Albums Unleashed - KISS Carnival of Souls Pt 1 w/Toby Wright

We wanted to get into something polarizing and divisive this week. Mission accomplised...

Famed producer Toby Wright sits down with Chris and Aaron this week for part 1 of a 2 part Albums Unleashed special covering KISS' 1997 release Carnival of Souls.

Shelved in early 1996 by Mercury Records due to KISS taking a left turn at Reunionville, Carnival of Souls leaked shortly thereafter and was bootlegged in large numbers necessitating an official release in October of 1997.

In this hour-plus part 1 episode, Toby Wright recounts his initial meetings with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley about the "new direction" in which the band was deciding to head, his impressions of the songs being written for the album, and the tracking of basic tracks. The track by track discussion in this episode includes Toby's memories of the creation of songs 'Hate,' 'Rain,' 'Master & Slave,' 'Childhoods End,' ' I Will Be There,' and 'Jungle.' Discussion of tension between Simmons & Stanley over arrangements is also included as well as Wright's memories of a tense mixing session with Simmons in regards to his bass part in one of the songs and how, due to the co-production credit on the album, politics and diplomacy had to be in delicate balance.

It's the first half of deep talk about one of KISS' most polarizing albums; with many members of the KISS Army either loving it or hating it. We hope you enjoy Albums Unleashed - Carnival of Souls with Toby Wright.

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EDITOR NOTE: Much of the source material for questions presented in this 2 part special from Bruce Kulick's fantastic Carnival of Souls Retrospective. Click HERE to check it out!




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Rock n Rolodex - Ep178

After having full intention of recording a new Year in Review episode, life got in the way but something more fun came from it; talking to you!

Aaron and Chris call an audible this week. Instead of an intended Year in Review show (don't worry, it'll still happen), the guys get on the blower and talk to you! In this hour-plus interactive episode, your hosts have quick chats with friends of the show including listeners, musicians, and hosts of other great podcasts; all answering one important question. 

You'll hear from folks including Mitch Lafon (One on One with Mitch Lafon), Victor Ruiz (Mars Attacks Podcast), Joe Polo (Podcast Rock City), Ian Wadley (Rock and Metal Combat Podcast), Roch Vallaincourt (Radioactive Metal Podcast), Ryan Cook (Big Rock Show/Hair of the Dog), Chip Z'nuff (Enuff Z'nuff), and many others including numerous Decibel Geek listeners. This was a bit of an experiment but it was a lot of fun to record. We hope you enjoy Rock n Rolodex!

Calls in Order

Jeff “Crippler” Daniels – Nirvana ‘Dumb’

Andrew Jacobs – Beatles ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’

Warren Money – Van Halen ‘Top of the World’

Jack Broad – Beatles – ‘Helter Skelter’

Billy Hardaway – Iron Maiden – ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’

Ian Wadley – Van Halen ‘Romeo Delight’

Brian Ingbretson – Iron Maiden ‘Powerslave’

JTB - Elvis Preley – 'Promised Land'

Mitch Lafon – Metallica – ‘Creeping Death’

Ryan Cook – KISS – ‘100,000 Years’ 

Bill Wang – Rush – 'Cygnus X-1'

Joe Polo – KISS – 'Creatures of the Night'

Nicholas (wrong #) – Pearl Jam – 'Black'

Victor Ruiz – KISS – 'All Hell’s Breaking Loose'

Ben Mitchell – KISS – Take it Off

Trevor McDougall – KISS –'Unholy'

Roch Vallaincourt – KISS – 'Let Me Go Rock n’Roll' 

Chip Z’nuff – Beatles – Dear Prudence

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Todd Cunningham, Joe Royland, David Alpizar, David Stonich, Marc Alden Taylor, Jeff Hogland, Warren Money, James Brendon Dunn, Joel Hebensperger, Jay Barth, Chris Karam, Ian Wadley, Shane Hebert, Wally Norton, Derik Novak, Corey Nowlin, Ben Mitchell, Trevor McDougall, Robert Foster, Matt Bradshaw, Joe Lascon, Mark Lo, Brent Tibbets, Brent Walter, Andrew Jacobs, Howard Tate, Sit and Spin with Joe, Dave Shirt,  Greg “Woody” Embry, Mark Edwards, Jimi Love, Brandt Cattell, Chad Pollock, hoops, Rock and Roll GPS, Dave Stell, thekissroom, hkcollectibles, Billy Hardaway, Hot Metal Magazine, RAW Magazine, Faces Rocks Magazine, Loudmouth, Daniel Chaput, Jack Broad Viking Girl

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KISS Road Stories with Hot Sam - Ep177

There's been a lot of talk in the KISS fan world about the original road crew. This week, we have one of them on to talk about the good old days.

Jay "Hot Sam" Barth guests this week to discuss his time working for KISS during their rise to stardom. As front-of-house sound mixer, Hot Sam had a great seat to watch Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter slay audiences on a nightly basis. In this discussion, Hot Sam discusses his time working with the band on the Dressed to Kill tour, the recording of KISS Alive!, the popularity of the band in his hometown of Detroit, and the changes that he witnessed during the Destroyer tour in 1976.

