Rock & Roll Shin-soo Choo (audio)

Bob Balch joined Fu Manchu in 1996 as the lead guitarist. He's since founded Sun & Sail Club and the guitar lesson website PlayThisRiff.com. In our interview, Bob discusses his Fu Manchu sound, early musical influences and helping design a custom axe for Reverend Guitars. He also shares stories about his first guitar lessons as a kid and attending California Angels baseball games with his dad, who once got to hang with Leslie Nielsen in an airport.

Drummer Joe Winters helped found The Steepwater Band in 1998. By 2005, the band was headlining the Chicago Blues Festival and touring throughout the United States and Europe, sharing the stage with Gov't Mule, Buddy Guy, Wilco and many more. In our interview, Joe discusses the making of the band's new album, Shake Your Faith, along with the advantages of getting the band's music licensed for use on TV and in film. Joe also shares stories about trading phone calls with Eddie Van Halen and being a bat boy for the 1983 Chicago White Sox.

Musician and music connoisseur John White joins us as a guest panelist for the entire episode, as we look back on the year of our bicentennial, 1976, just in time for Independence Day. The Cincinnati Reds, better known as the Big Red Machine, were on their way to a second straight World Series title, led by Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and George Foster. Sluggers Mike Schmidt and Dave Kingman were mashing in the National League, while rookie pitching phenom Mark Fidrych was taking the American League by storm. Popular music had its own mashers in 1976 – namely, prog and its keyboardists. Progressive rock's reach spread across the country and FM radio dial, from The Alan Parsons Project to Boston to Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Live albums also dominated the landscape, with classics from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rush and Bob Seger.

We look back on 1996 - a pivotal time for our music tastes and the beginning of a dark time for baseball. While we listened to new albums by Pearl Jam, the Black Crowes and Rage Against the Machine back then, we've since grown fond of Olivia Tremor Control, Zakk Wylde and Cowboy Junkies. The start of MLB's super-steroid era resulted in ridiculous numbers across the league. Chris Hoiles hit the only cliche game-winning grand slam in MLB history and a relatively obscure pitcher won the AL Cy Young award. Oh yeah, and the Yankees won their first of a few World Series titles. Sorry, no video is available for this episode.

We look back on 1986 - a fascinating year in rock and roll and Major League Baseball. While we listened to David Lee Roth, Poison, and Georgia Satellites back then, we've since grown fond for New Order, Steve Earle and Kraftwerk. Peter Gabriel and Dire Straits videos dominated MTV and still hold up today. In Major League Baseball, we dig deeper on the dominance of and challenges facing the 1986 World Series champion New York Mets and its eclectic mix of characters, including Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter.

In this week's episode, we remember collecting baseball cards as kids - from about 1986-1993. Gabe remembers starting with 1986 Topps, while Jonathan remembers stocking up on Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks cards. Levi throws some professional card trading lingo around and recalls Beckett price guides of yore. It all makes for a lot of fun running down memory lane.

In this week's episode, we give the Bob Dylan scouting retrospective he's earned. We start with a quick overview of misconceptions and misgivings about Dylan. We then have a fantasy island album draft. Finally, with the rumors of Dylan playing a star-studded rock god festival we've dubbed Ol'chella, we create an around-the-horn dream Dylan setlist for the gig.

In this week's episode, we quickly catch up on the biggest surprises in Major League Baseball's first few weeks, including the underperforming Astros and the dominating Nationals. We then discuss the legacy of Prince, which leads to a discussion about the control an estate can have over a musician's unreleased recordings.

In this week's episode, we discuss Steve Miller's scathing remarks about the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, his induction by the Black Keys and their response. We also induct our second class of members into the Rock & Roll Shin-Soo Choo Hall of Fame, which is devoted to musicians we feel are deserving to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but unlikely to gain entry.

