photo-300x225.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225">We are on the road this week, broadcasting live from the Hampton Inn Studios right in the middle of their weekend at Wanee 2018. Nope…we’re not going to be providing a review of the festival or talk music.  Instead, let’s discuss the misadventures of two wannabe hippies, strangers in a strange land, trying to fit in the best they can.

This week, the Mad Madrigals discuss what we can learn from hippie subculture. Most of the time they felt like advanced beginners among these hippies, quickly recognizing that they had plenty to teach us without even knowing it. From the outside looking in, it may be easy to write off hippies as deviants, short-sighted, or agents of counterculture, but without a doubt, many of them have an understanding of the world that we strive to achieve.

Expect tie-dyed discussions of community, connectivity, allowing your true self to shine, sharing space and thoughts with strangers, satisfaction in your unique purpose, striving to love people more, understanding what really matters, and using your time (your life) wisely.

photo-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225">Do you have superpowers? Can you recognize and appreciate the superpowers of others? What started as a debate over which Madrigals’ favorite superhero is best, quickly turned into a well-balanced view of the role of superheroes in our lives and what we could learn from them.

Listen as the Mad Madrigals discuss their favorite masked heroes (Superman and Batman), their superpowers, and how they fell in love with their characters.  Whether it’s finding meaning in the loss of parents, or being exiled from your home planet to serve another, we learned a lot about each other through our choice in hero and what they bring to the world.

Go and be a hero where you are best served. With great power comes great responsibility.

Madrigals-Audiophile-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300">Mass media has definitely turned to the media of the masses.  With so many streaming options available to us, such as Apple Music, Amazon Unlimited, Spotify, Shazaam, YouTube, BandCamp, Soundcloud, Nugs.net, Pandora, Tidal….and I’m exhausted, finding the right service to subscribe to can be a little daunting.

This week the Mad Madrigals discuss what this means to them, the services they use, and for better or worse, what their process is. We all feel invincible with our headphones on, and for many of us, the process of discovering and consuming new music is just as satisfying as the listening experience itself. From radio to television to mixtapes to shared clouds to playlists between friends (*cough, cough*), the opportunities for sharing and discovery are endless. And once you have discovered artists you love, your ability to find their influences or other artists like them is easier than ever.

No matter your poison and passion, consume it at the highest level. Let our love for music be your example.  For you, it may be the ability to stream it on the go and have it anywhere. For some, it may be the ability to collect it, display it in your home, and be the best fanboy you can be. For others, it may be embracing your inner audiophile, kicking back, dimming the lights, pouring a drink, and listening without disruption.

4882-429E-A17A-69D2C3030AD7-300x300.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="300">If you have been following the podcast closely, you already know that Kyle won’t stop talking. Ever… Even when Joe is talking… This week, for better or worse, we give him the floor (fingers crossed). It’s storytime people!  Hopefully, he gets it out of his system so Joe gets a chance to talk in episodes to come.

This week the Mad Madrigals cover their jealousy of the typewriter lifestyle of Tom Hanks, psychological insights of Kyle’s choice of top Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, 3rd grade Kyle creating busy work for his classmates, an unhealthy obsession with cracking the code of the zodiac killer, Joe’s metrosexual reading habits, the benefits of journaling and capturing stream of consciousness, and more than you ever wanted to hear about circumcision.

While storytelling with a purpose can start a revolution, Kyle will definitely lengthen your life with a few hearty laughs this episode.

Madrigals-Ballistic-Missile-Warning-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169">“Come with me, and you’ll see…this is not a drill!” How close are we to pushing the big red button?  How prepared are we for the threat of war? What would you do if you knew a threat was imminent? This week the Mad Madrigals are live (…and on tape) shortly after the State of Hawaii received a mobile alert warning of a ballistic missile threat to the island.

Discussions of their own mortality, the company we keep, the untimely airing of grievances, days we choose to celebrate, the in real life (IRL) movement, and appropriate moments for evangelism were all tackled this week.

The Mad Madrigals discuss the adrenaline pumping event, and dive into the thoughts, actions, and hopes they each would have if they experience such a threat. What would you do?  What would you say? How would you be changed after it?

P.S. If you are just getting out of your bunker on the islands and you are surprised by the lack of destruction, shoot us an email, we would love to interview you.

Madrigals-Love-Art-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225">This week, our madrigals came in with a plan for this episode and blew it up immediately. Maybe they had a rough week?  Maybe they just needed to talk it out? Maybe they just needed to crown a winner…the Southern Woman or the Northern Women?

Talk of the challenges of a capturing the moments in family life, the bane of making all the right decisions at the right time, misadventures in online dating, jealousy over the songwriting abilities of Paul Simon and Tom Petty,  and Kyle’s ability to avoid the game warden through his knack for wildlife photography all made it into the episode.

We all are at different points in our lives and have collected our own experiences and wisdom. We have and face challenges that may not be apparent without a good conversation. Joe and Kyle spend some time this week chatting through some of their challenges with family (or lack thereof) and discuss the importance of knowing thyself, and taking time, before one becomes comfortably numb. Remember…everyone comes with a story and sharing your story can be more beneficial than you can even imagine.

