Empty Checking with Derek Brink

Episode 33 - I was looking for the word derivative when I said formulaic

You wouldn't guess it from the photo, but in this episode I talk about wrestling for over 40 minutes, covering Wrestlemania, Raw, and Smackdown. But before that, I talk about new music from Guided By Voices, Sloan, and Jason Isbell. I also talk about 30-year-old music from Iron Maiden. Then I talk about stuff I've recently watched on DVD including the movie Clue, the movie A Mighty Wind, and the "Almost the Truth" documentary on Monty Python. There's a lot going on in this episode, and plenty to see on the blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com! 0:00 - Introduction Stuff. 3:36 - Music Break 1 - What Matters Most off of my "Something to Look Forward to" album. 4:06 - Music reviews, including Guided By Voices "Space Gun," Sloan "12," and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit "Live at Twist & Shout 11.16.07." Then a fond remembrance and celebration of the 30th anniversary of Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son." 19:38 - Music Break 2 - Not Okay off of my "Trigger Warnings & Sunshine" album. 20:09 - Talking about stuff I've watched on TV recently including the movie "Clue," the movie "A Mighty Wind," and the "Almost the Truth" Monty Python documentary. 36:04 - Music Break 3 - Immortal off of my "Out from the Light" album. 36:34 - Wrestlemania Week Wrap-Up! Includes discussion of Wrestlemania, Raw, and Smackdown. 1:17:22 - Music Break 4 - AMB4 off of my "Grounds" album. 1:17:53 - Outro.

Episode 32 - Mostly TV and Jesus

I considered calling this episode "Jesus Christ Supershow," but it seemed a little on the nose. It's a slightly short episode. but I cover a lot of ground. In addition to obviously talking about Jesus Christ Superstar, I also talk about some of my other favorite secular-produced works about Jesus. In addition, I talk about stuff I've recently been watching on TV including Man Down, Splitting Up Together, and the WWE. I liked doing this one. Hope you enjoy listening to it! Time indexes: 0:00 - Intro Stuff 3:46 - Music Break #1 - "Not So Middle Life Crisis" off my "Trigger Warnings and Sunshine" album 4:16 - Stuff I've recently watched on TV. I talk about Man Down, Splitting Up Together, and Wrestling at length and also mention Deadliest Catch 18:38 - Music Break 2 - "Nobody Has It All" from The Wayne County EP 19:06 - Discussion of my favorite pop-culture stuff involving Jesus Christ, with particular attention paid to Jesus Christ Superstar, along with a defense of secular art about Christ in general. Breaking it down further... - 19:30 - Jesus Christ Superstar - 34:18 - The Last Temptation of Christ - 36:00 - Music from The Velvet Underground and Big Star - 36:48 - Dogma - 38:22 - Alice Cooper's stage show - 40:45 - Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter - 41:24 - Punk Rock Jesus And I say some other stuff too, probably. Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com!

Episode 31 - Love and Happiness and All that Kind of Crap

Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for photos and more info! This week's episode was a fun one for me and I hope you'll like it too. I play the guitar for a while in this episode as I demo the Mel9 effect made by Electro-Harmonix. They make really unique pedals and this one very literally has the capacity to turn your guitar into a SYMPHONY. Apart from that, I talk about stuff I've recently watched on TV including The IT Crowd, Splitting Up Together, and NOT Roseanne (but not for political reasons). I also talk about stuff I bought from Kerry Cottage in Maplewood, MO and a little bit about the Rolling Stones at the end. There's a little something for everyone. Check it out, and thanks for your support! Time indexes: 0:00 - Introduction including an update on my health, an update on my new album, and a segment where I talk about buying stuff from Kerry Cottage. 10:33 - Music Break #1 - "Give It Up" off of my Ink-Stained Fingers album. 11:06 - Demo of the Mel9 guitar pedal by Electro-Harmonix. 36:41 - Music Break #2 - "Just Another Day" off of my Wayne County EP. 36:58 - TV Talk including a diatribe about why I'm NOT watching Roseanne, a late-to-the-party review of The IT Crowd, and a review of Splitting Up Together. 52:30 - Music Break #3 - A snippet of "Amanda, I'm Tired" from the upcoming album. 52:51 - Outro, including my wishes for you to have a happy Easter or April Fools Day and a bit where I talk about the Rolling Stones and why they're important to me on April 1.

Episode 30 - If This Isn't Nice, I Don't Know What Is

Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for photos and more! This week's show is evidence that surrounding yourself with stuff you like can greatly impact your mood. I started out subdued and kinda down, but was my regular self by the end of it. And I owe it all to talking about new music from David Byrne and the Decemberists, pro-wrestling (including my thoughts on the Ultimate Deletion and the stunning return of Daniel Bryan), and random stuff like The Legend of Zelda, Red Dwarf, and Kurt Vonnegut. Here are the time indexes: 0:00 - Intro, including a startling omission from the previous episode. 8:13 - Music Break #1 - "Earned" from my "Things I Meant to Say" album. 8:44 - Music Stuff, including my excitement at the Flogging Molly/DKM tour and reviews of the new albums by David Byrne and the Decemberists. 19:42 - Music Break #2 - "Napalm" from the "Something to Look Forward to" album. 20:13 - Wrestling Talk including a summary of my conversation with Tony Schiavone, my thoughts on the Ultimate Deletion, and my thoughts on the return of Daniel Bryan 40:59 - Music Break #3 - "The Last Folk Singers" from the "Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Shout" release. 41:32 - Assorted topics including my final thoughts on Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the most recent season of Red Dwarf, and my love of Kurt Vonnegut.

Episode 29 - A Big, Fat, Irish Jambaroo

Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com! This week's episode is as Irish as the day is long! With St. Patrick's Day approaching on Saturday, I wanted to celebrate my heritage a little bit and talk about the Irish stuff I love. There's music from the Dubliners to the Pogues to the Chieftains to Flogging Molly to Dropkick Murphys, etc. I spend some time talking about Irish TV and movies too, including a segment on Father Ted. I talk about Irish literature including Angela's Ashes, a Flannery O'Connor story, and several others. I talk about random Irish stuff including my favorite Irish adult beverages from years gone by. There's a lot of Irish stuff in this show, is the bullet point to take away from this paragraph. Here's the time index: 0:00 - Introduction and opening remarks about being Irish and St. Patrick. 10:23 - Music Break #1 - "Battle Cry" from my "Grounds" album. 10:54 - A brief summary of Irish music I enjoy, both traditional and not-so-traditional. 26:12 - Music Break #2 - "Coming Storm" off the "Things I Meant to Say" album, which I also used last week, so please forgive me. 26:43 - An even briefer summary of Irish TV and movies that I enjoy. 37:44 - Music Break #3 - "A Song for Friendship" from my "Grounds" album 38:19 - A slightly less brief summary of Irish literature that I think is worth your time. 48:13 - Music Break #4 - "Of Death and Dying" from the "Ink-Stained Fingers" album. 48:44 - All the Irish stuff I wanted to talk about that doesn't fit in one of the above categories. 1:02:41 - Music Break #5 - "A Turning" from the "Out from the Light" album. 1:03:37 - Closing thoughts on being Irish, the racial problem facing it, and some additional thoughts. Thanks for your support!

Episode 28 - Shipping Issues

Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for lots and lots of photos this week! Sorry this is a week late going up, but I was sick earlier in the week and everything's off schedule. Kept it kind of short this week because my voice is going out thanks to being sick, too. But I talked about a lot! Subjects covered include Loot Crate's Star Trek Mission Crate, the pro-wrestlers shown on the t-shirts in the thumbnail, and music from The Decemberists, Snow Patrol, and Pearl Jam, plus whatever else comes to mind. Stop reading this! Click the thing! Time Index: 0:00 - Intro 3:34 - Music Break 1 - "You and Your Perfect Life" from my "Something to Look Forward to" album. 4:06 - My critique of the Star Trek Mission Crate and Loot Crate in general. 13:07 - Music Break 2 - "Coming Storm" from my "Things I Meant to Say" album. 13:36 - I discuss some pro-wrestling t-shirts I bought and why I bought them. 25:56 - Music Break 3 - "Not Okay" from my "Trigger Warnings and Sunshine" album. 26:30 - I talk about music from Snow Patrol, The Decemberists, a little bit of Irish stuff, and Pearl Jam. 35:55 - Music Break 4 - "The Best" from my "Ink-Stained Fingers" album. 36:25 - Outro Thanks for your support!

Episode 27 - The Kevin Smith Episode

This week's episode is a tribute to Writer/Director/Etc Kevin Smith, in light of his near "widow maker" heart attack earlier this week. That's all we're doing, so this is a very short description! Check out the accompanying blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com!

Episode 26 - This Episode Would Look Fantastic in Sequins

Be sure to check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com! On this week's episode I mostly just talk about the Olympics and my love of Rufus Wainwright, including my thoughts about his show in St. Louis on February 16. I also touch on a few personal things and complain about stuff. The usual. But this episode ended up meaning a lot to me, so I hope you enjoy it! Time indexes: 0:00 - Introduction and personal stuff. 9:48 - Music Break 1 - "Earned" from my "Things I Meant to Say" album. 10:21 - Olympics-talk... 23:19 - Music Break 2 - "Angel" off of my "Out from the Light" album. 23:50 - My thoughts on Rufus Wainwright, his show in St. Louis last week, and his impact on my life. It gets a little personal. 59:08 - "Sometimes You Say Goodbye" from my "Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Shout" album. 59:40 - Outro stuff. I briefly touch on wrestling, my disappointment in LootCrate, and my brother's new dog. Then I flounder trying to figure out howto say goodbye. Thanks for your support!

Episode 25 - Nice to Be on the Podium

Check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com! On this week's episode I talk about what I've seen so far from the Winter Olympics, then discuss music from Mr. Big (including an RIP to Pat Torpey), Roxy Music, Big Star, and AC Newman. After that, I talk about this week's happenings in the WWE. Also some other stuff. It's a fun one. Time indexes: 0:00 - Intro Stuff/State of the Podcast 6:10 - Music Break 1 - "In My Heart" from my "Out from the Light" album. 6:40 - Olympics!!! 17:53 - Music Break 2 - "Simple Things" from my "Things I Meant to Say" album. 12:23 - Music stuff (with a tribute to Pat Torpey at the top) 38:46 - Music Break 3 - "Everything" from my "Grounds" album. 39:17 - This week in the WWE. Including the revelation that I'm not a fan of the Undertaker. 55:10 - Music Break 4 - "Live Your Life" from my "Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Shout" release. 55:30 - Outro and touching on some loose ends.

Episode 24 - I Know A Lot About Kelsey Grammer (And So Can You!)

Be sure to check out the accompanying blog at http://emptychecking/blogspot.com for more stuff! This one's all over the place. I talk about the Superbowl and tell a story about how I thought Prince died almost 20 years before he did. I pay tribute to John Mahoney and that descends into talking about all the terrible things that have happened to Kelsey Grammer over the years. I talk a little about my love of The Office. Then I also get into talking about playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild, poorly explain what amiibos do, and stuff like that... Of course, there's talk about the WWE as well. And I talk about new music from Novo Amor/Ed Tullett. All that, plus a bunch of other stuff! Here are the times for those who wish to skip stuff: 0:00 - Opening remarks and intro music. 3:15 - Music Break 1 - "What Matters Most" off of my "Something to Look Forward To" album. 3:46 - Me pretending to know about football and talking about the Superbowl. (Including a story about how I thought Prince died in 1997 at the 11:48 mark.) 19:06 - Tribute to John Mahoney and a weirdly long examination of my encyclopedic knowledge of the misfortunes that have befallen Kelsey Grammer. 27:22 - I talk about how I like The Office a little. 30:27 - Music Break 2 - "Born in This Town" from my "Out from the Light" album. 30:57 - Gaming talk, with particular emphasis on Zelda: Breath of the Wild 42:57 - Music Break 3 - "El Santo Frente a la Muerte!" from the "Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Shout" release. 43:39 - This week in the WWE. 58:11 - Music Break 4 - "Being There" from the "Things I Meant to Say" album, featuring background vocals by Becky Outlaw, who has just a ridiculously cool last name. 58:43 - Music talk, including my thoughts on "Heiress" by Novo Amor and Ed Tullett 1:07:03 - Outro Music Thanks for your support!