Episode #27, Dan Gedman
Episode #26, Lisa Hill
Episode #25, Jason Fetters
Episode #24, Eric Barkley
Episode #23, George Clarke
Episode #22, Christian Joseph
Episode #21, Brad Buckner
Episode #20, Kyle Davis
Episode #19, Jordan Gooch
Dan Gedman might be the smartest dude I've ever had a sit-down conversation with, and he certainly has the deepest voice of any I can recall, which is a batshit combo if you're in to running metrics on how stupid you think you might be. Whew. What a chat, though. I've never gone into an interview thinking I'll be less prepared than my guest, but never did I imagine feeling dumber and less knowledgable than a guest who didn't prepare at all! Yyyikes. Anyway, Dan is a really awesome dude. He just is. I hate to distill it down to that, but -- if we're being honest -- that's all any guy wants...is to be known and remembered as an awesome dude. Now, I'm obviously not married to Dan, and I'm not his business partner, but he has always been the nicest guy I run across. He's an A+ host with fine-tuned hospitality skills. He's a funny fellow, and -- well -- goddamn it if he doesn't know the shit out of his music. Christ. Dan's a son and a brother and a husband and a father to three and a business partner and a music-savvy cat, but he's also just...he's doing it right. I think. You know...from the outsider standpoint. He runs this thing called Liquid9. I'm still not sure what they do. They might traffic Russian mail-order brides (Note: Joke! It's a joke! Take it easy...), but I think they produce music videos, among other sleek, industry kinds of things. Regardless, Dan's for sure a have-back. I felt humbled having him on, and -- while we covered a few records -- there're for sure more where that came from, and I'm legit' excited about what our next visit might look like. The ones we touched on today include the following: Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan (1975) Outlandos d'Amour, The Police (1978) Tim, The Replacements (1985) Copper Blue, Sugar (1992) Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest (1993) Illmatic, Nas (1994) Heartbreaker, Ryan Adams (2000) Is This It, The Strokes (2001) I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Bright Eyes (2003) Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River (2005) I'd be pleased as punch if you gave this conversation a listen. They don't get much better. One final note: I fuck up a lot on this thing. A lot. It's hard to focus on the questions and listen to the answers and keep the thing moving and be aware of the time and of every thing you have said on every other episode. Point being, I used to scoff like a little punk at podcasters for such things. And to hopefully make up for that, I want to point out my mistakes when I become aware of them. In this case, Dan wasn't the first guest with biological parents that're both still alive and together. Jason (episode #1) was, but...that was six months ago, and I'm an aging human. I'm far from perfect. Really far. If you know that and listen anyway, praise be to ye. Blessings. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio samples. They are both clips from "Next to You," by Poolside, off of their 2012 release called, Pacific Standard Time (c/o themselves).
Lisa Hill is one of my favorite human beings. I really mean that, and because this is true, it pains me to say that technical difficulties occurred during her interview; her camera wound up having its SD card go haywire. So...the majority of her video was never accessible for upload. Not sure how the opening third of that content made it safely to the other side and the latter portions didn't, but what's done is done. I'm pleased that we were able to capture her lovely mug whilst discussing family and life, and I also had the wild idea to drop a bunch of pertinent stills into the software where footage of her should be, so who knows. Maybe that's a new thing I try to incorporate for future episodes. Anyway, getting Lisa's butt in the chair flirted with harassment, so I'm beyond grateful that she not only ultimately committed, but showed up, and -- I'm pretty sure -- had a pretty good time during our conversation. Lisa and I logged a few hours under the same service-industry roof a half a lifetime ago, and she was one of my favorite people then, too. In fact, I'd posit most of our co-workers would agree. Many are the times when I find myself blessed in affirmation of this notion that you should -- essentially -- be nice to people because you never know what they might have going on. Lisa has had a fascinating ride since we last collected a paycheck from the same employer, and the pandemic bubble that might be in all of our rearviews proved no different. We talked a little bit about family and life and work and -- believe it or not -- we made our way down an alley of the musical avenue as well. She tabbed Beastie Boys's Paul's Boutique (1989) Depeche Mode's Violator (1990), Sinead O'Connor's (She now goes by Shuhada Sadaqat.) Universal Mother (1994), and Keep It Like a Secret (1997) by Built to Spill as her badass records. It was a pleasure having her join me for episode #26, and maybe one day she'll join me again for another chat. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio clips. They come from the title track of Budapest Eskimos, a 2006 record (c/o Mole Listening Pearls) by The Lushlife Project.
