Written by Tina Houser
Steven Rosen on Eddie Van Halen, Lost Mystique, and Why Storytelling Still Matters
Steven Rosen didn’t become a music journalist chasing fame. He chased the room — that charged, quiet space where music stops being sound and becomes a person sitting across from you. On Press Play Radio Conversations, Rosen joins Don “The Don” Thatcher, SiriusXM veteran Dean Baldwin, and Press Play CEO Tina Houser for a sprawling, candid reflection on rock journalism, creative intimacy, and what we lost when everything became available all the time.
Rosen has written more than 700 articles for publications like Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, and......
He might’ve stepped back from the spotlight, but make no mistake—Rick Hughes still carries the flame.
Sitting down with Press Play Radio Conversation’s Hosts The Don and Tina, the Canadian rock vocalist offered up a conversation that was equal parts grit, gratitude, and unapologetic truth. Known for fronting Saints & Sinners and Sword in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Hughes isn’t trying to relive the past—he’s here to honor it, build on it, and rip open a few chords while he’s at it.
“I never left music,” Rick says early in the interview, voice weathered but passionate. “I just stopped doing it for the business. I play......
Written by Tina Houser:
In a world obsessed with algorithm-fed music feeds and plastic pop choruses, Steve Conte is still chasing something real — something felt. The singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bona fide rock survivor dropped by Press Play Radio for a raw and winding conversation with The Don, diving deep into the anatomy of a song, the madness of the Dolls, and the unpredictable genius of collaborators like Andy Partridge and Michael Monroe. It wasn’t an interview. It was a living mixtape.
Conte’s newest record, The Concrete Jangle, feels like a vintage jukebox cracked open with a crowbar — power pop harmonies, AM radio ghosts, punk sneer, and a splash of......
Written by Tina Houser
There’s a calm that lingers behind the eyes of a legend who's lived through the chaos of metal’s wildest years—and Michael Weikath has that calm. Calling in from Berlin, the founding guitarist of Helloween joined Press Play Radio’s Don and Tina mid-rehearsal, flanked by century-old architecture, a shopping center, and a mission: to fine-tune guitar parts with bandmate Sascha Gerstner before the rest of the band arrives. “We’re sorting out the ‘what ifs’ before the singers show up,” he said casually, like it’s all just another Tuesday in power metal paradise.
Since Helloween’s official formation in......
Jeremy Calloway Knows When to Let the Music Speak
Written by Tina Houser (Full Interview Available Now on (Home - Press Play Radio)
Some conversations don’t end — they fade out, like the last sustained chord of a song that hangs in the air just long enough to remind you why you were listening in the first place.
That’s the energy Jeremy Calloway brings to Press Play Radio Conversations. No overstatement. No forced mythology. Just a musician who knows who he is, where he’s been, and how to show up when the red light turns on.
As the episode winds down, Don — The Don — does what he does best: keeps it loose, keeps it human. There’s no grand......
Written by Tina Houser (Check out the full interview with the two Frankies at 2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific on Home - Press Play Radio)
Los Angeles has always been a city of fragments—scenes stacked on scenes, sounds bleeding through alleyways, clubs, living rooms, and late-night conversations. Los Frankies don’t try to unify that chaos. They live inside it. The duo—Frankie Clark and Frankie Salazar—operate with the kind of effortless chemistry that only comes from years of shared stages, shared instincts, and shared survival. They aren’t chasing a revival or polishing a throwback. They’re documenting a life lived loud, close to the edge, and......
Reeve Stimpson Is Reinventing the '80s—And This Time, He's in Charge
Written by Tina Houser
Some artists emulate the past. Others repackage it. But Reeve Stimpson? He’s reconstructing the spirit of the '80s from the inside out—and he’s doing it with a clarity and self-awareness rare in a world driven by algorithms and fast fame.
In a recent sit-down with "The Don" and Tina of Press Play Radio Conversations, Reeve opens the door wide to his process, his influences, and his mission: not to be an underground darling or niche retro act—but a full-blown pop force with timeless instincts.
The Look, the Hooks, and the Heart
Hailing from Powhatan, Virginia, and......
Written by Tina Houser with a little help from AI
Some artists leave behind hits. Others leave behind moments. Bill Leverty has done both.
For many listeners, Firehouse isn’t just a band—it’s a memory. A first dance. A prom night. A slow song that somehow felt bigger than the room it was playing in. Love of a Lifetime has lived inside weddings and quiet late-night drives for decades, not because it chased emotion, but because it respected it. That kind of song doesn’t age. It settles in.
What becomes clear in conversation with Leverty is that none of that was accidental. Firehouse’s music—especially its ballads—was built on restraint, control,......
Ana Cristina Cash: Sunshine, Storytelling, and Songs That Carry You Home
Written by Tina Houser
She arrives wearing rose-colored glasses and a Mickey Mouse shirt, fresh off a family trip to Disney, and somehow it all makes perfect sense. Ana Cristina Cash has always lived at the intersection of memory and momentum, joy and gravity, playfulness and purpose. On Press Play Radio Conversations, she moves effortlessly from character breakfasts and Mickey waffles to exile, dictatorship, and the quiet weight of inherited history—all while promoting one of the most cohesive and emotionally resonant records of her career, The Sunshine State.
Cash speaks the way she writes songs:......
Country artist JD Shelburne recently sat down with Don and Tina on Press Play Radio for a heartfelt conversation that showcased the Kentucky native’s grit, humility, and deep-rooted love for country music. The full interview will be available on PressPlayRadio.com at 3pm Eastern on February 17, 2026.
From his beginnings in Taylorsville to milestones that include charting on Billboard and stepping onto the storied stage of the Grand Ole Opry, Shelburne’s rise is defined less by flash and more by relentless work ethic and authentic fan connection.
During the interview, Shelburne spoke candidly about life on the road—often logging nearly 200 shows a......