Madrigals-Podcast-Viktor-Frankl-Tombstone-Rubbing-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300">Google thinks it’s found what fulfillment looks like, but we’re not so sure…

Can you define what it means to be deeply fulfilled? Are we really rewarded for searching for personal fulfillment? Will working yourself to death (and sacrificing the precious time you have with loved ones in the process) be worth the impact you will potentially make? Is finding fulfillment more about the journey or the outcome? This week, the Mad Madrigals discuss their personal journeys, their struggles and lack of clarity in achieving it, and their perspective on finding fulfillment in their lives.

Discussion of the development of industrialized civilization, the role of deeply satisfying mentor/mentee relationships in the Madrigals lives, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pepper a conversation that leads to the Roger Waters influenced question: Has the species amused itself to death? Joe and Kyle discuss their purpose, desires, and how we (if ever) achieve fulfillment.

Remember, work-life balance is a myth and we are rarely rewarded for it. The only reality we have is to take control of your situation (and your legacy) despite popular opinion. Maybe fulfillment is self-actualization, maybe it isn’t. Maybe fulfillment is finding meaning, even in suffering as Viktor Frankl suggests. All we know for sure is that your time is a gift and should be shared with intent. Respect yourself and be appropriately selfish. You need to recognize and act on your needs.

Madrigals-Podcast-First-Concert-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225">Hello Cleveland! Listen as the Mad Madrigals share some of their music memories including their first memories of live music, their first “real” concert experience, their most memorable concert experience, concerts that surprised them, and some of their artist close encounters.

Joe shares a variety of memories including being passed around by his aunts for polkas with The Del Sinchak Band, seeing Phil Collins and falling in love with the performance of music, running like hell to see the Dave Matthews Band, experiencing the other-worldly Genesis reunion for the first time in his “concerting” lifetime, participating in a multigenerational shared experience at a local Elton John show, and following that perfect girl to a Justin Timberlake show he never thought he would enjoy.

Kyle shares a “plethora” of memories of a young man soaking up the local music festival with cool dudes and tattoos, trading in expensive grilled cheeses for M&Ms and autographs when seeing Phish for the first time, getting emotional when being immersed in Roger Water’s “The Wall”, getting lost in the smoky eyes and fiery fretboard of Jane’s Addiction’s own, Dave Navarro, and snagging a guitar pick from the demon himself, Gene Simmons of KISS.

This week, Joe and Kyle challenge you to not just listen to the music, but rather experience it. Go see your band! It’s worth it and the opportunity to do so may pass sooner than you think.

Seek out a community of listeners, dive into your band’s influences, and don’t forget about the incredible artists that are playing music right in your area. And if that isn’t enough we talked about Aerosmith, Gwen Stefani, Davy Knowles, and Pink Floyd, too. Put the headphones down, turn the TV off, listen to this week’s episode, and get concert tickets asap!

566B-468C-BADA-3DC64844FE5A-300x300.jpeg" alt="Chickapig Prototype Board Game" width="300" height="300">Pass go. Sink their battleship. Choose a career card. Drink too much Sailor Jerry’s Rum in the billiard room with the lead pipe. This week the Mad Madrigals discuss everything from voluptuous WWII-era art, unreasonable expectations that have been placed on the modern woman, and Kyle even introduces his foot fetish to the world. Most importantly, we discuss how we can better examine the time we spend with family and friends. How can we maximize this experience? How can we make meaningful interactions in a world where we have limited time to do so? Try tabletop games!

This week, Joe and Kyle, dive into a survey of several of their favorites, including Ticket to Ride, Yahtzee, Pandemic, Forbidden Island, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Cards Against Humanity, and several others. Excitingly, the Mad Madrigals discuss trying a new (prototype!) board game, Chickapig, for the first time. Chickapig is a great choice for families, friends, kids, and even the bar crowd.

Listen as the Madrigals examine what they’ve learned about their loved ones throughout the process of bringing several different styles of games into their lives, and challenge you to find and share your favorites as well. There are plenty options where you can share a moment and learn a lot about others, even people that you think you’ve known for years, as you strategize as opponents, teams, and so on.

Remember friends…Joe likes the Dave Matthews Band way too much, parking is never free, and probability is sexy.

Hendrix-Grave-Lipstick-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300">Have you ever had an other-worldly experience? Have you ever felt that something bigger was going on than the moment at hand?  Have you had a spiritual happening that you just cannot completely explain? On this episode, the Mad Madrigals share several hair-raising experiences and stories in music and life that would make you think twice about the way you treat the spirits that cross your path.

The Mad Madrigals discuss their experiences including a rainy Seattle day visiting with the hippie spirit named “Bill” at the grave of the late Jimi Hendrix (and several of his female admirers), a first time visit to the Gorge Amphitheatre to hear one of Joe’s favorite, the Dave Matthews Band (a pilgrimage that even Ray Charles could see the beauty in), and lessons in life, loss, and white bugs from a humble caretaker of days past, a towering presence named “Charlie.”

The world around us can provide surprises when we live life with your eyes and ears open. We challenge you to let life happen around you, seek out experiences, and thoroughly absorb it. If you ever meet a ghost, ghoul, or goblin, they all deserve to be treated with respect. Just roll with it!