Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico

Sal Baglio made quite a name for himself as the leader of The Stompers in the early eighties, and here we are forty years later and he's still making great music. In our interview, we talk about everything from the early Stompers days(including the bands Monday night residency at The Rat) to Mike's Barber Shop in East Boston, and of course his current projects; The Amplifier Heads, The Pepper...

Jesse Mayer is a true rock n roll warrior. As an accomplished drummer, Jesse has played in a zillion bands including Fingerpaint, Shake The Faith, The Von Kenmores (where he earned his moniker "Jesse Von Kenmore"), The Marvels, Caged Heat, The New Alibis, his current band the incredible Diablogato, and yes we've probably missed a few...He's also a huge fan of the Boston music scene and of course w...

SS Decontrol(SSD) founding members Al Barile and Jaime Sciarappa join us on this classic episode to talk about the legendary Boston hardcore band, the formation of the infamous Boston crew, the early straight edge hardcore scene, and their recent signing to Trust Records.  Its a lengthy discussion and we cover a lot, so strap on your seatbelt and enjoy the ride.... Music The Charms "So Pretty...

On this episode we have two fantastic guests in Anthony Kaczynski(Figures On A Beach/Fireking/The Magnetic Fields) and famous rock photographer and huge music fan JJ Gonson(Once Somerville). JJ Starts things off with a recap of a great Summer season of shows promoted by Once and then fills us in with some really cool shows coming up at the end of the month. Anthony then talks about his long awesom...

Lenny Lashley has been writing and performing great music since the mid 90's. His band Darkbuster, was one of Boston's best punk bands and then he took it further with Lenny and The Piss Poor Boys and Lenny Lashley's Gang Of One. He also spent several years playing guitar and touring with punk heroes The Street Dogs. From his early Darkbuster days, the story behind the song, "I Hate The Unseen", w...

Mark McKay joins us this week to talk about his musical adventure with Boston hardcore legends Slapshot, the highly recommended documentary "Chip On My Shoulder: The Cautionary Tale of Slapshot”, and his new project "The Long Wait". Fun time with an all around talented cool dude. Music The Charms "So Pretty"(theme song) Slapshot "Same Mistake" Slapshot "Chip On My Shoulder" Recorded by Mike Nash a...

The man who has engineered many of our shows at Voice Motel, Mike Nashawaty aka Mike Nash switches chairs and guests on this episode to talk about his outstanding Boston band Bird Language and their new album "625 Days". We also hit on a range of topics including Nash's other projects and his thoughts on the Boston music scene past and present...and how much he loves the smell of cassettes! And ye...

Frank Meyer joins us on the show to talk about his long history playing with Hollywood legends The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs and their new double album "All The Covers(and more)" as well as his plethora of other projects, including collaborations with Eddie Spaghetti(The Supersuckers), James Williamson(The Stooges) etc.. We also hit on Frank's documentary "Risen: The Story of Chron 'Hell Razah' Smith...

As you may or may not know, we love drummers on this podcast, so it was not a hard choice bringing the versatile and extremely busy Chuck Ferreira on the show. Chuck or "Charles The Drummer" as many refer to him as, can play all styles and has proved that with his work with Greg Hawkes of The Cars, Eddie Japan, Boston all-stars The Shang Hi Los, Lonely Leesa And The Lost Cowboys, Aloud and the lis...

When it comes to the Boston Rock scene,  Richie Parsons has seen and done it all. From his early days with Unnatural Axe, through stints with Future Dads, Band 19, and Tomato Monkey, and more recently a couple of stellar solo releases, Richie has delivered the rock. We cover a lot in this episode including his 30+ years working for the Newbury Comics chain, and his friendship with the late Ji...

Daisy Valentine was the singer of the now defunct Pittsburgh based punk band The Homisides. She has also had her own fanzine and spent years working in a record store. Soon she'll be hosting her own podcast "The Truck Stop Podcast" which we are sure will be utterly entertaining....This is Daisy's second time on the show. She was on show #3 way back in January 2019.... Music The Charms "So Pretty"...

On this episode of the show, we are joined by Chris Conway from the very talented band The Gypsy Moths. Chris talks to us about growing up in the city and becoming a fan of the local Boston music scene at a young age. He later attended Emerson and became a radio host at WERS, which led to him landing a gig at Taang! Records. These days, The Gypsy Moths are signed to Rum Bar Records, have a new alb...

From 1973-1997, Jim Harold ran one of the most well-known and popular live music clubs not only in Boston, but in America. The long list of great bands that played the legendary basement is incredible. Jim passed away this past week so we reached out to some locals for their thoughts on the man and the club and this week we remember Jim Harold and perhaps the greatest rock bar in Boston histo...

