Badass Records

Blair Johnson

a podcast about people and music

  1. Episode 214 Cass Jones

    2 days ago

    Episode 214 Cass Jones

    Your assignment for the week -- class -- is to find someone cooler than Cass Jones. And once I've graded all of your papers, I'm pleased to share with you that I will be modifying all of your Fs to As, because -- that's right -- it's an impossible ask. We're putting up something in the form of Episode No. 214, and I couldn't be happier to share that @cassjooones on Instagram is my guest, and what a hoot I had chatting with her. Cass can also be found at cassjonescreative.com, and -- of greater importance, perhaps -- motelvenus.studio, come July 15th of this summer. The Jones clan -- when they're not busy roasting one another -- would happily call Cass a sibling and a daughter, a solo camper and a dog lover. They might also call her hilarious and be right in doing so. Cass and I talked design, illustration, brand strategy, her gig with The Pitch, and a bunch more. Included in said "more," was a short list of some of her favorite albums. Those were these: Ice Cube's Lethal Injection (1993) Destroy All Astromen! (1994), Man or Astro-man? Dethklok's The Dethalbum (2007) Keep your eyes peeled for the Motel Venus stuff; it's bound to be rad. Many thanks to Cass and to all that support the progrum. Note: Moonflower was not the Santana album was thinking of, I don't think. If Google's right, I think maybe it was Borboletta (1974). copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Wizzow track called, "Saturday," which is found on Wiztrumentals (2025), c/o wizzydabeatwow.

    2h 15m
  2. Episode 213, The Queens of the Stone Age Discography, featuring Sammy Sanchez

    18 Jun

    Episode 213, The Queens of the Stone Age Discography, featuring Sammy Sanchez

    Very pleased to welcome Sammy Sanchez back in to the podcast studio for another exciting look at an artist's discography, and this time -- for Episode No. 213 -- we dove in to the Queens of the Stone Age catalog. If you've not caught previous episodes with Sammy, you can check him out on Episode Nos 44 (first appearance), 66 (Tom Waits), 88 (Beck), 113 (Radiohead), and 187 (King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard). And if you wanna know how that train got rollin', check out Episode No. 30 with his dad, Caesar, which was also a fun time. Queens of the Stone Age has eight records to date, each one different than the previous. They are: self-titled (1998) 2000's Rated R Songs for the Deaf (2002) Lullabies to Paralyze (2005) 2007's Era Vulgaris ...Like Clockwork (2013) Villains from 2017 2023's In Times New Roman... Sammy and I talked about a bunch of stuff across this chat, and beyond QotSA albums, we touched on Pink Floyd, the World Cup, the ever-awesome Phil Collins, and more. In this case, more means a bunch of different things, but I'd like to focus specifically on his growing local empire of trivia nights, which has sprung from once a week to Sunday-Thursday affairs, all in different locations. Follow Sammy on Instagram at @sammysanchez1123 and peep his bio to see the spots. Always grateful for Sammy's time and insight. Couldn't do this series without him. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Led Zeppelin tune called, "In the Light," which can be found on their 1975 masterpiece, Physical Graffiti, c/o Atlantic Recording Corporation, a Warner Music Group Company (marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company).

