The LIFERS Podcast

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 examine Local H’s 5th studio album: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO P.J. SOLES? Released in April of 2004, the album marked a major stylistic departure and r...

When people think of Electrical Audio Recording in Chicago they usually only think of the late, great Steve Albini. But the studio is (and has been) home to a distinguished troop of engineers and operators that continue to keep the venerable institution running — including our pal Greg Norman, who’s been doing the Lord’s work over at Electrical since he LITERALLY helped lay the foundation of the b...

Like most lifers, Johnny Wator has no intention of going back. He’s not going back to a life of shit jobs, he’s not going back to being told what to do by assholes, and he’s definitely not going back to his hometown with his tail between his legs. But after 11 years of ups and downs on the road with his band The Last Vegas — those outcomes were starting to look very likely. So what’s a guy to do?...

This week: Ben is on the road again so we catch him at his hotel in Pennsylvania to talk Metallica weekend in Chicago, new seats for the Music Box, Stan Bush’s “You’ve Got The Touch”, the history of government cheese, and WHAT’S THE BEST?!? “Seinfeld”.

Our ol’ buddy Dave Rockland comes to the show ready to play — which means he’s wearing his X-tra large Gabe Rodriguez “God’s Gift” Local H shirt. What does THAT mean? Find out on this week’s episode as we talk to Dave about spending over his half his life working at JAM Productions, living down the street from Gabe & Scott, litigious Local H shows, X-tra large Prince jerseys, and WHAT’S THE BEST?!...

If you were at all worried that famed Chicago rock critic, SOUND OPINIONS co-host, and prickly pear-par excellence Jim DeRogatis might be mellowing with age — fear not! We’re here to assure you that Jim is just as fearless and opinionated as ever. And it’s a delight. On this episode he talks about being transformed by Lester Bangs and The Velvet Underground, seeing The Feelies 100 times, 8 1/2 mon...

In these hopelessly divided times, is it possible to come together and talk about our differences while understanding and revelling in our commonalities? Uhhh… Nope. So instead we talk about tiny alligators, old jokes, vegans, keyboard warriors, and farting in the tub. Viva la diplomacy!!!

Let’s get political! This week we’ve got punk rock legend Vic Bondi on the show to scare the hell out of us and talk about the specter of fascism in America. Fun stuff! We also talk about Vic’s band Articles Of Faith, his other band Jones Very, Howard Zinn, Microsoft, KFC, The Clash, Chicago punk rock, John Haggerty, Reed Mullins, Husker Du, Redshift, and why living in Seattle sucks so bad.

“A bartender is the aristocrat of the working class”. Douglas Coughlin said that. And he could’ve been talking about Mike McIntyre. Like all great bartenders, Mike is an iceberg: You look behind the bar and you see a guy with a sharp sense of humor and wicked way with a cocktail shaker — but underneath the water is a hustler with gravitas and a shit load of life experience. On this episode we talk...

“An art house version of ‘Friday The 13th’ from Jason’s point of view” is the kind of brilliantly simple movie hook that makes every armchair director slap their forehead and shout “Why didn’t I think of that?!?” And from the moment he was given the script to Shudder’s very fun horror hit IN A VIOLENT NATURE, editor Alex Jacobs knew he had to work on it. Turns out, he was the perfect guy for the j...

This week we’re all about rockers and their movies. After Scott engages in some hemming and hawing over the threat of competing “pseudo-narrative” concert films, the guys welcome rock and roll movie director Dimitri Coats to the show to talk about his new OFF! flick: FREE LSD. We touch on the upcoming final OFF! shows and his first band Burning Brides, but Dimitri’s laser focused on his cinematic...

Some have claimed that Freud thought the Irish were impervious to therapy. While we may never know if he actually said that — we know for goddamn sure that John Haggerty is impervious to any of Scott’s lines of questioning. But that’s okay. Like all great heroes, John’s stoicism belies a heart of gold beating with generosity, fairness, and a firm belief in the human collective. Did we mention that...

This week on LIFERS we’re getting schooled on goth, punk, the ‘80s club scene, Diamanda Galas — shit, we’re getting schooled on EVERYTHING! We must be talking to Chicago legend DJ Scary Lady Sarah. Sarah just celebrated her 36th year as a professional DJ and producer of the longest running goth event in North America: NOCTURNA. Take that, whippersnappers! On this episode we talk about Chicago hard...

