Episode #46, Tony Berrios
Episode #45, Mark "The Kid" McCaffree
Episode #44, Sammy Sanchez
Episode #43, Andrew LeRoy
Episode #42, Kadesh Flow
Episode #41, Tara Davis
Episode #40, Tomaski
Episode #39, Jake Truelove
Episode #38, John Ingle
This is a weird one. For me. Tony Berrios and I have played hockey together for about five years. I'm not sure if the number's actually five. It might be seven or it might be three and-a-half. I just don't know anymore. Point being: I have come to know Tony pretty well, and -- if you'll pardon the cliche -- they certainly broke the mold when Tony was born. He is -- without question -- one of the super-fantasticist human beings I've ever met. Like...he has a serum in his blood that I'd love to distill and drop beneath my tongue before my morning coffee. He's always in a good mood. Super-smart. Awesome sense of humor. Great dad. Spectacular hockey player. The list goes on. But...but... Tony and I recorded this episode almost six weeks ago, and his interview did not go without the token number of gaffes; in this one I talked too much and I probably spent too much time in the beginning talking to him about his mother. Tonight -- as I write this (after we played an awesome game of hockey together) -- Tony has probably nestled himself into bed and will embark upon another trip to Chicago in the morning. And things don't appear to be looking amazing in that the message from Tony's mom's doctor to Tony and his sister were to be prepared. As in, Come up and prepare to send for the wife and kids. Tony's mom is in I.C.U., and so is Tony's mom's mom, and the former doesn't know about the latter. It's a hard thing for me to envision: having a deep, meaningful relationship with a parent into my 40s (Note: Oh, and, happy belated birthday to Tony, too.). Anyway, I kid you not when I tell you that choosing the intro/outro audio for this episode was one of the hardest decisions I've made in recent memory. I landed where I did because, well...I'm not exactly sure, but I feel good about it, and sometimes that's as deep as a thing goes. Regardless of all of that, Tony dropped by and we bullshitted about Nirvana and Pearl Jam and A Tribe Called Quest and Common. I mean, we touched on those first three artists, but mostly I gushed about Common, and Tony was like, Yeah, dude...I know. Specifically, we talked about In Utero (1993), Ten (1991), The Low End Theory (1991), Resurrection (1994), and One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997). It was good, good fun, though. Tony's the best. I wish him and all of his people peace and love, and I won't even begin to try and articulate how grateful I am that he carved out a little time to do an episode with me. Where you at, Moose? copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from the title track of Chuck Mangione's 1977 record, Feels So Good (c/o A&M Records/UMG Recordings, Inc.).
Oh, The Kid.... What can be said about The Kid that hasn't been said already... He's a son and a brother and a husband and a dad and a musician and a super-student of music. I love that The Kid's folks're still hangin' and that he and all of his siblings found and chose fantastic partners. And they all have beautiful children and they're just...they're just a really good clan. So, I was stoked that I got this cat to come chat with me for Episode #45, and when he chose Mr. Bungle, I couldn't've been less surprised. Really dug our conversation. Hope you check it. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro video. They are samples from a track called, "Something About Us," which I've lifted from Daft Punk's 2001 record, Discovery (c/o Warner Music France/ADA France, (patent symbol) 2001 Daft Life Ltd.).
Sammy Sanchez is a son, a brother, a boyfriend, a bartender, and a music aficionado in the truest sense of the word. Having recorded Episode #30 with his father, Cesar, I was pleased as punch to get to sit down with a member of the next generation, and wax both tunes and philosophical. Sammy selected Small Change (1976) by Tom Waits, Pink Floyd's Animals from a year later, and LCD Soundsystem's 2010 release, This is Happening, and boy were they a treat to discuss with him. Being in the presence of two amazing humans such as Sammy and his father were blessings, to be sure, and -- even though Cesar tipped me off that his boy knows a ton about music -- I was blown away at today's guest's knowledge and attention to detail. Sammy is the kind of dude the world needs more of right now, and -- until we have that -- I think we really just need to root for the ones we do have and know about. So, even though I know he's destined for a life of greatness and joy, I'm pulling for him, nonetheless. He's got a bright future ahead of him, and -- if I play my cards right -- maybe we'll sit down together again sometime soon. Thank you for giving our conversation a listen. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called, "No Way" off of David Gilmour's solo, self-titled debut from 1978 (c/o David Gilmour Music LTD. under exclusive license to SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT).
