The Devil's Music with Pleasant Gehman

Coyote Shivers is a musician, songwriter and actor. As a rock’n’roll obsessed teenager in Canada, his career was launched when he co-produced the first single for the band Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet. The B-side, Having an Average Weekend, became the theme song for the television show “Kids In The Hall”. Soon he started working in studio for iconic producer Daniel Lanois. After moving to Manhattan in the 90’s, Coyote was cast as Berko in the cult classic Empire Records. The film ends with his song Sugar High, in a duet with Renee Zellweiger. In this episode, hostess Pleasant Gehman and Coyote talk about the shenanigans that went on behind the scenes of the set of Empire Records, stories of opening for Kiss, touring in the UK, and of course, the Ramones Ducks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The extraordinary Melissa St. Hilaire, better known on the internet as American Witch 13 is a witch, psychic medium, Paranormal investigator, writer, cat rescuer and straight up lifelong rock’n’roll chick. She’s also the creator and director of “Secrets Of the Craft” a docuseries on witches which premiered on Dead Air Full Spectrum on Oct. 4, 2023. In this Episode, hostess Pleasant Gehman caught up with Melissa just in time for Samhain- or as non-witches call it, Halloween. In this episode they talk about their shared interests: all things weird and witchy, from astral projection to ghost hunts, from spellcasting and speaking with the dead. They also get into rock’n’roll in a big way. Melissa is absolutely wild about U2 and has even wilder stories about meeting and interacting with Bono and the band over the years. Instagram, Tiktok, X & Facebook: @americanwitch13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elisa Jordan is an author, a self-described history geek and the owner/ operator of LA Woman Tours. Born and raised in Los Angeles, as a child she was obsessed with Hollywood, and as an adult, she turned that intense fascination into her livelihood. Her latest book, ”Hello Norma Jean: The Marilyn Monroe You Didn’t Know” will be published November 15, 2023.  In this episode, Elisa and hostess Pleasant Gehman dive into everything from The Doors to 70’s and 80’s punk, the unique relationship between Jayne Mansfield and Church of Satan founder Anton La Vey, and of course, Marilyn Monroe. They explore the darker side of old Hollywood scandals and murders from the silent film era to the Black Dahlia in the 1940s and the 1958 death of Johnny Stompanato, Lana Turner’s mobster boyfriend. www.facebook.comlawomantours Instagram @la_womantours Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi-talented Sterling Moon is tarot reader, psychic medium, folk magician, animal communicator, published author and podcaster. Her recent book “Talking Spirits: A Modern Medium’s Practical Advice for Spirit Communication” was published by Llewelyn Books. She also runs The Sterling Moon Divination Academy, teaching classes on the mystical and strange. In this episode, Sterling and hostess Pleasant Gehman discuss everything from her new book, Ouija boards to pet communication, wild things that happened in mediumship sessions, and what it’s like to chat with a spirit who has a crazy sense of humor. Sterling also conducts an actual mini séance on the air. Website: https://www.sterlingmoontarot.com @the_sterling_moon https://www.sterlingmoontarot.com/book-online Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guitarist Wes Beech was the guitarist for the groundbreaking and totally outrageous Plasmatics and along with singer Wendy O.Williams,was the only permanent band member. He also played in her solo project WOW, as well as with The Accidents, Country Bob & The Bloodfarmers and Shock Therapy. In this episode, Wes and hostess Pleasant Gehman discuss New York’s Lower East Side scene in the late 1970’s in depth. His anecdotes include stories that are like a Who’s Who of NYC punk, including everyone from Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine to The Dictators and Dead Boys. Also: synchronicity, David Lee Roth and “The Wendy Perverts” and insane Plasmatic tour stories.  