Green Chili Chisme

Skunk is on the pod this week. He shows up with a snowy background, runs through a whole litany of names, and before we even start he’s already faking me out. From there it gets wild: He’s flying to Europe THIS WEEKEND for a Battle of the Bands finals showdown Grew up like Conan O’Brien was his dad His real dad tried to name him after the American Civil War His grandad designed military installati...

Author Jeff Messick joins me to talk about the darkness that shaped his first novel, the faith he found afterward, and how every word we write can become a weapon or a prayer. Two old friends, one deep conversation about purpose, prose, and grace.

In one of the most emotional episodes of Green Chili Chisme to date, host Dave Pedraza sits down with Gil Jimenez, son of the legendary Flaco Jimenez, for a conversation that spans four generations of musical lineage, cultural weight, and the emotional cost of carrying a dynasty. The episode opens with both men unexpectedly breaking down as Dave shares how Flaco became the pillar of DB Media — fro...

Some episodes stay on the rails. This one… absolutely did not. From the moment we said hello, Natasha and I were talking tacos, tequila, spirit guides, cooking, Europe, Hendrix, Joplin, and the left turn that will take her into Texas this summer. We talk childhood, culture, film sets, touring, and the music that shaped her — and then she hits me with a brand new song, performed live, for the first...

This week’s Green Chili Chisme guest is former DCCW Champion Solrac Thunder — and this conversation goes deep. We talk about him losing his dad at four, being raised by his mom and grandparents in Los Lunas, and how wrestling became the place where performance and identity finally clicked. We dive into NWA territory roots, the Guerreros, the Romeros, and what it means to carry a legacy in the ring...

Albuquerque’s own Hobo Hank breaks down his journey from backyard dreams to the big leagues. Hear how Ernest “The Animal” Baca trained him, how the Hobo Hank gimmick came to life, and what it was like sharing locker rooms with Tommy Dreamer, Bret Hart, Kurt Hennig, Bubba Ray, and the Guerreros. Plus — Hank talks money, promotions, and what it really takes to run DCCW as one of its co-owners. Wrest...

Released in sync with Ron Franscell’s new novel, Deep End This episode of Green Chili Chisme drops in perfect sync with the release of Ron Franscell’s new novel, Deep End: A Deaf Row Mystery — a timing we didn’t plan but absolutely leaned into on‑air. What starts as a conversation about his book becomes something far deeper: a raw, unexpected meditation on fear, lineage, and the stories that keep...

In this sweeping, deeply personal conversation, legendary drummer Ernie Durawa takes us through a lifetime shaped by rhythm, resilience, and destiny. Raised behind his aunt’s San Antonio bar after losing his mother as a toddler, Ernie spent his earliest years falling asleep to conjunto music — a soundtrack that would define his life. By 17, he was already playing with giants: Spot Barnett, John Le...

From Guanajuato to the South Side of San Antonio, former Mrs. San Antonio Emilce Goreti Ferreira has been writing her own story since she was a kid — even before she knew she was a storyteller. She grew up where you smell BBQ in the air and hear music on every block. A young mother who pushed through judgmental pageant rooms, she eventually became Mrs. San Antonio, then stepped into print work, mu...

When Henry Gomez was ten years old, he joined his cousin, his brother, and a friend to form The Starlights — his first band. But the real story? He learned guitar by spying on his brother’s lessons from behind a bush, then sneaking in to practice when nobody was looking. That’s the kind of origin story you can’t make up. In today’s episode, we go from those early days all the way to Selena, Chris...

Born in Scotland and raised in Darby, filmmaker Mollie Leivars grew up in a working‑class family with deep roots — she still has all her grandparents and great‑grandparents in her life. School was never easy; anxiety pushed her out of the classroom and into homeschooling long before it was common. But at home, something else took shape. Her mother introduced her to film, and Mollie began putting o...

Robert LaRoche’s story begins in the paper mill town of Holyoke, Massachusetts, where music filled the house thanks to older siblings and a grandfather who immigrated from Canada. By twelve he had a guitar in his hands, and by fifteen he was earning money playing the songs that shaped him — especially the harmonies of The Everly Brothers, his lifelong influence. In the late ’80s, Robert formed The...

Born on the Isle of Skye, Rona Walters was raised by her grandfather from age three to fourteen — a man who enrolled her in ballet before she could even understand what discipline meant. By four, she was already in a ballet club, dancing with a seriousness most adults never find. She stayed there until fourteen, when her life shifted dramatically. She was moved into a private school and forced to...

