Welcome to Episode 313 of Life In The Stocks. My guest this week is Joe Escalante from The Vandals. I had the pleasure of Joe's company and friendship on the Flogging Molly Cruise last year and it was wonderful to welcome him onto the podcast. We talk about discovering punk rock, switching Fat Mike onto punk rock, and building a life and career out of punk rock. We also discuss how the classic Vandals line-up of Joe Escalante, Dave Quackenbush, Warren Fitzgerald and Josh Freese came about, and the relationship between those four guys over the years. Joe also works in TV & Film and he now manages Sublime, so we get into some of that stuff as well, and we even touch a little on faith and spirituality at the end. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as me. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karina Deniké from NOFX and Dance Hall Crashers joins me this week. It's a lovely chat with a lovely lady. NOFX are out on the road throughout 2024 as part of The Final Tour with shows in Australia, Japan, Europe, the US and Canada. Tickets can be purchased via www.nofxofficialwebsite.com Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Exene is someone else I met on the Flogging Molly Cruise - we actually met on the 2022 Salty Dog Cruise, it's just taken me until now to invite her onto the show. But everything happens for a reason, all in due time. I genuinely believe this. This was such a soul-stirring and inspiring conversation. We discuss sobriety, recovery, relationships, heartache, creativity and so much more. I felt more like an exercise in life advice than an interview and I'm very grateful to Exene for her friendship, wisdom and guidance. She's an amazing person, not to mention an incredible artist and songwriter. If you're not familiar with the music of X, get to know it. Be sure to check out all of Exene's other projects too: her solo albums, the records with John Doe, The Knitters, Original Sinners, Auntie Christ. There's so much good music to explore and I encourage everyone to dive in. Happy listening!!! Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Vic from The Slackers on the Flogging Molly Cruise. And I new right away I had to get him on the podcast. The Slackers are not only one of the best (and most criminally overlooked) contemporary ska bands, Vic is also an incredible songwriter and musician and a real old school New York character. I'm sure he has stories for days. And we get into some of them here, from growing up in the Bronx and the New York music scene to the history of The Slackers and his connection with Rancid and the Transplants, and the importance of politics and a social message in his music. I loved this conversation and I hope you do too. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Merry Christmas boys and girls!!! I thought I'd do something a little different for this special Christmas episode of LITS and share with you an episode of my other podcast Stoke The Fire, a show that I co-host with my best friend Jesse Leach from Killswitch Engage. We launched the show during COVID as a means of connecting in a time of much division and unrest, and something we've continued (albeit sporadically) into a post-COVID world. Many of the guests that've appeared on Life In The Stocks have also appeared on Stoke The Fire, and if you think this podcast is deep, we go way DEEP on Stoke The Fire. STF has become like therapy to Jesse and I and our listeners over the last couple of years, and today seemed like the perfect time to share a very heartfelt, vulnerable and honest conversation between the pair of us to give you a flavour of what Stoke The Fire is all about. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to that podcast as well and check out the other 71 episodes that we've published. Merry Christmas everyone, and thank you for all the support this year. It really means a lot. Love to all. xFollow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Tremonti many times over the last 12 years, for Kerrang! Radio, Scuzz TV and Metal Hammer, but this is his first appearance on Life In The Stocks. We talk a little bit about Creed and Alter Bridge, obviously, but the main focus on this conversation is the latest couple of solo records Mark has put out, namely his Frank Sinatra covers album and the Christmas album he just released, Christmas Classics New & Old. As a huge fan of both Sinatra and Christmas music, I was fascinated by the idea of a metal shredder guitarist taking on this material, and doing such a great job of interpreting and making it their own. Mark really knocked it out of the park with both albums. We discuss the creative and business approach to both, and also the charitable organisation and driving force behind both projects, namely the National Down Syndrome Society (https://ndss.org/) in the US and Down Syndrome International (https://www.ds-int.org/) in the UK. Thank you to Mark for a brilliant conversation. It was great to reconnect and catch up with him. I hope you all enjoy our conversation. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The wait is finally over. Whit Crane is probably the most requested guest in the history of Life In The Stocks. We've been friends for over ten years now, and people are always asking me, "When's Whit Crane coming on the podcast?" We were just biding our time for the right moment, and this was truly it. An Evening with Whitfield Crane, as recorded live at the West Hampstead Arts Club October 26. Thank you to everyone who made it out to the show. It was an incredibly special evening filled with stimulating conversation, awesome acoustic music and excellent company. I've left the live music out of the podcast, like I tend to do with these live podcasts - I like to leave something specifically for the people who were there in the room with us. But here's the full interview and audience Q&A for your enjoyment. Let the radness begin!!!Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This conversation you're about to hear was recorded live on the final day of the Flogging Molly Salty Dog Cruise 2023. My guest is legendary pro-skater, punk rocker and all-round nice guy, Steve Caballero. This is not a conversation about skateboarding or punk rock, however. Those conversations with Cab are out there and they are excellent. This is something a little different. This is a conversation about life, faith, and the human condition. Thank you to Cab for being so courageously open and vulnerable with me. And thank you to everyone who was on the boat with us. The Salty Dog community is the greatest community I have ever known and I truly cannot wait to set sail with you all again. Until then, stay safe, and look after yourselves and each other. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's conversation is another double-header interview. Hollywood legend Billy Bob Thornton and Grammy Award-winning recording engineer J.D. Andrew from The Boxmasters join me for Episode 305 of Life In The Stocks to talk rock 'n' roll, Christmas music, Captain Beefheart and a whole lot more. Cheers to the fellas for taking the time out. I really enjoyed this one. I hope you do, too! Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the first in the history of Life In The Stocks - two guests from different projects join me on the podcast. I welcome both Marty Friedman (Megadeth/Solo) and Debbie Gough (Heriot) onto Episode 304 of LITS to discuss the launch of the the Jackson Virtuoso guitar, and that leads into a larger conversation about guitar music and heavy metal in general. There's something for everyone in this episode, from inspiration and influences to the past, present and future of the genre. I hope you enjoy!!!Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keith "Monkey" Warren from The Adicts joins me for Episode 303 of Life In The Stocks to talk all things Adicts and all things punk rock. You can catch Monkey giving guided tours at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas this week. Happy Halloween!!!Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author, artist and filmmaker James Spooner joins me for Episode 302 of Life In The Stocks. We discuss his debut documentary feature film Afro Punk, which came out 20 years ago this year, and the accompanying exhibition that James has running at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas from now until March 2024, called Black Punk Now. We talk about punk music in relation to African American culture, mainstream versus alternative culture, commercialism, capitalism, racial issues, gender politics, the Me Too movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, and so much more. It's a proper intellectual and socio-political deep dive this week, and we get into some really interesting and important stuff. I hope you take something positive away from it. Thanks to James for the stimulating and enlightening conversation. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My great friends - and now I can finally say touring buddies - Barney Boom & Laila K from Sonic Boom Six join me for the first episode of Series Four of Life In The Stocks for a super in-depth heart-to-heart discsussion that covers everything from friendship, wellbeing and self-empowerment to the music industry, the UK ska punk scene, the past, present & future of Sonic Boom Six, and a whole lot more. I love these guys like family. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Follow me on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @mattstocksdjMy first two books (Life In The Stocks Volume One & Two) are also out NOW and available to buy from all reputable online book stores. Signed copies can be purchased direct from the publishers: rarebirdlit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.