Professor of Rock

A few weeks ago, I introduced a new show where I did a pop culture crossover of Rock and Roll Meets Star Wars, including a story of how Terri Nunn, the Lead singer of New Wave band Berlin, was a frontrunner for the role of Princess Leia…She even had a final screen test with Harrison Ford, who did not like her. So, getting rejected by Star Wars, she became a new wave icon with the #1 hit, Take Me Breath Away well I got so many requests for more Star Wars and rock, but this time around we’re doing Star Wars as well as expanding our coverage to other science fiction franchises. From Star Trek to ET to Alien including how The Who Saved the RIdley Scott movie Alien and How Micheal Jackson’s Label sued ET and Then ET turned around and Sued Neil Diamondas well as the crazy story about Sting’s Space underwear from the movie dune…and One of the funniest Williams Shatner stories you’ll ever hear and it has to do with he band KISS it’s my top 5 Sci-Fi rock and roll crossovers… So let’s get it started: at #5, I have a special guest to tell the story about the time that a famous voice actor fooled William Shatner into believing he was Gene Simmons of KISS and all hell broke loose… It’s a Gag that is still going. Ok, so Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, and it debuted on NBC in 1966. And although it was canceled after just three seasons, the show found sustained success in syndication during the 70s and built a passionate fanbase. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Producer Brandon Fugal Honorary Producers Kimberley Rumburg, Brent Gephart, Glenn Beardmore, Jennifer Selvidge, Carl Curcuruto, Thomas Williams ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast Apple: https://apple.co/445fVov Spotify: https://spoti.fi/42JpfvU Amazon: https://amzn.to/44b5D6m iHeartRadio: https://bit.ly/444h8MO ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patreon: http://bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan Merch Store: https://professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com/ Instagram: https://bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock #classicrock #70smusic #vinylstory #starwars Okay, now its time to introduce my good friend voice actor and rock star Jess Harnell. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Jess, let me give you the rundown quick, because he has a hilarious relationship with Willian Shatner… and you’re gonna be dying laughing after hearing these. Jess Harnell is one of the most prolific and versatile performers in entertainment. He has a massive resume of voice acting credits across television, film, video games, and even theme parks. Rising to prominence in the early 90s, Jess voiced the zany Wakko Warner in Steven Spielberg's Animaniacs. In fact, he was hand-picked by Spielberg for the part. Jess has also voiced character in major pop culture franchises like Transformers, Star Wars, The Tick, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, and Rick and Morty. Parallel to his voice acting career, Jess also has a musical career rooted in hard rock. After releasing a solo album, The Sound of Your Voice, in 1995, he became the lead vocalist for the the mash-up rock band Rock Sugar… which blends heavy metal with classic pop melodies. Jess is the man of over 1000 voices, and is always a blast. Here is telling us the story of how his neighbor William Shatner mistook him for Gene Simmons of Kiss… Okay, next up at #4 I’ve got a couple of rock star stories connected to the Dune franchise… in particular, tales about Toto and Sting. So Frank Herbert’s 1965 masterpiece Dune revolutionized science fiction by introducing a vast, intricate universe bound by feudal politics, ecology, and religion. Centered on Arrakis—the harsh desert world and sole source of "melange," the precious spice essential for space travel—the narrative follows Paul Atreides as his noble family is betrayed by the ruthless House Harkonnen and the Padishah Emperor. Frank Herbert penned six original novels, exploring themes of prophecy and the perilous nature of charismatic leaders… creating an expansive literary mythos. In 1984, avant-garde filmmaker David Lynch directed the first feature-length film adaptation, bringing Herbert's dense world to the big screen with surreal flair. Starring Kyle MacLachlan in his debut role as Paul Atreides, Dune featured opulent set designs, grotesque character imagery, and a memorable soundtrack by Toto alongside Brian Eno. Condensing Herbert’s expansive novel into a single two-hour film proved challenging, leading Lynch to rely heavily on internal monologues rendered as whispered voiceovers. Even though the film was plagued by studio interference and met with polarized critical and box office responses, Lynch's version has still gathered a