Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 12: Guilty Pleasures AND The Nerd Lunch Halloween Special

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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EPISODE 12! 

Are you prepared for a Podcast double header? I’m cramming two shows into one post this time around. It’s been quite a busy Halloween season for me so I am a bit behind on posting. With the big day rapidly approaching, I’m trying to savor every last detail of the remainder of October. It’s like making sure you get the last drip of Birch Beer out of that cold frosty mug. Ahh, see, now you want a Birch Beer, don’t you? Me too. Not sure why, but it sounds like a good accompaniment to these perfect Autumn nights.

First up, the latest Purple Stuff Podcast is available and it’s all about our Halloween and Horror guilty pleasures. Matt and I had a blast with this one and it may be one of my favorite episodes yet. I’m sure you can relate to loving some pretty bad movies and having an affinity for other weird stuff like obscure TV specials and melted plastic popcorn decorations, so you will definitely be on board with this episode! Check it out this week before our Halloween show hits and if you can, please leave us positive feedback on iTunes! That would be awesome.

In addition to the PSP, check out the latest edition of The Nerd Lunch Podcast which is available TODAY! I had been guest on the Nerd Lunch Halloween show previously, and then last year, Matt and I were both invited to be guests. Pax and Jeeg asked us back again this year and it’s becoming a cool little Halloween tradition. It was a fun time as we talked about two Rankin Bass specials, Jack O’ Lantern and Mad Monster Party. We may not make any new friends after this one, but I felt we told it like it is. Thanks to the Nerd Lunch crew for having us back on!

You have plenty of audio entertainment to listen to as we usher in Halloween and we hope you enjoy it. Make sure you get your costumes ready and make a pile of your favorite horror films because we are coming down to the wire. I can feel the excitement already! Halloween is upon us!

12 Fictional Bands That I Didn’t Mention on Nerd Lunch Episode 170

The Nerd Lunch Podcast Episode 170 is now available for download! It’s all about fictional/fake bands from various forms of entertainment. Tim Lybarger, CT, Pax, and myself offer some of our favorites and then later in the show we try to guess some really obscure selections! After you listen, check out my list of fictional bands below that I didn’t get a chance to mention on the podcast.


12. Danger Kitty, Discover Card Commercial, 2001
They’ve been enjoying the biggest success of their career as Steel Panther, and to think they started as a cover band playing ’80s hair band songs in Los Angeles! Originally they were known as Metal Shop, and then Metal Skool and they gained quite a following, now, as Steel Panther they’re touring the world, literally. Everyone loves a some good, tight zebra skin spandex and vagina jokes. Early on, the band appeared as Danger Kitty in a Discover Card commercial where they played a kids Bar Mitzvah. In 2001, at their website, you could get a CD single of the track they played in the commercial called “Love Rocket,” and you can imagine that I requested mine in about .02 milliseconds. Of course, I still have it and have been obsessed with the band ever since.

11. Arsenal, Rock of Ages Musical, 2005-present
Rock of Ages has been a staple musical since 2005 in various parts of the country and touring all over the world. The show spawned a 2012 film adaptation which I still haven’t watched in fear that it’s nowhere near as good as the stage show. The main band in the show is Arsenal and they play actual ’80s arena rock tunes, but what makes them so special to me is that all of the stops on their fictional first tour were to random New Jersey towns! If you want to see proof, I have their original promotional t-shirt and there are photos in my review of the off Broadway production from 2008. This early incarnation of ROA reviewed here was the best before they started tweaking the story, characters, and actors.

10. The Barbusters, Light of Day, 1987
The band in this rock drama is comprised of Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett in one hell of an oddball mash up. The title track was written by Bruce Springsteen. Bon Jovi also appears on the soundtrack.

9. The Lost Soulz, The Perfect Age of Rock n Roll
This rock and roll road movie was filmed partly in New Jersey and my friend Jasin Cadic from the band Starkiller co-wrote it! Check out my review from when it was released.

