“Hey dude! Ya know I’m doing a talk show these days?” read the text from Donnie Castle (a.k.a. Donnie Vagrant). If you’ve been around the Louisville punk scene at any point over the last almost three decades, you should know who he is. If he’s not in a band playing at a local punk show, then he’ll most likely be there in the crowd supporting the bands that are playing. I’ve known him since his days in local punk band The Vagrants (hence the last name), back in the late 90s. Since then, he’s been in a slew of Louisville punk bands, including (but not limited to) Put Up Yer Dukes, Living Dead Brigade, The Sickies, and such awesomely-named bands as Fart Sandwich 4some, Johnny Turd and the Commodes, and, of course, The Asscheeks. Lately, he’s been tearing it up as frontman for The Response, and just debuted a second band called PigRoast earlier this month. To say he brings character to his duties as a vocalist is an understatement. Whatever it takes to make you pay attention while he’s onstage, he’s not above doing it. There is no shame or embarrassment involved. So, who is more fitting to host a talk show? It’s practically what he was born to do!
“Anyhoo,” the text continued, “I’m rounding up guests and thought a writer from LEO would class the joint up a bit.” While I don’t agree with the “classing it up a bit” part because, well, it’s me he’s talking about, I was down for it. I had been on his previous podcast, Partners and Pals, a few times, which he co-hosted with The Response bandmate Sean Magnum, so my thought was it would be a similar setup (sitting in a small room with maybe another person or two and recording the show). So the date was set, and I would be appearing on the third episode of the first season. Shortly after I’m booked, the first episode comes out, followed by the second episode a couple of weeks later. And this is nothing like what I was expecting; not at all. It’s bigger and better than I had imagined.
What exactly is The Whenever Show with Donnie Vagrant, you ask? It’s billed as “Louisville, KY’s first and only DIY punk rock talk show.” Episodes usually run around 45 minutes each (as of this writing, there are six episodes available for streaming). It follows a typical late night talk show format with an opening monologue, interviews, skits, live music, and show segments such as the reoccurring “Man on the Street,” a pre-taped bit in which interviewer Micah Deramus talks with random people about a variety of topics, (the “Man on the Street” segment in season 1, episode 3 which features OVW wrestlers giving Donnie chops across his bare chest is a must-watch!)
Guests so far, (aside from myself), have included local scene documentarian and filmmaker Beau Kaelin (better known as Señor Diablo), Shitfire guitarist and solo artist Cadillac Young, artist Rick Gideons of Fifty Eleven Media (who’s story I had the honor of telling in LEO Weekly), local drag legends Jules and Urine Lux, The Response guitarist Sean Magnum, creepy clown Morbo Kloon, and YouTuber Fist of the Dog Medicine.
Local punk band Mommy’s Cigarettes generally serves as the house band, playing the show’s lead-in as well as taking the show out for “commercial breaks” (usually a pre-filmed skit or feature), then back in from the breaks.
In addition, each show also features a special musical guest who performs. So far, local punk rock bands Plague IX, The Wholigans, Bug Bot, Goose Hydra , and Shock Probation have all played on the show.
There is also a running gag where, whenever the phrase “Man on the Street” is mentioned, the band set up at that moment has to immediately play the “Man on the Street” theme, which basically consists of yelling “Man on the Street! Man on the Street!” in rapid-fire concession. I managed to catch Bug Bot off guard with one during the episode we’re on.
In the middle of it all is Donnie Vagrant, the show’s namesake and host. A grizzled-looking dude with a long gray beard, neatly styled hair, and generally clad in a local band shirt and/or a tacky, baggy, outdated suit. Donnie looks like a cross between a talk show host and, well, quite frankly, an actual vagrant. Although there is some discussion beforehand on what he’s going to talk about, the show is pretty much ad-libbed and off-the-cuff with Donnie telling jokes and stories, asking questions, conversing with and getting good-natured shit from the guests, bands, and crew. And it works because Donnie is open, honest, interesting, funny, and has a way of making you feel like you’ve known him for years, even if you’ve never met him before. It’s a strange kind of charisma that pulls you in and keeps you watching. And that’s the thing to note here: Donnie Vagrant isn’t a character he’s created and is playing up for the camera; this is 100% his authentic self. Contrary to Walter Sobchak’s line in The Big Lebowski, this Donnie is most definitely in his element.
It’s all filmed at The Rosetta Chapel, a uniquely decorated DIY space on 20th Street in the Portland neighborhood. The main room, where the show is taped, is fairly spacious given that this is, essentially, a house that has been partially converted into an event space. Upon walking in for the taping, I was surprised to see that this was no one-man show being filmed on an iPhone. In fact, there is a small crew of people working behind the scenes here with much more equipment than I had expected to see.
