The LIFERS Podcast

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70. LIFERS - Gary Kessler Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

Way out in Chicago there was this fella... fella I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Gary Kessler. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him. There was a lot about Gary that didn't make a whole lot of sense. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place so darned interestin'. They call it Liar’s Club. And Gary lives a few floors above it. He spends his days dreaming up ways to pretty up the place. Innovatin’ and such. Yeah. He’s a real crafty fella. You could say he’s like the MacGyver of Liar’s Club. He even makes Liar’s Club t-shirts and Liar’s Club jean jackets. That might seem like a thankless job to some — but we’re talkin’ about a guy who used to play keyboards in a metal band. Ain’t no job more thankless than that. I only mention this because sometimes there's a man... I won't say a hero, 'cause, what's a hero? But sometimes, there's a man. And I'm talkin' about Gary here. Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that's Gary at Liar’s Club. Yup. Sometimes, there's a man.

69. LIFERS - Pete Beeman Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

You might know Pete Beeman from being the drummer in Guzzard —a mainstay of the early/mid ‘90s Minneapolis Amphetamine Reptile scene— or you might know him from his time playing for Burning Brides. But you’re probably going to want to know him from his latest band: the thoroughly excellent Killer Hill — a band that just so happens to be one of the finest metal bands around right now. But Pete’s not the kind of guy to promote himself, so the conversation quickly turns to other topics. Topics like torturing politicians, barf-o-ramas with Scott, gaslighting, playing drums for Local H, touring with Mastodon, “Soul Man” vs. “Soul Plane”, doing everything his brothers tell him to do, Ray Liotta, and posing as a beaver trapper. Yeah. That’s right.

68. LIFERS - Joe Kelly Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Don’t even think of listening to this one at work. You WILL get fired. The Beer Nuts are the, um, Chicago gold standard for hooky, lawsuit-skirting, morally questionable, insult-comedy punk-rock (does that cover it?). At the center of this circus is the, um, mind of Joe Kelly: Part imp, part clown prince, and more than a little delinquent. He’s also a true lifer that has written some of our favorite songs and never fails to make us laugh. On this episode we (try) to talk to Joe about his first band Lost Cause, his years as a member of Ministry, David Mamet, military school in Canada, The Payolas, being the beer kid at Metro, Herb, the Creed meltdown show, and the time he kicked Gabe’s brother in the head. This episode is brought to you by toilet paper.

67. LIFERS - Freda Love Smith May 27, 2022

Show notes

Freda Love Smith is retiring. She’s an indie-rock icon who’s been in more bands than you’ve had hot meals. Her first band —the fabled Blake Babies— helped define the late ‘80s/early ‘90s Boston music scene. Her tight, multi-faceted style of drumming evokes everyone from Moe Tucker to Ringo Starr. But that part of her life is about to end in a little over a month when —due to a variety of reasons— she’ll pick up her sticks for the final time when she performs at the long running Hot Stove Cool Music benefit at the Metro. At least that’s what SHE says. Time will tell. Regardless — she’ll always be cool. On this episode we talk to Freda about “Breaking Away”, moving to Boston, the first time she quit music, macrobiotic cults, Mysteries Of Life, living in a hobbit hole, Some Girls, her foodie/rock memoir “Red Velvet Underground”, her forthcoming book about Angela Atwood, Scott yammers on about “Network”, Jane Pauley, Sunshine Boys, and Freda is retiring.

66. LIFERS - Mike Lustig May 20, 2022

Show notes

If you were a fan of smart punk-influenced power pop in the ‘90s, chances are that one of your favorite “shoulda-been-bigger” bands from that decade are Ruth Ruth. This week, the band’s guitarist (and Ben’s old Park Slope Copy Center pal) Mike Lustig pays a visit to the show to talk about Ruth Ruth’s (sorta) beginnings as a blues band, why he hates the name of every band he’s ever been in, opening for Stevie Ray Vaughn on the night of his death, recording with Brett Gurewitz, getting wasted on the Mancow show, touring with Everclear and No Doubt, farming songs out to Kid Rock, and the Great Double Door Shit Show. Enjoy!

65. LIFERS - Pittsburgh and the Night of the Living Picklebacks (with Justine + Rookie + Karen) May 13, 2022

Show notes

This episode has everything: Justine, Karen, Pittsburgh, picklebacks, padawan soundmen, Ryan, Rookie, birthday pizza, Greg Suran meets Skunk Baxter, big organs, Phil Spector fanclubs, Pink Floyd fanboys, end of tour ennui, jalapeño poppers, the return of “Mind Games”, and the specter of Gary Coleman refuses to go away. It’s a madhouse.

64. LIFERS - Tamar Berk May 06, 2022

Show notes

We love Tamar Berk — and now you’re going to love her, too. Tamar came up in the ‘90s Chicago scene with her band Starball, but her finest work would have to be the pair of excellent solo records she released in 2021 and ‘22. On this episode we try to figure out how that happened. We also talk about mean scenes, moving to (and moving out of)Portland, Matt Walker, finding your voice, Rush, being in a family of functioning musicians, The Countdown, her daughter’s band The Inflorescence, working with Ron Nevison, “Athena” vs. “Eminence Front”, Steve Malkmus, the things kids say these days, and (unfortunately) Gary Coleman comes up again.

63. LIFERS - Daniel Knox Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

The Music Box Theatre in Chicago puts on a lot of film festivals. And Scott goes to all of them. From the 70mm fest to the Music Box of Horrors to the Dolly Parton 9 to 5er — you’ll find that fucker at nearly every one. But maybe the greatest and most immersive fests at the Box are Chicago songwriter/composer/projectionist Daniel Knox’s weeklong David Lynch retrospectives. The first one took place in 2017 and the second (“The Return”) happened a few weeks ago. And Scott was in the front row. On this episode we pester Daniel about his love of Lynch, his hatred of inappropriate movie theater etiquette, why he’s living in Portugal, his excellent music (which has favored driving soundtrack status in the Local H van), projecting 70mm film, aspect ratios, owls, and why “Fire Walk With Me” rules. This is Scott’s dream episode.

62. LIFERS - Road Report #9 Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

Local H are on tour again — so that means it’s time for another Road Report. Which means drunken, inane, and pointless conversations in a hotel room. Ryan and Scott talk to Ben and Gabe about Joe Pesci, Dustin Hoffman, the second verse of “Jump”, G ‘n’ R, Kevin Costner, German “Queer Eye”, Danny Elfman, “Animal House”, and Jeff Daniels. This might be the most pointless episode yet. And it’s great.

61. LIFERS - Gwen Ihnat Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

Since 1993, The Onion’s AV Club has been the source for some of the best pop-culture writing around. And since their offices were located in Chicago, it had also been a distinct source of pride for midwesterners. All that changed when new owners G/O Media announced that they would be shutting down the Chicago office and moving operations to L.A. to “grow its entertainment relationships”. Members of the staff were given an ultimatum: Move to L.A. or quit. Gwen Ihnat —who’d been with the site since 2013 and is a veteran Chicago journalist if there ever was one— was one of those writers that decided to move on. On this episode we don’t really talk about the A.V. Club debacle (for contractual reasons, Gwen can’t discuss it), but we DO talk about her time at The Illinois Entertainer, screwing up the words to a Liz Phair song, Cheap Trick, Tom Jones, Jared Leto, pissing off Liane Moriarty, and why Gwen’s to blame for Local H’s cover of “Shock The Monkey”.

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