Talkin' Rock With Meltdown Podcast

Beasley Media Group
Talkin' Rock With Meltdown Podcast Podcast

The biggest names in rock music are Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown. From Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame members to bands just starting out, Meltdown takes rock music fans behind the scenes to find out what these talented musicians are really about. Come along for the ride as Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown invites you to find out more than you ever thought you knew about all genres of Rock from Classic to Prog to Grunge and everything in between.

  1. 2 AUG

    Jared Leto Of Thirty Seconds To Mars

    Thirty Seconds To Mars is playing Pine Knob on Tuesday as their Season World Tour makes a stop in Michigan. Jared Leto was nice enough to take a few minutes to speak with me about the band, his vast movie career, and much more.  I had to ask him about scaling the Empire State Building in New York City to announce the tour. "That was quite the experience," I asked him if he thought it was a bad idea. "Definitely. The first night, it was about 4 or 5 a.m., 40 degrees, 40 mph winds, and freezing cold. My hands were so numb I could barely hold on. But, it was beautiful. I've always been fascinated by the Empire State Building. It was an amazing way to launch the world tour—better than just sending out a tweet." You could say that! We also talked about the dichotomy of playing in his band live, versus filming a movie. "Performing with Thirty Seconds to Mars is special because I get to do it with my brother. The immediate connection with the audience is unique. Acting is collaborative and you often wait to see the final product. Both are rewarding in their own ways, but live music holds a special place in my heart." I asked him about highlights in his music and acting career. "Winning an Academy Award was a huge highlight, especially being able to thank my family. In music, having a song like "The Kill" that still resonates after all these years is a big win. There are also tough moments, but they fuel the journey." Since we're in Detroit, I had to ask him about Chad Smith playing "The Kill" without ever hearing it. Jared said he brought it up to him when he saw him at a huge event. "Yes, I saw that! It was awesome. We did a duet on TikTok reacting to it. Chad and I laughed about it when we met at the Super Bowl. It’s cool seeing our music reach new audiences." The band did a tribute to Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell at the 2017 MTV Awards show. He spoke to me about the two singers we lost. "Yeah, I did. I toured with both of them, actually. And, they were both really kind, really, really gifted, kind people. You know, Chester, was a friend. And, you know, it's interesting, those things can be so surprising sometimes. But, you know, I was always struck by Chester and his joy. He always seemed to be, you know, to have a smile quickly, on his face. And Chris was very, gentle, in my experiences with him, and thoughtful and intelligent, and both of them just highly intelligent, kind, good people. And you know what? A loss to the world as well." That's well said.  Thirty Seconds To Mars will play Pine Knob on Tuesday, August 6th.

    17 min
  2. 1 AUG

    Leigh Kakaty Of Pop Evil Says Their New Music Is Heavier And Darker

    Great to catch up with Pop Evil singer Leigh Kakaty. He said the band has a lot going on, including writing and recording new music. "We're constantly writing, new single, obviously coming here and we're just excited, man."  We talked about the newest member of the band, drummer Blake Allison, and bass player Joey Walser. "Every new person's different, you know? And, obviously, Haley was great. She was amazing, for us for a long time. But Blake now and obviously his relationship with Joey, who played bass with us, they played together in Egypt Central and Devour the Day. So there's such a chemistry now for our rhythm section that we've not had before, you know, because when you grow up, a bass and a drummer like Joey and Blake have, there's a tightness there that spreads to Nick, Dave and I, the rest of the band." As far as the new music is concerned, they have a lot done. "A lot of new stuff. We're at that cool stage where we have enough for an album easily, but, we're really trying to be picky, man. And like you said, making albums now is personally is such a blessing. And it's something that, you know, may not be around much longer. So if we're going to do it on the hit, hit, hit, big, big, big, whatever that means to us. Right? And big doesn't have to mean necessarily number one. It has to mean like something that we can really elevate our live show with." The Heaviest Pop Evil Record As Leigh described the new material, it sounded like it could be a much heavier direction for the band. I asked him if it was indeed heavier. "Absolutely. The heaviest Pop Evil record, without a doubt, really, hands down. So it'll be interesting for what fans say on that. But you know, the players, they're just different, right? When you put some of the same guys you put in Joey & Blake. It's just a heavier band. I mean, it's just different. You know, I mean, Joey and Blake come from metal and heavier rock and roll backgrounds. I mean, those are those with the guys can play, you know what I mean? That's what we play. So that's kind of where it's at. And I think there's the darkness. It's where we're at in our career. You know, it's like, okay, sure we've had success, but we feel like we got a lot to prove, man."

    31 min
  3. 31 JUL

    Dorothy On Her New Album 'The Way', A Moment That Changed Her Life, And Lots More

    Dorothy is my latest Talkin' Rock with Meltdown guest. She's such a badass and a great talent. The talk of streaming came up early. "It should be 50/50," Dorothy said regarding the lack of money artists get from streaming services. Dorothy recalls a fight she got into at a Steel Panther show many years ago. That's a crazy story, but she would top that story later in the interview. Dorothy 'The Way' Her new album 'The Way' drops in the fall. We talked a lot about the album and the process of making it. The first single is a song called 'Mud'. She said that the song is about digging deep. "You just have to tell the voices in your head of doubt and I can't do it, or I'm not good enough to shut up and do it anyway. To feel the fear. It's part of life. You got to dig deep and tap into it. That's what that song's about" She hopes the song inspires others to dig deeper. What does the record sound like? Dorothy responded this way, "We really tapped into the southern rock, swampy, I would call it southern tinged. It's got heavy, hard rock songs, it's got a beautiful balled, it's got some surprising wildcard" songs too. "There's actually heavier stuff on this record than on any of my previous albums." Are there any collaborations on the new Dorothy album? Yes! "Yes, there is, but I'm not going to tell you who it is...not yet I've got to save something." She did say there's one feature but said there might be more in the future. As far as the album title is concerned, she said it was divine intervention. She said she read it in the Bible and the title jumped off the page. She also talked about an incident that changed her life dramatically. A crew person had OD'd on her bus years ago, and she prayed to let him live. Miraculously, he came back to life. She said her life changed a complete 180. "I think that night I had a real encounter with the Holy Spirit." Dorothy And The Paranormal This was something I didn't have on my Dorothy BINGO card, but after talking about the crewman who came back to life, I had to ask her if she'd ever experienced anything paranormal besides that night. "Oh, yeah, actually many." She spoke to seeing people she knew speaking in ways they wouldn't. "I have seen some weird paranormal stuff." She told me about her best friend, who performs exorcisms. That's wild! As always, it's a fun conversation with Dorothy. I'm such a fan and wish her nothing but the best!

    30 min

About

The biggest names in rock music are Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown. From Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame members to bands just starting out, Meltdown takes rock music fans behind the scenes to find out what these talented musicians are really about. Come along for the ride as Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown invites you to find out more than you ever thought you knew about all genres of Rock from Classic to Prog to Grunge and everything in between.

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