Needless Things

Phantom Troublemaker talks to Noah Holt of Kill, Baby… Kill! about music, managing a full-time career and a full-time passion job, and the rewards of family life. Phantom Troublemaker has known Noah for years longer than he’s been Phantom Troublemaker. Noah has been making music for most of his life and was an important influence for Phantom. From punk bands like Stuck At Zero to the surf rock of KBK, music has been a compelling factor in this man’s life. Listen in as the guys reminisce and discuss keeping your passions alive while still maintaining a practical lifestyle.   “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com    This episode’s theme song is “Love Theme for A Twisted Mind” from the EP Sometimes They Come Back by Kill, Baby… Kill. You can find this release and more at ReverbNation.

Listen up, Phantomaniacs – it’s that magical time of year when the WWE comes to the forefront of the entertainment world and puts everything it’s got into producing the biggest, wildest, and most entertaining spectacle of the whole year! Phantom Troublemaker put out the call to some of the Needless Things Irregulars to assemble a team of commentators with different outlooks and opinions to speculate on the big show and the events leading up to it. For your own personal reference, here’s the WrestleMania 31 card as it stood at the time of this recording: Los Matadores v. The New Day v. The Udos v. Kidd & Cesaro (Champions) for the Tag Team Championship The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal AJ Lee & Paige v. The Bella Twins Randy Orton v. Seth Rollins John Cena v. Rusev (Champion) for the United States Championship R-Truth v. Dean Ambrose v. Luke Harper v. Dolph Ziggler v. Stardust v. Daniel Bryan v. Bad News Barrett (Champion) in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship Sting v. Trip

In what was supposed to be the start of an ongoing series of episodes focusing on Star Trek, Phantom and Gary Mitchel end up discussing one of the great heroes of science fiction – Leonard Nimoy. Over a month ago Phantom Troublemaker and Gary Mitchel had agreed to start a secondary podcast – a subcast, if you will, with just the two of them talking about the Trek franchise. The first episode was scheduled to record on Monday, March 2, 2015. Sadly, on the Friday prior to that recording, Leonard Nimoy passed away. Obviously there was no other decision than to dedicate a show to memories of Mr. Nimoy and his legacy. As such, there's no intro, no musical feature, and no outro. Just Phantom and Gary talking about a legend. LLAP “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

In today’s episode – the second this week! - Phantom Troublemaker interviews James Bickert, the director of the cult biker/exploitation/Bigfoot movie Dear God No! and its follow-up Frankenstein Created Bikers, which is currently raising funds on Kickstarter. Phantom and James talk about the process of creating films independent of the Hollywood system, James’ personal history with movies, and the state of independent horror today. Perhaps most importantly, James answers one of Phantom’s long-standing questions – “What the heck is up with Fellini, anyway?” So join Phantom as he gets an education in film and more from one of the most interesting guys working outside of Hollywood today!: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com    This episode’s theme song is “James Gang Bang” by The Forty-Fives, as heard in Dear God No! Be sure to visit Frankenstein Created Bikers’ Kickstarter page and check out this weird, unique, and amazing project: About this project Greetings!  We're taking our caus

Phantom Troublemaker and the Needless Things Irregulars once again convene to discuss and review Toy Fair! The 2015 New York International Toy Fair was held from February 13th – 17th so that toy manufacturers from all over the world could get retailers and journalists excited about their offerings for the upcoming year. Hasbro, Mattel, Funko, NECA, and many more all bring out their prototypes, concepts, and newest licenses to display in the biggest toy-oriented gathering of the year! Some of the heavy hitters this year were Funko’s ReAction and Legacy lines, Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, and TWO huge announcements from DC Collectibles. The crew covers all of that and much more in this episode. Join Phantom, Needless Things' Head Researcher Ryan Schweck, Jay Hornsby The Belligerent Monkey, Reverend Dan Wilson, and The Oncoming Josh as they take a look at the very best of this year’s toy exhibition! Phantom also talks to Marten Jallad of Joelanta and The Great Atlanta Toy Convention abou

Phantom Troublemaker and the Needless Things Irregulars once again convene to discuss and review Toy Fair! The 2015 New York International Toy Fair was held from February 13th – 17th so that toy manufacturers from all over the world could get retailers and journalists excited about their offerings for the upcoming year. Hasbro, Mattel, Funko, NECA, and many more all bring out their prototypes, concepts, and newest licenses to display in the biggest toy-oriented gathering of the year! Due to technical difficulties, the first recording of this episode is unlistenable. Fortunately the whole crew was willing to give it another go. Unfortunately we couldn't get everybody together again. Fortunately this means that certain aspects of Toy Fair will get more attention. Like Masters of the Universe Classics. Join Phantom and his co-host Mr. Beau Brown as they look at not only the Toy Fair figure reveals and the new 200X mini-sub, but also the MASSIVE surprise that was revealed the day after we recorded

