Talkin‘ the Talk With Don

Episode 75: Marissa Nadler

Singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler has been a favorite of mine since I first heard her 2016 release Strangers.  Since 2004, Marissa has released 10 studio albums as well as 11 self-released albums.  That is no small feat for any musician of any caliber and Marissa has maintained a level of consistent greatness throughout here career.  If I had to describe the sound of Marissa Nadler, I would say it's a beautiful horror.  Her voice makes me think that "the other side" just may be a thing of horrifying beauty. 
Her latest album, The Path of the Clouds is a leap forward for Marissa as she incorporates more instrumentation than on previous releases.  This doesn't take away from the sparse beauty that she has come to be known for but it adds another layer of depth to the songs making them that much darker. 
Talking to Marissa once again was a real treat and she is ALWAYS such a gracious and open person to talk to.  I hope you enjoy this one.  
To check out The Path of the Clouds, Check it out HERE

Episode 74: Sandi Saraya (Saraya)

One of the things I love more than anything is re-discovering music that I hadn't listened to in a long time.  Recently I was making a playlist of hard rock/metal songs that I remember loving from my high school years (88-92) and I was really digging as deep as I could.  One of the bands that I remembered really loving was New Jersey hard rock band Saraya. 
Saraya released two album: the self-titled debut album and the stellar follow up album When the Blackbird Sings.  I loved that album so much but '91 was a huge year for new releases.  For some reason, the album and band got buried and after 30 years I unearthed them from the depths of my memories. 
I was so surprised to hear just how amazingly well the songs held up after all these years and I couldn't stop listening to these albums.  2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the Saraya album When the Blackbird Sings and I decided I wanted to reach out to vocalist/songwriter Sandi Saraya to talk about it.  It turns out that Sandi had pretty much disappeared off the face of the musical earth.  After a lot of persistence, I finally tracked Sandi down and I was fortunate to have her agree to talk with me. 
Sandi is such an awesome person and to hear her talk about her extremely tough bout with the record industry, reminiscing on the older songs and what inspired them, and there was even talk about recording a new song this year in 2021 with long-time guitarist and collaborator Tony Rey.  This interview is hands down one of the highlights of my interviewing years and I am so excited to share this with everyone!

Episode 73: John Corabi (The Scream, Motley Crue, Union, Dead Daisies, John Corabi)

The best way I can describe John Corabi is as a true rock n' roll gentleman/journeyman.  John is hilarious, intelligent, and an absolute blast to talk to.  John has had a 40+ year journey in rock n' roll and at 62 years old he's not even close to being done.  We talked about his fantastic new single "Cosi Bella (So Beautiful), his forthcoming book, we bonded over our love for 90s pop legends Jellyfish, and, well, just give this one a listen.  It was a great time talking with John and I hope you'll enjoy listening and learning about this great dude. 
Be sure to pop in and visit his YouTube Page: https://tinyurl.com/bmwywh94

Episode72: Celebrating 30 Years of Hellacious Acres with Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys

Jason McMaster is one of my all time favorite people both as a musician and as a person.  Jason has been a great buddy of mine now for a few years and we always have the best phone calls.  It was really fun to have him on the podcast once again (I think for the third time maybe?) but this time we were talking about the 30th anniversary of Dangerous Toys' sophomore album, Hellacious Acres.  We talked in great length about the album song by song and, like the dorks we do, strayed away from the topic more times than none which, for me, is always a blast.  I hope y'all will dig this one and after listening to this one, go crank Hellacious Acres which you can find on Spotify and all other streaming platforms.

Episode 71: Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister)

Twisted Sister is the band that started it all for me.  From a fat, bullied kid who just longed to be understood to a 47 year old musician, writer, and dreamer, Twisted Sister has been there for me through it all.  There are a lot of bands that I love but Twisted Sister will forever be "the" band that started me on a path that I took and never looked back.  From seeing the Grateful Dead 27 times and being a pot dealer to being a Glam Metal icon, Jay Jay French saw it all and lived to tell the stories.  Talking to Jay Jay was like talking to a longtime friend.  Hell, we dorked out on music history and shit more so than talking about Twisted Sister.  It's my honor to be able to share this interview and I hope you all will enjoy it. 
Be sure to check out Jay Jay's Podcast, The Jay Jay French Connection!

Episode 70: Marc Storace (Krokus)

I first heard Krokus back in 1984.  The song was "Screaming in the Night" and it was a part of a compilation album called Masters of Metal that was put by an 80's record label called K-Tel.  Loving this song so much sent me out running to the record store to pick up the album Headhunter and from there I became a Krokus fan for life.  Getting to talk to vocalist Marc Storace was amazing.  We talked about how to say his name correctly, the life long comparison to late AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott, and all kinds of other cool shit!

Episode 69 - Lisa Lystam (Heavy Feather/Lisa Lystam & The Family Band/Siena Root)

Blues rockers Heavy Feather are releasing a new album year titled  Mountain of Sugar and I couldn't be more pumped for them.  Lystam and her crew deliver an incredible dose of sassy, in-your-face, and out the door blues-rock that at times can even be intimidating.  Lisa was such an awesome person to talk to and I really enjoyed talking blues music, staying sane during Covid, and a bunch of other stuff!

Episode 68: Fran Tobolsky (Wucan)

2020 was an awesome year for my podcast.  As shitty as this year was, I am lucky to have had some really cool guests on my show.  I couldn’t think of a better way to end the year than with an interview with Fran Tobolsky of Wucan.  I have been a huge fan of this […]