Talkin' Rock With Meltdown Podcast

Good to get my friend, Aaron Ruby, from Walls of Jericho on Talkin' Rock. Their new album, System Error: Humanity, drops on November 13th. We talk about the album and what parts Randy Blythe plays in the writing and recording. He told me he did vocal production and sang on a song, too. He told me they didn't expect that. "It happened very naturally," he said. We talked about his relationship with...

I've always thought that Zebra was one of those bands that were highly underrated in the 80s. Overshadowed by the Hair Bands of the era, they put out some solid albums, and did hop on big tours, but never garnered the following I thought they should've. Their new record called V drops on November 13th, the first new album in 23 years. Many of the song are from decades ago, that Randy and the guys...

Steve Vai - legend! And a really nice guy. Sometimes it can be tough talking with someone who's done so much in his career. I mean, where do you start? He's touring, playing the music of King Crimson with Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, and Terry Bozzio. They're playing a show in Detroit at the Masonic Jack White Theater. Of course I had to ask him if he'd ever met or played with the local legend, becau...

I mean, how cool is it that I get to talk to a guy like Alice Cooper. Pretty Cool! The Rock City Music Company event with Alice is sold out, but that doesn't mean you can't buy his latest book Devil On My Shoulder. He told me about the idea behind the book and the process that made it happen. "It's unbelievable", Alice said about the popularity of the book a couple weeks after its release. "It's m...

I love talking to Gil Moore from Triumph. As a kid who grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. I was inundated with Triumph music from an early age through local radio. All these years later, it's always a thrill to talk to anyone in the band. As you know, the band reformed with the help of Phil X, Brent Fitz, and Todd Kerns to bring the music to the people. How did it go? "The response was so powerful from the...

Mark Kendall is back to talk about his improving health, his upcoming book, and more. Mark's been fighting a cancer battle and, by all counts, winning! Great to hear the news as he keeps the fans updated on his fight. He's been working on an autobiography, Soul of a Man. He worked on it with a ghostwriter for 16 months. After shopping it around to several different publishing companies, he landed...

Dirty Honey is dropping a new album to start off 2027. Catch My Butterfly is coming out on January 15th. Marc LaBelle was kind enough to join me and talk about the album, two songs of which have been released. "Lights Out" and "Butterfly" are out now. Marc talked about the very personal nature of "Butterfly", a song he was somewhat afriad to share with his bandmates. We discussed the album artwork...

Three great guests and one mediocre host are on this episode of Talkin' Rock. Joel Hoekstra is up first. Since he's a sports fan, could he become the G.M. for the Red Wings? All joking aside, we discuss TSO hitting the road again and the production they may bring with them. We talk about Whitesnake, with a great question from fellow guitarist Bumblefoot. That's for starters, with Joel. Don Jamieso...

Two monstrous metal/rock musicians are on Talkin' Rock. Wolf Hoffman is up first. The new Accept tribute album is out now. Teutonic Titans 1976-2026 has 50 guest artists covering 19 classic Accept songs. We talk about the process of starting this project, the massive rockers on it, whether any former members were a part of the album, and more. What's in Accept's future? Does he see an end to the l...

I spoke with Rik Emmett earlier today and thought it was so good I didn't want to wait to post it. Yes, I know I posted an interview already today (with Gene Simmons), but it's my podcast, and I make the rules! Obviously, I had to ask Rik about the tour and putting the band back together with some help from Phil X, Brent Fitz, and Todd Kerns. He was all about talking about that, Mike Levin not pla...

It's always a thrill to talk with "The Demon" Gene Simmons of KISS. The dude is a rock icon, and he's coming to UWM Field in Utica on September 20th, along with Derek St Holmes and Kaliedo. Gene was gracious with his time as we spoke for thirty minutes about his upbringing, recently turning 77 years old, his solo band and KISS, and lots more. What's the best non-musical financial decision he ever...

Battle Axes: A Hard Rockin' History Of Pointy Guitars is the book out now by Canadian author/musician Sean Kelly. Talking with Sean was a blast! I'm not a guitar player, but I've seen a few in my life. Many with "pointy" guitars. Sean briefly dug into the history of how guitars got pointy and who played them. He showed off some of his own (the video will be posted next week) and his favorites. Sea...