    2h 20m
  3. Episode 212, Brian Hurtgen

    28 May

    Episode 212, Brian Hurtgen

    It's good fun for the dork in me this week as we're dropping a palindrome episode, and I couldn't be happier than to share that Brian Hurtgen joined me for the 212th installment of the program. Brian is a son, a sibling, a parent, a partner, and a wearer of many band hats. We talked family, musicianship, band life and the learning curve that sometimes comes with it. We also talked about life, death, and being a sage person as you walk the path. Brian's outfits include Major Matt Mason USA, Holiday at Sea, The Creepy Jingles, and Bye American. You can find stuff from each of those bands on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and I Heart Radio, and you can also find some solo material of his on those platforms. In addition to all of that, we had a peek at a few of Brian's favorite albums, which were these: Siamese Dream (1993), The Smashing Pumpkins Radiohead's The Bends (1995) LP2 (1995), Sunny Day Real Estate* Starflyer 59's The Fashion Focus (1998) Low Level Owl, Vol. 1 + 2 (2011), The Appleseed Cast Meeting Brian was a treat, and sharing time with him for some quality conversation was a privilege. Oh, and don't forget to check out Brian's pop-up record store, BlacKCat Vinyl. The store's Instagram handle is @blackcatvinylkc; Brian's page is @waxmusic79. In my fumbling preparation efforts, I completely overlooked the Sunny Day Real Estate record, and we therefore did not discuss it on the show. My apologies to both Brian and S.D.R.E. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a Delegation track called, "Oh Honey" from 1978, c/o State Records.

    2h 36m
  4. Episode 208, David Luther

    30 Apr

    Episode 208, David Luther

    Shouts out to James Carter of You Found Music for connecting me with three fantastic Kansas City people, each of them cool in their own regard. Christian Dixon joined me for Episode No. 202. Julie Bennett Hume stopped by to say hello a few weeks later, and today -- I'm pleased to share that singer/songwriter/musician David Luther is my guest for Episode No. 208. David and I talked family, health, writing and recording, playing gigs, and a bunch more. Naturally, we had a look at a few of David's favorite albums, which were these: Garth Brooks' No Fences (1990) Ten and Vs. (1991, 1993), Pearl Jam Gin Blossoms' New Miserable Experience (1992) Throwing Copper (1994), Live Jason Isbell's Southeastern (2013) David has two LPs, four singles, and an EP on the streaming platforms. His Web site is thedavidluther.com. Follow him on Instagram (@thedavidluther), or see what he's up to on Facebook and YouTube. If you're reading this upon release time, you can catch David tomorrow, Friday, May 1, at Walnut Creek in Weston. He'll do some Minnesota shows with the aforementioned Julie Bennett Hume, and be back performing locally on May 22nd, at KC Wine Co. in Olathe, KS. Many thanks to David for the time, and thank you to all of you that support the show. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips from a tune called, "Vitamina." It's a cut from the 1964 release, Tributo A Noro, by Kako's New York After Hour Orchestra, c/o Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.

    1hr 54min
  5. Episode 207, Phil Craven

    23 Apr

    Episode 207, Phil Craven

    Hello! Pushing into the early 200s here with the Badass Records podcast, and I was lucky enough to host Phil Craven last week for Episode No. 207. Phil is a son, a sibling, a down-to-Earth dude, and a musician in both Whiskey for the Lady as well as Dimension Bill Edwards. This is my favorite time of year yet, as a) NHL playoffs are happening, and b) it's not hot yet, so I was thrilled to have some first-round action on in the background while editing this fantastic conversation with a little bit of playoff hockey in the background. Anyway...Phil and I talked growing up, trimming bud, discovering music, learning instruments, the incredible journey of being a bandmate, the Walnut Valley Festival, and -- wait...I feel like there was something else...oh, yeah! -- a few of Phil's favorite albums, which were these: Nirvana's Nevermind (1991) Pure Guava (1992), Ween Phish's Rift (1993) Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy (1996), The Refreshments Tool's Lateralus (2001) It was awesome chatting with Phil, and I encourage you to to follow Whiskey for the Lady on Instagram at @whiskeyforthelady, or on Facebook, or keep tabs on whiskeyforthelady.com. They're KCMO Thrashgrass that you don't wanna miss out on. And don't forget Dimension Bill Edwards. Find them on the streams. Many thanks to my newfound huge following in Vietnam (shrug emoji), and a super-huge thank you to those of you that have supported the podcast stateside for however long. Cheers. copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips contained within this episode. They are snippets from a Fishbone tune called, "Ma and Pa" from their 1988 release, Truth and Soul, c/o Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

    1hr 32min

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a podcast about people and music