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In this episode of Stuck on Sound, Joey Stuckey sits down with the legendary Richard Blade. He's an Oxford-educated DJ, bestselling author, actor, and one of the most beloved voices in American radio. The episode features a wide-ranging conversation about music, adventure, identity, and the power of saying yes even when the odds are stacked against you.

Richard traces his journey from Torquay, England, where a transistor radio and a love of music captured his imagination, through his years DJing at Oxford University colleges, touring Europe with a battered MG Midget packed full of gear, and eventually landing in Los Angeles just as the post-punk and new wave scene was exploding on the Sunset Strip. Joey and Richard dive deep into the storied history of KROQ, the station Richard would help define throughout the 1980s — including the remarkable story of how he got his foot in the door by agreeing to work for free and quit his paying job at the same time. Richard also shares the behind-the-scenes origin of his iconic name, which he stumbled into almost by accident from a billboard for Blade Runner moments before going live on air.

The conversation turns to Richard's decades-long tenure hosting his daily show on SiriusXM's 1st Wave, his passion for the artists and music that shaped a generation, and the deep connection he maintains with listeners who grew up on the sounds he championed. Joey and Richard also discuss Richard's busy life as a writer, including his autobiography World in My Eyes, five novels, and two non-fiction music books featuring conversations with some of music's biggest names, all of which debuted at number one on Amazon's bestseller lists.

Richard reflects on receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2024, with Billy Idol and Jimmy Kimmel at his side, and the humbling sense of gratitude that comes from a lifetime spent doing exactly what you love. The episode closes on a deeply personal note, with a discussion about small acts of human kindness and the importance of giving back, a philosophy that informs both Richard's public work and his private life.

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Shadow Sound Studio

With over 30 years of experience as a musician, recording engineer, and producer, and serving as the official music ambassador of Macon-Bibb, Georgia, Joey Stuckey can service all your professional audio needs.

To learn more about working with Shadow Sound Studio and Joey Stuckey, visit the website or email Joey directly.

Shadow Sound Studio Website
joey@joeystuckey.com

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Send a Message to Stuck on Sound

In this episode of Stuck on Sound, Joey Stuckey sits down with his dear friend Lachi, recording artist, music executive, Disability Culture champion, Recording Academy National Trustee, and author, for a conversation that is by turns hilarious, moving, and genuinely revelatory. Born legally blind, Lachi has spent her career using music, advocacy, and storytelling to bring Disability Culture into the mainstream, and this episode captures her doing all three at once.

Joey and Lachi open with an enthusiastic discussion of her book I Identify as Blind, published by Penguin Random House, which uses humor, candor, and celebrity interviews to celebrate and amplify disability identity and pride. The two compare notes on growing up blind in a world that rarely made space for them, navigating schools, social circles, and industries that were not designed with them in mind, and Lachi describes how it was only after finding success in the music business that she realized she could not be the only one, and that finding community was both urgent and transformative.

From there, Lachi tells the origin story of RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), which grew out of a 2021 Recording Academy panel that went viral during COVID and sparked a flood of messages from music professionals who had been masking their disabilities for years. She explains how RAMPD now works with Netflix, Live Nation, the GRAMMYs, and others to build disability-inclusive programming across the industry, and how it has become a vital network for hundreds of creative professionals who previously had nowhere to turn.

The episode includes a powerful history lesson on the disability rights movement, as Lachi shares the story of Judy Heumann, Brad Lomax, and the 28-day sit-in that ultimately led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a story made possible in part by the Black Panthers, whose crucial contribution Lachi is committed to making sure is never forgotten. The conversation is a reminder that music and advocacy are not separate vocations but two expressions of the same impulse: to be fully heard.

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Stay Connected with Stuck on Sound host Joey Stuckey

Follow Stuck on Sound host Joey Stuckey to stay up on all things going on in the Stuckeyverse.

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Shadow Sound Studio

With over 30 years of experience as a musician, recording engineer, and producer, and serving as the official music ambassador of Macon-Bibb, Georgia, Joey Stuckey can service all your professional audio needs.

To learn more about working with Shadow Sound Studio and Joey Stuckey, visit the website or email Joey directly.

Shadow Sound Studio Website
joey@joeystuckey.com

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Send a Message to Stuck on Sound

In Episode 10 of Stuck on Sound, Joey Stuckey sits down with music marketing strategist, author, educator, and Cyber PR founder Ariel Hyatt for a practical and deeply human conversation about what it really takes to build a lasting music career in the digital age.

Ariel traces her path from a childhood shaped by theater, art, dyslexia, and music to the early days of independent music marketing, where she cut her teeth in scrappy grassroots scenes before launching her own publicity company at age 23. That journey eventually became Cyber PR, where Ariel has spent decades helping artists make sense of a music business that never stops changing.

Joey and Ariel dig into some of the most urgent questions facing artists today: how to understand your artistic identity, how to find the right fans, why fake numbers and playlist-driven “buzz marketing” can leave artists with no real audience, and why 200 genuine fans can matter more than thousands of empty streams. Ariel makes the case for moving from shallow visibility to meaningful connection, what she calls shifting from buzz to bond.

The conversation also explores the overwhelming pace of modern content, the loss of music as a focused listening experience, the value of physical releases and fan experiences, and why artists need a plan, a team, and a clear sense of what they are actually building.

Later, Joey and Ariel discuss AI in the music space, where Ariel offers a balanced view: useful as a tool for marketing, organization, and efficiency, but dangerous when it floods platforms with more low-value content and makes it even harder for human artists to be heard.

The result is an essential episode for independent artists who want to stop chasing vanity metrics and start building a more intentional, sustainable, fan-centered career.

You can find more information about Ariel and her work at:

https://arielhyatt.com/

https://cyberprmusic.com/

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Stay Connected with Stuck on Sound host Joey Stuckey

Follow Stuck on Sound host Joey Stuckey to stay up on all things going on in the Stuckeyverse.

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• The Stuckeyverse Newsletter

⸻

Shadow Sound Studio

With over 30 years of experience as a musician, recording engineer, and producer, and serving as the official music ambassador of Macon-Bibb, Georgia, Joey Stuckey can service all your professional audio needs.

To learn more about working with Shadow Sound Studio and Joey Stuckey, visit the website or email Joey directly.

Shadow Sound Studio Website
joey@joeystuckey.com

⸻

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Enjoyed this episode of Stuck on Sound? Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with someone who loves music, recording, creativity, and the stories behind great sound.