Daddy Unscripted Podcast

Episode 41 of the podcast is the second half of my conversation with fellow podcaster Jonathan Hart. I don’t normally dedicate episodes, but I have to dedicate this one to my other favorite 41 that is out there right now: Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale.Don’t get in a huff about that dedication; we don’t talk about sports or the Red Sox in this episode at all. This is more of a discussion on the journey of life for Jonathan that parallels our previous episode. At times, it even intertwines with that conversation. We start out with the music that was the soundtrack of Jonathan’s adolescent years. As many music lovers know: music can play a large part in shaping who you are. That was very true for young Jonathan, and hasn’t stopped impacting him in that way.Jonathan admits that his love for the Grateful Dead and other bands from the 70’s fueled the divide in ideology that had been previously embedded in his family’s paternal code. He went on to break the streak of men joining the military as he embraced a more lovin

This is Episode 40 of the podcast. My wife is a huge U2 fan, so she would enjoy me saying that as: “This is 40”. However, this episode does not feature Bono as its guest, or any other musician from Ireland. Don’t be dismayed; Jonathan Hart has a pretty darn interesting story to tell.It starts with what happened before Jonathan was even born. We do a deep dive into his paternal roots and talk about his lineage. That lineage is steeped in a very proud service to our country by his Father and his Father’s Father. Jonathan, however, did not feel suited for that same lot in life and his life went down a much different road.Jonathan became a first-time Dad at a very young age with his girlfriend of a couple of years. Things went downhill before their little girl was even 2 years old; starting with the couple splitting up to the Mom deciding she couldn’t or didn’t want the role of Mother anymore, leaving Jonathan to figure it out on his own. With the help of family, that’s exactly what Jonathan did.It’s the kin

Episode 39 of the podcast is extremely special because it features my first ever guest that is not actually a Dad.Have you picked yourself up off the floor now? Close your lower jaw… I know this is mind-blowing news. But, you’ll come to see why I made this decision once you’ve listened to this episode.The reason I’ve bent one of the founding basis’ of this podcast is because Dr. Anthony Balduzzi brings a lot to the podcast and to you: the listener. Not only is the story of his very brief time on earth with his own father a solid enough reason, pretty much, for him to have his story told, it’s what Dr. Anthony chose to do with his life after that.You saw it in the title of the episode: The Fit Father Project.There is no coincidence with the timing of the release of this episode. In the USA, Thanksgiving Day was just last week. So, not only are December’s holidays right around the corner, but you may have just put on a couple of new pounds. What better way to get a jump on all of that?This conversation is as mu

In this, the 38th episode of the podcast, I found myself talking with Terry Ogburn.In a few of my experiences at conferences, for marketing or podcasting, I’ve run into Jessica Rhodes a few times now. Jessica is the CEO & Founder of Interview Connections. I honestly didn’t know if anything would ever come from any of our conversations at these conferences until one day I received an email with a suggested guest. The email, from one of Jessica’s staff, basically said that Terry would be an excellent guest for the podcast because of his life experiences.Terry has had significant success when it comes to the world of business. He has also helped a great many corporations and entrepreneurs find their way into success, whether as a start-up or helping a struggling business find their way. But, Terry’s road in life has gone through its own levels of struggle… even to the extreme of tragically losing the life of one of his children years ago. We discussed all of this in our conversation here. Terry even det

This is episode 37 of the podcast, and number 2 of 2 with fellow podcaster and music lover, RJ Bee. Although this episode is heavily steeped in our discussion about music and the band Phish, this may be the most that one of my “Fork in the Road” episodes focuses on fatherhood. Usually, these secondary episodes with guests are complete offshoots onto other topics. However, you’ll still find some fatherly gems between RJ and myself in this one.RJ and I share some strong similarities within our musical teenage years. We both spent a lot of our teen years following bands that toured heavily, had tremendous communities and people who taped each of their shows enabled us (and hundreds of thousands of other fans) to collect and listen to shows like the true fanatics we were.So, let us just thank tapers. Oh, what’s that, you ask? I’m glad you asked, because tapers deserve a lot of praise and gratitude. A taper, simply put, is someone who goes to a concert and tapes it. But, there’s a lot more that goes into it. These