Season 2 opens with a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like two West Side kids catching up after a lifetime of living. We sit down with filmmaker, engineer, actor, and San Antonio original Jay Pennington, a man who grew up literally one street over from the Pedraza family. The episode begins where all great stories do — with bikes, cracked pavement, and a childhood fishing h...

In our latest Green Chili Chisme sit-down, we welcome Jack Pledge—an Air Force kid turned global troubadour. He met his father for the first time after Korea in ’52. Went to grade school in Japan. Picked up the guitar in ’59. By ’71, he was busking in Spain and Africa. Now, after losing his voice, Jack supports the singers he plays for—still carrying the groove, still building legacy. This episode...

Born in Corpus Christi, youngest of five boys, Allen Huff was raised on Czech roots and piano keys. His mom made every son take music—he chose the ivories. His first band didn’t have a name. His accordion just played Nissan Stadium. We talk Flaco Jimenez, Dwight Yoakam, and the circles that keep expanding. We riff oldies, Engelbert Humperdinck, and the hook that’s been stuck in his head for 15 yea...

From Miami Beach to Hollywood lights, Karissa Barcelo Montoya’s story is a rhythm of reinvention. She filmed her father’s salsa sessions, interviewed stars on Dish Nation, and now reflects on legacy, loss, and Lucille Ball. Catch the full episode—plus a bonus riff on Tito Puente.

In today’s edition of Green Chili Chisme, we sit down with singer-songwriter Bridgette London, whose journey began in hardship and bloomed into musical freedom. From learning “What the World Needs Now” on Jerry Lewis telethons to finding salvation in Waylon Jennings, Bridgette’s story is one of grit, grace, and groove. We talk influences—Heart, Willie, Etta, Stevie Ray—and shout out Jack Pledge an...

Lara Shah is one of the hardest working actresses I know. I was lucky enough to cast her in my short film The Last Rose before she left for Hollywood—and to this day, it remains one of my favorite projects. Lara’s journey has taken her through powerhouse platforms like MTV, Warner Brothers, and One Tree Hill, and today she joins us for a soulful catch-up. We talk about her creative path, the grind...

Our first overseas interview—and it’s a deep one. Shandon Sahm joins Green Chili Chisme from the Netherlands, where immigration officers recognized his name and ushered him in. That name? Doug Sahm—his father, his hero, and the soul we dive into like never before. We talk: 🎸 Being the only Sahm kid born in Cali, and not touching music until high school 🧨 Parriah, his first band, and signing to a...

Jeff Smith is the frontman for the Alt/Country/Punk outfit known as The Hickoids.  Inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, the band continues to produce and tour since 1984. In this candid interview, Jeff talks being an Okie growing up in Texas in a family that went from poor beginnings to the middle class, his musical influences and much more.  

She was the first Indigenous woman in North America to direct a major feature film. But Georgina Lightning is more than a pioneer — she’s a force. From Older Than America to Trickster, her work confronts history, heals wounds, and reclaims narrative power. In this episode, Georgina opens up about her father’s experience in residential schools, the spiritual weight of storytelling, and her mission...

From Return of the Jedi to Wrath of Khan, Dave Hardberger’s fingerprints are on the films that shaped generations. But behind the camera, he’s more than a cinematographer — he’s a storyteller, a mentor, and a keeper of Hollywood’s practical magic. In this episode, we dive into decades of filmmaking, the evolution of visual effects, and the quiet brilliance of a man who helped define the look of sc...

In this deeply personal episode, and after 14 years, host Dave Pedraza reconnects with longtime friend and trailblazing country artist Stephanie Urbina Jones. What begins as a catch-up between two old souls quickly unfolds into a legacy-rich journey through West Side San Antonio, Fredericksburg peach fields, and the Grand Ole Opry stage. Stephanie shares stories of abuelitas, Bolleros, mariachi ho...

He’s the heartbeat behind Sundance Head’s soul-country sound, a three-piece outlaw with nothing looped, nothing tracked — just raw, righteous music.  In this episode of Green Chili Chisme, I sit down with my longtime Tocayo—Dropkick Dave Walters, bassist for Sundance Head and former flame-slinger with the Flaming Hellcats. What starts with a story about a gig in the woods—where the crowd was mysel...