Talkin‘ the Talk With Don

In 2021, I was introduced to a great new Swedish psych rock band, Nephila. My buddy Jacob, who plays in Children of the Sun, is also one of the founding members of Nephila, so thanks to him, I found a new favorite band.

I recently had the great pleasure of speaking with founding member/vocalist Josephine Asker and new co-vocalist Linn Edlund. I had a great time talking to these ladies about the music of Nephila, how the band came to be, the concept of writing based on the old folklore of their heritage, and much more!

For more on Nephila, check out https://nephilamusic.com/.

In my over 15 years of being a music journalist/writer, I have been so lucky to make some truly amazing friends within the industry.  Gail Worley is without a doubt one of those great, amazing friends.  I remember Gail's awesome pieces that would appear in Metal Edge Magazine as well as Modern Drummer (which I read even though I wasn't a drummer).  All these years later, Gail and I got connected via out good friend Keefy (Ghost Cult Magazine.)

While not writing in the music world any more, Gail is still very active with her long running blog, The Worley Gig which covers all things awesome in and around NYC where she resides.  Gail is such a killer person and I was so excited to have her as a guest on my podcast to bond over our stories of working with "rockstars" and doing for the sheer love of "the trophy."  

Enjoy, y'all!

Drummer, pianist, lyricist, artist, and whatever else you can imagine is what makes up the life of legendary former Scorpions drummer, Herman Rarebell.  Since leaving the Scorpions in 1996, Herman Zee German has been a busy so and so.  Never one to sit still, Herman has returned in 2025 with a new release called What About Love as Herman Rarebell and Friends.

It was such an honor speaking with such a legendary, iconic artist and he couldn't have been more amazing.  We talked about the new album and why he chose to cover his favorite '80s songs.  We also talked about the Scorpions now legendary performances at the 1984 US Festival and the 1989 Moscow Music Peace Festival. It was just such a great conversation and I hope y'all enjoy this one.  

In 1988, a friend of mine showed up at my house with a cassette and said, "Dude, you need to hear this song."  He put on the LA Guns debut album and played me the song "Electric Gypsy" and I loved it.  I picked up the album and played it until the tape was almost clear.  LA Guns has been at it for 40 years.  With 15 studio albums, 10 live releases, and countless videos, LA Guns, in 2025, is surely not going anywhere anytime soon.  

I had a chance to talk to LA Guns guitarist/songwriter/founding member Tracii Guns and I couldn't have had a better time.  We talked about the new album, being dorks in school, and our mutual love and admiration for Poison guitarist CC DeVille.  This was a lot of fun and I hope y'all enjoy it!!!

40 years is a long time to do anything but breathe but Hollywood sleaze rock icons LA Guns have been at it for that long.  The only standing original member is guitarist/songwriter Tracii Guns and I was stoked to have the chance to talk with him recently from his Hollywood home.  

Tracii is a hilariously humble human being and as smart as they come.  I had a great time bonding with him about being dorks in high school, our mutual love for Poison's CC DeVille, and how a band makes a 90 minute setlist with 40 years of material under their belts.  

This was a fun one and!  

Enjoy, y'all!

Check out my Patreon for some cool extras, including exclusive content not heard/seen by anyone but me. Your support is what keeps this podcast independent, so any and all support is greatly appreciated.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/talkingthetalk

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GHOST CULT MAG LINKS: https://linktr.ee/ghostcultmag

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Keef is one of my closest pals. He's an amazing journalist, an amazing podcast host, and he's a huge inspiration to me and has been for nearly 12 years. This is a do-over of a lost interview form last year, so better late than never! We talked about Ghost Cult, being a journalist, the stresses of it all, and why it is that we're insane enough to do this stuff as our passions!

In 2019, I stumbled upon a young band out of Sweden called Children of the Sun.  Their debut album Flowers knocked me out with it's flower power Jesus Christ Superstar like qualities.  It was a beautiful album and I was a fan immediately.  Since then, Children of the Sun has grown personally and creatively.  They have performed countless live shows all over Europe and they continue to shoot for the moon. 

I have been friends with guitarist/songwriter Jacob Hellenrud for some time now and I FINALLY convinced him to be on the podcast after all these years.  Speaking English isn't his favorite thing to do but he made it his favorite thing for an hour or so just to talk to me.  We talked about the weird way Americans measure things, the growth of the band, his solo material, and the band's new album Leaving Ground, Greet the End. 

For more on Children of the Sun, head over to https://www.facebook.com/Childrenofthesuun

In 2019, I stumbled upon a young band out of Sweden called Children of the Sun.  Their debut album Flowers knocked me out with it's flower power Jesus Christ Superstar like qualities.  It was a beautiful album and I was a fan immediately.  Since then, Children of the Sun has grown personally and creatively.  They have performed countless live shows all over Europe and they continue to shoot for the moon. 

I have been friends with guitarist/songwriter Jacob Hellenrud for some time now and I FINALLY convinced him to be on the podcast after all these years.  Speaking English isn't his favorite thing to do but he made it his favorite thing for an hour or so just to talk to me.  We talked about the weird way Americans measure things, the growth of the band, his solo material, and the band's new album Leaving Ground, Greet the End. 

For more on Children of the Sun, head over to https://www.facebook.com/Childrenofthesuun

Thanks for checking out the first episode of my On and Off the Records segment. This is where I will be joined by friends (and sometimes even members of the band of the said album) and talk about the history of the album, comments, and reviews, and finally revisit the album track by track.

To kick it all off, we'll dive into $1.99 Romances by '90s Jam Band Legends God Street Wine. Joining me as guests are none other than Lo Faber and Aaron Maxwell of God Street Wine.

This is a first for this Podcast. This time around, my good friend/fellow podcaster Nik Cameron of the Glacially Musical Pouredcast got together with zero time notice to talk about the "Final" Black Sabbath/Ozzy appearance on July 5, 2025, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. As usual, Nik patiently dealt with my ADHD-ranting brain and did a great job wrangling us back on target. This was fun, this was different, and this was the first of many!

For the news/wordy side of things: https://www.southeastofheaven.com

For ridiculous pix and viny stuff:   / southeastofheaven  

Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/dond

Check out Glacially Musical Pouredcast: https://www.youtube.com@glaciallymusical355