Honored to have drummer extraordinaire, and fellow Detroiter, Tommy Clufetos on Talkin' Rock. He's playing the Token Lounge coming up on Thursday, March 28th. Having seen him play there before, this is a show you're not going to want to miss. He said that was the only time he'd played there and he "Loved it!" His drumming is insane. Just check out some of the clips below. In the conversation we talked about his career playing with everyone from, Ted Nugent, to Rob Zombie, to Black Sabbath, John ...
Mar 11, 2024•34 min
Such an honor to have Mick Mars on the show. His new album "The Other Side Of Mars" drops on February 23rd, and it's a killer record. The album really shows off different sides to Mick's musicality. It really takes you on a roller coaster ride. "Yeah, I wanted to see what happens. Lots of different styles, different things." He went on "I intentionally wanted it to be very diverse." What's also different about this record is that Mick is more upfront than he ever was in the Crue. This is his pro...
Feb 12, 2024•30 min
Days after his birthday, Sully Erna from Godsmack called in to discuss what the band has going on, along with his "I Stand Alone - The Sully Erna Story", which you can watch now. He told me how the documentary started, after writing manuscripts for his book "The Paths We Choose". He says his story is about perseverance....that's an understatement. "So many times I could've easily ended up dead or in jail." He told me how music really saved his life. He said he was nervous watching it, but he thi...
Feb 09, 2024•20 min
Sebastian Bach is my latest guest on Talkin' Rock with Meltdown. He's dropping a new album, in his words, sooner than you think. "It's coming very, very soon." He talks about the first single "What Have I Got To Lose?" which you can see below. That song is co-written with Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge/Slash. He talked about joining up with him. Detroit's own John 5 is also on the album, along with others. He reminded me that this is the third album he's collaborated with 5. He also spoke about...
Feb 06, 2024•32 min
Chris Robertson from Black Stone Cherry joins me on Talkin' Rock. They'll be hoping on the ShipRocked cruise starting February 4 through the 10th. Their latest album, their eighth, dropped last fall called Screamin' At The Sky. He tells me that he feels fortunate that they can put out new music and people still care, "You can't really ask for much more than that" Chris told me about growing up in the middle of nowhere, in Edmonton, Kentucky. He said growing up he was surrounded by country music,...
Feb 02, 2024•18 min
My guest on this episode of Talkin' Rock is Blue Oyster Cult's Eric Bloom. This is the first time we've talked and I found him to be very easy to speak with. For those of you in the southeast Michigan area, B.O.C is playing the Royal Oak Music Theater on February 25th. Eric is looking forward to the show, but he seemed happier to be coming to Detroit for a slice or two of Detroit-style pizza. LOL I asked Eric to recall something about the famed "Black and Blue" tour with Black Sabbath in the ear...
Feb 01, 2024•26 min
Mac Saturn singer, Carson Macc joins me today, as their "Hard To Sell" record finally drops this Friday, January 26th, with a show to celebrate that night at the Fillmore Detroit . The process of making this record began long ago. Working with Al Sutton at Rust Belt Studios, they brought what they thought were solid songs, but they weren't. "We brought them so many songs that we thought were it!" Carson said that although they didn't use those songs, they learned much about their songwriting pro...
Jan 23, 2024•20 min
Always great to talk with David Ellefson. He has so much going on, as always! This guy has to be one of the busiest musicians in the country. He talked about spending his birthday here in Detroit to see Metallica in early November. He talked as to why he was here, and seeing Metallica was only one part of it. One of his many bands, Metal Alliegence turns 10 this year. He talked about how that project started and the guests that have joined him onstage throughout the years. They'll be celebrating...
Jan 18, 2024•32 min
Guitarist Richie Faulkner joins me today on Talkin' Rock. We started by talking about his latest birthday celebration on January 1st. We talked about his relationship with his father-in-law, guitar legend George Lynch. "George is an incredible player....not only incredible but a unique player," he said. I asked him if he's floated him any tracks off upcoming projects. He said he hadn't, but "He's a great resource....he's great to get information and experiences from." As far as the new Judas Pri...
Jan 16, 2024•23 min
Tim Montana is making 2024 the year of rock for his career. He'll be dropping a rock album, and going out on tour with Staind and Seether. I had a chance to talk with him about this upcoming year, the bar he co-owns with ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, and lots more. Growing up very poor, Tim says he's had the good fortune to meet most of the people on the posters on his trailer wall. His first shot at stardom was on David Letterman's show in 2008. He talks about the experience of going to New York City...
