Couch Riffs

This episode our guest is Klaus Eichstadt, lead guitarist and co-founder of Ugly Kid Joe. Ugly Kid Joe rocketed into the spotlight with a back-to-back hits in the early 90s and rode the wave until breaking up in 1997 under friendly circumstances. In 2010 the band reunited and has been going strong since, touring Europe and the UK regularly. In May/June 2023 UKJ will be touring the United States fo...

Our guest this episode is Jarrod Goon, one half of the guitar firepower duo for the Australian punk rock band, Clowns. We met Jarrod and his bandmate Cam Rust in the summer of 2022 on tour and playing together at Hellfest in Clisson, France. We reminisce here at length. But, Clowns will be playing shows across mostly German-speaking countries in the summer of 2023 and you should go check them out...

Our guest this episode is the extremely talented and cool Guy Davis, bassist for Kultur Shock and bassist/banjoist/vocalist for Guardian Alien, Sage, Ban Jovi and who has previously worked with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. This conversation was extremely fun and full of revelations despite knowing Guy for nearly 3 decades. I hope you enjoy. If you are in Europe please go check out Kultur Shock on t...

Our guest this episode is Keith Carne, drummer of We Are Scientists and Communipaw and all-around gentleman & scholar of the musical and drumming worlds. Keith is a drum educator, touring/session player, and has been working on some solo music that should release this year. Very exciting! At the time of this podcast's release Keith will be on tour with We Are Scientists in Europe. Catch them if yo...

Our guest this episode is drummer Matt Covey of Such Gold, Zombie Apocalypse, and veteran touring & recording player from New York by way of Connecticut. Matt played on a Couch Riffs video that will be (or was) released very soon after this episode is/was released and absolutely crushed it. He was a pleasure to hang with and learn about, as well. Catch him on tour after the release of a new Such G...

Our guest this episode is Stephen Chopek, multi-instrumentalist/drummer who has toured and recorded with the likes of Charlie Hunter, John Mayer, and Mike Doughty to name a few. Stephen has been writing and recording his own original music as well as some covers and has built quite a beautiful collection of tunes to his credit. Most recently he released a single, a cover of the Pogues song, Five G...

Our guest this episode is Paul Kehoe, drummer of Peter Hook and The Light and former drummer of Monaco. Paul is a lifelong Manchester resident and a handsome and talented lad who I had the great pleasure of touring alongside in 2022. I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to catch up with him and gain more insight into his musical history here. I hope you enjoy this episode!  If you're enjoy...

This episode we are very pleased to host Todd La Torre, vocalist of Queensrÿche AND lesser known as the killer drummer that he is! In fact, Todd tracked drums on the 2019 Queensrÿche album, The Verdict in the absence the band's original drummer, Scott Rockenfield. Couch Riffs was lucky enough to get him to lend his incredible voice to an upcoming cover song, too. Stay tuned! Todd joined Queensrÿch...

Our guest this episode is Benjy Johnson, owner operator of Earthtones Recording in Greensboro NC, is a grammy nominated producer as well as a fantastic musician himself who is to release a collaborative album with partners Mike Watt (Minutemen/fIREHOSE), Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple) and Scotty Irving (Clang Quartet) under the name Spirit of Hamlet. The album, Northwest of Hamuretto will b...

Our guest this episode is Carl Raether, bassist for Crashing Wayward and Max Fite as well as a session and gig man about town. Max has lots of touring experience under his belt and cut his teeth van touring out of the DC music scene before relocating to LA and finally Las Vegas most recently. His band Crashing Wayward is working on its debut album and is performing a number of shows coming up. Be...

Our guest this episode is Lincoln Barr. The former frontman of Red Jacket Mine released his third solo album in late 2022, Forfeit The Prize, a beautiful collection of heavily orchestrated jazz-leaning pop songs with a definite classic vibe. I had a fantastic time catching up with Lincoln in this conversation and learning about him quite a bit more deeply despite us knowing each other for nearly 2...

Our guest this episode is the talented Adam Johnson aka Adam Patrick Johnson. Adam is a musician, content creator, music business coach and a hell of a nice guy. You can check out his personal YouTube and social accounts at Adam Patrick Johnson and be sure to check out his podcast Cover Band Confidential, as well. And, of course direct yourself over to his website linked below. If you're enjoying...

