Badass Records

Tasha Ransom is an artist.

More specifically, she is a musician, a painter, a photographer, and a writer. She's also a great conversationalist, and she is my guest for Episode No. 173.

Tasha stopped by last week and sat across from me at the table. We swapped a great many phrases and touched on things like growing up, family, self-discovery, and music. Somewhere in the mix, we managed to have a brief gander at a few of her favorite records. Those were these:

Our Mother the Mountain (1969), Townes...

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls --

It is my privilege to share with you that Brian Kraemer and Nic Aguero of GFM Recording Studios in Blue Springs joined me for a fine, fine conversation that became Episode No. 172 of this here podcast.

Their spot lives online at gfmrecording.com and I encourage you to follow them on Instagram, as well. They are learned (shouts out to Chuck) in the recording arts and geared for creating custom beats, mixing, mastering, and are just the right fit for artists, bands, agencies, and...

Vanessa Kramer is a daughter, a wife, a mother, an author, and one heck of a fun, funny, and sharp conversationalist. She's also my guest for Episode No. 171, which gives me great honor to say.

Vanessa and her husband, Kyle, stopped by for what turned out to be a delightful chat a couple of weeks ago, and we rolled through the morning and into the afternoon, talking family, upbringing, marriage, partnership, parenthood, publishing, and so much more. We also managed to devote a little bit of time to a few of Vanessa's favorite albums, which...

Ernie Yates of Stone Eagle joined me for Episode No. 170, and it was an honor and a privilege to meet him and chat for a few. Ernie's pipes Stone Eagle's blues-influenced, southern/stoner rock, and you can keep tabs on them on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter; and you can check out their stuff where you stream. Were you to seek them out in the digital world, you'd likely find "Sirens" from April of this year and their EP, Backside of the Mountain, from 2024.

But enough about Stone Eagle; let's talk Ernie.

...

I may've mentioned this before, but -- more often than not -- when I open the front door to greet a guest, it's our first time meeting one another. And the vibes in that initial moment vary. Sometimes they're neutral. Occasionally they're curious. Every now and again, the good energy is palpable, and such was the case when I met John Knell on my porch.

John is a local artist, a son, a husband, a father, a fantastic conversationalist, and he joined me for Episode No. 169.

We chewed the fat for...

Marcus Rattler joined me for Episode No. 168, and -- while none of my guests have been mental slouches -- Marcus has to be one of the sharpest dudes I've sat down with to date. Mr. Rattler is a son, a sibling, a father, and a musician. He's one heck of an educated guy, and he brings good energy with him as he navigates this life.

Marcus plays steel pan and drums in sundry outfits, and you can check out his content on TikTok (@marcus.rattler.music), on Instagram (@marcusrattler), on Facebook, and on YouTube. He's...

"The purpose of this record is to demonstrate a neglective factor in funnel pickup design. Namely, the ability of the pickup to stay in contact with the groove modulation over a wide range of frequencies and intensities. In other words, to track the groove..."

-- DJ Magic Mike, "The House of Magic," Bass is the Name of the Game (1988)

I've been peeling back the layers of the music-world onion for as long as I can remember.

One of my fondest chapters in that book of memories is...

My guest for Episode #166 is a daughter, a fiancée, a mother, and an artist.

She has a tremendous aura about her. She's been blessed with compassion, intelligence, talent, determination, fantastic conversational skills, and she has boldly faced that which life has dealt her.

Her name is Morgen Agesen, and she deserves steadfast applause for being an awesome human being.

As Executive Assistant for Art Garden KC, Lead Designer for Worlds of Fun, and In-House Muralist for Vignettes Bar, Morgen still manages to find time for her o...

I couldn't be happier to share that -- not only is the wonderful Lisa Alpert back, but -- the Becoming a Swifty series has had new life breathed into it.

Yes.

It's Episode No. 165 of Badass Records, but installment number four of Taylor Swift talk.

If you didn't happen to catch Lisa's first episode, please check out No. 147, and -- in today's episode -- take note of all of the phenomenal guests Lisa has sent my way.

Anyway...Lisa and I had a...

After a couple of weeks off for rest and recalibration, Badass Records is back with a new episode, and this one features the fantastic Cole Bales of Black Light Animals.

Cole is a son, a brother, a boyfriend, a bandmate times two, and he's my guest for Episode No. 164.

Black Light Animals has an upcoming RecordBar gig. That's Thursday, May 1st at RecordBar. They also have a new album out. It's called Last Call Love Songs, and you can find it digitally or get yourself a vinyl copy via their Bandcamp...

