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.

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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:

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.

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.

            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.

Mike Beck is one of the greatest guys I know.

He has led a humble, hard-working life. He carries many a kind notion in his soul, and has invoked more laughter in others than one could possibly calculate.

He's a son that made his parents proud, a funny brother, a loving husband, a caring father, and a fantastic dude to have as an uncle.

Although he was admittedly nervous, Mike made the trek from Lee's Summit to sit with me and kick around a few details about his list of badass records, and we did so for Episode #36. Mike picked Led Zeppelin II (1969), Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's Deja Vu (1970), Moondance (1970) by Van Morrison, 1973's Yessongs, and Rumors (1977) by Fleetwood Mac.

Bryce Gilman.

What a piece of shit. Dude's more than a few sandwiches shy...

Oh, my God. Relax. It's jokes.

I love this dude like the kid brother I never had, only I give thanks every night to the man upstairs that this guy wasn't actually my younger sibling. 'Cause...fuuuuuck that. What a pain in the dick.

Anyhoo...Bryce fucking Gilman. Junior...Bee Gee...dipstick...so many possibilities.

What a guy, though. He's...so many things...son, brother, father, part-time co-parent, successful professional, Cross Fit junky, closeted homosexual...

I mean...that last detail was a shortish-lived inside joke that originated and remains in poor taste, but...when you walk around like Atlas, you're gonna get the occasional globe thrown in your face.

Louis Pagan is a doctor, a microbiologist, an astrophysicist, and a neurosurgeon.

I'm kidding, but he's that kinda smart where you wonder if the dumb noises coming out of your word hole when you're talking to him are landing in his ears as actual words, or just, like...the sound of dumping your recycling into the garage bin.

In truth, he's a son, a brother, an uncle, a musician, a producer, and a sound engineer. Oh, and he runs marathons, too, in case you weren't already feeling shitty about yourself.

All jokes aside, Louis kicked it with me for an hour or so for Episode #34, and we attempted to dissect Chevelle's This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) from 2004, Tool's 10,000 Days from 2006, and a record called The Great Misdirect, released in 2009 by Between the Buried and Me.

When I told my good buddy in Maine that I was preparing to do a Badass Records Podcast episode with Adam Wilke, he asked me to let him know when it dropped as he'd always considered today's guest as something of an "exotic mystery," and when I heard that, I thought he'd nailed it. Or at least I could see how someone who'd only met him once would say that.

Now, though...things're different.

Now, I've had Adam Wilke in the chair, and -- I gotta tell ya' -- I consider myself a lucky dude for having had this opportunity.

I got to hang out with Josh Dubois and record Episode #32 of Badass Records Podcast at the same time, which -- <checks old-guy chart> -- 100 percent counts as both a privilege and a treat.

Ya' heard?

We chatted Carseat Headrest and Beastie Boys and parenthood and hip-hop and film production and documentaries and how good life is and can be and man...it was fun.

Things like Killer Mike and restored Pontiacs and match.com might've come up, too. As did some serious all-around knowledge from this cat I barely know.

            It's Episode #31, and I couldn't possibly be more stoked to write that the first return guest to Badass Records is none other than the esteemed Josh George, who helped break in the set with Episode #2, which was one helluva conversation if you happened to miss it. In that episode from six months ago, we talked parenting and family roots, and being in the game. We also spent some time looking in to Outkast and Eminem, just to name a couple.

            This go-'round, however, Rage Against the Machine and Run the Jewels were our topics of choice, but we also revisited raising kids and -- somehow -- we leaned a little in the social and political directions, too. Nothing too too scary, but an envelope or two might've been delicately pushed.

Everyone that has sat across the table from me for an episode of Badass Records Podcast is a remarkable human being in his or her own way. Some have been even-keel while others have been hilarious. Some have been creators or artists at points in their lives, and some of them still are. Some have been shy and/or lulling, while others likely had more to say than time would allow. No two guests are alike, though, and Cesar (pronounced SAY-czar) Sanchez might be the most joyous human I've interviewed to date.

The contents of our conversation for Episode #30 tell an amazing (to me) story of love and strength and challenge and fortitude and sated flavor of happiness in life, so I'm excited for you to give it either a listen or a watch.

Long-time good friend Bill Mauch graced my presence for this week's episode, and we had a grand, ol' time talking Metallica, roasting Russell Wilson, and exploring everything from Iowa to family to high-school biology class.

Bill shares his living space with one of the most amazing crews in town, and I can't thank him enough for making the time to come hang on a busy Saturday.

We go back to the late '80s, are in touch via text regularly, and yet somehow I never knew that he had an affinity for country music that's maybe even bigger than his love of the metal kings's self-titled/black album.

And what a badass record it is.

You know that line in The Green Mile? The one in which Eduard Delacroix -- after stepping out of his cell to walk to his impending death -- tells Brutal, Paul, Dean, and Harry that he wishes he "coulda met you guys somewheres else"?

That's kinda how I feel about Kenton Campbell, which is not to say I'm not grateful for knowing him at all; I am. I just think that -- perhaps under different circumstances, perhaps had a couple of zigs been zags instead -- we mighta been good buddies. Who knows. Maybe we'd even occasionally hoop together.

I say all that to say this: Mr. Campbell didn't owe me a shingle's worth o' shit, but he took time out of his busy schedule regardless, and he swung by for Episode #28 of the Badass Records Podcast, and I'm super-stoked that he did.

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 knowledgeable 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.

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.