Go with Elmo Lovano

Episode 117: Zakk Wylde is one of the greatest metal guitarists of all time. He's Ozzy Osbourne's longtime guitarist and co-writer, the founder of Black Label Society, and the man Phil Anselmo called to honor Dimebag Darrell in Pantera. In this deep dive, Zakk takes us through his entire career, from a Jersey kid learning Black Sabbath riffs to writing metal anthems with Ozzy and shredding in stadiums with Pantera and Metallica. Zakk tells the story of how a wedding gig with Sebastian Bach and a Polaroid on Sharon Osbourne's kitchen counter led to the call that changed his life. He breaks down writing "Miracle Man," "No More Tears," and "Mama, I'm Coming Home" with Ozzy and Lemmy, and reveals how a goofy rehearsal joke became the Grammy-winning "I Don't Want to Change the World." Plus his wildest Ozzy tour stories: the first gig in Wormwood Scrubs prison, Ozzy passing out before the Buster Douglas vs. Holyfield fight, sneaking him a beer at the Budokan, and the night Eddie Van Halen played "Heartbreaker" on Zakk's bullseye Les Paul in Japan. We go deep on his friendship with Dimebag Darrell, the day Phil Anselmo called him to join Pantera with Charlie Benante, what it feels like to play Dime's guitar parts, and touring stadiums with Metallica. Zakk also opens up about Ozzy's final show, Back to the Beginning, the text Ozzy sent about making one more album, writing "Ozzy's Song" on the new Black Label Society album Engines of Demolition, and getting sober after a doctor's warning. We also get into how he writes guitar solos, pinch harmonics, his favorite guitar solos of all time, Generation Axe with Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen, Zakk Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, Pride & Glory, Book of Shadows, building his own guitar company Wylde Audio, and the Black Label Society family. Zakk is hilarious, generous and full of crazy stories. This one is a blast. Let's go!

Go With Elmo Lovano is the #1 music professional podcast, featuring deep, honest conversations with the legends, artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry leaders shaping music today about how they got where they are and how they keep pushing forward.

Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com

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Episode 116: French Montana sits down with Elmo Lovano for what may be the most profound interview of his career. It’s a deep, honest conversation about life, survival, money, faith, collaborations, relationships, and how he makes hits.

French takes us from Casablanca, Morocco, to the South Bronx at 13 years old, speaking no English, to becoming the first African-born artist with a Diamond-certified single. He opens up about his mother’s sacrifice, surviving the streets, building Coke Boys from the ground up, and what it really takes to write a hit record.

We get into the story behind “Unforgettable” with Swae Lee, his brotherhood with Drake, the records that built his career including “Pop That,” “Stay Schemin’,” “All the Way Up,” “Ain’t Worried About Nothin’” and his reunion with Max B, who came home after 16 years on French’s birthday. Plus his new music with Max and their hit “Ever Since U Left Me (I Went Deaf)”.

French also talks about faith, money, fatherhood, writing hooks vs. writing verses, how to get features, his fiancée Sheikha Mahra, and the lessons that kept him going and brought him to where he is today. Hope you love this one as much as we do. Lets go!

Go With Elmo Lovano is the #1 music professional podcast, featuring deep, honest conversations with the legends, artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry leaders shaping music today about how they got where they are and how they keep pushing forward.

Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Big thanks to our friends Moises for supporting the show! If you need stems, they’re the best in the game. Check them out! https://moises.ai/

Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com

Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. https://www.patreon.com/gowithelmo

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!

Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/

Follow Dwayne:

https://www.instagram.com/therock/

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Episode 115: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Long before he was one of the biggest stars on the planet, Dwayne was a kid in the backseat of his dad's car, singing along to country and soul, and a Polynesian boy whose family never let anyone sit out a song. That love of music never left him. In this conversation, he leads with the warmth, humility and gratitude that make him who he is, and he speaks with deep pride about his family, his culture and the artists carrying Polynesian music forward.

Dwayne opens up about his new album Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, a project he and his wife Lauren Hashian dreamed up 10 years ago that gives 25 Polynesian artists a global stage. He tells the emotional story behind his song "Your Dad," written for his three daughters with Iam Tongi. He shares life lessons from his mom, Ata, and talks about how he leads his teams, his first time in a recording booth with Lin-Manuel Miranda for "You're Welcome," and the time he tried to become a country singer in Nashville at 15.

The album brings together some of the most exciting voices in Pacific music, including Dinah Jane, Stan Walker, Iam Tongi, Common Kings and Josh Tatofi, with production and songwriting from heavy hitters like Mike Zombie, Poo Bear, The Audibles, TrapMoneyBenny and Eric Zayne. Dwayne breaks down how it all came together, from the very first song that set the tone to the six-island anthem "TĀTOU" that closes the record.

Elmo Lovano and Dwayne have a great energy together from the very first minute. They laugh a lot, reflect on the mothers who shaped them, bond over their musical passions, and share what they've learned about leadership, gratitude and lifting others up. Elmo, a drummer who spent 15 years on the road and founded Jammcard to shine a light on the musicians behind the stars, brings a musician-to-musician perspective that lets Dwayne go deeper than ever on the music that made him.

