Decibel Geek Podcast

With the majority of the world celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles landmark first performance on the Ed Sullivan show, Aaron and Chris decided to dip their toe(s) into this renewed Beatlemania.   The guys discuss and spin some of their favorite 'heavy' Beatles tracks from albums such as The White Album, Yellow Submarine, Sergent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road and more.   We also hear from Podkisst host Ken Mills with his picks for favorite heavy Beatles tunes. If you didn't already know, Ken hosted a fantastic look back at the Sullivan show appearance in a special entitled Beatles Invade America. We highly recommend it!   We hope you enjoy this look/listen to The Heavier Side of the Beatles.   Buy Music!   The Beatles   Contact Us!   Rate, Review, and Subscribe in iTunes Join the Fan Page Follow on Twitter E-mail Us Comment Below     Call us on the Hotline! (540) DBGeek - 1 or (540) 324-3351 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a wild couple of weeks of going behind the KISS curtain, we're back this week to kick back, have some laughs, and spin some awesome cover songs. This week we bring you Under Covers 2, a collection of kick-ass hard rock and metal cover songs. Some of these are just great takes on the original and others are more rocked-up versions of less rocking songs. Covers by bands such as Bobaflex, Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, Ronnie James Dio, Halestorm and Nantucket covering songs by great acts like AC/DC, Styx, Alice Cooper, Simon & Garfunkle, and Hall & Oates (weird, I know). Hope you enjoy! Buy Music! (click artist name to purchase) Bobaflex Jizzy Pearl Me First and the Gimme Gimmes John Corabi Nantucket Ronnie James Dio Stevie Rachelle Halestorm Skid Row Contact Us! Rate, Review, and Subscribe in iTunes Join the Fan Page Follow on Twitter E-mail Us Comment Below Call us on the Hotline! (540) DBGeek - 1 or (540) 324-3351 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone

General music listeners tend to state that there's no good music being produced these days. But, true Decibel Geeks know that isn't the case and this week Aaron and Chris are out to prove it as they share some of their favorite tracks from albums released in 2013. Also included in this discussion are the top picks from the Decibel Geek website writers. You'll learn through this hour-plus episode that a ton of great music was put our in 2013 by classic rockers you love as well as newer upstarts that have something to prove. Tracks from LaValle, Volbeat, Hardcore Superstar, Black Sabbath, Stryper, Motorhead, and more give you plenty to think about as we head into the new year. Buy Music! Michael Monroe - Horns & Halos Stryper - No More Hell to Pay Heaven's Basement - Filthy Empire Motorhead - Aftershock Black Star Riders - All Hell Breaks Loose The Bronx - The Bronx (IV) Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork LaValle - Lavalle - Dear Sanity Black Sabbath - 13 [Deluxe Edition] Fates W

With this week containing that festive holiday that goes by many names (Christmas at DBG headquarters), Aaron and Chris decided to spread some seasonal cheer by spinning some notable songs that fit such a jolly time. BUY MUSIC! (click artist name to purchase) Teenage Casket Company - One Thing You Don’t Need ThisChristmas  E'nuff Z'nuff – Happy Holiday Twisted Sister – Oh Come All Ye Faithful AC/DC – Mistress for Christmas Tom Keifer – Blue Christmas Dio, Iommi, & Appice – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Brighton Rock – White Christmas Wednesday 13 – Buried by Christmas Dokken – Santa Claus is Coming to Town The Donnas – Christmas Wrapping Contact Us! Rate, Review, and Subscribe in iTunes Join the Fan Page Follow on Twitter E-mail Us Comment Below Call us on the Hotline! (540) DBGeek - 1 or (540) 324-3351 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After getting through the whirlwind that was the first half of the year, Aaron and Chris return to tell the second half of the story in this week's 1978 Year in Review Part 2. This week, Aaron and Chris discuss the people, places, events, and music of the rest of the year. Stories include the over-saturation of KISS-mania, the poorly received Sgt. Pepper movie, and the Texxas Jam. Tracks from bands including Boston, Ramones, Black Sabbath, KISS, Gillan, Rush, and Rose Tattoo among others. We also include some interesting television commercials and promos from the year that was 1978. Buy Music! Boston - Dont Look Back The Who - Who Are You Styx - Pieces of Eight KISS - Ace Frehley KISS - KISS Gene Simmons KISS - Paul Stanley KISS - Peter Criss Ramones - Road to Ruin Black Sabbath - Never Say Die Ted Nugent - Weekend Warriors Gillan - Gillan Lynyrd Skynyrd - Skynyrd's First And...Last Rush - Hemispheres Judas Priest - Hellbent for Leather Alice Cooper - From the Inside Rose Tattoo - Ro

