Dan Ozzi, author of the national bestseller SELLOUT - The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994-2007. He also co-authored (with Laura Jane Grace) TRANNY - Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout. He joins Mark and Tom to talk about those books, how he got started as a music writer and his thoughts on Chicago. Plus he shares his love of soda!

John Rossiter of Young Jesus joins Tom and Mark to talk about his latest release Shepherd Head, as well as his 2020 record Welcome to Conceptual Beach. They discuss his songwriting process and how his music has evolved. And, of course, they talked about all things Chicago, including his upcoming show Sunday, November 27th at Sleeping Village

Peter Gill, leader of the band 2nd Grade and guitar player in the band Friendship, joins Mark and Tom to talk about his music history, his songwriting and their upcoming shows on 11/15 at The Empty Bottle and 11/16 at Space. And, of course, his favorite things about Chicago!

Journalist/author Bob Mehr joins Mark and Tom to talk about our favorite rock book, Trouble Boys. He shares stories about The Replacements and what it took to write the book. He also talks about writing the liner notes for the new Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th anniversary release. And, of course, we chat with the former Chicago Reader critic about what he likes about Chicago.

In the inaugural episode of No Wristbands! After Hours, Andy Weber updates us on all the cool things that are happening at Smashed Plastic . We talk about the latest developments in the vinyl business, their new partnership with Jeff Tweedy and the upcoming music fest - Smashed Plastic Live Vol. 1 on October 1st, 2022.

Johnny Marriott from the UK punk band Pet Needs shares some great stories about their recent extended US tour with Frank Turner and The Bronx. Tom and Mark talk about the band’s 2021 album Fractured Party Music and their upcoming new one Primetime Entertainment. Johnny also reveals his favorite Chicago pizza of course!

Ben Quad joins Mark and Tom to discuss the excitement surrounding their new album “I’m Scared That’s All There Is”, why finger pointing at shows proves to them that they are making it, and their journey thus far.

Tony Assimos knows what it takes to run an independent record store. He opened Tone Deaf Records in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago in 2019. He talks to Mark and Tom about the good times and the challenges, including navigating COVID with a new business. As always he talks to the guys about what he loves about Chicago, too.

Tom and Mark sit down with Jon Ginoli to discuss his musical journey from his jangly power pop band The Outnumbered in Champaign, IL to his openly gay punk rock band Pansy Division in San Francisco. They talk about touring with Green Day, what Jon's musical future looks like and, of course, some of his favorite memories of Chicago.

Snow Ellet woke up one day to find that Pitchfork had given his 2021 EP Suburban Indie Rock Star a fabulous 7.1 rating. He joins Mark and Tom on the pod to talk about how he made that record, the impact of the Pitchfork review and his new EP Glory Days.

Hugo Reyes has spent that last 10 or 15 years listening to music and going to shows in Chicago. He's also been writing in-depth articles about the emo, punk and hardcore scenes for places like The Alternative (@GetAlternative), Twitter (@hvreyes5) and his Medium page. You can also catch him on the podcast "Watch Me Pod". He joined the pod to talk about his love of music, what he's listening to and writing about and the things he loves about Chicago

The No Wristbands team got the chance to track down Fake Fruit at their recent shows at South By Southwest in Austin earlier this year. And from there, we convinced Hannah D'Amato (vocals & guitar) and Alex Post (guitar) to join us on the show. They join Mark and Tom on the pod to talk about their self-titled Fake Fruit debut album, being on the road and, of course, visiting Chicago.

Photo credit: Frank Swider

Katie Tuten and Jennifer Estlin join Mark and Tom to discuss what it’s like to own and run their historic venues in Chicago. They also get into detail about how the Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL) was formed and how it helped all of our treasured community venues band together to survive a devastating pandemic and live to tell about it.

Donnie Biggins wants to book your band. The owner of Chicago music venue Golden Dagger has a lot of experience - he’s done it at places like Subterranean, Lincoln Hall, Tonic Room, and Fitzgerald’s. And he’d also love to have you stop in to his Lincoln Park location to hang out and talk and have a coffee. Mark and Tom talk about all that, plus being sober, playing music and, of course, his favorite things about Chicago.

Remember a time when The Beatles were controversial at the Old Town School of Folk Music? Jimmy T does! Jimmy has been around the OTSF scene for decades and was instrumental in bringing pop music ensemble classes to the school. He joins the pod to talk about his time at Old Town, from starting in the Armitage music store to teaching countless Chicagoans through his classes.

Julia of Ratboys joins the pod to discuss starting the band, operating a band in a pandemic, and all things Chicago.

Spencer Tweedy joins Mark and Tom to talk about all of the cool stuff he’s been up to, from the Case Oats record, to the Mirror Sound book project, to starring in The Tweedy Show. They also talk about what it’s like to play drums with Mavis Staples after school (and of course they talk about all the things he loves about Chicago).

Kip Berman has charted a musical course that’s taken him to a level of fame that feels big in the indie world. His band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart earned critical praise, but that was just one stop on his journey of making music. He joins Mark and Tom for a candid conversation about making music with his friends in Pains and his new “solo” venture The Natvral.

How Mark Greenberg ended up managing Wilco’s loft is a “right place at the right time story” on the surface, but Mark’s journey to get there is the story of a music lifer who never thought he couldn’t or shouldn’t take that chance moving to Chicago or walking into Lounge Ax to ask Sue Miller if his band could get a gig there one day.

Dylan Slocum of Spanish Love Songs is about as honest a frontman as you’ll meet in the biz - and he’s definitely not a punk (just ask him). He joins Tom and Mark to talk about his creative process and how the band is making its way through the pandemic music world, including the challenge of writing angry songs at a time when everyone is hurting.