H.O.G. POD: Chicagoland Hyper Local Music Scene

What does it take to build a world-class music museum from scratch? Ron Romero, Founder, CEO and Board Chairman of the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66, joins Hogpod for an inside look at the museum preserving Illinois' incredible musical legacy. From honoring legendary artists like Cheap Trick, Survivor, REO Speedwagon, Muddy Waters, Curtis Mayfield and countless others, to creatin...

Can two veteran musicians use AI to make music that's actually good — or is Suno just a shortcut that's killing the craft? Jay Martini and Mitch Germaine have been playing together for 25 years, going back to a covers band called Big Witness and a smooth-jazz project called Opening Night that sold, in Jay's words, about eight copies in Romania. Jay's a working pro and Pete's ol...

Same high school. Same college. Same football team. Same career pivot — and somehow the same suburb. Steve McEwen and Pete Jansons have been living parallel lives since Lane Tech, and this week the former Q101 afternoon DJ walks through every spot those two worlds collided. Steve was on the mic at Q101 when Chicago's alternative scene was white-hot — he introduced Jakob Dylan at the Cubby Bear...

Scott Muzzey is a Chicago drummer-for-hire who plays the washboard, can trace his family in America back to 1633, and at seventeen sliced through five tendons, an artery and the carpal nerve in his wrist after falling onto a drinking glass mid-practice. The therapy that brought the hand back? More drumming. He joins Pete and co-host Bongo Mike (26 years in The Mosquitoes) plus fellow drummer-for-h...

For 22 years, Teddy O'Brian's was the down-and-dirty Highwood room where bands hauled in their own PA and the patio packed out on a summer Friday. Ted Banick bought the bar in 1999 and ran it for over two decades — booking Mr. Blotto, watching Bongo's eight-piece own that patio — and on this Hogpod he tells the whole story, right up to the new stage on the west side that's still wa...

Chicago guitarist and bandleader Dan Peters joins Pete Jansons, Mike "Bongo" Orfanos, and Chris "Rhodesy" Rhodes for a deep dive into the Chicago music scene, the Five Amigos, Shred-abilly, Broadway's Rock of Ages, auditioning for Brian May, playing with Dee Snider, AI music, DJs vs bands, and why everybody suddenly wants earlier shows. Plus: Green Mill swing-era stories, B...

Jim Pallucci from Anchors Away joins HOG POD: Chicago Music Scene Podcast for a conversation about Yacht Rock, tribute bands, live musicianship, and the Chicago music scene. Jimmy talks about burning out on music at 21, rediscovering music later in life, discovering Yacht Rock Review at Joe’s Live Rosemont, building Anchors Away, hauling Hammond B3 organs in box trucks, and why the band refuses to...

One week before their first show, the founder of a Chicago Oasis tribute band posted an ad looking for a new singer and bass player. The band saw it. They fired him. Then they played the show without him.—James Bruebach joins Hogpod to talk about Matchbox 90s, Wonderwall, Chicago tribute bands, trying to “make it” in music, and why losing his brother changed the way he approaches life forever. Top...

Rob Stepen is back — and this time, it's not a catch-up. He was just elected to the Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame board, and the story behind it starts with a night where The Generations walked into a room full of Cheap Trick fans… and left with two standing ovations. Plus: Rob isn't just on the board — he's leading the charge to rebuild the tornado-damaged Route 66 museum. We...

At 75, Debora Masterson is gigging on bass in Chicago — and her debut novel is about the Sunset Strip rocker she loved at 15, the federal drug bust that killed his band Freedom Quest, the bowl of chocolate mescaline on their coffee table, the Hawaii cult he joined when she left him, and the reunion thirty years later that became twenty beautiful years..Plus: the time Sammy Davis Jr. cooked dinner...

Jen Brown, Dave "Doc" Zeiger, and Damian "Sgt Sparkles" Thompson of Crossing Decades join Hogpod to break down what happens when six Chicago musicians decide to cover every decade from the 60s to today — in blocks, with costume changes, and one country song per show because the crowd demands it..Plus: the Sergeant Sparkles origin story, their 8-minute mashup built on AC/DC Back...

She walked into an audition for a band that didn't want a female singer. Sang one Dorothy song. Walked out as their frontwoman. That's Cherry Bomb Chicago.🎧 Full episode: https://youtu.be/XHXP_I72c8U🎶 Cherry Bombed It on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/album/4YJmXoDncxnh867RCFWDH0?si=dE8zUJDERLmKhYq3AuqDVA📞 Booking — beth@hogpod.org / 708-287-3692#HogpodChicago #CherryBombChicago #Chic...

