Punk Till I Die

On episode 222, the Punk Till I Die guys have a good long chat with punk lifer Bones. Bones is the founding vocalist of capital P punks Lower Class Brats, who have been damaging eardrums for over 25 years. Bones is a true music lover, and was able to speak intelligently, and at length, on ever topic thrown at him.  All music by Lower Class Brats.

In ep221 it’s just the lads. Tom talks about his recent visit to the Tip Top Lounge to see The Tossers, while Neil traveled to Highland Park to help his friend Mike (Sexy Baby Records/Loud Pizza) get ready for the opening of his new brick and mortar record store. We also talk about the upcoming April Record Store Day and Punk Rock Bowling. With songs by The Oppressed, Ten Second March, The Tossers...

On episode 220, the Punk Till I Die guys catch up with former Dwarves guitarist, solo artist and children's entertainer HeWhoCannotBeNamed. He's joined by his whole band, and the result was as chaotic as those infamous early Dwarves shows. They talk about the new record, living in San Francisco and whatever else might come up. Featuring music from HeWho's new solo album, Impostor.

In ep219 we have our good friend Josh Goldman (Raging Nathans, Rad Girlfriend Records) back on the show. He lets us know what’s new with Raging Nathans (lots of records and shows) and all the news about the newest Rad Girlfriend releases. We also discuss the music scene in general: his thoughts on streaming, vinyl delays, the state of punk today etc. Josh is always a great guest with plenty to say...

In ep218 Tom tells us about his trip to the Dominican, but more importantly Neil want to 2 shows in 3 days! First it was day 2 of the Sounds of the Street fest headlined by Lowerclass Brats, and then he went to see Teenage Bottlerocket/Raging Nathans a couple of days later. Shows are reviewed, good music is played. Featuring songs by The Hanging Judge, Doc Rotten, Lowerclass Brats, Raging Nathans,...

The interview With Mark Rainey in Episode 213 was such a big hit that we decided to revisit TKO Records by doing our top 5 TKO releases. I mean, yeah we talk about other stuff too, but TKO was the main focus. Tom had to cut this one short to pick up his daughter and we had tech problems so don’t complain that it’s shorter than normal! With music by The Meatmen, Smogtown, Electric Frankenstein, US...

In episode 216 we talk to Freddie Skintoff, AKA Jase Kilvo, lead singer and mastermind behind the English cricket themed oi! band Geoffrey Oi!cott. Cricket, darts, and drinking down the pub: what could be better! But it turns out that most of the songs are not as simple as they appear: lurking beneath the suggestive song titles are hilarious takes on British life. Case in point, the songs “Yorkshi...

No guests this week, so as Bill Withers would say, it’s just the two of us! We chat about all kinds of wide ranging topics from Neil’s road rage, Tom’s upcoming tropical sojourn, Tom’s no more swearing pledge, and… the singer from Paramore? With songs by Naked Raygun, The Criminals, B Squadron, Blatz, CH3, Lower Class Brats, Dirt Box Disco and our Best of Spam winners this week, Dead Low. 

Episode 214 - McRackins! The power of Heather Wheaton is on full display as your grumpy hosts come face to face with a drumming dog and guitar playing half human, half egg! We talk the past, present and future of McRackins, and play songs from throughout their lengthy career. An eggsellent time was had by one and all! Music by McRackins. 

In ep213 we chat with Mark Rainey, head honcho at TKO Records. Since their first release in 1997 (One Man Army) they’ve been putting out consistently great sounding punk rock by lots of your favorite bands. We talk label history, focus on some TKO bands and talk about Cascade Record Pressing, his new(ish) vinyl pressing plant in Oregon. With music by The Templars, Tyrant, Poison Idea, Lower Class...

Now this is a special one. In ep212 we have the honor of chatting with Hiawatha Bailey. Don’t know the name? Well you will certainly know some of the people he has been involved with! From being a student revolutionary and member of the White Panther Party in the 60s with folks like John Sinclair and Wayne Kramer (MC5), he then went to prison, formed a band and played CBGBs and rubbed elbows with...

In Ep211 Tom and Neil talk about the Xmas holiday, New Years celebrations and Neil’s birthday.  There’s some record collecting/organization talk, as well as upcoming gigs. I think we must be tired of all the pop punk that’s been on recently because it’s a very Oi!/Street punk focused show. With music by Bonecrusher, East End Badoes,Victory, B Squadron, The Struggle, Top Dog, Queensbury Rules, and...

