SEASON 3 BONUS WEEK HAS BEGUN! Well three days at least. Today starts the ERIE EDITION of Talk So Real. I spent a good part of the summer in my hometown of Erie, PA and meant to do way more podcasts, but I did get with three of the people who were HUGE in the formation of who I am today. These are LITERALLY my day one dudes (Day one starts after I got out of high school because school was a TRAP) and in those daze right after High School man, I accomplished A LOT with this particular dude.



Brian Diplacido aka A Bullet for Fidel was the singer for the first band I ever booked a tour for, Lost from Erie, PA. I will never forget the first time I saw them live at the Continental Ballroom in 1989 on a local bill with My 3 Scum and Backwash (Alex Lewinger from Submachine's old band also RIP Danny Perry). Lost was way more my speed than a lot of things happening those days. I love pure punk rock and the old school and all that but in my late teens I was way more Touch & Go/Amphetamine Reptile/Sub Pop than I was like, for lack of a better term, pure punk. Actually I'm tripping I liked everything but let's just say seeing a band like them hitting like that coming out of Erie (nee, Harborcreek) was huge for me. (And they were really not like T&G, AmRep, etc I don't know what I am saying. As the kids say today, they hit different).



I approached them after the show and probably bought a tape and a shirt and if memory serves me right I ran into the drummer Pete at Record Country and we talked and all became friends. It was at that show that I decided that I wanted to try my hand at throwing shows, and on these Erie podcasts we talk about how all that went down.



I toured the US multiple times with Lost, sometimes for six weeks at a time, and then in 1991 Brian and I backpacked around Europe for the first time which changed my life in a major way as well. So much to talk about.



Later in life Brian became a solo songwriter called A Bullet For Fidel and released records on the excellent label SCAT RECORDS. And in 2023 he has some new music about fin to drop! Also on Scat Records. Man the way life moves is really crazy man for real for real. Here we are 30 years later still doing thangs and having some real talks!

Talk So Real with Matt Sonzala: A Bullet for Fidel - Brian DiPlacido - Season 3 Episode 11

Continuing on in Erie, PA today we present one of my oldest and closest friends, Mike Krusewicz. When I first met Mike he was a crazy, mouthy skater type who did not hold his tongue at all (nothing's changed). I remember being taken aback the first time I met him, like "Who is this dude?" Then we got some beers and became best friends.


Mike is the one who pushed me to do many things, with him having my back we were unstoppable in our youth. We also criss crossed the US together on those early punk rock tours. Mike has always had a van, and iykyk having a van can lead to some crazy times. I have always admired Mike as he started his own business straight out of high school and never looked back and always kept it real. He is my brother in this world for real.


We started in radio together, booking shows together and touring the US as well. Word to Rich Mudge too. I hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I enjoyed making it.

Talk So Real with Matt Sonzala: Mike Krusewicz - Season 3 Episode 10

We continue on with the stories of kids in the van traversing the country with my other brother Pete Stadtmueller. Pete played drums in the first band I ever booked, Lost from Erie, PA and has always been a great friend of mine. He is a teacher on the university level now and is also a deep sea diver but in our youth he was just another miscreant punk rocker on a mission. We all were.


Honestly Pete was one of the more stable dudes in the crew, he could be trusted to drive us through the night blasting Fugazi and Ice Cube tapes at equal volume as the van backfired through tunnels and on country roads. He won't get the band back together but we won't hold that against him. We share a lot of musical memories on this one for sure. Give it a listen and tell a friend to tell a friend to check out Talk So Real with Matt Sonzala (all of them) the podcast where I just talk to my friends.

Talk So Real with Matt Sonzala: Pete Stadtmueller - Season 3 Episode 9

Long time champion of underground music and most notably Texas hip-hop, radio host/DJ/journalist/promoter/journeyman/hustler Matt Sonzala has stepped into the podcasting realm with a little help from his friends.  

This is only the beginning. Subscribe/follow here and on all platforms today!

New tracks tagged #EriePa