A-Sides

Episode 114 of A-SIDES features another deep dive into the KISS discography, this time focusing on the era when the band removed their make-up. For our third episode on KISS, we highlighted our ten favorite songs released between 1983's Lick It Up and 1997's Carnival of Souls. Along with our favorite songs, we also discussed seeing KISS live in 2020, the new members that joined KISS in this era, c...

Notable Kerrang! magazine collector Kenny Wright (of The Great Affairs) returns to A-SIDES for Episode 113, this time discussing "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal." Kenny and Andy discuss the roots of "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal", also known as NWOBHM, which includes bands such as Judas Priest and Motorhead. They also touch on several notable bands from within the genre, classic albums...

Fellow metal-head and musician Patrick Kennison (of Heaven Below) joins A-SIDES to discuss his favorite cover songs, plus several covers recorded on Heaven Below's most recent album, Rest In Pieces- A Tribute To The Departed. Patrick shares the ideas behind covering his favorite artists on Rest In Pieces, what inspired him to pick up a guitar, Bob Rock albums, sports, and his plans for Heaven Belo...

A-SIDES is back for the first episode of 2023! Brace yourself for this deep dive into 'Guilty Pleasures', or better yet, 'Guiltless Pleasures'. With songs ranging from Cher to Bobby Brown to Richard Marx, Andy and Brent share their reasons for why they love these songs, as well as the stories for why they've been made to feel guilty about them. Thank you for listening to this episode and joining u...

Its time for the annual 'Year End Favorites' list from A-SIDES. Brent and Andy sit down to share their favorite albums from 2022, plus concert memories, and other nonsense that you'll find from A-SIDES on Episode 110. Several albums discussed are from Ghost, The Cult, The Afghan Whigs, Ozzy Osbourne, and more. Throw another log on the fire, grab a beverage, and enjoy this toasty episode of A-SIDES...

Speaking with Sam Koltun for Episode 106 put his band Budderside onto Andy's musical radar, so he sought out founder and vocalist Patrick Stone for a future episode. The release of this episode also coincides with the release of Budderside's newest single, "Joker". Patrick speaks on the subject matter behind their latest single, along with inspirations behind his lyrics, album artwork, and the ban...

Andy and his guest Kenny Wright of The Great Affairs set the wayback machine to 1982. KISS' Creatures Of The Night was released in the Fall of '82 amongst a slew of heavy rock records, and we discuss the impact this had on Kenny at the time, as well as how the album still holds up decades later. We touch on Kenny's favorite tracks on Creatures, a few of the highlights from within the new box set,...

Fire up Episode 107 of A-SIDES, as we hand-picked our favorite songs from Aerosmith's classic era, starting with their 1973 debut album through 1982's Rock In A Hard Place. Along the way we shared an honorable mention or two, discussed our entry points into the band, which albums we've bought (and re-bought!), if we saw them live, and even touched on the recent Midnights album from Taylor Swift; w...

Sam Bam Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat, Budderside) joins Andy for Episode 106 of A-SIDES! They discuss his roots in the Midwest and several bands that influenced him growing up, what it's like to sleep and eat on the road as a touring musician, the Jurassic Park movies, and more! You can follow Sam as a patreon and gain behind-the-scenes access and other exclusives here . You can also check out...

Episode 105 features a dive into the horror-punk band, Misfits, as we countdown our top ten favorite songs. Not only do we share our favorites, but we also sample the latest Catfight Coffee flavor "Crimson Roast" (which is a nod to this episode's band), you'll learn our opinion on the manliness of "Man Caves", suggest songs for your next home improvement project, and Brent gets a little too fired...

Steve Perry fronted Journey across multiple decades and released 8 studio albums during his tenure with the band. This newest episode of A-SIDES features returning guest Shane Tassart (of The Hot Summers) giving a singer's perspective on Journey, as well as sharing his discovery of their music, his connections with the band, taking care of your voice, and even shares his fandom of the Halloween fi...

Scream for me, A-SIDES!! Episode 103 is dedicated to the most metal vocal moments, as Brent and Andy select their favorite screams from singers such as "The Metal God" Rob Halford and Sebastian Bach. They also try out a beer from Surly Brewing Company in Minnesota, discuss the latest album from Ozzy Osbourne, vintage clothes shopping, and as much nonsense as they can fit into an hour podcast. Than...