8. Black Roses, 1988
A monstrous metal band turns everyone into monsters – quite a masterpiece. I recommend adding it to your Halloween time viewing if you haven’t done so in the past. Tracks like “Dance on Fire” and “Soldiers of the Night,” are staples of my Fall playlists. Bands that appear on this rare soundtrack include Lizzy Borden and King Kobra.

7. Vesuvius, The Rocker, 2008
For a while I was watching The Rocker at least 3 times a week. That’s what happens when HBO gets a hold of a new movie. Rainn Wilson and Christina Applegate star in the comedy, but it’s a who’s who of comedic actors such as Fred Armisen, Will Arnett, and Jeff Garlin. It’s well worth your time if you are into silly comedies about rock bands like Spinal Tap. The direct result of watching this movie constantly: I was obsessed with “Promised Land” and listened to it on loop on the way to work for several months. The tunes by Vesuvius are attributed to singer Keith England and his band Lazlo Bane.

6. Stillwater, Almost Famous, 2000
A young music journalist embarks on tour with his favorite band Stillwater to document their exploits for a possible published spot in a rock magazine. Said to be based off of the early years of director Cameron Crowe’s life. I’ve had a couple of Stillwater songs on my iPod ever since I owned an iPod. The authentic track, “Fever Dog,” it sounds like it was a lost track made recorded in the mid ’70s, and it’s not surprising because the Stillwater songs were written by Crowe, his ex-wife Nancy Wilson of Heart, and Peter Frampton which helped give it that special vintage sound. Although the film did not knock ’em dead at the box office, the soundtrack won a Grammy for best soundtrack/compilation.


5. Dyver Down from Holliston, 2013
Used mostly for comic relief, the Van Halen tribute band Dyver Down, lead by Lance Rocket (Dee Snider) actually has a track available on iTunes called “Love It Down Your Throat” and a schlocky, badass music video to go along with it. This was my favorite aspect of the show, well, this and Laura Ortiz of course.


4. Mouthfeel and Juggernaut, Gettin’ The Band Back Together
You’re almost guaranteed not to be familiar with these next bands, (it’s a twofer, I cheated) but you will be soon if all goes well. I was lucky enough to see the play getting the band back together with Miss Sexy Armpit at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick in its early phase. It’s been rumored for a while now that it’s on making it’s way to Broadway. If this happens, you may be seeing Rock of Ages take a back seat because that is how funny and entertaining this play is. The comedy/rock musical hybrid is about, you guessed it, a guy who gets his band back together to save his home and neighborhood. They get into a battle of the bands which pits the evil Mouthfeel against the rock heroes in Juggernaut. The original songs are ’80s arena rock style and a select few are available on iTunes. Unfortunately the self titled track “Mouthfeel” isn’t available. I hope Mouthfeel’s tracks make it to the Broadway show otherwise I’m protesting in ’80s hair band attire.

3. Eddie and the Cruisers, 1983
This Jersey classic is possibly one of the most successful fictitious band songs ever. “On The Dark Side,” by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, scored a number one hit on the Mainstream Rock singles and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The sequel, Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives, arrived in 1989.

2. Tears of Blood, Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place
If you follow me on Twitter, you may have read about how my life has spun out of control ever since Netflix removed Wizards of Waverly Place from their streaming service. I was completely devastated. It was like a punch in the gut! It’s one of my favorite shows of all time and it never fails to make me happy. One minor aspect of the show references a rock band called Tears of Blood. They get mentioned in a bunch of episodes and there’s even a poster that shows up on the wall in one scene. TOB is crazy popular with the teenage crowd within the universe of the show. They even get mentioned in other Disney shows which was always surprising considering the very un-Disney-like name of one of their tracks, “Crying Blood for You.” I can’t be certain anyone has actually heard their music though. If anyone has Tears of Blood music, send it my way!

