The Opinion Guy: WICKED

The following is a transcript of Wicked’s Dec.1, 2025, appearance on The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. The transcript doesn’t break down the speakers. Given that, in all but one case, and in the interest of time, I use the word band for their responses.

Me: When I envision this show, I envision having this band on as the first guest, not just the first band, but the first guest, so without further ado, let me bring to you Wicked!

Who they are: I'm Scotty V, lead guitarist. Chad Michael, lead singer, rhythm guitar. Yo, what's up? I'm Danny, and I play bass in Wicked. My name is Gunnar, and I play the drums.

WICKED: L-R Chad Michael Martin, lead singer, rhythm guitar; Danny Martin, bass; Gunnar Coston, drums; and Scotty Ventura, lead guitar.

Brothers L-R Danny Martin & Chad Michael Martin.

Me: All right, so which two of you are brothers? Tell my audience which two are brothers.

Band: Right here, Danny, Chad.

Me: Where are you from?

Band: Rochester, New York. Up where the cows and the snow is.

Me: You guys live together. So did you guys do Thanksgiving together as well?

Band: “We do. We do all kinds of stuff, man. I mean, holidays, vacations, sabbaticals to Salem, Massachusetts. It's like, it's wild.” We always like to do a Friendsgiving where we invite people over to our Wicked lair and have close friends together to celebrate.

Band Origin

Started this thing what feels like a long time ago. And it was kind of cool. It was out of the embers of really looking for a piece of that music industry or rock and roll music that was missing. We grew up, just all four of us, loving, you know, seventies hard rock and glam rock bands and metal bands and these guys that would be like larger than life. They’d go on stage, and just really like give you something to dream about, this unbelievable show. You know it was a time where, for example, when we started, it was bands like ACDC and KISS, just those larger-than-life groups. To us, it seems like society is becoming more and more robotic. And so that just pushes us further in the other direction, where we want to stand out against the masses.

Learning From The National Tour With Vicious Rumors, Raven, and Luthero

Band: I'd probably say one thing really burned into my memory was when Scotty learned a lesson not to get hammered in Florida and let ladies stick dollar bills in his underwear while he's walking around barefoot.  And getting crazy every night, you had to learn how to pace yourself pretty quickly. We became a really efficient machine after a few shows and really started dialing it in. It was a cool experience.

New Single Obsession Soon New LP Rebel

This new album (Go Rebel) really kind of toes the line, talking about how important community is. Our rock and roll community.  The music is still like that classic Wicked vibe, the Wicked sound. I mean, the core of it is more seventies-style hard rock. (Go Rebel is expected to be released late spring/early summer.)

• I asked Scotty V if he was thinking Metallica when he wrote/played the lead for Obsession. “No, not particularly,” Scotty V began. “But I could definitely hear that. I mean, it was influenced a little bit from Ghost, and they're influenced by Metallica. So, hand in hand, I guess, by proxy.

WICKED on The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative

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Photo Credit: WICKED

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read.

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