If you read Phantom Troublemaker’s post about The Headless Horseman of Silly Hollow , then you know about his recent visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. After the puppet show Phantom was able to sit down with the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers – siblings Robin Erlandsen and Brian and Erik Torbeck – to discuss the fourteen year history of Silly Hollow as well as their own backgrounds in puppetry. Listen in and find out what goes into a puppet show and how it evolves over time, as well...
Nov 03, 2014•48 min
In this week's episode we divert from Halloween festivities (sorry, boils and ghouls) to address what is potentially the biggest news the toy industry has seen in over a decade - Scott Nietlich - AKA Toy Guru - has resigned from Mattel due to an offer from an as-yet unnamed competitor. On hearing this, Phantom Troublemaker scrapped plans for a horror toy episode and assembled the Needless Things Toy Irregulars - Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, and Jay Hornsby, the Belligerent Monkey. The quartet d...
Oct 24, 2014•1 hr 25 min
Shane Morton has been a fixture of the Atlanta scene for pretty much all of his adult life. From rock n’ roll to tattooing to haunted attractions, he’s always stayed busy and contributed to many different art forms. In this episode Phantom Troublemaker traveled out to the Morton homestead to talk about Shane’s many pursuits over the years. He’s rocked in the bands Super X-13 and Gargantua, owned Black Cat Tattoo, and entertained and delighted people from all over the country with the Silver Scre...
Oct 17, 2014•1 hr 36 min
In this week’s episode Phantom Troublemaker sits down with “Howdy” Mike Gordon, host of the Earth Station One Podcast and creator of Tiki Zombie . Phantom and Mike discuss the creator’s history, his views on the art of creating comics, and which franchise he'd galdy take over given the opportunity. It's a great conversation that gives a great insight into the mind of a great creator and a talented podcaster. Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher! “Procrastibate” by LeSexofle...
Oct 09, 2014•1 hr 48 min
This is literally the biggest episode so far! Needless Things wanted to do something really cool for the first October episode, so we gathered a whole bunch of folks together to talk about horror and fear. Featured in this episode are: Phantom Troublemaker – Your Host Beth V – Needless Things’ Top Reporter R.T. Ewell – Author and Needless Things Contributor Ryan Cadaver – Lead Vo-Kill-Ist for The Casket Creatures Nathan Hamilton – Son of Celluloid Jonathan Williams – Wrestling With Pop Culture T...
Oct 03, 2014•1 hr 37 min
Dragon Con is over and I may only have one podcast to show for it! Due to many different factors – one of which was me neglecting to turn on my digital recorder – I only recorded one panel. But that's okay because it was a great one! I felt very fortunate to once again be at the table with the wonderful and talented William Stout, this time for a discussion of Conan the Destroyer . Listen in as Tegan and Gary from RevCast and I talk with Mr. Stout about his work on all of the Conan-centric films...
Sep 04, 2014•1 hr 6 min
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be part of a conversation with the DCW Hooligans? Today’s Needless Things Podcast is your opportunity to find out! Of course, none of that may mean anything to you. If you’re not a regular visitor to NeedlessThingsSite.com then you probably don’t know what the heck a DCW Hooligan is. The DCW Hooligans are a group of people that attend Dragon Con Wrestling (DCW) every year. We started off as a tight-knit group of probably ten friends, but as of this...
Aug 26, 2014•2 hr 8 min
this episode I welcome Mr. Beau Brown back to the Podcast, this time not as my co-host, but as a guest! He’s here in his role as Director of the Dragon Con Puppetry Track. You’ve heard Beau talk about his passion for Masters of the Universe, but today we turn the spotlight on the true great love of his life – puppetry. Join us and our guests Stacey Gordon and Madison J. Cripps as we discuss the National Puppet Slam coming to Dragon Con, as well as the specifics of the Puppetry Track. We also lea...
Aug 22, 2014•1 hr 43 min
It’s no secret that I adore Gary Mitchel and Joe Crowe – the men behind Dragon Con’s American Sci-Fi Classics Track . A large part of that adoration is the fact that they so wholly embrace the way that I present myself and my opinions on pop culture. I’m not above letting my ego influence my likes. Or anything else, for that matter. My respect for these two guys goes far deeper than that. Sure – it’s great that they like me. But what they do at Dragon Con every year is nothing short of a miracle...
Aug 14, 2014•1 hr 32 min
Time to get these Dragon Con episodes underway, Phantomaniacs! Last year Beau and I talked to DJ Spider about cosplay and conventions. She was so delightful we knew we wanted to have her back this year. I’ve been wanting to have Sean Patton of SMP Designs on since the first time I spoke to him. He’s the guy that sparked my desire to learn more about cosplay and feature it like I did during last year’s Dragon Con coverage. This year we managed to schedule some time before Con to talk. Join me and...