Jason Fetters is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and a gosh-darn, hard-workin' fellow that's been in some form (or other) of a leadership role for the last 20 years. My guest for Episode #25 of Badass Records Podcast will be the first to trash you, to Photoshop an eggplant emoji onto a picture of your face, and to blindside check you while you search for your family at Oceans of Fun. He'll do all of those things, but he'll also have your back when you need him to. I've never known a Northlanders (Editor's Note: For non-Kansas City folks, there's a special breed of humans that -- for one reason or other -- have chosen to make their dwelling place on the wrong side of the Missouri River; it's creepy and backwards up there, and that's just the kindling for that dumpster fire.), to be so stylish, so suave, and so punctual, but Mr. Fetters is all of those things and more. He pointed his unnecessarily large truck in the proper direction and landed in my driveway to talk Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Chiefs football, his pipe dream, and much more. I had to leave my eight-year-old son in charge of the house whilst we spoke, so if you'd do me a solid and give this thing a view or a listen, I'd appreciate it. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio clips. They are both from a track called "Sagittarius by Moonlight," by The Olympians. It's the closer to their self-titled 2016 record (c/o Daptone Records), which ranks high on the charts of badassery. You know...if you're into that kinda thing.
Eric Barkley is a son, a brother, a father, a lifelong chef, a one-time lover of baseball, and a guy who'd rather be nowhere else than casting his line in the lake. I was lucky enough to steal some time away from the chef, and he swung by of an evening so that we could talk R.E.M., Metallica, and Tool for Episode #24 of Badass Records Podcast. Eric was kind enough to walk us through his service-industry education and experience, and if you stick around for the end of our conversation, you'll find a nugget or two regarding gear for trout and bass fishing. As part of our musically based chat, though, I learned some cool things about Maynard James Keenan and his primary outfit. Fascinating guy. And so is Chef Barkley. I learned some cool things about him, too. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are both samples from a track called, “Marching into the Hate Machines (Into the Sun),” which comes from the 2005 Thievery Corporation release entitled The Cosmic Game (c/o ESL Music, Inc.) and features The Flaming Lips.
George Clarke is a son, a brother, a father, and the General Manager for Charlie Hooper’s Bar & Grille. I once had the pleasure of cheffing for George at another neighborhood location, and that short-lived stint forged a friendship that has managed to last a decade (and counting). George -- like many of his service-industry counterparts -- puts in long hours, and so the fact that he went out of his way to not ignore all of my annoying text messages and eventually committed to a date and time (and showed up!) did not go unnoticed in the least. We talked a little bit about seeing concerts across many years and listening to music in our youth, and we may’ve also touched on the occasional difficulties of shaving layers of the party life off of the quasi-expected professionalism of a restaurateur. As my guest for Episode #23, George had tabbed 311’s self-titled record, Pearl Jam’s Ten (both 1991), and A Live One by Phish (1995), all three of which were good fun to mildly dissect. A hang with the GeoClarke is all but a guaranteed good time, and this Badass Records Podcast chat was no exception. If you enjoy(ed) it, please consider sharing with a friend. Cheers. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are both samples from a track called, “El Gaucho Rojo,” which comes from the 2000 release entitled Muy Divertido! by Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos (c/o Musica Tropical).
Christian Joseph dropped by the Badass Records Podcast studio for episode #22, and we discussed his affinity for skin ink, motorcycles, music, and the life of a restaurateur. The man with more middle names than you have professed his love specifically for Morrison Hotel (1970) by The Doors, Guns 'N' Roses's Appetite for Destruction (1987), and White Pony (2003) by Deftones, but that wasn't all we discussed. We talked about live music, professional endeavors, and the challenges that being a family member can sometimes present. Christian is a son, a brother, a father, and the owner of Plate Restaurant Group. He and I go back about eight or nine years, and have seldom passed up an opportunity to crack wise with one another. I couldn't be more grateful than to be gifted the time of such a busy individual who came by my place to bullshit for a couple of hours. It was truly a blast. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio clips. They are from "The Fat Boy Goes to the Cinema," and "Get Some Money to Her" off of Albumen (1996) by The Egg, c/o Indochina.
