Exploring the Energy with Anzo & Friends

I've known Jason Darby for over 45 years, and while we've long shared a deep bond through our love of family, golf & tennis, and music, I was still surprised by the depth of his knowledge when it comes to the guitar—and especially his passion for legendary players like Eddie Van Halen, Nuno Bettencourt, and Keith Richards, to name a few.

Our conversation kicks off with a trip down memory lane, back to the late ’70s on ...

Circa Fall 1982, I first met Mike Rice in Huntington High School’s 9th-grade math class, where we became fast friends and “partners in crime.”   In fact, it turns out it wasn’t until we sat down on this Thursday afternoon in February ‘25, some 43years later, that we discovered our connection goes back as far as 1974, when we shared the same kindergarten class in Flower Hill Elementary School.Fast forward to 2025, Mike (aka “Sketch”...

My friend of 50+ years, Justin Rubin, joins me and shares his recent experience facing the L.A. Wildfires and how the fires have affected his closest friends in the surrounding areas, and how L.A. is rising to the occasion as they enter the rebuilding process.  

He relives his journey of his early days at Canterbury School when his world was rocked by the loss of his brother, Greg, from a brain tumor in 1984, followed by the loss of...

Grateful Dad & Friends would not exist if it weren’t for my guest, Will Retherford, who founded and owns the Tulsa-based production company, Citizens of Sound. 

I have my friend Lawrence Zarian - who some of you may know from his regular appearances on The Kelly Clarkson Show or from his podcast, You Are Beautiful With Lawrence Zarian - to thank for connecting us.  Although it’s my GUESTS who are the focus and who provide the co...

Love really IS in the air as we approach Valentine’s Day.  On today’s episode, I’m joined by the love of my life, my bride Ms Margs, and our friends, Lindsey Janes and Will Derasmoto, to celebrate their love and to toast to their recent engagement!
 
The conversation includes the story of how, despite the age gap and despite being in different phases of life during the early days of their relationship, they became the coupl...

The Energy Train keeps rolling with an unforgettable guest: Dave “Fetts” Fetterolf. A dynamic personality with boundless energy, Fetts is a man of many talents—insane athletic ability, a battery that never quits, a wildly successful career, and his most important role of all - husband and proud father of three.

In this episode Fetts opens up about his journey, sharing how he overcame dyslexia to earn a spot at Cornell University, wh...

Kicking off Season 4 and ringing in 2025 with a cool cat that has widened my musical lens TENFOLD, Mr. John “Johnny Gowanus” Hennegan.  

Although I’ve known John since the early 80’s and we’ve run with the same group of guys over the years, I had zero clue just how broad his taste in music is, so a big shoutout to Erik “Swede” Larson for suggesting I invite John to be a guest on GD&F in the first place!  You were 100% right, Swe...

Similar to Season 2, Episode 1 when I sat down with Doug “Pops” Smith, who I like to refer to as a “Wise Old Owl”, in this episode I have the pleasure of connecting with a friend that I consider in the same first-class league, Mr. Tom White.  

Tom and I met when I first called on the five-generation Italian food products company, Pastene & Co, soliciting their label business back in the early 2000’s, and although he was a client...

I don’t always subscribe to the notion that “everything happens for a reason,” but as the universe would have it, the recent loss of a mutual friend, Rainer “TITAN” Jenss, has reconnected me with a gentleman that I am now proud to call one of my closest friends and confidants, Tim “Tmac” McGuire.  

Among many of his distinguished designations, Tmac is the youngest of 8 children, a Villanova Wildcat alum, husband, and father of ...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, show the ones you love just how much they mean to you, and share your appreciation and gratitude for the gift of life, the gift of love, and the gift of energy that we all share. Thank you ALL for the gift of YOUR love and our collective friendship.

Nobody embodies the mindset of gratitude more so than my friend, John Macario. Though John and I have yet to meet in person, we recently connecte...

To those that know him, the man needs no introduction.  For those that don’t, his name is Beau Carino and he’s the founder of one of Long Island’s hottest live music venues, Beau’s Bar, in the village of Greenlawn.  For nearly 20 years, Beau has attracted some of the finest talent in the area, ranging from young guns like Dog In A Pile to veteran guitar virtuosos like Jeff Matson, lead singer and guitarist for Dark Star Orchestra. ...

With the exception of a select few cameo appearances by my previous guests’ significant others, this is the first episode where I sit down start-to-finish with a young couple, none other than my daughter, Ms. Hope Staib, and her significant other, Mr. Austin Koerner.  Hope and Austin share their story, and their musical tastes and interests, and they reveal what’s on the horizon as Austin aims to become a firefighter and Hope looks...

S3, E6 begins with the story of the Mandelbaum family in the late 1930’s and 40’s, and includes the harrowing tale of those family members who miraculously survived the holocaust, and the tragedy of those family members who didn’t.  He describes the day his Aunt Regina saved his mother from certain death during the Nazi “selection process” in 1942 and how that one single act of courage ultimately saved generations to follow.

Syd rec...

To complete the “Campion Brothers Trifecta”, I was beyond stoked to host Mr. Billy Campion, otherwise known as Young & Tender Willoughby, or The Captain, and in later years, Vic Thrill.  For those that know Billy, founding member and front man for The Bogmen, you’re in for a real treat in this episode.  For those that don’t know The Bogmen, or Vic Thrill, you’re in for a real treat in this episode. 

Billy takes us back to h...

On S3, E4 of Grateful Dad & Friends, I’m proud to host a friend who could easily have a career in radio, one of my closest music, golfing, and paddle tennis wingmen, Mr. Mark Hamer.  

Mark takes us back to his Texan roots and shares how and when he discovered his love of “music with an edge”, including The Clash, Traffic, Talking Heads, Mott the Hoople, and of course, the good ol’ Grateful Dead.  Tune in as he tells his sto...

On the final day of Dead & Company’s 30-show residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas, I was honored to sit down with  Huntington natives and fellow Deadheads, brothers John and Tommy Peer and Tommy’s son Thomas Peer.  We spent our time together reminiscing about the multigenerational Peer + Staib family bond, the Huntington shenanigans that we shared together and a few war stories of old.  

Tommy & John brought us back to ...

In my second trip of the summer to catch Dead & Company at Sphere in Las Vegas, I was honored to host my friend of 40+ years, fellow Canterbury “Saint” (term used loosely), avid Deadhead, and all around amazing human being, my cohort Paco “Pac” Keville.  By the grace of God, Pac has recovered from a near-death car accident only a few short weeks prior and was firing on all cylinders when we sat down together at The Venetian.  H...

To kick off Season 3, I’m joined by lifelong friend and fellow Deadhead, Tommy Mills, with a special cameo by his better half, Ms Karin Mills.  Karin proved to be an integral part of my conversation with her husband in that she served as “fact checker” for the tales being told, and I’m proud to report that Karin confirmed that all but one of the reported antics were, in fact, accurate.  Well done Karin!

Similar to two of my previous...

BIG thanks to all my guests on Season 2, it was an honor and a privilege to have hosted each of you!  I loved my field trips to record the remote interviews in Charlotte, Hilton Head, and Las Vegas as well.  Special shoutout to the Citizens of Sound team behind the scenes that help me create each episode of Grateful Dad & Friends - Will & Charis Retherford, and Leslie Dinsmore.  You all ROCK!  Join us, and let’s see where t...