Fascination Street

THROWBACK: Katie Herzog*****This is a THROWBACK episode with guest Katie Herzog.*****Katie first appeared on the show on December 23, 2024.The book she was writing at that time, and that we talked about, IS NOW AVAILABLE!'Drink Your Way Sober' is available everywhere, and we are giving 4 copies away in this episode!Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Katie Herzog. Katie is a well-known and respected journalist who has written for publications including: The Stranger, The Atlantic, Reason, Medium, and more. She is also a co-host of the very popular podcast Blocked and Reported; with her friend and fellow journalist Jesse Singal. In this episode, Katie and I chat about where and how she grew up, and what informed her journalistic endeavors. I do grill Katie about some of the crazy stories from her past that I found. We touch briefly on her time working for NPR, and she enlightens me about The Internet Archive, and The Way Back Machine. Then we get into her podcast. Again, it's called Bl

Titus WelliverTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know actor Titus Welliver. In this episode, we chat about his growing up with a father who was very well known and well respected in the academic & artist community, and how that led to Titus meeting some of the most influential people on the planet. Then we talk about the new television series he is working on called The Westies (MGM+) alongside J.K. Simmons, and others. Then we discuss his playing the title character of Bosch for ten years on the Amazon series Bosch & Bosch: Legacy, as well as reprising that role in Amazon's Ballard. Titus loves this character so much, that when the creator & writer Michael Connelly asked him to read the audiobooks, he jumped at the opportunity. Titus still voices the audiobooks to this day. Along the way, we talk about why Titus decided to study with ALL of the great acting teachers & playwrights of New York, why he has so many tattoos, and of course, the CADS. Titus is the third member o

Mike TrampTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Mike Tramp. After making a nationwide name for himself in his home country of Denmark, with a band called Mabel, Mike set sail for the musical shores of America. Early in the 1980s, Mike Tramp formed the rock band White Lion. Selling millions of records across the country, White Lion charted top 10 hits like "Wait", and "When the Children Cry". Over the years, band members have come and gone on their way to five albums between 1985 & 2008; but one thing never changed... their fearless leader Mike Tramp has always put the music first. In this episode, Mike and I chat about his getting into the music business as a teen in Denmark, and what that was like with his band Mabel. Then we talk about why he felt the need to come to New York to start the rock band White Lion. Naturally we discuss this band's success, and specifically my favorite of their songs "When the Children Cry". We dive into the meaning behind the lyrics, and I give my own

Ally WalkerTake a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know Ally Walker. Ally is a veteran actress who you know from such amazing television shows as: Sons of Anarchy, Longmire, Profiler, and many more. You also know her from hit films like: Universal Soldier, Singles, & Kazaam. In this episode, we chat about all of these projects, plus some of her other works. I even get her to tell me some ghost stories from Santa Fe! Finally, we really dig into her new book. The Light Runner is the first in The Realities Series and is Ally's first ever novel. She has written screenplays and scripts, but never a novel! The book is a murder mystery of sorts, but with psychiatric themes, plus paranormal, and time elements. I won't spoil it, but I will say that I really, really enjoyed this book. I reached out to a couple of her actor friends who wrote blurbs for the book, and I read their responses to her. One of them is even a previous guest of the show! Ally was a blast to speak with, and she even got me to

Chris Storer.Over the years, I have been fairly successful at guessing the email addresses of some folks. I wanted to interview Christopher Storer, creator of The Bear television series. So, I used my email magic, and guess what.... I got a different Christopher Storer! Confusion was had; fun ensued. Chris and I thought it would be a fun twist to go forward with the interview anyway. This episode is with Chris Storer, "just a regular guy, living in a no name town in Kentucky". In this episode, we discuss how he became a computer guru at an early age. Chris discovered his love and knack for computer tech stuff before he was even a teenager. With the encouragement of his brother, Chris decided to write a computer program for a very specific niche of figurine collector, and then he and his mother traveled the country selling this program to these collectors. Next, Chris and I talk a little bit about The Bear television series, and some of the fun that has come about due to the mistaken identity of it all. Alas,

