The LIFERS Podcast

This week on the podcast: That rarest of unicorns — a Road Report from the van! A salty green grape eating Scott calls in as the Local H tour travels from South Carolina to North Carolina. Plus: A Led Zeppelin What’s The WORST?!?

This week on another Road Report edition of the podcast: Gabe joins the band (and Karen) on the road for a few shows in his home state of Florida — so we make him drink a shitty NA IPA and record his reactions. That’s all that happens on this episode.

Local H is halfway through their tour with Everclear and Sponge — so Scott called in from Tennessee where the band is staying in a cabin by the lake while they prepare to resume the tour in a cave underground. You’ll understand when you hear the episode. Local H tour dates: Oct 3 — The Caverns — Pelham, TN Oct 4 — The Eagle Theatre — Sugar Hill, GA Oct 5 — Vinyl Music Hall — Pensacola, FL Oct 7 —...

The Local H tour with Everclear and Sponge is headed back east - so Scott called in from a hotel in Baker City, Oregon and this time Gabe and Ben were ready. With YOUR questions! Well, at least it's something.

Local H is on tour with Everclear and Sponge - so Scott called in from a hotel in Medford, Oregon to file a Road Report about being on tour with Everclear and Sponge.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Local H's major label debut album, Ham Fisted. To celebrate this milestone, the band has recorded and released a brand new re-imagining of the album, which they are calling reFISTED. On this special edition of song imploder Ben Reiser sat down with frontman Scott Lucas and G&P records head honcho Gabe Rodriguez for a deep dive into their thoughts and feeling...

This week we welcome our ol’ buddy Art Alexakis to the podcast to talk about this little tour he’s doing with Scott in about two weeks from now. No big deal. We also talk about Art’s band Everclear, their major label breakthrough SPARKLE AND FADE (which turned 30 this year and is the reason for this little 2 month tour that Everclear’s doing with Local H and Sponge, by the way), their indie label...

The New Orleans rock band Zebra has always existed out of time. Despite having one of the fastest selling debuts in Atlantic Records’ history, Zebra never really fit in with the glammed up ‘80s metal bands they were being lumped in with on the pages and airwaves of Hit Parader and MTV. But that apparent inability to fit in may be exactly what endeared them to a herd (or a zeal) of avid fans who wo...

The fallout from the Great Chips & Salsa Incident continues as we invite Dino Proserpio from the I EAT MOVIES podcast to help us stage a cultural intervention for Gabe. As most of you are aware, interventions are never pretty — so we’ve lightened things up with some petty squabbling over East Coast vs. Third Coast, Sean Connery impersonations, Jennifer vs. Bailey, Greg Giuffria, potatoes vs. tomat...

Picture the scene: You’re a young screenwriter getting your first taste of success — but it’s with a movie that didn’t quite come out the way you wanted and the victory feels hollow. Suddenly, you find yourself being typecast as a writer of silly comedies while the industry boxes you out and the opportunities and (self)respect begin to slip away. What do you do? If you’re Larry Karaszewski (and lo...

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne.

More than any other band from the ‘90s, Failure was a perfect fusion of technology and art. If you put on a Failure record — you knew it was gonna sound great. So it stands to reason that Failure’s new documentary — EVERY TIME YOU LOSE YOUR MIND (now on HULU) — is gonna LOOK great. Perfectly shot. Perfectly edited. But what really elevates it above the current glut of streaming documentaries is an...

This week it’s the conclusion of our special Album Imploder episode commemorating the 30th anniversary reissue of Fig Dish’s THAT’S WHAT LOVE SONGS OFTEN DO. Rick, Mike and Blake are still on hand as we take a deep dive into side two (or at least what we assume is side two) of the band’s beloved major label debut. FINISH IT!!! Elsewhere: Scott’s mad at Sharon Osbourne, Ben loves Yungblud, and Gabe...

