Badass Records

Long-time good friend Bill Mauch graced my presence for this week's episode, and we had a grand, ol' time talking Metallica, roasting Russell Wilson, and exploring everything from Iowa to family to high-school biology class. Bill shares his living space with one of the most amazing crews in town, and I can't thank him enough for making the time to come hang on a busy Saturday. We go back to the la...

You know that line in The Green Mile ? The one in which Eduard Delacroix -- after stepping out of his cell to walk to his impending death -- tells Brutal, Paul, Dean, and Harry that he wishes he "coulda met you guys somewheres else"? That's kinda how I feel about Kenton Campbell, which is not to say I'm not grateful for knowing him at all; I am. I just think that -- perhaps under different circums...

Dan Gedman might be the smartest dude I've ever had a sit-down conversation with, and he certainly has the deepest voice of any I can recall, which is a batshit combo if you're in to running metrics on how stupid you think you might be. Whew. What a chat, though. I've never gone into an interview thinking I'll be less prepared than my guest, but never did I imagine feeling dumber and less knowledg...

Lisa Hill is one of my favorite human beings. I really mean that, and because this is true, it pains me to say that technical difficulties occurred during her interview; her camera wound up having its SD card go haywire. So...the majority of her video was never accessible for upload. Not sure how the opening third of that content made it safely to the other side and the latter portions didn't, but...

Jason Fetters is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a gosh-darn, hard-workin' fellow that's been in some form (or other) of a leadership role for the last 20 years. My guest for Episode #25 of Badass Records Podcast will be the first to trash you, to Photoshop an eggplant emoji onto a picture of your face, and to blindside check you while you search for your family at Oceans of Fun. He'll...

Eric Barkley is a son, a brother, a father, a lifelong chef, a one-time lover of baseball, and a guy who'd rather be nowhere else than casting his line in the lake. I was lucky enough to steal some time away from the chef, and he swung by of an evening so that we could talk R.E.M., Metallica, and Tool for Episode #24 of Badass Records Podcast. Eric was kind enough to walk us through his service-in...

George Clarke is a son, a brother, a father, and the General Manager for Charlie Hooper’s Bar & Grille. I once had the pleasure of cheffing for George at another neighborhood location, and that short-lived stint forged a friendship that has managed to last a decade (and counting). George -- like many of his service-industry counterparts -- puts in long hours, and so the fact that he went out o...

Christian Joseph dropped by the Badass Records Podcast studio for episode #22, and we discussed his affinity for skin ink, motorcycles, music, and the life of a restaurateur. The man with more middle names than you have professed his love specifically for Morrison Hotel (1970) by The Doors, Guns 'N' Roses's Appetite for Destruction (1987), and White Pony (2003) by Deftones, but that wasn't all we...

Brad Buckner is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a retired kindergarten teacher, and a lifelong musician that fancies -- among many other things -- the kick drum of the late John Bonham, and the cymbal work of the deceased Neil Peart (R.i. P. in peace to both of those unequivocal legends). Double 'B' dropped by in a virtual-stranger sense and kicked it with me for episode #21, and we chatted...

Kyle Davis is a son, a brother, a husband, a father to three adorable daughters, and the co-proprietor of Cicada Co., a design-and-build company. Kyle was kind enough to give of his super-busy schedule and come sit with me for episode #20 of Badass Records Podcast . He chose Radiohead's I n Rainbows (2007) as his musical selection, but we didn't limit our conversation to just that record. The Cica...

Jordan Gooch is a daughter, a sister, and a dog mom. We met in the service industry around a decade and change ago back when I was a first-time new dad and she was feeling her way through the post-high-school/early-college years. We would -- on occasion -- cross paths behind the restaurant and swap stories about life and music over cigarettes, so I knew that once I got this project off the ground,...

Shawn Damm is a son, a brother, a husband, a proud father of two, and an all-around righteous dude. He's written more return addresses in the top-left corners of envelopes than he can literally remember, and unless you wanna be told to go fly a kite, don't tell him what to do. Mr. Damm was kind enough to join me for a fantastic conversation about life and love and children and music. We had a coup...

Dave Tschirhart is a son, a brother, a father, a husband, a lover of music and tattoos, and he is also the proprietor of Blue Valley Tree & Outdoors. He's a friendly, knowledgable dude, that was pretty pumped to come do an episode of Badass Records Podcast with me, and his selections did not disappoint. Please have a view on YouTube (channel link in bio) or a listen via the Web site -- badassr...