Aug 08, 2014•2 hr 1 min
It is time once again for the Knights of Needless Things to assemble and discuss the goings-on at the biggest media event on the planet – San Diego Comic Con! Sadly Reverend Dan Wilson and The Oncoming Josh were unable to join us due to calamitous acts of one form or another. But we sallied forth with Phantom Troublemaker, our lovely co-host Mr. Beau Brown, the Belligerent Monkey , and Sir Ryan of House Schweck. In this roundtable discussion we cover the SDCC reveals from our favorite toy lines ...
Aug 01, 2014•3 hr 5 min
You guys – it rained on us again while we were driving to Charlotte for Heroes Con. That makes three years in a row . This year’s deluge wasn’t the sort of violent meteorological upheaval that the prior years had provided, but we did encounter some very heavy rain and lightning. Thankfully it was brief and did not impede our travel to the only proper comic book convention that I attend. If you don’t know, Heroes Con is a specifically comic book-oriented, family-friendly convention. The guests ar...
Jul 01, 2014•1 hr 37 min
Everything really is awesome. Today's Needless Things Podcast continues my special LEGO coverage that is leading up to this weekend's LEGO KidsFest at the Cobb Galleria Centre . I had the opportunity to talk to somebody that I consider to be a true superhero of the toy industry – LEGO Master Builder Chris Steninger. Chris has been a Master Builder for five years now and has worked for the LEGO company for seven. If you don;t know, the Master Builders are the guys that design and build the large-...
Jun 24, 2014•52 min
Join Phantom Troublemaker and Mr. Beau Brown as we talk with Tim Clarke! Tim worked with Kermit Love and for Jim Henson as a puppet builder and designer on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show . He worked on The Dark Crystal and Fraggle Rock , and is the man that built Uncle Traveling Matt. Tim also had a huge hand in the toy industry in the 80s, as he was the creator of both the Sectaurs and Boglins toy lines – two of the most original and notable lines of an amazing era of toys. In this episode T...
Jun 09, 2014•1 hr 43 min
If you listened to last week’s (LAST WEEK!) Episode 23 of the Needless Things Podcast , then you know that we had a great time talking about the history of the Godzilla franchise. We barely scratched the surface, though, so there will be a sequel episode later this year. After we finished recording I was so excited by talking to Gary, Johnny, and Scott that I asked if they would be interested in getting back together after we had all seen the new movie. Everybody was in - Shoot the Moon Comics ’...
May 20, 2014•1 hr 10 min
I am not a Godzilla fanatic. I do love Godzilla as a monster. I am awed by his place in cinematic history. I think he is one of the best monster designs ever, in movies or otherwise. And he has certainly been mimicked and paid tribute to more than any other modern monster. He also has the best rogues gallery of anybody, ever . I can’t tell you which Godzilla movie I saw first or when I saw it, but I do know that the King of Monsters has been a part of my consciousness since I was very small. I k...
May 13, 2014•2 hr
I’ve known James T. Warbington for about two decades now and I find myself hard-pressed to describe him. He’s a punk rocker, an entrepreneur, a musician, a director, a redneck, an arranger of things, a wrestlemaniac, a mentor, and one of the most unselfish people I’ve ever met. And he writes like a loud insane person. James was the first subject of one of my 13 Questions posts and I still feel like it’s the best one. He took full advantage of the format to express himself and talk about his movi...
May 12, 2014•1 hr 27 min
Yes, the picture is correct - this is Episode 19 of the Podcast. We recorded it back in January, but for various reasons I have not been able to publish it until now. This makes the image for the Stephen Platinum episode incorrect, but the numbering is right on everything now. 2013 was a huge year for Masters of the Universe and now it's time for me and Mr. Beau Brown to finally get together and talk about it. Or time for me to post our talk about it anyway. We actually recorded this back in Jan...
Apr 25, 2014•2 hr 33 min
In which Phantom Troublemaker discusses matters of health, finance, and rocking the mic. Seriously, though - I just wanted to have a nice little fireside chat with all of you Phantomaniacs and let you in on what's happening. We hit our goal, the podcast will go on to be bigger and better. But there are other things afoot, as well. Give it a listen and leave your feedback here, on Facebook , or send it in to the e-mail on the right side of your screen. The one under the PayPal Donation button. Ah...
