Rock & Roll Nightmares

Staci talks with The Wrecking Crew director Denny Tedesco about his much-anticipated music doc, Immediate Family —the “immediate family” of the film are seasoned session musicians Russ Kunkel , Leland Sklar , Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar . The film highlights their essential work on some of the biggest hits by James Taylor , Neil Young , Stevie Nicks , Carole King , and Phil Collins , to name...

Janiss Garza joins Staci on this episode of the Rock & Roll Nightmares Podcast to talk about her 7-year stint as an editor at RIP magazine , which covered the rock and heavy metal scene, her collaboration with Lemmy of Motorhead to write his autobiography "White Line Fever," plus her early coverage of bands like Pantera and Guns N’ Roses . She's also a rock photographer and is currently busy w...

Staci’s guests are Patti Quatro Ericson and Kristen Hillaire Glasgow , hosts of a new podcast, Rock ‘N’ Roll Survivors , which covers Patti’s career as a musician from the ’60s right up to now. Patti was on this podcast last summer talking about Fanny , Cradle , and growing up in a musical family, but there is plenty more to discuss! They dish on women in rock, the entertainment biz vs academia, K...

Nathan Carson is a musician, writer, music journalist, and DJ. He’s the co-founder and drummer of the doom metal band Witch Mountain, and he hosts an FM radio show called Heavy Metal Sewïng Cïrcle, on which he's interviewed Rob Halford of Judas Priest, among others. Nathan talks about the evolution of metal music, going on a club tour with Candlemass, and he gives us a glimpse into his processes a...

“ My Rock Moment ” podcaster and adjunct instructor of California rock history, Amanda Morck , joins Staci on this episode of " Rock & Roll Nightmares " to talk about some of her most intriguing episodes as well as California-based bands like Eagles , Love , and The Flying Burrito Brothers . She has fun stories about interviewing women in rock such as Pamela Des Barres and Rita Wild , and also...

Christy Alexander Hallberg , the author of a rock music-inspired novel called “ Searching for Jimmy Page ,” joins Staci to chat about her book, as well as her podcast, “ Rock is Lit .” Christy gives fascinating details on traveling to the UK to research her book—she visited all the sacred grounds, from Headley Grange to Boleskine House—and how the Led Zeppelin song “ Four Sticks” inspired her. She...

Staci’s guest is Nick Broomfield , the director of The Stones & Brian Jones , a new documentary that chronicles the ill-fated guitarist’s short life and brilliant career. Nick has also directed films about Leonard Cohen and Kurt Cobain , plus true crime documentaries, such as The Grim Sleeper and one on the serial killer, Aileen Wournos . Nick gives a glimpse into his process for making The St...

Keith Rosson , the author of the much-talked-about new punk-rock-tinged thriller novel “ Fever House ” joins Staci to talk about his inspiration, writing process, and how he went from indie author to joining the ranks of the greats published by Random House. Keith also talks about his past professions as a graphic designer for icons like Green Day and being a member of a touring punk band, among o...

Steve Rosen , a music journalist whose career spans 50 years, returns to talk more with Staci about music and writing. Steve was the West Coast correspondent for Guitar World magazine and he wrote for Guitar Player , among others. He’s also the author of books on Randy Rhoads , Prince , and Black Sabbath -- plus the massive tome “Tonechaser.” Steve talks about his friendship (and falling out) with...

Staci’s guest is Steve Rosen , a music journalist whose career spans 50 years. Steve was the West Coast correspondent for Guitar World magazine and he wrote for Guitar Player , among others. He’s also the author of books on Randy Rhoads , Prince , Black Sabbath , among others -- and the massive tome “Tonechaser.” It’s an incredible, intimate story by Steve about Ed Van Halen’ s life as seen throug...

Staci's guest is the incredibly talented and legendary musician and vocalist, Mark Farner. He is a founding member of the original Grand Funk Railroad and a platinum recording artist. You know and love him from classic rock staples like “I’m Your Captain” (Closer to Home)” “We’re An American Band” and “Heartbreaker.” He’s also in Staci's documentary, “The Ventures: Stars on Guitars.” As 2023 close...

Staci’s guest is Robert J. Stava , an author and musician whose latest book, “ Dead Set: A Rock & Roll Trilogy of Horror ,” is comprised of three novellas that take place in a haunted town called Wyvern Falls. Robert performed for nearly a decade on the New York music scene with his band, The Jag , and on a previous episode of this podcast, he talked about drinking with Michael Stipe of REM ,...