Phantom Troublemaker and the ESO Network’s “Howdy” Mike Gordon convene to discuss a common favorite topic – the live-action Batman television show, now commonly colloquialized as Batman ’66. The recent release of the entire series as a deluxe Blu-ray box set prompted this episode. Both of the guys crammed in as much Bat-Viewing as they could to prepare for this look back at a critical point in not only the history of the Dynamic Duo, but at a very specific point in the development of television and American pop culture. Mike and Phantom talk about discovering the show during childhood and the evolution of their enjoyment of it as time has gone on. From the colorful sets and costumes to the actors that inhabited them, every aspect of the show is examined.    Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed. Fasten your Bat-safety harness and turn the volume dial on your Batcomputer to an audible but safe level as the Needless Things Podcast talks Batman!: NeedlessThingsSite.com “Procrastibate”

On today’s episode, Phantom Troublemaker talks to Christopher DePetrillo, the Chief Marketing Officer of Figures Toy Company! Phantom talks to Christopher about the history of Figures Toy Company – from their Legends of Professional Wrestling line to their current robust roster of licenses, including The Three Stooges, Batman ’66, KISS, the characters of Robert E. Howard, and their newest acquisition – Ring of Honor wrestling! The conversation ranges from personal preferences in toy collecting to marketing toys in a modern digital environment. Tune in as Phantom gets an education from a veteran of the toy business!: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com    This episode’s theme song is “Psycho Beach Party 3000” by Kill, Baby… Kill! Kill, Baby… Kill! on Reverb Nation Kill, Baby… Kill! on Facebook

Phantom Troublemaker, The Belligerent Monkey Jay Hornsby, and Needless Things’ Lead Researcher Ryan Schweck convene to look at the current state of comic book adaptations on television. Specifically – Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, and Constantine. The guys also get into the potential of Marvel’s Netflix series and interaction between the movie and television universes. Listen in and find out how the Needless Things crew feels about each franchise and what they’re hoping for in the future!: “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com  "Jet Black Heart" by Radio Cult Needless Things Website Needless Things on Twitter Needless Things on Facebook

Phantom Troublemaker and Mr. Beau Brown reunite to take a look back at last year’s Masters of the Universe Classics releases from Mattycollector.com! As it turns out, 2014 was the penultimate year of the Masters toy line and Mattel delivered big. While there wasn’t a big release like Castle Grayskull, the releases were more consistently good than they’ve ever been. With impressive toys like Modulok, Extendar, and the surprisingly good Eldor, there were more highs than lows. Mattel also offered the second vehicle in the line – the Battle Ram – and yet another specialty subscription – Club Etheria. Beau and Phantom run down all of the releases of the regular line and Beau gives attention to the Battle Ram and Club Etheria, which Phantom passed on. Tune in and listen as two guys that genuinely love toys and He-Man have fun talking about the next-to-last year of what has turned out to be a legendary toy line worthy of the Most Powerful Man in the Universe!. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com

Phantom Troublemaker talks to himself and looks at 2015 month by month.    From January’s Royal Rumble Party to the far-flung wilds of October’s Monsterama Con, our host discusses his plans for 2015 and does a little pontification on the side, brought to you by Angry Orchard Cider and Fireball Whisky. Settle in and get ready for an episode that borders on rambling, but is snatched back from the brink by some actual, for-real notes. Here’s the list of topics that kept Phantom (sort of) on track: January 1/25 - The Royal Rumble – The promised rules for the Rumble Game: Determine how many entrants are in the Rumble. Come up with a system to draw numbers (I use a bowl with ping pong balls in it) and number accordingly. You can get ping pong balls from your local Dollar Tree for – wait for it – a dollar. I think six come in a pack, so it should cost about five bucks to have enough. If you need me to tell you where to get a bowl then you might not be equipped to handle the rest o

Phantom Troublemaker has been trying to get in with the folks of the Great Atlanta Toy Convention for a while now. Last year things didn’t work out due to his work schedule, but this year it looks like Needless Things will be well represented at the con in March. Before that happened, Phantom wanted to get to know the folks who run the show and they, rightly, wanted to know what they were getting into by working with us. This is how Phantom ended up getting invited to one of the group’s secret meetings. Every so often, a group of Atlanta toy enthusiasts meets in an undisclosed location at undisclosed intervals to talk toys. Today, for the first time ever, the outside world gets to listen in on one of these meetings and learn a little bit more about the folks who run the Joelanta toy convention and how they came together with the Atlanta Toy Convention to form one of the best toy shows in the Southeast; as well as how that combination of shows has continued to grow over the years.    Listen in

Earlier this year Phantom Troublemaker became quite taken with the idea of Record Store Day. If you don’t know, Record Store Day was started by a group of independent store owners as a way to draw attention to independent shops and create hype around the hobby of record collecting. For more information visit the website: RecordStoreDay.com We’re doing things a little backwards, as the actual Record Store Day occurs in April. The subject of today’s episode is Black Friday and what special Record Store Day releases will be hitting then. That’s why, just a few days from the event, Phantom Troublemaker recruited local expert Joel Brody to talk about the event, the releases, and music in general. Listen in and learn about this great event! For the full list of releases go here and to find a store near you go here.    Phantom and the rest of the Needless Things crew will be visiting Joel at his home base at CD Warehouse on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth, GA. Check them out here. Not all particip

