Start The Beat With Sikes

For the 43rd episode episode of #startthebeat I sat down with the homie Kory for a unexpected, but awesome talk about Roseanne, video games, Nu-Metal, nostalgia and growing up. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  

For the 42nd episode episode of #startthebeat I sat down with the dudes in Reverse The Curse for a laid back talk about growing up, being creative and chasing the dream! Whatever that means... Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  Links relevant to this conversation: www.facebook.com/ReverseTheCurseMusic reversethecurse.bandcamp.com/album/existent 

For the 41st episode episode of #startthebeat I sat down with Lazy JP for a talk about all things that come with being a lover of music and a creator of music. We'll talk about his beginnings as an emcee, discuss/debate the creative process and talk about the steps he has taken since then to get where he is today. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  Links relevant to this conversation: www.facebook.com/lazyjp soundcloud.com/subterraneanaliens/sets/rawk-lawbster-ep-vol1-britpop-hip-hop 

For the 40th episode episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend William James for a solid talk about what it takes to get your "voice" heard and dealing with the struggles of keeping that "voice" loud enough for anyone to notice it through all the other noise in the world. Great talk. Great dude. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  Links relevant to this conversation: williamjames.whatis174.com williamjames174.bandcamp.com williamjames174.bandcamp.com/merch/everything-that-ever-was-how-it-came-to-be-chapbook 

For the 39th episode episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my new friend Ryan of the band Dead Batteries and local screen-printing powerhouse Ink Division for a solid talk about trying to navigate through "adulthood" while maintaining our punk roots and DIY ethics. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  Links relevant to this conversation: www.facebook.com/deadbatteriespgh www.facebook.com/IDprinting 

For the 38th episode and first 2015 episode of #startthebeat I sat down with Basick Sickness for an awesome talk about being misfits in the Hip-Hop scene and everything that inspires us to continue pushing forward against the odds. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  

It's the last #startthebeat of 2014!!! So this week I decided to do something a little special and make a few phone calls to some of my past guests. We're going to talk to my Uncle Timmy, Megan Fair, Christmas Eger, Moemaw Naedon, Cody Jones aka Stillborn Identity and Justin Nixon so we can check in and see what they've been up to since we last spoke. I also take some time to personally reflect on the past year of the podcast and tell you a little story about how I spent my Christmas. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!

For the 37th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friends Johnny and Carissa for an unplanned but welcomed conversation about growing up being the weird kid and trying to navigate through school, flaky friendships and how so much of what we embraced as children, movies, cartoons, comics, music somehow managed to stick with us to this day. We also get into our mutual obsessions with Japanese culture, anime, toys and eventually the conversation turns to focus on Johnny's history as a musician playing in various local bands and the struggles he is currently dealing with involving his control issues and the ability to comprise his ideals while working with other people in creative environments. To top things off we also threw in a few "Random Questions" at the end just for fun so sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT! 

For the 36th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with Bob Freyer aka Durty Art and had a productive conversation about his artwork and everything that has inspired him to create the work he produces. We talk about a ton of stuff including graffiti, marketing your "brand", navigating through the business side of the art world and of course... the "haters". No stones left unturned this week! Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: rawartists.org/durtyart instagram.com/durtyart facebook.com/durtyarts

For the first installment of 10 RANDOM QUESTIONS I sat down with the boys in Dethlehem during the listening party for their new album "Destroyers Of The Realm" and asked them questions submitted by various #startthebeat listeners. The catch is that the listeners didn't know who was going to be answering these questions that they submitted to me and the band didn't have any idea that they were about to be interviewed. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: facebook.com/dethlehem youtube.com/dethlehem

For the 35th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my long time friend Shaun from the band Instead Of Sleeping and we had a lovely talk about the steps his band has taken over the years, what his experiences playing music have been like and how he has evolved as a writer, musician and overall decent human being. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: facebook.com/insteadofsleeping

For the 34th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my new homie Dan from the band World's Scariest Police Chases, Lock and Key Collective & local screenprint shop Commonwealth Press. We had an awesome conversation discussing the history of his band and some of the things we've noticed/experienced involving the current generation gap going on within the "punk" community. We also talk about how we've both managed to worm our way into the paths we have paved for ourselves and try to figure out ultimately if Punk Rock has really ruined our lives or not. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!  LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: facebook.com/wspolicechases lockandkeyco.com cwpress.com

For the 33rd episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my long time friend Ryan aka Amuck for a talk about how we met, the music we've made together and how things have played out for us over the past 7+ years of our friendship. Ryan was also kind enough to give us all a world premier of his new single "Binge" from his upcoming EP "Detonate" which you'll get to hear at the end of this podcast! Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT! LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: AMUCK on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Amuck412 PLUTOCRAT NOOSE on Facebook: www.facebook.com/plutocratnoose Listen to the CASANOVA SPARKS album: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lCy_OQE-CQ&list=PLKnSd4xs_yRdoouTHv4UuSPLL59eRaLb5

For the 32nd episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my buddy Rick for a nice talk about being a father, husband, everyday working man and still pursuing his desire for creative output amongst all of the chaos. This is some genuine real adult talk this week but it's an awesome conversation full of great energy and positivity. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT! LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: facebook.com/blackmarketbodyparts facebook.com/events/807986062581786/

For the 31st episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend Tony for a lengthy but rock solid conversation about the weird shit he liked as a kid, playing in bands, falling into the world of Men's fashion, starting up his own candle company and how nobody knows what the term "hipster" really means anymore. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT! LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: facebook.com/gypsyandhisbandofghosts facebook.com/theanthercandleco

For the 30th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my homie Nate and learned all about his history growing up in the birthplace of the oil industry, finding punk rock, playing in bands and overtime ultimately ending up in a place not quite so "punk rock". It's a good talk. I didn't know much about Nate prior to this conversation so it can be a learning experience for all of us! Unless of course you already know the guy... Either way just sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!

For the 29th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend Josh and talked about his "troubled" youth, eventually getting his shit straight and the chain of events that ended up getting a guitar into his hands to write and create music. We also discuss the similar ways we both accidentally discovered underground Hip-Hop and the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop scene a bit. To wrap everything up Josh talks about the ambitious new graphic novel he is working on and unintentionally paints a picture for Brian of just how creative and driven he is. Whether he realizes it or not. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT! LINKS RELEVANT TO THIS DISCUSSION: itheconflict.bandcamp.com providencenovel.com

For the 28th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend Mario for a conversation about his relationships with music, art, comedy and everything in between. We also discuss our time spent back in the day writing and recording music together and bring up a lot of inside jokes that nobody will understand but whatever. We talk about Miley Cyrus too... and Pig Destroyer... and Michael Jackson. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!

For the 27th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend HITT for what turned out to be one of the most important conversations I've had on this podcast so far. This episode does run a little long but the information that lies within defintley justifies the length. If you are someone who is in a band, makes art or is trying to do anything creative in general for a living I can't recommend listening to this enough. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!

For the 26th episode of #startthebeat I sat down with my friend Josh and talk about escaping the prison of suburban life to pursue his passions and the crazy journey he has been on ever since. Josh is the type of person that doesn't really seem to take anything in life for granted and it was really awesome to talk to someone with so much focus and positive energy. Don't know about you but I sure could use more of that in my life. This conversation was really inspiring and I'm happy to share it all with you. Sit back, relax and lets START THE BEAT!