Jon Snodgrass has a unique way of looking at life. He joins Mark and Tom on this episode and they talk about his philosophy about music, money, baseball and so much more. Jon has a lot of friends and sometimes has them play on his records - like Frank Turner. And Jon has a new record out, barge at will with Bill Stevenson (Descendents) on drums & bass. We also talk about all the things that Jon loves about Chicago.

Growing up in Mattoon, IL, Rick Sims spent his early years drinking beer, smoking dope and practicing in the chicken shed in Sullivan, IL with his brother Brad). Joined by Doug Evans, they put together some crazy-ass music and the Didjits were born! From 1986 thru 1993, they put out five great records, including Hey Judester. Mark and Tom talk with Rick about how those records came to be made and also get into some stories about the intensely crazy live Didjits shows. The No Wristbands team are all stoked about the new Didjits Record Store Day release of Strictly Dynamite: The Best of Didjits coming out 4/20/2024. Of course, Rick talks about all things Chicago - and left everyone wondering is Rick going to play live again???

Sean O'Keefe joins Mark and Tom for episode number 42. Growing up in Wilmette, IL, Sean dropped out of Columbia College in Chicago to record his friends’ bands. He talks about how he came to produce Take This To Your Grave for his friends, Fall Out Boy. He also discusses what’s involved in producing, engineering and mixing a record. Sean has worked with a ton of other bands, including Hawthorne Heights, Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound and Beach Bunny. He also co-produced “Hey There Delilah” for Plain White T’s.

Jason Narducy has carved out quite a career for himself in music. His first band, Verboten (which he began as a pre-teen), was influential in getting Dave Grohl started in music. Subsequently he formed the acoustic duo Jason & Alison, Verbow, Rockets Over Sweden and his current project, Split Single. He’s also played with or toured with the likes of Bob Mould , Superchunk, Sunny Day Real Estate , Robert Pollard, Eddie Vedder, Liz Phair, The Pretenders and more. He’s got some big 2024 plans, including a tour booked with Michael Shannon where they perform REM‘s Murmur album. He joins Mark and Tom on the pod for a fun conversation.

Welcome to 2024 and the 40th episode of No Wristbands! Ken Draznik and James Wald from one of our favorite bands of all-time, The Vertebrats from Champaign, IL join Tom and Mark on the podcast. They talk about how they got together with Matt Brandabur and Roy Axford and helped create a vibrant DIY music scene in Champaign-Urbana. They also talk about how their short 3-year career created a legion of fans that have continued to love them and influenced a generation of C-U bands. In recent times, Kenny and Jimmy have recorded music as The Surly Bells and are looking for an avenue to release their new music. Enjoy!

Did you ever wish you had your own music festival? Well, our friends Stacey & Erik Olson are living the dream! In 2022 they put together the first fForest Fest in Morris, Illinois with a few of their favorite punk/folk/Celtic bands. Mark and Tom talked with them about what it takes to run a festival, what makes fForest Fest different and what plans they have as they grow this thing. And they are announcing their 2024 lineup here - see you in Morris on June 1st, 2024!

Bruce Finkelman decided on a late night drive down Western Avenue to open his iconic Chicago music club, Empty Bottle. So he took the $942 he had in savings and made the plunge. Thirty years later, he's transformed that into the hospitality collective, 16 on Center, which includes a host of music venues and restaurants. Thalia Hall, SPACE, The Salt Shed, Longman and Eagle, Dusek's, Revival Food Hall and much more. We talked with Bruce about his love of music and how this all came about. And, of course, we talked about Chicago.

In our latest episode of No Wristbands! After Hours, Tom and Mark talk with two of their favorite people over at CHIRP Radio - Jenn Sodini and Shawn Campbell. Jenn is the host of the fantastic CHIRP in-person storytelling and music event, CHIRP’s The First Time. They chat with Shawn and Jenn about what's involved in putting together that quarterly show.

Milwaukee emo band Barely Civil joins Mark and Tom on the podcast for episode 36. Connor Erickson (vocals, guitar), Isaac Marquardt (drums) and Alex Larsen (lead guitar) share their thoughts on their great new single "Coasting Mostly", making new music, surviving the pandemic, the Milwaukee music scene and, of course, a few Chicago questions.

Kenn Goodman joins Mark and Tom to talk about the long history of Pravda Records. 2024 will be the 40th anniversary of Pravda and Kenn explains how it got this far. He also talks about his musical history and, of course, all things Chicago

Mark and Tom are excited to have Frank Turner join for this episode. They talk about his upcoming visit to Chicago to play Riot Fest, his opening gig for Bruce Springsteen, his thoughts on songwriters Jeff Tweedy, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, his Lost Evenings festival in Anaheim, CA, his favorite Chicago music venue, his relentless touring and much more.

Deanna Belos joins Mark and Tom to talk about her great Chicago punk band Sincere Engineer. Mark and Tom talk about her love of The Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio, the upcoming Lollapalooza slot, the Sandburg Eagles and the best things about Chicago.

Leor Galil is a senior staff writer for the Chicago Reader and has written there for a dozen years. His work as a freelance culture and music journalist has appeared in numerous publications, including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone.com, The Washington Post, Forbes.com and many others. He joins Mark and Tom to talk about what it's like being a journalist these days, what he sees in the Chicago music scene and all the things he loves about Chicago!

Mark and Tom talk with Beverly Rage (vocals/guitar) from queer garage-pop band Bev Rage and the Drinks in the latest episode of the No Wristbands podcast. They cover Bev's musical journey from Canton, Ohio to Chicago, what it's like playing original music in drag and the challenges presented by today's political environment. And as always, they cover Bev's favorite Chicago things!

Join Mark and Tom for another After Hours episode. This time OK Cool joins to talk about their new EP Fawn and their upcoming tour.

Tom and Mark talk with long-time Chicago musician Brian Case in the latest episode. They talk about his musical history with 90 Day Men, The Ponys and Disappears. They also get into detail with his current band FACS and their new record Still Life In Decay. Brian also talks about record labels, touring and his son's band Lifeguard. And, as usual, all things Chicago!

Glenn Kotche of Wilco joins Mark and Tom. They talk about how he got started as a drummer, his early career, meeting Jim O'Rourke, playing in Loose Fur, joining Wilco , his solo projects and a whole lot more. Of course, they also talk about Chicago, too.

Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquist of Ok Cool, a rising Chicago indie band, joins Mark and Tom on the pod. They cover their upcoming EP “Fawn” as well as diving into their creative process, and as always, talk all things Chicago.

Bruce Adam’s joins Wade and Tom this one. Bruce co-founded kranky records and recently authored a wonderful book, You're with Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music. We talk about Bruce's early history working at Kaleidoscope, Touch and Go and Cargo Records. They also cover his history with kranky records and then talk about how he came to writing You're with Stupid.

Bill Roe of Trouble In Mind Records joins Mark and Tom for episode #25. Bill and his spouse Lisa played together in the garage band CoCoComa and in 2009 they started releasing records on their Trouble In Mind label. They are still busy putting out great stuff today. Bill shares with them what it's like to run a record label, what music he's listening to and, of course, what he loves about Chicago.