Absolute Talk!

This week, we have another great dancer and friend of mine currently from the Boston area, Neil Joshi! He shares with us his memories learning Hip Hop from his dad to the classical dance of Bharatanatyam from his mom. Not only that, we look back at his West Coast Swing dance journey and what he loves most about it. Plus, what he's been up to now that there's still little or no dance events during this crazy Covid pandemic? NOTE: This Friday at 7:30pm ET, I'm recording a special solo episode on Facebook Live to all my friends out there if you want to join in on the chat.

Our deep dive into my senior high school play, "West Side Story", continues as Marilyn Derr (Lester) returns to podcast reflecting back on her time as the co-lead, "Maria!" She explains how she got the role and what the challenges were from beginning to end, on and off the stage. Also, she shares her favorite scenes and numbers as well as the plots that made it all possible.

We pick up right where we left off as Carl Coleman and I share our favorite rock and roll ballads! Some include a number of tracks by Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Eric Clapton and more tying it in as part of the holiday. Also, don't forget to follow #absolutetalkpodcast on Instagram and Facebook. Happy Valentine's Day!

From Guns n' Roses to the Beatles and everything in between, they are just a few of the bands that gave us some of the best rock n' roll ballads of all time! In honor of Valentine's Day coming up, join Carl Coleman and I as we look back at some of our favorite slow rock jams that really fit that vibe. Part 2 will air on Sunday, February 14th.

The good times keep rolling this week with west coast swing DJ Jes Ann Nail! We'll look back at her journey from all the dances she's done to how she got into DJing along with her favorite events she got to play for. Also, what was her dream career that she really wanted to pursue and what she's been up to during the pandemic?

The fun times are here to stay with the amazing Malia Jameson! (f.k.a. Malia San Nicholas) We share some of her favorite memories working with different dance pros and DJs to her days of traveling, and what she's been up to during this crazy Covid pandemic. Also, she shares with us a very life-threatening story that she had as a teenager where she ultimately prevailed. Plus, we'll talk about how this "Yeah Baby" story came about that is the theme throughout part of this show!

This week, we go down memory lane 20 years ago with both the yearbook and audio-visual department innovator, Scott Serafine. He was the driving force to help get West Side Story to my high school then and look into how that came about. Also, how he helped changed the way both the A-V and yearbooks were being done that were really a true positive not only to Wilby H.S., but also the A-V during his times working at both Taft and the Waterbury Arts Magnet School. He also has some honorable mentions that contributed to the schools in a major way and how the famous B.E.T. got involved with Wilby. Plus, thank you to his wife Lillian for sitting in with us to help out with some of the information needed during our chat.

Sharing my thoughts on 2020 and what's happening in the new year. Also a sneak peek into my interview with Malia Jameson coming out in two weeks time.

We kick off the new year right and forget 2020 as we deep dive back in time 20 years ago to my senior high school play, "WEST SIDE STORY"! From auditions to the matinee, Mr. Mo and Sonya Stemmer are back to share their experiences as musical and production directors for the show respectively. Plus, we chat about the cast and crew, the MAJOR moment that almost kept the show from happening, favorite scenes and songs. And as a Jet, I even open up how important this play was to me along with my time on the big stage!

50 years ago, one of the most iconic movies to come out before the TV show (and after the book) was the Korean War-based film, M*A*S*H. Myself along with dancer, photographer and military movie fanatic Alyssa May Schoeller deep dive through the different aspects of the film. This includes our favorite plots (yes spoilers) and characters, plus what was different between that and the show, and how different it was vs. a traditional movie!

One of my favorites is here and that is the fourth ever Bonus Audio Extras episode! It's a bunch of unaired clips from past and even future episodes that didn't make the final cut, but were great enough to air right here! Joining me for this special are Dr. Elysha Greenberg, Kelsey Buckley, Jim Royle, Aric "DJ 911" Lemieux, Alyssa Schoeller, Carl Coleman, Stephanie Risser-Loveira, Marilyn Derr, and Julia Boucher.

