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Badass Records

by Blair Johnson

Music Commentary Music History Music Interviews

Episode 218, Josh Barber

Josh Barber of Idle Heirs joins me for Episode No. 218. Mr. Barber is a son, a sibling, a husband, a bandmate, and a man of both vision and talent. Josh and I talked about the process of writing the bones of Life Is Violence -- Idle Heirs' full-length release from 2025 -- in the Pacific Northwest, recording it in Norway, and the excitement surrounding their next project. We also talked about a few of Josh's favorite albums, which were these: Lateralus (2001), Tool Glassjaw's Worship & Tribute (2002) You Come Before You (2003), Poison the Well Cult of Luna's Vertikal (2013) Drown the Traitor Within (2019), Lorn Follow Idle Heirs on Instagram at @idleheirs. Find their record on Bandcamp plus where you stream/download. They've got a Facebook page and a YouTube channel as well. Many thanks to Josh for the time and the good conversation. And thanks to all of you that support the show. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Grateful Dead tune called, "Estimated Prophet," which is from their phenomenal 1977 release, Terrapin Station, which we have access to c/o Grateful Dead Productions, marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company (a Warner Music Group).

Episode 217, Ian Dobyns

Ian Dobyns is a son, a sibling, a partner, a mixer/producer, a musician, a super-sharp dude, and a great conversationalist. He's also my guest for Episode No. 217. He stopped by the studio Saturday and chewed the fat with me on life in the producing/engineering/mixing lanes, wearing different band hats, growing up, relationships, and a bunch more. Find him on Instagram at @atlantis_morrissey, @doubledrag.wow, @theyretheirs, @elementrecording, @squishy.audio, and @indiedrummercollective. Ian and I also talked about a few of his favorite records, which were these: Third Eye Blind's 1997 self-titled debut Machina/The Machines of God (2000), Smashing Pumpkins Colour Revolt's Plunder, Beg, & Curse (2008) Yuck's 2011 self-titled album Beach House's 7 (2018) If you're looking for assistance with your studio project, check out the folks over at Element. Looks to be a solid operation that will help you generate the results you desire. Many thanks to Ian for the correspondence to make this chat happen. I appreciated his time, his energy, and his wit. And thank you to all that support the show. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips in this episode. They are snippets I poached from White Snake's "Still of the Night," which can be found on their self-titled 1987 release, c/o Craft Recordings, distributed by Concord.

Episode 216, Daniel Cole

Daniel Cole is a son, a sibling, a fiance, and a drummer in numerous projects. And he was kind enough to join me for Episode No. 216 of the podcast. I sat down with Daniel last week to chat about his story, the outfits he gigs with, music, being engaged, and a bunch more. His Instagram handle is @dcoledrums, and if you peep his bio, you'll see links for all of the bands he currently collaborates with or has collaborated with in the past. Those include @xtothev, @runwithitband, @quixoticfusion, @katbking, @twiceonsundayband, and -- last but not least -- @frankieshorez_mercyfiremusic, whose new album, Project Lullaby: Adventures in the City is out now on the streaming platforms and on Bandcamp. We also talked about a couple of Daniel's favorite albums, which were Lupe Fiasco's The Cool from 2007, and 2011's Wasting Light by Foo Fighters. Many thanks to Daniel for the correspondence and the time, and thank you to everyone that supports the show. Contact me at at badassrecordspodcast at g mail dot com if you -- or someone you know -- would like to join the program for an episode. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Billy Idol tune called, "Eyes Without a Face," from his 1983 release, Rebel Yell, c/o Capitol Records, LLC.

