Rock 'n Roll Ghost

Welcome back to the Rock ‘n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor/filmmaker Jennifer Esposito about her role in Ray Romano’s Somewhere in Queens (now available to rent/buy on home video) and her feature film debut, Fresh Kills, which just debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. Esposito also made a surprise return to her role on CBS’ Blue Bloods in May.

Esposito discusses working with Romano on Somewhere in Queens, as well as her shocking role on Amazon’s The Boys. She also talks about writing and directing Fresh Kills and the hopes she has for its release. Fresh Kills, set in the 1980s, concerns the wife and two daughters of a Staten Island mob boss as they handle a life built by organized crime. The cast includes Esposito, Annabella Sciorra and Domenick Lombardozzi.

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Jennifer Esposito

Fresh Kills

Somewhere in Queens

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with musician Louise Post (Veruca Salt) about her newly released debut solo album, Sleepwalker, available via El Camino Records.

Post, who hails from Chicago and is one of the members of alt-rock icons Veruca Salt, discusses why now was the time to release her first solo album, how she worked with producer/musician Matt Drenik to shape the songs as well as the album’s tracks. She also gives a hint at her next musical project and talks about Veruca Salt’s past and future.

Links:

Louise Post

Purchase Louise Post’s Sleepwalker

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with musician Glen Phillips about his most recent solo album, There Is So Much Here, available via Compass Records, as well as coming back together with his bandmates in Toad the Wet Sprocket for a summer tour which is already underway (see dates below). Toad the Wet Sprocket also have a remastered greatest hits album out now, All You Want, featuring the bonus track “Best of Me.”

Phillips discusses recording his new solo album, touring solo, the pleasure of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s music resonating to this day and gives an overview of the band’s history, including the band’s breakup and regrouping. He and the Ghost also go down a rabbit hole about the modern political landscape and how society has coarsened over the last several years. Conservatives may be triggered.

Toad the Wet Sprocket Tour Dates:

JUN 20 / FAIRFIELD, CT @ The Warehouse

JUN 21 / NEWTON, NJ @ The Newton Theater

JUN 22 / CANADAIGUA, NY @ Lincoln Hill Farms (MP)^

JUN 23 / GLENSIDE, PA @ Keswick Theatre (MP)*

JUN 25 / KENT, OH @ The Kent Stage (MP)

JUN 26 / CINCINNATI, OH @ Taft Theatre (MP)

JUN 27 / KALAMAZOO, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Café (MP) (SOLD OUT)

JUN 28 / EVANSTON, IL @ Cahn Auditorium (MP)*

JUN 30 / BEAVER CREEK, CO @ Vilar Performing Arts Center

JUL 1 / TELLURIDE, CO @ Sheridan Opera House

JUL 2 / BELLVUE, CO @ The Mishawaka

JUL 3 / ARVADA, CO @ Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities

JUL 5 / OJAI, CA @ The Canyon @ The Libbey Bowl

JUL 6 / MENLO PARK, CA @ The Guild Theatre

JUL 7 / NOVATO, CA @ HopMonk Tavern (SOLD OUT)

JUL 8 / SACRAMENTO, CA @ Crest Theatre

JUL 11 / SPOKANE, WA @ Bing Crosby Theater

JUL 13 / FEDERAL WAY, WA @ Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center

JUL 14 / EDMONDS, WA @ Edmonds Center for the Arts

JUL 15 / PORTLAND, OR @ Revolution Hall

JUL 16 / BOISE, ID @ The Egyptian Theatre

JUL 18 / REDDING, CA @ Cascade Theater

JUL 19 / NOVATO, CA @ Hopmonk Tavern

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Glen Phillips

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with musician Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies (writer/guitarist) about the band’s latest release, Such Ferocious Beauty, which is available now via Cooking Vinyl.

Michael discusses the band’s origins, his working relationship with the band (which includes his sister Margo on lead vocals, brother Peter on drums and Alan Anton on bass) after decades together, how touring has changed for them in the past twenty years and how the new album came to be.

Links:
Cowboy Junkies

Purchase Cowboy Junkies’ Such Ferocious Beauty

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor Adrian Martinez about his role in Universal’s Dracula film, Renfield, which is in theaters and available digitally now.

Martinez, who is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, discusses how he prepared for the role in Renfield, where he plays a New Orleans policeman, by asking for advice from NOLA locals. He also talks about his relationship with the film’s star Nicholas Cage, as well as working with the film's other stars Nicholas Hoult and Awkwafina. New Orleans is also where Martinez filmed a good portion of the 2015 film Focus, which starred Will Smith and Margot Robbie and for which he was the third lead.

He also discusses his directorial debut, iGilbert, which is available now on digital and streaming and his upcoming role in a Netflix film about the creation of the infamous breakfast treat, Pop-Tarts.

“Some people walk into a room and you know they’re a star. And that’s me.”

Renfield is on digital and in theaters now.

