Badass Records

I couldn't be happier to share that -- not only is the wonderful Lisa Alpert back, but -- the Becoming a Swifty series has had new life breathed into it. Yes. It's Episode No. 165 of Badass Records , but installment number four of Taylor Swift talk. If you didn't happen to catch Lisa's first episode, please check out No. 147, and -- in today's episode -- take note of all of the phenomenal guests L...

After a couple of weeks off for rest and recalibration, Badass Records is back with a new episode, and this one features the fantastic Cole Bales of Black Light Animals. Cole is a son, a brother, a boyfriend, a bandmate times two, and he's my guest for Episode No. 164. Black Light Animals has an upcoming RecordBar gig. That's Thursday, May 1st at RecordBar. They also have a new album out. It's cal...

Pleased as punch to share that Til Willis made his return to Badass Records after an 80-episode gap; if you're doin' the math at home, he was here for Episode No. 83 back in September of 2023, and it was a great one. Highly recommend you visit (or revisit) it. This time around -- for Episode No. 163 -- it was smooth sailing' for Til and I to pick up where we left off last time, and talk about a he...

It was an honor and a privilege to meet Marilee Rose and chew the life-story fat with her a couple of weeks ago. She is a daughter and a sibling and a mother and a fiancee. She's a years-long entrepreneur, a lover of planning and travel, and a gangster in her own right. She's also my guest for Episode No. 162. Marilee and I talked growing up, being a businesswoman, acknowledging adversity and flou...

Please put your hands together for Mr. Jamie Campbell! Jamie is a son, a brother, a husband, an actor, a stand-up comic, and he's also my guest for Episode No. 161. Find Jamie at jamiecampbellcomedy.com , on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and where you stream. If you go the YouTube route, be sure to check out his hour-long special, Big Dad Energy , and if you go the social-media route, keep...

Derrick Benitz joined me for Episode No. 160, and I'm super-grateful that he stuck with me through a period of correspondence, ultimately making the trek over in late January to bullshit with me about photography, growing up, Spotify playlists, and being happy/healthy in life. Find Derrick on Instagram under the @nomadphotog handle, and please peep his handsome Web site, derrickbenitz.com . Whilst...

Solomon Alpert joined me for Episode No. 159. Solomon is a son, a brother, a husband, a father figure, and a Reentry Counselor at Benilde Hall, a facility which helps folks by fostering sustained recovery, stable housing, economic self-sufficiency, and improved mental and physical well-being. An honorable career and facility, to say the least. This week's guest came highly recommended courtesy of...

Pleased to've met Jeremiah James Gonzales and learned all about Redder Moon for Episode #158. Redder Moon's blend of gothic new-wave/post-punk can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. They've got something in the neighborhood of eight releases available to check out, including a single from late last year, with more stuff coming soon. Jeremiah was kind enough to share a portion...

Ladies and gentlemen...It's Lukas! The brain child behind Sentimental Creatures was kind enough to make the hour-long commute to the B.R.P. studio amidst winter conditions last month, and I was grateful he did, as we talked growing up, God, earning first-gig cap feathers, and a ton more. Lukas and his outfit can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, plus all streaming services. Learning abo...

Amber Lea is a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother figure to her husband's two kids. She's an incredibly intelligent woman with a great sense of humor that has taken on the challenge of facing health and medical issues with an admirable sense of strength. She's also the owner of Dear You Tattoo (4470 Rainbow in KCK), and she's my guest for Episode No. 156. I usually chat with my guests for a...

Kyle Maggart of Brothers Music in Shawnee joined me for Episode No. 155, and I enjoyed the heck out of our conversation. His joint can be found at 12206 Johnson Drive, and they can be reached at 913-766-3869, or followed on Instagram as @brothersmusickc. We talked about growing up, getting into music at a young age, starting a business, and collecting a ton of vinyl. Naturally, we talked about a f...

Jamie Searle, a.k.a. @jjeromemusic, joined me for Episode No. 154, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to've met him and gotten to know him a little bit. Jamie is a son, a husband, a father, a musician, a songwriter, a producer, and he's the guy that runs The Westport Bowery, so holler at him for any of your booking/entertainment needs for that venue. Our conversation touched on family, growing u...

James R. Wilson, Jr. is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, an artist, and -- amongst many other things -- he's my guest for Episode No. 153. James and I sat down to talk about family, growing up in KCK, fatherhood, the world of creating and making art, skating, and his creations on both YouTube and Instagram. We also talked a little bit about a few of James' favorite albums, which were these:...

Ladies and Gentlemen -- Please put your hands together for...Jason Adams! Hey, hey, hey...It's the second freaking week of January in 2025, and -- to quote my future ex-wife, Gwen Stefani, "this shit is bananas." Stoked, nonetheless, to have Jason in the studio. It was lovely to meet him, and I'm jazzed to tell you that, together, we made Episode #152 happen. Jason is the brains behind Supplementa...

Robert Bearce is a son, a sibling, a husband, and a father. He's the brains behind The Free Rent Band, and he's my guest for Episode No. 151. In addition to his numerous other talents, Robert is also an app developer, a music lover, and he's the founder of Briar Fest ( briarfestkc.com ). It was a pleasure to meet him, and chat with him about his journey so far. We touched on writing, recording, th...

The list of descriptors to accurately depict Luke Harbur, a.k.a. musicbyskippy, would rival Santa's gift list, so I'm only touching on a few here. He's a son, a brother, a transplant survivor, an artist, a producer, a beatboxing specialist, an entrepreneur, a wonderful human being, and he's my guest for Episode No. 150. Luke's stuff all lives at musicbyskippy.com , but you can also find him on Twi...

"And the man on the cuts! Twice as nice with the slice...his name ain't Tommy...but he's my boy!" Yes, that's right. A little apropos-of-nothing (Chicago's own) Liquid Soul quote to celebrate the fact that Dylan Johnson joined me for Episode No. 149. Very pleased that Dylan joined me for this conversation, and I feel it's important to let you know that his stuff is as follows: dylanjohnsonlive.com...

I was pleased as all get-out one day this summer when Dr. Erika C. Martin messaged me on a thread I'd started a few weeks prior. She mentioned she'd be coming through town the following day and -- were I available to schedule something last-minute -- she'd be happy to slightly alter her travel plans to come sit and chat with me for a few. She is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Emp...

When Facebook suggested Lisa Alpert as a person I might know, I peeped her profile, and thought, this lady seems pretty cool. And oftentimes, that hunch is accurate. Not always, but often. This one was no exception. Lisa Alpert is cool, rad, awesome, and good vibes, and that's precisely the sort of thing I'm seeking when looking for guests. Lisa's a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a business ow...

Hey! This is so fun. I'm so happy to've been afforded the opportunity to record a small handful of on-location conversations, but none of those have been as exhilarating as my conversation with Ella Gantz (for Episode #146) of Perry Farm to Fork. Ella and her sisters own and run the lovely co-op of sorts that offers local produce and proteins and other goodies to the fine folks of their Perry/LeCo...

Brock Wilbur is a son, a brother, a husband, and an author. He's my guest for Episode No. 146, and he's also the Editor-in-Chief of The Pitch , Kansas City's independent source for news and culture. It was a pleasure to meet Brock and learn about the different stops his life journey have taken him to, and I'm grateful for both the time and the conversation. We talked about family, being a stand-up...

In late July, I was honored to have Tracy Hoth back in my home again, and it took both time and convincing to get her here. Nearly a decade ago, I hired her for some professional-organization help, and she was fantastic. Our package was broken into tiers, and -- due to some critical life changes -- we had a little bit of a gap in between tiers one and two. Many moons later, she appeared in the peo...

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Whatcha' got to say?!" I don't have any "Hollywood Swingers" action to share with you, but I do have some equally exciting news, and that's that Robert Flynn finally made it by the studio and we sat down together for what wound up being Episode No. 143 of this here podcast. Robert was on my initial-initial outreach list while I was trying to get this thing live and off the ground,...

"Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle o' Brass Monkey," it's another new-episode Thursday, and I'm geeking out to share with you that Bill Belzer joined me for a fantastic conversation. So great catching up with Bill, and learning about our mutual love of the greatest band in American rock 'n' roll history, and it was equally fun learning a little bit about Bill's band, Miss Boating. Bill's over on the 'Gram...

Greetings! It's new-episode Thursday, and I'm pleased to say that Dan Perez was my guest for Episode No. 141. Dan is in four bands: 1) a smallish trio outfit with his brother; 2) Whiskey Mash Band; 3) Helping Phriendly Bluegrass Band; and 4) The Kaw Valley Hop Pickers. Dan's silky bass notes in each of those conglomerations don't entirely comprise him, though; he's a son, a sibling, a Phishhead, a...