"Our Fight" Tom Brose was a few years ahead of me and was the bassist for Confront. We hadn't met until recently and we had a really nice talk. We discussed Confront's complicated legacy and setting the record straight. But, more important than that, Tom worked hard to make sure that there was a proper reissue of Confront's 'Pay Day' 7" and their demo via the revived Dark Empire. Both are awesome and are highly recommended.  

"Talkin' Slayer (Mostly...)" My pal DX Ferris returns to talk about the 4th edition of his EXCELLENT book "Slayer - 66 2/3: A Metal Band Biography (Reborn & Re-Remastered Update)". To me, this is the definitive biography on one of the most important bands in heavy metal. It is a heavy duty tome and you can get it at the links below. www.slayerbio.com @slayerbook @slayerbooks facebook.com/slayerbook

Rest in Power Ozzy. Thank you for everything.

"Mr. Larry Uses His Teacher Voice" It is time for another deep dive! This time Tim, Mark and I take a look at the discography for the early 90's metallic hardcore band, Mayday. We go in deep and talk about the band's musical progression from 'The Underdark' 7", the split Ep with Integrity, the 'Lost in Sabbath' Ep and their final release 'Staplegun'. It was fun introducing Mayday to Tim and Marc, as well as visiting their catalog.  

"Is Rush for Reddit Objectivists?" Patrick Kindlon is the vocalist of Drug Church as well as Self-Defense Family. He is also the creator of the forthcoming comic Gehenna: Naked Aggression, which will be available through Image early July. We had a nice talk and covered a lot of ground. Some of the artists we dicussed; Rush, Amebix, Angels of Light, Colin Newman and The Triffids. https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/gehenna-naked-aggression-1-of-4 www.soundtalentmedia.com/show/axe-to-grind-podcast/  

To commemorate the 100th episode I decided to talk about "perfect" songs. I go on a lot longer than I normally do, but I'm joined by some friends at the tail end of the episode to give me their takes on "perfect" songs. Podcasts are largely absurd and this one is no exception. Thanks to anyone that supported or helped in some way with this admittedly self-indulgent endeavor. I truly appreciate it.

"Can we keep talking about airport taco cabanas?" In true “Fast Kids” fashion, Jamie Stillman has worn a lot of hats. He was the drummer in Harriet The Spy, Velocipede and (my favorite) Teeth of the Hydra. Jamie was also the guitarist for the wildly popular Party of Helicopter. All the while running his own label – Donut Friends. Currently, Jamie is the President of Earthquaker Devices – an effects pedal manufacturer based in Akron, Ohio. At the time of this interview he was the bassist of Fringe Candidate and guitarist of Relaxer. Jamie is a very, very busy guy so I was happy that he could find the time to talk for a bit. I’ve known Jamie for a really long time and always enjoyed hanging out with him. It’s a fun conversation with lots of talk about hair metal, youth crew and cults. This is just Part 2 - Go listen to Part 1 first. But, here are some of the bands we cover over both parts: Armstrong Secret Nine, Sonic Youth, Chain of Strength, Gorilla Biscuits, Born Against, Helmet, Motley Crue, W.A.S.P., Life’s Blood, Youth of Today, Universal Order of Armageddon and Jawbox.https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/ (Interview originally published 4/26/21)

"God Bless Sammy Hagar" In true “Fast Kids” fashion, Jamie Stillman has worn a lot of hats. He was the drummer in Harriet The Spy, Velocipede and (my favorite) Teeth of the Hydra. Jamie was also the guitarist for the wildly popular Party of Helicopter. All the while running his own label – Donut Friends. Currently, Jamie is the President of Earthquaker Devices – an effects pedal manufacturer based in Akron, Ohio. At the time of this interview he was the bassist of Fringe Candidate and guitarist of Relaxer. Jamie is a very, very busy guy so I was happy that he could find the time to talk for a bit. I’ve known Jamie for a really long time and always enjoyed hanging out with him. It’s a fun conversation with lots of talk about hair metal, youth crew and cults. This is just Part 1, but Part 2 is up now as well. Here are some of the bands we cover over both parts: Armstrong Secret Nine, Sonic Youth, Chain of Strength, Gorilla Biscuits, Born Against, Helmet, Motley Crue, W.A.S.P., Life’s Blood, Youth of Today, Universal Order of Armageddon and Jawbox.https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/ (Interview originally published 4/26/21)

"Into the Crypts of Stark" Drew Stark is a very busy man. When he is not playing guitar in Candy or Corrosives (where he is also the vocalist) he is conspiring to start at least two dozen other bands. AND when he is not doing that...Drew is having overly long conversations with me about all kinds of music; from Beherit to Tommy Keane. As a sage once said; "Check it out".  corrosives.bandcamp.com @candygonnadie  

"I have to go pee." I’ve known Shaun for a minute which is why I feel so bad that it took so long to get the episode out. But, it is worth the wait! You may have heard some of the bands Shaun’s been in or seen some of his artwork on some notable records. He is also opening his own print shop in Cleveland called Outside Graphics. Shaun is a fun dude and I enjoy our infrequent, but always rewarding conversations.Here’s some of what we go into;AC/DC, Metallica, Klaus Nomi, GG Allin, Carnivore, Easy Action, Laughing Hyenas, H-100s, Raw Power and 45 Grave. (Interview originally published 6/13/22)

"The band Dead Horse. Wanna hear about it? Here it goes..." I'm joined by Rich and Will as we do another deep dive, this time on the debut of Houston, Texas metal legends Dead Horse. We had a great time dissecting this one. I'm only sorry it took this long to post the episode! Enjoy!