Staci’s guest is author Jarret Keene , who has a new book out called “ Hammer of the Dogs .” Led Zeppelin fans are sure to pick up on the play on words but there are also quite a few shout-outs to rock and metal music throughout the prose. Jarret is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada , and he’s also the author of a biography on The Killers , one of the...

Staci’s guest is May Pang , an author, former music executive, and now the subject of a documentary, “ The Lost Weekend: A Love Story ,” which is about her romantic and creative time with John Lennon in the 1970s. She worked for Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, as a personal assistant and production coordinator; when the couple separated in 1973, May and the former Beatle began a relationship that l...

Joan Baez: I Am A Noise is a new documentary biopic directed by Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle, and Karen O’Connor . The three filmmakers join Staci on this episode of Rock & Roll Nightmares to talk about how they put together this non-traditional look at the famous folk singer, songwriter, and musician. I Am A Noise follows Joan Baez on her farewell tour and delves into her personal archives, in...

Rudy Valdez , director of the comprehensive new documentary “ Carlos ” joins Staci to talk about coming on to the daunting project that would cover the legendary Carlos Santana’ s full career from the very beginning to the present. Rudy talks about his introduction to Santana’s music, why he thinks the guitarist has managed to weather all kinds of changes in the music world, and shares what he lea...

Staci welcomes Jerome Reuter , a film critic and historian whose work can be found in Diabolique magazine and various online publications. He is also the author of a new book, Electric Funeral: Black Sabbath and the Cultural Landscape 1970-1975 , which is a scholarly work that drills down on the importance of the band’s first albums. Discussion covers the cultural zeitgeist of the time, which incl...

Staci’s guest is Tony Simerman , the owner of KnuckleBonz , a successful company that creates officially licensed, high-end collectibles for rock music fans—this includes apparel and action figures but it goes way beyond that; there’s also 3D vinyl, handcrafted beers, and more. KnuckleBonz creates licensed memorabilia for Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, KISS...

Julia Lage, bassist for the bands Vixen, and Smith/Kotzen, joins Staci on the Rock & Roll Nightmares podcast to talk about how she got her start playing on a homemade instrument, the music business in Brazil, getting a dentist’s eye view of Steven Tyler’s mouth, scary happenings at concerts, and her own personal “rock & roll nightmare.”

Staci converses with Holly Knight , the songwriter behind hits like The Best ( Tina Turner ), Love is a Battlefield ( Pat Benatar ), I Am the Warrior ( Scandal ), and Ragdoll ( Aerosmith ) to name just a few. Holly talks about her new memoir, “ I Am the Warrior: My Crazy Life Writing the Hits and Rocking the MTV 80s ,” discusses the pros and cons of her profession then and now, working with Elvira...

Staci interviews Peter Summit , the lead vocalist for Crashing Wayward , a Las Vegas-based hard rock band that features well-known names on guitar, bass, and drums. Peter talks about the band’s lauded debut album, Listen , and plays their new single, “ Stranger Days .” He talks about working with Ron Keel and Mike Gillies to bring the album to life, but also the life behind the music and how some...

Rockin’ frontman Shaun Soho joins Staci on this episode to talk about how his band Crash Midnight became the highest-drawing indie rock act in Las Vegas over the last few years. The five-piece has gained quite a following due to their old-school, straight-head, hard rock music that’s in the tradition of bands like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith but with a touch of late 70s punk. Shaun outlines the evo...

Writer-director Mick Garris joins Staci on this episode to fill us in on his appearance in the new comprehensive Stephen King documentary, King Onscreen , but he also gives a glimpse into his background in music—he started as a teenage journalist, who interviewed Janis Joplin , Jimi Hendrix , and The Moody Blues , to name a few. Mick also reveals how he first started working with Stephen King in t...

Staci’s guest is singer and guitarist Tim Polecat , who’s best known to music fans for his British-born neo-rockabilly band, The Polecats , who had a hit in the U.S. in the ‘80s, “Make a Circuit with Me.” Tim is a fan of The Ventures and an incredibly knowledgeable music historian, so naturally, he is in the documentary “Stars on Guitars.” The pair also talk about David Bowie , how punk rock broke...

Debbie Kruger , the author of “Songwriters Speak,” joins Staci to talk about her definitive book on Australia’s most popular and important songwriters. This is part two of the in-depth interview, and in this episode, she talks about her take on the controversy surrounding AC/DC’s "Back in Black" album, interviewing Nick Cave , her love of the band Sherbet , and working with rock photography legend...