Brock Wilbur is a son, a brother, a husband, and an author. He's my guest for Episode No. 146, and he's also the Editor-in-Chief of The Pitch, Kansas City's independent source for news and culture.

It was a pleasure to meet Brock and learn about the different stops his life journey have taken him to, and I'm grateful for both the time and the conversation.

We talked about family, being a stand-up comic, a published author, a podcaster, a supporter of different walks of life, and a proponent of mental health. We also talked about his love of music, live shows, vinyl records, and living in Los Angeles for a spell. Naturally, we touched on a few of his favorite albums, which were these:

Beck's Odelay (1996)

The Ugly Organ (2003), Cursive

Death From Above 1979's You're a Woman, I'm a Machine (2004)

Brock is one of the most intelligent folks I've had the opportunity to sit and visit with and I'm pleased that I took the opportunity to pass along my gratitude for the work he and his crew put in at The Pitch. This print/online publication has been a part of my fabric for decades, and it's super-satisfying that it continues to survive in 2024. If you're not already a regular reader, please consider picking one up the next time you see one of their stands. And -- as they frequently remind their Instagram followers, their Web site never has a paywall.

You can follow Brock on Instagram at @brockwilbur. Check out some of his fine journalist work at authory.com/brockwilbur, and you can also get a copy of his book, Postal, from 2020 on Amazon.

Many thanks to Brock and to those that support the show.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio clips found in this episode. They are samples from a tune called, "Happy Now," by Låpsley, and it can be found on her EP from this year, A Guilty Heart Can Never Rest (c/o Believe UK).

In late July, I was honored to have Tracy Hoth back in my home again, and it took both time and convincing to get her here.

Nearly a decade ago, I hired her for some professional-organization help, and she was fantastic. Our package was broken into tiers, and -- due to some critical life changes -- we had a little bit of a gap in between tiers one and two. Many moons later, she appeared in the people-you-might-know section of one of my social-media platforms. I reached out and pitched her on the idea of doing a podcast episode with me. She declined, saying that she wasn't much of a music person.

I rolled up my sleeves and explained why I thought we could have a good conversation, and -- to my delight -- she accepted.

Tracy is a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother of four, and probably many other amazing things (that I don't know about), too. I do, however, know that she is a life coach, a professional organizer, and the host of The Organized Coach podcast, which you can find on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

So, we talked about her professional endeavors, her family, the detour they experienced a little over nine years ago, and we managed to talk about music, too. When I asked Tracy for a list, she gave me a collection of songs, sentiments, memories, and artists. I took the liberty of squeezing that into my format, and -- having done so -- her list looks like this:

The Run, Appaloosa, Run soundtrack (1966)

John Denver's Poems, Prayers & Promises (1971)

Fancy Free (1981), The Oak Ridge Boys

Britt Nicole's Say It (2007)

Lauren Daigle's discography (2015-2023)

I had a lot of fun sitting and chatting with Tracy. I'm not only thankful that she was courageous enough to do something she didn't think she'd be a good fit at, but grateful that she took the time to commute down to the studio and collaborate with another local podcaster.

So, thank you, Tracy.

You can find out more information about Tracy's awesome business and podcast here.

I appreciate the support you all give the show.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are clips taken from a tune called, "Welcome Back" off of Muzak Orchestra's Muzak Stimulus Progression 1976, c/o Muzak Archives.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Whatcha' got to say?!"

I don't have any "Hollywood Swingers" action to share with you, but I do have some equally exciting news, and that's that Robert Flynn finally made it by the studio and we sat down together for what wound up being Episode No. 143 of this here podcast.

Robert was on my initial-initial outreach list while I was trying to get this thing live and off the ground, and some three years later, here we are.

Robert's a son, a sibling, a husband, a father, an Eagle Scout, a scout leader, a former attorney, a high-school government teacher, and a good many other things. We once went through the CRHP program together and have two kids in the same grades together. He's also something of a Deadhead, and when we first talked about trying to make this happen, I think I was asking folks about their all-time-favorite album (singular) as opposed to the current iteration that typically involves several.

Regardless, the Grateful Dead's American Beauty (1970) was Robert's immediate selection, and it's one of my all-timers, as well, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to bullshit with him about it.

A number of things transpired since our conversation was recorded, namely the passing of Dead bassist Phil Lesh, and the presidential election here in the "good-ol'" United States. No doubt some of us are singing a version of "U.S. Blues" this week, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this chat, and I hope you will, too.

Thank you.

copyright disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the audio samples contained within this episode. They are snippets from American Beauty's leadoff, "Box of Rain," and it exists c/o Warner Records Inc. Marketed by Rhino Entertainment Company, a Warner Music Group Company.