Other members of the original KISS crew have released a book documenting the era entitled, 'Out on the Streets.' It can be purchased HERE

The Decibel Geek podcast thanks Jay "Hot Sam" Barth for coming on the show and sharing his memories of working with KISS.


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Brent Walter, Nikos Tevelis, David Alpizar, Devin Fox, Todd Cunningham, Justin Hayes, Jeff Hogland, Warren Money, Andrew Jacobs, Trevor McDougall, Mike Blount, James Brendon Dunn, Wayne Cross, Marc Alden Taylor, Ian Wadley (Rock & Metal Combat Podcast), Shane Hebert, Darren Parkin, Sit & Spin with Joe, Brian Knapp, Chad Pollock, Tom Cullen, Vic Rector, Bill, Jack Russell, Mojo Dave, hoops, DC, Derik Novak, Daniel Lee, Armando Serna, Stealth, MusicMagsAndWax, RAW Magazine, Hot Metal Magazine, Loudmouth, Faces Rocks Magazine

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Conversation with Blanche Napoleon - Ep174

We dig deep into the Decibel Geek vault for something never heard before.

Chris and Aaron present a chat with former Dan Hartman group member Blanche Napoleon. The group, formed in the late 70's by Hartman (a former member of the Edgar Winter group) and included Napoleon on backing vocals, drummer Hilly Michaels, G.E. Smith, and a young, unknown guitarist named Vincent Cusano. The Hartman group had a Hot 100 disco hit in 'Instant Replay'; of which the promo video has gained some popularity in recent years due to the "interesting" choreography between Cusano and Smith.

Blanche shares her memories of Vinnie during his musically formative years, the bond between the band members, Hartman's connection to other musical notables of the day, the disco nightlife of the late 70's in New York City and much more.


Editor's Note: The interview portion of this episode was recorded in December of 2011. It was shelved at the time due to being too far out of demographic. Upon further reflection and a growing fanbase with diverse tastes, it's being released now. Apologies to Blanche Napoleon and her appearance on The Decibel Geek podcast is much appreciated.

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David Alpizar, Mike Blount, Danny Allen Clark, Matt Ashcraft, Devin Fox, Brent Walter, Joseph Ciambelli, Scott Olinger, Mark Alden Taylor, Joe Lascon, Matt Syverson (Paperback Rocker podcast), Joe Royland (Sit and Spin with Joe podcast), Ian Wadley (Rock and Metal Combat podcast, Chris Karam, Joey Vanchieri, Jeff Hogland, James Brendon Dunn, Warren Money, Ken Mills (Podkisst, Cheap Talk podcast), Wayne Newburn, Darren Parkin, Chad Pollock, Gus G. Derik Novak, Hard Rocking Trivia Show, Jason Wood, The Mooger Fooger, John Sturm, MusicMagsAndWax, Billy Hardaway, Daniel Chaput, RAW Magazine, Hot Metal Magazine, Loudmouth, Faces Rocks Magazine

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Albums Unleashed - Slave to the Grind

On June 11, 1991 rock and metal history was made when Skid Row released their followup album. Sophomore jinx? Nothing could be further from the truth.

This week Aaron and Chris return to Wire World Studios to sit down with legendary producer Michael Wagener to discuss the landmark album, Slave to the Grind. The followup to the self-titled Skid Row debut album left its mark as it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart. The album holds up today with its mix of sludgy guitars, dark lyrics, and powerful vocals from singer Sebastian Bach. In this discussion, Michael shares his memories of producing this album. You'll hear stories of the atmosphere of the recording process, the band's work ethic, and much, much more.

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Ride for Dime - Ep166

This week marks an anniversary that is anything but something to celebrate. That said, we pay tribute to a true metal icon and, more importantly, an amazing human being.

Aaron and Chris return this week to pay tribute to the memory of Dimebag Darrell. The iconic guitarist was murdered onstage 10 years ago this week. Since then, a series of bike rides for charity have sprung up all over the United States. We had rock photographer and friend of Darrell's, Chad Lee, on the show as he was gearing up for the Nashville chapter event in September. Chris attended the ride and documented the process while later being joined by Aaron for the knockout metal concert. 

In this Dimebag tribute special, you'll hear first-hand how the day unfolded for Nashville's Ride for Dime event; from the bar-b-que before the ride and party that includes chats with Chad Lee, Steve Bumpus of Bumpus Harley Davidson (hosts for the event), Nancy Sayle (Rock for MS), and guitarist Nick Bowcott (Grim Reaper). The episode moves into the evening and features backstage talks with Sirius/XM deejay Jose Mangin as well as a lengthy talk with former Black Label Society guitarist Nick Catanese. It's a fly-on-the-wall perspective of a day that saw thousands of people coming together to help out charities and remember a metal legend and amazing person. We hope you dig it.

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Conversation with Toddzilla - Ep165

One of our favorite past guests and friend of the show returns this week for a more personal reason.

