Verge of the Dude

Hey Dude, I took my dad back up to Yosemite where we found serenity along the South Fork of the Merced River, the Oakhurst Lodge swimming pool, the garden at the Mariposa Coffee Company and the cool little Wawona Library.  QUOTE: "Is this my Tom Bopp musical? Maybe." CAST: Tom Bopp, Diane Keaton, Huell Howser, Hell's Angels, Marlon Brando LOCATIONS: Yosemite, Wawona Hotel, The Redwoods in Yosemite...

Hey Dude, I celebrate the long and winding journey of my old friend writer/producer Tom Purcell, who booked the ultimate celebrity for the grand finale of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at the Ed Sullivan Theater. QUOTE: "...he's only my third favorite Beatle." CAST: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Adam Carolla, Ray Oldhafer, Marc Maron, Ed Sullivan, To...

Hey Dude, I took my dad back up to Yosemite after far too long an absence. It was amazing trip filled with check engine lights and giant sparks of joy.  QUOTE: "I flew up that freakin' thing!" CAST: Blayney, Jay Leno, Tom Bopp CAMEO: Ming Ming LOCATIONS: Yosemite, Oakhurst, Mariposa, Big Bear, Inland Empire, Central Valley, Yosemite Valley, Rusty's Pistons, Raley's, Chocolate Soup, Marisposa Arts,...

Hey Dude, an old flyer for a show I did back in my NoHo Arts District days, leads to a serious questioning about whether GenX is really my generation.  QUOTE: "[To a] person born in 1980. Hey, what did you think of the 70s?" CAST: Ming Ming, R2-D2, Ken Dougherty, Dan Klass, David Letterman, Spalding Gray, Brother Theodore, Elayne Boosler LOCATIONS: NoHo Arts District, SoHo, Performance Garage, New...

Hey Dude, I both celebrate Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and defend Rosanna Arquette's legitmate criticism of the groundbreaking film.  QUOTE: "I'm willing to stand next to Jon Hamm and take off my shirt..." CAST: Don Draper, Mac Sledge, Jon Hamm, Bad Bunny, Harvey Keitel, The Wolf, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Vinnie Barbarino, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ving Rhame...

Hey Dude, I come to terms with the fact I'll never be Don Draper, but the truth is I'd rather be Mac Sledge. QUOTE: "Obviously I don't look like Don Draper..." CAST: Ming Ming (cameo), Don Draper, Jon Hamm, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Mac Sledge, Sanford Meisner, Jeff Goldblum, Lawrence Fishburne  LOCATIONS: Ming Ming's Barn, New York City, Neighborhood Playhouse PROPS: toupee, Country Western,...

Hey Dude, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm attracted to women with beautiful voices. My maddest crush is on Brandi Carlile who is also my favorite contemporary artist. QUOTE: "She's GenX adjacent..."  CAST: Brandi Carlile, Howard Stern, Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kermit The Frog LOCATIONS: The 5 Freeway PROPS: SNL, GenX, CBS Sunday Morning MUSIC: "Ri...

Hey Dude, while exhibiting my photos at the "Gallery at the End of the World" in the Mariposa Junction, I reconnected with Altadena through art, community and the power of podcasting. QUOTE: "Frankly, I didn't want to have to go through the whole committee process." CAST: Dick Van Dyke, Ben Mc Ginty, Dave Lovejoy, Stacey (Sacred Silver), Ming Ming (aka "My Buddy") LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist...

Hey Dude, I try to sort through my messy milestone birthday, perfectly captured in my super funky selfie that inspired the call.  QUOTE: "There's a lot of strands in the old duder's head..." CAST:  Modesto, Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani, The Dude, The Doors, Bill Murray SPECIAL GUEST CAMEO: Ming Ming  LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Paris, France, Smoke House, Ernie's Tac...

Hey Dude, I goof on myself about my recent disastrous performances at an informal open mic at my church. QUOTE: "Well, that went so well, why not?" CAST: George Clooney, Vince Vaughn, James Franco, Harrison Ford, Chef Ben Ford  LOCATIONS: Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City (UUCSC), Studio City, Studio City Theater PROPS: androgyny MOVIES: Rocky, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade...

Hey Dude, I rave about basking in John Fogerty's light at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus I ask your advice about how to tell some of my saucy stories with songs.  QUOTE: "If there's a Heaven, he's gonna be there rockin'!"  MUSICIANS: John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Belinda Carlisle, Go-Go's, Kittens for Christian, Alicia Silverstone, Richie Valens  VENUES: Hollywood Bowl, Hamburg, Germany, U...

Hey Dude, the amazing Reverand Rick retired at the top of his game to become an artist, while the jury is still out for me.  QUOTE: "Just do your thing. Come as you are." MUSICIANS: Reverend Rick, Paramahansa Yogananda, John Fogerty VENUES: Studio City, Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City, Claremont, Self Realization Fellowship, Echo Park, Altadena INSTRUMENTS: Unitarian Universalism, poe...

Hey Dude, my recent reconnection to music makes me travel back in time to 2004, where I was living in a basement apartment in "Eagle Rock" and working on a one person show called "Broken Hearts and Sad Country Songs."  QUOTE: "Whatever!" MUSICIANS: Stan Hillas, Kittens For Christian, Bruce Springsteen, Marilyn Monroe, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan VENUES: United Kingdom, Glassell Park, E...

