Another Cool Rock Podcast

Legendary rock/power-pop artist Donnie Vie talks about his awesome new 7" single "Plain Jane" b/w "Instant Karma" (a stellar cover of the John Lennon classic) just released on Wicked Cool Records - that’s Little Steven Van Zandt’s label – and the single will be followed by a re-release of his incredible, most recent solo album, Beautiful Things, of which the song Plain Jane comes from. Donnie also...

It's a new installment of "Should Have Been Huge," where we take a dive into a band that should have seen far more success than they did, and why they didn't.  Katmandu was a short-lived hard rock band built around Dave King, fresh off his stint with Fastway, and several years before he reinvented himself musically as the frontman of Flogging Molly. Their lone, self-titled album was released on Ep...

We're back for 2026 and (finally) starting the new year with a new episode. Danny Young is the drummer for GLUECIFER an absolutely amazing band from Europe who only a few days before recording this episode put out a cracking new album, SAME DRUG, NEW HIGH. Danny joined us from Norway and our conversation covered a lot, starting with Gluecifer’s long and winding road to making new music. It's been...

Frank Pané — guitarist and founder of Sainted Sinners — joins Steve from Germany to talk about the band’s brand‑new album High on Fire. With members spread across Europe, Sainted Sinners channel the spirit of classic 70's-era hard rock, drawing on influences like Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and UFO. High On Fire is their fifth album and their best yet. Its packed with soaring vocals, kil...

Eric Senich of the Booked on Rock Podcast joins ACRP to run down his top 10 music books of the year. Consider this your "holiday gift guide" featuring the best books that rock, from an expert! Booked On Rock is the podcast for those about to read & rock, featuring deep dive discussions of the greatest artists, albums, songs, and moments in rock history with the authors who've written about the...

Ft. Worth singer‑songwriter and guitarist Matt Gumley joins Steve on Another Cool Rock Podcast. Matt’s musical journey started early with piano lessons at age five, grew into Broadway and TV acting as a kid, and ultimately led him to his true passion: creating and performing his own music. A multi‑instrumentalist with serious guitar chops, his music straddles the line between country and rock but...

On this episode of Another Cool Rock Podcast, Steve welcomes Marc Hansen, lead singer and guitarist of Electric Mud - an award-winning San Diego band that blends classic rock, Americana, soul, and groove into a heartfelt, gritty and authentic sound. Their influences range from the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan to Otis Redding and Tom Petty.  Electric Mud have released three albums - Dangerous Promi...

This week on Another Cool Rock Podcast: Peter Argyropoulos and Adam Kury of Los Angeles-based rock band Sons of Silver. It's been a busy year for the band, January saw the release of their debut full-length album Runaway Emotions, followed by a lot of touring and channeling that momentum into a raw and resonant live album, 7 Cities, 7 Songs. Currently recording the next studio album Peter and Adam...

Its another "Should Have Been Huge" episode, with the spotlight on FREAK OF NATURE—a hard rock band that deserved far more attention than they got. Formed in the early ’90s by Mike Tramp, former frontman of White Lion, Freak of Nature marked a sharp turn from Tramp’s hair metal roots. While White Lion had big hits like “When the Children Cry,” Freak of Nature delivered a darker, heavier sound that...

Author Tim Durling joins ACRP to talk about his two books about two favorite bands: SING ME AWAY: THE NIGHT RANGER ALBUM REVIEW and DOWN FOR THE COUNT: THE Y&T ALBUM REVIEW. Both books are terrific and must-reads for fans of both bands. Tim talks about how and why he became an author, how he wrote both books, and why both Y&T and Night Ranger are amazing - and deserve more attention paid t...

Welcome to a new feature at ACRP, "Should've Been Huge," where we'll showcase a band or artist that should have been a household name, or at least a mid-level success.  The Churchills were a NYC-based powerpop band active 1997-2005, releasing four albums, Magnifique 400 in 1997, You Are Here in 2000, Big Ideas in 2002, and their last album, The Odds of Winning in 2005. They toured U.S., Europe, an...

