Geeky Year-End Wrap Up & a Thank You!

We began the year with my clunky "Introduction" episode where I try to describe, between panic attacks, what the show is supposed to be about. Things have definitely changed since that episode and I think we may have to tweak it but it's a good reminder of how far the show has come.

We had a couple of moderately successful episodes with friends such as Mitch Lafon from Bravewords.com, Dylan Kinney of Nashville Comedy Theater, Doogie Vance of local radio fame, & Chris Higgins of Piranah where we discussed various rock and metal news items of the day as well as concert memories and our favorite rock documentaries. 

The floodgates finally opened on July 4th when I premiered my 2-part Vinnie Vincent special. Featuring some intriguing guests from the Ankh Warrior's past such as Rik Fox, Alexx Michael, & Keli Raven as well as current owner of the Vinnie Vincent Fan Forum Vic Radacic on the crazy behavior of Vinnie toward his internet fan base. Links to the episodes spread like wildfire across the internet; racking up thousands of downloads. It still gets hundreds of downloads per month. Look for new episodes on Vinnie Vincent in the coming months!

Part 1 Part 2

August saw another fascinating 2-Part special on the life and career of Rik Fox. Rik's stories of his younger days hanging out with KISS when they were broke and just learning to apply makeup as well as hanging out with the CBGB's crowd in New York made Part 1 a memrable episode. Part 2 focuses on Rik's ventures out west when he moved to Los Angeles just in time for the Sunset Strip boom in glam rock. This episode gives us the low-down on Rik's early days with WASP as well as detailed stories of working with Ron Keel and Yngwie Malmsteen in Steeler as well as other groups of the day. Rik's story reads like a "who's who" of rock and this interview gives it all to you.

September brought us the return of Bravewords.com's Mitch Lafon for a new feature entitled Geekwire where we try to cover as many rock and metal news stories in an allotted time. Mitch will be on in the future for sure as he has a unique perspective from the inside of the industry. The Geekwire episode also saw the debut of co-host AAron Camaro. AAron has been a welcome addition to the show and brings "the voice" to the proceedings. Born in the heartland of America, AAron is a tried and true rock and metal fan and his contributions will continue into the new year.

October brought us the addition of the monthly Nashville X-tra version of the Decibel Geek Podcast. Featuring interviews and rants focusing on the local Nashville-area rock scene, the Nashville X-tra episodes allow Chris and AAron some breathing room to let it all out about what is cool and what sucks locally. These episodes will continue into the new year as we plan to bring you more guests, more rants, and more entertainment to your localized ears.

We finished off October with our choices for the Top 5 KISS songs of the non-makeup era before going into November with a great conversation with Russ Dwarf of Killer Dwarfs fame. We had a great response on both of these episodes and took a week to have some fun with our new Radio Sucks Radio Show where Chris and AAron spin songs that no radio station would allow them to go near. We had a lot of fun with this episode and have more planned for the new year.

After another Nashville X-tra episode, we filled our December quota with our Top Albums of the Early 90's episode. We think we've finished the year strong with this episode and have had a good response from it. We love doing the Top 5 shows and it's always interesting to see our listeners choices as well as hearing how stupid we are for not picking certain albums or songs. All feedback is welcome!

So, in conclusion, I'm very proud that the show has come this far since April and we look forward to taking things to the next level in 2012. Hopefully, we'll be doing great by the time the Apocalypse takes place!

Wishing you all a Merry Whatever and a Happy New Year!

Chris Czynszak

Decibel Geek Podcast