1. The Hex Girls, Scooby Doo
Scooby Doo fans are ultra familiar with this “eco-goth rock band.” You can see and hear them perform in several Scooby outings, but I suggest you check out the Mystery Inc. episode “In Fear of the Phantom” while it’s still streaming on Netflix. In it, Daphne joins the band as a temporary new member, Crush, voiced by the lovely Grey DeLisle-Griffin. Look out for the influences of Phantom of the Opera, Phantom of the Paradise, and an awesome little surprise cameo from Vincent Van Ghoul from the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo!

Who are some of your favorite fictional bands? Leave ’em in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Nerd Lunch Podcast 164: The 4th Chair Army of DOOM!

Some of our Internet cohorts and I banded together for a hostile takeover of the Nerd Lunch Podcast. Villainous guest host Shawn Robare from Branded in the ’80s, Jaime from ShezCrafti, Rondal Scott from Strange Kids Club and myself infiltrated the Nerd Lunch HQ and started recording our own show in place of CT, Pax, and Jeeg. Just like the super-villains we are, we pondered some of our most favorite cartoon villains, those villains who influenced our career as evildoers. I had fun doing this one, mostly because I had a chance to talk about two of my favorite topics: villains and cartoons. Just a note about my monologue in the beginning of the show: that was a joint effort between Shawn and I. Shawn wrote the thing and then I added a few things, changed some wording, and made it my own, but credit should be given to Shawn for that as well! Do you think the real Nerd Lunch crew will be able to get their show back? Take a listen to find out and let us know your favorite cartoon villains!

Nerd Lunch EXTRA Helping: KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park!

In case you missed this news, hot off the heels of a fun Nerd Lunch Halloween special with guest Dinosaur Dracula, I’m back again with Jeeg and Pax for an EXTRA HELPING of the podcast where we discuss all the intricacies of the legendary film KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park! We had a great time with this one so definitely check it out right here, or on iTunes!

Nerd Lunch Episode 152: Halloween Show 2014!

Somehow, my crazy long intros and ridiculously intricate carry over questions haven’t gotten me banned from The Nerd Lunch Podcast just yet! I’m back on for the Halloween show where we discuss our Halloween memories and our favorite edible Halloween related products as well as design our own! (You can check mine out below) That’s not even the best part…guess who the very special guest is? Making his first ever podcast appearance: The one and only Dinosaur Dracula! It’s a MUST-LISTEN!

Nerd Lunch 145: The Poor Man’s Podcast

X is the Poor Man’s Y is the subject of this week’s episode of the Nerd Lunch Podcast. Once again I’m in the 4th chair joining Pax, Jeeg, and Carlin from Pod, James Pod (just want to stress that he’s not C.T.) It was an interesting discussion about actors, toys, and cartoons. Download it to your phone or iPod or check it out above. Thanks for listening!

Nerd Lunch Podcast Episode 134: Batman 75

You may have noticed that I’ve been on a bit of hiatus as of late, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not gearing up for a summer comeback! While I’m still working on a couple of things for the site that will be unveiled very soon, take a listen to the latest episode of Nerd Lunch that Michael May (of The Adventure Blog) and myself hang out on to discuss EVERYTHING BATMAN in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Dark Knight Detective with Pax, CT, and Jeeg. It was a whopper of an episode, but an excellent listen, especially for Bat-Fans! You can listen via the player above, or go to iTunes and SUBSCRIBE to the Nerd Lunch Podcast! Show them some love and give them a review there too! Thanks for your continued support and come back soon as we get ready for the summer season here at The Sexy Armpit!

Nerd Lunch 128: KILL ME NOW!

