Talkin' Rock With Meltdown Podcast

Operation Mindcrime is considered a masterpiece by rock fans. Geoff dropped OMC 2 a few years back, and now the completion of the story with Operation Mindcrime 3, which came out Sunday.
I had a chance to catch up with him before he plays Saint Andrew's Hall in Detroit on May 9th.
What's it like to drop a new album nowadays? How many people had their hands in this project, helping him? He explained how he wrote the songs and how he let some of them marinate for months while he tweaked them to perfection.
I also asked him about hiring fairly unknowns to tour with him to bring this music to the fans. "We'', I like to surround myself with people that I like." He went on, "I never want to be in a situation where you're working with people because of contacts." I can understand that.
He also talked about touring and keeping his voice in top shape.
Enjoy!
Meltdown
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Richie Faulkner is back on Talkin' Rock! This time, he tells me about the latest Elegant Weapons album, Evolution. The new album dropped on April 24th, and it rocks!
We discuss some of the guests on it, as well as some particular guitars he used. By the way, if you listen to YouTube, Richie has written descriptions of each song. Pretty cool to hear about these tracks right from Richie himself.
We also chatted about the upcoming Judas Priest documentary, The Ballad Of Judas Priest. That's played at some film festivals here and there, with hopes to be released later this year. He said the band is working on new material as well.
Enjoy the conversation with Richie!
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What a thrill to meet the one and only Peter Criss! I'd never met or interviewed him before, and I found him great to talk with! His new solo album is out, and it's fantastic. The music covers the gamut of old rock n' roll, to the blues, to 50's rock, and much more. It's honestly one of the most diverse albums I've heard in a long time.
Peter talked to me about the album and the many players on it. This record has been in the works for some time, so it's great that it's out. We also discussed coming back to Detroit Rock City. He's been in town for a few days, taking in everything the city has to offer, including museums and more.
I can't say enough about how cool it was of Peter to come by the station. A special thank you to his wife GiGi, and my friends Photo Joe and Nick from Rock City Record Company, where Peter will be signing albums and more on April 24th/25th.
Spencer Charnas from Ice Nine Kills was also kind enough to come by the station a week ago. He was in town for Astronomicon and swung by to talk about that and lots more.
Being a huge horror movie fan, we did talk about that genre. One of their songs, Twisting the KNife is used in Scream 7. We also talked about his dad's 80s band, Grave Diggler. You need to hear about that, then punch them up on the internet.
Spencer told me about opening for Metallica, a possible paranormal sighting in Seattle, and more. I always enjoy talking with Spencer!
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Wow! For a non-award-winning podcast, I get some cool guests!
Gene Simmons was in Detroit for the grand opening of the Rock & Brews in Royal Oak. We discuss that, look back on KISS putting their make-up back on and playing Tiger Stadium 30 years ago this coming June, and some questions from local Detroit icons.
Rachel Bolan from Skid Row drops a solo album in June. There are lots of rocking guests on it. Rachel tells me about that, the search for the next singer of Skid Row, some KISS memories, and more BS from the rock world.
Johnny Franck, the brains behind Bilmuri, rounds out the podcast. He's a huge Ohio State guy, so of course, I had to bust his chops about the Michigan Wolverines winning the national championship. Speaking of collabs, there are plenty on his new record. We discuss that, and more.
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Two big rock stars, one non-award-winning podcast!
Maynard is up first, talking about Puscifer, the latest album Normal Isn't, the creative process, and more. He's spoken about being a self-doubter, which seems crazy, so I had to ask him if he gets stage fright. The answer might surprise you. What about seeing a show at the Sphere? Not so much, according to him.
He and his band play the historic Fox Theater on April 18th, with many more tour dates.
Then it's Canadian rock royalty in Rik Emmett. Unfortunately, I had technical issues, which I explain in the episode. That being said, we discussed the U.S.A. Olympic Gold hockey game, his book of poetry called Leaning Into it, and his relationship with former Triumph singer Phil X.
All told, I hope Rik accepts my apologies for the technical glitches.
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