Links:

Adrian Martinez

Renfield

iGilbert

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor John Hoogenakker about his role as Branch Davidian member Clive Doyle, the only member of the group to not be convicted in the wake of the events that transpired in Waco, TX in 1993.

Hoogenakker discusses how he got the role and what research he did to prepare for his role. He also touches on his connection to Waco: The Aftermatch star Michael Shannon, who he replaced in a stage version of Tracey Letts' Killer Joe and knew from actor circles while living in Chicago. Hoogenakker talks about his time in Chicago and how he got into DePaul University.

Waco: The Aftermath is streaming now on Paramount+.

Links:

John Hoogenakker

Waco: The Aftermath

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with filmmaker Tim Bogart (Spinning Gold). Tim is the son of Casablanca Records co-founder Neil Bogart and Spinning Gold tells his father’s bold and wild story in the music business, warts and all. Casablanca was home to Donna Summers, KISS, Parliament-Funkadelic and the Village People to name a few of the hugely successful artists on the label.

Tim discusses staying true to who his father was, even if that meant tackling his legacy accurately - good or bad. Spinning Gold was originally going to be a Broadway show, but shifted to a film that, at one point, was going to star Justin Timberlake as Neil. He also touches on working with his siblings to get the film to the screen.

Spinning Gold is in theaters now.

Links:

Spinning Gold

Tim Bogart

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, All Creatures Here Below, Dune, Blade Runner 2049, Prisoners, the Ant-Man series, Animals, The Dark Knight) about his most currently-in-release projects. Those would be his role in 20th Century Studios’ Boston Strangler, available now on Hulu. As well as the second volume in his Count Crowley graphic novel series.

Dastmalchian discusses his love of all things horror and how he displays his horror artwork across his home with the help of his wife, Eve. Additionally, he gives some insight into his role in Boston Strangler as the lead suspect Albert Salvo.

He also dives into how important the city of Chicago played in his life. From going to DePaul University to his time at the Shattered Globe Theatre (which he’s hoping to collaborate with again soon), to his beginning in acting. Specifically, he discusses his pivotal role as one of the Joker’s thugs in Chrisopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. It’s one of the most indelible short appearance by an actor I have ever seen and Dastmalchian’s performance in it has led to a lot of interest from other major filmmakers such as James Gunn and Denis Villeneuve.

He reunites with Nolan in this summer’s Oppenheimer. Additionally, he’s working on a third volume of Count Crowley, as well as making appearances in the Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman this summer and Last Voyage of the Demeter, which draws its inspiration on the Transylvania to England voyage of Dracula.

Count Crowley is available at your local comic book store and Boston Strangler is currently available on Hulu.

Photo of David Dastmalchian by Nicholas Chalmers

Links:

David Dastmalchian Instagram

Count Crowley from Dark Horse Comics

Boston Strangler on Hulu

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor Roman Zaragoza about his role on the hit CBS sitcom, Ghosts.

Zaragoza discusses his role as the deceased Native American Sasappis, and how his own Native American ancestry comes into play in the role. He also talks about the difficult road he has had being someone multi-cultural and how he always wants to not play a stereo-typical ethnicity and his work with charitable organizations such as Outlast Arts & Education.

Ghosts airs on CBS every Thursday at 8:30 EST / 7:30 CST. Episodes can also be viewed on Paramount+.

Links:

Roman Zaragoza Instagram

CBS’ Ghosts

Outlast Arts & Education

Welcome back to the Rock 'n Roll Ghost Podcast. On this week's episode, the Ghost speaks with actor Adam Goldberg (Saving Private Ryan, Dazed and Confused) about his role on CBS’ The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah. On the show, a remake of the 80s hit series (which begat two successful films starring Denzel Washington), Goldberg stars as Harry Keshegian, a computer hacker working with Latifah’s character Robyn McCall to help people in desperate situations.

Goldberg, who is also a musician, photographer and filmmaker, discusses taking on the role and having to make a snap decision about moving to New York for filming during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. He gets into who Harry is and how he’s been able to work with the role since joining the series.

The conversation also turns into a look at his filmmaking and music career, before diving into his roles in Dazed and Confused and Saving Private Ryan. Goldberg gives an in-depth look into filming his agonizing death scene in Saving Private Ryan as well as the recent passing of Tom Sizemore, his co-star in the film.

The most recent episode of The Equalizer (season 3, episode 11) features Goldberg in a larger role as he deals with being a Jewish man amid a series of anti-Semitic attacks that the team is investigating. He stated the following on Instagram about this episode: “As you know, my day job doesn’t often make the grid. But tonight on @theequalizercbs I punch a Nazi—not for the first time in the public realm, but perhaps most relevantly. No longer the stuff of WWII movies and evil Santas, you only need to google hate crime stats to discover that the antisemitic variety is second only to those perpetrated against gay men in the United States.”

The Equalizer airs on CBS on Sundays at 8 PM EST/7 PM CST, and on Paramount+ the day after.

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Adam Goldberg 

The Equalizer