Cleveland interviews, veteran-run, stories left to run long.
Bill Bailey runs a loose, veteran-owned interview show out of Domain Cleveland Radio, built around guests from the rock and metal scene, the convention circuit, and the military. Conversations start at the beginning — childhood, first bands, first deployments — and wander wherever the story goes.
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Today's Boondoggle is a long-running interview show — more than 460 episodes deep — hosted by Bill Bailey and broadcast through Domain Cleveland Radio. It is veteran-owned and operated, and that fact shapes who shows up and what gets asked. The format barely changes. Bailey brings on a guest, starts at the beginning, and lets them talk. When someone new is on for the first time, he says so and goes way back on purpose. The follow-ups are short. The answers are long. What comes out is closer to oral history than to a press cycle interview. Music runs through most of it. Paul McCoy of 12 Stones describes naming an album after an experience with a Navy SEAL, then talks about playing armed forces entertainment shows in Japan and across the Middle East — places the band would never have reached otherwise. A member of a horror-scene band walks through how a track called Piggy grew out of a guitar riff, and admits he writes riffs and melodies by humming them to the guitarist because he does not play guitar or bass himself. Another guest declines to explain a bandmate's lyrics on his behalf, since the bandmate is not in the room. That kind of restraint sits comfortably alongside the show's louder side. The military thread is not a segment; it is biography. In one episode, Ed Orcutt talks about going from sailor to mayor, and Bailey reminisces about their reserve days together — who went out to the Coast Guard Club after duty and who drove home to his family. There is an Iraq deployment near the end of that service record, and the conversation eases toward it rather than leading with it. Then there are the detours. A special Nerdoggle edition sets up at Fan Expo Cleveland, where Sonny Strait explains that he wanted to be a cartoon voice actor as a kid, taught Donald Duck at four by his father doing impressions for fun, and once crossed the country in a Dragon Ball Z Hummer. Brian Tochi appears in the same episode. Cleveland weather gets its own running complaint — negative five degrees out in Twinsburg. The show wears its scene credentials in the intros: drop-ins from Matt Pinfield, Mark Metcalf, Steve Rice of Kill Ritual, Grant of In the Company of Serpents, John of Skillet, and a recurring gag about Kato Kaelin listening all the time. Sonic Temple festival gets a plug. The sign-off asks for five-star reviews and calls the operation a cornucopia of nonsensical shenanigans, which is roughly the right description. Nothing here is buttoned up. That is the appeal — a host who knows the territory, knows the people, and would rather let a good story run long than cut it for time.
Made for: Listeners who follow the rock and metal scene, convention and voice-acting culture, or veteran life, and who prefer a full unhurried conversation over a tight segment. It rewards anyone with a soft spot for regional radio and Cleveland's music community.
What sets it apart: The military background is not a topic the show covers but a lens it is made through, so a musician's overseas base tour and a sailor-turned-mayor's reserve years belong on the same feed. Bailey's origin-first questioning turns even short convention interviews into biography.
Today’s Boondoggle: Chaos, Comedy, and Candid Conversations! Veteran owned and operated. Each episode is a wild ride through the minds of musicians, actors, pro wrestlers, military veterans, and the most off-the-wall guests you’ll find on the airwaves. Whether it’s deep dives into the rock and metal scene, insane road stories, or hard-hitting social commentary, Bill Bailey brings the heat with a no-holds-barred approach that keeps listeners coming back for more. With a mix of comedy, chaos, and killer interviews, Today’s Boondoggle isn’t just another podcast—it’s an experience.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Detailed artist conversations connect heavy music's finished releases to the writing, collaboration, personal history, and community behind them.
Bill Bailey treats heavy music as a network of working relationships, tracing how bands form, songs change shape, and opportunities emerge through personal connections.
From a guitar riff to a horror video, you hear how the band built "Piggy".
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Paul McCoy links Twelve Stones' overseas military shows to the sacrifices behind the band's freedom to play loud.
Paul McCoy of Twelve Stones steers this PlayNext episode into the band's history with military audiences, from shows in the Middle East and Japan to an album title tied to an encounter with a Navy SEAL.
A shipmate conversation with Brook Park's mayor links Navy service, recession pressure, and community leadership.
