Citywide Blackout

Tim Facciola talks amnesiac gladiators and extensive worldbuilding for his epic trilogy

Our next guest is a familiar name, having been featured as part of our artist Q&A series. We had such a great time, we knew we had to have him back to talk about his third book. Author Tim Facciola joins us to talk about his soon-to-be-released “The Age of the End,” out on April 16. Here’s a quick synopsis of the overall story.

In a world where blood is a short resolution for rebellion, Zephryus only knows two things: he is prophesied to bring peace and balance to the world, and he doesn’t remember anything before his life as an enslaved gladiator. With the fragmented shards of his memory, he is bought by the prince to fight in the gladiator ring, and spy on the queen’s bloody rebellion against the king. Fighting as a gladiator means fighting for his life, and as he faces the prince’s foes and thwarts the queen’s plans, he also discovers that there is more injustice in this world than he imagined. Will Zephyrus be able to stay alive long enough to enact his revenge? Or will the vengeful plot within this royal family keep him from fulfilling his destiny?  

Tim shares the inspiration for this book as well as the 10 years he spent developing the world and its characters. He explains how Zephyrus’ amnesia shapes the story, as well as the extensive psychological research he did during the writing process.

Tim talks about the story’s conclusion (with no spoilers!) and the possibility for spinoff or prequel down the road. We go into the many reviews he’s gotten, if he reads them, and how such feedback affects him as a writer.

Escape The Paradigm shares 11 years of music

Over the years, brothers Brandon Brodzinski and Johnathan Rockwood with Donny Hoover III have made a lot of memories while playing in Escape The Paradigm, and they hop on the show to give us all the details.

 

From touring with All That Remains to playing some kickass full houses, there’s a lot to go over, along with how this three-member band came together and what’s kept Escape The Paradigm going for more than a decade.

Escape The Paradigm came to our attention through Curtain Call Records and we go into how the band came to work with them and how that’s gone. We also talk live shows, recording their two albums, “Mistaken” and “All Fall Down,” and what is planned for later this year.

Opening the episode is a brief excerpt from the Escape The Paradigm’s “Villain,” and closing things out is the complete “Fixated.”

Citywide Bytes— Andrew Yampolskyi of Homeless Radio talks musical tributes

The lesson here is to make the call…the worse thing they’ll say is no.

Years ago, Andrew Yampolskyi took that chance when he reached out to Sunset Alliance of California, and in 2021, his band Homeless Radio released their debut EP, “The Truth.”

In our March 30 Citywide Bytes show, Andrew joins Max to talk about how this Ukranian rock band formed in 2016, making a name for themselves locally and growing over the years.

The band faced adversity in 2022 during the Russian invasion, dispersing its members across Ukraine and Andrew shares how they continued to make music, releasing two singles, “About You” and “Submarine,” the latter of which was a tribute to a novel of the same name.

Closing out this episode is the band’s recent release, “Submarine.”

The RealGMat talks YouTube careers and musical adventures

I’m not gonna lie—I’ve been looking forward to this all week.

 

In this episode, YouTuber The RealGMat joins us to talk about his many years on the platform and how it all got started. With over 30,000 subscribers, GMat goes into the community that he’s built and the interactions he has via his videos and Twitch streams. He talks about some of the different videos he’s done and his first videos.

 

Along with his own channel, he’s worked with companies like Gameology and Watch Mojo and shares the various memories made along the way.   

Last December, seeking a new creative outlet, GMat released the EP “Little Fish” under the name Brotherband. He goes into the creative process, including the stories behind the songs, the contributions of Charlie McCosh and Jesse Kluytmans, and how it felt sharing it with the world. 

Closing out the episode, we’ve got “Half Star Bay,” from the “Little Fish” EP.

Citywide Bytes-Nick Roberts sinks his teeth into “Mean Spirited”

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Nick Roberts’ new release, “Mean Spirited,” it’s that wonderfully terrifying art that captures the feel of this new horror story. The book is released through Crystal Lake Entertainment.

Released just a day before this recording, the story centers on how an alcoholic teacher and father’s world spirals out of control when a former student is killed and he is left with her dog and the dark presence that follows it.

Nick and Max talk about the creation of Matt Matheny and why Nick went this type of character, as well as how he handles the challenges that await. His ex-wife, Lucy, also plays a role and we look at how the two work together to unravel what is going on. We discuss the dog, Conehead, and get a glimpse into the darkness that follows him. Nick also talks about the amazing cover art and the different aspects of the book that it captures.

The Pastor of Horror returns with a found footage nightmare

Ezekiel Kincaid, known as “The Pastor of Horror” and “The Paranormal Pastor” returns to the show to talk about his new book. “The Tetromet Tapes,” a part of his ongoing Tetromet Universe.

Set in 1990 in a small town in Louisiana, the book adapts the found footage movie style as a literary device. Five 12-year-old boys find some VHS tapes in the trash can of their neighbor, Edgar Craddock. The sickening footage leads the five friends down a rabbit hole of shadows and darkness, seeking to discover the truth around an ancient cult, a haunted road, and Edgar Craddock.

Ezekiel and Max dive into just what is on the tapes and where the footage leads the boys. He talks about Edgar Craddock, a character which plays a wider role in the Tetromet Universe. We also learn about the five boys, who reflect Ezekiel’s childhood friends, and how their different personas drive the story.

The book is currently out on Amazon and Godless, an e-book publisher launched three years ago and Ezekiel shares how he came to work with them. And of course, no horror conversation is complete without talking about the book’s epic cover.

Citywide Bytes—Jack Flint of The Sea Gods talks debut singles and band meetings

The Sea Gods have gotten off to a great start with their debut singles, “Are You Here Now” and “Tell Me,” and they’ve got a lot more in the works. In this recording of our March 9 Citywide Bytes episode, band founder Jack Flint tells us how he, Marty Taylor and Carl Donoghue met and what led to the band’s founding. Each band member brings a lot of experience with other projects, and we go into how the past work may influence the current.

Jack and I talk about the stories behind the two singles. “Are You Here Now” has a message of living in the moment, not regretting the past or fretting the future. “Tell Me” came from a very challenging part of Jack’s life and we talk about how the hard times inspire the best music.

Closing out this episode is “Are You Here Now.”

Book, books, fantasy, science fiction, monster, magic, apocalypse, love, romance

Author Maria Guglielmo was last on the show some years back for her debut book, “Summoned,” and since then, she’s been up to quite a bit, including debuting her new “Riftworld” series with “Witch City Rift” and “Rifted Hearts,” which drops on March 19.

Curtis and I talk with Maria about this new series and what went into building the world behind it. We do a deep dive into her main character, Remi Gatti, a con man who seems to find himself in over his head in both stories. We look at his power to manipulate sexual desire and the role this plays in the story, as well as the mystical realm that extends into Boston and Salem.

There’s a mysterious figure called The Matchmaker in both books and we talk about just who this person is and how they’re influencing the tale. 

Citywide Bytes-Chris Lengyel gives this episode the magic touch

For our newest Citywide Bytes, Max is talking with Chris Lengyel, as he puts it “a dude who does magic tricks.” And he’s been doing them for almost 20 years, for the likes of Las Vegas duo Penn and Teller, TruTV's "Impractical Jokers" and the cast of NBC's "The Voice.”

Now, Chris is hitting the road, embarking on his Illusions Plus Alcohol (I.P.A.) tour. On this live interview, we talk about where he’s going and what people can expect at his shows. He shares some backstory on how he got into magic in the first place, and growing what began as a hobby into his career. Chris talks about meeting Penn and Teller and the impromptu performance he did, and we discuss his favorite tricks and some that even he steers clear of.

Father-son comics duo creates a beautiful apocalypse in “By A Thread”

Well, if the world has to end, at least it looks amazing.

Comics great Scott Snyder has teamed up with his son Jack to pen the ComiXology series “By A Thread,” now three issues in, with issue four to be released on March 26.

Set amidst a desolated Earth, The Shroud has consumed nearly the entire surface of the planet, with just a handful of outposts remaining. Jo and his friends live on five “Needles,” spikes of diamonds, the only substance that The Shroud cannot devour. It’s a hard life, but the appearance of a strange traveller gives hope to a legend of an untouched island where life can thrive once more.

Scott, Jack and I talk about how this series grew from a writing exercise to published comic. This was Jack’s first foray into comics, and we go into how he viewed the experience and the lessons learned, both for he and his father. The series was drawn by Valeria Favoccia (Beatrix Rose), colored by Whitney Cogar (Giant Days), and lettered by Tom Napolitono (letters), and we talk about how this team collaborated and produced some of the best art I’ve ever seen.

Jack helped create the diverse cast, and we look at each person’s role and how the characters were created—both the heroes and villains. Though the story is nearing its end, more is planned for “By A Thread,” and Scott shares a few details on what we can expect.