Nerd Lunch Podcast

The Nerd Lunch Podcast invited me back on for their “Kill Me Now” episode. This installment was all about the things we do for our significant others that we don’t necessarily want to do, but we do it for them anyway and vice versa. Topics weren’t limited to seeing romantic comedies, but also events we got dragged to, and other abysmal things like boy bands. It was a fun conversation as I joined Jeeg, and Paxton Holley so give it a listen or download it from iTunes. Thanks for checking it out!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN:
http://nerdlunch.blogspot.com/2014/04/nerd-lunch-podcast-128-kill-me-now.html

Nerd Lunch Episode 109: Convention Experiences

Take a listen to the latest installment of the Nerd Lunch Podcast! Episode 109 features C.T, Pax, Jason Liebig of Collecting Candy, and yours truly discussing our convention experiences. We cover all ground from comics to sci-fi cons. It was fun to record this one and I know you’ll enjoy it, so give it a download or stream it right here!
 
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Podcast Challenge Accepted Captain Needa

 photo sludgeypodcast1_zps06c0ec47.jpgI’m gonna leave poor Captain Needa out of this since he really has nothing to do with it. OK, so, no one really challenged me to do anything, but I wanted to make it sound more intriguing to you. Being challenged sounds like it requires a lot of hard work to complete, but listening to various podcast episodes was not like climbing K2 I can assure you. I enjoyed discovering some new shows and I will tell you more about them in this post.

On my journey to expand my podcast listening palette, I realized I might have to temporarily forgo my typical shows in order to incorporate some new ones. One of my favorite podcast for the last few years has been The Nerdist, and they’re mega popular so they don’t need any more press or accolades. Same goes for Smodcast (Kevin Smith’s podcasting network) shows such as Fatman on Batman. Let me say that I love listening to those shows, but this week I felt the need to see what else I was missing. I felt like I might have been trapped in a podcasting bubble.

As stated many times before here at The Sexy Armpit, I’m like the Sy Sperling of the Nerd Lunch podcast. I’ve been a frequent “4th chair” guest on the show, but I’m also a fan. So, if you’ve been dragging your feet and still haven’t checked out their show, now is a great time to jump on. C.T, Pax, and Jeeg just celebrated their 100th episode that featured the return of former members of the show as well as clips and questions for various guests they’ve had on through their run such as myself. Just as a side note, in addition to a bunch of other episodes, I’m proud to say that I was on episode 69 DUDES!

In the process of looking for further podcasts to check out, I turned to the next logical option: The Cult Film Club Podcast. The CFC is hosted by Paxton Holley, Shawn Robare, and Jaime Hood all members of our stake of geekery on the Internet.

The crew gets into detail about films that may not usually get the spotlight such as one my favorite ’80s cult films, The Wraith and The Beastmaster. What I find most appealing about this show is that I usually walk away with some tiny bit of knowledge about a film that I may not have been aware of previously. Toward the end of their conversation they task each other to recast the films they are discussing which makes for a fun and interesting time. Between life, family, blogs of their own, and other projects, I have no idea how they keep up with it all. I suggest checking them out. They’ve got a really cool looking website and graphics. http://cultfilmclub.com/

Not sure how I could be completely unaware of one of the most popular horror podcasts around, but sometimes I’m pretty oblivious to things. Bloody Good Horror has a huge fan base and for good reason. These guys are good. They’ve been at it for so long and their crew has an awesome chemistry because they genuinely seem to be good friends. I’m not sure if they actually are, but it sure sounds that way. Coming from a dude like me who spent many years working in FM and AM radio, this show has a polished sound, from the bumpers to the beer suggestions. They let each other speak and the pacing never gets boring. Pick out a few of your favorite horror films, chances are they’ve done a show about some of them, and listen to one of the best horror podcasts available.

Other shows I checked out and enjoyed include UnderScoopFire Podcast, and He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner Podcast. As for famous people, I’m not going to gush over their shows because they have networks behind them throwing them wads of cash, but I avidly listen to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s show, Jay Mohr’s non-sports show, as well as many of Kevin Smith’s various podcasts.

Thank you for joining me to read about my podcast challenge. If you still haven’t made the jump to discovering the vast world of podcasts, get on it! There’s a lot of poorly produced crap out there, but there’s also some real high quality, independently produced shows that would love to gain new listeners. Head over to iTunes and subscribe to some of these shows now – they are FREE!