Chris "Bean" Weng has been drumming and singing at the same time since he was 12 years old. Now he does it every night as the drummer for Heartache Tonight, one of the Midwest's premier Eagles tribute bands — playing 35+ shows a year at theaters and festivals from Chicago to Michigan. Oh, and his first concert was Frank Zappa at the Uptown Theater in 1976. Yeah, Bean's been aroun...

Rich Sawyer spends his weekdays inspecting buildings in South Elgin — and his weekends channeling Chris Stapleton across the country. The guy went from frustrated Chicago-area musician complaining about not getting festival slots to flying coast-to-coast, doing meet-and-greets after 1,000-person shows at Joe's Live, and turning down the gigs he once begged for. This is that story..Tennessee Wh...

Desiree Starr Harris of Libido Funk Circus and Disco Circus brings the heat to Hogpod. She quit EMI with a one-year-old at home to bet everything on funk and disco. Pete nearly killed a disco ball mid-show. Basement laser parties. Peeps and Pop-Tarts hatred that became an AI song. Thirty years of Chicago disco that never dies..🎶 Album 5 — "Follow the Call of the Disco Ball" — 8 AI-gener...

🎸 Welcome to the Hogpod Chicagoland Music Scene Podcast! 🎸Pete Jansons and Bongo Mike sit down with the FULL Mock Star lineup — Jack Kole (vocals), Phil Slate (drums), Diablo (bass), Stevie Starr (guitar), Nicky Neutron (keys), and new keyboard wizard Frank Lucas — for a deep dive into 80s arena rock, the Chicago music scene, and what it takes to bring 1985 back to life in 2026.🔥 In this episod...

Ever rediscover a lost cassette from the '90s Chicago scene and end up booking a Canadian musician by mistake? Rob Stepen is back on Hogpod Chicago Local Music Chat spilling all that and more in this must-watch episode! Dive into nostalgic tales like rotating gigs at legendary spots (Riverbend, Broken Oar, Monaco's in McHenry, Dark Crystal Lounge in Crystal Lake, Neighborhood Inn) while ch...

🎙️ This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast — Mark Molloy is in the house! 🎉You might know him as the theatrical, stick-twirling drummer for My Metal Heart. Or maybe you've spotted him behind the kit for Members Only, the 80s band. But buckle up — Mark just stepped OUT from behind the drum set to front FiveMan, a brand new Tesla tribute band. 🎤🤘At 21, Mark went to Vegas on vacati...

This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we welcome Joe Dilillo — Chicago-area producer, engineer, songwriter, and owner of Solid Sound Recording Studio in Hoffman Estates for 25 years. Joe recorded Smashing Pumpkins, Smoking Popes, and Plain White T's before they blew up. Join hosts Pete Jansons, Mike "Bongo" Orfanos, Chris "Rhodesy" Rhodes, and Mike Dermont as...

This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we dive deep into Chicago blues with Kevin Purcell and Road Bill from the award-winning band Kevin Purcell & The Nightburners and the Bus Stop Blues radio/podcast show on 98.3 FM The Life. Hosts Mike “Bongo” Orfanos, Pete Jansons, and Chris “Rhodesy” Rhodes welcome Kevin Purcell (harmonica virtuoso, vocalist, songwriter blending Chicago blue...

🔥 This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we’re cranking it up with Leaving Scarlet — the Chicagoland cover band that’s pure high-energy rock + dance party magic! Two badass women, THREE lead voices, zero egos, and non-stop crowd interaction. 🎤🎸🥁Hosts Mike “Bongo” Orfanos, Mike Dermont, Pete Jansons, and Chris “Rhodesy” Rhodes sit down with the full squad to talk 16 years of drama...

This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we’re joined by Pete Durbin — drummer for Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morissette tribute), frontman for No More Tears (Ozzy Osbourne tribute), and proud dad whose twin sons Eric and Ian are already killing it with their own band Dual Decimator. Hosts Mike “Bongo” Orfanos, Mike Dermont, Pete Jansons, and Chris “Rhodesy” Rhodes chat with Pete and h...

This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we’re joined by Brian "T.D." Clark — guitar virtuoso, shredder, songwriter, sideman, and creator of kids' music education tools, known for his fiery performances with Poison'd Crue (Poison tribute), his solo band, and collaborations across rock scenes. Hosts Mike “Bongo” Orfanos, Mike Dermont, Pete Jansons, and Chris “Rhodesy”...

This week on the Hogpod Chicago Music Scene Podcast, we're cranking it up with Electric 5 🔥 — Chicago's badass all-female electric string quintet that's straight-up redefining rock with live-only, no-backing-tracks shred on electrified violins & cellos! Led by violin beast Adia (Experience Hendrix winner + Steve Vai Best in Shred champ), they turn Metallica, pop hits, and more int...