Rob Miller co-founded Bloodshot Records in 1993 and ran the label until it was sold in 2021. He recently published a great new book, The Hours Are Long But the Pay is Low - A Curious Life in Independent Music. Rob joined Mark and Tom to talk about his history with Bloodshot and to share his thoughts on the book. Of course they spent a lot of time talking about their mutual love for Chicago as well.

Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy (and their musical friends) have definitely tapped into something with this “play R.E.M.” thing. Mike & Jason originally started this exercise by playing album sets of some of their favorite artists like Neil Young, The Modern Lovers, The Smiths and more. But when they picked out Murmur by R.E.M. in 2023, the whole concept took off in a big way. After playing Fables of the Reconstruction last year, they are heading out on a big tour playing Lifes Rich Pageant. Both shows at the Metro in Chicago are sold out, but there are plenty of other dates available, including a September show at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. Definitely worth checking them out!

The first Art Brut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, came out in 2005. The buzz started slowly, but then Pitchfork gave it an 8.9 rating and things took off from there. Four more LP’s followed from 2007 to 2018. Tom and Mark got a chance to talk with bandleader Eddie Argos about his musical career and his love for Chicago. Art Brut is touring this spring, playing that first record as well as a few more greatest hits. They hit the Subterranean in Chicago on April 15th.

John Perrin is an incredible Chicago drummer and has toured or recorded with an impressive list of artists, including NRBQ, JD McPherson, Young Fresh Fellows, The Smoking Popes, Jake La Botz, Rodney Crowell, Jim Boggia, The Hushdrops and many more.
Mark and Tom talk about how he got his first drum set at the age of two and played in his first band with his dad & brother at the age of ten. We also covered his love of record collecting, his incredible New Year’s Eve experience and his love of Chicago.

Dag Juhlin has done it all - well, almost all. He’s been in too many bands to count and played with nearly everyone in the Chicago music community. The Slugs. Poi Dog Pondering. Sunshine Boys. Expo ‘76. Courtesy Patrol. Young Fresh Fellows. R.E.M. Tribute band. He’ll most certainly be playing at a Chicago club near you very soon!

Miranda Winters grew up in Providence, RI - but she’s all in on Chicago. She plays guitar and sings in Chicago noise rock quartet Melkbelly (along with her husband, Bart Winters). Her most recent project was the all-female band Mandy which released the LP Lawn Girl last year. Look for Melkbelly out on tour in the next few months.

Mark and Tom talk to Rick Sims and his new bandmates, Beanz Decatur and Billy Fury about their upcoming Riot Fest gig and how it came about. The last time the Didjits gigged was back in 2006 and Mark and Tom had a fun conversation about with them as they prepare for Riot Fest on Friday 9/19 and the Empty Bottle on Sunday 9/21.

Matt Walker has always wanted to play the drums. It was his first instrument and he took to it immediately. He’s now made a wonderful career of it - playing in an amazing list of incredible bands. Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Garbage and more. His band, Cupcakes, put out a major label record, but broke up too soon. Nowadays, Matt puts out his own work as of1000faces. Mark and Tom talked about Matt’s career, as well as his thoughts on Chicago.

Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot have been writing about Chicago and music for a long time. Greg was the rock music critic at the Chicago Tribune from 1990 to 2020. Jim spent 15 years as the music critic at the Chicago Sun Times. Both have written several great books - Greg’s published books include Wilco: Learning How to Die, I’ll Take You There Mavis Staples and Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music. Jim’s titles include Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma’s Fabulous Flaming Lips and Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. But they may be best known for the long-running podcast Sound Opinions which celebrated its 1,000th episode in 2025.

We welcome Chicago Punk Legend Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms to the show! Mark and Tom go deep into the history with one of Mark’s all-time favorites. Slapstick, The Broadways, The Falcon, the Wandering Birds, The Lawrence Arms, Nihilist Arby’s and so much more. We went a little long with this one because it’s so fucking good. Enjoy it!

Stacey & Erik join Mark & Tom for an After Hours episode to talk over their plans for the fourth edition of fForest Fest in Morris, IL. They filled them in on the entire musical lineup, the move to two stages in 2025 and all the other great things to do in Goold Park - food trucks, cool vendor market and lots of green space to play. Bring the whole family out for a wonderful day of music and fun! Saturday, June 7th - gates open at noon. $10 cash at the gate (kids 5 and under are free).

