The LIFERS Podcast

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249. LIFERS - Balthazar De Ley Feb 26, 2026

Show notes

Balthazar de Ley has a show with Menthol tonight. He also had a show with his other band Lightfoils last Friday. Plus — he makes his own amps with his own name on them (that you can buy, by the way). And if you pay him enough, he’ll even fix your broken non-Balthazar amps. The point is — he’s a busy guy. But he made time to sit down with us and talk about the BEST!?! debut albums of all time. What a guy! We also talk about the ‘90s Champaign scene, the ‘90s Chicago scene, Menthol is Mother, Poster Children, Hum, Honcho Overload, Menthol’s beleaguered and brilliant second (third?) record DANGER: ROCK SCIENCE!, working at R. Kelly’s studio, working for the Smashing Pumpkins, and OH, YEAH! Menthol is playing with Smoking Popes and Scott tonight in Milwaukee at X-Ray Arcade. Don’t forget your amp, Baltie!

248. LIFERS - The Doozie Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

Scott’s back from his vacation and if you think that means he’s going to be all mellow and well-rested — well, then you don’t know Scott. This week’s episode is going scorched earth as we cover all the drama around the 30th Anniversary AS GOOD AS DEAD reissue debacle — which means plenty of rants about major labels, indie labels, and bootlegger bootlickers. But that’s not all! Scott is mad as hell and he’s not gonna take it anymore — so he also unleashes his inner-Howard Beal on internet trolls, mean music festivals, loud yawners, contractual indecencies, AI dogs, and (especially) those dipshit comment sections. It’s one battle after another over here at The LIFERS Podcast and nobody is safe.

247. LIFERS - The Joy of Sax with John McCauley Jan 30, 2026

Show notes

Saxophones. Am I right? Some people hate ‘em. Some people tolerate ‘em. Join us as we welcome returning champion John McCauley (of Deer Tick!) back to the podcast to discuss the BEST sax solos to ever sex up a rock song. Warning: This episode could get you pregnant.

246. LIFERS - Russ Spice and the East Side Kids of 1983 Jan 23, 2026

Show notes

Picture the scene: It’s 1983 on the East side of town in Zion, Illinois! You’re hanging out at your buddy Russ Spice’s house. Playing Judas Priest songs on your Harmony guitars and watching “The Song Remains The Same” on MTV. Instead of James Dean in “Rebel Without A Cause”, our movie idol is Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli (is it still playing at the Dunes?). Maybe later we’ll ride our bikes down to the lake and swim in the heated shadow of the nuclear power plant and pray that we don’t grow up to be toxic avenging freaks. And then, hopefully, we can scrape enough pot seeds together so we can smoke ‘em through a beer can and get a cheap buzz going — after which, we’ll convince ourselves we have the munchies and try to get Curt to spend his News-Sun paper route money on lunch at Pizza House. It was a glorious time…

245. LIFERS - Selena Fragassi Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

Selena Fragassi publishes more books before 9am than most people do all day. Just last year, the always hustling music writer and journalist wrote and published books about Alanis Morissette, Sabrina Carpenter, Greta Gerwig AND her latest: PEARL JAM LIVE — a hefty and thorough tome covering the band’s 35 year history as one of the world’s best live acts (it also features a forward written by Scott, but we digress). In between all the manic book writing, Selena somehow finds time for her regular gigs writing for the Chicago Sun Times, monthly appearances on WFLD 32 and contributing to every publication and outlet from SPIN to Loudwire. This week we talk to Selena about life moments with Cameron Crowe, fan letters to Donnie Wahlberg, looking Chrissie Hynde in the eye, what to do when Jim DeRogatis trashes all your favorite bands, the ineffable awesomeness of Bonnie Raitt, the sue-happy UN-awesomeness of Gene Simmons, and getting mammogram advice from Debbie Harry. Pretty awesome. PLUS: Ben gets gonged and our buddy John Oakes calls in with a report from the front lines in Minneapolis.