For Episode 102 of A-SIDES, this could be considered another "bucket list" guest for Andy, as he spoke with Torkjell Rod, also known as "Toschie", from the heavy metal band Audrey Horne. Toschie discusses the origins of the band, the creation of his lyrics and artwork, how he became a tattoo artist, and more! Huge thanks to Toschie for being a guest and thanks to everyone who listens. You can find...

Drummer Zak St. John joins Andy for Episode 101 of A-SIDES. They not only discuss his roots in the Midwest but also how his passion for music started at a very early age. Over this hour-long conversation, he shares many past projects, and even a few projects on the horizon. While his resume is a mile long, he achieved that through hard work and dedication, and I felt his work ethic is very inspiri...

For the 100th episode of A-SIDES, it seemed fitting to dive into Brent's favorite band, Motorhead! We toast to the late Lemmy Kilmister and "The Loudest Band In The World", by sharing our Motorhead origin stories, our favorite songs and lyrical moments, favorite albums, which song Brent wants played at his funeral, and even look back at a few highlights from the last 99 episodes. To everyone who h...

Episode 99 is another deep dive into the discography of Prince, covering his studio albums from 1985's Around the World In A Day to 1994's Come. Not only do Brent and Andy share their favorite songs, but Brent reveals a musical anecdote from his past, we find out about a cruise ship obsessed with The Gold Experience, Gene Simmons vs Prince and their sexual conquests, along with the usual off-topic...

Nearing the 100th episode of A-Sides, this episode features returning guest, Shane Tassart. He not only shares the details about the recording of the long-awaited debut album from The Hot Summers, but also delves into a few stories from his past about interacting with Gene Simmons, the brotherhood he shares with fellow songwriters Denny Smith and Mick Sweda, and possibly busts the myth about KISS'...

Returning with the second installment in our journey through the KISSOLOGY, Episode 97 of A-Sides tackles the "dark era" of KISS. During this era from 1979 to 1982, the band lost two founding members, ventured away from their typical brand of hard rock, and even wore capes, but managed to find their way back with the help of several outside songwriters (including Bryan Adams!) Brent and Andy share...

For Episode 96, Andy spoke with Joshua Ketchmark, ahead of his forthcoming studio album titled Blood. The album's release will be on July 8, 2022 and it takes inspiration from Joshua's background in the Midwest. They not only touch on this new release, but also several past albums and EP's, the benefits of having a home recording studio, our expectations when attending concerts, and which member o...

For Episode 95, Andy is joined by Arnela Moore of the power trio, The Rumours. Known for their high energy shows, The Rumours are about to hit a run of West Coast dates, called "The Filthy Bathroom" Tour. Andy chatted with Arnela ahead of this tour about picking up the bass, joining The Rumours, what inspired the tour's name, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, swearing, KISS, and our mutual friends...

Episode 94 of A-Sides features a topic that has been brewing since the early days of this podcast; covering the music of Prince. With his discography reaching nearly 40 albums, the only option was to break his career up into "era's", with Episode 94 tackling his first 6 albums from 1978 through the release of Purple Rain in 1984. As a longtime fan, Brent shares his background with Prince, while An...

Episode 93 features a deep discussion on the power trio King's X, with friends Freddy Herrera and Corey Rozzoni returning to the podcast. The guys not only share their favorite albums, but also discuss various side projects and solo albums, sneaking into concerts (Kids don't try this at home!), the struggles of making it in the music industry, and cuckoo clocks! Huge thank yous to Freddy and Corey...

After 3 long years and 91 episodes under their belts, Brent and Andy are finally devoting an entire episode to KISS! This episode dives into the original era of the band, featuring a discussion on the first 6 studio albums, from their self-titled album through 1977's Love Gun. They share their favorite songs, rank the albums, trade Paul Stanley impressions, highlight several underrated performance...

For Episode 91, we chose to dive into our favorite Foo Fighters' songs. With the band's career spanning over 25 years, 10 studio albums, numerous Grammy Awards, and even a recent horror comedy movie titled Studio 666, there's a lot to cover in this episode. We not only share songs, but discuss the origins of a "foo fighter", seeing the band in concert, Brent's obsession with destroying dry wall, a...

Ahead of her upcoming shows in Illinois, Liv Warfield spoke with Andy on Episode 90 for a quick chat about her background in Peoria IL, finding her voice through karaoke, recording a live album at New York City's Cafe Wha?, and her favorite places to eat back home. If you are able to catch her electrifying live shows, you can get tickets at The Scottish Rite Cathedral or The Space in Evanston. If...