We're going back in time this week to an era of disco, bellbottoms, and great rock n' roll as we present the first installment of our 1978 Year in Review.  Aaron and Chris had a lot of great music to choose from for this episode and you'll hear it along with all the pop culture discussion you've come to expect from these audio time capsules.  January through July of 1978 was a busy time for hard rock and early metal acts and Aaron and Chris present plenty of song clips and discussion of artists such as Judas Priest, Rainbow, KISS, AC/DC, Journey, Angel, Starz, Cheap Trick, and much, much more! Buy Music! (click album title to purchase via Amazon) Judas Priest - Stained Class Rainbow - Long Live Rock & Roll Ringo Starr - Bad Boy KISS - Double Platinum Tom Petty - You're Gonna Get it AC/DC - Powerage Foghat - Stone Blue Rolling Stones - Some Girls Journey – Infinity Starz – Attention Shoppers Angel – White Hot Van Halen – Van Halen Generation X – Generation X Bob Seger

If there is one band that truly defines having a "good time" it's Van Halen. Formed in 1974 in suburban Pasadena, California, brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen were joined by bassist Michael Anthony and vocalist David Lee Roth and set forth in creating music history. Blessed with other-worldly talent, Eddie quickly redefined the art of hard rock guitar playing via two-handed tapping and whammy bar dive bombs. Alex's drumming, rooted in the influences of Ginger Baker and Buddy Rich, was an aggressive undercurrent to the band's sound. Michael Anthony's rock solid bass playing was only overshadowed by his angelic backing vocals. And David Lee Roth's ringmaster routine; featuring high jumps and other assorted acrobatics, rounded out a band that would marry classical influences with Harlem soul to create the combustible mix that was the Roth-Era of Van Halen. After 1984, it seemed that the spirit of original Van Halen was lost forever with Roth embarking on a long solo career and the brothers starting to w

The holidays are fast approaching and Chris and Aaron are as busy as ever getting some great episodes and interviews together to bring to all of you Decibel Geeks. This week, the guys stop to take a breather and give you a taste of what they've been listening to. There's a lot of variety in this new edition of the Radio Sucks Radio show. Brand new tracks by The Black Spiders, Michael Monroe, The Dead Daisies, and Hardcore Superstar fit in nicely with some awesome covers performed by Vince Neil, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Damone. There's even more but you gotta listen! Michael Monroe – Stained Glass Heart – Horns & Halos   The Dead Daisies (ft. Slash) – Lock N’ Load –The Dead Daisies   Black Spiders – Balls –This Savage Land   Mr. Big – The Whole World’s Gonna Know –Bump Ahead   Hardcore Superstar – C’mon Take on Me –C'Mon Take On Me   Tesla - Children's Heritage -Gold   Damone - Everybody Wants You –Everybody Wants You   Randy Castillo/Tracii Guns/Stevie Rachelle – Too Late for Lo

Decibel Geek is much more than just a weekly podcast. If you don't already know, there are a TON of great articles being put out consistently by our dedicated staff of writers; giving you more hard rock and metal stuff to geek out on on the days between episodes. Many of the articles are inspired by song choices from Aaron and Chris that are featured on the episodes. There are also a number of reviews of some of the best new and classic albums being put out regularly. This week Aaron and Chris shine a spotlight on the great articles being written by the Decibel Geek staff. All song choices were inspired by an article written by a particular staff member. There's quite a bit of great variety in this episode and we hope this will help turn you on to some great new/classic music. Click on writer's name to read the original article that inspired the song choice.  Click on the album title to go to Amazon and order! Andy Lafon: LaValle – Don’t Cry –Dear Sanity   The Meister: Arch Rival - In The F

Every once in a while in the past, Aaron and Chris would break out a track that's from an up and coming act that has an old-school vibe that fits within the Decibel Geek methodology. They would usually call this a Fresh Blood track. Upon further investigation, there's a TON of great new rock and metal being made these days and Chris and Aaron are in the fortunate position to bring you full volumes of this Fresh Blood series and we kick it off today!  We hope you enjoy this new batch of ear candy! Click Artist name for more info.  Click track/album name to purchase on Amazon Wyldlife - The Time Has Come to Rock & Roll [Explicit] Revolution Riot - "Ashes of Dreams", Untitled (TBA) Scorpion Child – Polygon of Eyes – Self-Titled (2013) Hammering Process - "Kachina"- Hammering Process [Explicit] (2012) Monster Truck – The Lion – Furiosity (2013) Robot Lords of Tokyo - "Hell Will Have to Wait"- Virtue & Vice (2013) Impera – Beast Within –  Pieces of Eden (10/18/13) 210 To Lowell - "Dead Jimmy", Dirtie

