I'm very pleased to welcome Sammy Sanchez back to the program for a record-setting fourth appearance on the Badass Records podcast. And none of our chats have been brief ones.

Sammy initially came around for Episode No. 44, in which we discussed a few of his favorite records: Pink Floyd's Animals (1977), Rain Dogs (1985) by Tom Waits, and LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening (2010).

For his second appearance, we tackled the Tom Waits discography, and that was super-fun and very educational. On his last go-round, we unearthed all of the Beck albums, and I think we're both glad we did that.

This time, though, Sammy took the suggestion lead, and we decided we'd examine the studio albums by one of his all-time-favorite bands, Radiohead. If you're keeping score at home, those'er these…

Zach Bauman joins me for Episode No. 112 of Badass Records, and we discussed a number of things in the world of photography.

Please check out his Web site, and consider giving him a follow on Instagram and/or Twitter.

It was a pleasure meeting Zach and getting to learn a little bit about him, and -- while we were at it -- we talked about a few of Zach's favorite albums. They were these…

Pleased to've met Brooke Kakfa as we sat down for Episode No. 111.

Brooke is a daughter, a sibling, a friend to many, a lifelong musician, and a member of many bands. Find either her personal or her professional page on Facebook, give her a follow on Instagram, and be sure to check out her primary outfit's Web page, which -- if you happen to be reading this on the day it drops -- includes a Dames of the Dead show tonight at Mike Kelly's Westsider, here in Kansas City, from 7:00-10:00 p.m., CDT.

Not to worry, though, if you catch this late; the Dames have a number of gigs listed through early June, the most recently announced being a spot at the one and only Boulevardia on Friday, 6/14, so hats off to them for that.

Mark Manning is a son, a brother, a partner, and -- based on the chunk of an evening I spent with him for Episode No. 110 -- one heck of a fine human being.

He's also the host of the Wednesday MidDay Medley on KKFI, 90.1 FM here in Kansas City, so please consider tuning in to his progrum.

This came up in our conversation and bears repeating here: Mark gets it. He understands what good content should sound and feel like, and he's a fantastic conversationalist, so -- even though this particular chat ran a little long -- it was worth every minute.

What, you might be asking, could Mark and I have talked about for over three hours?

Well, let's see...

It's Episode #109 and -- as is often the case -- I'm very excited to have a return guest join me for a conversation.

Not only was this time no exception, this time was a visit I was really thrilled about, in that it was MABkc back to chew the fat with me about his new release, 90's Baby.

If you missed the first go-'round with MAB, please consider checking out Episode #49, and if you like(d) what you saw/heard there, please use MABkc as your search on your audio platform of choice to check out any (or all) of his previous releases. There are EP options, LP choices, and singles to buy/download/stream. And if you're in the market for some studio time for your own project, visit industrysoundz.com. While you're there, you can purchase your own time package or some beats or even some merch'. And while perusing your studio-time package, make sure to check out the array of talented engineers available to assist.

Brad Smith stopped by to record Episode No. 108 with me, and it was an absolute treat to meet/get to know him.

I'm excited for you to get to know him a bit, too, but before you dive in to our lovely conversation, please know that you can catch his band, Eggs on Mars, tomorrow (Friday, March 8th, 2024) at Hillsiders in KCK.

That's in Strawberry Hill, specifically at 403 N. 5th Street.

And if you can't catch them there, be sure to follow them on Instagram so that you can keep tabs on their goings-on, i.e. their mini regional tour in April, which features gigs in both Oklahoma and Missouri.

Anyway, apart from being the Eggs' frontman, Brad's also a baller (see: Pleasant Hill Roosters High School boys basketball record books), and a heckuva nice guy.

Thirty episodes ago, that week's guest discussed with me the notion of this podcast being a one-man weekly endeavor.

"That's a grind, man," he said. "That's a grind."

He was right when he made that comment, and it made me realize that that was a good summation of what the thing had been to that point. And it hasn't changed. It really is a grind to do the outreach and the scheduling, the interviewing and the editing, the prep and the getting the thing to the places it needs to be.

