Badass Records

by Blair Johnson

Music Commentary Music History Music Interviews

Episode #96, Shawn M. Stewart

I had the pleasure of meeting Shawn M. Stewart when we convened to record Episode No. 96 of Badass Records, and what a delight our conversation was. Shawn is a son and a brother and a husband and a father and a musician and a fantastic fat-chewing partner. Please consider checking out his musical endeavors on Soundcloud, Spotify, or on his Web site, and thank you in advance for tuning in to our chat. Shawn and I talked musicianship, recording, and many of the other ins and outs of artisanship, as well as life and love and the pursuit of happiness. We also talked about a few of Shawn's favorite albums, which were these: Something Else by the Kinks (1967), The Kinks Syd Barrett's The Madcap Laughs (1970) Live at Leeds (1970), The Who AC/DC's If You Want Blood You've Got It (1978) The Last Days of Oakland (2016), Fantastic Negrito Many thanks to Shawn for the time and the energy and the conversation. Blessed and grateful. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples found within this episode. They are samples from a tune called, "In the Bath," by Lemon Jelly from their 2000 release entitled Lemonjelly.ky, c/o XL Recordings, Ltd.

Episode #95, Becoming a Swifty, featuring Sophia Reade

I'm so very excited about this episode for a variety of reasons. For starters, it's the first installment of the Becoming a Swifty series that I hope has a number of future guests (Note: Number two's already on the books!). This is an idea that's been cooking in the back of my brain for a good little bit, and it's always nice to see an idea come to fruition, whatever that may look like. And -- before you come for me, Swifties -- know that I'm aware that some of you may not care for a particular piece of the series spelling. The only thing I can say to that is that it's my show. I'm the language nerd, and I'm allowed to geek out in whatever aesthetic fashion I see fit. I do actually love the music of Taylor Swift, but probably not as much as you, and certainly not enough to defy the laws of grammar on that particular level. "And that's all I have to say about that." Second, my guest is a very cool, very-special homegirl, whom I've known for a good many years, and hadn't seen in nearly 20. So, to say I was stoked to have these two worlds collide is for sure an understatement. Sophia Reade is a daughter, a sibling, a niece, a granddaughter, a mom, a partner, a friend, a hoot, and one of the hippest Swifties I know. I'm so very delighted that she agreed to join me, and I couldn't be more thankful for the gift and expense of her time, as she drove in from St. Louis just to sit and talk life and music with me. I'm also very joyful that she was born with a strong will and has managed to overcome a lot of bullshit that life has put on her plate. And I don't use that term lightly. We all deal with bullshit, but it's oftentimes -- for many of us -- small stuff that we maybe make too big of a deal out of. Not in Sophia's case. The hand of bullshit she was dealt for most of her younger years is preposterous, ridiculous, and unfair. And I know that there are plenty of folks that have dealt with more, but they're mostly not in my circles. Sophia is, and has been in varying sorts, for nearly three decades. Finally, I'm grateful that I've been able to keep this thing alive for what is now 95 episodes, and it looks like we'll make it not only through the end of the year, but to that big century mark, which is maybe both dope and silly at the same time. I dunno. It's been so many things, this journey. Fun, educational, exciting, challenging, stressful, surprising, disappointing, anxiety-provoking, a source of pride. Back to Miss Reade, though. We talked about many things Taylor Swift, and that included her discography: self-titled (2006) Fearless (2008) Speak Now (2010) Red (2012) 1989 (2014) Reputation (2017) Lover (2019) Folklore (2020) Evermore (2020) Midnights (2022) We also mentioned a few non-Taylor albums that are special to her. They're these ones: Ceremonials (2011), Florence & the Machine Lourde's Pure Heroine (2013) Strange Desire (2014), Bleachers Again: Such a treat. So thankful in so many ways. Cheers. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples present in this episode. They are clips from a Karl Denson song called "Who Are You?" From his 2001 effort, Dance Lesson #2 (c/o Blue Note Records).

Episode #94, Andrew Morris

Mr. Mojo Risin'! Yes, yes, it's Episode #94, featuring the astute-and-talented Andrew Morris, ladies and gentlemen. What an absolute treat. I can't tell you how excited I was to become acquainted with this perfect stranger and rap the evening away talking life and music. Many thanks to Andrew for being so giving of his time. We talked road life, life in Germany, the craft of musicianship, instrument making, and -- of course -- of a few of Andrew's favorite albums. Those were these: Die Dreigroschenoper (1928), Kurt Weill & Bertoit Brecht Loretta Lynn's All-Time Greatest Hits (2002) Sleep with One Eye Open (2011), Chris Thile & Michael Daves Wonderhills' Someday You'll Be Waiting (2019) Absentee Ballads (2020), The Hermanos Brothers Please check out The Matchsellers on bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook, or their very own corner of the Web. It was a joy and a privilege to conduct this interview. Thank you for checking it out. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are samples from a song by Galactic called "Today's Blues," which is from their 2015 album, Into the Deep (c/o Mascot Label Group/Provogue).

