Travis Howell started playing the drums because his dad told him he couldn’t. His first band, No Remorse, was the first metal band to grace the Lucy’s stage and the first and only to be mistaken for a neo-nazis. Sloppy, a punk-metal hybrid kind of thing, came next and then Adrenaline Hammer, which went on to become 12V. When 12V sold out Lucy’s, Travis realized a long-held dream.

Travis’ time at Lucy’s included seeing bands like Javachrist, Impetuous Doom, Teen Idols, and the Wesley Willis Experience (“Rock over London! Rock over Chicago!”), judging Green Day’s choices, and some bad behaviors. The last would lead to his decision to quit playing drums cold turkey. He didn’t touch a stick for 14 years. Then he went to church.

Show Notes

For full show show notes, visit the Lucy’s Record Shop site.

12V Negative Earth – “Shout“
12V Negative Earth – “So Demanding“
12V Negative Earth – “Lowest Common Denominator“
Teen Idols – “Nightmares” (Live at Lucy’s 1994)
Lambchop – “So I Hear You’re Moving (Intro)”

Joshua Toomey has loved metal since he was a kid. He went to metal shows, played bass in metal bands ( including Primer 55 with his friend Bobby Burns), and is now host of Talk Toomey, a podcast dedicated to metal music and news.

Josh remembers his time in Nashville in the 90s well, selling out Lucy’s as a member of 12V Negative Earth, applying the DIY-punk ethos to playing and touring, and the miracle of living in a place where you could easily connect with people like Fred Coury of Cinderella, who would then record your band for free in a gigantic fancy-pants studio.

When Josh was a kid he wasn’t satisfied with just seeing his favorite bands play. He wanted to meet them and have real conversations. So before every show he went to, he would prepare questions and set out to find the band.

Thirty years later Josh would turn his natural curiosity and knack for crafting thought-provoking questions into over 400 episodes of content. Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax…you name the band, he’s interviewed them. And that was before he joined up with Knotfest and helped turn their festival website into a loud music news and journalism juggernaut.

Talk Toomey has been regularly hailed as a top show since the onset, being highlighted on sites like Blabbermouth, Brave Words, etc. Talk Toomey is released for music fans free every Thursday. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and at https://talk-toomey.simplecast.com.

Instagram: @joshua_toomey
Facebook: Joshua Toomey
Twitter: @talktoomeytalk

Show Notes

For full show show notes, visit the Lucy’s Record Shop site.

12V Negative Earth – “Cancelled“
12V Negative Earth – “Perfect World“
12V Negative Earth – “One More Time“
12V Negative Earth – “Facebreaker“
Lambchop – “So I Hear You’re Moving (Intro)”

Dallas Thomas picked up a guitar and became a prolific Lucy’s regular when he was just 14-years-old and barely able to lift his amp, playing with his friends in Fingerhutt, High Strung, Brown Cow, Little Monkey on a Stick, and Boobyhatch (to name just a few). And he was just getting started. After Lucy’s, Dallas, Erik Holcombe, John Roberson and Chris Fox formed the “satanic thrash rock juggernaut” that was Asschapel. For seven years Asschapel toured the Western world. They even made it to Bosnia using only a German map, where they met that country’s version of House O’ Pain’s Don Kendall. After the wild and bittersweet Asschapel ride, Dallas volunteered for a Hurricane Katrina relief organization which, sadly, left him disillusioned but, happily, helped him find his way back to playing music. For the next ten years Dallas would once again tour the world, this time with the experimental post-metal band Pelican. Now a father Dallas is exploring his hardcore roots as a member of READY FOR DEATH, a new band set to release their first record in December.

At the end of each interview I always ask if there is something we didn’t get to that the guest would like to talk about. Usually everyone says no. Dallas surprised me when he said yes. But I wasn’t surprised when what he wanted to talk about was his dad, Bill, who took supportive parenting to a whole new level.

READY FOR DEATH is a new Chicago-based death-thrash outfit made up of current and former members of Pelican, Racetraitor, Indecision, Annihilus, Luggage, Haggathorn, and Asschapel. Heavy metal veterans delivering breakneck beats, crushing tones, and dystopian realms. Debut self-titled LP out 12/9 on Translation Loss Records. Pre Save/ Pre Order Link: https://orcd.co/readyfordeath

Instagram: @readyfordeath666
Facebook: /readyfordeathband
Twitter: @READYFORDEATH85
Translation Loss

Show Notes

For full show show notes, visit the Lucy’s Record Shop site.

Fingerhutt – “Leroy”
Asschapel – “Carcass Bloody Carcass“
Fingerhutt – “36 Sticks”
Little Monkey on a Stick
Asschapel – “The Sledgehammer Assault“
Ready for Death – “Cyborg Priest“
Boobyhatch – “Ode to Hefe“
Lambchop – “So I Hear You’re Moving (Intro)”