Reliving My Youth

Noel catches up with John Thomas Griffith, the lead singer of Red Rockers. The punk band released their first album, Guns of Revolution, in 1979. They found mainstream success with their hit single, China, off of their Good as Gold album in 1983. They toured with the likes of The Clash, U2, Joan Jett, Men at Work and B-52s. After the band broke up, JTG released an amazing solo album, Son of an Engineer, in 1988. He then went on, alongside Fred Leblanc, to form Cowboy Mouth.  The New Orleans-based band had a big hit in 1992 with Jenny Says. Cowboy Mouth is still going strong today. Red Rockers released their first official live album, It's in Our Blood, earlier this year. The concert is available on Blu-ray, vinyl LP, and CD. Red Rockers are playing a reunion show on Nov. 14 at Tipitina's in their hometown of New Orleans.

Noel catches up with Robin Curtis. It's never easy to replace an established character in a movie franchise, but that's what Robin did when she replaced Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. Robin discusses getting the role and working with Leonard Nimoy. Robin returned in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in an albeit reduced role. She explains why. Decades later, she returned as Saavik in the 2024 short film, 765875 - Unification. Robin guest starred in the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter, "Gambit." She remembers both Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart, who we both lost last week.

Noel catches up with Christopher Atkins. The actor is best known for his starring roles in The Blue Lagoon and The Pirate Movie. The Blue Lagoon made him an international star and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Richard Lestrange. Atkins reunited with Brooke Shields in an episode of her television series, Suddenly Series.  The actor had a hit song, "How Can I live Without Her," from The Pirate Movie.  He had a recurring role as swimming instructor Peter Richards on Dallas.  He starred alongside Lesley Ann Warren in the film, A Night in Heaven, directed by John G. Avildsen. His performance earned him a Golden Raspberry Award. Christopher talks about being typecasted as "the shirtless guy." He also performed on Circus With The Stars and appeared in Playgirl.  We discussed his first horror film, the 1990 movie, Shakma, co-starring Roddy McDowall. Filmmaker David Lynch called Shakma his favorite film of 1990.

Noel catches up with Thomas G. Waites. The actor is best known for playing Windows in John Carpenter's The Thing. Carpenter recently made headlines once again regarding the ending of the 1982 movie. Tom gives his theory regarding who was "The Thing" at the end of the movie. He also played Fox in The Warriors. Tom discussed the tension on the set with director Walter Hill which ultimately led to his firing. He had a recurring role on HBO's prison drama, Oz. Tom wrote and directed his first movie, the 2023 dark comedy, Target. Tom also runs his own acting school (TGW Acting Studio). The actor is also an accomplished musician, performing with his band, Heartbreak Waites.

Noel catches up with Christopher Darga. The actor is best known for his voice-over role as the Kenny Blankenship, a commentator on the show, Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC). The show was the inspiration for Wipeout. Chris played "the driver" in the Seinfeld episode, The Lip Reader, where he catches Elaine hearing. He also had a memorable appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Chris guest-starred on three Star Trek series, twice playing a Klingon. He appeared in the first episode of HBO's Deadwood. Chris had roles in The Hudsucker Proxy, Bruce Almighty and Dude, Where's My Car? He talks about working with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the drama, Aftermath. Chris appeared as one of the Vikings in the Capital One commercials. Chris is also an accomplished sculptor and painter. (@christopherdargafineart)

Noel catches up with Lisa Mende. The actress is best known for her recurring role as Carol on Seinfeld. Carol was one of the very few female recurring Seinfeld characters. She kept insisting that the group come out to see her baby. "You gotta see the baby." Two different actors played Carol's husband, Lisa explains why. She reveals why she didn't appear in Curb Your Enthusiasm. Lisa played Bill Murray's mother in Scrooged. She talks about her experience making the film. Lisa played a casting director in Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle. She also had a memorable cameo in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Lisa moved to Athens, Georgia and opened up a vintage clothing store.

Noel catches up with Dedee Pfeiffer. She starred in the cult classic comedy- horror film, Vamp, and The Allnighter, also starring Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. She had a memorable role in the Whammyburger scene in Falling down, starring Michael Douglas. On television, she starred as Cybill Shepherd's daughter in Cybil. Dedee has guest roles on Friends and "The Opposite" episode of Seinfeld , where George picks up her character in the coffee shop. She took a break from acting for almost a decade while battling addiction. During that time, she earned her master's degree in social work and worked in the field. Dedee returned to television in 2020 on the ABC show, Big Sky.

Noel catches up with Tom Gallop. The actor played Alan Mercer, "the bad breaker-upper," on the Seinfeld episode, "The Andrea Doria." Tom, alongside Dan Cortese (Tony the "Mimbo"), participated at Seinfeld Night for the Brooklyn Cyclones this summer. He discusses his first pitch. Tom had a recurring role as Rob on Will and Grace. He portrayed Tom Cronin in the Bourne film franchise. Currently, he owns the Beverly Hills Teuscher chocolate boutique in California.

It's our 400th episode! Noel catches up with Lisa Arch. The actress/comedian is best known for her recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm as Cassie the wife of Larry's cousin, Andy, played by Richard Kind. Lisa also had a guest-starring role on Seinfeld as Connie, Kramer's girlfriend. She was on MAD TV, one her characters included Susan Whitfield and spoofing Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette. She was featured on the Comedy Central show Crank Yankers as the voice of Cammie. Recently, she appeared on Larry David's Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.

Noel catches up with Hal Rayle. As an Emmy-nominated voiceover artist, Hal has created thousands of characters, everyone from The Predator to Miss Piggy. Hal has voiced multiple Transformers, including the Dinobot, Snarl and The Insecticon, Shrapnel. Transformers: The Movie is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. Hal discusses its legacy and as well as the passing of Peter Cullen, who voiced Optimus Prime. Hal also voiced Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther 90's cartoon, Deep Six on G.I. Joe and so many more!