Episode 215, Jocelyn Olivia Nixon

As we roll into the birthday-weekend celebration of the United States of America, one might imagine coming out the other side of the festivities thinking a little more of the greater good than of the self. Maybe that's a lost cause at this juncture, but I don't believe that to be true. There are plenty of decent folks and resources and programs (or at least perhaps there were) in this country that we could -- at the very least -- spend a few seconds thinking about how one could serve one's neighbor. Or put the self second in a few of our daily walks. And speaking of folks that land north of the decency line, I'm pleased to share with you that Jocelyn Olivia Nixon is my guest for this week's episode of the podcast. Jocelyn was kind enough to come chew the proverbial fat with me last week, and I really enjoyed meeting her and sitting down to converse for a few. We talked about family, personal journeys, songwriting, making music and releasing it, gelling with bandmates, live performances, and quite a bit more. We also talked about a couple of her favorite albums, which were these: Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home (1965) Revolver (1966), The Beatles If you'd like to give Jocelyn's Instagram a follow, you can find her at @jocnix26, and her band's IG is @thecreepyjingles. The Creepy Jingles have four singles on Bandcamp and a brand-new full-length release entitled Washed Up as well. You can also find their stuff on the streaming platforms. Regarding Washed Up, shouts out to Enigmatic Brunch Records for putting the thing out. So please consider checking out their music and giving them a follow on the 'Gram. They do good stuff. Many thanks to Jocelyn for the communication ahead of time and for making the commitment to come chill with me for a minute. And many thanks to all of you that support the program. Happy Fourth. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are snippets from a new Kurt Vile tune called, "Red Room Dub." It's a track from his newest album, Philadelphia's Been Good to Me, c/o Verve Records, an overnite kv incorporated release under exclusive license to Verve Label Group, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

Episode 214 Cass Jones

Your assignment for the week -- class -- is to find someone cooler than Cass Jones. And once I've graded all of your papers, I'm pleased to share with you that I will be modifying all of your Fs to As, because -- that's right -- it's an impossible ask. We're putting up something in the form of Episode No. 214, and I couldn't be happier to share that @cassjooones on Instagram is my guest, and what a hoot I had chatting with her. Cass can also be found at cassjonescreative.com, and -- of greater importance, perhaps -- motelvenus.studio, come July 15th of this summer. The Jones clan -- when they're not busy roasting one another -- would happily call Cass a sibling and a daughter, a solo camper and a dog lover. They might also call her hilarious and be right in doing so. Cass and I talked design, illustration, brand strategy, her gig with The Pitch, and a bunch more. Included in said "more," was a short list of some of her favorite albums. Those were these: Ice Cube's Lethal Injection (1993) Destroy All Astromen! (1994), Man or Astro-man? Dethklok's The Dethalbum (2007) Keep your eyes peeled for the Motel Venus stuff; it's bound to be rad. Many thanks to Cass and to all that support the progrum. Note: Moonflower was not the Santana album was thinking of, I don't think. If Google's right, I think maybe it was Borboletta (1974). copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Wizzow track called, "Saturday," which is found on Wiztrumentals (2025), c/o wizzydabeatwow.

Episode 213, The Queens of the Stone Age Discography, featuring Sammy Sanchez

Very pleased to welcome Sammy Sanchez back in to the podcast studio for another exciting look at an artist's discography, and this time -- for Episode No. 213 -- we dove in to the Queens of the Stone Age catalog. If you've not caught previous episodes with Sammy, you can check him out on Episode Nos 44 (first appearance), 66 (Tom Waits), 88 (Beck), 113 (Radiohead), and 187 (King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard). And if you wanna know how that train got rollin', check out Episode No. 30 with his dad, Caesar, which was also a fun time. Queens of the Stone Age has eight records to date, each one different than the previous. They are: self-titled (1998) 2000's Rated R Songs for the Deaf (2002) Lullabies to Paralyze (2005) 2007's Era Vulgaris ...Like Clockwork (2013) Villains from 2017 2023's In Times New Roman... Sammy and I talked about a bunch of stuff across this chat, and beyond QotSA albums, we touched on Pink Floyd, the World Cup, the ever-awesome Phil Collins, and more. In this case, more means a bunch of different things, but I'd like to focus specifically on his growing local empire of trivia nights, which has sprung from once a week to Sunday-Thursday affairs, all in different locations. Follow Sammy on Instagram at @sammysanchez1123 and peep his bio to see the spots. Always grateful for Sammy's time and insight. Couldn't do this series without him. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Led Zeppelin tune called, "In the Light," which can be found on their 1975 masterpiece, Physical Graffiti, c/o Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company (marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company).

