Talk About the Passion

#56: Off To Ruin (Another Conversation With Nate Newton)

Episode 56 is a conversation with Nate Newton (Converge, Old Man Gloom, Doomriders) that took place over the phone in late March of 2020 during the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. We talk quite a bit about how this has affected creative people who create for a living, what he's been doing to stay busy and focused. Nate also talks about the great new Old Man Gloom record and what it was like to play his late friend Caleb Scofield's music with Cave In. This episode has some heavy overtones but as always, Nate is a pleasure to talk to and is a great guest for this podcast. 

#45: God Of Thunder (A Conversation With Chris Giguere)

Episode 45 is a conversation with Chris Giguere. Chris plays guitar in the band Conclave, he has also done time in Tenebrae and Panzerbastard. In this episode we talk about growing up in Blackstone, MA which borders Woonsocket, RI. As the title indicates and as a good amount of these episodes go, Kiss is an early influence on Chris so we of course talk a bit about them, as well as other heavy music, classic rock music and everything in between. Chris made a great guest, he and I have a lot of the same ideas and opinions on music and life so this conversations is natural and sounds like I'm talking with an old friend, when in fact we had just met. 

#43: Loose (A Conversation With Daniel Brockman)

Episode 43 is a conversation with Daniel Brockman. This episode, recorded over the phone, is named after The Stooges song of the same name, the nature of this episode is indeed pretty loose. We don't really get into Dan's former Boston area bands Medea Connection and The Hidden at all but instead focus more on his experiences writing about music, interviewing artists from Danzig to Robyn Hitchcock. Daniel has some unique and fascinating takes on music and I've always enjoyed talking to him about music. His writing has appeared in such places as Vanyaland, Spin and Rolling Stone. 

#41: Even In His Youth (A Conversation With Duane Bruce)

Episode 41 is a conversation with Duane Bruce, Duane is best known for his work as a DJ on WFNX out of Boston (Well, Lynn), Massachusetts. He got into radio at a very young age, listening to and eventually working in radio in Maine where he grew up. We talk about his time as a DJ and how he eventually made his way to Massachusetts and everything else in between. Duane is a great storyteller and has some great stories about everyone from Stephen King to Nirvana who this episode is named after. Duane has a current radio show called American Debauchery and also authored a book called Hang the D.J. which talks about his time in radio.

#40: So Long Ago (A Conversation With Kevin Norton)

Episode 40 is a conversation with Kevin Norton. Kevin played bass in the excellent Boston hardcore band Eye For an Eye and now he's still playing music with his current band The Eulogy based out of Southern California. We talk about growing up in Lynn Massachusetts and what it was like getting into metal and hardcore in the early and mid eighties when metal and hardcore were regularly crossing over. Kevin has never stopped and his passion for music make him a perfect guest for this podcast, his work in the labor movement is discussed as well and Kevin talks about how being involved in the hardcore scene has informed his career and work ethic. 

#39: Chemistry (A Conversation With Brian Smith and Guy Wetherbee)

Episode 39 is a conversation with Brian Smith and Guy Wetherbee. Brian and Guy are lifelong friends and also collectively have a group called Four Way Anal Touchfight. They talk about the origins of that project here. We spend over two hours talking music from their formative years, sharing music with each other and by the end of the episode you'll understand why the title "Chemistry" (after the Rush song) is so fitting. We talk about everything from Rush to Gorilla Biscuits to Asia to the B-52's and Krokus. As we talk about in this episode Brian and Guy will be appearing on some future episodes as well. 

#37: My War (A Conversation With Randy Larsen)

Episode 37 is a conversation with Randy Larsen. You may know Randy from his band Cable who have been putting out good quality heavy music since the 90's and are set to release a new record next year as he explains late in this episode. We talk about how he got into music, other musical projects he's been involved in as well as his guest hosting on the Everything Went Black and Metal Matters podcasts. Randy was a great guest for this podcast, his enthusiasm and humble, down to earth personality made this feel like I was talking to an old friend. 

#36: Death Comes Ripping (A Conversation With Mark Vieira)

Episode 36 is a conversation with Mark Vieira. Originally from Massachusetts and now on the west coast we talk quite a bit about his time getting into music on the east coast. Mark has been around the music scene in various roles for years, currently he manages a number of bands including 1349, Ringworm, Tombs, The Atlas Moth and The Casualties among many others. Mark has some great insight on the music scene, not just the heavy music scene where he works, but the music industry in general. He knows his stuff and has a lot of great opinions and ideas on music. Mark is a great story teller, his enthusiasm is infectious and he was the perfect guest for this podcast, especially when it comes to passion. 

#35: Spillage (A Conversation With Michael T. Fournier)

Episode 35 is a conversation with author Michael T Fournier. Michael has authored a few books including the 33 1/3 series book on The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime record, his work appears in Maximum Rock & Roll, Razorcake and RS500. We talk about growing up in New England and getting into music, his writing both fiction and writing about music. Michael is a great writer and made the perfect guest for TATP, his enthusiasm and knowledge of music is extensive as shown in his writing, so it was great to be able to sit down and talk to him in person. 

#34: Words I Manifest (A Conversation With Brian Coleman)

Episode 34 is a conversation with Boston area author Brian Coleman. Brian has written a few absolutely essential books for fans of hip-hop, Rakim Told Me, and Check the Technique Volumes 1 & 2. His new book, Buy Me Boston is a look at advertisements, flyers and vintage posters from Boston in the 60's, 70's and 80's. In this episode we talk about his evolution in getting into music, and his process writing about music as well as what it's like interviewing people like Chuck D and Ice Cube. Brian is a fascinating guy, a great story teller and a perfect guest for TATP.