Angela Mullenhour’s voice is like a force of nature. And nature is kinda scary. Luckily, her band Sybris is the sort of band that can keep up with that force — loud, bold, and capable of summoning up hurricane squalls of melodic noise. After an extended haitus, the beloved Chicago band is back with their long-awaited third record “Gold On Hold” (set for release in September on Absolutely Kosher) a...

It’s great to have an old friend on the show — and this week we’ve got Jonny Polonsky. Lucky you. This is a great episode where we talk to the great singer-songwriter-studio rat about moving to and prospering in LA, growing up as a backstage-teenaged Chicago presence, bossing around Rick Rubin, Mark Lanegan, playing on a Neil Diamond session, being Frank Black’s boy, Chris Cornell & Dio, Gabe as S...

Unleashed in the East! Gabe and Ben talk to Scott and Justine while they’re doing laundry in a hotel in Osaka before making their way to Monkey Island. Confused? You won’t be after you hear this episode featuring Japanese metal bars, overconfident deer, Hear ’N Aid, Bali belly, Japanese toilets, Louise Stratten, rainy neon umbrella nights, Facebook posts that are actually ransom notes, and songs t...

Scott is supposed to be on vacation in Bali, but Gabe and Ben are relentless. So they dragged him out of bed from half a world away to record this goddamn podcast! This week the guys talk about fine Balinese cinema, spice-averse Australians, Brittany Grinder, cat poop coffee, Steve Albini’s love of Costco, Susan Backlinie, Roger Corman, “One Handshake Away” with Peter Bogdanovich, silly middle nam...

On another edition of the QUITTERS Podcast: Tim Edwards used to be Local H’s booking agent until he decided enough was enough and he walked away from the entire industry. What would drive a person to throw away the good fortune to be working with Scott? Well, if there’s an answer — good luck trying to get it out of him. On our shortest interview ever, we talk to Tim about toga parties, Russia, sub...

When the LIFERS Podcast moved offices and we needed movers — we wanted real movers, real service… real rock and roll. So we called the guys at REAL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MOVERS. These guys delivered rock solid service. If you’re planning a move —residential, commercial, whatever— you gotta call the REAL ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MOVERS. Plus their boss man used to play drums in Starball and Moreno (and was also the d...

Behold the quintessential lifer in these matters: Scott McCaughey. Now this podcast is getting somewhere. Scott was a king of Seattle before it was cool while his band Young Fresh Fellows were roaming the untested wilds of the ‘80s college-rock countryside. This led to now-mythical tours with The Replacements and a crucial and long-standing musical friendship with Peter Buck — which, of course, le...

It’s legend time again around here at the LIFERS podcast. Of all the bands to emerge from the punk explosion of the late ‘70s, few were as adept at fusing melody and fury in quite the same way that the great Stiff Little Fingers were. Seminal in every way, SLF would go on to influence Naked Raygun, Green Day, and pretty much every punk band that ever cared to carry a tune. This week we welcome the...

Twin-Cities ex-pat, L.A. transplant, and Local H’s album cover go-to guy in the ‘00s — Kii Arens joins us on the show this week. But as you’ll hear, all is not smooth and bump-free in podcasting land. Nevertheless, we managed to talk with our ol’ pal about huge boy bands in the UK, singing on KISS records, opening up for DIO as a mime, Jack The Rapper, working at Twin Tone, photo-shoots with P.J....

Around here at the LIFERS Podcast — we kinda HATE April Fool’s Day. And now you people are gonna hear about it! PLUS: Taco Bell, “Rampage”, a mini-round of WHAT’S THE BEST: Lemonheads, Japanese “Alias” bootlegs, Un-punk Gabe, River vs. Rivers, Joe Flaherty, The Wisconsin Film Festival, “Tuff Turf” vs. Tuff TERFs, dumbbells, and we may or may not be waiting around for Kevin Tihista again.

Doni Blair is the kind of lifer that isn’t content to just sit around between tours and wait for the call. He likes to get his ass kicked. Literally. You probably know him as the bass playing dynamo in The Toadies — but an ever growing number of people know Doni as a practitioner, instructor, and advocate of martial arts training. In fact, he wrote an amazing and REALLY funny book about becoming a...

It's been a bit of a rough week over in LIFERS podcast land. Ben had unexpected oral surgery, Scott had to unexpectedly travel, and Gabe is still unexpectedly living in Florida. But don't fear, faithful listener. A few weeks back we played a mighty fun round of What's The Best with Bruce Lamont, and this snowy blowy day in the midwest seems as good as any to share it with you. Enjoy!