Episode #93, April Lemon

Please give it up for #KCgirl, April Lemon, y'all! Yes, yes. It's Episode No. 93, and it's one heckuva party, for sure. April and I go back a few clicks to the early 2000s, when we were doing the hospitality-industry thing together, which -- for the record -- were such good times. Thank you, Mark & James, for opening cool joints. Anyway...April is in the event-planning/P.R./promotions world these days, and you should check her out both here and here. It was really fun seeing April and getting to hang out with her after some 20 years. And, it wouldn't be an episode of Badass Records if we didn't touch on a few of April's favorite records. Those were these: Animals (1977), Pink Floyd P.J. Harvey's Rid of Me (1993) MTV Unplugged in New York (Live Acoustic) (1994), Nirvana Please consider reaching out to April if you have any interest in putting on or participating in a live-music event. She's also a resource for promoting your stuff and making certain your gig will be a fun one. Cheers to her and thank you to you. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips featured in this episode. They are excerpts from a song called "Goddess on a Hiway" by Mercury Rev. I plucked it from their 1998 record, Deserter's Songs, c/o Mercury Rev.

Episode #92, Dan Jones

Dan Jones, Dan Jones, Dan Jones. What an absolute treat it was to meet the Squidmaster himself and chat a little bit about his life, his journey as a musician, and a few of his favorite records along the way. Dan and I had a fantastic phone call at some point over the summer, and my gratitude for him seeing our conversation through is really firing on all cylinders. Even now, three weeks after we sat down together. Those albums worthy enough to make Dan's cut for Episode #92 included the following: Ozark Mountain Daredevils, self-titled (1973) Neil Young & Crazy Horse's Zuma (1975) Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed (1977) Minutemen's Double Nickels on the Dime (1984) Zen Arcade (1984), Hüsker Dü The Meat Puppets' Up on the Sun (1985) Alien Lanes (1995), Guided by Voices Please consider checking out danjonesmusic.com, and give the Squids a look-see and a follow on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find their stuff on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube. And if you see Dan out and about on there on them crazy streets, please buy him a cup of coffee. Or a cold beer. Or a meatball grinder. I'll VenMo you if you do. Thanks. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples found within this episode. They are cuts from a track called "White Sands" by Tommy Guerrero off of his 2018 release, Road to Knowhere (c/o Too Good).

Episode #91, Will Moulthrop

What's crackin', y'all? If you read these on the reg', thank you. I appreciate you. You might know that I'm prone to screw things up from time to time when a) interviewing, b) recording, c) producing, and d) all of the above. Nothin' sweeter than doing it on consecutive episodes, though. Yep. I goofed. Again. And as a result, the guest video comes in late. So...my apologies to Will Moulthrop, my partner in crime for Episode No. 91. Should only take me about 10 dozen more of these to devise a foolproof approach. Nevertheless...many thanks to Will for coming over stranger-style and chewing the New Jersey fat with me for a minute. We talked about growing up in and around recorded and live music on the east coast, and how that helped shape Will into the fine fellow and father that he is today. We also discussed a few of Will's favorite records, and they were all Rolling Stones albums. We touched on them in this order: Beggars Banquet (1968) Let It Bleed (1969) Sticky Fingers (1971) Exile on Main Street (1972) It was a pleasure to meet Will and educational to learn about his story, which you can have a peek into over on the 'Gram. Cheers. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this podcast episode. They are all cuts from a track called "T.I.B.W.F." by The Budos Band off of their self-titled, 2005 debut, courtesy here of Daptone Records.

Episode #90, Meg Kumin

It's the Ryan O'Reilly episode, y'all...#90!Okay. Silliness? Check. Now let's get the gaffe outta the way. In a nutshell, I was so excited to have this week's guest in the chair that I literally forgot to hit "record" on her camera. So...no video, which is a shame as Meg Kumin's face is far too adorable to waste on the incompetencies of a cotton-headed ninnymuggins such as myself.I did, however, take the liberty of plastering the video file with some of my favorite pieces of her photography, which you can view/purchase at megkumin.com, so there is that aspect, which makes this episode even uniquer than it already was.And speaking of Meg, she's a daughter and a sister and a wife and a mom. She's also part of the communications team for the University of Kansas, and a staff photographer as well. She teaches and is enrolled in the PhD program, she's a for-hire photographer for maybe six or seven more years. She's traveled to some pretty rad places, done some pretty cool things, and -- in addition to numerous other admirable qualities -- she's a terrific storyteller.So, Meg and I talked a little bit about her background and some of her adventures. We touched on a couple of hardships she's been through, and how she has managed to continuously mold herself into an amazing person while facing adversity. And, of course, we talked about a few of her favorite records along the way. Those were these:Paul Simon's Graceland (1986)Doolittle (1989), PixiesDe La Soul's Stakes Is High (1996)The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998), Lauryn HillCatching up with Meg tickled my fancy, as did having her on the show, so I'm gracious and grateful for both the time and the opportunity. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed being a part of it.Cheers.copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either the promo or the intro/outro audio samples. They are clips from a cut called, "Christmas Down Under" by Phosphorescent off of his 2018 album, C'est La Vie, c/o of Dead Oceans.

