The Downbeat

My guests on the podcast this week are Chris Davis and Andrew Tkaczyk of THE GHOST INSIDE. In 2015 The Ghost Inside suffered through a life changing bus crash which claimed lives, limbs and nearly the future of the band. 10 years later TGI is stronger than ever - thanks to the mental fortitude of the members and an ingenious device created by Andrew’s father ‘THE HAMMER’ that allows him to play the drums perfectly while missing most of his leg. A truly harrowing and inspirational story, this is a podcast that shouldn’t have as many laughs as it does.

No episode this week. The vibe does not match the collective grief of the heavy music community. Back next week.

My guest on the podcast this week is Cody Quistad, guitarist of Wage War. With 4.3 BILLION streams to his name, Cody is also an incredibly talented and sought-after songwriter. We caught up to talk about Wage War’s new EP ‘It Calls Me By Name’ as well as what he thinks of the modern scene and the term’ Octanecore’ - when heavy breakdowns meet active rock choruses, which is something that Cody pretty much single handedly brought into the mainstream. Big brain on this lad.

My guests on The Downbeat podcast this week are Tūranga Morgan-Edmonds and Lewis de Jong of ALIEN WEAPONRY.Alien Weaponry are a groove metal band from New Zealand, and their music and lyrics heavily reflect all three members’ Māori ancestry. This episode digs into said ancestry with conversations about Tā moko (traditional Māori tattoos) as well as the Haka, a ceremonial Māori dance that the band performs on stage. We also discuss their new album Te Ra, meeting your idols, working with Randy Blythe, and touring with Gojira. A truly educational episode 2.5 hour episode… and I could have done 2.5 more.

My guests on the podcast this week are Flo and Kevin of LANDMVRKS. We talk About the struggles around making their new album ‘The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been’, as well as Flo’s battle with anxiety, the importance of their role in France’s burgeoning metal scene, US ‘cuisine’…and graffiti

My guest on the podcast this week is Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood. Acclaimed guitarist and producer whose credits include Animals as Leaders, Periphery and Sleep Token. Nolly is also the co-founder of GGD - a hugely successful plugin company that went from being two friends with a mutual love of capturing drum tones to a household name in the world of music production. We talk in depth about the origin and ethos of GGD, his career as musician and producer, and of course the development of MY new plugin on their platform: One Kit Wonder: The Downbeat. He’s a very nice and successful man

My guest on the podcast this week is Cody Ash. Cody is the drumming powerhouse behind the country megastar Jelly Roll. We tell the entire story of his career trajectory - from sleeping in a van in metalcore bands all the way to his current gig playing sold out arenas alongside the likes of Eminem and Post Malone.

My guest this week is George Lesage Clarke IV (seriously). George is the vocalist of the pioneering black metal/shoegaze band Deafheaven. A deeply poetic and well read man, we do a deep dive on their latest album Lonely People With Power (my AOTY) his lyrics, the nature of hereditary vices…and Cradle Of Filth.

My guests on the podcast this week are Alex Terrible and Jack Simmons of Slaughter To Prevail. In this no-holds-barred episode I talk to the Russian deathcore band about their meteoric success and Alex’s recent bareknuckle boxing injuries - as well as settling into life in the USA, wrestling with bears... and the full story on everything controversial surrounding the band.

My guest on the podcast this week is Aaron Gillespie, a founding member of the band Underoath and a well established songwriter and producer. We talked the state of the music industry, work ethic, his 5 year stint in Paramore, drums, and much more. Aaron was originally on the audio podcast with an on-location episode that unfortunately had all sorts of technical issues so it was great to have him back.

My guests on the podcast this week are Matt Honeycutt and Eric English of KUBLAI KHAN. We caught up to talk about their latest album Exhibition of Prowess, Matt’s short stint working at Hot-Topic, tattooing, ghosts, scary movies, fast food and much more...

My guest this week is Aric Improta, visionary drummer and artist. You might know Aric from his videos where he backflips on a drum kit, you might know him from his paintings and artwork released in many forms under the moniker Hexwave, you might know him from his drumming with bands like Fever 333, Night Verses, or might know him as 1/2 of his new blistering project HOUSE OF PROTECTION whose new record OUTRUN YOU ALL is out NOW...but if you dont't know Aric, you should.