Jan 16, 2024•18 min
It's always great to talk with Scott Stapp. It's even better when he has a new solo album about to drop and a tour with the reunited Creed! We talk about all of this and lots more on this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown. His new album is called Higher Power and comes out on March 15th. He told me about the album, how personal it is to him, and working with guitarist Yiannis Papadopoulos and singer, Dorothy Martin. Dorothy is on a song called "If These Walls Could Talk". Scott told me about...
Jan 12, 2024•22 min
The new album from Saxon, "Hell, Fire and Damnation" drops on January 19th, and frontman Biff Byford was nice enough to join me to discuss it, and lots more. "It's a monster title, isn't it?" Biff asked when I brought up the title. That it is! He told me what the title meant, it goes back a long way. "I don't know why we didn't use it before". He spoke about bringing back the 80s on some aspects of the album, even going back to the beginning of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Biff talked ab...
Dec 20, 2023•21 min
Steve Richards from Taproot was kind enough to join me to talk to all things Taproot. I opened up the conversation by asking him what it's been like to be back out on tour with the band. "It's been really cool" Steve replied. He explained how their tour isn't a grueling grind, but one where they meet up on weekends. He also spoke to touring with new music under his belt. He's known these songs for years, but he had to teach them to the other guys. "Playing the new songs is really cool because it...
Dec 06, 2023•25 min
A few weeks back, I took a trek to Buffalo, New York to hang with my friend Don Jamieson from That Metal Show. He hosted the night at the Showplace Theater with Jack Russell's Great White. It was great to reconnect with Jack afterward. I asked Jack if he'd like to come on the podcast and he didn't hesitate. Jack spoke of his current state of health. He had back fusion earlier this year and he's still healing up from that. He sounds a lot better these days, and his singing is still spot on. His G...
Nov 28, 2023•35 min
Here's my two-part conversation with Robert from Metallica. This is condensed into one part for your listening pleasure! Part one..... We talked about the latest album, 72 Seasons. He said it was great to get back into a room and play with the guys after the pandemic. "You forget about those things and take them for granted, it was pretty special." He also spoke about his time in Detroit this week. "It's a great city with a lot of history, a lot of history of music." While he was walking around ...
Nov 13, 2023•28 min
Andy Summers of The Police is about to embark on his The Cracked Lens and A Missing String tour, and he's here to tell me about it. He told me about when his love of photography started. He said it was many decades ago between female photographers when the band started around 1979 and as a teenager seeing arthouse films in England. "I loved them, it was actually an education for me." He said he shot black and white film to start. I also asked him about what it feels like to be in the Rock & ...
Oct 26, 2023•12 min
Gavin Rossdale of Bush joins me to discuss many things in his world, including the Greatest Hits: Loaded 1994-2023. He told me why now, and how it was something he didn't really want to do. He spoke to the latest single and video, "Nowhere To Go But Everywhere". In the video, he goes back in time to 30 years. I asked him if going back to the start of Bush was done on purpose "It was absolutely on-the-nose intentional." See the video below. He also talked about being in a band that's sold 24 mill...
Oct 25, 2023•26 min
It's always a pleasure to talk with the Triumph front man. Rik Emmett's new book is out and it's a great read for any Triumph fan, or any music fan in general. "Lay It On The Line: A Backstage Pass to Rock Star Adventure, Conflict and TRIUMPH" is out now. Rik was, well, like an open book when I spoke with him. He told me that writing this book had it's challenges. He told me the reason he wrote the book, was to learn about himself. Of course there was an aspect of "setting the record straight" f...
Oct 24, 2023•28 min
Joe Bonamassa was nice enough to join me last week to talk about his latest albums/projects, plus, his upcoming show at the historic Fox Theater on November 18th. He told me how much he loves that place. I actually made a separate story just for his comments on the Fox. Joe told me about his latest live album, Tales Of Time, which he recorded at the legendary Red Rocks concert venue in Colorado. He said that the weather was an issue with the two shows he played there to capture his live show. He...
Oct 16, 2023•16 min
It's always great to talk with my friend, Jesse James Dupree from Jackyl . He's got a new album coming out on November 10th called, "Breathing Fire". He told me about the idea of the record, which was born out of good old fashioned Rock N' Roll. Brian Johnson from AC/DC helped to write some of the material. He said Brian called him out of the blue, while Jesse was contemplating and putting thoughts together for new music. "Next thing I know, I'm writing songs with Brian Johnson of AC/DC." Jesse ...