Brad Buckner is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a retired kindergarten teacher, and a lifelong musician that fancies -- among many other things -- the kick drum of the late John Bonham, and the cymbal work of the deceased Neil Peart (R.i.P. in peace to both of those unequivocal legends). Double 'B' dropped by in a virtual-stranger sense and kicked it with me for episode #21, and we chatted about Led Zeppelin's first record, Rush's Moving Pictures, and Axis: Bold as Love by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. And, boy was it a good time. Mr. Buckner is the foothold of a couple of local KC music outfits, KC Green and Tiki Brawlers. You can keep up with both bands via their respective Facebook pages, and check out the Brawlers' stuff on YouTube. Please consider giving this episode of Badass Records a listen or a view, and if you happen to dig it, please tell a friend. Thank you for stopping by. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro videos. They are samples from two tracks off of Liquid Soul's 1996 self-titled debut, "Equinox," and "What a Story," respectively (c/o Music from Mars).
Kyle Davis is a son, a brother, a husband, a father to three adorable daughters, and the co-proprietor of Cicada Co., a design-and-build company. Kyle was kind enough to give of his super-busy schedule and come sit with me for episode #20 of Badass Records Podcast. He chose Radiohead's In Rainbows (2007) as his musical selection, but we didn't limit our conversation to just that record. The Cicada crew's fine, fine work is visible on the Web (cicadaco.com) and evidence of their fantastic work can be found on the 'Gram at @cicada_co. A single father of two couldn't ask for better neighbors, and -- were they not corner-lot dwellers -- I'm sure the folks on the other side of their home would say the same thing. Please consider giving our episode a view or a listen, and if you dig it, please tell a friend. And above all, please remember to be a good neighbor. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from "Is There Anybody Here That Loves My Jesus" and "Jelly Belly," both of which are from Shack-Man (1996), c/o Gramavision, Inc.
Jordan Gooch is a daughter, a sister, and a dog mom. We met in the service industry around a decade and change ago back when I was a first-time new dad and she was feeling her way through the post-high-school/early-college years. We would -- on occasion -- cross paths behind the restaurant and swap stories about life and music over cigarettes, so I knew that once I got this project off the ground, she would be a good candidate for an episode. It took a handful of tries to get Jordan in the room, but from jump street, her selection for what wound up being episode #19 was Circa Survive's On Letting Go. Spiders and tornadoes kept her up most of the night before we recorded, but she rallied, showed up, and did a C- job of pretending like she wasn't going to fall asleep across the duration of our chat. So, shouts out to her, and shouts out to you if you happen to give our conversation a listen or a view. And a lil' extra something for you if you tell a friend. Thanks for stopping by the Badass Records Podcast. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are clips from "Sagittarius by Moonlight," by The Olympians from their self-titled 2016 release, c/o Daptone Records, and Ween's "Bananas and Blow" from the 2018 record of the same name (c/o Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group), respectively.
Shawn Damm is a son, a brother, a husband, a proud father of two, and an all-around righteous dude. He's written more return addresses in the top-left corners of envelopes than he can literally remember, and unless you wanna be told to go fly a kite, don't tell him what to do. Mr. Damm was kind enough to join me for a fantastic conversation about life and love and children and music. We had a couple cold ones, cracked a lot o' wise, and tried to burn the place to the ground. Movies came up, and books were discussed. Cars and jobs were touched on. We examined college failures and discovered our love of Too $hort was mutual. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure what we didn't cover. Eventually we got around to Shawn's selection for this episode (#18), which was Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut from 1991, and it was fun to re-discover what a banger that record was. Please give our chat a listen or a view, and if you're feeling intimidated by the episode length, take comfort in the fact that I cut out the first 50 minutes just for you. 'Cause I'm a thoughtful podcast host like that. Anyway, please tell your friends about Badass Records, and please send any potential interview candidates that come to mind my way. Thank you, and have a pleasant tomorrow. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from "Mercury's Odyssey," by The Olympians from their self-titled, 2016 album, c/o Daptone Records.