Sentimental Illness

Tanya Elizabeth and Eddie DeCesare are benevolent souls: Kind people who give of their time and opinions and whom I am immensely impressed with as musicians and people.  Monochromatic Black isn't just another 'female fronted' metal band. To be honest, I really don't like that Monochromatic Black is oftentimes compared to Jinjer or Arch Enemy, simply because both bands have women as front persons. ...

Let's get to the man of the hour, Michel Teyssier of Fields of Naecluda! Today on the show, we are digging deeper into the music I love the most.  Today's featured artist (and his band) is a French progressive rock band that brings some of the most incredible and delicate music I've heard in quite some time.  Now, when I say delicate, I don't mean soft.  I mean musical choices where the ideas are...

This band, BornBroken, is kind of everything for me. They are heavy, brutal, tight, incredibly well recorded, and everything is well written.  Let's be honest... they are all the things. Today, I'm fortunate enough to have on the original of originals: The man behind the legacy of the band, Michael Decker.   If you like hard hitting, straight in the middle of the gut, right down the middle of the...

Blake Fleming has kind of done it all.  When I sent my prescreen questions, Blake said he's an open book.  Granted, most say this, but I get the sneaking suspicion that Blake is telling it 100% like it is.  He's been a part of some of the biggest bands in the world including Dazzling Killmen and Mars Volta. He's worked with Sean Lennon and so many others like The Ropes, Kim Taylor, Israel Nash, an...

Acacia Ridge is a band that I've grown quite fond of over the last year, and I finally have a chance to interview someone in the band to give me the clarity I seek.... about the band's mission, purpose and future hopes.   Anson and Christian are founding members... love when bands introduce classical instruments to create a new soundscape. Reminds me of my first experiences with Kansas, which chan...

Joey Callahan is a working comedian and geniunely one of the funniest I've heard in a long time. I love his style and wit and his old school approach and delivery.  To me, he's a Carson's comic and I hope that's okay to say. I am not a fan of comparing anyone to anything but I think it's an honorable connection to say that his styleeminds me of the best classic comedians of old, particularly David...

My guest today is Connor Blackwood, the front man for Alchemize. This band does things really well and, as you know, music like this is the reason I do the show to begin with. People need to hear when bands tie genres together, because great things happen. The rest is the discovery process. That's what we're doing today. Discovering Connor and his awesome band, Alchemize. So... let's get to it......

Today, my guest is someone I admire for his talents as a musical phenom.   Hailing from the Chicago area, or at least the band does, Michael Bala of Necronomicon Ex Mortis is the kind of guy I really enjoy talking to. He's a serious talent, and his voice deserves to be amplified. Here's the thing. I really believe that most public relations outlets don't give extreme metal its due. Sure, it may no...

This is a very special AUDIO ONLY version of our show. This week's guest is the mindblowing artist, Mack Chami. ---- Mack Chami.  If you're like me, you like most styles of music, if not all. You love when people take huge chances or live their life through their music. You love the drama and chance of it all. You love how it hits you.   How music makes you sentimental or angry. How it curves the...

My guest this week is Benjamin Pitts, vocalist and guitarist for the powerful and mesmerizing melodic death metal band, Nightwraith. The band has a new record coming out tomorrow and Ben was able to slide in to the calendar and join me today. For that, I'm super grateful. Listen to the show and learn about this fantastic, humble human, who happens to be a total nerd who loves heavy brutal music bu...

This is a special AUDIO only release of my conversation with Adam Woodford of Polar, the UK juggernaut known for blowing out the ears of everyone within a kilometer of their legendary shows.  Adam, affectionately known as WOODY is the face and voice behind UK's Polar. All over the internet, Polar is known as an Alternative Metal band, and that's fine. To me, in my opinon, they might better be desc...

Float Omen. I discovered the band a few months back and immediately fell in love with one of their latest singles and never looked back. It was stuck in my head all day and remains so to this day. Earworm central.  Today, I'm fortunated enough, as are you.... to meet 2 of the 6 guys. We'll meet and learn about them together... sound good? So... Ladies and gentlemen, give a big metalcore welcome to...