Pleased as punch to share that Til Willis made his return to Badass Records after an 80-episode gap; if you're doin' the math at home, he was here for Episode No. 83 back in September of 2023, and it was a great one. Highly recommend you visit (or revisit) it.

This time around -- for Episode No. 163 -- it was smooth sailing' for Til and I to pick up where we left off last time, and talk about a healthy bunch of cool stuff.

At the forefront of said stuff, Glass Cactus, the...

It was an honor and a privilege to meet Marilee Rose and chew the life-story fat with her a couple of weeks ago.

She is a daughter and a sibling and a mother and a fiancee. She's a years-long entrepreneur, a lover of planning and travel, and a gangster in her own right. She's also my guest for Episode No. 162.

Marilee and I talked growing up, being a businesswoman, acknowledging adversity and flourishing in spite of it, and being an artist/creator, a connector, a dreamer, and one who manifests. We...

Please put your hands together for Mr. Jamie Campbell!

Jamie is a son, a brother, a husband, an actor, a stand-up comic, and he's also my guest for Episode No. 161.

Find Jamie at jamiecampbellcomedy.com, on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and where you stream. If you go the YouTube route, be sure to check out his hour-long special, Big Dad Energy, and if you go the social-media route, keep an eye out for not only his upcoming new hour (courtesy of Dry Bar Comedy), but also a handful of movie projects...

Derrick Benitz joined me for Episode No. 160, and I'm super-grateful that he stuck with me through a period of correspondence, ultimately making the trek over in late January to bullshit with me about photography, growing up, Spotify playlists, and being happy/healthy in life.

Find Derrick on Instagram under the @nomadphotog handle, and please peep his handsome Web site, derrickbenitz.com.

Whilst we were fat chewing, Derrick and I managed to touch on a few of his favorite albums. They were these:

Metallica (1991)

Dr. Dre's...

Solomon Alpert joined me for Episode No. 159. Solomon is a son, a brother, a husband, a father figure, and a Reentry Counselor at Benilde Hall, a facility which helps folks by fostering sustained recovery, stable housing, economic self-sufficiency, and improved mental and physical well-being. An honorable career and facility, to say the least.

This week's guest came highly recommended courtesy of his wife, Lisa, who joined me for Episode No. 147 (and is tentatively slated to join me once more, this time for the newest installment of Becoming a Swifty), and he did not disappoint. There's...

Pleased to've met Jeremiah James Gonzales and learned all about Redder Moon for Episode #158. Redder Moon's blend of gothic new-wave/post-punk can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. They've got something in the neighborhood of eight releases available to check out, including a single from late last year, with more stuff coming soon.

Jeremiah was kind enough to share a portion of an evening in January with me, and I enjoyed hearing about his songwriting, recording, and band history. We talked about growing up, family, friends, and a few of his favorite...

Ladies and gentlemen...It's Lukas!

The brain child behind Sentimental Creatures was kind enough to make the hour-long commute to the B.R.P. studio amidst winter conditions last month, and I was grateful he did, as we talked growing up, God, earning first-gig cap feathers, and a ton more.

Lukas and his outfit can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, plus all streaming services.

Learning about all that has transpired in a short time for both Lukas and Sentimental Creatures was exciting, as was our conversation...

Amber Lea is a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother figure to her husband's two kids. She's an incredibly intelligent woman with a great sense of humor that has taken on the challenge of facing health and medical issues with an admirable sense of strength.

She's also the owner of Dear You Tattoo (4470 Rainbow in KCK), and she's my guest for Episode No. 156.

I usually chat with my guests for a few minutes before we launch into the conversation, and somewhere along the way in that transition, I cut...

Kyle Maggart of Brothers Music in Shawnee joined me for Episode No. 155, and I enjoyed the heck out of our conversation.

His joint can be found at 12206 Johnson Drive, and they can be reached at 913-766-3869, or followed on Instagram as @brothersmusickc.

We talked about growing up, getting into music at a young age, starting a business, and collecting a ton of vinyl.

Naturally, we talked about a few of Kyle's favorites, which were these:

Blue Train (1958), John Coltrane

The...

Jamie Searle, a.k.a. @jjeromemusic, joined me for Episode No. 154, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to've met him and gotten to know him a little bit.

Jamie is a son, a husband, a father, a musician, a songwriter, a producer, and he's the guy that runs The Westport Bowery, so holler at him for any of your booking/entertainment needs for that venue.

