The Heavy Desert Podcast

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Tyler Balthazar, Nico Martinez and Erik Larson of the band Mordbear, out of Portland, Oregon. They released an awesome EP earlier this year in June that we talk about. Along with their influences, how they got together, what their plans are for 2026 and much more! Tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome back to the show Rob Leishman, owner of the venue/studio Bully’s in New West, British Columbia. It has been quite an eventful several months since I last talked with Rob, with him having to make some tough decisions about whether to keep the venue opened, to a minor disaster, to him celebrating his 50th birthday with a big celebration and much more. He a...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Pete Koretzky, Chuck Snyder and Dave Van Auken of the heavy stoner rock band The Crooked Skulls to the show. They released their debut EP Hivemind in December of 2024 and earlier this year, they released a single, Iron Smile, that featured Bob Blach of Fu Manchu. We talk about that, their influences, how they started out in a basement, to playing with so...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Roderick Pink, drummer of the band Red Beard Wall. Roderick has been involved in the scene in Texas for years, even before Red Beard Wall, and we talk all about that and his influences that include Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and… Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem! He also has a big 50th birthday bash coming up on November 15, that will be helping out...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Justin Potter, lead singer and bassist for the band Sons Of Gulliver. Sons Of Gulliver released their self-titled debut EP in May of 2024 and are looking to release their first full length in 2026. We talk about that, Justin’s influences, how he met his drummer through a Craigslist ad, and much more! Tune in & subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Path To Planet Desert Rock Weekend continues as I welcome Dan Sefcik of the band Bone Church, who will be playing at this coming year’s festival. Bone Church also has a new album, Deliverance, coming out on October 24 via Ripple Music, and it is gonna be on A LOT of year end lists. We talk all about that and more, plus I will play a new song off the album that...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Path To Planet Desert Rock Weekend begins with the man behind the festival, John Gist. John will be putting on his sixth Planet Desert Rock event from January 29-February 1 of next year and we dig deep in to it. We chat about how it originally came to be, the bands playing next year, where to find tickets and much more! Make sure to subscribe and tune in!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Ade Huggins of the band Dunes out of the UK. Their latest release, Land of the Blind came out in January, via Ripple Music, and landed at number one on the January Doomcharts. It is an awesome album and we talk all about that, the backstory of the band, what they have coming up as far as shows and much more! Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast Mark Richard of The Jam Yeti Music Blog joins me as we countdown our Top 10 favorite albums from the third quarter of this year. It’s been another deep quarter of releases in the heavy underground, and we cover a lot, especially with the help of a handful of listeners who helped by contributing their Top 10 lists as well! There’s no shortage of great rock music ou...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I recap some of the new music I listened to during the month of September. From Black Moon Cult and Insomniac to Cosmic Reaper and Stone Machine Electric and many more, I just scratch the surface of what was an amazing month of releases September had to offer! Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Buick Audra and Jerry Roe of the band Friendship Commanders. Their latest album, Bear, is dropping October 10, via Magnetic Eye Records. We dig into that, their influences, their massive U.S. tour and much more! So make sure to check it out and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Jason Doome to the show. He is the organizer of the Grand Rapids Doomfest, that will be having its second annual event on Saturday, October 11 at the Pyramid Scheme Bar in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We dig into the origins of the fest, what’s going on this year and his plans for the future. Jason is psyched about this year’s fest and wants you to come! So m...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Stephen, Christian and Uli of the band Black Charger, who will be releasing their debut album, Small Town on October 31st. We talk all about that, their influences, some of their upcoming shows and much more! Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I talk with Zach, Sebastian and Adrian of Howling Giant, who will be releasing their new album, Crucible & Ruin on October 31 via Magnetic Eye Records. We dive into the album, the bands backstory, their influences, and they even give some great advice for any young and up & coming bands out there! So make sure to check it out and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I talk with Jason Busiek, Kip Page and Nacho Maldonado, organizers of the SoCal Heavy Jam, that is taking place on October 18, 2025, in San Diego at Winston’s OB. We dive into the history of the event, as this will be the fourth year doing this show for the guys. We talk about who’s performing, where you can get tickets, things to do around the area, plus much mor...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I talk with fans at Ripplefest 2025 on Day Four of the festival to get their reactions to the weekends event. I also give my recap to what was an amazing event. Tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Brandon, Luke and Derek of the band Good Spirits out of Shreveport, Louisiana. They dropped their new album The Greenseer on August 1st and is a great dose of some psych/stoner rock. We talk about their latest album, their influences, some of the bands they’re digging right now and much more. Tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome back to the show Wayne, Joey and Preston of Fuzz Evil. They have been quite busy the past several months, releasing a new album, going on tour and contributing the upcoming Kyuss tribute album.  We talk about all that, and even dig into some horror movie talk. So make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Road to Ripplefest Texas continues as I welcome Ryan Garney, lead singer of High Desert Queen, to the show. We dig into the background of the band, their recent European tour, who has the best beer the U.S. or Europe and much more! It’s the last Road To Ripplefest episode before the event, so make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Road to Ripplefest Texas continues as I welcome Van Bassman, lead singer and guitarist for the band Insomniac, who will be performing at this year’s fest. We chat about the backstory of the band, the tragic loss of their band mate Mike Morris, their debut album, Om Moksha Ritam, that came out on September 5 via Blues Funeral Recordings, and much more! Make sur...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Road to Ripplefest Texas continues as I welcome Matt, Jeff and Bo of the band Shun who will be performing at this year’s event. We chat about their influences, their latest album Dismantle that came out in July of 2024 and was a smash hit, their search for a new drummer and much more! Tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast The Road To Ripplefest Texas continues as I welcome Ryan, Chris and Johnny of the band Valley of the Sun to the show. They will be performing at this year’s fest and they took the time out of their busy schedule to chat with the show. We talked about their influences, their recent European tour, their latest album Quintessence and much more! So make sure to tune i...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome a young and up & coming band from Canada, Ever Age, to the show. Aiden, Neil & Eli released their self-titled debut in August and we talk all about that, their influences, playing live and more! So make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Mike Chavez, Ricardo Sanchez and Steve Schmidlapp, three-quarters of the band Blue Heron, to the show. We cover all sorts of stuff from their influences, to an upcoming European tour, to a new release coming out in October, their involvement in the upcoming Nine Inch Nails Redux album and much more! They will be very busy in the upcoming month and we cov...

Today on The Heavy Desert Podcast I welcome Jadd Shickler, Label Director for Blues Funeral Recordings and Magnetic Eye Records. He talks about how he started out in the business from sifting through records at the local college radio station to where he is now, as both the lead singer of Blue Heron and his involvement with the labels. He also talks about how signing bands to a label has evolved s...