Chip Chats – Details, episodes & analysis

Michigander's debut, self-titled full-length album is packed full of hooky earworms with insatiable choruses that you'll be singing along with the first time you hear the songs.

Michigander's Jason Singer is one of the greatest humans I've ever had the chance to chat with - and this is the third time we've had this opportunity. We talk about songwriting, working with co-writers, social media and podcasts in this episode.

https://www.michiganderband.com/

https://breakerbox.podbean.com/

https://www.instagram.com/chipmidnight_journalist/

Members of the San Diego band Mrs. Henry drop by for a post-holiday discussion about their epic concept album, Keep on Rising, and discuss their The Band tribute act, Chest Fever.

Guests: Daniel Cervantes, Blake Dean, Jody Bagley

Music heard on this episode comes from Mrs. Henry's Keep on Rising - https://mrshenry.bandcamp.com/album/keep-on-rising

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chipmidnight_journalist/

Blind Melon guitarist Rogers Stevens and bassist Nathan Towne began writing songs together in 2017. During the pandemic, the duo continued writing and started recording those songs. In May of this year, the debut album from TOWNE & STEVENS dropped onto streaming platforms and is filled with classic '70s rock sounds.

For more info on TOWNE & STEVENS check out:

https://www.instagram.com/towneandstevens

https://www.facebook.com/towneandstevens

https://twitter.com/towneandstevens

https://towneandstevens.com/

Follow Chip Midnight at:

https://www.instagram.com/chipmidnight_journalist

https://twitter.com/chipmidnight

www.chipmidnight.com

Mike Portnoy's name is one of the most recognizable in the hard rock community. As the co-founder of Dream Theater (1989-2009), Portnoy's either recorded or toured with artists such as the Transatlantic, Sons of Apollo, Metal Allegiance, Neal Morse, and Avenged Sevenfold. In 2012, he hooked up with Richie Kotzen and Billy Sheehan to form the supergroup The Winery Dogs who released their third album, the simply titled III, on Feb 3, 2023. Learn more at: https://www.mikeportnoy.com/ http://www.thewinerydogs.com/ 

Guitarist Paul Crook joined Meat Loaf's band, Neverland Express, in 2003 and has been in the band ever since. When Meat Loaf's health took a turn for the worse in 2016, Neverland Express began playing shows, with Meat Loaf's blessing, with American Idol season 13 winner Caleb Johnson handling vocals. The band's purpose is to celebrate Meat Loaf's musical legacy while adding their own flavor to the songs that so many people have loved for decades. Neverland Express re-recorded Meat Loaf's debut, best-selling album Bat Out of Hell and released it with the title, Paradise Found: Bat Out of Hell Re-Ignited, as a gift to the fans who have been coming to see the band perform.  In this chat, Paul and I talk about how he discovered Meat Loaf's music, what his role was in the band, the time he spent as a guitar tech for Blue Oyster Cult, and his short stint in Anthrax. Paul Crook's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paul.crook.music Neverland Express: https://batexperience.com/

I love talking about music. I love talking about music with friends. As a way to recap 2022 - from albums to concerts to things we're looking forward to in 2023 - I invited those friends that I love talking about music with to join me at the first ever CHIP CHATS roundtable.

Featured on this episode:

• Jason Bodak
• Mike Lovins (The Reel Gay Movie Show Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/35bk9k8yqn2cy6WJh2pak8?si=a2e859e2d551443a)
• Brian Hake (Sports Wednesday Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2ep2f3rJM95JiUsXVseAha?si=f1003de2981547e7)
• Matt Longley (Sports Wednesday Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2ep2f3rJM95JiUsXVseAha?si=f1003de2981547e7)
• Christina Lautazi (Pop Periscope Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/52hSQDJ9F5ZlATP8kkFBh6?si=136a13e52b524c4f)

Armored Saint's John Bush joins me for this episode of CHIP CHATS from a tour bus somewhere in Texas. Armored Saint is in the midst of a nearly sold-out national tour with W.A.S.P. and things couldn't be going better for the band that formed in the early '80s. In this chat, John and I discuss setlists, meet-and-greets, John's appearance in the Huey Lewis and The News "The Heart of Rock and Roll Video," and playing the "rock star" card.

Joe Lekas and Ben Douglas of the Nashville, Tennessee band Palm Ghosts join me for this episode to talk about their new album, Post Preservation, writing lyrics, touring during the pandemic, the soaring price of concert tickets, the (un)importance of release day and much more. If you're expecting country music, you're in the wrong place - Palm Ghosts are way more influenced by '80s/'90s UK rock and post-punk than anything with a twang.

Check out the extensive Palm Ghosts catalog at https://palmghosts.bandcamp.com/

On the eve of The Cult's eleventh album (Under the Midnight Sun), I have the chance to have a lengthy conversation with guitarist Billy Duffy who talks about splitting time between L.A. and the UK, playing new music on tour, The Cult's influence on grunge, classic rock radio and more.

This is why you should always interview the opening band! Had it not been for Soundgarden's publicist declining an interview request I made while as a college student in 1991, I may never have met Blind Melon. The friendship I made with those guys early on continues today as I just had the chance to hang out with guitarist Christopher Thorn who is now a member of The Afghan Whigs. While I have a lot of Blind Melon stories, this is the origin story and includes audio from the first interview I did with Shannon as well as the follow up a year later as part of a conference call with other college journalists.

00:00 - 06:45 - Intro and backstory about how I met Blind Melon

06:45 - 48:51 - 1991 phone interview with Shannon Hoon

48:51 - 54:46 - 1992 phone interview with Shannon Hoon