Talkin‘ the Talk With Don

Back in 2001 or so, I was in shitty club in Charlotte, NC to see a little band that was about to break huge called Train.  Their opening act that night was a brand new act called Five For Fighting.  I had never heard one chord from them but after their powerful 45 minute set, I had the shirt, the CD, and a new band that I loved.  Like many fans of music, sometime after their 2006 release Two Lights I lost touch with them. 

After hearing Ondrasik's 2022 song for the Ukrainian people, "Can One Man Save the World," my interest and love for his songwriting was rekindled.  Getting the chance to talk to John Ondrasik was a real treat and he couldn't have been a sweeter, kinder person.  We bonded over our love of good ol' classic rock, the art of songwriting, and our mutual admiration of the Laurel Canyon folk scene of the '60s and '70s. 

Enjoy, y'all!

At 34 years of age, guitarist/songwriter Nili Brosh has lived the life of 10 guitarists.  Since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2009, Nili has performed with legends in the truest since of the word.  Shrapnel guitar legend Tony MacAlpine, former Nevermore and current Arch Enemy guitarist Jeff Loomis, drummer Marco Minneman, and bassist Stu Hamm just to name a few.

Nili has also been a part of Danny Elfman's band, the guitarist for Cirque Du Soleil's Michael Jackson ONE, and as part of the cartoon based metal gods, Dethklok. 

Obviously, Nili is a VERY busy person and I was lucky enough that she took the time out of her busy schedule to talk to a dreg like myself.  Nili is a kind, funny, and super talented person and I loved talking to her about why sometimes being called a "shredder" can be annoying, how being called a "female guitarist" is also not a term of endearment, and other things. 

To check out more on Nili, head to hear website www.nilibrosh.com

Enjoy, y'all. 

Since I first heard them in 1992, Ugly Kid Joe has been a favorite band of mine.  Regardless of the shit I got from friends and others about my fandom for UKJ, much like them, I lived unapologetically as a lifelong fan from beginning until, well, now. 

2022 saw Ugly Kid Joe releasing their stellar seventh album, Rad Wings of Destiny and just when I thought shit couldn’t get any better, Ugly Kid Joe announced their first North American tour in nearly 27 years.  The minute they went on sale, I threw my money at Ticketmaster without any ifs, ands, or butts.

Ugly Kid Joe isn’t a big “press band” and haven’t been so in a many years so when I had the opportunity to speak with founding guitarist Klaus Eichstadt, I was ecstatic.  For over an hour, Klaus and I discussed his love of AC/DC, his Mock N’ Roll t-shirt biz featuring parody metal band logos (etc. Lizzo written in the Ozzy logo), and our fascination with runaway truck ramps. 

This interview was about as random as you can fucking imagine and honestly, I loved every minute of it as this was in my top 10 favorite interviews without a doubt.  Enjoy y’all!

Check out Mock N' Roll shirts at www.mocknroll.com

One of the many reasons I love doing interviews is the sheer unpredictability of it all.  When I got asked to interview Amber Doig-Thorne, all I said was "Sign me up."  I mean, how could I possibly pass on the opportunity to talk to my first actor ever who also is the star of "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey."  ... and yes.  It really is a truly awesome as the title would make you think so. 

Amber was so much fun to talk to as we discussed things like, her epic "Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey" movie, her upcoming projects, our mutual admiration about stories from our childhood becoming horror films (Amber, don't forget about The Smurfs.), and bonding over both of us being neurodivergent.

I hope y'all get a kick out of this one.  It was a blast and after this, go watch Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey!

Billy Sheehan is a living legend when it comes to hard rock music.  He broke into the mainstream as the bassist for David Lee Roth, experienced huge commercial success with the band Mr. Big and now he is letting it all loose with the progressive hard rock supergroup, Winery Dogs. 

I had a great time talking to Billy about what he hates about interviews (luckily not this one), his excitement about the new Winery Dogs album and tour, and his extreme fandom of all things King Crimson.  Billy was a truly awesome guy and I hope you all will dig this one!

Enjoy, y'all!