The Holidays are almost near this week as the fantastic Jen Ferreira joins in for a fun conversation! We'll look back at her dance journey prior to west coast swing as well as how she got into contest coordinating. Also, we find out how Swinglebell Rock all started with her, Robert Royston & Tony Lee Marolda, and what makes it a very fun event. Not only that, we share our favorite dance moments, meeting Jacqueline Joyner, and what she's been up to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We pick up right where we left off last week deep-diving on the 30-year career of The Undertaker! Ed, Lou, and I talk about the dangerous inferno match he had with Kane that was a first of it's kind along with a scary moment he had prior to an Elimination Chamber match. Also the reason why he changed his image from the traditional Taker to the "American Badass" biker image and why it worked so well! Plus, we look at the latter part of his career ft. matches he had against Roman Reigns and Goldberg while battling multiple health issues. Not only that we share our favorite moments watching the very well-done "Bone Yard" match this year versus AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. AND, Eddy V. shares his experience meeting the Deadman earlier this year at an independent wrestling show! NOTE: Credit to "The Last Ride" documentary on the WWE Network and other podcasts for the research.

Back on November 22nd, 1990 was the birth of possibly the most iconic character in all of professional wrestling. Joining me are Eddy V. and Lou Colella as we reflect back on the career of The Undertaker a.k.a. Mark Calaway. In this part we discuss his WWE debut at Survivor Series 1990 in Hartford, CT and the events leading up to it. Also, there's some crazy gimmick matches with some larger-than-life opponents including Kane, Mankind and more. Also Ed & Lou have attended Wrestlemania over 1/2-dozen times and share some of their experiences seeing the Deadman up close!

We lost one the most iconic guitar players ever who revolutionized rock n' roll, Eddie Van Halen. Joining me is rock historian Carl Coleman as we look back on his life growing up to his career performing in Van Halen. Also, we discuss how his creativity with a guitar and amp made him so unique in the genre that really set the standard for decades to come. 

As we draw closer to Halloween, myself and Victoria Locke take a look back at one of the most BADASS vampire slayer movies of all time, Blade! We'll go through the story, yes it's a spoiler alert, but we give our reactions to some of the legendary scenes, along with our favorite characters that are involved in the plot. But not only that, we'll discuss the scenes that didn't make the final cut in the movie along with the reasons why and some of the differences between the movie and the actual comic book....IF WE DARE.

Finally after 2+ years, we get to talk some rock n' roll boohaahaa!!! Joining me is the "Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll" Carl Coleman as share rock songs that may be, in our opinion, the most gruesomely scary for Halloween coming up. Whether it's Marilyn Manson, KISS, Alice Cooper, Rammstein, we'll share what makes them AND other noteable bands perfect for the gruesome holiday coming up!

Today, longtime friend Dani Mullin-Darasz connects with us remotely for a fantastic chat where we cover her time growing up in TN to why she moved out east to Boston. We'll also recap her days from ballet to ballroom and why west coast swing was the best dance for her then and today. Not only that, she shares with us what it's like as a contest coordinator for these weekend events including how she got her start, balancing that with work in the medical space, marriage, and being a mom to this day. Plus, we share some of our stories from years past that are absolutely fun to hear!

It's time to shuffle up and deal with my good buddy and semi-professional poker player Noel Dorsett!! We'll look back at how his journey with the game of Texas Hold 'Em all started for him, the advice he got, favorite players and destinations to play, inspirational quotes and more including the heads-up home game that was EPIC! Plus, we'll go ALL IN diving into life outside the felt for him with family, adventures and goals that he wants to accomplish.

We start off the second part of Julia's conversation by looking back at how she was first interested in west coast swing dancing and what she realized very quickly how different local dancing was vs. weekend events. Also, what was the best advice she'd ever gotten from a pro at an intensive (seminar-type) event that applies to her skill as a dancer. Then we talk more music, singing techniques that describes her vocal style, the differences between paramedics vs. EMT. And we dive into her lineage that may surprise you!