Website: www.Plasmatics.com Twitter: @WesleyBeech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi-faceted Ashley M. Ryan, known on social media as Pythian Priestess, is an award-winning screenwriter, a tarot reader and a practicing witch. She’s the founder of the Pythian Mystery School as well as creator of the popular podcast “The Occult Unveiled”. In this episode, Ashley and hostess Pleasant Gehman talk about their similar esoteric interests, spiritual practices and dark pop culture. They discuss how discovering Edgar Allan Poe at a young age changed their lives and compare notes on a shared obsession: the unlikely relationship between 1950’s sex symbol Jayne Mansfield and Church Of Satan founder Anton La Vey, chilling paranormal experiences and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joseph Brooks was instrumental in shaping the entire Los Angeles music and club scene for decades. His impeccable musical taste became his job and nowadays, he’d be called an influencer. In 1981, with partner Henry Peck, he opened the groundbreaking alternative record store Vinyl Fetish, known as much for their sarcastic clerks as for the import records they stocked. In store appearances by artists befriended in the UK before they became famous, like Siouxsie And The Banshees, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode put the store on the map. Soon, Joseph and Henry started their first club The Veil, devoted to death rock, which later became known as goth. From there, Joseph either conceived of and/or spun discs at the hottest clubs in town: Fetish, Glam Slam, Sin-A-Matic, English Acid, Cherry and more. In this episode, Joseph and hostess Pleasant Gehman compare notes from the Hollywood underground during the 80’s and 90’s and into the early two thousands. They reminisce about Dee Dee Ramone’s last performance ever at Club Makeup, talk about Hollywood’s early 80’s punk and goth scenes and much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Smith is the founder and singer of the legendary Texas cow punk band The Hickoids. Beloved cult favorites with a rabid following, The Hickoids have been around for almost four decades, playing their singular blend of hallucinogenic-soaked western style insanity and releasing countless records on various labels. Now that things have opened up, The Hickoids are touring again. In this episode hostess Pleasant Gehman and Jeff talk about wild shenanigans in the 1980’s Texas punk scene; rowdy Everclear soaked parties, and drag racing-which is not what the listener might think. Jeff also tells anecdotes about opening for The Butthole Surfers, a police raid at Tex And The Horseheads’ Hollywood band house, and  that time the band thoroughly embarrassed Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth...not to mention the trend of men faking orgasms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author Chuck Hawley is known the world over for advocating kindness, compassion, hope and love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

El Vez, known for decades as “The Mexican Elvis” is a rockstar, cultural phenomenon and the alter ego of early West Coast punk rock icon Robert Lopez of The Zeros and later, Catholic Discipline. But that’s not even close where it stops. He’s not just a singer and songwriter, he wrote his own chapter in John Doe and Tom Desavia’s “Under The Big Black Sun”. He’s also an artistc workaholic with multiple projects going at once. He fronts The Little Richards, recently did a tribute show covering the songs of LA punk icons The Screamers, and is touring Spain with Los Straightjackets. In this episode, Robert and lifelong pal hostess Pleasant Gehman chat about the gloomy storytelling show he created, “The Unhappy Hour” featuring his dark humor and dirge-like renditions of 70’s pop hits. They get into their shared experiences during Elvis Week the early 1990s as well as in the 70’s LA punk scene, specifically the infamous night at The Orpheum Theater, where The Germs made their first appearance ever and the Zeros made their first Los Angeles appearance and wound up getting signed on the spot by Bomp! Records...plus much more. Website: www.elvez.net Instagram: @elvezofficial , @mr.rpbertlopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penelope Houston is an iconic punk rock queen. As the fierce singer and songwriter for San Francisco’s legendary band The Avengers, she was among the first boundary-pushing wave of American women fronting punk bands. A year after forming, The Avengers made a splash opening for The Sex Pistols’ last show at Winterland Ballroom. Over the years, Penelope’s music took a softer turn as she helped originate the West Coast neo-folk movement, touring incessantly through Europe and winning several awards in the 1990’s. Forty five years after forming, The Avengers are back and still going strong. In this episode, Penelope and hostess Pleasant Gehman