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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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:

Shouts out to James Carter of You Found Music for connecting me with three fantastic Kansas City people, each of them cool in their own regard. Christian Dixon joined me for Episode No. 202. Julie Bennett Hume stopped by to say hello a few weeks later, and today -- I'm pleased to share that singer/songwriter/musician David Luther is my guest for Episode No. 208.

Hello!

Pushing into the early 200s here with the Badass Records podcast, and I was lucky enough to host Phil Craven last week for Episode No. 207.

Phil is a son, a sibling, a down-to-Earth dude, and a musician in both Whiskey for the Lady as well as Dimension Bill Edwards.

This is my favorite time of year yet, as a) NHL playoffs are happening, and b) it's not hot yet, so I was thrilled to have some first-round action on in the background while editing this fantastic conversation with a little bit of playoff hockey in the background.

It's that time of the week again, and I'm excited to share that Sean Moran of KC Film Project is my guest for Episode No. 206.

Sean is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, a photographer, and one heck of a fun guy with whom to chat.

We sat down a couple of Saturdays ago to chat all about KC Film Project and a few of the things the team are working on. To keep your finger on the pulse, follow them on Instagram at @kcfilmproject.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

My guest this week is Julie Bennett Hume, whom is a daughter, a sibling, a wife, a mother, and a singer/songwriter.

Follow Julie on Instagram at @julie_bennetthumemusic, check out her Web site, juliebennetthume.com, and find her stuff on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and CD Baby.

Matt Jack joined me for Episode No. 204, and it was awesome sitting down with him.

Matt's a son, a husband, a father, a professional, a bandmate for many outfits, and a super-sharp dude.

Beyond following Matt's Death By Science Fiction outfit on Instagram (@deathbyscifi), you should definitely check out their stuff on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify. And above all, be sure to get your tickets now for JackChella at The Rino on Friday, April 3.

J. Ryan Landry is a son, a sibling, an artist, a super-sharp fellow, and a fantastic conversationalist. He's also my guest for Episode No. 203.

Mr. Landry and I hit it off right away, talking about common acquaintances, growing up in JoCo, hoops, and the like, and we were only getting started there.

Christian Dixon is a son, a sibling, a musician and a songwriter, and he's my guest for Episode No. 202.

If you're so inclined, you can give Christian an Instagram follow at @christiandixonmusic. You can find him on Facebook and Tiktok. You can peruse his Web site, christiandixon.bandzoogle.com. You can find his EP and his singles on Apple Music and Spotify. And I'll also encourage you to check out James Carter's "You Found Music" out there on the Web; he's the guy deserving of the kudos for connecting me and Christian.

Just like that we're off and rolling into the 200s, and I couldn't be happier than to share that Parker Mason is this week's guest on the podcast.

Parker is a son, a sibling, a partner, and a bandmate in various acts around Kansas City.

Check out @haikusforemus, @car.microwave, and @wearelandlion, all on Instagram.

Parker and I chatted growing up, diving into music and the Internet, wearing different role hats in bands, and the music-scene community around town.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls --

Please allow me to introduce my wonderful guest, Carlton Rashad, to the podcast.

Carlton is a son, a sibling, a singer, a songwriter, a performer, and a fantastic human being. He also makes an appearance on this program for the esteemed 200th episode, which -- if I'm not lying -- is pretty cool.

Ryan Johnson is a son, a brother, and a musician. He's also a super-sharp dude, and he's my guest for Episode No. 199.

Both Ryan's solo and full-band outfits write, record, and gig around town, and if you give him an Instagram follow -- @foxlinband -- you can see that he has some upcoming gigs, including one tomorrow night!

Laura Boland is a daughter, a sister, a significant other, a musician, and an old-school soul. She's also my guest for Episode No. 198.

When wearing her musician cap, Laura goes by the moniker, Elska, and you can find her stuff at elskamusic.me, and you can follow her on Instagram at @elskalullabies.

Laura was kind enough to stop by and visit with me about growing up, life moves and changes, writing, recording, mixing, incorporating Alex Alexander into the Elska fold, and a number of other things, including a few of her favorite albums.

