DISGRACELAND – Bonus Episode: A Disgraceful Christmas List – Rockstars Set Up, Busted, and Sentenced During the Holidays

Date: December 25, 2025
Host: (Primarily Matt; listener contributions and mentions of Double Elvis Productions team)

Episode Overview

In this raucous holiday bonus episode, DISGRACELAND's host serves up a special “Christmas List” with a twist: a top 10 countdown of wild rockstar true crime stories, each one infamous for occurring during the holiday season. From DMX’s high-speed arrest to Merle Haggard’s life-changing robbery, this episode spotlights the intersection of rock n’ roll excess and Christmas chaos. Along with the list, the show features listener calls, texts, and a celebratory segment as the podcast is mentioned on Jeopardy!, all with the show’s signature irreverence, deep music-lore nerdery, and dark humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Devil’s Workshop: Why So Many Holiday Rock Crimes? (07:48)

• The host opens with a theory on why holidays turn problematic for musicians:

  "Idle hands are the devil's workshop. One could also say that music history is the devil's workshop. And the workshop gets real busy around the holidays with all those rock stars sitting around at home without the structure of the road, bored to death by domesticity, just itching to get themselves into trouble." (07:51)

• The top 10 list includes notorious arrests and scandals, all timed with the “silly season.”

2. The “Disgraceful” Christmas Crime List (08:50 – 19:17)

#10 – DMX’s Holiday Arrest (08:58)

• December 15, 2002: DMX arrested for reckless driving at 104mph and multiple other charges.
• Noted as a tragic story representative of DMX’s troubles.

  "Speeding was the least of DMX's problems that Christmas... The DMX story, to me, it's a very sad story, and I don't yet know how to tell it..." (09:33)

#9 – Joan Baez: Protest & Prison (11:00)

• December 19, 1967: Joan Baez arrested during an anti-Vietnam sit-in.
• Host reflects on Baez’s independent significance, outside of Bob Dylan’s shadow.

  "You can't argue with how compelling an artist she was... we don't understand fully how big Joan Baez was because Bob Dylan is caught up in her story..." (11:36)

#8 – Chuck Berry and the Man Act (13:16)

• 1959: Chuck Berry arrested for transporting a 14-year-old girl across state lines, violating the Man Act.
• Sentence reduced from 5 years to 3; served 20 months.
• Personal aside: Host mentions Berry’s expanded story in his own book.

#7 – The Who: Rock Star Hotel Destruction (15:10)

• Early December 1973: Post-show mayhem in Montreal. The Who trashed their hotel suite: sofas thrown out windows, TV in the pool, blood on the walls.
• Members arrested, but only fined.

  "Before all was said and done, sofas had been rocketed out of the hotel suite's windows, a television set ended up in the pool. Pete Townsend's blood somehow was splattered across the art…" (15:37)

#6 – Lil Wayne: Tour Bus Trouble (16:29)

• Early 2008: Arrested in Arizona after New Year; charged after a tour bus raid.
• Reminder to listen to the DISGRACELAND archives for more.

#5 – Trey Anastasio (Phish): Prescription Disasters (17:08)

• December 2006: Anastasio arrested, heroin in possession, post-crash into addiction and recovery.

#4 – Billie Holiday: Club Brawl & Malicious Setup (17:58)

• New Year’s Eve, 1948: Holiday involved in a club brawl, later targeted by a "despicably shameful" FBI raid and set up by her manager.

  "…notorious publicity for the arrest and the brawl, it fueled ticket sales for the rest of her tour. So she got a little, you know, New Year's holiday bonus for Billie Holiday there..." (18:53)

#3 – Jay-Z: Stabbing Incident (19:25)

• December 1999: Stabbed record executive Lance "Un" Rivera at NYC’s Club KitKat, received probation.

#2 – Sean “Puffy” Combs: Club Shooting Charges (19:38)

• Two days post-Christmas, 1999: Arrested after NYC club shooting, avoided conviction.
• Host teases more discussion on how Puffy escaped charges in the “exclusive” section for members.

  “...lot of theories about how Sean Combs avoided a guilty charge here and he avoided going to prison. Lots of, lots of smoke out there. Some of it is more than smoke, I think…” (19:55)

#1 – Merle Haggard: Christmas Robber (20:02)

• Christmas Day, years before stardom: Robs a restaurant, jailed at San Quentin.

• Watching Johnny Cash perform there inspired him to go clean and pursue music.

  “...this all led to Merle Haggard writing one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, ‘If We Make It Through December’...” (20:47)

• Host’s Note:

  "Ranking doesn't matter. These are all fascinating stories that you can tell this Christmas while you're hanging out with your fam..." (21:09)

• Mentions many more holiday-season rock star busts (James Brown, Jim Morrison, Sam Cooke, G.G. Allin).

3. Listener Interactions and Holiday Conversations (27:20 – 36:34)

Listener Calls & Emails

• Charlie from Georgia (27:20):
  Praises the show for avoiding the usual divisive topics:

  "…it's not about race or politics or religion or all the other horse manure… it's a show that has a great host, that tells great stories about great artists…" (27:36)

• Elizabeth (731) (28:44): Discussed "Baby It’s Cold Outside" controversy, noting performances sometimes made the lyrics and visuals cringey.