On this week’s Needless Things Podcast, Phantom Troublemaker sat down with Emmy winning television host, restaurateur, chef, artist, musician, writer, and comedian Jim Stacy of Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy.    Jim talks to Phantom about growing up in a hardworking Southern family, playing in bands like Greasepaint and Grand Moff Tarkin, and the long journey to opening his unique, freestanding restaurant Pallookaville. As always, Phantom is fascinated by such an impressive drive and work ethic, especially from a man like Jim with so many fields of expertise. Listen in as the guys talk food, art, and rock n’ roll! Offbeat Eats with Jim Stacy can be seen on The Cooking Channel on Thursday nights at 10:30 PM. Jim’s restaurant, Pallookaville, can be found in the Avondale Estates area of Metro Atlanta and has a website here and a Facebook page here. “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Shake Appeal” by The Stooges

If you read Phantom Troublemaker’s post about The Headless Horseman of Silly Hollow, then you know about his recent visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.   After the puppet show Phantom was able to sit down with the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers – siblings Robin Erlandsen and Brian and Erik Torbeck – to discuss the fourteen year history of Silly Hollow as well as their own backgrounds in puppetry.   Listen in and find out what goes into a puppet show and how it evolves over time, as well as what motivates the puppeteers. The siblings also discuss some of their other family oriented shows, including a Western and one about pirates! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by The Monotones

In this week's episode we divert from Halloween festivities (sorry, boils and ghouls) to address what is potentially the biggest news the toy industry has seen in over a decade - Scott Nietlich - AKA Toy Guru - has resigned from Mattel due to an offer from an as-yet unnamed competitor. On hearing this, Phantom Troublemaker scrapped plans for a horror toy episode and assembled the Needless Things Toy Irregulars - Mr. Beau Brown, Ryan Schweck, and Jay Hornsby, the Belligerent Monkey. The quartet discuss the announcements from Mattel and Hasbro at this year's New York Comic Con and then delve into a discussion about the past, present, and future of the toy industry's most recgnizable name. No matter what you think of him, there's no denying that Scott Nietlich had a huge impact on the collectors' market and the way that collector toys are marketed and sld. He was passionate and innovative and worked hard to see his visions come to life and be delivered onto the shelves of fans and customers. Tune in now ans

Shane Morton has been a fixture of the Atlanta scene for pretty much all of his adult life. From rock n’ roll to tattooing to haunted attractions, he’s always stayed busy and contributed to many different art forms. In this episode Phantom Troublemaker traveled out to the Morton homestead to talk about Shane’s many pursuits over the years. He’s rocked in the bands Super X-13 and Gargantua, owned Black Cat Tattoo, and entertained and delighted people from all over the country with the Silver Scream Spookshow and Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. They also touch on Shane’s world travels and some of the legendary names he’s met and worked with. So listen in as Phantom and Shane talk tattoos, haunts, and rock n’ roll! This episode is sponsored by Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. Join us for our final year of creating the most unique and innovative haunted attraction in the Southeast! And be sure to come out for the grand finale on November 1st for the grand return of Atlanta’s own Monster Bash! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex

In this week’s episode Phantom Troublemaker sits down with “Howdy” Mike Gordon, host of the Earth Station One Podcast and creator of Tiki Zombie. Phantom and Mike discuss the creator’s history, his views on the art of creating comics, and which franchise he'd galdy take over given the opportunity. It's a great conversation that gives a great insight into the mind of a great creator and a talented podcaster. Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “A Fistfull of Terror” by The Bomboras

This is literally the biggest episode so far! Needless Things wanted to do something really cool for the first October episode, so we gathered a whole bunch of folks together to talk about horror and fear. Featured in this episode are: Phantom Troublemaker – Your Host Beth V – Needless Things’ Top Reporter R.T. Ewell – Author and Needless Things Contributor Ryan Cadaver – Lead Vo-Kill-Ist for The Casket Creatures Nathan Hamilton – Son of Celluloid Jonathan Williams – Wrestling With Pop Culture The crew discuss their own histories with the horror genre, favorite movies and events, and personal fears and how they’ve been reflected in media. We also get the lowdown on what everybody will be up to this Halloween season. Listen now or check the podcast out on iTunes and Stitcher! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Judgment Night” by ONYX & Biohazard "Zombie Werewolves From Outer Space" by The Casket Creatures

Dragon Con is over and I may only have one podcast to show for it! Due to many different factors – one of which was me neglecting to turn on my digital recorder – I only recorded one panel. But that's okay because it was a great one! I felt very fortunate to once again be at the table with the wonderful and talented William Stout, this time for a discussion of Conan the Destroyer. Listen in as Tegan and Gary from RevCast and I talk with Mr. Stout about his work on all of the Conan-centric films! “Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com “Conan the Barbarian Theme” by Basil Poledouris