Music is an essential part of the current human experience – a constant in our lives. It’s bigger than any one person and offers a variety of purposes. That description is pulled directly from the mission statement of the Vinyl Stallions podcast.
Humble Beginnings
Vinyl Stallions hosts, Adam Klepzig (aka Klep) and JJ Sprusso (aka Spruce) met through a mutual friend in elementary school while living in Westlake, a Cleveland suburb. When Klepzig and his family moved to Toledo in the late 2000s, he and Sprusso always kept in contact, which led to a friendship, beyond their connections through their mutual friend.
During their college years, an incident really bonded them, when Sprusso recruited Klepzig to play drums for him for a one-off open mic jam, at Ohio University. Leading to their first opportunity to play music together, including performances in and around Athens, Ohio.
Getting Started
Now, Klepzig is still based in Toledo working in banking, and keeps up with Sprusso, who is based in Westlake and works in sales. Many of Klepzig and Sprusso’s conversations concern music, including artists and albums they’re passionate about. After many conversations, they realized the validity of an idea they had previously considered: “Why don’t we just make this a podcast?” From that thought, the Vinyl Stallions podcast was born in early 2022.
While searching for a name, they determined that the word “vinyl” had to be included, influenced by their personal vinyl record collections. “Stallions” came from Sprusso going to his friend’s house and noticing their neighbor had sent a framed picture of a horse out with the trash. While the discarded picture caught his eye, Sprusso salvaged the framed picture. The suggestion was made that they put the words “vinyl” and “stallions” together, and the rest is history.
The first episode, released on Feb. 8, 2022, included album reviews, the first being AC/DC’s Back in Black, followed by concert reviews of shows they attended. Their first guest interview episode, with Toledo-based group The Ice Cream Militia, was released on March 15, 2022.
Since then, they’ve released over 120 episodes (as of February 2024) and have interviewed notable people in music including bassist Benny Reitveld (known for playing with Carlos Santana, Miles Davis, Sheila E) and drummer Derrick McKenzie (known for playing with Jamiroquai).
Soirée of the Stallions
Early in the show’s history, they commented on how they would eventually like to use their platform to do something charitable. Fast forward to 2024, and they’ve put on two installments of Soirée of the Stallions. Both charity shows occurred at the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern in Cleveland, raising almost $10,000 for two different charities, the Greater Hunger Network of Cleveland and the Epilepsy Association of Cleveland. Each installment featured bands who all have been featured on the podcast.
Impact
According to Klepzig, Vinyl Stallions stands out from other music podcasts, as an independent podcast, they have full creative control over the show. That results in a lack of pressure or expectations from any outside influences. “The show has a diversity of content; album reviews, concert reviews and interviews with people in music. Everything about this show comes from a genuine place because of the intensity of our love for music,” Klepzig said.
Looking ahead, Klepzig and Sprusso plan to continue highlighting the Ohio music community, while looking to expand nationally. Additionally, the partners are always looking to improve the production of the show while featuring more notable guests. Still, in general, their goal is to highlight people in music who deserve more recognition than they’re currently receiving.
Vinyl Stallions is available on all major podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Tuesday. vinylstallions.com
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