Pete Sjostedt and his band Ape Hangers got the elusive major label deal and even landed a song in the film "Empire Records", which has become somewhat of a cult classic, but the band still fell through the major label cracks. Pete's career has however rebounded nicely as the lead guitarist of Garage Rock heroes Muck And The Mires. We talk about all that plus his interesting and at times challengin...

Brad Hallen joins us on the show and talks about his long storied career playing with a plethora of artists over the years including The Joneses, Ministry, Elliot Easton, Aimee Mann, Johnny Winter, Duke Robillard, Susan Tedeschi, his current band The Nervous Eaters etc..  Lots of cool stories from a musician, who's career spans over 40 years... Music The Charms "So Pretty"(theme music) Nervou...

WMFO Radio personality Skybar Lusardi(host of Skybar Rising) joins us on the show to talk about the Boston music scene with an emphasis on an upcoming show which he put together(along with Rum Bar Records) featuring Carissa Johnson, The Dents, and The Hi-End. Skybar also tells about his roots, working as a mailman, and how he got into radio. We also talk about some of Skybar's favorite all time Bo...

On this episode of the show, we are joined by Justin Keane and Amy Young, the rock duo of the group Canyons And Locusts. The pair discuss their long history of playing music together and how they have continued their rock journey while living on opposite sides of the country. We also talk about the recording session for their new album "Roll The Dice", and their subsequent signing to Red On Red Re...

Joe Nelson from Trust Records joins us on the show to talk about The Circle Jerks, 7 Seconds, SSD, and more... Music The Charms "So Pretty"(theme song) The Circle Jerks "Beverly Hills Interview recorded on zoom, additional recording done remotely. This episode was sponsored by Baby Loves Tacos and Disorder Vintage. links https://trustrecordscompany.com https://www.instagram.com/blowingsmokewithtr/...

In a bit of a twist, Jim Saxton, who hosts the UK based Temple Of Bleh podcast and is currently producing and directing "The History Of RoadRunner Records" documentary interviews Steev Riccardo, the host of Blowing Smoke with Twisted Rico about his history in the music business. Originally recorded on Zoom by Jim Saxton, additional recording and editing by Steev Riccardo. This show was sponsored b...

Al Quint joins us on the show and recommends some of the new punk and hardcore releases (The Cowboy, MAZE, Anti Machine, PCP & The Knives etc) that he's been playing and listening to the last couple years. We also get into the Record Collector's scene, the impact of Husker Du, the announcement that SSD's first album is being re-released on Trust, the greatness of The Big Boys, and the status o...

Ken Cheppaikode from Dirtnap Records joins us to talk about the Milwaukee based label's 22 year history and some of the labels bands including The Ergs!, Scrunchies, Fox Face, Proud Parents, Personality Cult etc.. We also talk about the huge Dirtnap anniversary weekend happening in Madison Ws. on June 16 & 17. Music The Charms "So Pretty" The Ergs! "Half Empty Strip Mall" Fox Face "Slow Burn"...

On this episode of the show, we are joined by Pittsburgh Rock legend Todd Porter as thrash heroes Eviction prepare to play their first shows since the early 90's. Todd talks about the early days of Eviction and the path that led to the bands' deal with Metal Blade Records. We also talk about Todd's hard working punk band The Cheats and more cool stuff about the Steel City. Plus the June 2022 Blowi...

On this episode of the show we are joined by lead singer/keyboardist Nicole Laurenne of the Darts. Following a six album run with garage rock legends The Love Me Nots, Nicole and fellow Love Me Nots bassist Christina Nunez formed The Darts in 2016. They put out two self-released EPs, before releasing "Meow" on Dirty Water Records and soon thereafter signed with Jello Biafra and Alternative Te...

Alec Peters booked some of the earliest punk and hardcore shows in Boston when he first brought bands like The Dead Kennedy and Flipper to town. He later moved on to Artist Management and  most notably repped  Gang Green and Meliah Rage and help them both bands get record deals. A&R was next, as he landed a gig at Mercury Records. These days he's working on an animated film call...

A punk rock 'n' roll round table for the ages — three repeat offenders back in the house: Chris Doherty (Gang Green), Rev. Hank Peirce, and Keith Bennett (Casket Rats). Things get a little loose, but we reel it in and have a blast digging into Boston punk, hardcore, and metal — past and present. Plus a classic from The Outlets and fresh new noise from Minneapolis' Scrunchies. Music The...