Ahhh.... Dory Loup of the fantastic French punk band, Mirabelle. Oh my goodness, do I love this band.... They bring the best parts of the late 90s and early 2000s to the forefront. Their latest releases floored me, especially a song that I believe will break them fully around the world... the singular hit "All My Friends." What a bliss filled, and absolutely fun ditty. But enough about the band......

Axamenta. The band is back after a long winter's nap. Axamenta formed in 1993.... that's 31 years, people. I can't lie and say I've been a fan since then because I didn't know an ounce about them until recently when their PR company sent me a copy of their 23 minute EP. Insta Fan! Axamenta is a combination of the things I love most about hard rock and heavy metal. They have figured out their own s...

Dima Afanasyev of the Ukrainian superband, Sinoptik. What can I say that I haven't mentioned a million times before online in various ways? I love Dima. He's pure. He's kind. He's an amazing musician. A genius in so many ways. His music is legend in Ukraine and his stature is assured. I fell in love with his band when I heard the 2021 album, The Calling. It's truly revolutionary. It smacks of hint...

Kwabi Amoah-Forson. The Peace Bus.   When I think about Kwabi at the Puyallup Fair about 15 months ago. He was near a food stand my kids stopped at, and we began to talk about his why.... why was he there and what was this thing called the Peace Bus. We also got into a short conversation on faith and doing the right thing for the betterment of others. His heart truly captured me, and I promised my...

Alex Crescioni is my guest today. Let me tell you what little I know of him and then explain why I wanted him as a guest. Alex is someone I admire for his quiet perseverance and will. He's the kind of professional in this business that continues to make great waves, produce incredible music, represent the best aspects of our industry and well.... from everything I've seen, he's a great guy. Passio...

Here's one of those things that escapes all of us.   Sometimes, we find out about a person way later than we feel we should have. It's odd to be so active in the business of music and discover artists that have been changing the ground under our feet yet were keenly unaware of until recently.   My good friend Andreas Ballnus, of Philosophobia, hits me up and asks me if I've heard of this incredibl...

To me, the frustration of being a music fan, and specifically a metal or progressive music fan is that the vast majority of music comes from other countries and has to be sought out. Some of the biggest bands in the world are those that Americans may never know about, or very little certainly. Over the years, I've searched across the web, whether it's YouTube, or friends of friends bands, I've bee...

I met Jon when I interviewed him years ago for an old band that has since gone defunct, ... it just is what it is... it happens to the best of them. You may remember when I was talking to producer Jonathan Plum back in 2016 on Rockstar Superhero Episode #5, (Alice in Chains, and Blind Melon (he did the finger snaps too!)), we talked about this very subject at length, when we talked about my old ba...

Clark Larew Jones! The man has the best last name..... but since you all know that my full name is Robert Leland Jones, it makes sense.. Son of John, which means God is gracious... I have always liked that part of my name, even if I don't use it often. You've seen Clark on Comedy Central, the Laugh Factory and well... everywhere a comedic voice matters. His POV is amazingly insightful, hugely funn...

Tim Tymo. The name brings terror to the hearts of thrash music listeners.  He's a beast on guitar, a beast on stage, and a gentle lion in person. Tim hails from Alberta Canada, which explains the gentle lion part.  He's also been very outspoken about his recovery over the last few years, so I feel like today I might get a little help and in turn, you the listener might also receive exactly what yo...

Davidavi Dolev is one of my favorite people and closest friends in the world. For those of you that do not know, I was introduced to his band, Subterranean Masquerade via the incredible PR company, Earsplit, a few years back and well... "wow" was the first word out of my mouth. The music, the compositions, and the overall sound is unique and powerful. Vidi and I live half a world apart, but our he...

Youngy! Okay now... hang on, because this is a whole other thing. Matt's legendary Australian hardcore band, King Parrot, has really made waves and strides over the past few years. They've found their way to the biggest stages in the world. Part of that is their connection to Pantera's Phil Anselmo, as the band are on his label, Housecore Records, but also because they might put on the most energe...

Disclaimer: We had MAJOR technical issues and we had to run it through an A.I. program to clean up the audio. Sorry if we sound weird. Love you, Marco! ---- My super talented buddy, Marco Bravi, is here! I had a chance to host Marco on my old show, Rockstar Superhero, a few years back when he was doing press for his band, Virtual Symmetry. We had a great time. He's the Italian apple of my eye and...