1987 was a special time in the adolescence of a young Aaron Camaro and Chris Czynszak; being aged 13 and 11 respectively. This was an interesting time in American pop culture with tv shows like The Cosby Show and Cheers leading in the ratings while edgier upstart FOX Network was providing more reality-based programming that would go on to dominate the next decade. Popular movies in 1987 included Three Men and a Baby, Lethal Weapon, RoboCop, and Wall Street; which included one of the enduring quo...
Aug 15, 2012•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 42
When we think back to those angst filled teenage years in the early 90's when we couldn't find a fake i.d. and we still had a curfew, some of our best memories are of spending Saturday nights hanging out at a friends house, eating day old pizza and watching the Headbangers Ball on MTV. While the show started back in 1985 with an ever-rotating host, the show came into our collective consciousness during the transition from Adam Curry to this week's guest, Riki Rachtman. While Curry did an admirab...
Aug 09, 2012•52 min•Ep. 41
We're pulling into the homestretch of KISSMAS in July and thought we'd end the month with a Geeky BANG! Before we get down to it we want to proudly announce that you can stream the Decibel Geek podcast every Friday night through Maximum Threshold Radio! These guys are spinning rock and metal 24 hours a day and were nice enough to let us Geeks take over their airwaves every Friday night at 7:00pm EST. We appreciate this opportunity and hope you will check out all of the other great programming th...
Jul 25, 2012•58 min•Ep. 40
After such a great response to our Lydia Criss conversation in week 1, KISSMAS in July shifts into a new gear with Chris and Aaron's favorite KISS Kover songs taking center stage. When researching covers of KISS songs, it quickly became apparent that KISS has influenced artists from just about every genre of music (we couldn't find any jazz KISS covers). While there were, of course, plenty of examples of straight-ahead rock bands paying homage to the hottest band in the land; the covers from the...
Jul 11, 2012•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 39
Welcome to KISSMAS in JULY here at Decibel Geek headquarters! We're always looking for new excuses to do KISS-themed material and doing a full month of KISS stuff in July just seemed like a logical choice. We kick off the month-o-KISS with an in-depth conversation we recently had with Lydia Criss. Formerly the wife of original KISS catman Peter Criss, Lydia entered the KISS Army's consciousness in 1976 when she accepted the award for 'Beth' being the #1 single of 1976 at the People's Choice Awar...
Jul 04, 2012•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 38
Without question, one of the more popular theme shows the Decibel Geek podcast has ever produced was our Bizzaro Covers episode which featured hard rock and metal bands performing non-hard rock and metal songs. While original material is always a joy to listen to (unless it's being produced by Nickelback), a good cover song that puts a new spin or perspective on a song provokes emotion and can trigger the listener into liking something they normally wouldn't even care about. Before we dive right...
Jun 28, 2012•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 37
With so much going on in 1969 there was no way we were going to be able to squeeze all of it in to one episode and we're back this week to give you a second dose of the news, the music, and the personalities of the year of the rooster. We begin things on a dark note as we discuss the Manson family murders including murder of actress Sharon Tate and Charles Manson's obsession with the Beatles song Helter Skelter and his morbid perception of the lyrics. This leads into a taste of one of the stando...
Jun 20, 2012•46 min•Ep. 36
While we don't typically delve deep into thrash territory on the Decibel Geek podcast, 2 bands that came out of California in the early to mid 1980's (one formed out of necessity to battle it out with the other), are truly a part of rock royalty and are the subject of our interview/discussion this week. Metallica's 1981 lineup that included James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton, and lead guitarist Dave Mustaine was a true force to be reckoned with but politics and substance abuse caused it t...
Jun 07, 2012•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 35
Jack Russel of Great White joins us this week to discuss a career that has spanned the highs, lows, and everything in-between. Last week was a busy week in the press for Russell between dodging drunk boaters and having to clarify remarks about former manager Alan Niven. He takes a few minutes to discuss these stories, as well as where the current legal case with the rest of the band stands, with us before we launch into career-talk. And what a career it's been. From their early days in 1978 as D...
May 23, 2012•59 min•Ep. 34
In the short year that the Decibel Geek podcast has existed, some of our more popular episodes have been our Year in Review shows. We have received some great feedback from all over the world about our 1975 and 1983 episodes and this week we head to the 90's as we focus on a truly transitional year in rock music in 1991. Chris and Aaron are spinning a plethora of their favorite songs from 1991 and you're sure to hear lots of stuff you may have missed while radio stations were shoving Bryan Adams...