Aside from host/writer Donnie Vagrant, the show is put together by Steven Harper (Stage Manager and Show Coordinator), Deavon DeShazo (Editor/Cameraman/Audio Engineer), “Man on the Street” interviewer Micah Deramus, Cassidy Pfefferkorn (Photographer/Camera person), Brian McAtee (“Action Cam”), Mary Schutte (Executive Assistant/Scheduling/Booking), and Rosetta Chapel owner/operator Daniel Barber, who also handles show introductions and puppet duties. Rick Gideons of Fifty Eleven Media has also provided several skits and videos for the show, in addition to serving as the guest on episode four.
During the taping of episode three, on which I guest, The Rosetta Chapel was sweltering inside due to the dry July heat, yet the crew was upbeat and joking with one another, giving the scene here a close-knit group kind of vibe. These aren’t people just thrown together to create a show; they are all friends. But at the same time, they are also focused and very serious about doing their jobs and making the best show they can.
To get a better understanding of this whole operation and how it came to be, LEO Weekly interviewed the majority of the crew, (we were not able to get Brian McAtee or Daniel Barber, unfortunately), and here’s what they had to say.
What happened with the Partners & Pals podcast?
Donnie Vagrant: We had been going for about six years, and I guess we just felt like we’d interviewed everybody already. It was just time to move on. But P&P still collaborate on New Year’s Prag Night – the punk and drag New Year’s Eve party at Air Devil’s Inn…shameless plug.
How did the idea for The Whenever Show with Donnie Vagrant come about?
DV: When we decided to end the podcast, I knew I needed to do something to fill that need to do some sort of media. I’ve always wanted to do a late-night-style talk show, and I decided fuck it, let’s see what I can do. Luckily, I found the most awesome crew that makes this a reality. I was originally gonna call it Late Night Show with Donnie Vagrant, but since it airs on YouTube, you can watch it whenever, so that’s how that happened.
Steven Harper: I have known Donnie for about 35 years. As teenagers, we loved staying up late to watch David Letterman back in the 90s and always talked about how awesome it would be to do a show like that with Donnie as the front man, and I originally envisioned myself as more of a Paul Shaffer type of person. As we grew up, raised families, and got to a point where we had the time to do it, Donnie presented me with the idea. I was instantly smitten with it as it was always a dream for him, and I knew he could make it work.
When I was on the show, you seemed to have everything together and knew exactly where and when things needed to happen. Do you have any background in stage management and/or directing, or are you just successfully winging it?
SH: Short answer is “Successfully winging it,” lol! I am a big fan of theater, both film and stage. After years of watching all kinds of “Behind the Scenes” stuff, I looked at it like it is the other side of any film or play. The audience sees the finished work, but they rarely see all the work that goes on behind the scenes in making the thing they are watching and enjoying. I found this magical and always wanted to do this kind of work. The Whenever Show presented me with the perfect opportunity to do my part to help bring Donnie’s vision to life.
Who came up with the “Man on the Street” segment, and how did you get involved with it?
Micah Deramus: I will say Donnie and Deavon. The show has always been a dream of Donnie’s, and when Deavon said he’d be a cameraman and editor, he texted me saying they wanted to do street interviews. I was the first to come to mind. I said “Hell yeah,” and the rest is history.
Walk me through the process of how the planning goes for each show.
DV: I have a mental list of guests in my head, and luckily, I’m friends with a lot of talented people, so that makes it easy. To be real, everything happens like a bipolar tornado. I am only able to make anything happen because Steven or Deavon will be like, “What’s up with such and such?” And I go “Oh fuck,” and then there it is!
SH: A lot of people come to us wanting to be on the show, but Donnie vets them all. We all pitch in on skit and/or segment ideas and see what Donnie gets excited about to know if we have a winner or not. Some make it, some do not: it depends on the flow. The crew has jokingly called me the “Adult” of the show, as I am usually the voice of reason for things that are a no-go or need a second thought. 99% of all the writing is ad-lib, as this is where Donnie seems to do the best. You can often hear me yelling stuff in the background of the shows in an effort to either coax more out of him, reminders to stay on track, or to move on to the next bit. We always do a pre-show meeting right before recording so that I can lay out the flow of the show, give reminders to the camera folks about hitting marks, and give a general rundown of the monologue and at-the-desk moments.