chat about the band’s recent European tour, the band’s early years, and the late 70’s California punk scene in both San Francisco and LA. Penelope also talks about her close connection with The Screamers; working with director Renee Daalder, what that infamous Sex Pistols show was really like, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Staci Layne Wilson is a bestselling author, award winning filmmaker and the hostess of the popular “Rock’n’Roll Nightmares” podcast. One of her books, “So LA: A Hollywood Memoir” features wild anecdotes about Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and several others. The ultimate California girl, she’s the daughter of a pinup model and Don Wilson, legendary guitarist and founding member of The Ventures. Staci wrote and directed the acclaimed documentary “The Ventures: Stars On Guitars” The film chronicles the group’s incredible history. In this episode, Staci and hostess Pleasant Gehman chat about everything from the horror films Staci’s directed, an odd Manson Family connection, the 1980’s Sunset Strip hair metal scene and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tarot and astrology expert Theresa Reed is the author of eight metaphysical books. Her latest, “Twist Your Fate: Manifest Success With Astrology And Tarot” is a terrific guide to getting what you want out of life the “witchy woo woo” way.  In this episode, hostess Pleasant Gehman and Theresa talk about everything from her new book to the best ways to deal with Mercury Retrograde, what your moon sign says about you, and the fascinating science of Astrocartography. They get into 1970’s and 80’s punk and seeing Bowie, Patti Smith, The Sex Pistols and The Plasmatics back in the day. Plus more stories involving psychedelic drugs, True Detective Magazine and Jason Momoa...but as separate entities, not one story. www.thetarotlady.com Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @thetarotlady Patreon: www.patreon.com/thetarotlady Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The illustrious Mink Stole is a national treasure. Her incredible career has spanned over five decades, beginning in the late 1960’s when she and John Waters began their lifelong collaboration; she’s had roles in every one of his feature films. She’s also a singer and former advice column writer for The Baltimore City Paper. In this episode, Mink and hostess Pleasant Gehman dish about everything from the pre- “Pink Flamingos” days to her bohemian lifestyle in Baltimore, New York and Provincetown. They compare notes on their time served as cellmates in director Steve Balderson’s women in prison film “Stuck!” as well as her role as an art agent his latest work, “Alchemy Of The Spirit”, currently making the rounds of film festivals. Mink also spills the beans on her latest foray as a budding pianist, working with Peaches Christ, and a sweet but shocking paranormal experience. Website: www.minkstole.com Facebook: www.facebook.comminkstolefanpage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi-talented Charlie Paulson is a musician and actor. He’s the guitarist for the bands Goldfinger and Black President, and has appeared in a number of films and television shows. He’s also a writer, an avid animal activist and, in his own words, “a son of Los Angeles”. In this episode, Charlie and hostess Pleasant Gehman talk about his constant touring, psychedelics, and his appearances in a number of films as well as working with horror director Tobe Hooper. They also get into Charlie’s escapades as an underage kid in  the LA rock’n’roll and punk scene in the early to mid 1980s.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patrick O’Neil is a prolific author and talented writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications: Juxtapoz, Salon, The Fix, Decibel and Razorcake. A former heroin addict who lead a bank-robbing ring, he cleaned up, started writing in jail and eventually got an MFA in creative writing. This lead to his memoirs “Gun, Needle, Spoon” and “Hold Up”. He’s also an infamous punk legend who spent the 1980’s working behind the scenes as a roadie and tour manager for several famous bands. His latest memoir is out now on Punk Hostage Press. “Anarchy At The Circle K: On The Road With The Dead Kennedys, TSOL, Flipper, Subhumans and...Heroin” has a title that’s self explanatory and the book’s a terrific read. In this episode, Patrick and hostess Pleasant Gehman compare notes on the early 1980’s California punk scene and swap insane cross-country touring stories. Patrick’s experienced