Talk About the Passion

#86: Sing And Make No Sound (Kevin Grant Talks About Wire Lines Harvest Verses)

In this episode I talk with Kevin Grant about the latest record his band Wire Lines released called Harvest Verses. This is Kevin's second appearance on the podcast (First being episode 38) Here we talk about how the new record came about, what it was like to put it together during a pandemic, and Kevin goes into detail about the meaning behind some of the songs on this record. The new record on Blind Rage Records is great and it was great to have him on to talk about it and get some background on it. 

#85: Slapnot (A Conversation With Steve Risteen and Jamie Sciarappa)

On this episode I talk to Steve Risteen and Jamie Sciarappa who both did time in the Boston hardcore band Slapshot, and Jamie was also a member of SS Decontrol. Slapnot is a band comprised of dozens of ex-members of Slapshot gathering together to play a show on November 21, 2021 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Slapshot as well as to give fans and friends the opportunity to sing on stage with various members providing the music part. We get into how exactly this will work, what it's like playing these songs this many years later as well as their time in Slapshot in the 80's into the 90's. Although short, this was a great conversation and I am looking forward to seeing this live! 

#84: Point of Entry With Bob Mayo (Pt. 1)

Episode 84 sees Bob Mayo return for a third appearance on the podcast, this time we are talking about the "point of entry" phenomena wherein the first record you hear by an artist orients your idea of what they should sound like. We talk about getting into bands like Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Cheap Trick and Iron Maiden to name a few. When you first heard Judas Priest did you then move backwards through their catalog, or were you there for the beginning of some of these bands? We talk about the new Iron Maiden record and what other bands are still putting out solid records as well as how being a fan of music and a collector informed how he presented the excellent reissues of his band Wargasm. Look for a second episode soon where we get into underground and thrash metal!

#83: Another Time‘s Forgotten Space (A Conversation With Drew Stone)

In this episode I talk with film director, producer, musician and host of the New York Hardcore Chronicles about his life as a fan of the Grateful Dead. As someone prominent in the early Boston hardcore scene as well we go from Radio City Music Hall seeing the Dead in 1980 to the Gallery East seeing bands like SSD and Bad Brains. What's it like to hang in both of these scenes? With Drew's great story telling skills and sharp memory he paints a picture in an hour that is interesting the whole way through. 

#82: Where Ya Been (A Conversation With Ike Turner)

Episode 82 is sort of a two part episode. The first 1/3 of the episode I talk about seeing King Crimson this past summer as well as some other updates. The rest of the episode is a conversation with my friend Isaac (Ike) Turner. Ike is an English professor from Kalamazoo, MI who teaches a class on the history of rock and roll. We talk a bit about that class, how he got into music from punk rock stuff like the Circle Jerks and later in life the Grateful Dead. This was a lot of fun to record, this was my first time ever talking to him on the phone and the casual lad back nature of the conversation made Ike a great guest I'll definitely have back on. 

#81: Back To School Again (Another Conversation With Eric Komst)

Episode 81 is a conversation with my friend EK who has played drums in Sick Of It All, Warzone and many others. This is his second appearance on the podcast and we talk about his time in Warzone a bit more and what it was like working with Dr. Know, what he's been up to lately on the musical front (Note: The musical project EK talks about in this episode no longer exists, unfortunately this episode was already done and edited before that!) This was a fun talk, it's always great to catch up with people you've known forever. 

#80: Take What Is Bold (A Conversation With Eddie Sutton)

Episode 80 is a conversation with Eddie Sutton, best known as the vocalist for New York Hardcore/crossover band Leeway. In this hour plus casual conversation Eddie gives an update on his health (Eddie was diagnosed with cancer in early 2020), talks about the importance of being a hardcore kid, drug addiction, touring with the Bad Brains and how he keeps his head up and maintains a humble, down to earth hopeful person throughout all of the ups and downs life has dealt him.  

#79: All The Aces (Another Conversation With Keith Bennett)

On episode 79 I talk to my friend Keith Bennett (Boston's Wrecking Crew, Panzerbastard) for the third time. Keith gives me a deep and personal insight into his last year which began extremely dark as he talked about on Episode 57 to the present sober Keith. This was one of the most candid conversations I've had on this podcast and I'm glad Keith wanted to share his story of sobriety. The honesty and happiness in his voice even when talking about some intense and dark times makes this one of my favorite episodes I've done. 

#78: Band Spotlight - Euro-Asia Band

Episode 78 is part of a new series of episodes focusing on a new or up and coming band. On this episode I talk to leader of Miami, FL band Euro-Asia Pedro Ortiz about how he came up in music as well as his process creating music alone and with various different players. Included in this episode are three songs from the new release Signals: A New Vision, Remote World and You Thought Wrong. The Signals release is available on all streaming platforms as well as on their Band Camp page https://euro-asia.bandcamp.com/

#77: Restless Movement In An Empty Room (A Conversation With Brian Gathy)

Episode 77 is a conversation with Brian Gathy. Brian hosts the excellent podcast End on End which is covering the entire Dischord Records catalog by release. Brian along with his co-host Jeff do an amazing job digging deep into these records, and have had a who's who of Dischord related folks on the podcast. We of course talk quite a bit about Brian's time getting into music in Washington DC, seeing shows at The Wilson Center and we talk about the process of podcasting, something I was looking forward to talking about. Great conversation, great guest. Brian will definitely be on the podcast again.