The LIFERS Podcast

Dag Juhlin hasn’t NOT been in a band since 1978. A mainstay since he formed The Slugs with his brother Gregg in 1983, Dag has wandered the Chicago music scene —ronin-style— lending his guitar prowess to bands like Poi Dog Pondering and, most recently, Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy’s successful REM tribute tour. In between all the gunning for hire, Dag keeps himself busy with (among other thing...

Scott started the LIFERS movie tour last week in St. Louis at the Arkadin Cinema & Bar — and this episode finds him in his hotel after a particularly long day that took him from a showing in Portland, Oregon at the Clinton Street Theater to a showing at the Clairidge Theater in Montclair, New Jersey. The dude was a little rough. (AND there was a fucking Tesla involved!) PLUS!: Micro-cinemas, cat-p...

ANORA dominated the 97th Academy Awards last Sunday and as Sean Baker superfans — we’re still riding high. Well, maybe not Gabe. Nevertheless! We invited our good buddy and Boston-based music writer Michael Cristopher on the show to talk to us about movies, DVD collections, Philly pride, interviewing Brian Johnson and Tony Iommi, Van Halen vs. Depeche Mode, Scott’s movie tour, uninvited guests, Sc...

It’s that time of year again! The nominees for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. Exciting, right? Yeah — we didn’t think so, either. That won’t stop us from talking about it, though. Because what else are we gonna do? Air that lost Larry Damore interview we’ve been sitting on? Oh, Larry…

Let’s face it. Most rock documentaries suck. But not BORN INNOCENT: THE REDD KROSS STORY. Why? Lots of reasons. There’s the great music, of course. And the way it’s sweet instead of cloying and self-effacing where it could be self-serving. But mostly? It’s the joy of listening to two funny guys telling a good story that’s worth hearing. Well, this week we have one of them on the show: Steven McDon...

Brothers, right? We all got ‘em. Well, not Ben or Scott. But Gabe does! And this week we have his brother Tom on to help us unlock the enigma that is Gabe Rodriguez. You’ll laugh! You’ll gasp in awe!! You’ll bear witness to unbreakable fraternal bonds!!! And you might find yourself unexpectedly moved. So step right up — this is the LIFERS episode you never knew you needed. We’re not crying — YOU A...

Boston-bred singer-songwriter Will Dailey has a new record out called BOYS TALKING. Well, it’s not “out” out. As in: It’s not streaming on all the usual platforms — which means it’s not available to be randomly and conveniently ignored. If you want to get Will’s new record, all you have to do is… 1. Get out of the house. 2. Go to a club that’s hosting one of his live performances. 3. Look him in t...

When Scott and William Goldsmith first met in 1993, Local H and Sunny Day Real Estate were sharing a bill at the Avalon in Chicago (RIP). The next day, Sunny Day went into Idful studios with Brad Wood and started recording one of the best and (turns out) most influential indie-rock records of the ‘90s. Who knew? On this episode we talk to Will about Sub Pop, Neil Peart, Emo, hardcore, walking away...

Who’s the coolest guy in the world? No question about it. Sean Rice by a fucking mile. Designed and born in a lab funded by rock and roll, Sean started working at the Cubby Bear when he was 20 — and from there he was transformed into a mythical Chicago Sasquatch who could be spotted attending every show, working every bar, and inhabiting the center of every tall tale. A true legend. These days —ov...

Scott’s in Lancaster tonight with the LIFERS movie — so we figured we’d run this in lieu of an actual episode: A recording of Ben, Gabe & Scott presenting a showing of LIFERS: A LOCAL H MOVIE to a packed house in Hobart, Indiana on January 2nd of this new year. Special thanks to the great audience and crew at the Hobart Art Theatre. We had a great time!

Ho ho ho and all that jazz! Christmas is here so be of good cheer More LIFERS you say? Well have no fear! Far be it for us to brag and to boast but we've got Steve Economou and Paul Zamost! That's right, a yuletide visit from The Effigies On show day at the Metro, if you please. Plus, Max Headroom, hissing at the Music Box, and a Family Feud edition of WHAT'S THE BEST?!?

Help! We’re trapped inside our 200th episode and we can’t get out!!! The celebration extravaganza continues into a second week with a fond look back at our favorite episodes — featuring a legion of special guests (both past and present) that includes Kelly Wey, Kyle Kinane, Jeff Murphy, Andy Gerber, Walter Schriefels, Tamar Berk, Michael Alago, Kay Hanley, Rick Ness, Rick Froberg, Blake Smith, Max...

200 episodes and we still haven’t solved the mystery of Zoetrope. On this tenscore extravaganza we welcome our favorite panelists Steve and Mahmood to help us celebrate, reminisce, and (most importantly) try to put the whole Iron Maiden vs. Replacements debate to bed.