So here it is, Tom and Neil’s official best of list for 2022. Of course there’s plenty of other chatter too, but we do manage to focus for a couple of hours! Most are obvious if you have been listening for the past year, but there are some surprises! Music by Screeching Weasel, New Rocket Union, Norcos Y Horchata , Houseghost, The Oxys, Venomous Pinks, Black Halos, Avenues, Ravagers and Slaughter...

In ep209 we meet up again with our old friend Ricky Frankel for his annual "best of the year" list. He gives us his top 10 albums, along with some other favorite EPs/7”s from the past year. The usual ball-breaking ensues, but he gives as good as he gets! With songs by Cigar, Ann Beretta, The Upfux, Raging Nathans, DFMK, Codefendants, The Chisel, MESS, No Plan and The Suicide Machines. 

Ep208 is guest free so you get to hear your regular hosts bitching about anything and everything. In particular some young “punk” band from Michigan and the website Brooklyn Vegan come under Neil’s crosshairs. Plus, Tom went to see the Cro-Mags and we go over our top gigs of the year. With music by Furious George, Rivalry, Cro-Mags, The Kingcrows, Poison Idea, Hung Like Hanratty, JFA, and The Blac...

In episode 207 we spend an hour with Blind Marc, drummer with The Dayglo Abortions. He has a new solo album out called “Isolated Earthlings” so we chat with him about that, and catch up with what’s going on with The Dayglo Abortions. Music by Isolated Earthlings and The Dayglo Abortions. 

In ep206 we spend a couple of hours chatting with Pop Punk Priestess Heather Wheaton. She is a regular on The Dummy Room podcast, and her knowledge of obscure European pop punk is second to none! It’s a freewheeling conversation sprinkled with songs from her favorite albums of the year. With songs by Dropped Out, Starter Jackets, Spot McRackin, Screeching Weasel, Outtacontroller, Hakan, Stinking P...

On episode 205 the guys welcome back their good friend Matt Swisher from Failure Records & Tapes. We chat about the new Failure releases and Matt presents a very special Top 5 of 2022 list. We also have the exclusive world premier of the brand new song from The Queers, "Julie Don't Live Here Anymore"! Songs by Sloppy Seconds and The Queers. 

Well, it came and went and what a complete cock-up it was. The “So-Cal Punk Invasion” hit the totally unprepared Des Plaines Theater. We discuss the lead up, the event and what we did the following day. Let’s put it this way: it wasn’t good but it sure was memorable! With music by FYPM, Dead Ending, The Dickies, Satans Rats, The Clitboys, Life Sentence, The Exploited and CH3. 

In ep203 it’s just Tom and Neil. Neil talks about a Sunday night gig he went to: She Wants Revenge and The Chameleons, and Tom is coming into town so we discuss the “So-Cal Punk Fest” coming to lovely Des Plaines next week. 

In ep202 we shoot the shit with Jeff Clayton, longtime frontman with AntiSeen, the pride of Charlotte. We talk band beginnings, albums, pro wrestling. All sorts really. He doesn’t give a crap so he’s a perfect guest for us! All songs by ANTiSEEN.

In ep201 it’s just the lads doing what they do best: shooting the shit and talking nonsense! Tom talks about his recent trip down to Austin to see Sloppy Seconds and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and we all talk about recent musician deaths, stand in band members and a recent Sex Pistols auction! Music by Jerry Lee lewis, MDC, Misfits, Didjits, Dead Kennedys, DGeneration, Sex Pistols, Haymaker an...

In ep200 we continue the tradition started in ep100 and talk to 10 of our loyalest listeners. We have folks from all over the world! Well, the USA, UK and Australia, but that’s close enough. They chat to us for 15 minutes and pick a song. Email us or contribute in the Facebook group and you could be on episode 300! Songs by The Negatives, Firestarter, The Slowdeath, Molotov Cocktail, Private Funct...

In ep199 we shoot the shit with Jason Kottwitz. You might not know the name but I know that you know some of the bands he’s been in: Dead Boys, Sylvain Sylvain and the Sylvains, M.O.D., The Bulemics, to name a few. He’s had a long career in the punk rock and roll scene and has played with legend after legend. How did this small town Illinois kid play with so many legends? Listen and find out. 

Ep198 is dedicated to the Dead Boys/Briefs/Suzi Moon/ Poison Boys show in lovely Lombard IL. Tom drove in, we all got hotel rooms, and we met Suzi Moon and band in a record store before the show.  Then we discuss the gig in great detail. What a fun Saturday it was, but wouldn’t want to do that again in a hurry! Music by Electric Frankenstein, Misfits, The Queers, Poison Boys, Suzi Moon, The Briefs...