"Rust Belt" Chris Wyatt is a co-host for the Buffalo based, Buffalo centric podcast “Nickel City Soundtrack”. I met Chris is either 1990 or 91 during my time as a writer for Crunchface Fanzine. Chris was a part of Crew Cutt Fanzine and was traveling from Buffalo to Chicago when he stopped in Akron to hang out. We hit it off and have been friends since. This one has a lot of Zero Tolerance and sneaker talk, but we hit quite a few other points as well;
Merauder, Jesus Christ Superstar, Violent Femmes, All Else Failed, Cold as Life, Fudge Tunnel, Murder Suicide Pact, Failure Face, Nine Inch Nails, Slowpoke, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, NY Wolfpack, All Else Failed and Warthog. This is Part 2 or 2. (Interview originally published 7/26/21)

"Rust Belt" Chris Wyatt is a co-host for the Buffalo based, Buffalo centric podcast “Nickel City Soundtrack”. I met Chris is either 1990 or 91 during my time as a writer for Crunchface Fanzine. Chris was a part of Crew Cutt Fanzine and was traveling from Buffalo to Chicago when he stopped in Akron to hang out. We hit it off and have been friends since. This one has a lot of Zero Tolerance and sneaker talk, but we hit quite a few other points as well;
Merauder, Jesus Christ Superstar, Violent Femmes, All Else Failed, Cold as Life, Fudge Tunnel, Murder Suicide Pact, Failure Face, Nine Inch Nails, Slowpoke, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, NY Wolfpack, All Else Failed and Warthog. This is Part 1 or 2. (Interview originally published 7/26/21)

"Will you be my Yoko?" Anne Lillis is the drummer for the amazing Safe Words and the equally great, but totally different Beyonderers. Since the original publish date of the interview, Anne has joined the Surfrajettes. But, I originally met her when she was in the band As If and our paths have crossed numerous times since. Anne has toured extensively with Jessica Lea Mayfield as well as Samantha Crain. I’ve always enjoyed seeing Anne out and about and thought she’d be perfect guest for an episode. I was correct in my thinking. Here are some of the artists that pop up in our wide ranging conversation; The Pretenders, Can, Howlin Wolf, Tanya Tucker, The Everly Brothers, The Shaggs, Gregg Allman, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, The Dirty Mac, Don Covay and The Ronettes. www.thesurfrajettes.com thebeyonderers.bandcamp.com safewordscle.bandcamp.com (interview originally published 5/14/21)

"All of the names are taken" Anne Lillis is the drummer for the amazing Safe Words and the equally great, but totally different Beyonderers. Since the original publish date of the interview, Anne has joined the Surfrajettes. But, I originally met her when she was in the band As If and our paths have crossed numerous times since. Anne has toured extensively with Jessica Lea Mayfield as well as Samantha Crain. I’ve always enjoyed seeing Anne out and about and thought she’d be perfect guest for an episode. I was correct in my thinking. Here are some of the artists that pop up in our wide ranging conversation; The Pretenders, Can, Howlin Wolf, Tanya Tucker, The Everly Brothers, The Shaggs, Gregg Allman, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, The Dirty Mac, Don Covay and The Ronettes. www.thesurfrajettes.com thebeyonderers.bandcamp.com safewordscle.bandcamp.com (interview originally published 5/14/21)

"I'll take 'DJs and Turntablists' for 500, Alex." Floco Torres is a prolific Akron based MC/Lyricist that released his most recent LP "This Creative Life" a life close to six months ago. I wasn't late to the game on his music, but I was lagging behind on getting him as a guest. In any case, it was worth the wait as we go deep in the weeds about a lot of stuff, but most importantly, Chaka Khan. It a longer discussion, but well WELL worth your time. You can check out all of Floco's music on Spotify and keep up with him here; www.nobodycaresnews.com  

"Toronto has outgrown Peter Ustinov" Simon Harvey is an old buddy from Toronto. He is head honcho of Ugly Pop Records and a regular contributor to Ugly Things magazine as well as the excellent book “Tomorrow is Too Late” which covers the Toronto hardcore-punk scene of the early 80’s. Simon is also an incorrigible record collector and an all-around good guy. Some of the bands we talk about: The Waitresses, The Jam, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Who, Sham 69, Television, XTC, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Viletones, Dire Straits, Die Kreuzen, Discharge, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost, Rixe, Slant, Infest, Minor Threat, Subhumans uglypop.bandcamp.com @uglypoprecords @uxbpress @uglythingsmag (Interview originally published 3/15/21)

"Mark Knopfler is pretty great" Simon Harvey is an old buddy from Toronto. He is head honcho of Ugly Pop Records and a regular contributor to Ugly Things magazine as well as the excellent book “Tomorrow is Too Late” which covers the Toronto hardcore-punk scene of the early 80’s. Simon is also an incorrigible record collector and an all-around good guy.Some of the bands we talk about: The Waitresses, The Jam, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Who, Sham 69, Television, XTC, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, The Viletones, Dire Straits, Die Kreuzen, Discharge, Agnostic Front, Celtic Frost, Rixe, Slant, Infest, Minor Threat, Subhumans. uglypop.bandcamp.com @uglypoprecords @uxbpress @uglythingsmag (Interview originally published 3/15/21)

"Properly Vetted" My pal Derek Dole is a Buffalo native, one of the guitarists for the incredible hardcore band Do Crime and a member of the Nickel City Soundtrack podcast braintrust. We had a fun and wide ranging conversation. You can hear him on NCS weekly and his band Do Crime on bandcamp as well as Apple Music and Spotify. 

"RIP Roswell Kent Junior High" A few years ago they tore down the building that where I attended Junior High School. It brought back a ton of memories, particularly involving music. It was there that I really started to take ownership of music and there was a particular mix tape that helped me along my way. I recorded this "Five and Change" episode to document some of my thoughts. Sound quality be damned, I've republished this for posterity. (Originally published 9/4/21)