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Bringing The Darkness To The Light

Bringing The Darkness To The Light

Written by: Catherine Nadal
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Episodes
  • Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 29, 2026

    Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 29, 2026
    Aug 29 2026
    Ron Freschi, Hard Rock Never Dies: Ron Freschi on Scar Chamber, Musical Legacy, Streaming, and Ugly on the Inside A New Chapter in Hard Rock Ron Freschi joins the program to discuss Scar Chamber, a newer musical outlet that developed from riffs and song ideas he accumulated while remaining active with Babylon A.D. He describes connecting with singer Jeff Winslow, whose lyrical approach incorporated both men’s life experiences as they grew older. Freschi explains that Scar Chamber gives him room to emphasize heavier guitar textures, louder leads, and arrangements built around multiple guitar parts. He also introduces the band’s drummer, bassist, and additional guitarist while describing the importance of reproducing recorded arrangements as faithfully as possible onstage. The band’s debut performance in Tracy, California, ended with what Freschi describes as a standing ovation. He presents the project as an unexpected but welcome new chapter in a musical life that has already given him several opportunities to return to the stage. Why Hard Rock Endures The conversation turns to the longevity of hard rock and the way audiences continue to connect with guitar-driven music across generations. Freschi rejects narrow labels such as glam or hair metal and instead describes both his earlier and current work simply as hard rock. He points to younger listeners wearing AC/DC shirts and embracing the same kinds of sounds that influenced him as a teenager. In his view, strong riffs, memorable lyrics, and sing-along anthems are not tied to one decade. He contrasts that durability with musical trends that may burn brightly for a period and then fade. The host connects his observations to an earlier discussion with Derek Davis about the 1980s and the lasting emotional pull of that era’s music. Family, Influences, and Guitar Foundations Freschi describes growing up in a musical family on his father’s side and says his father recorded and toured as a solo artist before the Beatles changed the musical landscape in the United States. He recalls beginning on trumpet, learning to read music, and then hearing Van Halen’s “Runnin’ with the Devil” as a pivotal moment that changed the direction of his life. He cites major guitar influences and the importance of growing up in the Bay Area around accomplished players. He also discusses studying jazz and says some of those concepts still influence his rock playing. The host and Freschi compare the disruption his father experienced in the 1960s with the upheaval hard-rock bands experienced when grunge transformed the market in the early 1990s. Freschi notes that both shifts ultimately affected family decisions and the direction of his own life. Streaming, Artist Compensation, and AI A substantial portion of the interview focuses on Freschi’s concerns about streaming economics and the financial realities facing working musicians. He argues that audiences who value music should purchase songs, CDs, or other releases rather than assume music should be free. He links low streaming payments to rising touring costs and says many bands struggle simply to break even when they perform. Freschi also says he uses AI for technical purposes but does not intend to use it to create his music. He presents the issue as one of respect for the time, expense, rehearsal, recording, and creative labor involved in making a song. The host agrees with his larger point that appreciation for an artist should include tangible support for the artist’s work. Songs Shaped by Loss, Life, and Reinterpretation The interview explores several songs from “Ugly on the Inside,” beginning with “Warpath,” which Freschi says is not literally about war but about the body fighting cancer after the death of his son’s mother. He explains that the album also contains material about divorce, loss, and other serious life experiences alongside more traditional rock-and-roll themes. “Torn in Two” is presented as a song that initially sounds like a relationship song but develops into something more emotionally complicated. Freschi also discusses reimagining “The Sky Is Falling,” an earlier composition written with Derek Davis, while retaining the original lyrics and adding new guitar elements. He describes that song as a semi-apocalyptic story involving life, love, death, and the future. Across these examples, Freschi emphasizes that maturity has expanded the range of subjects he wants to explore through hard rock. Ugly on the Inside and the Importance of Inner Character The closing discussion centers on “Ugly on the Inside” and the contrast between outward appearance and inner character. The host connects the song’s message to social-media pressure, bullying, children’s self-image, and the tendency to judge people visually. Freschi expands on that idea by saying people often present different versions of themselves to friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, or strangers. He argues that...
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    55 mins
  • Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 22, 2026

    Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 22, 2026
    Aug 22 2026
    Guest, Jeremy Asbrock, From a Childhood KISS Record to the Stage with Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley A Childhood Spark Jeremy Asbrock traces his musical path to a childhood encounter with KISS’s Alive II. At four years old, he bought one of the album’s records from a neighborhood child after his brother recommended the disc containing “Shout It Out Loud.” The energy of the crowd, explosions, and band made an immediate impression on him. He says he knew from that moment that he needed to be part of whatever created that feeling. KISS became his central musical focus until other bands and the guitar expanded his world. In hindsight, he finds it extraordinary that the music he first held as a child became part of his professional life. Learning to Play Rock Asbrock describes growing up near Nashville when the city was still primarily associated with country rather than rock. MTV and the hard-rock boom of 1983 and 1984 introduced him to bands including Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Ratt, Dokken, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, and Scorpions. His early guitar teachers focused on older songs and music reading, but a younger teacher finally connected with him by teaching the rock material he wanted to play. Asbrock was less interested in theory or virtuosity than in memorable songs, strong choruses, melodic solos, good singers, and fun. His first band, Rock Bottom, brought together the few teenage musicians in his town. While still a high school sophomore, he performed before roughly 800 people at Nashville’s Cannery. The Studio, the Shazam, and England Asbrock initially imagined himself working primarily in recording studios, inspired by the Beatles’ creativity and later studio experimentation. His friendship with the Shazam led him from helping with equipment and engineering their second record to joining the live band. When that album attracted attention in England, the group traveled there repeatedly within a year. He recalls broadcasting from Abbey Road, playing the piano associated with “Penny Lane,” appearing on BBC One, and eventually performing at Earl’s Court. Little Steven later gave the band airplay in the United States, although Asbrock says their larger breakthrough never fully arrived. The experience nevertheless reinforced a pattern he sees throughout his life: long-held musical interests later becoming real opportunities. Onstage with Gene and Ace Asbrock explains that his work with Gene Simmons preceded and helped lead to his work with Ace Frehley. His cover band, the Big Rock Show, had appeared on five KISS Kruises, giving people in the KISS organization opportunities to see the musicians perform. When Simmons needed a backing band for shows connected to his appearances and The Vault, Ryan Cook assembled a group that included Asbrock and Phil Shouse. Asbrock remembers Simmons as relaxed and interested in having fun rather than as a demanding musical perfectionist. He says Simmons gave the musicians room to establish their own presence onstage. Years of playing with Frehley later created a chemistry in which the band members could almost communicate telepathically, making the best performances especially meaningful. Original Music and Continued Collaboration Asbrock discusses forming Rock City Machine Co. with musicians who had already shared cover bands and work with Simmons and Frehley. Encouragement from a label-owning friend and songwriter-producer Marti Frederiksen finally moved them toward recording original material. Asbrock is proud of the album and considers every track strong enough to be a single, singling out “When Trouble Finds You” and its guitar solo. He also describes his long association with John Corabi, including performances of the 1994 Mötley Crüe album and later touring work. He praises a Corabi record made with Frederiksen for reflecting the classic-rock music Corabi genuinely enjoys. At the time of the interview, Asbrock was balancing Corabi dates, European plans, and Ace Frehley tribute performances. Music, Family, and Perspective For Asbrock, one of music’s greatest gifts has been the opportunity to see the world. Drawing on his own experience as the child of a military father, he wants his children to leave their bubble and encounter different cultures and ways of living. He also acknowledges the cost of touring, particularly time away from home and missed family experiences. Rather than directing his children into music, he wants them to find their own interests and paths. He hopes they avoid drugs and alcohol, which he describes as roadblocks that have harmed many people around him. The conversation closes with his social-media information, his account of recording “She” for Ace Frehley’s Origins, Vol. 2, and his statement that daily manifestation remains part of his morning routine. SEO KEYWORDS / KEY PHRASES Ace Frehley tribute band, KISS Alive II, Nashville rock music scene, Gene Simmons backing band, classic rock guitar player, Rock City...
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    47 mins
  • Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 17, 2026

    Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 17, 2026
    Aug 17 2026
    Bringing The Darkness To The Light with Catherine Nadal Turning Time: Sean Manning, The Exiles, and the Return of a Lost Hard Rock Project Catherine Nadal welcomes Sean Manning, guitarist for The Exiles, for a conversation about his early music career, his partnership with Paul Rafferty, the rediscovery and restoration of Turning Time, reinvention beyond the music business, classic rock influences, modern studio technology, artificial intelligence, and the stories behind “Rainmaker” and “Soul Woman.” Guest Spotlight: Sean Manning Sean Manning is the sole guest on this episode of Bringing the Darkness to the Light. He is introduced as the guitarist for The Exiles, an international hard rock project inspired by the sound and spirit of 1970s bands such as Led Zeppelin and Bad Company. Manning discusses his long creative partnership with Paul Rafferty and the unexpected revival of songs they originally recorded decades earlier. From England to The Exiles Manning explains that he became a professional musician in England as a teenager and moved to the United States near the end of the 1980s to study jazz. His career soon expanded into hard rock, heavy metal, session work, Quiet Riot, Hurricane, and the Los Angeles music scene. Through music-industry connector John Sutherland, he met Paul Rafferty, and the two quickly bonded over shared influences including Led Zeppelin, Free, Jeff Beck, and the Faces. The Lost Album and the Rebirth of Turning Time The Exiles’ album Turning Time began as a collection of 1990s demos that received little distribution and no meaningful record-label support. Manning says the rise of grunge changed the industry just as the project was developing. Decades later, interest from a European record company brought him back to the recordings, where he discovered five forgotten songs and gained the opportunity to re-record, rearrange, remaster, and finally produce the album as he had originally imagined it. Reinvention, Risk, and a Return to Music As Napster, the iPod, and digital distribution transformed the economics of recorded music, Manning decided to reinvent himself. He moved into financial markets, film financing, real estate, and other business ventures before the Exiles project unexpectedly drew him back into the studio. Catherine connects that reinvention with the same willingness to take risks that brought him from a small English village to the United States as a young musician. Manning says growth often requires entering situations where failure is possible and refusing to remain unchanged. Rock Memories, Paul Rafferty, and Creative Brotherhood Manning recalls encounters with Ronnie James Dio, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, John Entwistle, Zak Starkey, and other major figures from his early career. He describes many established artists as gracious and generous, and he shares the surreal memory of discussing red wine with John Entwistle at Zak Starkey’s house. Manning also speaks warmly about Paul Rafferty as a singer, songwriter, painter, sculptor, and creative brother. Rafferty’s original lyrics, drawings, and studio notes were later incorporated into the restored album package. Technology, Musicianship, and AI Modern technology made the restoration of Turning Time possible because the original master tapes had deteriorated and had to be baked before transfer into Pro Tools. Manning praises the efficiency of digital production but warns that overreliance on technology can make music sound technically impressive yet emotionally uniform. He argues that musicianship still requires the ability to play an instrument and rejects AI-generated music as equivalent to human performance. At the same time, he says he used AI as a visual tool for the “Soul Woman” video while keeping the music itself entirely human-made. “Rainmaker,” “Soul Woman,” and the Release of Turning Time “Rainmaker” began with a riff influenced by The Cult’s Sonic Temple era and became the first song shaped by Rafferty’s vocal melody and lyrics. “Soul Woman” was one of the lost tracks Manning had completely forgotten until the master tapes were reopened, and he later rebuilt it with additional guitars, vocals, keyboards, and modern production. Manning says Turning Time contains fifteen songs spanning heavy rock, acoustic passages, mandolin, blues, and Faces-style rock and roll. The episode closes by encouraging listeners to follow The Exiles online and explore the album as new songs are released.
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    47 mins
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