Andrew LeRoy is a son, a brother, a husband, a father three times over, an attorney, and an all-around good dude. He hosts a mean trivia night and calls a decent game of hoops, both from the same stage, nonetheless. But before I get ahead of myself, I need to be serious for a moment. Shortly after we started recording, I discovered that the guest of Episode #43 was on the phone with the late Tom Pickert when he was murdered five years ago in front of his home in my neighborhood. Tom was a married man and a father of two (one of his sons was in my daughter's elementary-school class) who was shot in the back of the head by a coward, and -- if things continue to trend in the way that they are -- that sorry excuse for a human being will ultimately die behind bars. That last fact obviously doesn't bring Tom back to life or heal the wounds felt by his friends and loved ones, but it helps knowing that -- at least in one instance -- true punishment for acts of senseless gun violence can exist in the world. I hope that those closest to Mr. Pickert have stepped beyond the trailhead of the healing path, and are able to conjure fond memories of him when they desire. I'm grateful for Andrew being so generous of his time, though, and it was super-fun to sit with him and discuss a handful of his favorite records. They are these: Kind of Blue, Miles Davis (1959) Run DMC's Raising Hell (1986) Paul's Boutique, Beastie Boys (1989) Green Day's Dookie (1994) Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999) Please check out our conversation and -- as you navigate the world this holiday season -- please be nice to people. You never know what they might be going through at the time. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called, "Intro" by xx, which is the leadoff cut from their 2009 record, The xx (c/o Young/XL Recordings Ltd).
Kadesh Flow is a son and an MC and a trombonist and a fantastic human being who was kind enough to sit with me for a spell so that he could share a bit about both himself and a few of his favorite records. We touched on the following: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John (1973) Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco (2006) Trombone Shorty's Backatown (2010) My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West (2010) Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) If you wanna learn more about Kadesh, you should Google him. He's on the socials, he's got a Bandcamp, and a YouTube page. Find out where he's gigging with one of his many outfits. Buy/stream some of his music. Get yourself some merch'. Seriously. It was righteous to see him on stage and a treat to have him in the chair, so please check out our conversation. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a track called "Who Are You?" off of Karl Denson's Dance Lesson, No. 2 album (2001), c/o Blue Note Records.
Tara Davis is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a business owner, a hostess, an aunt, a fashionista, a friend, and one heck of a next-door neighbor. Tara's three super-fantastic daughters and her super-dope husband make for quite the clan on the other side of the fence, and our collective families have compiled some fun memories over the last six or seven years. And even though their plates are pretty dang full, both dad and mom have made the time to come do an episode of the podcast with me, leaving me feeling pretty darn grateful. I've eaten at their Thanksgiving Day table, co-hosted (and attended) school functions with them, camped, had drinks around both their island and their fire pit, and watched our kids do gift exchanges, but having both Tara and Kyle (Episode #20, 6/14/22) do their own episodes of Badass Records Podcast really afforded me the opportunity to hang with them and get to know their stories. And what fun it was learning about Tara's. We talked a little bit about her musical journey (and what a ham and a cornball she's been along the way), and came to the conclusion that Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) was such a pivotal record for her. All considered, I couldn't be more pleased to be dropping a tFarley (Note: Check her out on the 'Gram!) episode on Thanksgiving Day. As she herself said, it was "meant to be." And you, my friends, are meant to be checking out our conversation, so thanks for being here, and Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of yours. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are samples from a tune called "Lucy" by The Dining Rooms, and this track is from their 2001 record, Numero Deux (c/o Milano 2000).
Tomaski is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a businessman, and a friend of a friend that agreed to come sit in a virtual stranger's basement for a couple of hours to discuss music, and I can't thank him enough for doing so. We talked about some of his worldly travels, his love of Brazilian culture, and of course, a few of his favorite records. They are the following: Caetano Veloso's Transa (1972) Babylon By Bus, Bob Marley & The Wailers (1978) Metallica's Master of Puppets (1986) Skid Row, Skid Row (1989) The Cure's Disintegration (1989) Achtung Baby, U2 (1991) Check Your Head, Beastie Boys (1992) Baile das Formigas, Noites Do Norte (2015) Please consider giving our conversation a view or a listen, and please let the B.R.P. know if you (or someone you know) would like to be a guest on an episode. Thank you for stopping by. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio clips. They are samples from, "Walking, Running, Viking" by Benevento/Russo Duo, which comes from their 2006 record, Play Pause Stop (c/o Royal Potato Family).
Jake Truelove is a son, a brother, a partner, a father, a business owner, and a tried-and-true fan of the greatest rock-and-roll band in American history. I was pleased as punch to get Jake in the chair for Episode #39 of Badass Records Podcast, and we were able to mix it up over not only his favorite Phish album, Live in Brooklyn (2006), but also his current love, Goose. I've known Jake for most of a decade and he's a go-getter that knows what he wants, and makes no bones about the way in which he gets there. He's the third fan of the Denver Broncos Football Club that I've had on as a guest, and -- thankfully -- it's all bad-punchline jokes for that AFC West franchise this season. And here in the heartland, we of course hope that that trend continues. I'm glad you're here reading these words, and since you've come this far, please consider doing me a solid and give our conversation a listen or a view. When this drops, we'll be 10 days into November, which I think is deep enough into the calendar year to officially call this the holiday season. To that end, I hope that the coming weeks find you hanging with friends and loved ones whose company you enjoy. Cheers to you and yours, and consider being kind to strangers as we start the journey toward 2023. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio. They are clips taken from a tune called, "A Go Go," which is the title track from a 1998 John Scofield record (c/o The Verve Music Group, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.) that features Medeski Martin & Wood. That last phrase should be enough information to let you know that A Go Go is, in fact, a badass record.
John Ingle, a.k.a. "Jingle," (or, Son of Bingle) sacrificed a portion of one of his recent Saturdays and sat with me in the Badass Records Podcast studio for a hot minute to chat about his upbringing, his creative endeavors, and a few of his favorite records. John's one of the smartest guys I know. His archived level of detail, intellect, and understanding go way beyond my comprehension, and for those (among other) reasons, I consider it an honor and a privilege that we got to chew the fat for a few hours. When he's not writing screenplay scripts at the local coffee shop or kicking it with his son, Archer, John can likely be found taking in some playoff baseball or revisiting one of his favorite cinematic relics. During Episode #38, we talked about John Coltrane's Giant Steps (1960), Double Nickels on the Dime (1984) by Minutemen, and The Low End Theory (1991) by A Tribe Called Quest. Our conversation was not "short and sweet," like that one Bob Dylan wrote about in "You're a Big Girl Now." Instead, it was quasi-lengthy and educational. It was also good fun. Hope you'll check it out. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the intro/outro audio clips. They are samples taken from a track called "Syeeda's Song Flute" that Medeski Martin & Wood included for their 1993 record, It's a Jungle in Here (c/o Rykodisc Inc.), and even though that particular track's a Coltrane cover from the very album Mr. Ingle selected, it's featured on one of the undisputed badassest records of all time. If you don't have it in your library, please remedy that today. It'll set ya' free.
Jeff Shifley carved out some time from his busy schedule to come kick it with me of noon on a Sunday. We enjoyed a couple of beverages and attempted to dissect a few of his favorite albums: Jane's Addiction's Ritual de lo Habitual (1991), Phish's Hoist (1994), and one of the most badass records of all time, Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin (1975). In addition to sharing our novice-like expertise on a truly fantastic trio of releases, we also talked about work and parenthood and growing up and the weird thing that is this world we live in today. It was a really great time, and I couldn't be more pleased that we found a window on the calendar to bullshit and just be a pair of duderinos. When Jeff's not busy parenting or husbanding or slingin' brown paper bags, you can probably find him on the diamond or on the court wearing his coaching hat. He's a hell of a guy. I do hope you'll check out our chat. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the inro/outro audio clips. They are samples taken from a tune called "Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)," which is off of the new (April) Kurt Vile album, watch my moves, which you can (and should) stream or buy in one of all of the places in which one does such things. Said track, by the way, comes to you and I courtesy of Verve Records, c/o overnite kv incorporated, under exclusive license to Verve Label Group, a division of UMG Recordings. Whew! Didja' catch all that? 'Cause it was kind of a lot.