Episode 212, Brian Hurtgen

It's good fun for the dork in me this week as we're dropping a palindrome episode, and I couldn't be happier than to share that Brian Hurtgen joined me for the 212th installment of the program. Brian is a son, a sibling, a parent, a partner, and a wearer of many band hats. We talked family, musicianship, band life and the learning curve that sometimes comes with it. We also talked about life, death, and being a sage person as you walk the path. Brian's outfits include Major Matt Mason USA, Holiday at Sea, The Creepy Jingles, and Bye American. You can find stuff from each of those bands on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and I Heart Radio, and you can also find some solo material of his on those platforms. In addition to all of that, we had a peek at a few of Brian's favorite albums, which were these: Siamese Dream (1993), The Smashing Pumpkins Radiohead's The Bends (1995) LP2 (1995), Sunny Day Real Estate* Starflyer 59's The Fashion Focus (1998) Low Level Owl, Vol. 1 + 2 (2011), The Appleseed Cast Meeting Brian was a treat, and sharing time with him for some quality conversation was a privilege. Oh, and don't forget to check out Brian's pop-up record store, BlacKCat Vinyl. The store's Instagram handle is @blackcatvinylkc; Brian's page is @waxmusic79. In my fumbling preparation efforts, I completely overlooked the Sunny Day Real Estate record, and we therefore did not discuss it on the show. My apologies to both Brian and S.D.R.E. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Delegation track called, "Oh Honey" from 1978, c/o State Records.

Episode 211, Scott Devouton

Hi, hello, hey, and howdy! Episode No. 211 features the super-fantastic Scott Devouton of Sound Ridge Studio! My conversation with Scott involved details associated with creating a recording space, the development of chops as a musician, and you can check it out in a number of places. Namely, here! Scott and I talked about family, growing up, life path-walking, and so much more. We also happened to touch on a few of his favorite (at the time) records, and those were these: Odelay (1996), Beck John Legend and The Roots' Wake Up! (2010) Lotta Sea Lice (2017), Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Scott's Ill Fit Records (as well as Sound Ridge Studio) can be followed on Instagram at @soundridgestudio, and their Web site is soundridgestudio.com. Find their stuff on YouTube, Facebook, and Bandcamp, and also know that Scott has a couple singles on the streaming platforms, too. Badass Records podcast would love to thank you for tuning in to the show, and supporting it in whatever way you see fit. Cheers. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from a Grateful Dead tune called, "China Cat Sunflower." Samples from this particular track were lifted from their Europe '72 record, c/o Warner Bros. Inc., Manufactured by Warner Strategic Marketing.

Episode 210, Flare Tha Rebel

Welcome to Episode No. 210, and shouts out to my guest, Flare Tha Rebel. Many thanks to my good friend, Keith, down at Brewery Emperial for letting me know about Flare Tha Rebel's existence, and -- before I get ahead of myself -- be absolutely sure that you check out Flare's new album, Dear City, which is available on streaming platforms. Our conversation was super-solid, and we talked about a lot of really cool organizations that Flare supports, and you can check them out within the "Do Something" tab of his Web site, flaretharebel.com. Follow him on Instagram at @flaretharebel. His stuff can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Deezer, I Heart Radio, and YouTube. We talked about the new album, playing live with bandmates, Woodland Ave., and a bunch more. Included there somewhere in the mix were a few of Flare's favorite albums, which were these: Enter the Wu-tang (36 Chambers), (1993), Wu-tang Clan A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders (1993) God Loves Ugly (2002), Atmosphere Santigold's Santogold (2008) Phoenix (2009), Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix One thousand thank-yous to Flare Tha Rebel for the time, and to all of you that support the show. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio segments contained within this episode. All four of them are clips from a Kurt Vile tune called, "Air Bud," from his 2013 release, Wakin' on a Pretty Daze (Deluxe Daze [Post Haze]), c/o Matador Records.

Episode 209, Dane Bridges

Dane Bridges was kind enough to return to the Badass Records podcast studio for another fascinating conversation. During our chat, we talked school, work, band life, recording, gigging, life changes, Major Matt Mason USA, Grindstone, Holiday at Sea, From Me, Straylight, and a bunch more. In that mix, we also talked about a few albums that're important to Dane. Those were these: Refused's The Shape of Punk to Come (1998) The Fragile (1999), Nine Inch Nails Shiner's Starless (2000) Morning View (2001), Incubus Karnivool's Sound Awake (2009) Give Dane a follow on Instagram at @gd_bridges for more on all of his musical endeavors, and make sure you find releases from each of his aforementioned acts on Bandcamp and the streaming platforms. Many thanks to Dane for making Episode No. 209 a treat! copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are snippets from the title track of Preservation Hall Jazz Band's 2013 release, That's It!, c/o Sub Pop Records.

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