Greetings from the B-Side Brewery! I once again apologize for neglecting this newsletter. But I do have some important news to share. My indie rock band the Roland High Life has a new song out today called “The Edge of Memory,” that one reviewer called, “the summer banger that you didn’t know you needed in your life right now.” It’s available now on all the streaming/digital platforms.

We’ll also be headlining our first show at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston next Sunday, July 19. This is the last time we’ll get to play OBie’s before the club’s much-anticipated renovations, and it’d be super cool if we could really pack the place. If you’re in the Boston area and you haven’t seen my awesome rock n’ roll group yet — please come out! I know it’s a Sunday night, but it’s also an early show and guaranteed to be done by 10pm. You could go out and watch the final game of the World Cup at 3pm, then come straight to our show, and still get to work in the morning, or get your kids to summer camp, or whatever. What’s better than that?

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And speaking of the World Cup …

Remember that time Argentina beat England in the championships by illegally punching a ball into the goal?

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I’m not much of a sports guy — but that doesn’t stop me from writing a helluva’n anti-imperialist crime yarn! And that’s exactly what I did for my latest Badlands episode, which focuses on the football legend Diego Maradona.

Diego Maradona was busted for drugs, prostitution, and shooting an air rifle at reporters. He was also associated with one of the biggest and oldest organized crime families in Italy. Despite all of this, Diego Maradona somehow still showed up the next day and played a great game of soccer. He even turned a soccer match into a weapon during a centuries-long war between England and Argentina. Diego Maradona was more than one of the greatest of all time on the pitch – he was also one of the most infamous.

You can check it out below, or wherever you listen to your podcasts: