Talkin‘ the Talk With Don

Based out of Sweden, Hallas plays what they refer to as "Adventure Rock."  With an ongoing theme of sci-fi adventure and pure escapism, one listen to songs like "Carry On", "Star Rider," and "Ellusion's Gate" and you will have an "A-HA!" moment for sure.   Hallas just put out their second album Isle of Wisdom and has garnered critical acclaim from writers and music fans worldwide.  With only two a...

Matt Kozar is a guitarist that I have loved for quite a while now.  As the guitarist for one of my favorite bands, Brave, Matt's style of guitar playing is a unique blend of various influences including post-rock, ambient, and straight up Heavy Metal.  Last year Matt and co-guitarist in Brave, Scott Loose, released Scott's Stellar Death project and now, with Matt at the captain's helm, we have bee...

Wilma Nea is a super talented pop singer/songwriter from Sweden who has just released her debut album This Too Shall Pass.  Wilma is also a member of the psychedelic roots/rock group Children of the Sun.  Wilma was such a gracious, funny, and charming person to talk to and I really enjoyed our conversation from her home in Sweden.  We talked about her work producing, writing, and performing nearly...

Slik Toxik was a band that blew my mind when I first saw them blow Faster Pussycat off the Masquerade stage here in Atlanta in 1992.  Even though the band was short lived, Slik Toxik's debut Doin' the Nasty is a favorite of mine 30 years later.  What happens when you put a Canadian and New Orleans native on a podcast together?  You get a shit ton of talking but that's ok because you know what?  We...

For anyone who knows me at all, it will come as no surprise just how absolutely giddy I was to finally have the opportunity to speak with the legendary metal vocalist/songwriter Tony Martin.  Tony is nothing less than a humble gentleman with stories to tell and while proud of his past, Tony is very much about where he is and where he will be going from here. We talked about the his work with Sabba...

In my 12 years as a music writer, I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting and talking with someone of my musical heroes and in some rare cases becoming great friends with them.  Rock journalist Katherine Turman wrote for RIP Magazine when I was in high school and to now get to call her a friend and a mentor has been a life highlight for me.  Katherine has had features in Rolling Stone, the LA...

Dorian Sorriaux has been an artist that I have admired for quite some time.  Since his work in modern psychedelic soul icons Blues Pills, Dorian has been a favorite of mine and I loved hearing and watching his dynamic guitar presence.  In 2018, Dorian and Blues Pills parted ways which opened the door for him to pursue his true musical passion: folk music.  Dorian released his stellar and criticall...

Rebecca Martin is an artist that I have been a fan of for nearly 30 years.  From her time in the cult NYC jazz rock band Once Blue to her 2022 release After Midnight (featuring Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos and husband/bassist Larry Grenadier), I have been a fan.  I have watched her grow and set the path to becoming what I would consider to be a jazz legend.  She has all the makings to do so and I...

Lawrence Gowan of Styx has become a favorite of mine to interview.  When I first interviewed him back in 2017 about the release of The Mission, we hit it off immediately and since then he's been on the show three times.  As always, Lawrence cracked me as we talked about life during Covid, touring in a bubble, the new Styx album Crash of the Crown, and a bunch of other random crap that had us enter...

Interview Date: October 27, 2021  Jordan is no stranger to this podcast.  Close to holding the record for appearing a whopping 3 times (maybe 4?), Jordan always is gracious to make a return visit.  This time around we dorked out about his new music apps, life during the Covid Pandemic, and all kinds of other silly crap!

One of the things I love more than anything is re-discovering music that I hadn't listened to in a long time.  Recently I was making a playlist of hard rock/metal songs that I remember loving from my high school years (88-92) and I was really digging as deep as I could.  One of the bands that I remembered really loving was New Jersey hard rock band Saraya.  Saraya released two album: the self-titl...

The best way I can describe John Corabi is as a true rock n' roll gentleman/journeyman.  John is hilarious, intelligent, and an absolute blast to talk to.  John has had a 40+ year journey in rock n' roll and at 62 years old he's not even close to being done.  We talked about his fantastic new single "Cosi Bella (So Beautiful), his forthcoming book, we bonded over our love for 90s pop legends Jelly...

Jason McMaster is one of my all time favorite people both as a musician and as a person.  Jason has been a great buddy of mine now for a few years and we always have the best phone calls.  It was really fun to have him on the podcast once again (I think for the third time maybe?) but this time we were talking about the 30th anniversary of Dangerous Toys' sophomore album, Hellacious Acres.  We talk...

Twisted Sister is the band that started it all for me.  From a fat, bullied kid who just longed to be understood to a 47 year old musician, writer, and dreamer, Twisted Sister has been there for me through it all.  There are a lot of bands that I love but Twisted Sister will forever be "the" band that started me on a path that I took and never looked back.  From seeing the Grateful Dead 27 times a...

I first heard Krokus back in 1984.  The song was "Screaming in the Night" and it was a part of a compilation album called Masters of Metal that was put by an 80's record label called K-Tel.  Loving this song so much sent me out running to the record store to pick up the album Headhunter and from there I became a Krokus fan for life.  Getting to talk to vocalist Marc Storace was amazing.  We talked...

Blues rockers Heavy Feather are releasing a new album year titled  Mountain of Sugar and I couldn't be more pumped for them.  Lystam and her crew deliver an incredible dose of sassy, in-your-face, and out the door blues-rock that at times can even be intimidating.  Lisa was such an awesome person to talk to and I really enjoyed talking blues music, staying sane during Covid, and a bunch of other s...

2020 was an awesome year for my podcast.  As shitty as this year was, I am lucky to have had some really cool guests on my show.  I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year than with an interview with Fran Tobolsky of Wucan.  I have been a huge fan of this […]

I have had the pleasure of not just interviewing the legendary Venom/Venom Inc bassist/vocalist Demolition Man a handful of times but we have become very close friends over the past five years or so.  Tony is one of the hardest working people in music and his positive, welcoming, and joyful presence on social media is […]

Since earlier this year, Lykantropi has quickly become one of my new favorite bands.  I don’t mean just a “band of the month” thing but Lykantropi has literally secured themselves a spot in the top tier of favorite bands.  Everything about this band is what I love about music.  Dark lyrical undertones, melodically dark music, […]

For those that know me, I have been a HUGE Skid Row fan for over 30 years and counting.  I recently had the chance to have bassist Rachel Bolan as a guest on the podcast.  It was a blast talking to Rachel as we discussed the future of music in the Covid-19 times, 1989’s Moscow […]

Satanic Doo-Woppers Twin Temple have been taking on this pandemic and doing so with horns high and smiles wide.  I had a great time chatting with husband and wife leaders Zach and Alexandra about the pandemic, Cardi-B, missing being out on the road, and many other things Twin Temple.  As always, it was so much […]

Legendary NWOBHM band Grim Reaper is a band that I have loved since first hearing their song “Rock You to Hell” from the album of the same title.  Like a dumbass, I went to the record store and picked up their album See You in Hell accidentally.  While “Rock You to Hell” wasn’t on that […]

Talking to Kyle for the first time was just like talking to an old friend.  I really enjoyed talking with him about the return of Exhorder, why 2019 was the right time for their return, and the legendary New Orleans metal scene.  Kyle is an incredibly nice and really funny and I had a blast […]

Since first hearing them back in 1990, I have been a ginormous fan of pop/rock legends Jellyfish.  The band only released two albums (Bellybutton and Spilt Milk) and heavily toured for both.  I was extremely lucky to see Jellyfish twice and both times were on the Spilt Milk tour.  The album and touring lineup featured […]

Classic rockers Lucifer has been a favorite band of mine for quite some time.  Vocalist/Songwriter/Founding member Johanna Sadonis has put out some of my favorite music.  Starting with her former band The Oath to Lucifer’s last album, Lucifer III, Johanna never ceases to blow my mind as both a writer and a performer.  Lucifer wrapped […]