Go With Elmo Lovano is the #1 music professional podcast, featuring deep, honest conversations with the legends, artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry leaders shaping music today about how they got where they are and how they keep pushing forward.

Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Big thanks to our friends Moises for supporting the show! If you need stems, they’re the best in the game. Check them out! https://moises.ai/

Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com

Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. https://www.patreon.com/gowithelmo

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!

Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/

Follow Dwayne:https://www.instagram.com/therock/

Follow Go With Elmo:

https://www.instagram.com/gowithelmo/

https://www.tiktok.com/@gowithelmo

https://x.com/gowithelmopod

Follow Elmo Lovano:

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Episode 114: Cindy Blackman Santana

Cindy Blackman Santana has had a mind-blowing life journey. Today, she's the drummer and wife of Carlos Santana. Before that, she rode the rocketship of Lenny Kravitz for all the most iconic years. I remember when I first saw Cindy in the "Are You Gonna Go My Way" video and was captivated immediately by her groove, presence, and energy behind the kit. Cindy is deeply dedicated to the drums, and absolutely in love with jazz.

What I love about Cindy's story is that she's lived two musical lives most drummers only dream about. She's a serious jazz bandleader with a catalog going back to the late 1980s, and she's a world-class rock drummer who's played the biggest stages on the planet. She never picked a lane. She brought jazz freedom and fire into rock stadiums and has always blown everyone away.

We go deep on her hero Tony Williams and what his genius unlocked for her. We talk about her amazing relationship with Art Blakey, who she calls a father figure, and what it meant to learn from the masters in person on the streets and in the clubs of New York City. She tells the story of her friendship with Dennis Chambers, the connection that eventually led her to Carlos. We get into her drumming passion, her practice fire, her ferociousness on the kit, and the philosophies that makes her playing so alive.

Cindy has shared the stage and the studio with absolute legends like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, and so many more, and she's led her own incredible projects along the way. From her Tony Williams tribute album Another Lifetime, to the supergroup Spectrum Road with Jack Bruce and Vernon Reid, to stepping out front as a singer and songwriter on Give the Drummer Some, she's always pushed forward. She studied at Berklee, learned from the lineage of Max Roach and Elvin Jones, and built a career on pure dedication to the instrument.

And then there's the love story. They told her and Carlos that a married couple can't play together in the same band, that it wouldn't work. They proved that it absolutely can. Cindy is the rhythmic heartbeat of the Santana band and she holds Carlos's heart, and hearing her talk about their musical and spiritual partnership is something special.

This is a conversation about drumming, about jazz and rock, about staying true to your art for decades, about being a trailblazer, and about spirituality and passion. Cindy is amazing. I left this conversation inspired, and I hope you feel the same.

Please enjoy my conversation with the great Cindy Blackman Santana.

Go With Elmo Lovano is the #1 music professional podcast, featuring deep, honest conversations with the legends, artists, musicians, producers, songwriters, and industry leaders shaping music today about how they got where they are and how they keep pushing forward.

Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com

Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. https://www.patreon.com/gowithelmo

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!

Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/

Follow Cindy:

https://www.instagram.com/cindyblackmansantana/

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Episode 113: Morgan Freeman is one of the greatest actors and narrators of our time. He is also an incredibly joyful, thoughtful and wonderful human being. Morgan joins us for a rare long-form conversation about his extraordinary life, his unmistakable voice, the art of narration, The Shawshank Redemption, playing God in Bruce Almighty and the music that helped shape America: the blues.

Morgan is joined by Eric Meier, his business partner and an executive producer and co-producer of their latest project, Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience. This ambitious album and live production brings together authentic Mississippi Delta blues, symphony orchestra, cinematic storytelling and Morgan’s narration. Eric is also Morgan’s fellow co-owner of the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Together, they discuss their friendship, their creative partnership, the future of the blues and their mission to preserve this essential American music while carrying it into places it has never gone before. Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience features an extraordinary collection of artists, including Taj Mahal, Keb’ Mo’ and the Chineke! Orchestra.

We also dive into Morgan's approach to narration. Does he change the script? How does rhythm affect the meaning of a line? Is narrating different from acting, or are they ultimately the same craft?

Perhaps our favorite part of this conversation is Morgan’s humility, humor and the laughs we share. We hope you enjoy our conversation with our new friends, Morgan Freeman and Eric Meier!

Huge thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Elmo Lovano drinks Intelligentsia coffee because he’s an Iced Angeleno. https://www.intelligentsia.com

Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, ad free episodes, and discussions about music and music careers. https://www.patreon.com/gowithelmo

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!

Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/

Follow Morgan:
https://www.instagram.com/morganfreeman/

Follow Ground Zero Blues Club:
https://www.instagram.com/gzbluesclub/

Follow Go With Elmo:
https://www.instagram.com/gowithelmo/
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Follow Elmo Lovano:
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