Brian Durbin hails from the Chicago area where he's making a name for himself as guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, both with the 80s hair metal tribute band Hairbangers Ball and his own solo music. With a nod to his influences - Aerosmith, KISS, Def Leppard, Van Halen - Brian's original songs are fused with beefy guitars, great riffs big hooks and sing-along choruses. Call it hair metal, call it...

Note:  Episode 9 with the amazing and talented Leilani Kilgore did not originally feed correctly, and the last 15 minutes went missing! Despite re-uploading the episode the next day, some feeds didn’t automatically update with the revised version. Fast forward a couple weeks—our audience has grown, Leilani just landed a big feature in Spin.com, and I enjoyed this conversation so much I wanted to m...

In this episode, we’re joined by Yours & Mine frontman Greg Baldwin and bassist Kris Hayes—two-thirds of the power pop trio who blend '90s alt-rock influences like The Posies and Oasis with punk urgency and melodic finesse. Their new album, The Shadow You Cast, is packed with 12 sharp, hook-laden tracks brimming with both sonic sparkle and lyrical depth. Greg’s Rickenbacker riffs, the taut rhy...

The power of live music: sometimes you just need to see a performer once and you're hooked, you instantly become a fan...and such is the case with Leilani Kilgore. That's what happened to me! Leilani is a Nashville-based blues-rock guitarist and vocalist whose sound fuses gritty riffs with soulful storytelling. Anchored in the blues, Leilani's got serious chops, she can shred and light up a fretbo...

Colin Gawel, is the co-founder, guitarist, and co-lead singer of WATERSHED, one of my favorite bands of the past 30 years. Hailing from Columbus, OH, Watershed blends loud guitars with big hooks, delivering raw, rootsy power-pop and down-to-earth rock 'n' roll—think Cheap Trick, The Kinks, Georgia Satellites, and Bruce Springsteen to name a few influences. Powered by a battered Fender Telecaster,...

Johan Bergqvist is the founder, vocalist and guitarist of The Genuine Fakes, a fantastic  power pop band from Sweden. Their influences include Fountains of Wayne, Jellyfish, The Posies and Cheap Trick and naturally this really piqued my interest! Their long-awaited new album, 3, just came out at the end of April and is chock full o' crunchy guitars, bright melodies, amazing harmonies and hooks tha...

Tomi Julkunen is the guitarist and founding member of a band I can't stop listening to, Ginger Evil, and their debut album, The Way It Burns. We had a great conversation about the long path it took for Tomi and bassist Veli Palevaara to form the band, the good karma behind finding their incredible lead singer Ella Tepponen, the seven awesome videos leading up to the release of the album, and much...

Terrific new hard rock is global - hailing from Sweden is TEASER SWEET. Think massive riffs, memorable hooks, and dynamic vocals, and you'll hear all that and more on their new album, Night Stalker. It was a lot of fun talking with vocalist Therese Damberg and guitarist Marcus Damberg - brother and sister who founded Teaser Sweet in 2013. Night Stalker is the evolutionary follow-up to Monster, rel...

There are few things I love talking about more than "my all-time favorite band of all-time," Cheap Trick, which is why I really loved having Ross Warner, author of "American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond." Ross gives such a detailed account into the biggest, most exciting, and, and times, a very frustrating time in Cheap Trick’s career, when the out-of-left-field su...

Richard Turgeon is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a solo artist with 14 albums to his credit. His music can fit neatly under the power pop banner - its filled with crunchy guitars, terrific melodies, and hooks that stick in your head. Combine that with relatable and introspective lyrics and it’s all a perfect mix for me. Call it rock, call it power pop, call it really good! Richard talks abou...

Steve recaps the awesome Rock n' Pod podcast convention in Nashville, TN, which featured a slew of terrific podcasts panels and rockers. The weekend also included a killer rock show with Tuk Smith and the Restless Hearts, Leilani Kilgore and the hilarious Punchlines and Backlines featuring comedians Courtney Cronin, Hal Sparks, Craig Gass and Don Jameison. Plus, tour announcements from The Darknes...

Welcome to the debut episode of Another Cool Rock Podcast! Under the axiom of "you have to start somewhere" your host Steve chats briefly about what this podcast will be about: talking about rock music, with the people who make it, produce it, write about it and more. Basically, talking with people who love rock n' roll as much as I do and love to talk about it as much as I do. Above all, it's abo...