Great to reconnect with Phil Collen of Def Leppard. If you didn't know, he has some other projects outside of his main band. One of them is a band called Man Raze. Back in May, they dropped their Lock, Stock & Barrel (Complete Recordings 2008-2011) Phil tells me about that, along with another project he's in called Crossbone Skully with Tommy Henriksen of Alice Cooper, and the great Mutt Lange...

Legendary drummer Matt Sorum joins me to promote the live album honoring Paul Rodgers and Geezer Butler. Here's the list of rockers on the record, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme), Charlie Starr (BlackBerry Smoke), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver), Robert DeLeo (Stone Tem...

Tyler Connolly and his band Theory of a Deadman are hitting the road for the Dead/Seven tour, touching down in southeast Michigan at the Fillmore on August 23rd. First, though, Tyler and I have a fun conversation about all things Theory. The boys are releasing an E.P. titled Part 1: Funeral Songs. Three songs have been released from the album already, with three unreleased so far. He told me about...

Great to speak with Rikki for the first time. He and his band Rockett Mafia are coming to the Token Lounge on August 29th to play your favorite Poison songs, including the entire Look What The Cat Dragged In album for its 40th anniversary. I didn't know it, but Rikki is a big paranormal fan, as am I. We talked about that as he has a YouTube series called Legend Tripping, where he takes you to scar...

Wow! This is a fun interview. As a matter of fact, we had so much fun that we're going to do it again because we barely broke the surface of the band's rise to fame. Bones tells great stories of gigging around the metro Detroit area. How did Jimmie get started, and what influenced his love of music? "Well, way, way, way, way back, man, long before you were born, I saw this band on the Ed Sullivan...

As Night Ranger gets set to play the Motor City Casino Soundboard, drummer/singer Kelly Keagy was cool enough to take some time to talk about the band's history and what they have going on now. I had to comment on his resemblance to our very own Chad Smith, who looks a lot like Will Ferrell. "See, all those guys, they're younger, so they look like me." Too Funny! He told me about playing the famou...

Frank Hannon of Tesla is up first. The band is about to hop out on tour with Extreme and Motley. As a matter of fact, they're sandwiched right between both bands. A little bit of heavy lifting to be sure. He told me they've never really had the chance to meet or tour with the Extreme guys. We discussed the debut album, which turns 40 this December. They recorded it in upstate New York. He also tol...

Ted Nugent is never at a loss for words, and this episode of Talkin' Rock is no different. He's playing some shows in July, and you don't want to miss the 77-year-old flame-thrower. You can see him in Lexington, Michigan, on July 7th & 8th, then in Sterling Heights at Freedom Hills on the 10th, and in Paw Paw on the 11th.   "How lucky am I?" Ted says to the fact that he's rocked peop...

Rocker Tim Montana has a new record dropping on July 31st. Jam-packed with special guests including Jerry Cantrell, Billy F. Gibbons, Slash. Charlie and Martin Sheen, Royal Lynn, and Robert Patrick. Yes, all those special guests! The song Break Me Down mentions "Ghosts in the basement", so I had to ask him if he'd ever had a paranormal experience. As with most people, he does. He also told me abou...

Great to get Chris back on the podcast. He's been out of Slipknot since 2019, but he's got a lot to keep him busy. On this episode, we discuss his relationship with Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. "He's like another father to me. That guy's amazing." He said they talk just about every day. He tells me about his friendship with the late Phil Campbell of Motorhead, golfing with Alice Cooper, and hi...

The Brutal Devine is the name of the new Spread Eagle album. It drops on Friday, June 12th, and the guys are here to tell me about it. The album contains 10 tracks. Produced by Rob, and written over the course of the past few years, the guys love this album. Rob said, "We made a fantastic record that we know our fans are going to like. So far, the reviews are off the charts." Ray chimed in, "It's...

Kenny Wayne Shepherd returns to Talkin' Rock. He's got a validictorian in his household! That led to a conversation about his own school days. He told me his longing to make it in the music business may have taken away from his own academics, but it's turned out OK for him. Kenny came to Detroit last summer for the Road Kill Nights event. That was a fun day! He's all about the muscle cars, and so...

What a privilege to talk with rock royalty like Ian Gillan. Deep Purple's 24th studio album drops on July 3rd, called Splat! Ian and I talk about his love for making new music, working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, and a newfound energy in the band. That energy? Guitarist Simon McBride. Ian reaped praise on Simon for bringing a new spirit to the fold. Besides talking about the new "heavier" a...