 20 in Vancouver as the youngest member of the US team where the team went on to take a Silver Medal.

Jim Breslin is a writer, storyteller and a former television producer who spent seventeen years with QVC, the world’s largest home shopping network.

Jim’s latest project is Shoplandia, a novel which gives a glimpse into the mayhem in the live television studios of the fictional home shopping network known as Shoplandia. Working in a live television studio can be a crazy experience, and when you add in reality TV stars, self-help gurus, and A-Team actors, it becomes a three-ring circus.

This is a novel told through stories, with perspectives from production assistants, show hosts, producers and a Marketing VP, that captures the spirit of the studio and shows the bonds that form under pressure in the workplace. Shoplandia launched in May, 2004.

Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Spider Man 2) stars as Andres Galan in the El Rey Network scripted original series “Matador” which premiered in July.

Created by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and produced in association with K/O Paper Products, the coveted writing/producing team behind Sleepy Hollow, Fringe, Star Trek and the Transformer franchise, “Matador” features Molina as Andrew Galan, a man who built his fortune in the telecom industry, but his true passion is soccer.

As owner of the ascendant LA Riot franchise, he is celebrated in both the sports and business worlds. But there is another world that he operates in — as a member of an elite group of powerful global players, ruthless individuals who can effect world events on a scale that one would never imagine.

What Galan doesn’t know is that there is a mole in his midst.  One of his new players, Tony Bravo, is actually an undercover operative, sent in to expose him and his cohorts. As Tony and Galan grow closer, the fate of their relationship may very well determine the fate of the world.

Brian Tyler is a composer and conductor of over 60 films and recently won Film Composer of the Year at the 2014 Cue Awards.  He is currently scoring “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”  Tyler also composed “Iron Man 3,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kingsley, as well as “Thor: The Dark World,” starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins.

He conducted the London Philharmonic at Abbey Road Studios for both films.  He also scored “Eagle Eye” for producer Steven Spielberg, and the box office hits “Fast Five” and “Fast & Furious” for director Justin Lin.  He was nominated for a 2014 BAFTA Award and was inducted into the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2010.

Dan Licht is the Composer of the Emmy Award winning show, Dexter, and hugely popular video games, Silent Hill and Dishonored. You may be surprised to know that knives, duct tape, wine glasses, saws, scissors, and even human bones have been used as instruments and recorded at his studio.

Rick Adams is an English television presenter and online radio DJ.

Justin Willman is an American magician, actor, comedian, and TV personality. The Guardian dubbed him as “some kind of variety Voltron with a comic flair that marks him out as the leader of the pack”.

He’s a regular guest on The Tonight Show, Ellen, and Chelsea Lately; and he hosts the shows Cupcake Wars on the Food Network and Win, Lose or Draw on the Disney Channel. He also tours regularly with a magic/comedy live show that Time Out says, “has to be seen to be disbelieved.”

Jeff Russo has become a prominent composer, songwriter and arranger in the film and television industry. Russo is currently composing music for two highly-anticipated television series: FX’s ten-episode limited series, FARGO, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Bob Odenkirk and Kate Walsh and Starz’s new original drama, POWER, from executive producer, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

He has just completed work on the feature film thriller, THE SURFACE, starring Sean Astin and Mimi Rogers and later this year, he is slated to begin work on the upcoming Wilt Chamberlain Biopic, WILT. In addition to composing music for film and television, Russo still plays music with his rock band. He is a founding member, lead guitarist and co-songwriter of two-time GRAMMY® nominated, multi-platinum selling rock band, TONIC.

Michael Rooker, (The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy) joins me to chat about working on the popular TV series, memories on set, and his own paranormal experiences. Patricia Bethune is also here to discuss the final season of True Blood, auditioning for her character, and what it was like working on MAD MEN!

Michael Rooker caught the acting bug while attending college, and began appearing in local stage productions. On first breaking into film, Michael’s intensity and “don’t-mess-with-me” good looks were highlighted to chilling effect as the title character in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), filmed in 1986 but due to its controversial nature, not released until 1990.

Since that widely noticed and highly praised performance, much of his career has been spent playing brutes, villains and psychopaths. His occasional turns as a “good guy”, however, are always well-acted and a welcome change for a talented actor too often typecast. Michael was cast as Merle Dixon in AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead, a role that earned him a large and loyal fanbase all over the world. Shortly after filming Season 3 was completed, he added his voice talents to Activision’s video game The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct.  In addition to the variety of film and television roles, Michael has done voiceover work for many popular video games and was cast as Yondu in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

You may know Patricia Bethune as “Dr. Edna Keener”on AMC’s Emmy winning drama Mad Men and as “Jane Bodehouse” on HBO’s monster hit, True Blood. Patricia has recurred and guest starred in over 50 projects in her now thriving second career. She seasoned her chops early on performing in everything from standup in local venues to murder mysteries to improv.