Episode #89, Dan Henk

Sometimes I nerd out and assign the jersey number of one of my favorite (current or former) players from one of my favorite teams to the episode I'm posting about. So, for Episode No. 89, the default move would be to go Otis Taylor. I could also throw in Jason "Big Diesel" Dunn or Keith Cash, but -- since Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes came up in this episode's conversation, it's gotta be the Andre Rison episode.And what a trip this episode was. Figuratively and literally.My guest Dan Henk is a trip. And his story's especially a trip. And while he's a boyfriend and a business owner, an author and a podcast host, a cancer survivor and a widower, getting to Dan was no short trip, either.Yes, that's right. Detective Dumbass here thought it'd be a good idea to travel outside of my home region to interview a guest. I had two folks in L.A. and one in Chicago involved in talks, but the one that wound up working was none other than one of the owners of Abyss Fine Art & Tattoo Studio in Long Beach, NY. So, on two hours of sleep, I took a 7:00 a.m. flight to Queens, Ubered to Mr. Henk's joint, set up, interviewed him, broke down, Ubered back to JFK, and caught a 7:00 p.m. flight back to KC.And my back still hurts.Regardless...it was a fun adventure, and I'm grateful to Dan for sharing his time and his spot to let me roll in and talk life and music with him.In addition to talking about Dan's story, we also talked about a few of his favorite records. Those were these:Metallica's Ride the Lightning (1984)Atomizer (1985), Big BlackSlayer's Reign in Blood (1986)...For Victory (1994), Bolt ThrowerDeadguy's Fixation on a Co-Worker (1995)It was good times and aggressive oldies.Check out Dan's Web site, though. Give his podcast a gander. Peep his spot, toss him an Instagram follow, and shop his list of publications. Guy's a content machine.Thanks for viewing, listening, reading, and -- above all -- being you.Cheers.copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained in this episode. They are clips from De La Soul's "Held Down (featuring Cee-Lo)," which comes from their 2001 effort, AOI: Bionix, c/o A.O.I., LLC under exclusive license to Chrysalis Records Limited.

Episode #88, The Beck Discography, featuring Sammy Sanchez

Don't tell my guest from Episode No. 29 (as he is a hater through and through), but -- but -- it's the Tony Gonzalez episode!That' right. Rollin' along towards the big podcasting c-note, here we are at Episode No. 88, and I couldn't be more stoked to say that my guest is none other than the esteemed three-peat-appearance, Sammy Sanchez.The first time Sammy joined the podcast (Episode No. 44), we ran through a few of his favorite albums; the second time around (20 episodes later), we devoured the Tom Waits library.I asked Sammy back for a third time, and the catalog we landed on was none other than that of Mr. Beckenstein McBeck-McHugh. Or, as some folks refer to him: Beck.And what a treat it was!Neither of us liked some things. Both of us liked a considerable amount. And we differed a bit on favorites and deplorables.Ric Ocasek voice "If you're curious..." here're those albums:Golden Feelings (1994)Stereopathic Soulmanure (1994)Mellow Gold (1994)One Foot in the Grave (1994)Odelay (1996)Mutations (1998)Midnite Vultures (1999)Sea Change (2002)Guero (2005)The Information (2006)Modern Guilt (2008)Morning Phase (2014)Colors (2017)Hyperspace (2019)Aside from Beck's studio work, we talked music-listening habits, YouTubers, social-media platforms, and we of course took a healthy King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard detour.It was great fun to chat, and a good visit as always with Mr. Sanchez.copyright disclaimer: The audio samples in this episode are not mine. They are from a tune called, "Broken Drum" off of Beck's 2005 effort, Guero, c/o Geffen Records.

Episode #87, Medeski, Martin, & Wood's "Shack-man"

What up?Back with another solo episode, and this time we're checking out Medeski, Martin, & Wood's 1996 release, Shack-man.It's an all-time fave, and I had a blast diving in to it.Thank you for stopping by. Hope you enjoy the show.copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the audio samples. They are clips from various selections off of the aforementioned MMW record, c/o Gramavision Inc.

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