Deavon DeShazo: Personally, I have my show kit always ready to go. I grab Donnie, beer if I’m not dead broke, then off to Rosetta to set up my camera/lights/audio recording equipment. It’s just a big party that somehow produces a talk show.
MD: For the days of taping at Rosetta Chapel, we all shoot the breeze, have a brief meeting on the lineup, and get it done. For my segment, since they’re on my off days, I hit up Deavon and Donnie for the time and location, get dressed, ride out with them, and hit the streets with a little liquid pep.
Cassidy Pfefferkorn: When I get there, I make sure my filming camera is set up and the lighting works with it, then take some test photos.
Mary Schutte: I meet with Donnie to sort out the dates and deadlines for everyone on the show. I write out schedules and communicate with the crew whatever Donnie needs communicated.
Has anything crazy/funny/unexpected happened during the show?
DV: Constantly! One that is funny and sticks out for me was the second episode. We had to be there at 5:30 p.m. Deavon and I were hanging out at my place, and Deavon’s really good with being like, “Hey, we should probably get going.” And I’m really bad with, “We’ll be fine.” Anyway, it’s about 5 or maybe a little after; I go to grab my stuff, and a couple of minutes later, Deavon comes in and is like, “Dude, we don’t have (some piece of equipment we needed for filming)!” So now we’re both in a fucking panic. We find out Doo Wop Shop has it, and luckily Deavon had the cash, but we have 20 minutes to get from Hillview to The Highlands and then to the Portland neighborhood [where The Rosetta Chapel is located]. We are not going to make it. Plus, did I mention its rush hour? Anyway, I’m able to naturally fall into character because I can’t do the show as a panicked late guy, so I just embrace it. So while we’re in Doo Wop, Deavon is still stressed, but I’m goofing with synthesizers and shit, and I can tell he’s got the look on his face like “You fucking idiot! We are so fucking behind, and you’re pulling me away from getting this done so you can badly play shit for me?” But I told him it was fine because Steven was holding everything down, and it was all good. Just dumb shit like that happens to us all the time.
SH: All the ones I can think of involve me having “mini-panic” moments behind the scenes. Fists of the Dog Medicine was one of our first guests. He breaks all kinds of things over his shins and with his hands, and he is pretty bad ass! When he started breaking bats and wood planks, though, they went flying all over the place and came really close to breaking windows and smacking into cameras and people. It looks great on film, but behind the camera, I was in full-on panic mode.
DD: I think every show has had funny/unexpected moments. Anytime Donnie fucks something up and wants me to remove it, I keep it in because it’s what makes us so goddamn funny.
MD: The very first time [recording the “Man on the Street” segment] was rough. For the 6 interviews we recorded, we were rejected maybe 10 times. Yet the last interview’s bit was very heartfelt and got to me and still does. The most unexpected thing for me was the third episode, which was all of the OVW interviews. Originally, we planned to walk downtown to ask random people, and then we saw the wrestling stuff, [OVW was doing a cross-promotion with White Castle], and then thought, “Why not ask the wrestlers?” Almost everyone we asked said yes, and we got our best one yet.
MS: Every show is crazy, honestly. There’s now a running Sopranos joke among us after a band member told a gabagool joke.
What are your favorite things about the show?
DV: So much, but definitely the crew. They really want me and this show to be a successful endeavor, and they busy their asses. Doing the show is so damn surreal, and basically it’s just me talking to my friends and some of my favorite Louisville bands providing the soundtrack.
SH: This is a hard question. I love the excitement that the crew puts into this project. There are no egos here, and it is all about making the best show for Donnie that we can do. I have watched everyone get better over time and learn from things that did not work. It’s a weird ‘Proud Dad’ moment to watch Deavon increase his skills and learn new things at editing, or see the beauty and art that Cassidy puts into her photos and videos to capture the moments. Personally, my favorite part is right before Donnie comes out on stage at the beginning of the show; it’s my GET HYPE moment with Donnie. I make sure he looks his absolute punk hunk, high-class-trash self. The theme music starts playing, and Donnie and I are staring at each other, getting excited. We are yelling at each other things like, “This is THE moment” or “Show the world who Donnie Vagrant is!” and other motivational stuff like that.
DD: My favorite part of the show isn’t about the show itself, rather getting to party with a full house of people I love and respect in our little cut of the local punk scene.
MD: Just hanging around friends and having something to do, love all the bands we have, learning and meeting the guests.
CP: I’d say I have two favorite things: the first is getting to practice my craft as a photographer, given it’s something I’m working towards as a permanent job. The second is that I love how much this show makes me smile. After each show, I’m on the porch laughing and enjoying conversations, and I think to myself, “Shit, I’ve got some pretty great people in my life.”