In this episode, we recap the first week of the Major League Baseball season, including the Chicago Cubs and Trevor Story. Jonathan then gives his eye-witness report after attending the first two shows of Pearl Jam's U.S. tour in Florida. We close the show by recapping the surprise Guns N' Roses gig at L.A.'s Troubadour and the first two scheduled dates in Las Vegas.

In this very special super-sized episode, RRSSC welcomes back Ricky Cobb to help us ring in Major League Baseball's Opening Day. We trade our playoff predictions for the 2016 season, along with our best guesses for the MVP and Cy Young awards. We also weigh the pros and cons of MLB's evolving Opening Day to include more Sunday games before the traditional Monday openers.

In this episode, we discuss the latest rumors of Axl Rose joining AC/DC for the remaining dates of their tour and the other drama surrounding the band over the last few years. We then talk about Lollapalooza's 25 year history and its evolution in light of recent criticisms of mega-festivals. To close, we speculate on the impact of new smokeless tobacco bans in some Major League Baseball cities.

In this episode, we remember the late Keith Emerson, founding member of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who passed away at age 71. Levi gives his report from the Cubs' Spring Training game he attended in Mesa, Arizona. And we debate whether Spring Training games should be played in the evening, as some players suggest.

In this episode, we welcome special guest Steve Hofstetter. Steve is a comedian and host of Major League Podcast. Steve talks about the early success of his podcast, his childhood Mets fandom and working with the Yankees during the team's 2000 World Series victory over the Mets. We also ask Steve about his veteran experience at throwing out first pitches and which teams he sees as contenders in 2016.

In this episode, we discuss Sturgill Simpson's new song and what it means to be an "outlaw" country artist. We then discuss Graham Nash's recent remarks about the demise of Crosby, Stills and Nash. On the heels of the announcement of Alice In Chains opening for Guns N' Roses, we share our most memorable opening acts from past shows. Finally, as Spring Training kicks into gear, we do a refresher on the MLB free agent moves this past offseason.

In this episode, we discuss Major League Baseball's rule changes for 2016, Yoenis Cespedes wearing his hat backwards and the types of managers that question such actions of their players. This leads to our discussion of best managers in baseball and what, exactly, makes a good manager. We also share releases from Pat Matheny, Yuck, Pinkshinyultrablast, Mondo Drag and a bunch of retrowave bands.

Rock & Roll Shin-Soo Choo has reformatted to shorter episodes and full webcam video - once again - on our YouTube channel! In this episode, we discuss Lady Gaga's David Bowie tribute at the GRAMMYs, the Grateful Dead tribute by indie bands and the Pitchfork Festival lineup slated for July in Chicago. As pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, we also eagerly jump into prognostications, fueled by Jonah Keri's SI.com MLB preseason power rankings.

Rock & Roll Shin-Soo Choo has reformatted to shorter episodes and full webcam video - once again - on our YouTube channel! In this episode, we chat with guitarist and songwriter Marc Ford. Marc played with The Black Crowes before starting his formidable solo career. He discusses grass roots record production, the evolution of the music business and his guitar technique. He also discusses collaborating with Dickey Betts and Mike Campbell, early music influences, and attending some of the first GNR club shows.

Rock & Roll Shin-Soo Choo has reformatted to shorter episodes and full webcam video - once again - on our YouTube channel! In this episode, we chat with Calixte Stamp, who married Chris Stamp - an original manager for The Who - in 1979. Calixte discusses Chris' work with The Who, Jimi Hendrix and more. She also talks about living in New York City and visiting CBGB's, The Cotton Club and other historic venues.

Rock & Roll Shin-Soo Choo has reformatted to shorter episodes and full webcam video - once again - on our YouTube channel! In this episode, we chat with Steve Gorman, the host of Steve Gorman SPORTS! and drummer for the Black Crowes and Trigger Hippy. He discusses the Baltimore Orioles, rediscovering Devo, touring with David Bowie and recording with Warren Zevon on his final album.