It's 4th of July - so that means it's time for hot dogs, fireworks, and Fig Dish! On the eve of the 30th Anniversary re-issue of That's What Love Songs Often Do (first time on vinyl), 3/4s of Fig Dish (Blake Smith, Rick Ness, and Mike Willison) stop by to shoot the shit about their upcoming live gigs opening for Letters to Cleo, and stick around for a special edition of Album Imploder!

This week on the podcast: We’re babysitting. We’re also protesting on the mean streets of Madison, talking about Danzig at 70, watching the trailer for the Bruce Springsteen movie, pondering Puff Daddy, calling Pegboy, disparaging fake Father’s Day, wondering who the hell Fun Boy Three is, and picking the best songs of summer.

Ben Kweller’s excellent new record COVER THE MIRRORS comes with a heartbreaking back-story —it was borne out of the tragic death of his teenage son Dorian— but in typical Kweller fashion, the album is an inspirational and life affirming collection  that also happens to be the best thing he’s ever recorded. On this episode we talk to “the kid” about producing himself, growing up in Texas with a dru...

After a week off, the boys are back on their mics (Gabe's is working!) for a fond look back on an iconic Local H morning television appearance. Also: An informal What's the Best Spielberg?!? What's the Best grilled cheese?!? Gabe contemplates breaking his exclusive LIFERS contract, Ben goes third person, Scott stays limber, and Justine dares Gabe to say it to her face. Enjoy!

After an attempt at a laid-back hangout episode is marred by Gabe’s faulty computer — things get out of hand when the guys engage in an escalating game of Uninvited Guest that quickly spins out of control. Will anyone survive? Cast of characters: SCOTT LUCAS — The helpless host. GABE RODRIGUEZ — The careless computer operator. BEN REISER — The hapless tech “expert”. MAHMOOD SHAIKH — The outside ag...

Returning champion Deanna Belos just released a new documentary about her band called NOBODY’S GONNA DO IT FOR YOU: TEN YEARS OF SINCERE ENGINEER. You can watch it for free on YouTube right NOW (just like 2 out of the 3 of us did — guess who didn’t) and then you can come back and listen to us talk about it on this episode. We also talk about real amps vs. fake amps, Big Boi vs. Andre 3000, Scott v...

This week we’re all about the art of the hustle in the land of multi-hyphenates. Or the art of multi-hyphenating in the land of the hustle. Whichever the case — we’re facing our fears and talking shop with Chicago expat and longtime lifer-ing comrade Bethany Dwyer. The LA-based comedian-actor/writer-director-musician has a new self-help book out (BREAK FREE FROM FEAR) that’ll fit in nicely with th...

Ladies and gentlemen. Please welcome: Scottie Rose Lucas.

One of the all time great bands, L7 fused laugh out loud humor with a caveman punk aggression that made them stand out like a blistered sore thumb against the L.A. hair metal landscape of the late ‘80s. But they were chicks, man — so rather than be spoken about in the same righteous breath as the Stooges or the Ramones, the members of L7 had to put up with inane questions about Vixen(?!?). No matt...

This week: They finally killed Gabe’s car. Don’t worry. My dad’s got this ultimate set of tools. He’ll be able to buff it out, no problem. Trust us! ALSO: Mulholland Drive, roundabouts, red Barchettas, crosswalks, red 4-doors, fender benders, band vans, manic mechanics, Chevy Novas, and what’s the best songs about cars? (By the way — you’re gonna wanna stick around for the end of this episode. You...

To a generation of misfits not all that interested in what John Hughes was serving up in the ‘80s, writer-director Tim Hunter is a god. And his twin teen-movie testaments OVER THE EDGE and RIVER’S EDGE remain quotable sacred texts that serve as a secret language to communicate to other like-minded individuals that you too are a member of the anti-Breakfast Club. And in the land of television, he’s...

Operating in direct opposition to the never ending barrage of anonymous content being foisted on us by algorithmic goose-steppers - film programmers are cultural rebels and excavationists entrusted with the sacred duty of helping you find your new favorite movie. The best ones even manage to turn it into an art. And Jim Healy —director of programming for the Cinematheque at the University of Madis...