Mario Cannamela of Bottom Bracket joins Mark and Tom to talk about his musical journey, taking the leap to move to Chicago, playing in the band with Rob Diaz and Tim Recio, the band's excellent album I’m So Afraid Of Where, and their upcoming show at Subterranean on April 6th. Mario even shared his favorite spots to bike in Chicago!

Born in Memphis is 1974, Cory Branan has been releasing albums since The Hell You Say in 2002. He released three great records on Chicago’s Bloodshot Records - Mutt, The No-Hit Wonder and Adios - and his most recent LP (his 6th overall) is the excellent When I Go I Ghost in 2022. Many of his musician friends - Jason Isabel, Brian Fallon, Laura Jane Grace, Craig Finn, Jody Stephens, Ben Nichols, Sadler Baden & more - have appeared on his records. We talked with him about all of that, about his songwriting process, his Chicago experiences and his upcoming tour with his buddy Chuck Ragan.

Matt Spiegel is a music guy. His bands have included Brother Brother (a 10-piece funk band with his brother Jon), Tributosaurus and Sonic45 (with Len Kasper) and has recorded a 3-song 7” with Steve Albini. He was the producer for Sound Opinions with Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. He’s also a huge baseball fan and in his spare time he works as a sports radio talk show host at 670 The Score. Mark and Tom talked with Matt about his love of music and Chicago and more.

Peter Jesperson has had an incredible career in music. Initially inspired by watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, Peter took a job at legendary record store Oar Folkjokeopus in 1973 and became the primary DJ at Jay’s Longhorn in 1977. He was a co-founder of Twin / Tone Records the following year. Along the way, Paul Westerberg dropped off the famous demo tape for The Replacements. Peter eventually became the manager for the ‘Mats and spent time of the road with R.E.M. After overcoming some personal issues (he’s now been 33 years sober!), Peter moved to LA and worked with New West Records and with artists like Vic Chesnutt, Jack Logan, The Flatlanders and many more. Most recently, he has written a fabulous new book, Euphoric Recall. Mark and Tom talk about Peter’s life (plus a few Chicago stories).

Mike Maple started Liquid Mike in 2021. In that short time, the band has already put out five albums of songs - including their most recent one, Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot. Hailing from Marquette, Michigan (that’s the Upper Peninsula, folks), Mike balances his job as a mailman with writing a ton of songs, playing guitar, singing and touring. You can check them out in Chicago at Concord Hall on Dec 11th. Give this one a listen!

Mark and Tom welcome Elizabeth Moen to the show this time! Originally from Iowa, she now calls Chicago home. Her self-titled first album was released in 2016 and her latest, Live at Lincoln Hall came out earlier this year. She’s working on a new one with Spencer Tweedy producing. Mark and Tom talk about that, as well as her story about meeting Eddie Vedder, her current tour with Jeff Tweedy and her love for Bruce Springsteen’s music. She also has a new single out in advance of her big show at Empty Bottle on 11/16. As always, she shares her thoughts about Chicago! 

Ian Robinson has been performing as Black Guy Fawkes for almost ten years now. He joins us on the podcast to talk about his musical journey, meeting Frank Turner , his challenges as a black artist and the battle to maintain positive mental health. Ian is working on a new album and also has a great podcast called “Fawkes & Friends”. He’ll be playing the Color Club in Chicago in October.

We are very pleased to have Abby Monroe and Josh Dihle on the show for our 50th. Abby and Josh are the owners of Color Club, a Chicago venue that hosts an eclectic array of events. In 2020, they purchased the building on Elston Avenue that previously was home to the Chicago Latvian Association. Their intention was to create "a gathering space for Chicago's creative community." Mark and Tom with them talk about how they have done just that - hosting all sorts of events - poetry, dance, art, music and more. And, of course, we talk about how they came to open "The Sugar Hole" - the world's only puppet powered ice cream walk-up window. And they also tell us what they love about Chicago.

John Mohr and Mike Greenlees have been playing music together for a long time. They first got together in Dekalb, Illinois at Northern Illinois University in 1983 with the band Blatant Dissent. In 1988, they transitioned to the post-hardcore band Tar, based in Chicago. And now, in 2024, they’ve released a fantastic new album with their latest quartet, Deep Tunnel Project , with Jeff Dean and Tim Midyett. We talked with John and Mike about how this all happened - and shared our mutual love of Chicago