This is episode 36 of the podcast, 1 of 2 with fellow podcaster RJ Bee. RJ is quite an intelligent man. I don’t just say that because we share a very common interest in music, but because he has been working for years in the world of politics and communications.When RJ and I first connected, we both asked each other if we thought we would be good guests on each other’s podcasts or not. It was almost like a lightning round on a game show as we took turns interrogating one another. I guess you could say that I won, since I got to have RJ on my podcast first. Which I am quite pleased about.RJ is another in what is becoming a fantastically long line of guests who have very unique upbringings. He tells a lot about his youth throughout those times all the way through to the somewhat recent sudden loss of his own Dad. We discussed that at some length and there is a phone call between RJ and his Dad that we discussed in this episode that I’m at a loss for the proper adjective for. Serendipitous? Miraculous? Take a li

Episode 035, for those keeping count. This is the 2nd of 2 episodes with web designer and artist Sam Jennings. Sam is my second guest that has a large connection to a man I adore: Prince. A lot of this episode is us talking about the period of 9 years that Sam worked very closely with and for Prince. He gives a deeper view into the man that at times was so private. We talk in depth about the positive influence that Prince had on our lives, from the time we were both teenagers.After working with Prince, Sam went on to work with Pearl Jam with the same goals in mind as he had accomplished with Prince. His tenure did not last as long with the Seattle-based band, and we discuss the not-so obvious differences between these two employers of his.If you are a fan of Prince, these conversations with Sam are so meaningful and informative. I am still ecstatic that he was able to come and sit with me for so long to record these episodes. I will add that if you happened to skip the previous episode with Sam and I because

This is episode 34 of the podcast, 1 of 2 with web designer and artist Sam Jennings. Sam is my second guest that has a large connection to a man I adore: Prince. Even with this being our episode to talk about fatherhood, we do touch on some of the personal and business aspects of Sam’s near decade of working with Prince. It was quite interesting to hear how much importance Prince put on family during the time Sam was involved with him.Sam joins the esteemed group of guests that do not come from a traditional One Mom One Dad family situation. One of the things that gives this podcast an ability to have an extensively long lifespan is that everyone is different. But, the added bonus is that everybody’s Dad is different… and everybody’s family life is different, as well. Sam’s family history is quite unique, so I was very interested to get into how that proved to be successful for all of them.I have no problem repeating this: I feel, dare I say, blessed by the people I am speaking with for the sake of the podcas

The 2nd half of my conversation with Brad Rothschild, we pick up right where the previous episode left off: having a very laid-back chat which eventually leads into what Brad does for a living. He’s a documentary filmmaker with films you may have even seen on Netflix or iTunes (Tree Man and Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald).Brad also makes up half of the team that does The Amen Corner podcast. His partner, Steven A. Cook, you may recall was a recent guest on my podcast as well. But, don’t let yourself think for a second that means the 4 episodes of them are anything alike. They really aren’t.This episode not only goes into a lot of Brad’s process with his films, but it kind of meanders into some funny territory. We go so far as naming David Lee Roth’s yoga clothing company that he may not even realize he owns. Brad also at one point tells me that my podcast is the cocaine of podcasts. Yeah. I will just leave that here because I’m sure that will bring a lot of new listeners in, right?I hope you all enjoy t

Father’s Day is a good opportunity for a quick little episode. There are a few holidays I will do this with. Something that should please some of you who may get frustrated that my episodes don’t fit into your shorter work commute.This is my 2nd Annual episode to celebrate Father’s Day. It’s now my 27th Father’s Day without my Dad; the 9th such holiday that I, myself, am being heralded as a Dad. I still do not take that title or job lightly.For those of you who missed 2016’s Father’s Day episode, let me reset you. My Dad’s last Father’s Day was during my Senior year in High School. The doctors had very recently diagnosed him with brain cancer. I was 17 and that was the last time I would be able to praise him according to the holiday for being the fantastic Father that he had been to me and my 7 siblings.I still go through a number of emotions when I think back to my 17 year old self, completely unable to process what was going on. It is what it is, but I can’t stop regret from flooding over me when I thi

The 1st of 2 episodes with Brad Rothschild, this conversation is now becoming a line that is stretching out from its epicenter: my previous guest, Bruce Mendelsohn. So, again, a ton of thanks to Bruce for starting this rolling ball.Brad makes up half of the team that does The Amen Corner podcast. His partner, Steven A. Cook, you may recall was a recent guest on my podcast as well. But, don’t let yourself think for a second that means the 4 episodes of them are anything alike. They really aren’t. Aside from the fact that it got really close to tears being shed on Steven’s Daddy episode and the same happening here. Although, truth be told, it was me on this episode, rather than the guest.This part of our conversation got really deep, even if there were a lot of laughs. The history of Brad’s family is intense. His own Father’s family fled the Nazis as Jews in Germany shortly before many people they knew and loved were put in concentration camps. They became refugees, moving from country to country before they ev

This is episode 2 of 2 with author and critic Matt Thorne. Like I said on the last episode, if you’ve been here for a while, you noticed that his episodes were released in reverse order. Again: don’t call the authorities. I did that on purpose. The previous episode came out first because it was a little closer to the 1 year anniversary of Prince’s death. That episode was focused very heavily on Prince and the book that Matt wrote some years ago chronicling his life through his music. So, that episode preceded this episode that is more about his being a Dad.Again, it’s worth repeating that I searched for a while for the right person to sit and record for my podcast with that I could delve deep into my love for Prince and his music. Of course, that someone would need to be a Dad, also. You better believe that Matt Thorne was the perfect guy to start this off with. Yes. This is a start of something. I completely plan on recording more episodes with other Dads out there who can talk about Prince with me. In fact,

This is the 1st of 2 episodes with author and critic Matt Thorne. For those of you who are regulars, you’ll catch that his episodes are being released in reverse order. That’s not an error. I held off on releasing this episode so as to not completely coincide with the 1 year anniversary of Prince’s death. Matt & I agreed that may not be in the best taste. But, it still made more sense to me to have this one out before his Dad episode (which will follow, shortly).I had been waiting a long time for the right person to record an episode for my podcast with that I could delve deep into my love for Prince and his music. Matt Thorne was absolutely the right guy to start that off with. Yes, what that implies is completely true. I hope and plan to record more episodes with other Dads out there who can talk about Prince with me.You can get a little more lead information to this episode and a little extra look into why I am the way I am about Prince by reading my last blog post. Here’s a link, just to make it easie

This is the 2nd episode with Steven A Cook. He is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.Before speaking with Steven, I not only had no clue what all that meant, but it made me laugh a little at the idea of my having a political conversation with him. Kind of like those videos you sometimes see of a professional athlete playing against a little kid. Oh, isn’t that cute? Look how the pro is not even really trying and letting the kid feel like he’s good. Yeah, that would be me as the kid.Regardless of the vast difference in our levels of knowledge about all things politics, here in the USA and around the world, this was a good and informative conversation between the two of us. I’m not judging my audience, but if you’re anywhere closer on the scale of poli-sci knowhow to where I am, don’t let Steven’s wisdom scare you off from listening to this. I think having me as the other side of the conversation makes this a lot more listenable and accessi

My conversation with Steven A. Cook was made possible by last episode’s guest, Bruce Mendelsohn. So, many thanks to Bruce for that. I did my research on Steven immediately when Bruce mentioned him. My first thought, frankly, was that he was going to be out of my league if or when we touched on things other than just about being Dads. I saw that he is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and I not only had no clue what all that meant, but it made me laugh a little at the idea of my having a political conversation with him. Kind of like those videos you sometimes see of a professional athlete playing against a little kid. Oh, isn’t that cute? Look how the pro is not even really trying and letting the kid feel like he’s good. Yeah, that would be me as the kid.Our episodes prove me wrong. Which serves as a solid reminder in life, really. Not to get a certain 80’s song stuck in your head or anything, but People are People. It’s very true. Which

This episode with Bruce Mendelsohn sincerely has changed my life. Bruce tells his story of the day’s events back in 2013 of the Boston Marathon Bombings. He was a bystander, just there to meet his brother who ran in the marathon at the finish line and hang out with him afterward. The day’s events, of course, changed from what everyone expected and Bruce acted before he really reacted. Bruce was very heavily involved in one of those stories of that day. One of the stories that involved people that were injured and others who helped them, in one way or another. There are many heart-wrenching and emotionally charged stories from that day. Most of them, at their core, champion the side of human nature that shows how – as Bruce put it – ordinary people can do extraordinary things. How Bruce and eventually others coordinated to save the life of then 20 year-old Victoria McGrath that day is quite compelling.We talked in this episode about how there are some positives that aren’t all that difficult to discover out of

This is the 2nd episode with Joe Bruzzese, a SAHD who is a Northern California transplant from Boston. Joe and I connected over Twitter some time back and I couldn’t help but become friends with him, due to his extreme loves for Boston sports teams and music. Those common interests of ours made it easy for us to get along well from the get-go.There’s a lot of bouncing around in this episode, since it’s edited from our over 3 hour recording that made up his 1st episode and this Fork in the Road episode. I accidentally pushed Joe’s buttons a little at the beginning. How could we not talk about politics, with all that was happening at year’s end? We quickly changed direction, right into music. Some of you who are privy to Joe’s Twitter rants about sports and the Red Sox may be very surprised to find out what a big hippie he actually is. It’s true. We explored all around our love for, what some may simply describe as, the jamband scene.We eventually found our way back to sports. Which meant a lot of Red Sox talk

This is the 1st of 2 episodes with Joe Bruzzese, a SAHD who is a Northern California transplant from Boston. Joe and I connected over Twitter some time back and I couldn’t help but become friends with him, due to his extreme loves for Boston sports teams and music. Those common interests of ours made it easy for us to get along well from the get-go.I spent between 1 and 2 years being a working from home SAHD with my oldest child. Because of that, I’ve always had so much more respect for single Moms, SAHM’s and SAHD’s. I was so pleased to finally record with Joe and hear of his family history to his becoming a Dad, himself. Joe has a very rich Italian heritage that we delved into a bit. It was very interesting to hear how they ended up in Boston, and, in turn, ended up in my home state of California.I am sure a lot of you may be here for the first time, wanting to learn up a little more on who this Bruzzo guy is from Twitter or his rants on the Section 10 Podcast. If that’s you: welcome! I hope you enjoy this

This is the 2nd episode with Kevin Browning, aka KB, the manager of the band Umphrey’s McGee. In our 1st episode, we really dug deep into some parenting philosophies and uncovered the background on Kevin’s upbringing to piece together some of what has helped build him into the Dad he is today. Kevin successfully balances managing Umphrey’s McGee while holding strong to the roots of his wife and their three children.Originally, I thought this episode might end up similar to the route the Fork in the Road with Umphrey’s McGee’s bassist Ryan Stasik did: close to a 50/50 split of talking sports and music. Especially because we recorded this during the MLB playoffs while KB’s beloved Chicago Cubs were battling the LA Dodgers for the National League Pennant and a chance to go to the World Series. However, we got into a lot of questions regarding the background of the band he more than successfully manages and detailing how some of the decision-making process works currently for the band that sports ended up taking

This is the 1st of 2 episodes with Kevin Browning, aka KB, the manager of the band Umphrey’s McGee. Kevin has always really been someone I’ve wanted to be able to have a lengthy conversation with, as I’m always so impressed with the way he has been able to balance a very busy work life with being a husband and father of three children.I know I often think about how it really is fascinating how many of us match up with someone who, at the very least, share an interest in one another. The bonus is: a lot of couples out there have found someone who shares common interests with them. Take it a step further, into super bonus mode, and you find someone who is compatible and understanding of some of the more intricate parts of our life. Kevin’s life (and maybe a lot of guys with successful marriages in the entertainment world) is definitely all of that. It says a lot about his wife and both of their love for one another that they do what they do…and do it so well.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitch