Rock 'n Roll Ghost

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor Penelope Ann Miller about her role as Nancy Reagan in the film Reagan (which is in theaters now).

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor/author/filmmaker Nick Searcy, who appears as James Burke (former Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan) in the film Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as Reagan and Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan (check the shows for my interview with Miller).

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with Michael Muser, director of operations and co-owner of Chicago's two Michelin-starred restaurant Ever.

Muser discusses his and Ever's executive chef/co-owner Curtis Duffy's relationship, which stretches back to their time at Avenues at The Peninsula, moving to Grace (both restaurants are no more, but were highly rated, Grace ended its run with three Michelin stars) and then opening Ever during the pandemic.

He also talks about how important service is to him and Duffy, the restaurant's feature placement on the hit FX series The Bear, and the things that are most important to him.

Links:

Michael Muser

Ever

Ever reservations on Tock

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with filmmaker Jennifer Phang about the hit Disney original movie Descendants: The Rise of Red (currently on Disney+ and hitting The Disney Channel on August 08th). The Rise of Red is the highest rated original movie premiere on the streaming service.

Phang (pronounced Pong) discusses how she and her team worked to ensure that this fourth installment of the Descendants franchise would be a true crowd pleaser. She also talks about her career in independent film (Half-Life, Advantageous), TV work (The Boys, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), as well as the movies made by Asian filmmakers that inspired her to become a filmmaker.

Descendants: The Rise of Red is streaming now on Disney+ and coming to The Disney Channel on August 08th.

Links:

Jennifer Phang

Descendants: The Rise of Red

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with current James Beard nominee Jenner Tomaska chef and co-owner of Micheline starred restaurant Esme in Chicago.

Tomaska, who got his start working under notable chefs like Erick Williams, Dave Beran and Grant Achatz, opened Esme with his wife Katrina Bravo during the pandemic and has gone on to receive immense critical acclaim.

He discusses Esme's fusion of food and art (the restaurant collaborates with local artists to shape their menus), where he came from and how he got to where he is now.

Links:

Esme

Jenner Tomaska

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with filmmaker Michael John Warren about his new Paramount+ docuseries Lolla: The Story of Lollpalooza which chronicles the creation and evolution of the music festival created by Perry Farrell.

Warren discusses his history of going to that first groundbreaking Lollapalooza, which included Jane's Addiction, Ice-T, Siouxsie & the Banshees and Nine Inch Nails. He also talks about the unique pleasure of interviewing artists he has revered for decades. Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza is airing now on Paramount+

Links:

Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza

Michael John Warren

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with Bear McCreary about his new concept album, graphic novel and future tour (with a preview performance at the Fonda Theatre on May 12th), The Singularity.

McCreary, who you may know for his scoring work on The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Foundation and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, started work on The Singularity all the way back when he was a teenager.

The Singularity features a wide variety of guests including Rufus Wainwright, Slash (Guns 'n Roses), Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Joe Satriani, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) as well as his brother Brendan McCreary on vocals across the album.

Actors Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead) and Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, Black Panther) provide spoken word pieces as well.

McCreary also discusses how he was connected with the late, great composer Elmer Bernstein as a young musician just starting out and disucsses becoming Bernstein's protege.

The Singularity is out Friday, May 03rd digitally and on May 10th on CD & vinyl. The graphic novel is out via Image Comics on May 08th. See The Singularity performed live on May 12th at the Fonda Theatre (links for all below).

Bear McCreary Site

Purchase The Singularity on CD & vinyl

Purchase / Listen to The Singularity digitally

See Bear McCreary and guests perform The Singularity on May 12th at the Fonda Theatre

Purchase The Singularity graphic novel via Image Comics

Benson talks about the making of the film, from the writing stage to filming during Covid and getting it released. He also takes time to discuss his work on Marvel's Black Widow and what his experience was.

The Greatest Hits is streaming now on Hulu.

Links:

Ned Benson Instagram

The Greatest Hits on Hulu

Manion talks about how Brasero came to be and what diners can expect when visiting. The restaurant has strong ties to South American cuisine, cocktails and wines. Manion lived in South American as a child and has always had strong ties to the cuisine across his years as a chef.

Links:

Brasero - https://www.braserochicago.com/

El Che Steakhouse & Bar - https://www.elchechicago.com/

John Manion Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/juanmanjuan/

Brasero Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/braserochicago/?hl=en

El Che Steakhouse & Bar Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elchechicago/

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with musician Shannon Larkin, drummer for the hard rock band Godsmack.

Larkin discusses the band's upcoming Vibez Tour, which is making a stop at the Hard Rock Casino in Gary, IN (in addition to many other venues) and how this tour is different from the band's last coast-to-coast trek through America. The band will be performing acoustically and lead singer Sully Erna will tell some stories about the band and the songs played.

Things take a bit of a political turn as Larkin and the Ghost discuss situations going on in the country. And, despite disagreeing on some issues, they prove that people can respectfully disagree on these issues.

Check out this interesting interview and look in the links section for how to find out more about Godsmack and their tour.

Links:

Godsmack Official

Godsmack Vibez Tour

Shannon Larkin Instagram

Shannon Larkin X