Ted PageTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Ted Page. Ted is a marketing executive with his own firm, as well the author of several books. In this episode we discuss his early days in advertising; working for McCann- Erickson, and what led him to start his own company called Captains of Industry. Next, we get into a couple of the books that he has written previously, including a collection of family stories, and a book about branding & marketing. Then we talk about his most recent book Good Grandpa: Stories From the Heart of Grandfatherhood. Along the way, we discover that he worked with a previous guest of my show, more than 30 years ago! We dive into the impact that his own grandfathers had on him growing up, and why he felt that it was important to be that figure in the lives of his own grandchildren. We touch on the book and some of the folks that he interviewed and some of the things that he learned during this process. Ted shares anecdotes about Monarch butterflies, City Sli

Brian HuskeyTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Brian Huskey. You know Brian's face from such iconic shows as Veep, Neighbors, Search Party & Mr. Neighbor's House 1 & 2. You know his voice from mega hits like Bob's Burgers, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Central Park. In this episode, we chat about his path to television & film. Brian started making movies in high school with some friends but didn't really pursue it as a career until college. He shares some of that inspiration and some of the moments that let him know that this was a legitimate career option for him. We touch on some of his early work as a writer, as well as his early days as the bass player for a band called Bicycle Face. (Spoiler alert, he lets me play his favorite track from their album). Next, we talk about getting involved with the Upright Citizens Brigade, Naked Babies improv, comedy, and writing his own projects. Mr. Neighbor's House is one of his favorite projects that he has ever been part of. He creat

Dana Teller.Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know comedian Dana Teller. In this episode, we chat about where she grew up and what made her decide to become an accountant. She shares wonderful stories about how supportive her parents were, and continue to be. Next we discuss how her brother giving her 5 minutes notice that she would be giving a toast at his wedding, inspired her to become a comedian. Dana worked her butt off as an accountant, and socked away enough money to give her a bit of a bumper, so that she could pursue her dream to become a stand up comedian. Dana routinely travels the country crushing at sold out shows from Los Angeles to Miami. Next we get into some specific instances where her parents, and even her siblings, have helped her gain the confidence to make this massive career change. We talk about how to treat hecklers, some of the crazy stuff that happens to female comics, and her 'no excuses' mentality that has served her so well. We end the show talking about her

Anna Vocino Returns!Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know even more about Anna Vocino. Anna's first appearance on the show was released on 6.13.22. I recomend going back and checking that one out, as it was A BLAST! This time around, we discuss some different stuff. We kick the show off talking about her first experience on a film set. Anna was in the classic film Dead Poets Society, where she got to hang out with the late, great Robin Williams. We then transition into her work on another Robin Williams project, this time for television. The Crazy Ones was one of Robin's last projects, so naturally I ask her about working on that with him. Anna and I then talk about a series she worked on called Free Radio, and she tells some great stories from that set as well. Then we move onto the subject of her health. Anna has some fairly unique immune related issues that she deals with on a daily basis. She is fine, but does navigate some challenges, and she is very open about dealing with those.

Dr. Jeffrey BurkeTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Dr. Jeffrey Burke. Dr. Burke has been an expert in the natural products & herbal supplement industry for the past 4 decades. In this episode, we chat about how he got into that field, and why he decided to become a Naturopathic Practitioner, as well as a Master Herbalist. We discuss his 20,000 plus episodes of his national radio show, and why he ended it after 40 years. Dr. Burke also explains what a naturopathic practitioner is, what a master herbalist is, and what it means to be a certified nutritional consultant. Dr. Burke extolls the virtues and benefits of several natural products including: Ashwagandha, Turmeric, & others; and then tells me about how those herbs help alleviate the symptoms of stress, inflammation, and allergies. We discuss The Mediterranean Diet, and how the things that we become allergic to change with our environment. Dr. Jeffrey Burke recently became the Director of Education for Kokora Life; and as

Geoffrey Blake Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Geoffrey Blake. You know Geoffrey from such iconic hits as: Young Guns, Forrest Gump, Contact, Midway, and more. In this episode, we chat about almost none of those projects. Instead, we get to know Geoffrey. We find out how & where he grew up, why they moved around so much, how his health is these days, and some crazy stories about his family. Next, we move into some of the acting classes that he was part of when he was just getting started, as well as the acting class that he teaches these days. Naturally, we touch on Young Guns, and his work with Emilio Estevez & Lou Diamond Phillips. He shares a crazy story about paparazzi in Santa Monica, involving him, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and the city council. This story is insane. Of course, we talk about some of his past and upcoming writing projects, and so much more! Geoffrey has promised to come back on the show for round 2, and maybe THEN he will share the story of the ti

Sophie Flack Take a walk me down Fascination Street Podcast, as I get to know Sophie Flack. I was first introduced to Sophie as a result of a conversation with previous guest Yul Vazquez. Sophie is a former member of The Corp De Ballet with The New York City Ballet. After she retired from that, she got a degree from Columbia University, and then wrote a best-selling Young Adult novel called Bunheads, which explores the intricacies and heartaches of the life of a professional ballerina. Sophie has written for multiple magazines and publications about her experiences and has helped shine a light on some of the ways that these dancers are treated. Fairly recently, Sophie started a jewelry company which focuses on pieces that help de-stigmatize mental health and eating disorders. Her company is called MAD FINE, and some of the pieces include 'in the know' references to: Zanex, Klonopin, Prozac, and the abortion pill. She has pieces that align with emotional baggage, and even silly trophies. All of these pieces ar

Drew ArnottTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Drew Arnott. In this episode, Drew and I chat about his growing up between Scottland and Canada, and why. Then we do a bit of a deep dive on the unique and rare instrument called The Mellotron. Drew shares some fun and nutty stories about his own Mellotron, and then we get into why he and Darryl Kromm started Strange Advance in the first place. Strange Advance signed a deal with Capitol Records and released TWO albums; having never played a single live show. Drew explains how that is even possible, and why that happened. The first THREE records released by Strange Advance sold GOLD in Canada, and then they stopped making music..... for 33 years. I ask Drew what the heck happened, and he gives me the deets. Strange Advance has released a new record. Thier fourth record, aptly titled 'Strange Advance 4' is out now, and is a banger! Drew graciously agrees to let me play 'Flow My Tears', my favorite track from the new album, and you will unde

Bård YlvisåkerTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Bård Ylvisåker. Bård is one half of the Norwegian comedy & music duo "Ylvis". In this episode, we chat about how growing up in Africa and abroad helped him and his brother (Vegard) develop their own sense of comedy. He shares stories of the brothers getting started and finding the way to their own unique sound and comedic voice. I also ask him about some of the variety television shows that him & Vegard participated in and developed. They hosted a radio show for several years on Norway; as well as several comedy television series in the region. Obviously, we talk about his experience on 'Taskmaster' (Kongen Befaler) as well as the show "I Kveld med Ylvis". Then, in 2013, Ylvis rocketed to worldwide stardom with the smash comedy-pop hit song "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)". This song became a global phenomenon, with over 1.2 BILLION views on YouTube. Bård explains what the song is about, and what the success of it did for him

Matt BorlenghiTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know actor Matt Borlenghi. In this episode, we chat about growing up in Los Angeles and attending the famed Beverly Hills High School. Then we discuss his godfather Jerry Vale and Matt's thoughts on nepotism in the industry. Jerry could have helped Matt along in his career, very early on, with an introduction to Martin Scorsese; but Matt turned him down. So, I dive deep on whether Matt has changed his mind about favors from friends and family. Next, we talk about how Matt's best friend seemingly changed almost overnight, once the friend got famous. Matt was a breakout star on All My Children as Brian Bodine, after having delivered a well noticed performance on the cop drama Hunter. So naturally we cover his time on the soap opera, and how his leaving, led to Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos marrying and building their empire. Then I ask Matt why he has personally participated in over 50 autopsies in Las Vegas. That's a wild story. Matt i part

