The Jay Franze Show is your source for the latest music – news, reviews, and interviews, providing valuable insights and entertaining stories, stories you won’t find anywhere else. Hosted by industry veteran and master dry humorist Jay Franze, this show delivers a fresh, non-traditional take on the world of music. Jay brings you behind the scenes with insider insights, untold stories, and candid conversations with seasoned artists, industry pros, and rising stars each week. Whether you’re here for the laughs, the information, or to be part of The Crew (his family), he’s got you covered. You will be entertained, educated, and maybe even a little surprised, because nothing is off the table here.
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35%
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80/100
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What is The Jay Franze Show: Music - News | Reviews | Interviews?
The Jay Franze Show: Music - News | Reviews | Interviews is a music podcast hosted by Jay Franze, with 228 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.
About the host
Jay Franze hosts The Jay Franze Show: Music - News | Reviews | Interviews, a music show with 228 episodes published.
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Episode #228
Archers Gate
Aug 16, 202650 min
A heavy song doesn’t start as a finished riff and a perfect hook. It starts as a feeling, a voice memo, a half-built demo, and a band willing to tear it down and rebuild it until it finally hits. We sit down with Ohio rock band Archer’s Gate for a deep, practical talk about collaboration, vocal harmonies, and the real behind-the-scenes work that turns an idea into a release you can blast in the car. We get specific about their songwriting process, from who brings the first spark to how they pressure-test arrangements in pre-production with scratch tracks, pads, and evolving structures. The band also breaks down their studio workflow with Sonic Lounge Studios and engineer-producer Joe Viers, including why producer coaching changes vocal performances, how Pro Tools sessions move back and forth, and why recording clean stems for re-amping keeps tones flexible without losing personality. If you love gear talk, you’ll hear how they think about guitar roles, drum impact, and bass tone shaping with clean plus dirt blending. Then we go straight into the heart of the music. Emily shares the story behind “Metamorphosis,” using the butterfly lifecycle as a metaphor for life transformation and the hard seasons that come before growth. The band also unpacks “Suffocate,” weaving anxiety, pressure, and breathwork-inspired vocal textures into a track that feels as tense as the message. We wrap with what’s next: album plans, marketing support, building the right team, and what they actually want from management. Subscribe for more artist interviews, share this with a musician friend, and leave a review if you want more deep dives like this. What part of the band’s process do you want to hear more about next? Episode Links Archers Gate: https://www.archersgateband.com/ Send us Fan Mail Support the show Links Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Countdowns/Playlists: https://jayfranze.com/playlists/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Everywhere: @jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/ Shout Outs High Mountain Breezes Music: https://highmountainbreezesmusic.com/ VR Knives: https://www.facebook.com/VRKnives
A great heavy band does two jobs at once: it punches you in the chest with sound, then pulls you closer with truth. Jay Franze sits down with Ohio recording artist Matthew Fritsch, vocalist for Life After This, to talk about the moments that shaped his approach to modern metal and hard rock, starting with the impact of Papa Roach. We get into what “stage energy” really means, how crowds become one unit, and why the most powerful lyrics are often the most direct ones. Matthew breaks down his songwriting process as a vocalist who doesn’t play instruments, building songs collaboratively from a riff-first foundation and then writing melody and lyrics after the music reveals its mood. We also talk about why he pushes for variety across the catalog, keeping every track on the same street but not in the same house, and how vulnerability in vocal performance can be just as heavy as screaming. Then we go behind the curtain: building a real music community through presale ticket hustle, hanging with fans after sets, and even renting a school bus party ride to bring supporters to a show. On the production side, Matthew shares what it’s like recording at Sonic Lounge with engineer Joe Viers, trusting creative ideas, and dialing in a mix with feedback that serves the song. Subscribe for more interviews, share this with a friend who loves heavy music, and leave a review with the one band that taught you to be braver. Episode Links Life After This: https://lifeafterthis.com/ Send us Fan Mail Support the show Links Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Countdowns/Playlists: https://jayfranze.com/playlists/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Everywhere: @jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/ Shout Outs High Mountain Breezes Music: https://highmountainbreezesmusic.com/ VR Knives: https://www.facebook.com/VRKnives
David Chatfield, Founder and CEO of Harmony Records
Jul 19, 202653 min
