Tony on the Mic

Today we reminisce about our House of Blues gig. We played a party and it was amazing! BJ joins me and describes it like a “fever dream” – Yeah, we were playing our set at the house of blues, and it was interrupted by the original R2D2 and some legit storm troupers. Then as we were breaking down to move to the other room, William Hung and the “She Bang dancers” comes out to the stage. Then I pass Oscar from the office in the green room and Flava Flav wearing his clock taking some pictures with guests… it actually sounds like a fever dream. Anyway, throw in some Hollywood Zombies, the original DeLorean from back to the future and a $1,000 pinball contest – it was a great night. And – the cherry on top – we killed out 3 sets! 

This week I had a chance to check out the 2022 version of USD football, first at the preseason scrimmage, then at the first game. While at the scrimmage, I was able to get a few words from Coach Lindsey – and his wife Eva. I caught up with the athletic director, butchered his name, then had a nice chat. Then talked to a WR who had a TD in the scrimmage. All in all, it was a great day and the team looks ready to do battle for another Pioneer League crown. 

Hey everyone we have a special preview review episode! I am playing at the House of Blues Wednesday night with BJ and the Bizz and we talk about the event, the other guests, the past events, some girl’s search for cocaine (spoiler alert, she did not find it with us… or at least me…) Bj joins me to talk about his music at the Zoo and Safari Park and we talk about being at an event with Flava Flav, Oscar Nunez (the office) and past special guests. Gary Busey was booked for this gig, but … he has another commitment. 

Today I spoke with CIF football crew chief Brian Mills. He has been refereeing for 21 years and has risen to the top of the San Diego County referee food chain. He talks about the declining relationship between coaches and officials, parents and officials and parents and coaches as the pressure mounts on kids playing sports. Parents today lose their mind, blaming officials, teammates, and coaches to avoid the scourge of being humiliated with a participation trophy and shattering the dreams of their kid playing professional sports. As fate would have it the day after we spoke, I went to a preseason scrimmage at USD, a place they often use as training for officials at the college level and ran into a few of his cohorts and prodded for dirt on Brian. The brotherhood is strong as they refused to contribute anything but a referendum on his bald head and praise for his cookies… 

Today, to get my guest, I had to pixelate his face, distort his voice and beep his name and still had to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He had a fairly non-descript childhood, until his mom remarried – remarried to the mob! Hear how he was pampered and protected as a child and grew up under the watchful eye of members of “the club.” I learned a lot, and heard some juicy stuff I could not use. Part one is a fascinating look into the real, daily lives of this one particular “connected” family. Feuds, plots, incidents and accidents, and mostly his spoiled  childhood – my guest tells all, well most, well some good stuff. 

Today my guests are two local, up and coming musical artists! Both write and sing their own songs, and have music out there! Make sure you check them out. Carjanae and SuperduperPark join me in the studio to talk about music and how to reach audiences and expand your brand. How to connect with producers and editors and the pros and cons of distributing music today versus back in the day. I am reminded, more than once, how old I am, and how I am not the demographic for their music, AND how unsophisticated I am with today’s social media… like I did not know… 

Today I have a follow up with 4 – count ‘em 4 – cancer survivors. They vary in age, gender, cancer diagnosis and treatment and how they are moving on! They have some words of advice: Get you mammograms, know your body, follow up with doctor if things are out of whack, and “feel it on the first” reminding you to do a self body screening the first of every month. We talk about how to a self check for women and men. I drop (repeatedly) about my band playing at the House of Blues … I just really like saying that… Details at Tonyonthemic.com and drop the first, very sloppy rendition of a Leadbelly / Ram Jam inspired song called “Mammogram” sung to the tune of Black Betty from the 70s, or 30s depending on which version you know. We do one vignette in studio, one via zoom, and one recorded on a phone as the equipment malfunctioned.

My guest today double Eisner award winner David F Walker. He received two of the prestigious awards at Comic Con the day after he joined me on the podcast. His list of credentials is way too long but Google this dude. He has worked for DC and Marvel and birthed a wholly original character from idea to a TV show – check out Naomi! He has projects in the pipeline and a long list of work and credits. David learns how much I disliked him back in the day and why, find out why we still hate the late John Morgan. David has a project, Bitter Root in the process, has won awards for his graphic novels depicting the life of Fredrick Douglass and the Black Panther Party - Obviously separate stories. 

Today my guest is NYT best selling author Jonathon Evison. His latest release, Small World, is a sweeping epic of the American experience. (Yes, have read it, and yes, it is really good. No, I didn’t come up with the term “sweeping epic – that was someone much smarter than me.)  He also wrote the book “The Fundamentals of Caregiving” which became a movie currently available on Netflix. It is based on his time as a caregiver for a young man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and stars Paul Rudd. It is funny, hopeful and honest. He also currently has the number 2 book on the banned book request list in “Lawn Boy.” This was his first work that I read and loved it. Let’s see what we can do to move it to number one! The idea that we are still trying to ban books in 2022 makes me sad. 

Folks, I want to apologize to you and Jonathon. People do so many of these press junkets and interviews, they have to get tired of doing these things. Here at Tony on the Mic, I want to tell the story, but more, just give people a chance to tell their story while being themselves. Talk about things they like and appreciate. This episode reminded me of that mission as we talked books, inspiration, process, etc for the first half, but he became energized towards the end when we started talking sports, music and kids! Lord knows I would rather talk kids and sports etc, so from now on there will be more of that! It also could have been partly to recording at 7:30 AM or some crazy early time. We make a future bet about how the Seattle Seahawks will do this year, I recorded it to have a record of it, if I lose, I have a feeling the evidence will be destroyed.

Today my guest is David Elizondo, cofounder of First Light Whiskey. It is a coffee infused whiskey. A local American Whiskey made with Organic Agave and Real coffee extract. I take my first on air shot, 2 actually, one of each flavor. I thought this was going to be a Bailey’s-esque sweet, flavored drink, but it was a delicious coffee infused, smooth whiskey. I am not a big drinker and was thrilled at the smooth texture. We go through the ideation process that came out of a class project while David was a grad student at SDSU. Hand mixing thousands of gallons to find the right flavor profile. Then a release and distribution and marketing strategy. I am serious when I say he is invested in this and proud of his baby. Tune in to see if I can hold it together after 2 shots – which is an awful lot for me! Also, for a limited time, you can go to firstlightwhiskey.com and get 15% off and free shipping when you enter the promo code TonyontheMic – my first promo code! They say you always remember your first… promo code.