"Mama always said that dying was a part of life...but I sure wish it wasn't."

-- Forrest Gump

My journey as a fan of the Grateful Dead is -- from my perspective -- and interesting one in that I went from the tiny handful of FM-radio hits to Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of the Grateful Dead, and I didn't love it. At all, really.

Some time later everything changed.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

This is the Badass Records podcast, and I'm pleased to let you know that Episode No. 196 features none other than Joel vs Joel's very own, Joel Stratton.

Joel vs Joel's debut album, Smile in the Mirror, came out in August of last year, and Brad Smith (Episode No. 108) of Enigmatic Brunch Records was the wizard behind the curtains of making that happen.

But let's not let that detract us from Joel.

Andrew Turner of Andrew Turner Auctions sat down with me a handful of days ago, and we talked about some stuff.

Our Episode No. 195 conversation involved a little about growing up, family, life visions and the shifts therein, being a gigging musician, and so much more.

Ay, yo!

Life be life-in' right now, and I'm feelin' it; the usual stress of holiday hosting and shopping and scheduling and all the other stuff has my mind crinkled and my right shoulder blade in a knot.

It's a lot.

Sometimes, though, a little dose of blessing floats your way, and I couldn't be more grateful to share with you that I had the pleasure of meeting (and sitting with) the beautiful and the savvy, the sharp and the hilarious, the talented and ambitious, Kimology!

That's right.

Alright, now...

Thanksgiving is in the rearview, and we are officially in the thick of holiday madness!

And, in wishing you happiness and sanity getting through it all, I'm pleased to share that Rodd Fenton joined me for Episode No. 193.

Rodd is a son, a sibling, a husband, a producer, an engineer, a guitarist in a band, and he has an A+ em-dash game, to boot.

I'm feeling a tiny bit too gassed to look it up, but I think this is maybe the fourth-consecutive episode of the podcast to drop on Thanksgiving.

Thursdays aren't fantastic for metrics it seems, but what's more likely is that this thing just isn't really marketable in terms of audience growth.

And that's okay. There was never a pipe dream to have it all blow up. It's always been about connecting with people and sharing stories. And I'm pretty proud to be closing in on 200 episodes/four years of sittin' down with folks to talk about life and music.

Every Now and Zen I wax a little existential on here; doing so at least gets in the neighborhood of scratching that writer itch.

Daylight Savings has been over for a bit, and I think we're all still adjusting to it getting dark at 5:00 (soon to be 4:30), bracing for the holidays, and stirring the miniature marshmallows of emotion into the cocoa that is the forthcoming cold.

I have a fat bundle of youth basketball games to look forward to watching to, and the last week or so with my high-school-freshman daughter has been decent, better perhaps than it was at the end of October, so that's where my focus is attempting to be right now: on the positive.

What is up, everyone?!

We're back -- after a small pause -- with another episode featuring a guest, and I'm thrilled to share, regardless of how LinkedIn-y that sounds -- that I was lucky enough to see my interview with Phil Kilmer to the other side.

Meaning, it took a year and-a-half to make it happen. Which is fun!

In that vein, I'll pause for two seconds to say thank you to anyone that's ever replied to my outreach, and everyone that has helped me to see an episode come to finished-product state by committing, showing up, and being awesome. I'm really excited to see that the 200 mark is right around the corner, and -- as of this moment -- I have a small dose of confidence in me that we'll get there.

I'm equal parts excited to share this episode and sad that the project has come to a close, but before I get all emotional, know that the Apple Music playlist that serves as a companion to this episode can be found here. If that isn't your platform and you want me to create one for you for yours, D.M. me on Instagram or drop a comment on the YouTube post; happy to do it.

It's Episode 189 then and this is my first crack at a discography-series installment all by my lonesome.

Ladies and gentlemen -- Please put your hands together for Holly Day!

Holly is a daughter, a sibling, a wife, a mother of two, and a darn fine TikTok'er.

She's also my guest for Episode No. 188.

I had the pleasure of meeting Holly about a decade ago, and she's just as awesome as she was back then. We talked a little bit about growing up, parenting and navigating the world as adults, as employees, and as appreciators of music.