MS: Everyone involved is great, and I’ve met some other wonderful people. It’s also fun having what feels like my own personal concert every episode.
What is the hardest and/or worst part of getting the show together?
DV: Any time you’re working with multiple people and multiple schedules, it’s gonna be tough. But we haven’t dealt with a lot of egos or anything.
SH: A huge part of what I do on the back end is I try to protect Donnie’s brand. In this regard, I feel that I must play the bad guy or the Debbie Downer in order to ensure Donnie stays Donnie. I ensure that everyone remembers that this is Donnie’s show and the focus and spotlight is on him. If bad news needs to be said to the crew or guests, it comes from me. I hate walking the fine line of what we can put out versus what will get us in trouble or a bad reputation.
DD: The hardest part of doing something like this is pouring your heart, soul, time, and money into something that we haven’t got a single clue if it’s going to pan out into anything more than just some punks having fun. But then again, having fun with your friends, just creating anything, is rewarding in its own way, and that can’t be replicated.
MD: Hardest, I would say, is booking and the street interviews. With booking, things come up, or it’s just a bad week to shoot. Scheduling has gotten better, but the first few episodes we did live up to the show’s name. The street interviews are like lightning in a bottle: the final product is great, but it’s a process. As mentioned before, for the 6-7 interviews we tape, we get declined 10-12 times. Labor of love, as they say.
CP: I can get overwhelmed easily in big crowds of people with multiple things going on at once. At first, it made my head spin a little, but it put me out of my comfort zone, and I’ve been able to overcome some of that.
MS: I would say the most challenging aspect is wrangling a bunch of punks!
What kind of things are you hoping to incorporate into the show in the future?
DV: More skits, more characters. I’ll always be the host, but I’m by no means the only guy. We want to make the next season even better.
SH: I would love to show more local artists and businesses on the show. Rick Gideons supplies a lot of side videos and segments, and he is a media GOD, but I would like to show other Louisville or regional stuff. I would like to get things like animation segments from local artists, local restaurant and brewery reviews, and other artists. Louisville has such an eclectic art scene that I think does not get enough exposure.
DD: We would love to start obtaining sponsorships from local businesses for season 2. We have big plans for the near future with some stellar acts already being considered, so getting in early on some ad space would be smart.
MD: I guess going to other venues and having them show themselves off and letting us run amok. Also, a traveling show to see other punks all over, and more show specials like our Halloween show later this month.
CP: I’d love to highlight even more DIY bands that may stray a little from the genre of punk when it comes to their music. There are so many great artists who deserve some awesome attention.
MS: For me, the plan is to be more involved with communication among bands and guests.
Are there any long-term goals for the show?
DV: Oh yeah, we need to get signed to CBS or Comedy Central or something – we are trying to get paid, lol! I mean, yes, that would be great so I could write checks to the crew that bust their butts, but we are just gonna keep building and making the best punk rock, drag-loving, DIY late-night talk show that’s ever existed.
SH: We would love to get sponsorships so that we can get better camera and recording gear. Everything we have is hand-me-down or bought with our own money. This show makes $0.00 and is an absolute passion project for us that takes a lot of time and money to run, which is currently coming out of our own pockets.
DD: Eventually, I’d love to not only release edited episodes, but also broadcast the show live as it is being filmed. We are probably still a year or so away from such a lofty goal, but once we have the resources, I’m sure we can pull it off.
MD: Gain enough skill to either keep the show going or maybe have my own, like Late Night or The Late Late Show. Have merch to add to the scene, help other artists, just keep the community and culture alive, give back what it gave me: good times and great stories.
MS: I’m hoping to take more of the pressure off Donnie for the more mundane aspects of running the show. I’m looking forward to seeing this take off.
CP: In general, I believe this has potential to be pretty popular while also keeping the DIY punk heart and soul to it. But no matter what happens, I’m proud!
You can stream all episodes of The Whenever Show with Donnie Vagrant for free on the show’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@The_Whenever_Show
You can also follow the show on Instagram at: instagram.com/the.whenever.show
The Whenever Show is also hosting a Halloween party and episode taping on Saturday, October 24th, at Wrong Side 812 – 1005 W. Market Street in Jeffersonville, IN – featuring live sets by Plague IX, The Response, Alex Kasnel & The Board of Directors (from Cincinnati), and Kasualty. Hosted by “Man on the Street” Micah Deramus, haunted by Morbo Kloon, and also featuring a costume contest. $10 at the door, 21 and over, and starts at 7:00 p.m.
This article appears in Oct. 1-31, 2025.