Streaming promised unlimited music, but it also trained us to treat songs like disposable wallpaper. We sit down with Harmony Records founder and CEO David Chatfield to talk about what that shift costs artists and listeners, and why he thinks the next wave is about bringing music back to being an experience you choose, not noise that happens to you. David walks us through building a record label from the ground up, from the early 1980s world of $125,000 recording budgets and indie distribution to today’s reality of home studios, cheaper lockouts, and the brutal competition of constant new releases on Spotify. We dig into what actually holds up across every era: writing better songs, crafting memorable hooks, arranging music for records, and following through on promotion when things inevitably go sideways. Then we get practical about music marketing and artist development. David explains why a million streams can still mean nothing if you do not tour, how a small base of superfans can fund a real career through merch and direct support, and why physical media like CDs and vinyl is trending again when the packaging gives people something to hold, read, and keep. We also talk legacy artists, catalog revival, cinematic music videos, radio strategy, and thinking globally about where fans still buy records. If you got value from this conversation, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more artists and music fans can find the show. What part of today’s music business do you want us to tackle next? Episode Links David Chatfield: https://davidblakechatfield.org/ Harmony Records: https://harmonyrecordsmusic.com/ Send us Fan Mail Support the show Links Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Countdowns/Playlists: https://jayfranze.com/playlists/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Everywhere: @jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/ Shout Outs High Mountain Breezes Music: https://highmountainbreezesmusic.com/ VR Knives: https://www.facebook.com/VRKnives
A band that adopts a highway, cleans it with fans, then goes straight back to building a tightly synced live show is the kind of story we can’t stop talking about. I’m joined by Rex Larkman, drummer for Tropidelic, for a conversation that moves from Cleveland pride to the real mechanics of modern touring, with plenty of laughs and hard-earned lessons in between. We get into the Cleveland music scene and how a “Lake Erie ocean” mindset can fuel a band whose sound blends reggae rock, funk, hip-hop, and high-energy drumming. Rex breaks down the drummers who shaped him, from Neil Peart and Trey Cool to Joey Jordison and Carter Beauford, and explains how he approaches recording versus performing so the parts serve the song but the stage still hits like a rush. Then we go deep on the gear and the why behind it: click track philosophy, backing tracks used as layered support rather than shortcuts, and Rex’s practical Roland SPD-SX setup with count-offs and a kill switch for the nights when tech fights back. We also talk tour life, Warped Tour chaos, rain-soaked shows, and the surreal feeling of playing Red Rocks, plus the “basement of Red Rocks” vibe at The Caverns. We wrap with Tropidelic’s new album First Light, DIY music video production, and a shout-out to the unsung heroes behind every great show. If you like artist interviews, touring stories, drumming talk, and behind-the-scenes music production, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What’s the best live venue you’ve ever been to? Episode Links Tropidelic: https://tropidelic.com/ Send us Fan Mail Support the show Links Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Countdowns/Playlists: https://jayfranze.com/playlists/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Everywhere: @jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/ Shout Outs High Mountain Breezes Music: https://highmountainbreezesmusic.com/ VR Knives: https://www.facebook.com/VRKnives
New Tours Announced, Favorite Hair Metal Band, and Music News
Jun 30, 20261h 14m
Empty seats can cancel a tour faster than bad reviews, yet rock touring is still printing money. We start with a rapid-fire rundown of newly announced rock and metal tours and quickly end up doing what real fans do: clicking past the headline to check official artist sites, compare dates, and figure out whether these runs are truly “fall tours” or just a handful of shows with a catchy label. From there, we dig into the live music economy: major tour earners, the reality of Ticketmaster seat maps packed with available seats, and why some artists overbook venues they can’t fill. We talk about how early tour cancellations protect budgets, but also how they disappoint the people who already made plans, bought tickets, and just wanted a loud night out. We also get into the messy, behind-the-scenes stuff that shapes concerts: leaked and unfinished recordings (and whether fans should listen at all), curfews and fines that can chop an encore, and the kind of production nightmare that happens when a show gets hit with a power outage mid-set. Then we lighten it up with our question of the day on favorite hair metal bands, run through the latest country and rock chart countdowns, and hit July music birthdays. To close, Tiffany shares her new book, Networking Your Way To The Big Stage, including the writing process, imposter syndrome, and how small relationship-building habits can multiply opportunities for artists and anyone working in the music industry. Subscribe, share this with a friend (if not, tell two), and leave a review with your favorite hair metal pick and why. Episode Links Jason Hale: https://jayfranze.com/episode55/ Bruce Reiter: https://jayfranze.com/episode67/ Jerry Hines: https://jayfranze.com/episode220/ Send us Fan Mail Support the show Links Jay Franze: https://jayfranze.com/ JFS Countdowns/Playlists: https://jayfranze.com/playlists/ Contact Contact: https://jayfranze.com/contact/ Socials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayfranze YouTube: https://youtube.com/@jayfranze Everywhere: @jayfranze Services Services: https://jayfranze.com/services/ Books Books: https://jayfranze.com/books/ Merchandise Merchandise: https://jayfranze.com/merchandise/ Support Support: https://jayfranze.com/support/ Sponsor the Show: https://jayfranze.com/sponsor/ Shout Outs High Mountain Breezes Music: https://highmountainbreezesmusic.com/ VR Knives: https://www.facebook.com/VRKnives
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