You probably wouldn’t think that becoming a tattoo-sporting member of the FBI-listed Insane Clown Posse Juggalo gang would lead to a long career in the music business. But according to Bob Lugowe — you’d be wrong. And seeing as how Bob is one of the most stand-up dudes we’ve ever encountered in this biz; we can’t really argue with the results. On this episode we talk to the Brutal Panda honcho abo...

Lorri Francis was there. She doesn’t remember a lot of it, but she WAS there. On this episode we talk to one of Chicago’s great movers and shakers and connectors about Medusa’s, the Rock Room, Cubby Bear, Double Door, G.G. Allin’s chair upholstery, Rights Of The Accused, Death Angel, Gabe’s tattoo, the P.P.P., whippets, the continuing saga of Zoetrope, Mark Stephens, Tom Popp, Joe Shanahan, Wrigle...

Frank Phobia is a sweetheart. He’s also the leader of Anthrophobia (who happen to be releasing their new J. Robbins produced record GOING OUT SWINGING on the 22nd of this month). But mainly — he’s a sweetheart. One that has been a low key hero to countless touring bands that have made their way through various venues in Pennsylvania for God knows how many years. The man’s an institution. On this e...

Jesse Malin is about as New York as you can get. How New York is he? Well, he’s in a Martin Scorsese movie for starters. Jesse got his start in the hardcore band Heart Attack before pivoting to the rough and ready D-Generation in the ‘90s. After that band’s demise, Jesse made an even harder pivot when he turned to his acoustic guitar and released the Ryan Adams-produced THE FINE ART OF SELF DESTRU...

Full of anxiety about the upcoming election? Well, in troubled times it’s good to know that you can still rely on your friends. So join us —and two of the show’s best friends: Steve “Sleeve” Reidell and Mahmood Shaikh— as we take a long, lighthearted LIFERS-look into the yawning American abyss. You’ll laugh. You’ll definitely cry. And you’ll be faced with Dennis Quaid’s asshole. But one cannot liv...

It’s been just over a week since the two events that constituted the “grand finale” of Local H’s WHATEVER HAPPENED TO P. J. SOLES? 20th anniversary tour — but Scott’s head is still swimming. Both the LIFERS movie screening at the Music Box and the epic 3-hour set at Metro have left him feeling like a bit of a whisper of a husk of a shell. So forgive us while we perform a post-tour postmortem to so...

Okay… Well, that was a LOT! In many ways, this last Tuesday & Wednesday in Wrigleyville (let’s call it LOCAL H DAYS 2024) was a culmination of everything that’s been in the works since that day when Scott got the call that Helmet was cancelling the tour — just BEFORE he’d received the call that the LIFERS movie was getting a release date at the Music Box (see episode #186). Of course, one could ar...

Ben's got a head cold. Gabe's got cats. Scott and Ronnie are holed up in a haunted hotel room in Utah so naturally the conversation turns to merch lines, REM vs Van Halen, the LIFERS movie, and our favorite subject these days: dinosaurs. Also, you've got lots of questions, and we've got some answers. It's a road report, people!

Hey, everybody! It’s Ronnie DiCola!!! The WHATEVER HAPPENED TO P.J. SOLES? tour is in the home stretch as we welcome the third partner in the Local H throuple to the show. For the very first time! You’d think we’d take this opportunity to query Ronnie about his hopes and dreams and history playing drums in Chicago institutions like The Arrivals and All Eyes West. But noooo! We squander that chance...

Local H are STILL on the road. So you know what that means. ANOTHER ROAD REPORT!!! But this time we’re dragging Sincere Engineer’s Deanna Belos into the hotel chat room to talk about laundry, P.J. Soles movies, Riot Fest, New Found Glory tours, M.A.S.H, Hootie & The Blowfish, Bruce Springsteen noogies, and (as promised) a supersized round of WHAT’S THE BEST?!?: Novelty Songs.

Local H are back on the road. So you know what that means. ROAD REPORT!!! On this episode we talk to Scott and Ryan about their hotel in Pennsylvania, teenage hoods who won’t shut up during “Beetlejuice”, Figdish, Deer Tick, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO P.J. SOLES? shows, Buffalo Wild Wings, Unpunk Ryan, Gabe’s local gas station/UPS store, days off, the apocalypse, walking the dinosaur and Thai food’s kin...

You’re listening to SONG IMPLODER — where musicians take apart their songs piece by piece and tell the story of how they were made. And then talk shit about those songs and make you embarrassed you asked about them in the first place. On this episode we conclude our examination of Local H’s 5th studio album: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO P.J. SOLES? Released in April of 2004, the album marked a major styli...