Apr 21, 2014•1 hr 2 min
This past Sunday I got online with Mr. Beau Brown ( SciFiJanitors.com ), Ryan Schweck (Evil), Jay Hornsby ( The Belligerent Monkey ), Josh Wilson ( The Oncoming Storm ), and Reverend Dan Wilson ( Poddy Humor ) to discuss the recent New York International Toy Fair. Check it out:
Feb 28, 2014•1 hr 55 min
I am absolutely delighted to be bringing you an interview with the most brilliant professional wrestling mind I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, Stephen Platinum. But he’s more than just a booker, he’s also a pop culture aficionado, which plays into his booking style in more ways than you could imagine. We talk about Steve’s life, career in wrestling, and Dexter . His tour of Full Moon Studios comes up – something I’ve always wanted to ask him about – and of course we spend some time on th...
Feb 10, 2014•1 hr 53 min
I couldn’t be more excited and quite frankly impressed with myself as far as how this year is shaping up so far. I am pretty awesome. Just let me have this moment. I have three podcast episodes in the can already and two more on the schedule. Three of these episodes are interviews that to me are Big Deals – dany only, today’s with Adam WarRock, and another one that you’re just going to have to wait a week or so to find out about. I’m almost wishing I had more monthly space on Podbean, but that’s...
Jan 29, 2014•1 hr 30 min
Hey Phantomaniacs – it’s an all-new year and I’m proud to be kicking it off with an interview I’ve been waiting over a year for. My goal is to bring you no less than twenty-four new episodes over the next twelve months, and I have a lot of cool stuff planned. If you don’t know, dany only (yes, that’s correct – no caps) is a professional wrestler that’s been working the Southeast for over a decade now. He’s a three time APW Tag Team Champion, a former GCW Tag Team Champion, and held the NWA Anarc...
Jan 11, 2014•1 hr 39 min
Time to put together all of the stuff that I didn’t know what to do with and stick it in a podcast! I had two episodes that didn’t work out right at the end of the year, so I need to use up that storage space I’m paying for (feel free to chip in through the PayPal widget on the right side of your screen!). I have two recordings from Walker Stalker Con that never made it onto Needless Things. The first is an interview with Zack Galligan that was too short (not entirely his fault) and the second i...
Dec 31, 2013•1 hr 36 min
Join me, Phantom Troublemaker, and my co-host Mr. Beau Brown as we talk Doctor Who with our guests Beth Van Dusen and Dana Swanson. We discuss our first experiences with Doctor Who, how we've followed throughout the years, our reactions to the relaunch in 2005, and our hopes for the post-50th Anniversary era. It was a great talk with a cool bunch of people. If you've got a few bucks to throw at the podcast, please click on that link to your right. This stuff ain't cheap, and it isn't getting any...
Nov 21, 2013•2 hr 40 min
Breaking News: CM Landrus – today’s guest - sent me an e-mail late last night letting me know that the Mission Indiegogo campaign had been put on hold. I don’t know the whole story, but I get the feeling that a few more resources need to be gathered before the film is ready to be as big a deal as it should be. I wish CM and the rest of the crew the best of luck in getting what they need together. I never imagined that I might be able to interview the person responsible for bringing a future Mil ...
Oct 01, 2013•1 hr 21 min
This is the big one, Phantomaniacs. You’ve heard the action figure panel . That one is really my pride and joy because it is the first Dragon Con panel that I was responsible for. Obviously I love action figures and toys and it was a blast to blather on about them with Gary and Geena for an hour. I’m pretty sure we’ll do it again next year in some form. You’ve heard the He-Man panel . That one was special because me and Beau got to do our Needless Thing in front of an audience and… sometimes my ...
Sep 18, 2013•1 hr 14 min
By the Power of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track… I HAVE THE POWER! Fabulous powers were revealed to me when I held aloft my mic and started running my mouth about dork shit. Seriously – that’s how I got the panel gig. I’ve told the story before here on Needless Things , but after working with the fantastic American Sci-Fi Classics crew (and publicly referring to them as “fantastic” many, many times) last year at Dragon Con I was invited to more panels this year. And my casual aside mentioning...
Sep 16, 2013•1 hr 7 min
I am so frazzled I'm not even sure what to write at the moment. I'm getting over Con Crud, which I think delayed my, “Holy shit that was a busy and productive Dragon Con and how did I get so much done and FUUUUUUUU...” reaction. I was diagnosed with Acute Pharyngitis (which translates to “sore throat and tons o snot”, which is a palindrome) and basically spent all of last week laying around watching Sons of Anarchy and not thinking very much. Now I am thinking again. I am planning panels for nex...
Sep 11, 2013•1 hr 8 min
If you don’t know, Calabrese is a horror rock band out of Phoenix, AZ that I first discovered at Dragon Con back in 2009. “Midnight Spookshow” was the first song I heard and it was a revelation. I love music very much, but I just don’t follow it like I used to. So finding out that there was a band out there making this incredible music about vampires, zombies, darkness, and all of the horror stuff I love was great. The fact that they were also one of the tightest rock outfits I had heard amazes ...
Aug 25, 2013•1 hr 13 min
