Badass Records

I received an invite to attend Flare tha Rebel's album-listening party at Vine Street Brewing Co. a few months ago, and while there, I met JT Daniels, who was displaying some of his artwork. A little while later, I hit him up to join me for what would become Episode No. 229, and he obliged. JT is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, an artist, and more; I'm grateful that he made time to come hav...

Bradley McKellip is a son, a sibling, a fiancé, a talented musician, and a gifted writer. He's also my guest for Episode No. 228. You can follow Mr. McKellip on Instagram at @bradleymckellip, and consume his content on Bandcamp, where you'll discover that he has four EPs, a live set, and a single. He's been a part of numerous outfits in the Lawrence, KS area, and, well, I just can't say enough kin...

Part of the fun of a project like this is the gambling, the happenstance. And a lot of what that looks like on my end is taking a chance on a stranger and a stranger taking a chance on me. It's really fun most of the time, and I typically wind up feeling good about things going the way they went. And -- more importantly -- so do my guests. So, when @kc_slimm's content started making its way to my...

Jimmy Wing, a.k.a. An Esperluette, is a son, a sibling, a husband, and a conductor of synth-pop mayhem from Kansas City, Missouri. The handle for An Esperluette on Instagram is @anesperluette, and you can also find Jimmy's stuff on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok. An Esperluette's full-length release, Splatter , dropped in June of last year, and consists of 10 tracks and a 33-m...

When Derrick Benitz joined me for Episode No. 160 (3/26/25), we were talking about a bunch of cool stuff and he said something that prompted me to mention that I'd like to have him back one day for another conversation. Today is that day. Or...the other day was that day, and today the episode's dropping, but you catch my drift. Derrick's first appearance covered topics like street photography, his...

Jen Jones, Jen Jones, "...gonna walk around ..." Jen Jones, Jen Jones, "...gonna..." Ho, boy, if dad jokes just aren't the bees knees. What a great guest for Episode No. 224, though! Jen Jones is a daughter, a sibling, an educator, and so much more. For example, she helps put together the monthly R.A.W. storytelling open-mic night at The Black Box in Kansas City (1060 Union Avenue), and the upcomi...

Before I tell you about the amazing Emma Jo as my guest for Episode No. 223, I'd be sorely remiss if I didn't give a world-class shoutout to the absolute North American hockey great, Barry Melrose. Barry warmed the hearts of hockey fans for decades and turned some of the non-hockey-knowing world onto the sport by virtue of his knowledge, charisma, and wit at a time when the game needed it most. On...

Paul Seiz is a son, a sibling, a husband, and a father. He's also my guest for Episode No. 222. If one were so inclined, one could follow Paul on Instagram at @paulseizisalive, and one could peruse Paul's Web site, redbeatentertainment.com as well. Were one to check out said site, one would learn that Paul has an arsenal of entertainment at his disposal, and you can hire them. Or just check them o...

Of Tree's Ben Parks joined me for Episode No. 221, and we've got a few things to cover, so let's get into it. Ben is a son, a sibling, a father, a visual artist, and a musician. On the artist front, please visit benjaminparks.info to check out his available workshops, studio space, exhibits, and commission-outreach details. His Instagram handle is @branchesoftree. For the musician in him, find det...

Christena Graves is a daughter, a sibling, a wife, a mom, and a musician. She's also my guest for Episode No. 220. Christena joined me a couple of weeks ago to talk about her journey in youth, adulthood, parenting, and musicianship. We talked about faith and family, being a part of the music business and re-entering it after a short hiatus, recording, writing, producing, and so much more. We also...

Adam Doyle of Shotgun Wedding Singer joined me for Episode No. 219, and it was both a treat to meet him and a delight to visit with him about his thus-far journey on this rock hurtling through space. We talked about crafting one's own musicianship path, the band community in Kansas City, seeing awesome live shows, and a bunch more. We also took a peek at a few of Adam's favorite albums, which were...

Josh Barber of Idle Heirs joins me for Episode No. 218. Mr. Barber is a son, a sibling, a husband, a bandmate, and a man of both vision and talent. Josh and I talked about the process of writing the bones of Life Is Violence -- Idle Heirs' full-length release from 2025 -- in the Pacific Northwest, recording it in Norway, and the excitement surrounding their next project. We also talked about a few...

