This time I am hanging out with Mike Leon, current bassist for CKY, and Igorrr. (Former member of Soulfly, Havok and The Absence.) We dig into how a kid who was obsessed with CKY movies and weird heavy bands ended up actually joining his favorite band, and how that path wound through DIY world tours, insane lineups and a whole lot of van miles.

Mike walks through his whole journey: discovering heavy music in the pre-internet days, cutting his teeth in The Absence, jumping into Havok, then getting the call from Soulfly, and finally landing in CKY literally days after leaving Soulfly. We get into the “law of attraction” side of all this, but with the real-world piece too, the boring but crucial part, consistency and doing the work for years when no one is watching.

Of course we nerd out on bass gear and tone. Mike talks about his first Fender PJ that felt like opening a treasure chest, his love affair with ESP basses, how his ESP MLB4 signature came to be, why longer scale lengths and heavier strings matter for low tunings, and how the humble Boss ODB-3 and a chorus pedal get you straight into Peter Steele territory. We also get into NAMM show chaos, what good artist relations actually looks like, and how his day job at Enki has him helping other artists solve real on-the-road problems.

We round it out with kids discovering heavy music, whether a new “Warped Tour era” is coming, and a spicy pizza take involving pineapple. If you are into CKY, Soulfly, metal bass tone, ESP gear, NAMM stories or just want to hear how sticking with it can literally change your life, this one is for you.

Give Mike a follow HERE https://www.instagram.com/mikeleonshreds

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Guitarist, songwriter, studio owner, guitar designer, Brian May collaborator, and professional bad record deal survivor Arielle stops by the show this week.

We get into how a shy, Queen-obsessed kid with doctor parents ended up moving to Hollywood at sixteen, landing at MI, meeting Brian May at a tiny bookstore, and eventually working with him on the West End production of We Will Rock You. From there we talk about touring with Eric Johnson, turning a Frankenstein “one guitar to rule them all” project into the Two-Tone model with Brian May Guitars, and why she keeps coming back to that original weird orangish color scheme.

Arielle also tells one of the gnarliest label stories ever heard on this podcast. We dig into the contract that owned her name and guitars, the lawyers who were not on her side, hiring a litigator she could not afford, being followed by a private investigator, going bankrupt just to get her art back, and how she rebuilt by slowly carving out her own path.

On the practical side, Arielle shares hard-earned advice for anyone trying to make a living in music right now: focusing on what you are actually extraordinary at, treating your art like a business, knowing when to say no, not chasing managers and labels before there is anything to manage, and remembering that in 2025 you often do not need a label to reach people. We also talk about fame being weirder than glamorous, Brian May and Eric Johnson as actual humans, a Metal Zone myth involving “Cliffs Of Dover,”

Check out all her stuff on her website HERE https://imarielle.com/

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Coheed and Cambria’s low-end wizard, Zach Cooper, jumps on the pod to talk about how “sure, I’ll come play bass on that” somehow turned into 14 years inside one of rock’s most intense bands. We get into the strange chain of events that took him from a random studio call to full-time member status, plus what it really feels like when your life is buses, stages, foreign cities and a rotating cast of exhausted humans trying not to lose their minds together.

From there we talk survival: how to stay sane in the touring pressure cooker, why the gym can save your brain, giving people grace when everyone’s fried, and the moment you realize you’ve quietly become a grumpy dad yelling at traffic. There is dad energy, pineapple discourse, kid stories, and a lot of “okay, this is ridiculous but also kind of awesome” honesty about life on the road.

And yes, we absolutely nerd out on gear. Zach walks through his evolution from a sketchy catalog bass to the rig he drags around the world now, with enough fuzz, octave and delay options to rattle a starship. If you like Coheed, loud rigs, road stories, or just want to feel better about the state of your own messy music room, you’re gonna be into this one.