Joe Strobl joined Badass Records Podcast for episode #16, and I'm not sure what we didn't cover: being engaged, smoking briskets, Anthony Bourdain, pro wrestling, Wakarusa, high school, family, Chiefs season tickets, collecting vinyl, Bruce Springsteen, Swedish visas (or the lack thereof). You know. The typical Tuesday-evening fodder. Joe chose My Morning Jacket's Z , The '59 Sound by Gaslight Ant...

What is there that I could possibly say about this human being? It's a lengthy list, actually, and I know how we're all doing with attention spans these days. And that's fine. I know that -- if you care -- you'll read it, and if you don't, you won't. No big deal. I don't, um, mean to shun any of the previous guests of Badass Records Podcast , because they've all been super-fantastic. They really h...

Ethan Brown means so many things to both me and the world. Besides the titles of son, brother, father, husband, friend, bartender, boss, and expert, he has earned the right to be called kind, thoughtful, clever, witty, warm, and a bucketful of other things, too. He’s the portal to what’s hip. He’s a vehicle for what’s hilarious. He’s the embodiment of passionate when it comes to the things he love...

Adam Boyd joined the Badass Records Podcast for episode #13, and what a treat it was to have him. We go back some 15ish years to the good, old service industry, a time in which we'd occasionally agree to disagree on this, that, or the other. These alleged debates were -- in my experience -- almost always light-hearted, in the spirit of quality conversation, and often over a post-shift cold one. Ad...

Nick Leckey is a son, a brother, a husband, and a father. He's a lot of other things, i.e. a token work-place professional, both president and a member of the KC Incognito Vacay Association (K.I.V.A.), and you know what else he is? He's a goddamn Super Bowl champion (New Orleans Saints, 2010). My guest for episode #12 of Badass Records has a lot of great qualities about him, but my favorite is per...

I had the pleasure of hosting Ian Gordy for episode 11, and when I say pleasure, I mean it was a true joy and a privilege to be gifted his time to talk music, which is really what this thing is all about. Sometimes -- across this pandemic -- I've heard folks say things like, People need people, or, We need each other. Hell, my old man was saying that 25 and 30 years ago. It's a strange thing to co...

Jason Gerken is one of my favorite human beings on the planet and I barely even know him. As I was telling the guest from Episode #9, it feels like every episode I do is my new favorite conversation, and this one was no different. It takes a lot of courage to say yes to doing an interview about your life and your music and it takes even more to show up and see it through. I can't exactly say why,...

Jason Proffitt is a father, a retired beer-league goaltender, and one of the coolest cats you'll ever meet. Even when he's angry at you for playing shitty defense in front of his net. In this week's episode of Badass Records , Jason and I dissected musical snobbery, chatted about good, great, and goofy people, dipped our toes in the Frank Zappa and Jenny Lewis waters, and talked about a few pivota...

There's no way in the human world to compile a collection of words that will do justice to who Matt "Bus" Barr is, and -- even though I'm gonna try -- one could only attempt to grasp what a phenomenal person he is after knowing him for almost 30 years. He is, nevertheless, a son, brother, a father to three, and perhaps above all an artist. Bus has had a really fascinating musical journey and turne...

Britt Whitehead is a son, a kid brother, and a father of two. He's one of the smartest dudes you'll ever meet, so if you need a guy like that on your payroll, you should hire him. And while you ponder that, you might also chew on the idea of giving him a pile of U.S. currency to restore that favorite piece of furniture you've always been wanting redone. Anyhoo, let's not overlook the idea that Bri...

Matt Graunke is a brother and a son and an uncle and a cat lover. He's also been one of my best friends for nearly 40 years, and in this installment of Badass Records , we talked about life in Lawrence, KS, relationships with our homeboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Beastie Boys. Although we didn't do Licensed to Ill half of the justice it deserves, it was a fantastic hang, nonetheless. Funny...

Erik Hess is a husband, a father of three, a note-taker, and a collector of music, memorabilia, stats, jewelry, and hair-care products. In Episode 5 of Badass Records , we not only talked about what an oddball Russell Wilson is and how much his new team overpaid for him, but we also talked about the distinct possibility that the band 311, the comedian Carrot Top, and retired NFL quarterback Jay Cu...