Our conversation touched on family, growing up, the lenses of perspective and identity, making art, being outdoors, and the love of music, just to name a...

James R. Wilson, Jr. is a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, an artist, and -- amongst many other things -- he's my guest for Episode No. 153.

James and I sat down to talk about family, growing up in KCK, fatherhood, the world of creating and making art, skating, and his creations on both YouTube and Instagram.

We also talked a little bit about a few of James' favorite albums, which were these:

Easter Everywhere (1967), 13th Floor Elevators

Muzak Orchestra's Muzak Stimulus Progression 1976 (1976)

Ladies and Gentlemen --

Please put your hands together for...Jason Adams!

Hey, hey, hey...It's the second freaking week of January in 2025, and -- to quote my future ex-wife, Gwen Stefani, "this shit is bananas."

Stoked, nonetheless, to have Jason in the studio.

It was lovely to meet him, and I'm jazzed to tell you that, together, we made Episode #152 happen.

Jason is the brains behind Supplemental Sound, and you should not only check his work out on...

Robert Bearce is a son, a sibling, a husband, and a father. He's the brains behind The Free Rent Band, and he's my guest for Episode No. 151.

In addition to his numerous other talents, Robert is also an app developer, a music lover, and he's the founder of Briar Fest (briarfestkc.com). It was a pleasure to meet him, and chat with him about his journey so far. We touched on writing, recording, the longevity of the band, his seemingly fearless knack for birthing ideas and launching them into the world.

...

The list of descriptors to accurately depict Luke Harbur, a.k.a. musicbyskippy, would rival Santa's gift list, so I'm only touching on a few here. He's a son, a brother, a transplant survivor, an artist, a producer, a beatboxing specialist, an entrepreneur, a wonderful human being, and he's my guest for Episode No. 150.

Luke's stuff all lives at musicbyskippy.com, but you can also find him on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.

Luke and I talked about family, life experiences, career visions and dreams, the creative...

"And the man on the cuts! Twice as nice with the slice...his name ain't Tommy...but he's my boy!"

Yes, that's right. A little apropos-of-nothing (Chicago's own) Liquid Soul quote to celebrate the fact that Dylan Johnson joined me for Episode No. 149.

Very pleased that Dylan joined me for this conversation, and I feel it's important to let you know that his stuff is as follows: dylanjohnsonlive.com; humbledpride.com;, and dylan_johnson_music on Instagram. You can find stuff to listen to on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon, Pandora, and...

I was pleased as all get-out one day this summer when Dr. Erika C. Martin messaged me on a thread I'd started a few weeks prior. She mentioned she'd be coming through town the following day and -- were I available to schedule something last-minute -- she'd be happy to slightly alter her travel plans to come sit and chat with me for a few.

She is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Emporia State University. She's a biostatistician and a science correspondent for the Fish Nerds podcast, and she's the Editor of Transactions...

When Facebook suggested Lisa Alpert as a person I might know, I peeped her profile, and thought, this lady seems pretty cool. And oftentimes, that hunch is accurate. Not always, but often. This one was no exception.

Lisa Alpert is cool, rad, awesome, and good vibes, and that's precisely the sort of thing I'm seeking when looking for guests.

Lisa's a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a business owner, and a muthaf***in' hustle. Ya' betta' ax somebody. For those reasons and more, she's my guests for Episode #147, and...

Hey!

This is so fun.

I'm so happy to've been afforded the opportunity to record a small handful of on-location conversations, but none of those have been as exhilarating as my conversation with Ella Gantz (for Episode #146) of Perry Farm to Fork.

Ella and her sisters own and run the lovely co-op of sorts that offers local produce and proteins and other goodies to the fine folks of their Perry/LeCompton community. They are fifth-generation farmers and you can find out more about their operation on their...

Brock Wilbur is a son, a brother, a husband, and an author. He's my guest for Episode No. 146, and he's also the Editor-in-Chief of The Pitch, Kansas City's independent source for news and culture.

It was a pleasure to meet Brock and learn about the different stops his life journey have taken him to, and I'm grateful for both the time and the conversation.

We talked about family, being a stand-up comic, a published author, a podcaster, a supporter of different walks of life, and a proponent of mental health. We...

In late July, I was honored to have Tracy Hoth back in my home again, and it took both time and convincing to get her here.

Nearly a decade ago, I hired her for some professional-organization help, and she was fantastic. Our package was broken into tiers, and -- due to some critical life changes -- we had a little bit of a gap in between tiers one and two. Many moons later, she appeared in the people-you-might-know section of one of my social-media platforms. I reached out and pitched her on the idea of...