May 16, 2012•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 33
While America is our home base and largest listener area, our friends up to the north have been accumulating like a blizzard lately. We've had quite a few new Canadian listeners over the past year. There are a few reasons, we think, for this. 1. Mitch Lafon of Bravewords.com was the first official guest to ever be on the Decibel Geek podcast and is based out of the Montreal area. He's also appeared a couple other times as a guest. Mitch Lafon & Russ Dwarf 2. Our interview with Killer Dwarfs ...
May 10, 2012•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 32
Welcome to our nightmare. We think you're gonna like it. Actually, the episode that we post for your listening pleasure today was truly a dream come true for us. In this long form discussion, veteran guitar maestro Dick Wagner reflects on what it's been like being on the inside of rock history for 40+years. Appearing on more than 200 albums and garnering more than 35 Gold and Platinum albums, Wagner has quite a story (or in this case, many stories) to tell as he gives us a glimpse of the fantast...
May 03, 2012•45 min•Ep. 31
"We hear & we obey" - Gene Simmons Truer words could not be said of this weeks episode. This week, we turn the controls over to you, the listener. We've received some great requests over the last few weeks and now we get to share your choices with the world. We're happy to present our first Listener Request Show. Before we get started, Chris & Aaron give a quick update of what's been going on at the official Decibel Geek website including a number of great new articles by our most recent...
Apr 25, 2012•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 30
We're back this week to give you a Stiff Upper Lip after we Flick the Switch and Blow Up Your Video; making you feel like a Fly on the Wall who needs some Black Ice to recover from a Ballbreaker. If that doesn't give you a clue as to what we're talking about, then we'll spell it out for you....AC/DC. While the Bon Scott era of AC/DC laid the foundation of what we have today, we wanted to take an episode to appreciate some of the highlights of the Brian Johnson era of the band. With the tragic pa...
Apr 19, 2012•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 29
Before we flash back in time we want to remind you of our upcoming Listener Request episode! We want you to call in your hard rock/metal song request on our hotline and we'll play our favorite requests on the show! The number to call is (540) - DBGEEK-1 (or (540) 324-3351). That number will take you straight to our voice mail hotline. Don't be shy! We had some great feedback on the recent 1975 Year in Review show so we decided to jump back into the time machine and venture to another year. This ...
Apr 11, 2012•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 28
Networks, KISS Reviews, and The Group Thing We've been awfully theme-y lately and decided to spend this week doing what we do best; being unorganized and playing whatever we feel from our iPod. Before we get to the music, we've got a few news items. Cue the teletype: We're now a part of a cult! Decibel Geek Podcast is now a proud member of the Auralgasm Podcasting Network. Don't fear, this doesn't mean that you'll be squirting from your ears in the future. It simply means that we were selected f...
Apr 04, 2012•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 27
Chris and a raspy-voiced Aaron Camaro return this week with a trip into the past. We're adjusting our flux capacitor and taking the wayback machine to 1975; an era where people wore bellbottoms, platform shoes, and had ridiculous haircuts without a shred of irony. While there was plenty of music to vomit over, there was also lots of cool rock being put out into the ether. We take some time to share that music in today's episode as well as our discussion of some news events that happened througho...
Mar 28, 2012•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 26
After a week spent in Bizarro World, we're back to discuss something *GASP* KISS-related. We'll give you a second to pick your jaw back up. Ready? Okay. The Tour With the recent announcement of the upcoming Summer tour featuring KISS & Motley Crue, we decided that now is as good a time as ever to devote a show to our favorite Starchild, Paul Stanley. The Starchild For almost 40 years, Paul Stanley has provided audiences all over the world some awesome musical contributions. No matter what is...
Mar 22, 2012•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 25
After a quick week off, we're back and we're spinning more covers but things are a little different this time. We're not going with tried and true covers this time. This time, we're going into the Bizarro World with some of the strangest rock and metal covers that still kick ass. These are tunes that were not necessarily originally intended for the rock and metal world but some visionary artists decided to show that, as Autograph, prophesied back in the 1980's, things go better with rock! We sta...
Mar 14, 2012•59 min•Ep. 24
Anyone that was around during the glam rock era of the late 1980’s remembers the teased hair, lipstick, and revealing clothing. There was also a female rock band named Vixen that was giving the pretty boys a run for their money in the hooks and looks department. Plus, you could unashamedly stare at them and drool without requiring therapy in later years. We recently had an opportunity to spend some time chatting with founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund about all things Vixen and some theories on t...
