16-07-2021
#006: Sam Weller: Ray Bradbury biographer and author.
Episode 6 Show Notes:
My guest this week is Sam Weller. He is the biographer of the mighty Ray Bradbury, an author in his own right and a serious Kiss fan (which we try very hard not to dwell on but temptation is always there, so please forgive us). He’s also as knee deep in pop culture as I am, making this week an easy ride, which is always a bonus. Talking of bonus features, check out the occasional Chicago PD sirens in the background. Got to love it when that happens.
Sam currently has a book of short stories in the world called Dark Black which I can’t rain praise on enough without it becoming embarrassing - if you’re in the market to support him, you can buy a copy directly from the publisher, Hat and Beard, right here:
https://hatandbeard.com/products/dark-black
Alongside of Ray Bradbury, across the Starfish table, somehow we also managed to cram in (in no particular order)
Stephen King, Hugh Hefner, magazine publishing, Jim Henson and The Muppets, ABBA, Marvel Comics, David Bowie, Peter Benchley, The Wildhearts, pulp fiction, freelancing, Ed McBain, The Hardy Boys, The Twilight Zone, Neil Gaiman, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister, Lester Bangs, Kiss (natch) and Hoover (yep, the vacuum cleaner company).
You can find Sam at: http://www.samweller.net
You can also find him on twitter: https://twitter.com/Sam__Weller
For those of you with time on your hands, the episode of Alice Cooper on The Muppet Show I refer to (all of which can now be found on Disney Plus) is Season Three, Episode Seven - which is a good point at which to correct myself - the songs he actually performs are Welcome to my Nightmare, You and Me (not, I Never Cry) and School's Out. I can’t find any reference whatsoever to Kiss being on Sesame Street but that’s how I recall it… maybe it was edited into the show before broadcast.
The article Sam wrote about Kiss for PopMatters can be found here:
https://www.popmatters.com/kiss-should-end-it-all
I think that’s everything. Here’s the official stuff:
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Be cool to each other….
S