Hey Dude, an innocent Sunday drive to the Hollywood Bowl box office with my dad, turns into a mudslide of deep hometown memories. QUOTE: "If you don't drive through your hometown, are you really in your hometown?" LULLABY: "Hooray for Hollywood" (Whitling/Mercer) MUSICIANS/CAST:  John Fogerty, Joan Anderson, George Clooney, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan LOCATIONS: The Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, Hollywo...

Hey Dude, I took my dad to see Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival at The Hollywood Bowl and it somehow magically restored my faith in my own home town. QUOTE: "I would call it a borderline spiritual experience..." LULLABY: "California Sober" by Billy Strings MUSICIANS/CAST: Willie Nelson, P-22 (mountain lion), Ricky Gervais, Sierra Hull, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan, Cate Blanchett, Deadheads, Jimi...

Hey Dude, I finally watched La La Land and it really struck me to the core, especially the scenes at my beloved Smoke House and the wacky one person show stuff.  QUOTE: "My recording situation isn't perfect..." CAST: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Ming Ming (cameo) LOCATIONS: Oregon, 105 Freeway, The Dresden Room, The Smoke House, Warner Bros., Griffith Park, The Griffith Observatory, Sunset Blvd.  FIL...

Hey Dude, I trip out on being a heathen freshman at a Catholic high school, and then I goof on the reason why I left. QUOTE: "I didn't want to sell the chocolates." CAST: Pope Francis, Jesus of Nazareth, Spartacus, Chris Prine, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, Jennifer Jason Leigh LOCATIONS: Notre Dame High School, Beth Meier Preschool, Corvallis High School, Descanso Gardens, Altadena PROPS: Bible,...

Hey Dude, after stumbling from the ashes, I finally sat down to have my mind blown by the film A Complete Unknown...twice. QUOTE: "The wheels have completely fallen off the wagon." CAST: Brandi Carlile, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joe Friday, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Fred Neil, James Mangold, Elijah Wald, Timothée Chalamet, Sylvester Stallone, Joaquin Phoenix, Johnny Cash, Boyd Holbrook, Joan Bae...

Hey Dude, my super funky weekend was redeemed after Reverend Rick let his freak flag fly from the pulpit of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Studio City. QUOTE: "I don't know if I should say this in church." PEOPLE: Kris Kristofferson, Philip Roth, Jack Nicholson PLACES: Altadena, Los Angeles, DTLA, Los Angeles Central Library, Universal City, Studio City, Harvard Westlake Sports Complex, UUCS...

Hey Dude, I talk about how I'm struggling to keep my head on straight this year as I deal with the Altadena Fire, my induction into the Podcast Hall of Fame and my 20th anniversary of podcasting. All while trying to celebrate the efforts of the people at Podcasthon, as Dean and I ask for your help with our own non-profit, the History of Podcasting Project.  PEOPLE: Dean Whitbread PLACES: Altadena,...

Hey Dude, I headed up to Altadena to visit the three historic places where I once lived. All three were burned to the ground. Yet I still feel a tinge of hope. PEOPLE: David Lynch, Zane Grey PLACES: Altadena, Jane's Village, Zane Grey Estate, Woodbury Building THINGS: History of Podcasting Project SOUNDS: footsteps, gravel path, airplane   Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes  GENRE: storytelling , perso...

Hey Dude, obviously there has been a lot going on with the Eaton Fire burning down my studio in downtown Altadena. So many people, suffering so much loss, so I'll wait to tell my side of the story for another day. My GoFundMe SOUNDS: footsteps, gravel path, sirens   Laguna Sawdust Cowbell Chimes  GENRE: storytelling , personal narrative , personal journal PHOTO: "Go Find Me" shot with my  iPhone X...

Hey Dude, I briefly talk about being inducted into the Podcast Hall of Fame, before I flashback to my not so distant dreams of living in the 90s. QUOTE: "I didn't play it cool enough, so I dropped the ball." PEOPLE: Grant Baciocco, Hiram, Alicia Silverstone  PLACES: Orlando, Burbank, Westside, South L.A., San Bernadino THINGS: Podcast Hall of Fame, Dr. Floyd, Toiley T. Paper, Kittens for Christian...

Hey Dude, I'm really sorry it's been so long since my last call. I riff about a "big f'n deal" announcement that is still a secret, while also lamenting all of the broken shoelaces in my life.  QUOTE: "It's not the big things in life that kill you. It's the little things like breaking a shoelace with no time left." - Charles Bukowski  PEOPLE: Charles Bukowski, Sylvester Stallone PLACES: North Holl...

Hey Dude, the other night I watched the Joan Baez documentary "I Am a Noise" and it struck me to the core. My new found reverence for Joan Baez is beyond measure. Plus I couldn't think of my favorite singer's name...Brandi Carlile. QUOTE: "Madonna, not Madonna the performer. Madonna the Virgin Mary." PEOPLE: Norah Jones, Kacey Musgraves, Billie Eilish & Finneas, The Carpenters, The Go-Go's, Brandi...