Troubled Men Podcast

The 92-year-old author, college professor, and former French Quarter denizen mingled with luminaries like Tennessee Williams and Clay Shaw and counted superstar historian Stephan Ambrose among his closest friends. Born in Victorian Brooklyn, he arrived in New Orleans in 1950 and spent the ensuing years haunting the recesses of the region from the mansions of the Garden District to the backwoods of Mississippi. Tonight he enters the Feral Zone, along with co-conspirator and attending night nurse Nicole Pavy, as a man who has seen a lot and has no reason to hold back. Topics include an orphan, an arts high school, sexual identity, chance vs. choice, plantation life, Europe in the ’50s, a New York job, meeting New Orleanians, the French Quarter in the ’50s, Dixie’s Bar, “Suddenly Last Summer,” “A Handmade Wilderness,” the Atchafalaya, higher education, LSUNO, meeting Willie, the Red Carpet, Selma, safaris with Betty Wisdom, an old lion, the UpStairs Lounge, Middle Englis

The conga player and Vietnam veteran has led a life of service both in and out of the military. As a door gunner with the 1st Air Cavalry, he joined those throughout the ages willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Troubled Men are awed as Rosie recounts his mythic life. Topics include the Norfolk Bayou Boogaloo, a D.C. gig, Hawaii, cousins, smoking Kools, a George Porter encounter, local stupidity, Zion Williamson, a 2nd booster, Ray Liotta RIP, a pistol whipping, “GoodFellas,” “Something Wild,” DeNiro, a kidnapping, a musician father, a maestro grandfather, a seminary expulsion, the Celebration of Life festival, a draft notice, enlistment, Vietnam deployment, the Easter Offensive of ’72, “The Deer Hunter,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Platoon,” death cards, coming home, troubled vets, Mardi Gras ’73, Professor Longhair, volunteer work, art therapy, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: "Summer Samba" by Walter Wanderley Outro

The Emmy Award-winning writer, musician, actor, and creator of Disney TV’s “Imagination Movers” series discusses the band’s 20-year history, his formative years, and his solo career. Rich is a relentlessly positive guy with a cheerful demeanor and a smile on his face. Tonight his good nature gets put to the test as he sits down with the Troubled Men. Topics include a 200th episode party recap, a podcast lost and found, “Ozark,” losing gear, a missing bass, underwear, an empty nest, a New Orleans girl, a 4-track recorder, songwriting, playing drums, Go-Go music, Trouble Funk, straight life, journalism work, Chris Rose, irony, the first show, Disney TV, band drama, Kyle Melancon, mom groupies, a Movers/Slipknot mash up, a lawsuit, Five Happiness restaurant, multigenerational fans, military base tours, a hopeful future, acting, a real hero, a Miley Cyrus moment, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: “Zombie Radio” from “That Escalated Quickly&

He’s known for his work scoring music for hit TV shows “That 70s Show” and “3rd Rock from the Sun,” his records with Alan Vega, Alex Chilton, Charlie Feathers, and Nancy Sinatra, his long-running syndicated radio show, “The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn,” and a 40-year career as a solo artist. With a new solo record, “The World of Ben Vaughn,” coming out, Ben drops in to catch up with the Troubled Men before his tour of Spain. Apparently the rain there falls mainly on the plain. Topics include a Jazz Fest recap, a Daniel Lanois set, triangle sandwiches, porch parties, the Chili Peppers, the heat, WEVL, WXPN, a Big Star story, “Like Flies On Sherbet,” “Cubist Blues,” Suicide, “Rambler ’65,” a record collection, early dance bands, Duane Eddy, early recording, disgusting percussion, Roland Janes, moving to L.A., Pulp Fiction, surf guitar, session work, John Lithgow, the Mojave Desert, Tom Haden, Dave Catching, Dash Rip Roc

The Troubled Nation gathers at Snake & Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge to celebrate the milestone, as guests and supporters join Manny and René to reminisce about the first 200 episodes and look forward to the future. The Struggle Continues! Topics include a French Quarter Fest recap, Earth Day, the Soul Bowl, Jude Acers, Sidney Smith, the Youngbloods, ‘60s music festivals, Bill Graham, chess with Jamie Foxx, Ouija boards, a ghost story, a favorite episode, Doug Belote, Chris Rose, common sense, Putin, Gina Phillips, new sculptures, Chris Champagne, city politics, Carlo Nuccio, the NFL draft, online gambling, the Saints’ future, John Wayne, big announcements, Dave Clements, Jeff Treffinger, good hair, a patio upgrade, scams, a junior prom, Craig Yokum, Dave Turgeon/Dee Slut, John Swenson, Michael Deas, Natasha Sanchez, art school, Pratt Institute, “Art School Confidential,” starving artists, Renoir, a multimedia world tour, Suzanne Charbonnet, Tony Green, Rob Rothman, a c

The musician and owner of More Fun Comics, DC Harbold teamed up with artist/animator Carlos Mendieta to create a “Clerks” meets “American Splendor”-style comic book series, “Counter Culture,” based on hilarious customer interactions and goings-on in the store. DC’s been collecting the exchanges on social media for years, and now Carlos has brought them to 2D life, with the first issue soon to be released. Tonight they join the Troubled Men for a four-way on art, commerce, and which shoes to shop in. See you in the funny papers. Topics include festival season, an Easter parade, a Billy Nungesser break-in, “Fat City,” “Under the Volcano,” a time change, comic inspiration, cartoon illustration, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Xanadu Comics, Paul Giamatti, Robert Crumb, swinger parents, Ringling College of Art, clown camp, computer animation, Austin, Rio Hackford RIP, Doctor a’ Go-Go, the Matador, following Dave Attell, an impounded car, Gilbert

The Naughty Professor cofounding trumpet player and point man for the Naughty Horns has also worked with the Temptations, Rickie Lee Jones, the Afghan Whigs, and Galactic. He discusses the band’s formation, his home-schooled childhood, and his many collaborations with hip hop artists including Chali 2na. For being the youngest guest to date, John really has his head together. The Troubled Men want to be him when they grow up. Topics include Will Smith vs. Chris Rock, stage violence, Chris Owens RIP, a covid infection, Holy Week, a carjacking, a failed state, the Next Door app, a Texas childhood, TV rewards, a high school faux pas, the Geek Squad, Loyola music school, practicing, the Arban Trumpet Method, jazz exposure, band competition, Dennis Dotson, skipping church, music as prayer, a music biz program, a band house, early touring, the jam band scene, serious recording, a new approach, band identity, the Musos sync licensing agency, sample packs, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: &

The swampy Americana songwriter, singer, and guitarist, covered by  Levon Helm, Keith Richards, and Lucinda Williams, has traveled a twisted road from juke joints in Monroe, La., and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to his Nashville home. Out on a string of dates with the Iguanas, he joins the band on a night off to issue a communiqué from the tour, in the final installment of a two-part episode. As KG says, they’re just trying to get to Memphis. Topics include a master’s degree in poetry, Hill Country Blues, Mississippi Fred McDowell, the major 3rd in the blues, a Nashville publishing deal, industry songwriting, Garry Tallent, a suitcase of money, Jim Herrington, an Electra 225, Jim McCormick, Pat McLaughlin, a writing routine, photo inspiration, William Burroughs, and much more. Intro music: “The Trucker Takes A Wife” by Styler/Coman Additional Music: "GTO" from "Long Gone Time" by Kevin Gordon Outro music: "Trying to Get to Memphis" from "Tangle the Blue Sky" by Kev

The swampy Americana songwriter, singer, and guitarist, covered by Keith Richards, Irma Thomas, and Sonny Burgess, has traveled a twisted road from juke joints in Monroe, La., and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop to his Nashville home. Out on a string of dates with the Iguanas, he joins the band on a night off to issue a communiqué from the tour, in the first installment of a two-part episode. As KG says, they’re just trying to get to Memphis. Topics include a Midwestern tour, a procedure, solo acts, West Monroe, South Omaha, West Memphis, “Jungle Boogie,” a band director, marching bands, Jorie Graham, poetry, the punk ethos, an Elvis impersonation, live performance, Bo Ramsey and the Sliders, Freddie King records, meeting X, John Doe’s beer, Todd Rundgren’s cake, and much more. Intro music: “The Trucker Takes A Wife” by Styler/Coman Outro music: “Deuce and a Quarter” from “Down to the Well” by Kevin Gordon Support the podcast: Paypal or

The accomplished visual artist and former Piety Recording Studio manager has worked with an impressive list of creative superstars and maladjusted misfits during her storied career. Stints as a chimney sweep, absinthe brewer, and crime scene photo tech round out her resume. Tonight Shawn brings her incisive intellect and easy laugh to a meeting of the minds with the Troubled Men. Pearls before swine? You be the judge! Topics include new tenants, sexism, a dog and a cat, a Bob Dylan show, the Geraniums memorial, a new hairdo, a Jeopardy host, Alicia Silverstone, scarves, Michigan, art exposure, a jazz musician, high school trouble, a Florida misadventure, a biker assassin, teachers, cursive, odd jobs, “Educating Rita,” Trey Helliwell, luck, finding New Orleans, the Mermaid Lounge, an artistic dialogue, loft building in Wicker Park, the Warhol Diaries, a new perspective, a return to nature, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: “Try To See It My Way” from “Hope Is N

The harmonica master and singer with Canned Heat and Poncho Sanchez grew up in the musical hotbed of Downey, California, with Phil and Dave Alvin. Influenced early on by the Louis Jordan records of his trumpet-playing mother, he caught the blues bug hearing artists like the Paul Butterfield Band, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee at the Ash Grove and the Golden Bear in L.A. Comfortable in a variety of musical settings, tonight Dale tests his tolerance level in a session with the Troubled Men. Topics include baths vs. showers, the impending 200th episode, a borrowed book, Michael Tisserand, a student worker, a Bob Dylan show, tainted cupcakes, sailing from Pongo-Pongo, Bud Ferillo, the Coach House, the Vietnam draft, evading the FBI, going country, Lon Price, Duke Burrell, a Jazz Fest gig, moving to New Orleans, meeting Fito De La Parra, Larry Taylor, a music cruise, psychedelics, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: “You’re The One” by The Little Elmore Reed Blues Band featuri

The legendary Muffs bass player, along with singer/guitarist Kim Shattuck and drummer Roy McDonald, blasted out their infectious, melodic brand of punk rock from 1990 until Kim’s passing in 2019. Cresting at the top of the Indie rock wave, they counted the Ramones, Elvis Costello, and Ronnie Spector among their fans and picked up a platinum record for their hit recording of “Kids In America.” With the reissue of 2004’s “Really Really Happy” along with Kim’s demos for that record soon to be released, Ronnie finds kindred spirits in the Troubled Men as they gather for a meeting of the minds. Topics include a camera ticket, the Iguanas/Kevin Gordon tour, a middle seat, RIP Kevin O’Day, 911 calls, dropping the masks, a record store, meeting Alex Chilton, the Pandoras in Houston, moving to L.A., starting a new band, the Coconut Teaser, a punk rock teacher, backup dancers, the ’90s sound, Green Day, Korla Pandit, the Plaster Casters, a new release, Kim’s l

A Grammy-winning veteran of Dr. John, Papa Grows Funk, the Nightcrawlers, and Galactic, the saxophone, clarinet, and flute player is a devotee of the New Orleans R&B and jazz canon. Now, as a college instructor, he passes this knowledge on to impressionable young minds. With his first record as a bandleader soon to be released, Jason jumps into the fray with the Troubled Men to recall career highs and lows, while remembering some of the giants who have come before. Topics include the Lenten season, a parade encounter, mistaken identities, Mardi Gras, a senior discount, a group costume, Chris Champagne, Michael Deas, the Ideal Market, a tragic fatality, gospel grandparents, a Disney World gig, a drum major, grad school, moving to New Orleans, Mem Shannon, the blues circuit, June Yamagishi, road food, a new sponsor, a teaching position, Eric Traub, Jerry Jumonville, The Band, Lee Allen, Maceo Parker, a James Brown gig, Sam Butera, jazz education, young musicians, Clint Black, baritone sax, the clarinet, Jon

The rockabilly and roots guitarist, singer, and bandleader of the Hitmen, O.L.D., and the Blue Vipers has been an intergral part of the New Orleans scene since his arrival in the early ’80s. He’s worked with greats like Alex Chilton, Wayne Bennett, Joe Clay, George the Max, and Dave Turgeon. Tonight Johnny J. Beninati goes on the record with fellow travelers the Troubled Men to illuminate the dark recesses of the rock’n’roll landscape. Topics include a new Troubled Home, Aquarius, the Linda Lindas, self-policing, a horse lover returns, road hazards, curling, Babe Ruth, a first meeting, a working stiff, Bobby Brennan, Ed Sullivan, a contest, hotdog water soup, Jack Clement, Chuck Gwartney, Lalo Schifrin, Murphy “Fluffy” Hines, an Elvis impersonator, a street fight, Dale Hawkins, Radio Shack, Nicky Sanzenbach, Sex Dog, Scott Goudeau, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break Music: “16 Chicks” from “Louisiana Rockabilly” by Johnny J. and the Hitme

The record producer and recording engineer had spent years working with bands including the Pixies, Frank Black, and the Breeders before taking over the fabled Studio In The Country and returning it to its former glory. The recent release of the Geraniums’ “Hope Is Not For The Weak” represents the final 10 years of material recorded with him there at the mixing board. Always unflappable, Ben joins the Troubled Men in the hornets’ nest of Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge for a good going over. Topics include the Clempire, last week’s episode, kids in wells, a Dave Clements cameo, a health kick, Mardi Gras, a Krewe Du Vieux party, a milk miracle, the Iguanas at Chickie Wah Wah, a remote recording, cutting cable, switching insurance, a Jesuit education, the Plaza in Lake Forest, school showers, a teenage band, Scott Durbin, engineer training, Chris Finney, Mike Napolitano, Kingsway Studio, Trina Shoemaker, Karen Brady, O’Henry Studios, Sound City, tour fatigue, mov

The iconoclastic screenwriter, essayist, and former Siberia Bar owner recently self-cancelled from social media after her commentaries drew the ire of the online mob. She now unleashes her polemics in Quillette Magazine and on the Substack platform. This Joan Didion acolyte is no shrinking violet. Tonight Meghann comes on like a runaway train, and the Troubled Men hang on for dear life as it nearly teeters off the tracks. Topics include the Elysian Bar, the Diewater, Yoko Ono, make ‘em ups, “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Al Pacino prank calls, Super Bowl traditions, Dick Butkus, Raider Nation, sports betting, violent crime, psychologists, a Sacramento childhood, Salinas land barons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jim Jones, miscegenation, millennialism, Judaism, Jane Goodall and David Graybeard fan fiction, victimhood, UC Santa Cruz, finding New Orleans, an outlaw boyfriend, “Panic In Needle Park,” “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” the Silent Generation, the “Karen” phen

The innovative multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer with the Royal Roses, the Monocle, the Panorama Jazz Band, and the Klezmer All Stars turns up to discuss her many projects, as well as her rural, hippie childhood and eventual escape to New Orleans. Her lightness of spirit is a breath of fresh air. Aurora had lots of interdisciplinary training at Oberlin College and Paris' Jacques LeCoq School of Physical Theatre, but tonight it’s the Troubled Men who are made to heel. Topics include favorite podcasts, Caesar, the lifting malaise, shoes, little people, Marty and Elayne at the Dresden Room, a diaper scammer revisited, a beach shack, a mountain hut, herbal medicine, sniffing glue, school band, a custom degree, musique concrete, soccer, train hopping, Baltimore, grad school, Chiquita Magic, first gigs, punk, the Pixies, becoming a bandleader, Downbeat magazine, a coffee shop mural, Rory Danger, festival dates, doing less, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break and Outro music: "Trash Comp

The Tony Award-winning actor and musician returns to discuss his latest role on HBO’s new “Gilded Age” period drama and his band Loose Cattle’s recent “Heavy Lifting” album. Guitarist and composer Jonathan Freilich joins the proceedings to add his two cents. Everyone’s been through a lot in the last few years, and Michael is no exception. Tonight he enters the Feral Zone as we search for the first glimmer of dawn. Topics include a return guest, continuing education, Neil Young and Crazy Horse at the Barn, minimalism, Phil Spector’s maximalism, lockdown recordings and video production, new songs, Kimberly Kaye, Will Sexton, emotionalism, artistic ownership, session work, Mark Bingham, Peter Stampfel, dreams coming true, “The War of Art,” process, gigs, “The Drowning Pool,” West Virginia, academic parents, rural progressives, Exeter Academy, Lilli Lewis, Yale, a pivotal time period, health protocols, “The Plot Against America,”

The guitarist and songwriter for the Geraniums and Tribe Nunzio and co-owner of the Mermaid Lounge has just released “Hope Is Not For The Weak,” a double album of Geraniums recordings the Bukowski-meets-the-Velvet-Underground outfit collected from years of sessions at the famed Studio in the Country. He discusses the band’s long history, as well as the recent passing of singer and lyricist Brendan Gallagher and drummer Daemon Shea. These songs have always felt like a drunken prayer to God. Tonight Jeff joins the Troubled Men as they all count their blessings. Topics include post-holiday malaise, Mardi Gras season, home testing, a terminal strategy, a bottle of vodka, Yoko Ono, a Betty White parade, Greg Ensslen, Vernon Rome, Holden Miller, the Economy Cafe, Melinda Pendleton, George the Max, Clint Montz, Mermaid Recording, Glyn Styler, Malcolm Burn, Bogdanovich films, a date with Tatum O’Neal, “Paper Moon,” Cybill Shepherd, smoking, “This Is About This,” a Circl

The Dream Syndicate and Continental Drifters (Susan Cowsill, Vicki Peterson, Peter Holsapple) bassist, vocalist, and songwriter covered a lot of territory from L.A.’s Paisley Underground to the New Orleans-based indie-rock supergroup. Tonight Mark reaches out from his post-Katrina Las Vegas Safe House, where he places his bet and takes his chances with the Troubled Men. Topics include postponed tour dates, a recording session with Goat, fear, risk, Mardi Gras, Ronnie Spector R.I.P., a new Geraniums record, a haircut, a Cowsill party, the slums of Beverly Hills, early bands, influences, a rehearsal studio, Steve Wynn, Karl Precoda, touring with R.E.M., the Music Machine, the Talpa Restaurant, a Carlo Nuccio apartment, the Drifters formation, the Hollywood rock scene, a Too Free Stooges show, the trip from L.A. to N.O. and back, salvaged tapes, a flooded bass, Phil Lynott’s bass, meeting Led Zeppelin, a Mick Jagger party, Kyle Melancon, the desert, a torso, Punk Rock Bowling, and much more. Intro mu