Rock & Roll Nightmares

Mike Bishop , a founding member of the shock rock, heavy metal, comic book-loving, D&D playing, art collective: GWAR , talks to Staci Layne Wilson on this episode of “Rock & Roll Nightmares.” Mike is an academic and PhD., but music fans know him as GWAR’s bassist “ Beefcake the Mighty ” and lead singer “ Blothar The Berserker. ” His GRAMMY-winning band has been pushing buttons and spewing...

Staci Layne Wilson is joined by film professionals Shane Bitterling, Joel Amos, and Aaron Kai to talk about portrayals of rock stars and music fans in various comedies including Wayne’s World, Pirate Radio, Still Crazy, Walk Hard, and Get Him to the Greek. Plus a few honorable mentions you might not expect!

The Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, TN., once hosted the world's largest collection of vintage guitars and was host to many a great musician on its stage. When the pandemic’s effect on the music industry forced the museum to permanently close, a local musician and filmmaker, Dagan W. Beckett , decided to document the final hours and cultural impact of this special collection. He joins Stac...

Staci interviews Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine , the directors of an in-depth documentary “ HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song .” Leonard Cohen was a singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist whose work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, love, loss, and death. While most artists spread these topics around over albums or several songs, Hallelujah has all of that an...

Cohost Ruthann Jagge and Staci grill horror author Josh Millican , who has a brand new novel out called Deeper Than Hell . It’s set in a Dante’s Inferno like underground nightmare, and features rock-related references throughout. Josh is also working on the authorized biography of Richard Elfman , a cult film director and a founding member of The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo . Also, Staci talks...

Today’s guest and cohost is Joel D. Amos. He wrote the short story “ Sharing the Fright Together ” in Rock & Roll Nightmares: Do You Fear Like We Do , the 1970s edition. We chat about Joel’s appearance in a Pink Floyd concert movie, his popular movie review website, TheMovieMensch.com , and the conundrum of selling one’s soul to the Devil. But mostly, we talk film—specifically, the blend of ho...

Staci and cohost Larry Hansen chat with Josh Kennedy , who is the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Moods , a band that rocks hard and keeps the old-school sound alive. The power trio has gotten radio play all over the world, plus has some tunes on the Billboard charts—we play one of their songs, “ Saturday Night ” (sans the fever … or the special ...), during the show… it’s a banger! The Black...

Staci talks to Greg Bjorkman , the director of a new music-centric feature film, Press Play . It’s about a young couple who are in a relationship that centers around a shared love of music; there’s also a sci-fi element with time travel… oh, and death! The soundtrack includes songs by Japanese Breakfast , Father John Misty , Dayglow , and more—which Greg will talk about, as well as his thoughts on...

Staci speaks with June Millington , a founding member and the lead guitarist of the first all-female rock band, Fanny . Fanny was formed in 1969 and they paved the way for higher-profile bands like The Runaways in the 1970s, and The Go-Go’s in the 1980s. June talks about some of her struggles breaking into the so-called “boy’s club” of rock, and the brand-new documentary film, Fanny: The Right to...

Filmmaker D.G. Brock joins Staci to talk about getting her start working for B-movie impresario Roger Corman —her first movie was Slumber Party Massacre 2 , featuring a rockabilly driller killer with a gruesome guitar. Deb also worked with the notorious Vincent Gallo on two films (yes… even “that” film…). She talks about women in the industry, attending a drug-fueled Grateful Dead concert, and has...

Staci interviews Oriel Collins , DIY fashion expert and a punk rock historian. Oriel reminisces of her time on the D.C. punk scene in the ’90s, being in the mosh pit at a TSOL show, and talks about the questionable deaths of Nancy Spungen , Sid Vicious , and Fred “Freak” Smith . She also goes into the reasons behind the fashion that started with punk, then evolved into the mainstream. Lastly, Stac...

Staci and cohost Curt Lambert interview Cody Greenwood , the producer and co-writer of the fantastic music documentary, Under the Volcano . It’s about Sir George Martin ’s legendary Monserrat recording studio where many famous albums were produced, including The Police ’s Synchronicity, Duran Duran ’s Rio, and Dire Straits ’ Brothers in Arms. Cody talks about the almost-all woman film crew and rev...

Staci interviews the director and the narrator of an amazing new rock doc, Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon . Andre Relis and Tracii Guns join the show to talk about the making of this exhaustively researched and truly eye-opening movie about a guitar hero that we love but know relatively little about. They also talk about Randy Rhoads ' legacy, how the elements came together, and yes—th...

