The LIFERS Podcast

Troy Van Leeuwen’s not your typical lunkhead guitar player. Rather than kill himself trying to elbow his way up the ego-littered hamburger hill of guitar-slinging frontmen, Troy decided to carve out a niche for himself as a much sought after sideman and secret weapon. It’s a career that’s included storied stints in such heralded bands as Failure, A Perfect Circle, and (perhaps most famously) Queen...

If you’ve been to a show at the Metro in Chicago, you’ve probably been served a drink by Kelly Wey at least once. But like most great bartenders, that’s not all Kelly does. She books bands, helps manage the Metro, and maybe most importantly — spends an enormous amount of time and energy volunteering for the MCP dog rescue organization. She also loves the Wrens. This freewheeling conversation (to p...

They say you should never meet your heroes. Well, you probably shouldn’t be having them on your shitty podcast, either. Here’s how to fuck up an interview with one of your favorite musicians (in this case, Mr. Rick Froberg — the great singer and guitarist for the thoroughly excellent rock combos Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes and Obits). 1. Ignore said musician’s warnings that he doesn’t have good lu...

In 1993 —frustrated and at the end of their rope— Local H sent a ratty looking demo tape to Quicksand’s A&R guy and, as they say, the rest is history. This week on the LIFERS Podcast, the guys talk to screenwriter and journalist (and Local H’s former A&R guy) Joe Bosso and try to untangle some of that history. We also talk about Joe’s new film project, the Soprano’s episode he wrote, playing Fredd...

Every band has been on a tour like the 3x5 Tour. Something that looked good on paper, turned out to be SO not good in practice, and then revealed itself as one of the most rewarding and formative experiences of your band’s young career. The 3x5 Tour (featuring Limblifter, Stanford Prison Experiment and Local H) was cooked up by the major label marketing machine as a way to draw attention (and atte...

“The world will have you believe that you’re less and less and less relevant — and that could not be more false.” And with those words —spoken somewhere around the 59 minute mark— Network 77 creator Rachel Lichtman sums up the LIFERS ethos. For that reason alone, this might be our favorite episode of the show. But there’s a lot to love here. Rachel talks about the latest pieces of her ever expandi...

Much has been made about the Chicago music scene of the 90s, but the city’s biggest legacy during that period might be its theater scene. Specifically, the plays “Killer Joe” and “Bug” — and Michael Shannon was in both of them. Pop open a bottle of wine and get laaaiiid back with Mike and the guys as they take a deep dive into his extraordinary career. Among the topics lazily discussed: Scorsese,...

John Agnello has worked on more great records than you’ve had hot meals (sorry, Herb). A true lifer, John has produced, engineered or mixed (sometimes all three) records by Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, Cyndi Lauper, Kurt Vile, Triplefastaction, Screaming Trees (Lanegan, too), Waxahatchee, The Hold Steady, Son Volt, Twin Peaks — Jesus! Everybody, okay? Too many to many list here — and too many to cov...

Scott is back on the coffee train, Ben deals with the after-effects of 15 hour car rides with the family, and Gabe is Gabe. It’s all here as Ander Monson from March Plaidness joins the guys for an unhinged episode of The LIFERS Podcast. In 2016, Ander (along with Megan Campbell) started March Xness, a series of yearly March-Madness-style tournaments featuring essays about songs that has steadily g...

After the inevitable and seemingly mandatory Chicago vs. New York pizza argument (with Zion as a potential spoiler), Scott and Gabe decide to answer the real question: Just who the fuck is Ben Reiser? For those wondering the same thing, this episode is for you. Ben talks about what he did with all that Presidents Of The United States money, how a short film got him his job at UW Madison, and opens...

One of the finest and most distinctive singer songwriters to emerge out of—well, fuck, take your pick. Chicago? The ‘90s? Punk rock? EVER??? There’s simply no one quite like Josh Caterer and his band (the) Smoking Popes. Josh and Scott have a long (if low-key) history together and this episode barely scratches the surface. But until a Josh episode #2 comes along, this one will have to do. Topics t...

This week’s episode is devoted to song structure. Specifically, the song structure of “It’s Gonna Get Better” — an unheralded (and admittedly minor) Genesis deep cut that Scott has been recently obsessed with. We recruited Genesis uber-fan Steve Reidell —of Hood Internet and “Duke: 40th Anniversary” fame— to help us out and lend some Collins context (a tip: You might want to listen to “It’s Gonna...

After a long day recording new stuff at Chicago’s Million Yen studios, Scott convinces owner/operator (and long time Local H producer) Andy Gerber to take a break and be a guest on The LIFERS Podcast. Scott and Andy have a long history, so this episode goes to a lot of places — including: Andy’s time in the early stages of the ‘90s Chicago rock scene, the years that Scott took off of Andy’s life d...

Scott, Gabe and Ben (sans guest) perform an autopsy of last week’s Juliana Hatfield episode — and in the process, try to pinpoint what they’re doing right and what they’re doing oh-so very wrong. They also answer some listener questions, try to figure out who Gabe sounds like, and Scott tells the Ted Nugent story. Helpful links: Local H Merch: bit.ly/3du68Ow Winter Western video: youtu.be/LGDS-0b7...

We recorded the last episode so we could record this episode. The second punch in our opening podcasting salvo features our first real guest — the great Juliana Hatfield. Super-fan Gabe tries to hold it together while Scott does his best not to go full-on Chris Farley Show. Topics include: The art of looper pedals, the time Juliana and her band taught Scott how to ski, the great rock and roll rest...

Scott Lucas of Local H brings you The LIFERS Podcast. Every episode, Scott —along with Gabe Rodriguez and producer Ben Reiser— will talk to other "lifers" and compare notes of life on and off the road, the ups and downs of a career in music and entertainment. On the first episode: Scott, Gabe and Ben feel each other out, try to nail down a rhythm, and fumble towards a format for the show. Without...