Mar 02, 2012•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 23
We have a jam packed episode filled with tons of music you may have never heard as well as a couple of tracks that you certainly won't want to hear again! Aaron and Chris take you through a journey of some of their all-time favorite hard rock and metal cover songs in this special edition of the Radio Sucks Radio Show - Under Covers. In this episode, you will get lots of great cover songs performed by artists such as Sebastian Bach, Metallica, Ace Frehley, Ugly Kid Joe, and Tuff among many others...
Feb 24, 2012•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 22
We’re very excited to bring you this week’s episode. Today, we give you our recent conversation with Eddie Trunk. Mostly known from That Metal Show on VH1 Classic, Eddie has a rich rock and metal history that we delve into in this hour-plus in-depth discussion. From High School Student to Record Executive We venture back to Eddie’s teen years when he was introduced to the radio industry via a college station that taught radio basics to high school students. That led to his employment at a record...
Feb 15, 2012•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 21
You just keep coming back to get your ears blasted and we thank you! Last week's Eric Carr episode really took off and we want to welcome all the new listeners. For the uninitiated, we try to mix things up throughout the month. While we love doing the interviews and have plenty more for the future, we also like to showcase some music as we're doing today. Corporate radio sucks. That statement is about as simple as saying that the sky is blue or Nickelback is the antithesis to good music. With th...
Feb 08, 2012•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 20
A Sister’s Culminating Tribute & Mom’s a Groupie? In Episode 19 we chat with Loretta Caravello, sibling of the late, great Eric Carr of KISS fame. Eric was taken way too early from the rock music world and Loretta has continued to keep his memory alive with the recent release of ‘Unfinished Business’; an album featuring now-completed versions of Eric’s songs that were previously incomplete. The songs are rounded out by a cast of special guests from the rock and metal world including Bruce Ku...
Feb 02, 2012•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 19
Where There’s a Will (& Enough Alcohol) There’s a Way For those of you that saw the post that was put up yesterday, you already know that Chris has had the week from hell and Aaron also had some rough news over the past seven days. But, have no fear, another episode is here! We may be a day late but we’ve got all the bottom-end that you can handle and we’re not talking about Kim Kardashian (thanks for the extra hits Google Alerts). We’re picking our Top 6 Favorite Bassists today! Why 6 and n...
Jan 27, 2012•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 18
Diamond Dave & The Hype Machine For anyone living under a rock or not named Sammy Hagar, the hype surrounding the recently-released single and forthcoming album from Van Halen has sparked loads of excitement and speculation whether the new tunes will cause us to break out our Rubik’s Cube and ponder the days of bellbottoms through Wall Street excess. The first album released by a David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen since 1984; ‘A Different Kind of Truth’ promises to illicit reactions of all kin...
Jan 18, 2012•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 17
It’s the New Style for the New Year You’ll notice a change immediately during the theme song; an abrupt belch which is a sign of something new. We’re giving this whole live recording thing a shot and you’ll hear everything in this episode warts-n-all including Aaron and Chris stumbling over words, getting tongue tied, and sound effects going off without warning. It’s as unprofessional as it gets but at least it’s entertaining. Plus, Chris doesn’t have to play around with hours of editing so hope...
Jan 05, 2012•39 min•Ep. 16
We decided that we wanted to have a healthy dose of pissed-off listeners and were pretty sure that this episode is a prescription for just that. The early 1990s for us old folks that remember it was a strange and magical time for rock music. Lots of transition was taking place in the pecking order of rock musics hierarchy with the mass music-consuming public deciding to ditch the Aqua Net and makeup mirrors and adopt a lumberjack-chic style to go along with their newfound depression. In a quest ...
Dec 14, 2011•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 15
We hope everyone is over their tryptophan-induced coma. Thanksgiving was a great time for us at the Decibel Geek Podcast. We had a lot to be thankful for this year. We launched the show this year and added co-host Aaron Camaro. Our audience is growing and we love talking about music! In short, we’re thankful to YOU for listening to the show. Today’s episode is a Nashville X-tra episode. We kick things off with a new Rage Against the Scene segment where Chris reviews some recent articles from the...
Dec 03, 2011•40 min•Ep. 14
Another new episode already?? I know, it’s hard to believe but we just might be figuring out this whole podcasting thing and we’ve tried to cut back on the crack smoking in order to get some new material up for your ear holes. In this, our 12th episode, the Decibel Geek Podcast proudly presents the Radio Sucks Radio Show. No, we’re not talking about two boom boxes giving each other head (although that is a stimulating idea). Corporate radio sucks ass. We know that you agree. Why else would you b...
Nov 18, 2011•44 min•Ep. 13