Bill Bailey's conversation with Brook Park Mayor Ed Orcutt draws a clean line from Navy service and reserve-life memory to the later pressures of city government.
A grounded Grave Witch conversation about riffs, lyrics, weather, and a show's unexpected path into the studio.
Bill Bailey speaks with Andrew from Grave Witch about Oregon's abnormal weather before turning to the band's hands-on writing and recording process.
A horror-tinged music video leads into a grounded conversation about riffs, writing, and theatrical influence.
Today's Boondoggle starts with Bill Bailey framing the scene as horror, then settles into a focused look at how theatrical music ideas become finished work.
American Overdose maps how an old melody, collaboration, and heavier instincts turned into "Time Bomb."
American Overdose's visit with Bill Bailey follows the band from early ambitions into the practical work of writing together. The strongest section centers on Justin's account of "Time Bomb": a melody first written while he had COVID, left alone for years, then pushed into a…
Mega from Swollen Teeth ties Ask Nothing and Foster to the listeners who helped the music travel.
Today's Boondoggle brings Bill Bailey back together with Mega from Swollen Teeth for a relaxed single-episode conversation about Ask Nothing and the emotional pull of Foster.
A grounded conversation about deployed troops, live music, and the connections that can carry a band across borders.
The episode is strongest when it sits with the idea of live music reaching deployed troops. A guest frames that kind of performance as an honor, even without pay, while the host remembers Everclear and Scott Stapp from Creed offering a needed distraction during deployment.
Straight talk from the service-world edge.
Real service stories, practical leadership lessons.
Military aviation, read through the signal.
Marine Corps thinking, straight from the scuttlebutt.
Fairchild base life, told from inside.
Bill Bailey interviews Sean O'Donnell, frontman of the Metallica tribute band The Four Horsemen.
Bill Bailey interviews Mega from the metal band Swollen Teeth on episode 376 of Today's Boondoggle.
Bill Bailey interviews 12 Stones singer Paul McCoy on Today's Boondoggle and starts with McCoy's path from soccer to music.
["Bill Bailey presses Brook Park Mayor Ed Orcutt on the Browns dome, and Orcutt ties that fight to his Navy background and Brook Park job.", "Orcutt says he grew up in Buffalo, wanted to be a Catholic priest, and started studying military ranks from an encyclopedia in fifth grade.", "He also talks about Great Lakes boot camp, the Merchant Marine Academy, Iraq checkpoints on the Iranian border, and Brook Park projects like blight cleanup and storm-water work.", "The interview closes with his push for shop class, checkbook skills, and local leaders who are willing to run for office instead of complain."]
Bill Bailey's chat with Andrew from Grave Witch centers on the band's self-titled release, the Bend, Oregon scene, and the videos for 'Circle of Power,' 'Mistress of Hate,' and 'Uncertainable Evil.' Andrew says his father Jeff Ingram exposed him to drums and a wide range of music, but Metallica and the rest of the Big Four pushed him into heavier playing.
Bill Bailey interviews Jesea Lee about his career in the music scene from Cleveland to Sirius.
Bill Bailey interviews voice actors Sonny Strait and Brian Tochi at Fan Expo Cleveland about their careers and experiences.
On Today's Boondoggle with Bailey, bassist Johnny Suicide and drummer Veritas of the Pennsylvania horror-industrial band Horror Scene discuss the band's history, which began in 2006 as Suicide Puppets.
On Today's Boondoggle with Bailey (Domain Cleveland Radio), members of the masked nu-metal band American Overdose — Cody, Justin, and Josh Rommel — trace the band's start in the Salem/Portland, Oregon scene back to 2009.
Bill Bailey catches up with old friend Brendan Porray to discuss his journey from hardcore music tours to farm life.
An interview with Damon Tate from the band Of Virtue, discussing music and mental health.
Bill Bailey interviews Megan from the band Swollen Teeth about their connection and overcoming audio difficulties.
Bill Bailey interviews Sam McCartney, a Marine and musician, about his experiences and band.
Jim LaMarca and Monty Heath promote the Incarceration rock and tattoo festival and introduce an interview with Cliff Rigano of Dry Kill Logic.