Vinyl Emergency

Seemingly born into radio, Ryan Arnold is an avid music fanatic beyond what you hear him spin as a DJ on Chicago's WXRT. When he's not on the air, you can find him record shopping, checking out local bands and generally supporting any and all who are creating, showcasing or promoting music in the Windy City. I interviewed Ryan at the XRT studios after an awesome lunch at The Billy Goat Tavern, and...

275 miles, 6 record stores and 2 states in 1 day . I made it my mission on Record Store Day 2016 to bring you a slew of interviews with vinyl collectors of all sorts in both Wisconsin and Illinois (fathers and daughters, aunts and nephews, couples, best friends and more) about their passion for records and what they wanted from this year's list of exclusive releases. Plus I chat with several recor...

Fresh off our interview with bassist Todd Bell of Braid and Hey Mercedes, I sat down in Nashville with the other half of that incredible rhythm section, drummer Damon Atkinson! We discuss the Hey Mercedes reunion this year starting July 8th and upcoming re-release of their debut album "Everynight Fire Works," setting up his own drum kit and tour rig in his mom's basement at an early age, doing D.I...

Since I moved to suburban Chicago almost ten years ago, Nick Digilio has been a constant audio companion for me in both radio and podcast form. During his  2-5am  shift weekday mornings on one of the most storied stations in the medium, you'll often hear Nick -- an on-air host since 1998 and having been a part of WGN 720 AM for over 30 years -- engaging with listers on topics ranging from favorite...

April Fool's Day seems fitting to welcome the hilarious Brian Stack, who you've likely seen on shows like 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation or New Girl! Currently a writer on CBS' Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Brian started on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 1997, winning an Emmy for writing on the show ten years later and appearing as the caped and mustachioed Interrupter, haples...

Back in 2014, I interviewed Braid and Hey Mercedes bassist Todd Bell about his record collection for a written piece on Modern-Vinyl.com, which led to us digging together on Record Store Day 2015. So when I began this podcast, I knew Todd would be a more-than-willing guest to discuss his vast stockpile of over 2,500 albums. In this episode, we chat about the benefits of Japanese pressings, the art...

Long before his current position as Editorial Director of Onion Inc., -- and his freelance work for Magnet, Spin and Rolling Stone -- Josh Modell created Milk Magazine (along with his buddy Jim Minor), a D.I.Y. publication responsible for introducing me to independent music when I was just a high-schooler. Josh and I discuss his vinyl obsessions when he was younger, his tenure at Milwaukee's stori...

A massive record collector with an inspirational work ethic that rivals the busiest musicians in the business, Evan Weiss has released more material just under the Into It. Over It. moniker than most bands do in a lifetime. Throw in his side-projects Pet Symmetry and Their / They're / There, his production work for acts like Xerxes, Annabel or You Blew It, and releasing friends'  albums on his own...

It's a family affair this week as my cousin-in-law Kyle Fasel, bassist and lyricist of Real Friends, comes on to discuss keeping vinyl in stock in their merch store, his role as "band dad," what it's like having his ACTUAL dad on the road with him and what to expect from the group's new album, produced by Steve Evetts (Saves The Day, Dillinger Escape Plan)! We also chat about why specific album co...

My good pals and self-described "crappy twins" Josh and Chris Marcanti -- both of the Rock And Roll Brunch Podcast -- join me for an in-depth talk about the current state of vinyl and what the future could hold for music fans and the industry as a whole. Having played music together for years (both in The American Autumn and now The Throwbacks), we also discuss whether twins indeed have a secret l...

  Ryan Matteson is the former editor-in-chief and founder of the popular music blog Muzzle Of Bees and he's currently employed by C3 Presents, where he manages a wide-range of bands including The Mountain Goats, Bully, Toro Y Moi, The Dismemberment Plan and Strand of Oaks. Both a devout Milwaukee Brewers fan and native Wisconsinite like myself, Ryan and I discuss how he went from blogging to artis...

What a blast to have the incredibly talented Jay Ryan on the program! A world-renowned artist and screen printer, Jay has created iconic, hand-drawn poster and album art for the likes of Andrew Bird, Archers of Loaf, Hum, Shellac and countless others. He's featured prominently in Just Like Being There (a 2012 documentary film on the poster industry), and later this year, Akashic Books will release...

Jim's best record-shopping buddy Rob Clark (Rockton, IL) discusses both the up's and down's of online vinyl communities, how he navigated the CD revolution, sharing vinyl with his teenage daughter, potential retail price gouging vs. dollar bin digging, VPI machines, adoption, beekeeping, and lots more! You can view Rob's videos that we discuss via youtube.com/user/EoLoVoX/ videos and follow him on...

Author, freelance writer and Do You Know Who You Are? podcast host Eric Grubbs comes on the show to discuss the wide range of influences that got him into vinyl - Face To Face, Eric Carmen, Pet Shop Boys and Bruce Springsteen among them - as well has how inspiration can literally come from being hit on the head! We also discuss his 2008 book "POST: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-200...

Our first edition of Collector's Club is with Chris Fitzgerald (Grand Prairie, TX), who talks about how his vinyl obsession began, when he knows it's the right time to purge some his record collection and his day job as a contract administrator with one of the world's largest concert promoters! We also discuss the state of mainstream country music, how his 5-year-old daughter took to vinyl, meetin...

Troubled Hubble drummer and acclaimed photographer Nate Lanthrum talks with host Jim Hanke on this debut episode! Nate has photographed the likes of President Obama, U2, R.E.M. and Tom Waits, but the work he's most proud of was featured by the Chicago Tribune in 2014, spotlighting his interaction with the last families living in the Cabrini-Green housing projects. We discuss his original interest...