Car Con Carne

This episode was recorded inside Take the Reins’ practice space. They even prepared food for the recording, which will forever be known as “Crockpot Con Carne.” The band performed a first-ever acoustic version of “Last Chance Motel” on the episode, before we talked at length about its “Thriller”-like video versions (spoiler: I’m featured in extended cut!).   I always enjoy my time with Take the Reins, and this episode should make it clear why!   See the band at Metro on May 6, as they, Night Spice and the Dog and Everything open up for Lucky Boys Confusion!   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com _ Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Easy Automat

“Metamorphosis,” featuring Third Coast Percussion, makes its Chicago premiere at the Harris Theater on Tuesday, May 2.  Joining me to preview the event is Third Coast Percussion’s Sean Connors, Ensemble member and Technical Director.   Third Coast Percussion is a remarkable ensemble that’s won the Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and has earned three more Grammy nominations since.   “Metamorphosis” promises to be a remarkable event. See you there!   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com   __   Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story    Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Rol

You're gonna like this one. Today's Snack comes from Razed by Apes: "Liberation Hurts" from the new EP "Stereo Warm Mood."      

There's a treasure trove of Car Con Carne favorites set to play Metro on May 6, 2023: Lucky Boys Confusion The Dog and Everything Night Spice Take the Reins Stubhy (LBC) and Dan Monahan (The Dog and Everything) join me for snacks (beef jerky and Mike & Ike) as they preview the show and talk about their shared history in the scene. __ Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience. Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today! Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com __ Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story is the ultimate novel about the '90s and Chicago's music scene. 90daysinthe90s.com

On the heels of releasing what may be Sweet Cobra’s finest album, “Threes,” drummer Jason Gagovski jumps in the car to talk about the new-ish release and the band’s history.   Joining us for the conversation is Stephan Jurgovan, GM of Big Kids (2545 N. Kedzie) in Logan Square. He brought tons of Big Kids comfort food to sample, including the “Space Torpedo” (I loved that sandwich), deviled eggs and tater tots! We also washed everything down with Shasta soda, as fine dining gentlemen such as ourselves do.   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com   __   Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story    Nin

Today's Snack comes from The Last Great Riot. The new single, "Immortal 30," is about the thrill of playing live on stage. There's more on the way from them soon, but check out this new single now!    

It's 4/20, so today's Snack is holiday-appropriate: "Astral Hobo," the new song from instrumental stoner rock band Numerical Control Society. The song comes from their new EP, "Moonshot."

John Carruthers of Crust Fund Pizza made it to runner-up on Chopped Season 54, Episode 14: “Wanna Pizza Me?”   John addresses the unforgiving Chopped counters early in the episode: “You have not one second longer than those clocks say”   We talk at length about his experience, from the thought process behind preparing his dishes to his reaction to hearing, “Chef John, you’ve been Chopped.”   We also talk about Crust Fund Pizza, the local charity-focused, back-alley pizza venture that got him on the show.   Crust Fund Pizza is run from John’s Instagram account:  http://www.instagram.com/nachosandlager   ___   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com

Today's Snack is "Blossom" by the Weekend Run Club. See them at Beat Kitchen on May 12, and be sure to follow them across social media!

The decades-long process to bring an arcade game to market is chronicled in the forthcoming documentary film, “Ghostlord and the Quest for Dark Presence.”    The game in question is “Dark Presence,” the brainchild of Galloping Ghost owner/International Video Game Hall of Famer Doc Mack. His story is being captured by documentarian filmmaker Craig Bass, and the project is being Kickstarted through April 28.   This episode finds me parked inside Bass’s studio, Motion Source, with Doc Mack in the front seat, and Bass and producer Lydia Koranda in the back seat.   This episode is a study in creativity, entrepreneurship, ambition and authenticity. I can’t wait to see the documentary come to life.   In the meantime, support the Kickstarter (Ghostlord and the Quest for Dark Presence), and spend an hour or five at Galloping Ghost in Brookfield. There’s no better way to spend a day.   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling s

Today's Snack is the new single from Carrying Torches - "Small Talk." See the band at On the Rox in Kankakee on 5/13 and in Chicago at Montrose Saloon on 7/21!

Today's Snack is "Arms" from Jose Israel, off his "American Artist" release. If you like what you hear, check out his band, Rotundos. They're playing at Fargo Skatepark in DeKalb on 4/15 and downstairs at SubT on 5/26.

One of the most revered Chicago bands from the 1990s, Triple Fast Action, returns with a collection of demos and rarities, appropriately titled “Triple Fast Action.”   The 3-record, 2-CD, collection is available on 4/21 (preorders are happening now on Bandcamp).   Joining me to talk about the release is returning guest Brian St. Clair, TFA drummer and unofficial band archivist.   We talk about the 90s scene in Chicago, Triple Fast Action’s memorable moments, what this release means for the band and what it means for the future.   __       Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!   Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com   __   Car C

Today's Snack comes from ...and the balloons. "god-awful" is the last song the band recorded with their beloved producer and friend Drew Neely before his passing.

River from wht.rbbt.obj joins me to talk about her band, which sounds like “Amy Winehouse meets the Black Keys and challenges them to a game of strip poker.”  In short, I love this band.   See wht.rbbt.obj at Summerfest on July 6, and look out for their first EP around the same time!   __    Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit SuburbanRoofingandSiding.com   __   Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story    Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story is the ultimate novel about the '90s and Chicago's music scene.   Join record store owner Darby on her trip back to 1990s Chicago as she jumps on the Grey Line to ti

Joe Rian and the A.M. Drinkers give us today's excellent "Snack": A new song called "Jim Bristol." If you like what you hear, support the band by listening on Spotify and collecting their digital singles on Discord!

“Out of the Loop” is a new documentary about Chicago’s stand-up comedy scene (available on streaming services 4/11/23). The people speaking in the doc represent a “who’s who” of Chicago comedy, including Hannibal Buress, Jeff Garlin, Deon Cole, Erica Clark, Tom Dreesen, Chris Redd, Kyle Kinane and the late, wonderful, Judy Tenuta.  Joining me to talk about the documentary is its producer, the very funny Dwayne Kennedy (he also appears in the film). As I mention at the start of the interview, he’s far too credentialed for this podcast. He won an Emmy for his work on CNN’s United Shades of America. He wrote for the Arsenio Hall show and the Orlando Jones show. He’s also appeared on Seinfeld and Martin. Dwayne’s a very funny man.  See Dwayne at Zanies on Wells on May 17! Watch the documentary starting on April 11.   ___ Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their s

Today's Snack comes from JIP: "Smile. Enjoy Yourself" (don't be a dick!)

Today's Snack is "Midwest Boujee" from Robot Civil War!

This episode finds me at FoxFire (17 W. State St., Geneval IL) for a conversation with owner/chef K.C. Gulbro. Chef Gulbro talked about the restaurant’s longevity in the Geneva area, the only “right” cooking temperature for steak, the FoxFire menu and where and how he got his chops (specifically: cooking chops and pork chops).   As we chatted, we indulged in the “Surf & Curt”: 6 oz. Certified Angus Beef ® filet mignon served with Sashimi grade tuna, both rolled in Cajun seasoning. Sliced and served with sliced avocado, drizzled with teriyaki and wasabi yogurt. Served with Asian-style Brussels sprouts.   It. Was. Magnificent. _   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Suburban Roofing and Siding, a family-owned company that provides interior and exterior home remodeling services, offering services to the Chicagoland area. Their staff has more than 40 years of collective experience.   Roofing, siding, windows, gutters...they do it all! Call their friendly team to get started today!    Call 224-677-6149 or visit Su