Staci and cohost Joel D. Amos interview the lead vocalist of several hard rock and metal bands, Susie Rose Major . Her group Facedown was featured in the cult classic horror film, Rocktober Blood , and she is currently in one of the best Aerosmith tribute bands, RagDolls . Susie talks about the challenges of being in all-female bands, dishes on an inauspicious meeting with Rod Stewart , and reveal...

Staci and cohost Marco Mannone interview Peter Bebergal . He studied religion at Brandeis and Harvard Divinity School and is the author of Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll . From The Beatles to Black Sabbath , this fascinating book shows how the marriage between mysticism and music changed the world. Peter talks about the mysticism behind rock artists like David Bowie and Ji...

Aaron Kai is an outstanding fine artist and film poster designer who specializes in hyper-realistic paintings in oils and acrylics. The celebrity collectors of his artwork include Clint Eastwood , Ridley Scott , Harrison Ford , Sean Young , and the RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. Aaron is also an expert on pinball ( The Who ’s Tommy ), album cover artwork ( Frank Frazetta for Molly Hatchet ), and movie art...

Staci’s guest is Robert J. Stava , an author whose books include The Haunted Sketchbook and Cranial Leakage: Tales from the Grinning Skull . Robert performed for nearly a decade on the New York music scene with his band, The Jag , and he’s got stories about drinking with Michael Stipe of REM , smashing his guitar onstage at the famous CBGB nightclub , and some close calls with death. Robert also t...

Staci interviews Sherry Thomas , a rock music journalist and the host of the Analog Smile podcast. Sherry shares her process when it comes to writing music reviews, recommends some new rock bands, muses on women in music, and shares her “meet cute” story about Steve Perry of Journey (hint: it has something to do with his hit song, “ Oh, Sherry .”). Lastly, Staci reads from the Rock & Roll Nigh...

Punk documentarian Scott Crawford joins Staci and cohost Marco Mannone to discuss his current film, CREEM . He goes into the inner workings of “America’s only rock magazine,” and gives some insight into what set it apart from other music publications in the 1970s. He reveals CREEM ’s Detroit roots and explains how integral Wayne Kramer of the MC5 was to the mag—and to Scott’s documentary. Scott al...

Staci and cohost Graydon Schlichter interview Lou Rera , author of Awake: Tales of Terror , and There Are No Doors on a Cocoon . Lou is also an accomplished musician, who, with his band Flyer , recorded alongside the likes of Jeff Pocaro of Toto , and Burton Cummings of The Guess Who . Lou talks about how he selects cover art for his books, how he preserves ideas, takes a stab at the melding of ho...

Staci and guest/cohost Darren Gordon Smith talk about their new rock and roll comedy film The Second Age of Aquarius , featuring fictional ’60s rock star, Russell Aquarius. A discussion on made-up rock bands in the movies follows. Staci and Darren review Velvet Goldmine , The Rocker , Rock Star , Almost Famous , and Hedwig and the Angry Inch .

Staci interviews Stacey Keith , the author of Stripped Down: A Naked Memoir , a revealing book about her adventures in Hollywood as “a nerd on a stripper pole” and Playboy model. She hung out with rock stars such as Slash , had an unfortunate encounter with Don Henley of The Eagles , and worked as a model for exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer . She’s the daughter of rock musicians ( Rodd Keith and...

Music documentarian Fran Strine joins Staci and cohost Darren Gordon Smith . Fran is the director of Hired Gun , a fascinating film about the sidemen and session musicians of rock, In it, Fran tells stories about Billy Joel ’s band, Whitesnake , P!NK , Metallica … and many more. His current documentary is about Ray Parker, Jr., and it’s called, appropriately enough, Who You Gonna Call? The veteran...

Staci and guest/cohost Shane Bitterling discuss his short story “ Daydream Bereaver ” in Rock & Roll Nightmares: Along Comes Scary , the 1960s edition, and his illustrated book for monster kids of all ages, The Year Without Halloween . A discussion on rock music biopics follows. Staci and Shane review Lords of Chaos ( Mayhem ), The Dirt ( Motley Crue ), Street Survivors ( Lynyrd Skynyrd ), Lov...

Staci interviews Brooke Lewis Bellas , a multitalented lady who acts, produces films, and is a bona fide “scream queen.” Brooke talks about creating her 80s rocker chick character in The Second Age of Aquarius film, being a video vixen for Megadeth on MTV’s “Night of the Living Megadeth” special, worldbuilding in terms of producing indie films in these “content-driven” days, longevity as an actor,...