Text Highlights

• Smiths Christmas Album That Never Was (29:55): Detailed mock tracklist for a fictional Smiths Christmas album: "Christmas Is Over," "The Last Star I Shall See," "This Charming Elf," etc.

  "This guy's got a whole track listing for a fake Smith's Christmas album. This is fantastic…" (30:08)

• Unconventional or "Unintentional" Christmas Songs:
  Examples: Weezer’s “O Holy Night,” Counting Crows’ "A Long December," Elvis’s “In the Ghetto," Joni Mitchell’s "River"

  "Unintentional Christmas songs. Songs that weren't intended to be Christmas but somehow have ended up representing the holiday season for us." (32:55)

Patreon/Community Engagement

• Details exclusive member bonuses, including video podcasts, exclusive episodes, and community Zooms (31:35).

4. DISGRACELAND’s Jeopardy Moment (37:26 – 42:36)

The Big News

• Host shares personal story of DISGRACELAND being a clue on Jeopardy!

  "And I'm thinking, if anybody watches this every night, it's him... My sister, who's like, hours from going into labor, texts me... They actually, like, had the clip and they sent it." (40:00)

• Plays audio from Jeopardy segment:

  Jeopardy host: "As it focuses on music and misdeeds, Disgraceland discussed the May through July 2025 trial of this rap mogul..." (42:21)

  • Contestant answers: "Sean Combs."
• Host revels in the moment, calling it a cultural milestone for the show.

5. Recommendations & What’s Next (43:56 – End)

Upcoming/Featured DISGRACELAND Content

• Johnny Ace’s Christmas disaster episode (Elvis Presley connection).
• Archive highlights: Lou Reed, Derek & the Dominoes, Hollywoodland’s New Year’s movie episode (Boogie Nights & Godfather II referenced).
• Listener’s Christmas movie suggestion: "Beautiful Girls."

Community Call-to-Action

• Encourages calls/texts for questions, episode requests, or music true crime lore:

  "Your voice keeps us digging into the dark corners of music history. So keep calling texting with your answers…" (48:35)

• Reminder: DISGRACELAND is a community for music-obsessed outsiders.

Holiday Music History Snapshot

• On the day Joan Baez was arrested (December 19, 1967), America’s Billboard #1: “Daydream Believer” – The Monkees (49:46).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On music’s wildest stars and the holidays:

  "Music history is the devil's workshop. And the workshop gets real busy around the holidays..." (07:55)

• On telling the stories no one else does:

  "Disgraceland is where I tell the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else." (06:41)

• On community:

  "This isn't just content, it's a community. A community of the obsessed. And no one cares about music, books, records and the crime and grime that ties them all together like you do…" (48:55)

• Listener creative highlight:

  “Shoplifters of the world unite on Boxing Day.” (30:35)

• Jeopardy! reaction:

  “…there’s something about Jeopardy. It’s been around forever, since I was a little kid. And it’s just, like I said, such a fabric of our culture that it really made me happy that our show, Disgraceland was mentioned.” (41:34)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 06:41 — Mission of the bonus episode, opening
• 07:48 — Theory on why holidays are ripe for music true crime
• 08:50 — Countdown of top 10 holiday music crimes starts (DMX)
• 13:16 — Chuck Berry (Man Act) case
• 15:10 — The Who destroy Montreal hotel suite
• 19:25 — Jay-Z stabbing
• 19:38 — Sean “Puffy” Combs shooting case
• 20:02 — Merle Haggard’s Christmas robbery
• 27:20 — Listener calls: Charlie from Georgia
• 28:44 — Listener Elizabeth on "Baby It’s Cold Outside"
• 29:55 — "Smiths Christmas Album That Should Exist" text
• 31:35 — Patreon/Community features rundown
• 37:26 — Host discovers DISGRACELAND was a Jeopardy! clue
• 42:21 — Jeopardy! audio played
• 43:56 — Preview of Hollywoodland & community features

Tone & Style

• Knowledgeable but irreverent
• Not afraid to offer subjective hot takes (e.g. Merle Haggard vs. George Jones)
• Embraces dark, chaotic history with camaraderie and “dangerous dinner party” energy
• Encourages listener engagement and music nerd creativity

Summary

With his “Disgraceful Christmas List,” Matt leans into the holiday crime chaos that seems to afflict legendary musicians at the time of year synonymous with family—and, apparently, felonies. Each story is given the classic DISGRACELAND color: wry asides, listener banter, and deep-digging into the personalities and pathologies of music’s dark antiheroes. The episode also doubles as a love letter to the show’s thriving music-history-nerd community, complete with user-generated Christmas concepts (e.g. fake Smiths albums, debates over holiday song politics), and a shared sense of cultural pride after DISGRACELAND’s Jeopardy! mention, all while laying seeds for future explorations into music’s strangest corners.