Ian Dobyns is a son, a sibling, a partner, a mixer/producer, a musician, a super-sharp dude, and a great conversationalist. He's also my guest for Episode No. 217. He stopped by the studio Saturday and chewed the fat with me on life in the producing/engineering/mixing lanes, wearing different band hats, growing up, relationships, and a bunch more. Find him on Instagram at @atlantis_morrissey, @ do...

Daniel Cole is a son, a sibling, a fiance, and a drummer in numerous projects. And he was kind enough to join me for Episode No. 216 of the podcast. I sat down with Daniel last week to chat about his story, the outfits he gigs with, music, being engaged, and a bunch more. His Instagram handle is @dcoledrums, and if you peep his bio, you'll see links for all of the bands he currently collaborates w...

As we roll into the birthday-weekend celebration of the United States of America, one might imagine coming out the other side of the festivities thinking a little more of the greater good than of the self. Maybe that's a lost cause at this juncture, but I don't believe that to be true. There are plenty of decent folks and resources and programs (or at least perhaps there were) in this country that...

Your assignment for the week -- class -- is to find someone cooler than Cass Jones. And once I've graded all of your papers, I'm pleased to share with you that I will be modifying all of your Fs to As, because -- that's right -- it's an impossible ask. We're putting up something in the form of Episode No. 214, and I couldn't be happier to share that @cassjooones on Instagram is my guest, and what...

Very pleased to welcome Sammy Sanchez back in to the podcast studio for another exciting look at an artist's discography, and this time -- for Episode No. 213 -- we dove in to the Queens of the Stone Age catalog. If you've not caught previous episodes with Sammy, you can check him out on Episode Nos 44 (first appearance), 66 (Tom Waits), 88 (Beck), 113 (Radiohead), and 187 (King Gizzard & the...

It's good fun for the dork in me this week as we're dropping a palindrome episode, and I couldn't be happier than to share that Brian Hurtgen joined me for the 212th installment of the program. Brian is a son, a sibling, a parent, a partner, and a wearer of many band hats. We talked family, musicianship, band life and the learning curve that sometimes comes with it. We also talked about life, deat...

Hi, hello, hey, and howdy! Episode No. 211 features the super-fantastic Scott Devouton of Sound Ridge Studio! My conversation with Scott involved details associated with creating a recording space, the development of chops as a musician, and you can check it out in a number of places. Namely, here! Scott and I talked about family, growing up, life path-walking, and so much more. We also happened t...

Welcome to Episode No. 210, and shouts out to my guest, Flare Tha Rebel. Many thanks to my good friend, Keith, down at Brewery Emperial for letting me know about Flare Tha Rebel's existence, and -- before I get ahead of myself -- be absolutely sure that you check out Flare's new album, Dear City , which is available on streaming platforms. Our conversation was super-solid, and we talked about a lo...

Dane Bridges was kind enough to return to the Badass Records podcast studio for another fascinating conversation. During our chat, we talked school, work, band life, recording, gigging, life changes, Major Matt Mason USA, Grindstone, Holiday at Sea, From Me, Straylight, and a bunch more. In that mix, we also talked about a few albums that're important to Dane. Those were these: Refused's The Shape...

Shouts out to James Carter of You Found Music for connecting me with three fantastic Kansas City people, each of them cool in their own regard. Christian Dixon joined me for Episode No. 202. Julie Bennett Hume stopped by to say hello a few weeks later, and today -- I'm pleased to share that singer/songwriter/musician David Luther is my guest for Episode No. 208. David and I talked family, health,...

Hello! Pushing into the early 200s here with the Badass Records podcast, and I was lucky enough to host Phil Craven last week for Episode No. 207. Phil is a son, a sibling, a down-to-Earth dude, and a musician in both Whiskey for the Lady as well as Dimension Bill Edwards. This is my favorite time of year yet, as a) NHL playoffs are happening, and b) it's not hot yet, so I was thrilled to have som...

It's that time of the week again, and I'm excited to share that Sean Moran of KC Film Project is my guest for Episode No. 206. Sean is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, a photographer, and one heck of a fun guy with whom to chat. We sat down a couple of Saturdays ago to chat all about KC Film Project and a few of the things the team are working on. To keep your finger on the pulse, follow the...

Welcome, welcome, welcome. My guest this week is Julie Bennett Hume, whom is a daughter, a sibling, a wife, a mother, and a singer/songwriter. Follow Julie on Instagram at @julie_bennetthumemusic, check out her Web site, juliebennetthume.com , and find her stuff on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and CD Baby. Julie has released three solo albums, Late Bloomer (2017), Vinegar (2019),...