Our guest this episode is Angus Clark, a massively talented guitarist/composer and geniunely kind and awesome human. Angus has played with the likes of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Cher, Kitaro, Daredevil Squadron and many other bands and musicians. He is a guitar instructor on TrueFire.com and manages Song Division in America, a music-based experiential corporate team building organization. I hope y...

Our guest this episode is the wonderful Ricky Warwick of Black Star Riders, Thin Lizzy, The Almighty and for a short time the guitarist for New Model Army. In our conversation we do our best to cover Ricky's decades-long career and get up to speed to talk about the Black Star Riders album released on 1/20/23, Wrong Side Of Paradise. The band will be on the road in the UK and Ireland in late Winter...

Our guest this episode is Keith Lowe, a fantastically talented bassist from Seattle who is releasing his first solo album of his career on 1/20/23, an EP of beautiful ambient music textured almost entirely with upright bass performances. Keith has had an incredible career performing and recording with the likes of Fiona Apple, Bill Frisell, Brad, Wayne Horvitz, David Sylvian and Larua Veirs among...

Our guest this episode is Dennis Sanders, frontman for LA band Spirit In The Room. Dennis and the band released an EP in the summer of 2022 entitled Flamingo and it happens to be my favorite release of last year. Highly recommended for fans of 90s heavy/alt rock a la Jesus Lizard, Failure, Deftones, etc. In this conversation we cover Dennis' youth, his early years in music, as well as Flamingo and...

Our guest this episode is Mike Varney, guitarist and record label icon. As the young founder of Shrapnel Records, Mike Varney helped elevate the shred guitar movement as it grew and flourished through the 80s and gained niche celebrity throughout the guitar world through his labels and a column he wrote called Spotlight which highlighted local guitar heroes from around the country and world. Many...

This episode our guest is Rev Jones, an incredible bassist and vocalist who has worked with the likes of Leslie West and Mountain, Michael Schenker, Paul Gilbert, Steelheart and many others. Last year he released a solo album, In the Key of Z, which showcases his over the top and explosive bass talents. Rev was a great hang and has loads of stories to share and I hope you enjoy this conversation l...

Our guest this episode is Frank Grocholski aka Frankie G, a talented guitarist currently living in Texas. Frank grew up on the east coast cutting his teeth on multiple styles, picking up the guitar very young and gigging early. He's currently playing with the band Cowboy Mouth as well as doing various other session gigs. Frank recently appeared in a Couch Riffs video for Ain't It Fun and crushed i...

Our guest this episode is Richard Shaw, former guitarist of Cradle of Filth and touring guitarist for King 810. Richard is a massively talented guitarist performing and recording for many projects both on stage and in the studio as well as teaching. If you're looking to bone up on your theory or improv chops reach out to him and schedule some time. He's the man! I hope you enjoy this podcast as mu...

Our guest this episode is Whitfield Crane, singer for Ugly Kid Joe who has recently released a new full-length album titled Rad Wings of Destiny. I met Ugly Kid Joe (and Whit) on tour 10 years ago and became fast friends with all of the members of the band. This friendship eventually led to me doing some touring with the band over the summer of 2022 and I will continue performing with them for som...

Our guest this episode is our one-time tourmate Martin Rebelski, keyboardist for a small handful of well-known and prominent English bands of note. A lifelong musician, Martin details his early years and development in this podcast conversation as well as his introductions into how he came to play with his most well-known bands, Doves, Peter Hook, and Echo & The Bunnymen. I hope you enjoy this as...

My guest this episode is Chris Ballew, former singer/frontman for Presidents of the United States of America (PUSA). Chris is a prolific and magnificent songwriter and dynamo stage performer. He has one of the most commanding and comfortable stage presences I've ever seen, equally at home in performing set song arrangements and venturing off into impromptu sidebars of fun. He's begun to release so...

This episode features my conversation with Kevin Sepriano of LA band, Spirit in the Room. Kevin has a long history playing music in many bands going back to the 80s. His day gig is an enviable one, working for Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, etc.) and he has a great side hustle building and consulting pedal boards with his company, Anxiety Electronics. Spirit in the Room have a new EP called Famingo...

On this glorious return to the mic we are happy to be hosting none other than our great friend Rachel Flotard of Visqueen and Neko Case. Rachel is one of the funniest, most talented humans we've ever known and this was a perfect comeback episode, catching up on 25 years of laughs together. Visqueen will be playing a benefit reunion show in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern in historic Ballard! This sh...