With Halloween fast approaching, we felt this week was the best time to go ahead and take a look into the history of Shock Rock. It's time for Shock Rocktober! In this hour-plus episode, Aaron and Chris Go back to the earliest days of Shock Rock with Screamin' Jay Hawkins all the way through Lordi today and along with some acts you may have missed the first time. Before we get to the music, we're proud to announce a special prize giveaway brought to you by the Decibel Geek Podcast and Michael Wagener. We're giving away a free slot to Michael Wagener's upcoming 7-Day Production Workshop at Wireworld Studio near Nashville, TN. The week-long workshop begins on December 1st. The normal cost of this 7-day workshop is $2450.00. In this workshop, you'll learn hands-on technique in the birth of a song all the way through recording, mixing, and mastering. It's a unique chance to work with a music production legend in an intimate setting. To enter the contest, simply e-mail a letter to us along with an mp3 samp

Whether you know the name Michael Wagener or not chances are, if you're a fan of this show, he's had a major impact on your life. A cursory glance at the discography of this German-born music production legend will leave you stunned due to the number of pivotal hard rock and heavy metal moments he helped create and shape.  This week Aaron and Chris head to Wireworld Studios for a long-form discussion of some of the many highlights of Michael's career. In this discussion, you'll hear about his early roots in Germany as he helped form Accept and then made the jump across the pond to begin his storied career on a ready-to-explode Sunset Strip. One project led to another and within just a few years Michael had worked with acts such as Dokken, Motley Crue, Metallica, Poison, Stryper, White Lion, and Skid Row just to name a few.  In this talk, Michael also shares his take on the evolution of the recording industry and the changes that have taken place due to the digital divide. It's a solid hour of insi

One of the nicest people that we've interviewed over the past 2+ years was Jan Kuehnemund, founder of all-female hard rock band Vixen. While Jan's guitar skills and physical beauty provided her with a powerful 1-2 punch in the music industry, those things were overshadowed when you actually talked to her. Jan's dedication, integrity, and drive helped propel her and Vixen to stardom in the late 1980's. Those qualities also served her well through the many lean years that followed. All of this is what makes this week's episode so difficult for us.  Jan Kuehnemund passed away last Friday October 10th, 2013 after a long battle with cancer.  We interviewed Jan in late February of 2012 and uploaded the episode on March 2nd, 2012. The process of interviewing Jan was a true pleasure. She was forthcoming, funny, intriguing, and patient in giving us knuckleheads in Nashville an hour of her time to yack about rock music and her life in it. We could have just gone ahead and dedicated this week's episode to Jan

We're back this week with another edition of the Radio Sucks Radio Show. We love doing this version of the show because it allows us to focus on the most important thing....the music! This week Aaron and Christ return with volume 14 of our popular Radio Sucks Radio Show. In this episode you'll deep cuts from artists such as Tom Keifer, Tora Tora, Peter Criss, and Brides of Destruction. You'll also get a heaping helping of newer stuff from bands like Stryper, Brand New Machine, and Teenage Casket Company. It's over an hour of solid, rock-filled goodness that's just waiting to ooze into your ears so crank it up and check it out! Geek of the Week is Jamie McNicol from Krazy Knights: The Australian KISS Podcast. Jamie and his co-host produce a weekly show about the Hottest Band in the Land from Down Under. Lots of interesting guests and interesting discussion. We here at the Decibel Geek podcast encourage our listeners to check out this great show! Buy Music! Song List (Click to Purchase on Amazon!)