I didn't discover Hanoi Rocks until around 1986-87 or so but once I did, they became a huge favorite of mine.  It's hard to believe that it has already been 40 years since the release of Hanoi Rocks' sophomore album, Oriental Beat.  2023 doesn't just see Oriental Beat turning 40, we will see a much anticipated re-mix (or re(al)-mix as the band calls it) and for the first time nearly 30 years will see a vinyl release via Finnish label Svart Records. 

I had the honor of talking to legendary Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe about the re(al)-mix release of Oriental Beat as well as his 60th birthday concert that featured a reunion with the original Hanoi Rocks featuring original drummer Gyp Casino.  We also talked about what it is that keeps him going and other cool stuff. 

Enjoy, y'all!

In 2011, I was immersing myself in a whole new world of music.  The Swedish psychedelic rock movement was something that I became obsessed with.  After hearing their 2011 live album, Root Jam, Siena Root quickly became one of favorite bands. 

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with lead vocalist/keyboardist Zubaida Solid and drummer Love Forsberg.  We talked about the solidified lineup of the band, the new album Revelations, and life and creativity during Covid-19.  This was a great interview with two of the sweetest people I know. 

Enjoy, y'all!

In 1993 while at a friends house getting high as the moon, he turned to me and said, "Dude, your hippie ass is going to love this."  He then put on the song "Superman Song" by Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies.  I was so blown away by how insanely deep his voice was accompanied by this incredible folky sounding stuff.  Shortly after, he put on the album God Shuffled His Feet and to say that I was in love right away is an understatement. I vividly remember planting myself in the corner of his couch, closing my eyes, and letting the song "God Shuffled His Feet" take me to another plane.  It's a feeling I still get to this day (even when not high as the moon.)

Since that fateful day, I have been a fan of Crash Test Dummies and their music has been consistent part of my life's soundtrack.  In 2023, Crash Test Dummies will be hitting the road once again to bring the magic of their songs to the people once again and I was so excited to have the chance to talk to lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Brad Roberts.  Brad is an amazing human being and I had an absolute blast talking to him about all things Crash Test Dummies.  We laughed and laughed some more and it was such a thrill for me. 

Enjoy, y'all!

Troy Marks is a living legend when it comes to being a part of the New Orleans Heavy Metal music scene as the vocalist for Razor White.  To me, nobody did it better than Razor White.  I know some will say Lillian Axe did but honestly, I LOVE them but it was the Razor that pumped me up like no other. 

In 1988, Razor White released a 5 song demo that became known as "The Black Tape" that featured five amazing songs.  Razor White followed it up with a full length called Just What The Doctor Ordered and then disbanded not long after it's release in 1991.

35 years later, vocalist/songwriter Troy Marks announced that both the The Black Tape and Just What the Doctor Ordered will be re-released via Lost Real Records and I was beside myself!  Being an old buddy of mine, I reached out to Troy and got him to talk about this huge news.  As always, it was an absolute blast talking to him about the old days of the New Orleans music scene, the releases, and even the possibility seeing these songs re-visited in a live setting. 

Every now and then a band will come along and completely capture my heart.  It always seems that this happens when I'm at a certain point in my life when I need something to lift me up that band just happened to be an Atlanta band called Lunar Vacation.

Not too many can say that they discovered a new favorite band by serving jury duty with a band member's mom.  Well, that's exactly what happened.  Since that fateful week, I have become a diehard fan of Lunar Vacation snatching up all that I can of the band’s music.  The music of Lunar Vacation is what I would call perfect (for me, at least).  It's psychedelic, it's dreamy, it's poppy, and they can rock the fuck out.  Lunar Vacation scratches a lot of itches for me and I couldn't be happier. 

After seeing one of their sold-out Atlanta shows end of last year, I talked lead vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Grace Repasky and guitarist Maggie Geeslin into being guests on my podcast.  In all honesty, this was one of my favorite, most fun ones I've done.  They were so kind, warm, and hilarious to talk to and Grace's cat Science even made a cameo to show his "good" side. 

Enjoy this one y'all and please check out Lunar Vacation now.