Beardo And Weirdo

Geoff Tate, original lead singer of Queensryche, sits down with Chris Kael and Craig Gass on Beardo and Weirdo to share never-before-heard stories from four decades in progressive metal — from hearing "The Lady Wore Black" on the radio for the first time while building transistor radios to getting politely dismissed by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at an Earls Court afterparty. The conversation covers Operation Mindcrime's final tour, the real story behind the Queensryche split, and what Gene Simmons actually said that changed everything.Tate reveals that Silent Lucidity, Queensryche's biggest hit with over 26,000 monthly YouTube searches, nearly got cut from the album entirely — saved only after orchestrator Michael Kamen delivered his arrangement and brought the entire studio to tears. He also recounts touring with Metallica on the And Justice for All tour for a full year, opening for Def Leppard in arena spectacles, and driving VW vans across Europe with Ronnie James Dio's blessing and only one roadie handling all the gear.The episode digs into how record labels pressured Queensryche to sound like Bonnie Tyler, tried to carve the ten-minute "Suite Sister Mary" into three radio singles, and why Tate never compromised his creative vision despite the machine pushing back. Chris DeGarmo's departure, the corporate dissolution of the band, and the infamous knife story rumors all get addressed directly. Tate now runs Backstage Pass Travel with his wife Susan, taking thirty fans per trip to villas in Italy, castles in Germany, and off-the-beaten-path locations across Europe where John Moyer from Disturbed co-writes songs with attendees.From making Tina Turner tea without recognizing her at Mayfair Studios in London, to Alice Cooper custom-fitting him a TaylorMade driver at a celebrity golf tournament, to listening to Dark Side of the Moon on a grassy hill while getting stoned with Ronnie James Dio at his final festival performances — Geoff Tate delivers the kind of first-person rock and roll history that only someone with forty years on the road can tell.

Bruce Kulick, lead guitarist of KISS from 1984 to 1996, sits down for his first major interview since surviving open heart surgery earlier this year. Diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve over a decade ago, Kulick details the full story of his valve replacement — from the initial diagnosis in Sherman Oaks to the four-hour procedure at Dignity St. Rose hospital in Henderson, Nevada — and explains why proactive cardiac monitoring saved his life before he became, in his own words, "a walking time bomb."The conversation covers Kulick's sternum recovery, his month sleeping in a recliner, the physical therapy that rebuilt his strength, and the emotional shift that followed. Kulick describes feeling more energy and clarity than before the surgery, crediting his wife Lisa and surgeon Dr. De Sheer for the outcome. He also shares the bizarre post-angiogram complication no doctor warned him about and the KISS fan profusionist who told him, "I kept you alive for 80 minutes."Beyond the health story, Kulick opens up about the KISS MTV Unplugged taping that catalyzed the original lineup reunion, why he called the KISS farewell show at Madison Square Garden "a missed opportunity," and his current relationship with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. He reveals that a new solo album is underway with collaborators Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz, Zach Thorne, and songwriter Joe McGinnis — including a song called "Without Her" written during recovery about Lisa's role in his survival.Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch and comedian Craig Gass host this episode of Beardo and Weirdo, recorded in Las Vegas. Kulick reflects on meeting Brian May in 1975, the Vinnie Vincent Nashville performance, and why the non-makeup era of KISS deserves more recognition from newer fans discovering the catalog on streaming platforms.Kulick closes with a message about proactive health for the rock and roll community — get physicals, listen to doctors, and follow recovery instructions to the letter.

Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch and comedian Craig Gass react to the Carrot Top Self Harm Story, share their own battles with addiction and depression, and accept their Best Podcast award from Vegas Rocks magazine — all on the same night. The episode moves from dark humor about their friend Scott Thompson to raw, unscripted confessions about what it feels like when nothing can reach a person spiraling toward rock bottom.Chris reveals two self harm attempts within 30 days during his time in Five Finger Death Punch, describing how waking up after a failed attempt became the moment of clarity that pushed him into recovery. Criag shares his own experience with cocaine-fueled depression, recognizing the chemical crash as a warning sign before it was too late. Both hosts stress that the people most likely to follow through are the ones who never tell anyone — and that letting friends know they are loved is the only preventive measure that matters.The conversation shifts from the heavy to the absurd when Criag recounts being Jedi-mind-tricked by Henry Rollins using the exact same technique Criag invented for dismissing drunk fans backstage. Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai, and Michael Anthony all appear at the Vegas Rocks award ceremony, where Sheehan — the man who once handed Kael the Revolver Golden Gods Best Bass Player award — greets him with a casual "nice to meet you." Kael turns the sting into a lesson about how celebrities protect themselves from awkward fan interactions.The final act covers Criag attending Iron Maiden in a stadium with Megadeth and Anthrax opening, leading to a side-by-side comparison of Janick Gers prancing onstage and Billy Squier's career-ending music video — same dance moves, wildly different outcomes. Kael then previews the Yell With Kael singalong segment that has taken over Five Finger Death Punch's live shows, crediting his standup comedy work with the confidence to step out front as a solo performer.Beardo and Weirdo won Best Podcast at the Vegas Rocks Awards after just 18 months, and this episode proves exactly why — no other show pivots from Carrot Top jokes to genuine mental health advocacy without missing a beat.

Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi reveals never-told stories from inside the most chaotic tours in 80s metal history — including the night Kevin Dubrow physically choked out Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler on their shared tour bus. Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch and comedian Craig Gass sit down with the 23-year Quiet Riot veteran for a raw, uncensored conversation about addiction, dysfunction, and survival in the heavy metal touring circuit.Grossi details the 2004 Bad Boys of Metal tour where he served as house guitarist for Kevin Dubrow, Steven Adler, Janie Lane of Warrant, and Joe Leste of Bang Tango — all sharing one bus, all battling active addiction. The band burned through four buses in four weeks, and the tour crawled to its finish line at a biker bar in Yucaipa, California. Grossi also recounts how VH1's Celebrity Rehab production team deliberately supplied alcohol to Janie Lane and set up Steven Adler's on-camera arrest, staging moments designed to capture train wrecks rather than provide actual help.The episode covers Grossi's path from playing Connecticut bars at age 15 to getting accepted at Berklee College of Music, dropping out after realizing his instructors had never made it as working musicians, and learning the business side of touring directly from Kevin Dubrow and Frankie Banali. He shares firsthand accounts of Rudy Sarzo's legendary niceness, Kevin Dubrow's second-act humility, and how the 90s forced arena-level bands to reinvent themselves with rental cars and local backline. Grossi also discusses Jizzy Pearl's departure from Quiet Riot and the viral emergence of John Tora, a young vocalist whose Kevin Dubrow impression is so accurate that fans accused him of being AI-generated.Now five years sober after hitting his breaking point during the pandemic, Grossi reflects on watching addiction destroy Janie Lane, Steven Adler, and Mitch Hedberg while sharing hard-won perspective on what it takes to sustain a career — and a life — in rock and roll.

Josh Wolf sits down with Chris Kael of Five Finger Death Punch and comedian Craig Gass for a raw conversation about surviving 30 years in stand-up comedy, the 1990s Seattle open mic scene that produced Joey Diaz and Brody Stevens, and the George Carlin mentorship that changed everything. Fans of stand-up comedy history and behind-the-scenes comedian stories will hear details never shared publicly before.Wolf recounts the Pioneer Square hustle that funded his early career, the night Brody Stevens threw a punch at Craig Gass during a Tacoma open mic, and how a YouTube comedy special with 14 million views saved his career after ticket sales collapsed post-Chelsea Lately. The conversation shifts between laugh-out-loud stories — a mushroom-fueled belly button encounter at the Old Chella festival, James Inman riding a city bus with a bucket of piss — and genuinely emotional moments about single fatherhood, Brody Stevens's death, and why vulnerability on stage became Josh Wolf's signature.Craig Gass shares his own origin story of bombing so badly in Tucson that he walked off stage shaking, only to return three years later with a chip on his shoulder that caught George Carlin's attention. Wolf, Gass, and Kael also trade stories about Bill Burr obsessing over Steven Adler's drumming, Jelly Roll's legendary generosity toward fans, and how arena-sized crowds forced Five Finger Death Punch to slow down their songwriting. The episode covers the Seattle Comedy Underground, Joey Diaz's early gambling schemes, Cedric the Entertainer starting alongside Kathleen Madigan, and why Josh Wolf treats his Friday late shows as three-gram mushroom experiments.Three decades of friendship between Wolf and Gass surface in stories that range from a George Carlin New Year's Eve at Bally's Las Vegas to the moment Wolf told a room of six people "Thank you, Seattle!" and dropped the mic. The Jelly Roll divorce question gets saved for the Patreon, but not before Wolf reveals enough to confirm the friendship runs deeper than most fans realize.