Follow Zach on Instagram HERE https://www.instagram.com/zacharyacooper

Check out all things Coheed HERE https://www.coheedandcambria.com/

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Chad Jennings of Jennings Guitars returns to the pod after nearly seven years, and a lot has changed — finishes, neck shapes, and maybe even a few philosophical outlooks on life (and trucks). Blake and Chad catch up on what it means to keep building through hard seasons, why gloss finishes and roasted woods are calling his name, and how guitar design can be as much about patience as it is about precision.

They get into nerdy territory: un-potted pickups vs. potted, why baritones with single coils just hit different, and how slowing down production sometimes means getting more guitars done. There’s talk of Tone Shepherd amps, Lambertones pickups, flatwound string nightmares, old F-150s, and the sweet balance between staying inspired and staying in business.

It’s a wide-open chat about creativity, craftsmanship, and rediscovering the joy that got you into this world in the first place.

Check out Chad's work on his website HERE https://jenningsguitars.com/

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Dave Hause returns to teach a masterclass in “being an artist without losing your shirt, or your soul”.

We rewind to our last chat in February 2020, the night the NBA shut down while he was onstage, and how that chaos pushed him to build a label with his brother Tim.

We get into career math that actually works: why an email list beats the algorithm, the “bullseye” model for fans, and how to release music on your schedule without waiting for a mystery committee.

There are field notes on touring without wrecking your life, saying yes to the right weird opportunities (Springsteen on Broadway with a fan), and saying no to the ones that make you a wedding singer forever.

Dave’s advice for younger bands is simple: take care of yourself, your people, and your ego. Keep enough ego to step onstage. Not enough to ruin the van vibe.

Also discussed: Les Paul Juniors, Jubilee amps, tiny Whammy pedals, and how dad life keeps you honest. Fun, useful, slightly dangerous. Perfect.

Check out all things Dave on his website HERE https://www.davehause.com/

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This one’s for the lifers. Guthrie Trapp drops the polite industry brochure in the shredder and talks about building a real career in music. One you can live with and live on.

We get into session ceilings, artist freedom, and why “be present to win” beats waiting for permission.

Broadway bar marathons? Great for tips, terrible for souls. Social media mirages? Entertaining, not a business plan.

Guthrie walks through how he pivoted from sideman to solo voice, why endurance eats “talent” for breakfast, and how education and entrepreneurship buy you time to make your music.

It’s straight talk, a little spicy, and weirdly hopeful: work hard, tell the truth, and stop pretending the rented Ferrari is yours.

What you’ll learn:

• How to spot (and outgrow) the session-player ceiling

• The “be present to win” rule: geography, community, and showing up

• Saying no as a strategy (and when to disappear for a minute)

• Turning skills into income without hating yourself

• Why consistency beats virality (and what to build instead)

• Health, burnout, and staying useful to your own art

Check out all things Guthrie on his website HERE https://guthrietrapp.com/

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You can also help out with your gear buying habits by purchasing stuff from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/reverb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/sweetwater⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or grabbing your guitar/bass strings from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tonemob.com/stringjoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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This episode is sweat, wood, and wire. Tommy Emmanuel explains why he plays for the humans in the seats, not the guitar forum in the balcony. How youthful shred became musical conversation.

How he built an audience by hand with posters and tiny ads until the rooms couldn’t hold it. He tells the story of the exec who laughed at “no market for instrumental music,” then the John Denver arena run that shut everyone up. Then it gets legendary.

A kid from Australia writes Chet Atkins in 1966, lands in Nashville years later, and day one turns into a marathon jam with Chet and Lenny Breau.

Yes. That happened.

Along the way you’ll hear hard earned lessons on building a career, touring, tone, and trusting your gut. If you’re into acoustic fingerstyle guitar, Nashville stories, Chet Atkins lineage, or just a killer Tommy Emmanuel interview, you’re in the right place. Hit play, share it with a friend.

Check out Tommy’s new record Living in the Light.

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This week on the podcast I'm talking to Ryan Lynn of Eastide Guitar Repair, Hank Failing of Hank's Music Exchange, and Brad Boynton of Rhythm Traders.

All of these exceptional musical entrepreneurs have com together under one collective roof here in Portland, OR to form a one of a kind independent Music Mall.