Rich Manley Returns! Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know even more about Rich Manley. This magician, illusionist, actor, and adventurer first appeared on the show 11-30-2020. This is where you find the story of his journey so far. In this episode, we chat about the upcoming SECOND season of his adventure show 'Culture Shock: Bridging Culture Through Magic', on TUBI TV. We also discuss being an illusionist, and some of his insane magic tricks. Then we talk about some of the adventures that he has had on his travels, including some of the weird stuff that he has been asked to eat in faraway lands! We do touch a tiny bit on a couple of his acting projects, where he worked with Barry Bostwick on one, and Michael Pare on another. We then get into his touring live show with Wiggle Room Entertainment, called 'Diary of Magic', and poke a bit of fun at his producer on that show. Finally, we talk about some of the cool things available on his website. One of which is that he has his own custom

Yul VazquezTake a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I get to know Yul Vazquez. Born in Havana, Yul and all of the women in his family escaped Fidel Castro's Cuba to make a new life in Miami Beach, Florida. In this episode, Yul and I chat about how difficult it was for his mother, and grandmother to relocate to a new country with two children: having no money, no job, and not speaking the language. He shares how impactful those women, that experience and those early times were in influencing his life moving forward. I bring up some of the thought processes behind Yul's work as a painter, and as a photographer. We even discuss some specific pieces that I am madly in love with. Next. I pepper him with questions about his music career, where he was signed to TWO different major record labels, under TWO different bands; all before he even thought about becoming an actor. Also, I get him to tell me how he became such good friends with some of music's most iconic players. Yul is great friends with so many of

James DuMont #4 Take a walk with me down Fascination Street as I chat with actor James DuMont for the FOURTH time! James has been on every other year; 2019, 2021, 2023, and now 2025. Obviously, we don't do the "how did you get from where you were to where you are" thing this time. Go back and check out his previous appearances for that. In this episode, we chat about the conclusion of HBO's hit series The Righteous Gemstones. Season 4 was the final season and was released not long ago. James played Chad on 20 episodes of the series, and James' real life son Kelton played Pontius Gemstone. James shares fun stories from the set, including some of the things he learned, some of the things he appreciated, and some of the things that he will miss from working with this amazing group of professionals. Next, we move onto a discussion about his new movie 'Unit 234', where he stared alongside the great Don Johnson. This was filmed during covid, and it is where James actually caught covid for the first time. So he expl

Will Wesley and Florian Fox Live At Luckenbach.Take a walk with me down Fascination Street, as I traveled 30 minutes from my house to Luckenbach, Texas to see previous guest of the show Will Wesley perform with his buddy Florian Fox. When Will was on the show last time, he mentioned that he & Florian would be playing Luckenbach a few months from then. So, true to his word, Will reached out to me as the date got nearer, and once again invited me to come see the show, and record another episode. This time, he introduced me to his good friend and tour mate, Florian Fox. Florian is a country singer all the way from Zurich, Switzerland! When Florian is in the U.S., he and Will tour together. When Will is in Switzerland, he and Florian tour together. What a great partnership! So my wife and I went to see them play together at The Thomas Michael Riley Music Festival, live at Luckenbach, Texas! My wife and I had never been there before, and this was one hell of a reason to go. In this episode, we get to know Flor

Keaton SimonsTake a walk with me down Fascination Street as I get to know Keaton Simons. Keaton has been a Hollywood fixture in the music & film industry since he was a little kid. Keaton's parents, and grandparents have been in the film & television business for decades. His grandfather was a screenwriter for some of the most decorated & loved films in history, and his parents have both starred in & written some of the most beloved projects in the business. Keaton started off singing and acting in projects as a small child and quickly fell in love with playing music. In this episode, Keaton and I chat about his early years and some of those early projects. We then transition into his diving into the music scene. I ask him about his moving to Nashville, and some of the projects he has worked on as a musician. Keaton has played with some of the biggest names in music, like: Snoop Dogg, Danny Elfman, Jason Mraz, Pharcyde, Darryl McDaniels, Chris Cornell, Gnarles Barkley, and is currently the lea