Talk About the Passion

#64: Watcher Of The Skies (A Conversation With Christian McKenna)

Episode 64 is a conversation with Christian McKenna. Christian started the record label Translation Loss which includes bands such as Mouth of the Architect, Rosetta, Cable as well as some of the bands he's involved in including Hex Inverter and Empty Flowers. We talk about growing up outside of Philadelphia and the music he listened to as a kid. Most of this conversation is very loose and we hit on a lot of different subjects and artists in a short amount of time. It's always great to have guests on with tastes all over the map, and Christian certainly listens to everything. 

#63: Search And Destroy (A Conversation With Joel Gausten)

Episode 63 is a conversation with journalist, drummer Joel Gausten. In this episode we talk about growing up in New Jersey, his time as a teenager in the 90's rehearsing with The Misfits who were auditioning new singers at the time, playing in The Undead, as well as Pigface and Electric Frankenstein. We talk aboutwhat it's like to interview famous musicians and not "fanboy" out. Joel is a great storyteller and was a perfect guest for Talk About The Passion, also thanks to his knowledge and love of all genres of music. 

#62: Frame By Frame (A Conversation With Douglas Sherman)

Episode 62 is a conversation with Douglas Sherman, guitar player for the Boston based metal band Gozu. Douglas and I had a pretty loose conversation, while we talked about him growing up and how he got into music we talk about life during the COVID-19 pandemic, what the future holds for entertainment as well as funk music, film and a number of other subjects. Douglas is a hilarious guy and is passionate about the music and film he likes which made him a great guest and hopefully we'll get him on another episode in the future. 

#61: Mad World (Another Conversation With Randy Larsen)

Episode 61 is a conversation with Randy Larsen, this is the second time Randy has been on the podcast.You may know him from his bands Cable and Empty Flowers. On this pretty free form episode we have a conversation about various subjects including the ending of Cable, a new musical project he's involved in now as well as a bunch of different bands we go back and forth about. This was a lot of fun and I love talking to Randy about music, especially in a loose format like this. 

#60: Let It Grow (A Conversation About Cannabis With Julia Agron)

Episode 60 is a conversation with my friend Julia Agron about cannabis and hemp, particularly in Massachusetts where marijuana is now legal recreationally as of 2016. Julia grows hemp and has been involved in many different arms of the hemp and cannabis industry, we talk about the road to getting marijuana legalized in Massachusetts as well as. come of the challenges cultivators are having the last couple of years. This was a different episode than normal but it was extremely informative and I was happy to hang with an old friend. 

#59: Deeper Than Inside (A Conversation With Eric Komst)

Episode 59 is a conversation with Eric Komst. Eric grew up in Boston (Jamaica Plain to be exact) and was around music as a kid playing in his first band with friends, including Jordan Knight who would go on to be a New Kid on the Block. Later on EK got himself into a number of great bands like Straw Dogs out of Boston and then of course Warzone and Sick of it All. I had a great time talking to EK, he's a great story teller, a well spoken and good hearted guy I'd definitely have on again. 

#58: On Returning (A Conversation With Richard Brown)

Episode 58 is a conversation with Richard Brown of The Proletariat, a Massachusetts based band formed in the early 80's, The Proletariat spent time in the hardcore scene (including tracks on the This is Boston Not L.A. compilation) playing with the likes of SSDecontrol and Minor Threat, while adopting a sound that was part Gang of Four part Wire but with an anger much more intense than most of their counterparts. We talk about how Richard got into music as a kid and go pretty deep into the history of the Proletariat. Richard is a great story teller and was a perfect guest!

#57:Bad Fun (Another Conversation With Keith Bennett)

Episode 57 is a candid conversation with my friend Keith Bennett. This is Keith’s second appearance on the podcast, the first episode (# 14) was an origin story about how he got into music, his bands, most notably The Wrecking Crew & Panzerbastard. Recorded in early April 2020 during the Coronoavirus pandemic this episode starts off pretty dark and then I throw some records at him, the second DYS album, Celtic Frost – Cold Lake, and other divisive albums from our world we talk a bit about those types of records as well as when el established bands would change singers.  I had a great time talking to Keith, his love and passion for this music is deep and real and I’m glad I got to take us there for an hour.

#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. 

#55: If You're Alive (A Conversation With Duncan Wilder Johnson)

Episode 55 is a conversation with Duncan Wilder Johnson a Massachusetts based musician, writer, spoken word performer, photographer and film maker (He made the excellent Sam Black Church documentary Leave Behind a Groove in the Earth: The Sam Black Church Story) We talk about his time playing music, doing spoken word shows around the world, as well as how he got the Sam Black Church film made. Duncan was a great guest, he's an extremely enthusiastic and passionate story teller and I would love to have him on again.