I sat down in their basement to get the story of how they came together and how they see this new endeavor serving the local music scene and beyond.

It is a really cool episode with some really cool dudes! I think you'll dig it, so dive in and listen!

Check Out Hank's HERE https://www.hanksmusicexchange.com/

Check out Eastside Guitar Repair HERE https://www.eastsideguitarrepair.com/

Check out Rhythm Traders HERE https://www.rhythmtraders.com/

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Blake sits down with Kyle Wolfe of Moon Guitars to chart the journey from teenage Van Halen brain-melt to full-tilt luthier madness.

Kyle gets “voluntold” into his cousin’s repair shop, learns the craft one fret polish at a time, and discovers that carving his first Tele body flips the big red switch that shuts up the brain gremlins.

We get into launching Moon in 2018, ditching repair work, and the unsexy truth about small-shop economics: time costs, dust flies, and quality wins—or it doesn’t ship.

Kyle talks outsourcing finishes like a grownup, chasing a truly affordable line (factory samples inbound), and his design sweet spot.

We are talking familiar bones with pointy ’80s attitude. Sparked by the Fender Performer and blessed with actual John Page template tracings. We hit the Blood Moon, Troublemaker, Crescent Moon, and Zenith; the Mjölnir collab with Ravenkelt; how the Internet sometimes actually delivers; impending dad mode; and eternal laws of the universe: the BOSS OD-2 rips, pepperoni pizza is the people’s champion, and cold slices at 1 a.m. are a moral right.

If you like guitars that look loud, play forever, and don’t apologize for either... this episode is for you!

Check out Kyle's work on his website HERE: https://moonguitars.com/

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Beetronics didn’t just buzz onto the scene—they showed up in beekeeper suits and rewired how pedal brands think about vibe. In this episode, Filipe Pampuri tells the whole wild arc: teenage studio raids in São Paulo, building a home studio so serious they moved mom out of her bedroom, hopping to L.A. to mix at NRG with Jay Baumgardner, mastering at Sterling Sound, touring alongside Papa Roach and P.O.D., and accidentally launching a pedal company that turned into an art project with knobs.

We dig into Beetronics’ visual identity, the leap from hand-painted customs to the signature faceplates, the breakout Royal Jelly moment, and the brand-new BeeBeeDee—an analog delay that nails the classic sound and then goes sideways with lo-fi textures and pitch-shifted octaves. Also: why São Paulo pizza will ruin you for life, what “B” actually stands for, and a reminder that you make the music, not the gear.

• The nickname that became Beetronics and the Comic-Con-meets-NAMM launch

• DIY beginnings: ADAT mishaps, studio obsession, and learning electronics to keep sessions alive

• L.A. chapter: NRG, Sterling Sound, and opening for big rock tours

• How a custom “Whoctahell” turned into orders… and then a company

• Designing pedals as instruments: art direction, faceplates, and community shout-outs

• Deep dive on the BeeBeeDee analog delay: classic tone, lo-fi mode, clever HP/LP tone shaping, and square-wave pitch tricks for “one-guitar, fake-band” madness

• Philosophy check: chase inspiration first, gear second

Check out the stuff on their website HERE https://www.beetronicsfx.com/

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Ricky Sutton of Arcana Pickups rolls in to talk metal, hand-wound voodoo, and why the word “influencer” sounds like something you catch at a gas-station bathroom.

He grew up in rural Tennessee, moved to Portland, and in 2016 decided metal deserved its own pickup company. Now he winds coils that make your amp behave like a caffeinated raccoon and dresses his guitars like they’re headed to war.

We get into the black-metal aesthetic—yes, actual armor, hoods, spikes, swords—and his band Cavisum. Every Cavisum track has Arcana pickups on it, so if you want to hear what scatterwound fury does inside a mix, that’s your field test. We also wade into the eternal “art vs content” swamp and see what we can drudge up.

This is a fun, surprisingly deep, and metal filled episode. Dive on in!

Find Arcana

arcanapickups.com • IG/YouTube/FB: @arcanapickups

RAPIER20OFF for 20% off through September 30, 2025.

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