In this episode I speak with Wally van Middendorp, who had two runs with Roadrunner Records - firstly in the mid-80's, and secondly in the mid-2000's up until 2012 as the Senior VP of International.

This conversation was a sheer pleasure on my part, Wally hit the ground running on all the interesting tidbits and landscapes that I wanted to find out about how the label operated on the day-to-day - and I'm extremely grateful for Wally's time on that.

Check out Wally's current engagement, In De Goot Entertainment, who manage acts such as Black Stone Cherry, Gwar, and Theory of a Deadman!

https://www.indegoot.com/

[WARNING - pretty naff audio on my side. Turns out my mic wasn't calibrated properly. It's still hearable, but bearable? YOU DECIDE]

In this episode I speak with Kurt Shore, who produced The Great Kat's debut album Worship Me Or Die! Kurt was extremely courteous with his time, and guided me through his memories of his producing days, as well as his time with Kat.

Fast forwarding to the modern day, Kurt is also a singer-songwriter and features his music regularly on his Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/KurtShoreOfficial

In addition, the apples don't fall far from the tree - you can check out Kurt's son, Kory's music here - http://www.koryshore.com/

This week in news, old men come out to do new things, Metal tat officially overtakes actual news in volume and substance, and I dive into two of the dumbest instances of a new-ish phenomenon, Dimebag Darrell death conspiracies.

Today I'm joined by The Pump Room's very own Cress and Ali to start a new once-a-month series - in which we determine which band has the best brew.

In this episode we just shoot the shit and draw beers for the first 4 rounds of the tournament - more details (including the tournament bracket) can be found on our respective socials;

Temple of Bleh - https://www.facebook.com/TempleOfBlehPod

The Pump Room Bar - https://www.facebook.com/thepumproom.bar/

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Match 1 - 14/01/2021

Behemoth [Sacrum] v ACDC [Premium Beer]

Match 2 - 11/02/2021

Motorhead [Bastard Lager] v Behemoth [Profanum]

Match 3 - 11/03/2021

Motorhead [Road Crew] v Mastodon [Black Tongue]

Match 4 - 08/04/2021

Iron Maiden [Trooper] v Cradle of Filth [Countess Beer]

Today's another light news day, sadly - but there's new music from Scour, Electric Hydra and Horse the Band that I had a bash at listening to! Also plenty of metal tat just in time for Christmas!

Tom and I dive into the dirty world of Twitter diplomacy, as well as brand dialogue and tactics that creators use to drive traffic!

Today I'm joined by Heathen's very own David White, as part of our History of Roadrunner Records series. Heathen had only one record on Roadrunner - Victims of Deception, released in 1991.

We talk a lot about Heathen's new record, Empire of the Blind, the interactions with Roadrunner in the late 80's/early 90's - then David absolutely overdelivers on the question "have you ever seen a ghost?". You may want to consult the YouTube upload of this interview for more context there...

Jump on it! https://heathenthrash.bandcamp.com/album/empire-of-the-blind

This week I'm catching up with Aardshok's Metal Mike again, but this time with a slightly less business-oriented approach to the Roadrunner story.

Mike's depth of knowledge and experience in the metal world is truly something to behold and appreciate, so please check out Aardschok at the links below. If it's available to you, subscribe to the mag, if it's not - support any way you can in these crazy times.

http://www.aardschok.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialaardschok/

Raw is out galivanting in the Andes so I'm on my tod again this week. Luckily there's a little more news to go on - and Jim's Friend Tom (JFT) stops by for an assist.

Since I've pumped out a load of interviews the past few weeks to support the ongoing History of Roadrunner Records [HORR] series, we've had a bunch of new subs and listeners - which I'm extremely grateful for. As such this episode is more of a laid back chat with some housekeeping on the Temple's goings on as we approach Xmas and a few 'life events'.

In this entry to the History of Roadrunner Records I speak with Rob Beaton, producer of early 90's Roadrunner thrash bands Heathen, Exhorder and Defiance.

Rob's an incredibly interesting dude and I was extremely privileged to speak with him about matters pertaining to the 'loudness wars', mixing the trailer to my favourite Star War, as well as Roadrunner's place in the music business lexicon.

Check in with Rob at - https://meetbeaton.com/

The legendary Metal Mike joins me for a chat about Roadrunner Records today. If you're watching on the video part of this - you'll understand when I say my entire face is aching from grinning all the way through this talk!

Now this one has a bit of cringe in it from my side, as I keep pushing Roadrunner business questions but Mike, as he correctly says, is the music guy - he was placed in the 'logistics' part of getting bands in and through Europe, as you're about to learn. Regardless I still learned a f*ck ton from Mike in this episode, and I'm glad to say that we'll be doing it again soon, but next time I'll be focusing more on the bands and the stories. as opposed to the business structure.

You all need to check out Aardschok at the links below. If it's available to you, subscribe to the mag, if it's not - support any way you can in these crazy times.

http://www.aardschok.com/

https://www.facebook.com/officialaardschok/