Oct 03, 2023•28 min
Always a blast to talk with my friends, Brad Stewart and Bobby Amaru from Saliva. If you're in the SE Michigan area, swing by District 142 on Monday, September 25th to see the show. Their new record dropped a couple weeks back called Revelations. It was an album written and recorded before the passing of original guitarist, Wayne Swinny. Bobby said they put the album out to honor Wayne. They even redid some of the artwork to pay tribute to the late ax slinger. They talked about the backdrop they...
Sep 20, 2023•29 min
Great to catch up with John 5. We talked about first concerts. John's first show was a massive show at a Michigan venue that's no longer around. 5 told me about a documentary he's been working on for some time now. He said it's coming out soon, and he's fired up about it. He said he thought they decided to wait on releasing it after he joined Motley Crue. "I took a chance and rolled the dice" is how he described his path to where is has gone, and where he is today. "It was very difficult, of cou...
Sep 19, 2023•34 min
Always great to catch up with Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. The dude is a beast on the guitar and a creative force! We talked about a project he did with Sons of Apollo bandmate, Derek Sherinian. He talked about playing with Queen's Brian May. "Such a wonderful guy, yeah." He went onto say "There's nothing not to love about that guy!" The reason for the conversation was about his band, The Art of Anarchy, and their upcoming third album. The new album drops next February, called Let There Be Anarchy. Th...
Sep 18, 2023•31 min
I'm a pretty big YES fan, so when I was contacted to speak to Trevor, I said, well, ummmm, "YES!!" immediately. His new solo album "Rio" drops on October 6th. Trevor talks about the new record, his first solo album since 1989. "Jesus I haven't done a record in so long, I must get into it." he said after speaking to working on music scores for movies for the past three decades. He told me he felt fresh doing the album, almost like it was his first one. He talked about creating, not only the music...
Sep 12, 2023•24 min
Simon Phillips is a drumming legend, whose played on hundreds of projects. His latest is a live show with keyboardist, Derek Sherinian, called Sherinian/Phillips Live. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal plays guitars on the album, with Ric Fierabracci on bass. It's out now. You can order it here . We discussed drumming and even programmed drums, which Simon isn't crazy about. He said he's recorded on as many as 600 albums, including the Sin After Sin album from Judas Priest. He talked about doing it live, an...
Sep 06, 2023•26 min
I've known Dan Fielding for probably 4 or 5 years. He's one of these guys that you just respect from the time you meet him. He's served the country with great distinction, he's a solid guy and he's committed to his work and America. "The Asset Mindset: A Special Forces Perspective For Achieving Success" is Dan's book. You can order it here . Personally, I highly suggest it. In the interview below, Dan speaks to being a Special Forces Green Beret, something others failed to accomplish. He talked ...
Sep 05, 2023•29 min
My guest today is Anthrax front man, Joey Belladonna. He'll be playing the machine Shop in Flint on October 13th, which happens to be his birthday. Joey tells me about his latest project, as he tours with his Journey tribute band, Beyond Frontiers. He tells me how it started, what songs he loves to play on stage and if he's met any of the member from the iconic band. Which is harder for him to sing....the Journey material, the National Anthem or Anthrax songs. "The anthem I get a little nervous ...
Aug 31, 2023•13 min
Always a thrill to talk to a legend like Alice Cooper! People always say don't meet you heroes. I can assure you that Alice break that rule. Great guy! I started by asking him about the return of guitarist Nita Strauss. He said there's always a "Revolving door policy" when it comes to members of his band. "I think she missed the excitement of an Alice Cooper show." He also spoke to working again with Kane Roberts. As far as the album "Road" is concerned, he said he really wanted to show off the ...
Aug 29, 2023•32 min
It's ALWAYS great to talk with Lzzy Hale. She's so easy to chat with and very candid every time we speak. She spoke to being a mid-state Pennsylvania kid, meeting and playing with her heroes. She mentioned that she grew up in a house that was built in the 1840's, so I had to ask her if she'd ever seen a ghost in that old home. Let's just say, she didn't say no. As far as Halestorm is concerned, she said it's "Complete Chaos". They're going to buckle down next month and get to writing. She tells ...
Aug 28, 2023•29 min
Geoff Tate, the legendary former Queensryche front man, is my latest guest on the <a href="https://wrif.com/podcasts/talkin-rock-with-meltdown/">Talkin' Rock with Meltdown</a> podcast. Geoff is always thoughtful and enjoyable to talk with. We talked about what he's been doing this summer, which included a lot of time in Montana, fishing and hiking and singing songs around the campfire. He spoke to hanging with Anthrax front man, Joey Belladonna. Geoff's bringing his tour to District ...
Aug 21, 2023•16 min