244. LIFERS - Richard Shepard and the Best Movies of 2025 Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

This week’s episode is a two-parter. In Part 1: Writer-director Richard Shepard is certainly NOT the kind of director that insists upon himself. He rejects the idea of being labeled an auteur and chooses the path of the journeyman — splitting his time between directing for television, while quietly chipping away at a filmography that is no more insistent than he is. Are you a fan of GIRLS, UGLY BETTY or HANDMAIDEN’S TALE? Then you’ve seen Richard’s work. Do you have a history of stalking around arthouse movie theaters since the halcyon indie-film days of the ‘90s? Then you’ve DEFINITELY seen Richard’s work: THE MATADOR, DOM HEMINGWAY, THE LINGUINI INCIDENT, THE PERFECTION. Do you have a weakness for essayistic documentaries about the even more revered cinema of the ‘70s? Then you LOVE Richard’s work. His seminal documentary on John Cazale (I KNEW IT WAS YOU: REDISCOVERING JOHN CAZALE) is a must for anyone wanting to know more about the late, great character actor. But if you want to know anything at all about Richard Shepard — look no further than Richard’s wonderful autobiographical FILM GEEK (now showing on HBOMax) — a personal remembrance of his father and the ‘70s movie theaters (and movies) that turned a young kid into a movie directing lifer. Not that you shouldn’t listen to this episode. You should totally listen to this episode. (Plus, Richard’s got a great David Bowie story for you.) And there’s Part 2!: 2025 was a great year for movies (if not the movie business). Grab a pencil and take notes as Scott, Ben and Richard discuss their favorite films of 2025. It’s an informal WHAT’S THE BEST?!? that will give you some great ideas about what to watch next. Also, Gabe coughs a lot and sometimes uses the mute button.

243. LIFERS - A Meathead Christmas Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

Meatheads of all stripes populate this year’s LIFERS Christmas episode as we say goodbye to Rob Reiner, F U to Trump, and spout all sorts of wack shit to each other. Yup. It’s pretty black over here. And we’re sure we’d feel much worse if we weren’t under such heavy sedation. So join us as we blur that fine line between clever and stupid and NO! we’re not doing fucking Stonehenge! Merry Christmas, Marty.

242. LIFERS - Stacy Jones Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Stacy Jones grew up thinking he was a drummer. Nope. Turns out he’s a "musical director". And no — that’s not a fancy euphemism for “drummer”. Don’t worry, Stacy will explain it to you. He’ll also talk about Letters To Cleo, Veruca Salt, American Hi-Fi, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Aimee Mann, John Brion, Joan Jett, Fuzzy, Flaming Lips, Sheryl Crow and Madonna. That’s right. He’s played with all of them. (Still no Skunk Baxter sighting, though.) PLUS!: A new American Hi-Fi song?

241. LIFERS - Tha Caterer III Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

Punching through the post-Thanksgiving gravy malaise — the guys welcome returning champion Josh Caterer back to the podcast for a third time to talk turkey about the Smoking Popes/Scott Lucas/Menthol shows happening this weekend in Chicago (at the Bottom Lounge) and Milwaukee (at X-Ray Arcade). Sounds harmless, right? Surely, there’s no need for things to get dark. Or for anyone to bring up Eric Clapton. Right?

240. LIFERS - Vinnie Dombroski Nov 21, 2025

Show notes

Just when Vinnie thought he was done with Scott — The LIFERS Podcast pulls him back in! Vinnie Dombroski —vocalist for the Detroit, Michigan band Sponge— is a hustler, baby. He’s a guy who fully subscribes to the inspiration/perspiration formula. Which is to say: Vinnie’s not afraid of a little hard work (he is, however, apparently afraid of food). On this episode we talk to our pal about Sponge’s unlikely origin story, switching from drumming to singing, growing up in the shadow of Motown, touring with Iggy Pop, driving George Clinton to the airport, career advice from Buzz Osbourne, and the joys of not remembering the ‘90s. ALSO: What’s The Best?!? is BACK!!! And we’re coming for you, Detroit!

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