Todd Austin (aka Toddzilla) returns to the Decibel Geek Podcast this week and boy is he packing some great stories. If you don't remember, Toddzilla was Aaron and Chris' guest for Episode 113 - Roth-Era Van Halen Discussion. In that discussion, the guys picked favorite tunes from Eddie and co. but Toddzilla's stories were so memorable and entertaining, they elicited a lot of listeners asking for him to return.

In this conversation, Todd shares some of stories of his long career in and around the music industry. Entertaining tales involving Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, and Gene Simmons highlight just a portion of the talk.

Other subjects touched upon include the growth of the Nashville rock music scene, a strange encounter with Johnny Cash, and details of a documentary in-production covering Toddzilla's life.

Geeks of the Week:
Todd Cunningham, Matt Ashcraft, Howard Tate, Warren Money, Chris Karam, Kal Hinz, Derik Novak, Justin Ace Sixx, Dan Miles, Mike Blount, Shane Hebert, Matt Syverson, Scott Olinger, Brent Walter, Brian Knapp, Chad Pollock, MusicMagsAndWax, Hoops, Adam Cox, Raw Magazine, Hot Metal Magazine, Loudmouth Column, Faces Rocks Magazine, Viking Girl, Pep Pep, Jack Broad, Joel DeLorge, Snark at the Moon Billy Hardaway, Nick Rose, Robert, Collins, Singer International.

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Albums Unleashed Motley Crue with John Corabi Part 2 - Ep160

After a huge response to last week's part 1, we're back to pick up our talk with John Corabi about the 1994 self-titled Motley Crue album.

We pick up Albums Unleashed - Motley Crue with John Corabi part 2 with a discussion of Hooligan's Holiday. From there John guides us through the creative process for each song on the album; highlighting the motives for the lyrics as well as some surprising revelations about the origin of some of the music on the album and a great story about Glenn Hughes' involvement in the recording for Misunderstood.

Other topics touched on in this long-form discussion include
the much-talked-about MTV interview that strained the network's relationship with the band, the possibility of the band changing their name during the making of the album, one song that was re-written for the album five times and another that was almost torpedoed by record company politics; leading to a fight from the band for its inclusion. All of that and A LOT more!

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Check out Part 1 HERE!

Albums Unleashed Motley Crue with John Corabi Part1 - Ep159

We're back with the second installment of our Albums Unleashed series and it's been a long time coming but we truly believe it's been worth the wait.

John Corabi joins Aaron and Chris this week to discuss what is arguably one of the most underrated albums of all-time; Motley Crue's self-titled album from 1994. In part one of this discussion, John helps us lay the groundwork into the story of the album with stories of his audition process, pre-production for the album, and the maddening-yet-rewarding experience of working with legendary producer Bob Rock.

John also shares revelations into the decision-making process of Motley Crue at that time; choosing to abandon the previously-blazed path of lyrics about rock and roll decadence and focus on delivering an album that's powerful not only musically but thought-provoking in its exploration of dark social commenatary. Tracks discussed in part one of this discussion include 'Hammered,' 'Power to the Music,' 'Uncle Jack,' and 'Hooligan's Holiday.' Also covered in this episode is information on John's current plans to perform the Motley album in-full at select upcoming dates with his band that includes guitarists Jeremy Asbrock, Josh Dutoit, bassist Topher Nolen and John's son Ian Corabi.

Next week we return to the track by track of the remainder of the album and it promises not to disappoint as John is very forthcoming in sharing the impetus for each song, it's process of creation, and his thoughts on them in hindsight.

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Check out Part 2 HERE!

Keyboardist Discussion with Gary Corbett - Ep156

No previous guest has garnered more attention (and controversy) to the Decibel Geek podcast than Gary Corbett. And this week, he's back for a different reason.

This week Gary Corbett returns to the Decibel Geek Podcast to join Chris and Aaron in a discussion of notable keyboardists throughout rock and metal history. In this long-form conversation, the guys point out some of their favorite keyboard players and favorite keyboard/synthesizer parts of songs throughout rock history.

This in-depth discussion with Gary Corbett also includes personal stories of Gary's involvement with keys throughout his life; from his early days of piano lessons at age 4 to his love for the British Invasion to the influence of prog-rock on him throughout high school and into his work from the 80's onward with artists such as Cyndi Lauper, KISS, and Cinderella

A lot of laughs, personal memories, and great music throughout this hour-plus discussion on keyboardists. Join Gary, Chris, and Aaron on a trip down memory lane.

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It's Alive! Top 5 Live Albums with Luc Carl - Ep155

It's hard to believe that this week's theme has not been covered on the Decibel Geek Podcast but today it takes place.

Media worlds collide this week as SiriusXM deejay and author Luc Carl joins the Decibel Geek podcast to discuss their Top 5 Live Albums. When picking parameters for their choices it was mutually agreed that each person would choose albums that had a personal meaning to them in their journey through music and life. Because of that, you're going to hear a wide variety of picks; some you'll agree with and others you won't. Either way, there's lots of tunes, lots of laughs, and lots of great stories shared between Chris, Aaron, and the Ayatollah of Jack and Cola, Luc Carl!

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