And since you were wondering, there are five essential components that make it all worthwhile:

1. meeting new people and hearing their stories

2. getting exposed to music I've either never heard of or listened to before…

Pleased as punch to have had Kirstie Lynn join me for Episode No. 106 of Badass Records, and I'm just as excited to have you check out our conversation.

I ran into Kirstie in the ol' downtownage, and -- before I knew it -- we were swapping e-mail messages in order to get this chat on the books.

She's a classically trained opera singer, a songwriter, a musician, a live-music performer, a veteran of the gigging road, and -- if my two hours with her are a good measuring stick -- she's one heck of a fascinating human being. One might even go so far as to say wonderful.

Sid Sowder! Episode No. 105! Too Much Rock!

Wow! So much coolness.

I was honored to meet and visit with Mr. Sowder, who has been doing his Kansas City music-community thing for a quarter of a century! Insane!

Too Much Rock is his Web site, and I would really appreciate it if you would check it out. Even if just for a moment.

Richard Davis is a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a veteran, and a local musician.

He's also a fascinating dude with a fascinating story, and he's my guest for Episode No. 104.

I'm thankful that our paths crossed when they did, and I was able to talk him in to swinging by to sit down for a bit.

We chatted life, growing up, recording music, and of course, a couple of Richard's favorite albums. Those were these…

Fritz Hutchison trekked over on a January snow day and sat with me for two hours to bullshit about music and life, and I gotta tell ya' -- it was one of my favorite conversations in recent memory.

I couldn't put a finger on it until several days after we recorded, but there were a number of reasons why I was -- more so than others -- looking forward to this interview. My son -- perpetually eyeing in some fashion or other my calendar of upcoming guests -- made me giggle a time or two about Fritz's upcoming date. And after an oral-surgeon appointment for both of our kids, my ex-wife helped me connect that dots that I know his dad.

Neither of those mattered, though.

Delighted to've had the lovely Autumn Hayes join me for Episode No. 102.

Stream her single, "If You Stay" wherever you get your digital music, and be sure to check her out on Facebook and Instagram.

In our conversation we talked about growing up with music, developing relationships with stringed instruments, plus recording and gigging. We also talked about a few of Autumn's favorite records. Those were these…

Ethan Brown is one of my favorite human beings on the planet.

He joined me 20 months ago for Episode No. 14 (which you should totally check out), and he's back again for the second installment of Wu-Tang 101, in which we examine the solo work of the Rebel INS.

Yes, indeed. It's Episode No. 101, and we're talking Inspectah Deck.

Under zero pretentiousness and -- in my case -- even less than zero knowledge, we took a peek at the following albums…

Reaching this milestone shouldn't go unmentioned and so it shan't; I'm pretty gosh-darn jazzed.

The year it took to get this thing alive and breathing felt like two, and the two years of recording episodes I'm closing in on have flashed.

And I'm embarrassingly proud of the whole thing.

I've had upset and disappointment, frustration and humiliation. I've laughed and smiled more than I knew was imaginable, had more than a couple late nights trying to meet self-imposed deadlines, met a bunch of really cool people, and learned a ton of neat things while listening to a bananas amount of music.

Mike Garry is a son, a brother, a dad, a businessman, a podcaster, a friend to many, and he's my guest for The Wayne Gretzky Episode, a.k.a., #99.

Mike and I connected via a pair of mutuals, and sitting down to chat with him about his journey was a pleasure and a treat.

We talked about The Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, microdosing, life, family, and his adventures with the Let Freedom Trip podcast.

Peregrine Honig is a daughter, a sister, a wife, an aunt, a friend to many, and an artist (or so she's told).

She's also my guest for Episode No. 97.

And before you read any more about her, please know that she has a solo show on display right now in two spaces. And before I tell you where they are, know that one of them closes this Saturday, December 23, 2023. So you literally have to go today, tomorrow, or the day after that. Otherwise you'll have missed out on a tremendous opportunity to see some super-cool pieces that were crafted by one of Kansas City's own.

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.

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.