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Whatcha' got to say?!"

I don't have any "Hollywood Swingers" action to share with you, but I do have some equally exciting news, and that's that Robert Flynn finally made it by the studio and we sat down together for what wound up being Episode No. 143 of this here podcast.

Robert was on my initial-initial outreach list while I was trying to get this thing live and off the ground, and some three years later, here we are.

Robert's a son, a sibling, a...

"Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle o' Brass Monkey," it's another new-episode Thursday, and I'm geeking out to share with you that Bill Belzer joined me for a fantastic conversation.

So great catching up with Bill, and learning about our mutual love of the greatest band in American rock 'n' roll history, and it was equally fun learning a little bit about Bill's band, Miss Boating.

Bill's over on the 'Gram as @billzer, and Miss Boating deets can gleaned from YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Apple Music, and/or Bandcamp.

Greetings!

It's new-episode Thursday, and I'm pleased to say that Dan Perez was my guest for Episode No. 141. Dan is in four bands: 1) a smallish trio outfit with his brother; 2) Whiskey Mash Band; 3) Helping Phriendly Bluegrass Band; and 4) The Kaw Valley Hop Pickers.

Dan's silky bass notes in each of those conglomerations don't entirely comprise him, though; he's a son, a sibling, a Phishhead, and a husband (I think he said).

I had Dan's Whiskey Mash bandmate, Billy Brady, on for Episode No. 65, so check that one...

It's kinda wild for me to think about the fact that -- two years ago -- I was publishing Episode #40 (w/Tomaski), and here we are...turning the final-chapter pages of 2024. I think that they call it, "Q2" in the corporate world, but it's the final period of our calendar year, here in Humansville.

And what a fun ride it's been.

David Kaufman joined me for Episode #140, and he did not disappoint.

David's over on the 'Gram with the @davesthename handle. He's a camera operator and an...

Very pleased to share that Bob Walkenhorst joined me for Episode No. 139, and it was a privilege to get to know him a little bit.

I really enjoyed gaining a little bit of insight into Bob's perspective of the live-music scene in 1980s Kansas City as he and The Rainmakers really found their writing and gigging groove.

As a 71-years-young rock star, Bob's still gigging twice a month at Mike Kelly's Westsider, and you can glean more details about those shows if you give his Facebook page a follow.

<...

Forrest Saucier joined me for Episode No. 138, and it was an absolute treat to get to know him a little bit.

Forrest is a son, a sibling, a partner, a man of numerous hats, and he's an important figure over at Tyler's House, which is a youth-oriented, non-profit organization over on the Kansas side that -- for my money -- is an amazing concept that needs more eyeballs on it and more of the community's dollars in its bank account.

In the world of interviewing, it's always refreshing to have a...

Hooray for Episode No. 137 being out and available to all of you fine listeners and viewers!

I'm stoked to share that Carley Martin Verbeck and I were able to sit down together and chat about all things Carley and her band, Scotch Hollow. Her husband Mark and I perused portions of his journey that led to the two of them meeting/ultimately forming the band back in Episode No. 116, so to have the other half of the duo join me was a blast.

Carley -- beyond being a wife and Scotch...

I have the utmost gratitude for Bill Brownlee gracing me with an appearance for Episode No. 136.

Bill is so many things, and I confidently say that barely knowing him.

What he is above all -- at least at this moment -- is generous for taking time out of his life to come sit with a perfect stranger, and I couldn't be happier about the conversation that resulted from his decision to do so.

Bill and I talked about his careers in the record-label industry and as a...

DJ Prodigy is a son, a brother, a partner, a father, and he's armed with an artillery of skills that would impress most any artist. He's also my guest for Episode No. 135.

Prodigy splits his time between Kansas City and Arizona, and while in town, he squeezed a chat with me in in between a handful of gigs. For that I am grateful.

We talked about growing up, finding one's way, producing, making records, dancing, beatboxing, and a bunch more. We also talked about a few of his favorite records, which...

Marty Wall is a son, a sibling, a husband, a long-time former Kansas City-radio D.J., and a voice-over artist. He fronts three different live-music acts, has some rich K.C. knowledge, and he's my guest for Episode No. 134.

Marty and I talked about music collections, radio formats and programming, gigging, family, and more. We also had a peek at two of his favorite albums, which were these:

Elton John's Honky Chateau (1972)

Spilt Milk (1993), Jellyfish

It was a great joy to meet Marty and learn...