The average music fan these days tends to enjoy a band while they are "in fashion" and on the charts. Unfortunately, that's a passing thing and what goes up, must come down. It seems that the instant that a band falls out of favor with the general crowd, it becomes the majority's modus operandi to mock said artist for a short while and then, worse, ignore them completely. This usually leads to the artist working twice as hard to put out quality material (sometimes too hard in the case of trend following) and typically continued to be ignored by the mainstream listening audience. It's a sad state of affairs where nobody wins. The artist doesn't win due to their hard work not getting recognized and the music fans don't win due to not being aware of the material being released by the artist due to flavor-of-the-week favoritism. This week, Aaron and Chris set out to introduce your ears to some gems that were lost on overlooked and ignored albums by bands/artists that had already seen their "better days." Tra

This week’s episode is the result of some it’s-a-small-world moments coming together. As you may remember, during our 2012 KISSMAS in July, we featured an episode on KISS Kover songs. One of the songs played was by a band named Hair of the Dog. This band achieved some strong popularity in the upper Midwest; most notably in central Wisconsin, home to Aaron Camaro. We couldn’t find a whole lot of information on Hair of the Dog or the current-day status of their members online and went on to work on other episodes about other artists. Flash forward to July of 2013 and Chris heads out to the TomKeifer/John Corabi double-bill at local Nashville club 3rd and Lindsley. After running into some mutual friends, he’s introduced to legendary producer Michael Wagener. During the conversation, Chris hands Mr. Wagener a Decibel Geek business card. Overhearing the conversation, guitarist Jeremy Asbrock chimes in that he’s a listener of the show and was impressed by our Lydia Criss interview. After this, Jeremy introduce

September is the gateway to autumn; leaves changing, kids in school, football on the weekends.....and a ton of strange holidays. America continues its downward spiral into over-thinking everything and Chris and Aaron use it to their advantage this week as their song choices are inspired but some of the nutty holidays that take place in September.  September 5th is Cheese Pizza Day in the United States. Chris' choice of a track from Motley Crue's 1989 Dr. Feelgood album hits the spot. September 2nd is Labor Day. While this one isn't wacky at all, it was too good to resist using as inspiration for Aaron's pick from Motorhead's Snake Bite Love album. September 16th is Working Parents Day in America. While there were lots of choices that could have been made, Chris throws a curve ball with his mother-ly choice of a song from Dope's Life album. September 6th is Fight Procrastination Day. Putting things off is a common trait for many people and this holiday surely hits home for lots of people. Aaron

Aaron and Chris return this week to talk about their favorite subject...themselves! This is the official self-congratulatory episode of the Decibel Geek podcast. The reason for this? The guys have finally reached triple digits! In this week's episode, Chris and Aaron take a look back at the past 100 episodes and discuss some of the highlights, lowlights, and technical problems that have been a part of everything that makes up the Decibel Geek podcast. In this episode, you'll hear Chris recount the circumstances that led him to start a podcast, the producer that was here one minute and gone the next, and Aaron Camaro's introduction to the show. The guys also recount some of their favorite moments including favorite interviews, guests, and topic discussion of the past 100 episodes. Aaron and Chris also play numerous voice mail recordings left by listeners, past guests, rock legends, and fellow rock/metal podcasters. Closing out this 100th episode celebration is Chris and Aaron listening and commenti

We're back this week to celebrate the second half of 1985 as we dissect July through December. There was a ton of music released in the second half of 1985 and Chris and Aaron are back to bring you some of the best tracks from the year. Without further ado, here are the stories, the people, and the sounds that made 1985 an interesting year for Decibel Geeks:   July: July 13 – The Live Aid concert takes place in Wembley Stadium, London, UK and Philadelphia, USA. The headlining acts at the latter venue included a Led Zeppelin reunion, the first since their 1980 disbandment. Rough Cutt – Take Her (Rough Cutt)  August: August 31 – Richard Ramirez, the serial killer known as the Night Stalker, is captured in Los Angeles. Metal Edge Magazine is Launched. Pantera – I Am the Night (I Am the Night)  DIO - Fallen Angels (Sacred Heart)  KIX – Sex (Midnight Dynamite)  September: September 6 – Michael Jackson purchases the publishing rights for most of the Beatles' music for $47

When preparing for this year's KISSMAS in JULY episodes, we wanted to dig in and talk to some people that were first-hand witnesses to KISS' rise to stardom. This week's guest not only witnessed it; he helped make it happen. Peter Oreckinto, or "Moose" as he's known in KISS circles, was brought into the KISS family very early in the band's history. Having a background in theater, as well as pyrotechnics, Oreckinto was tailor-made for his job as a member of the early KISS road crew; and what a crew it is. Setting up and tearing down a KISS show these days is a task of military precision, with a military-sized crew handling the job. But back in the early days of the band, the KISS road crew were a tight-knit group of guys that worked tirelessly to help assemble the ladder that the band would use to go on to bigger success. The amount of blood, sweat, and tears that went into working for KISS in those early days is not to be underestimated.  In this discussion, Oreckinto shares what it was like barn