everything getting kicked off the Lollapalooza tour and stranded at truck stops in Wyoming or lots at Dead Kennedys concerts to drug deals gone wrong and more. You’ll also hear a few tales from his bank robbing days before he was busted by the feds, got sober in prison and turned his life around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legendary Jackie Beat is a world famous drag queen, actor, singer, writer and comedic genius. Hilarious, sardonic and larger than life, she’s appeared in several films and television series, acting and as herself as well as accruing writing credits on comedy specials. You may remember her from the series “Fashion Police”. Pre-pandemic, she toured worldwide, and is currently picking up where she left off. In this episode, Jackie and hostess Pleasant Gehman dish about everything from stage makeup tips to pronoun usage, the 1980’s punk rock and drag crossover world, the Tranimal phenomenon, John Waters, Divine and RuPaul. Like almost every touring performer, Jackie’s had paranormal experiences in theaters, and they discuss that. However, unlike Jackie, not many people can recount the time they spent a harrowing night in an extremely haunted hotel with Dita Von Tease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi faceted and uber-talented Abby Travis is a musician, singer, songwriter and actress, whose music career began in the 1986 as bassist for the SST band The Love Dolls and is still going strong. She’s played and sang with The Go-Go’s, Cher, The Eagles of Death Metal, The Bangles, Beck, Masters Of Reality, KMFDM, Elastica and many more. She’s released four solo albums, and is currently one half of the brutalist artcore duo Sumo Princess, with drummer Gene Trautman, who, like Abby has played with EODM, as well as Queens of The Stoneage and Mark Lanegan. Hostess Pleasant Gehman and Abby have been friends since the early 1980’s. In this episode, they discuss some of the many days and nights of debauchery they shared from the Hollywood punk scene in early 1980’s and onwards. Among other topics: anecdotes about Redd Kross, Russ Meyers and drag queen dive bars, insane stories from spending Elvis Week 1999 in Memphis with El Vez, The Mexican Elvis; drug-soaked nights on tour with The Butthole Surfers, and Abby’s performances with Spinal Tap... yes indeed, you read that correctly More from Pleasant Gehman www.pleasantgehman.com Instagram: @princessofhollywood www.facebook.com/pleasant.gehman www.twitter.com/PleasantGehman1 This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Punk rock legend and rock’n’roll icon, Bruce Moreland had a huge hand in shaping early punk in Los Angeles as well as influencing international alternative music. A pioneer of punk and death rock -later known as goth- he was an integral part of Wall Of Voodoo, The Weirdos, The Skulls, Nervous Gender and Concrete Blonde during the 1970’s to 1990’s before forming his own band Ravens Moreland. In this episode, Bruce and hostess Pleasant Gehman, who’ve been pals since 1977, discuss the wild days of the ‘70’s punk, including The Masque, The Canterbury Arms, wild shows and stealing cars. Bruce also recalls a wild paranormal experience while on tour with The Weirdos, and gives listeners a taste of the new Ravens Moreland album. www.pleasantgehman.com Instagram: @princessofhollywood www.facebook.com/pleasant.gehman www.twitter.com/PleasantGehman1 This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Multi talented Adele Bertei burst into the public eye as one of the stars of the 1970’s No Wave scene, as organist for James Chance and The Contortions. Since then, her entire career has been extraordinary. She’s a musician, singer, film director/producer as well as a song writer and literary writer. Musically, she’s worked with everyone from Brian Eno, Culture Club and Deborah Harry to Thomas Dolby, Tears For Fears, Anubian Lights and several others. Adele and hostess Pleasant Gehman have known each other for over forty years. In this episode, they exchange anecdotes about Manhattan’s pre-gentrified Lower East Side, including CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, Studio 54, Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Sid Vicious and Heroin They discuss everything from drag queen culture tothe new music she’s recording, Berthold Brecht, and of course, witchcraft. More from Pleasant Gehman www.pleasantgehman.com Instagram: @princessofhollywood www.facebook.com/pleasant.gehman www.twitter.com/PleasantGehman1 This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices