Empty Checking with Derek Brink

Episode 38 - People Suck at Driving

After an unexpected week off, I'm back with an episode that goes all over the place! This week, after giving some updates on my personal life, I talk about the recent Roseanne scandal, the WWE, Batman's 1966 series, music from Primus and the Beatles (respectively), and even touch on some books by Liz Moore and Nicole Krauss. It's a busy one! Time indexes: 0:00 - Introduction and stuff about my personal life. 8:45 - Music Break 1 - "Sometimes You Say Goodbye" from the "Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Shout" release. 9:15 - TV Talk The Roseanne Scandal (9:15) WWE (18:33) Batman '66 (23:40) 28:54 - Music Break 2 - "Outdoor Summer Concerts" (single) 29:24 - Music Stuff Primus - The Desaturating Seven (29:24) The Lost Art of the Concept Album (33:52) The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (36:08) 39:44 - Music Break 3 - "Church Girls" from the "Trigger Warnings & Sunshine" album. 40:15 - Outro stuff, including books by Liz Moore and Nicole Krauss. Thanks for your support!

Episode 37 - Tell Em Derek Sent Ya and They'll Say "Who?"

This week's episode is a little different. Apart from mentioning some hats I bought in the intro, I mostly just talk about roughly a dozen records. Each of them in some way shape or form influenced my new album "It Could Be Worse," which is being released on May 18, 2018. This was a fun one for me. It's just the one subject, so I'm not going to do a time index this week, but I will say the songs that are played are both from my new album and are "Nobody Else" and "Always," in that order. Thanks for listening! Please check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for more stuff!

Episode 36 - I Want Good Things for Andie MacDowell

DON'T MISS THIS ONE! This week's episode gets bananas. I talk about the video game God of War for a little while, but the show REALLY gets going when I review the Hallmark movie "The Beach House" starring Andie MacDowell. That, plus music reviews of albums by Frank Turner, John Moreland, and a nod to Jason Isbell and some talk about my own music career as well. It's a good one. Dig it! 0:00 - Intro Stuff including a plug for my new album "It Could Be Worse." 8:12 - Music break #1 - "That Was Then" from "It Could Be Worse" 8:45 - Video Game Review: God of War (from the perspective of someone who didn't play it) 27:53 - Music Break #2 - "Remember Me" from the "Sorry I Didn't Mean to Shout" release 28:25 - Hallmark Movie review: The Beach House 38:12 - Music Break #3 - "The Best" from the "Ink Stained Fingers" album 38:43 - Music reviews of stuff by Frank Turner, John Moreland, and a nod toward Jason Isbell. 48:23 - Music Break #4 - "Please" off of the "Out from the Light" album 48:53 - Outro comments, including me plugging a gig. Thanks! Be sure to check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for more information.

Episode 35 - There is a Weird Glitch About 10 Minutes In I Couldn't Fix

This week's episode is a little shorter, but packed with just as much as usual. I talk about music from Tom Waits, The Smithereens, The Who, and John Prine's newest release. I talk about TV shows including Deadliest Catch and Last Man on Earth. And I bid farewell to Harry Anderson, Verne Troyer, and Bruno Sammartino, to boot. Be sure to check out the companion blog at http://emptychecking.blogspot.com for photos and more! Here's the time index: 0:00 - Intro, including RIPs to Harry Anderson, Verne Troyer, and Bruno Sammartino. 8:42 - Music Break #1 - Slip Away from my "Ink-Stained Fingers" album. 9:15 - Music Stuff including my thoughts on Record Store Day and reviews of music by The Smithereens, The Who, Tom Waits, and John Prine's newest release. 23:29 - Music Break #2 - Outdoor Summer Concerts, released as a single in 2015. 24:00 - TV Talk including very briefly touching on wrestling, then longer talks on The Last Man on Earth and Deadliest Catch. 35:49 - Music Break #3 - Transience from my "Something to Look Forward to..." album. 36:21 - Outro including a podcast recommendation.

Episode 34 - The Pearl Jam Episode (Also I Say the Word Kerfuffle)

This week's show is all about Pearl Jam. I tell more or less the story of my preteen years up to the present as it relates to Pearl Jam, who have been there all along the way. That's it! Just Pearl Jam. Yayyyy! Check out the blog for photos and such: http://emptychecking.blogspot.com Thanks for stopping by!

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!