STAN LYNCH, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, long-time drummer and founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, announces today the formation of THE SPEAKER WARS. After two decades of recording and touring multiple albums with The Heartbreakers, STAN moved to the other side of the recording console and shifted his focus to production and songwriting. Over the years, STAN has written and produced hits for artists in multiple genres, including the Eagles, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, The Mavericks, Ringo Starr, The Byrds, Toto, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. While writing in Nashville, a publisher introduced STAN to Texas singer-songwriter, Jon Christopher Davis, who was gathering material for a solo record on a major label. After accumulating an album’s worth of songs, Jon abandoned working on a solo record and the two decided to start a band to perform the newly created material. Adding Jay Michael Smith on guitar, Brian Patterson on bass, Steve Ritter on percussion, and Jay Brown on keyboards, THE SPEAKER WARS was born. The band then headed into 5M Studios in Denton, TX, with co-producer Mike Pisterzi, and produced a full-length album. Upon hearing the material, Frontiers Records immediately signed the band, and their debut album is scheduled for release on May 30th. STAN LYNCH says: "After my 20-year tenure with The Heartbreakers, I got a second act writing and producing. It was educational beyond measure to learn how to create music from the other side of the glass. Around this time, I met Jon Christopher Davis in Nashville, who casually mentioned that we should start a band - so here I am - in THE SPEAKER WARS, and it's good to have my old job back. The guys in our new band know how to make great music, and I'm looking forward to another round.”

Paul Rappaport enjoyed a storied thirty-three-year career at Columbia Records, where he was instrumental in the careers of everyone from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello to Billy Joel, Judas Priest to Alice In Chains, and many, many more. The music business from the late 60s through the 90s was an exciting time that mirrored the music and the musicians making it. It was also a time of new and creative ideas on how to market this groundbreaking cultural phenomenon. Eccentric characters were everywhere, and often the managers, promoters, disc jockeys, and record company staff were just as big a show as the performers themselves.

Joe Conklin has been a constant in Philadelphia radio for more than 30 years. He’s known for his spot-on impressions of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Barack Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Allen Iverson, and Charles Barkley, among others. Conklin is also one of the most sought after corporate banquet speakers in the area. His stand-up routine is legendary, as he’s skewered some of the country’s top politicians, pro athletes, sports executives, and film stars, sometimes to their faces. And each time he is fearless, uncanny, and hilarious. Joe is a twelve-time AIR award winner for Excellence in Broadcasting and his work has been recognized by the Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. He’s worked with some of the nation’s most recognized performers including Kevin Hart, Tim Allen, and Ray Romano. His TV credits include: NFL Films Presents, NBC Sports, Entertainment Tonight, NBA on TNT, ESPN: Baseball Tonight, Good Day Philadelphia, The Q Show, Comcast Sportsnet, Finder’s Keepers, America’s Funniest People.

Since 2014 he has taught music at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and has been a contributing writer for Modern Drummer magazine. Rich was also the drummer for Jon Bon Jovi & the Kings of Suburbia (Jon’s solo band), from 2009 to 2020. In 2023 he self-published his memoir, Ghost Notes. In addition, he has taught private drum instruction since 1987, and continues to play and tour.

Veteran drummer Jimmy Paxson will talk about an eventful career that includes playing alongside the likes of Stevie Nicks, Edgar Winter, Alanis Morissette and the Dixie Chicks.

Vahe Sarkissian has performed/worked with Earl Slick (John Lennon, David Bowie), Gina Schock (Rock and Roll Hall of Famer from the Go Go's), Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Deep Purple, KISS), Gerald Veasley, and Keiko Matsui, in addition to opening up for artists such as Slash, Victor Wooten, Shinedown, The Roots, Richie Kotzen, Greg Howe, and Halestorm. He has been interviewed by WMMR legend Pierre Robert and performed live on the Preston and Steve show. Check out his album "Curcuna" which is a fusion of Armenian-jazz-funk-and rock music. The early part of his career began at the age of 14 traveling the U.S. playing Mediterranean and Armenian music. After studying music at The University of the Arts, he received his masters degree where he studied with Pat Martino, Jimmy Bruno, and Tom Giacobetti.

Eric Parker is a world class drummer, producer and composer. For the last 40 years he has toured the world and made countless records and drummed at sold out stadiums, theaters and concert halls. Eric has played with many musical legends including; Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt , Lou Reed, Ian Hunter , John Sebastian and many others.

Producer/engineer/bassist Brenden McGeehan has been a fixture on the Philadelphia music scene for more than 15 years. He has been involved in a wide variety of bands and projects--working on everything from Cyndi Lauper's Broadway musical to engineering the Philadelphia Eagles' annual Christmas albums. He has also played in multiple bands with In the Pocket co-host Fred Berman. Brendan joins the podcast to talk about his debut solo project, Peace Fortress, and the all-instrumental album, "New Moon," named after his daughter. He also shares stories from throughout his life and career, including negotiating his way into a bar as a young teen to see surf-rock legend Dick Dale perform, and the engineering work he did with prison inmates. www.brendanmcgeehan.com

As a spiritual descendent of iconic women in rock such as Patti Smith and Joan Jett, ZouZou’s Philadelphia-based band also embodies elements of kindred spirits of the ’90s and beyond – like PJ Harvey and The Kills, with more than a sprinkling of ’60s Garage Rock and Soul. Their primal sonic attack spreads a message of perseverance through trials of love, loss and letting go.

Alan has been into music since he was eleven years old. Then that first appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan changed his life forever. So many of his peers have the same exact story.  Alan learned by ear from listening to records and he earned so much from Ringo Starr (Sir Richard Starkey).He started gigging in the late ’60s, working in the club date field in the New York Tri-State area from 1975 to 1983. He played with many bands in the NYC club scene in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Most people don’t know this, but in the mid-’90s Alan dropped out of the public eye to play drums for Broadway show tours. Until 2017, He's enjoyed playing these rock/pop-type productions like Rent, Aida, Hairspray, The Who’s Tommy, and Rock of Ages.