Mike is joined in studio on this special mid-week episode by Melbourne rockstar and Australian pro wrestling identity, Julian James. It's a BIG ONE!
The ever-charismatic James delves into:
- Remaining sober for Dry July;
- Surviving 31 days without booze;
- The mystery surrounding his upbringing and background;
- Explanation of the infamous "The Bedford" ejection;
- Idolising 1980s KISS and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper;
- Early musical influences;
- High school scallywag antics;
- Forming a rock band in school and transitioning from guitar to vocals;
- Overcoming a severe face injury;
- Moving to Melbourne at 18 for a lucrative job at the, uh, Reject Shop;
- The inception of The Shine;
- Ben Meano's express drumming development;
- Morphing into a glam rock outfit;
- Shady managers and early struggles;
- Building a reputation on the Melbourne rock scene;
- Future rock superstars Jet playing beneath The Shine;
- Seeing bands like Airbourne emerge locally;
- Groupies in the scene;
- Struggles maintaining committed relationships with the rockstar lifestyle;
- Dealing with voice loss on show night;
- How quitting smoking impacted on his voice;
- Details relating to The Shine suddenly disbanding in 2008;
- The band's highlights and legacy;
- Out of control lifestyle in The Shine's later years;
- Returning with "glamabilly" band Thunderstag in 2010;
- Constructing the band lineup;
- Thunderstag's direction and mentality to gigging;
- Spending "four figures" on the Wrestling Information Line as a youngster;
- Discovering the wrestling scene in Melbourne;
- His inauspicious start in the business as a camera cable boy;
- Spending Christmas morning in hospital courtesy of a table bump;
- Breaking into All-Star Wrestling;
- Juggling music and wrestling commitments;
- His ideology when it comes to wrestling commentary;
- Stumbling into becoming a wrestling promoter;
- Structuring the WRESTLEROCK team and concept;
- The tumultuous lead in to the May 2006 debut promotion;
- WR's creative philsophy;
- How its crowd differentiates from the usual wrestling crowd;
- Exhaustive nature of playing at and also promoting WR events;
- Wrestlerock's unlikely stars;
- Ex-Australian Idol judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson entering the company and convincing Dicko to "job" to KrackerJak;
- Reasons for WR's temporary hiatus;
- March 2015 return featuring the Brooksy/Kelly-Anne "wedding of the year";
- New Idea believing the storyline and offering "triple figures" for exclusive photos;
- Working the workers;
- Wrestlerock's future plans;
- Ambitions outside of promoting in the scene;
- Memorable pro wrestling and music encounters;
- Ric Flair hilariously cutting a legitimate promo on him;
And we close with a little addition fun:
- Shag/Marry/Kill (Awesome Kong/Chyna/Nicole Bass);
- Top five 80s teen comedies;
- The greatness that is Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Mike gives Julian THE BEDFORD, then invites friend Brett Thomas for John Wayne Parr's Six Degrees of Separation. Brett endeavours to prove JWP's apparent fighting superiority over his childhood inspiration Jean-Claude Van Damme.
