Taste of Randolph preview with Spitalfield at Hide+Seek (Episode 1055)
Release Date: 06/10/2025
Iconic guitarist Kid Congo Powers (Cramps, Nick Cave, Gun Club) talks storied career (Episode 1076)
Car Con Carne
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Venus Club goes to ‘dark places’ on dreamy new EP (Episode 1075)
Car Con Carne
I’m joined by Emilie and Josh from Venus Club — they’re a dark wave Chicago band that I absolutely adore. The new EP, Extended, is dreamy, haunting, and well positioned for your autumnal listening pleasure. We met in a south side parking lot, as people do, and chatted about their sound, their drunken origin story (subject to debate?), Ace of Base’s oeuvre, and they joys of physical media. Car Con Carne is sponsored by Easy Automation: Looking to transform your home, office, or business into a smart, seamlessly connected space? Easy Automation delivers custom...
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Gina Barcal is ‘Midwest ‘til the End’ (Episode 1074)
Car Con Carne
“I could barely stop from grinnin’, and I’m sorry, Jesus, but tonight I’m sinnin’” Gina Barcal has moved away from her punk and indie roots (Venom Lords, Pillowmints, etc.) to create a solo EP of authentic, no-kidding, Americana songs. “Midwest ‘til the End” comes out on November 7, followed by a show at Fitzgeralds Sidebar on November 8. Well before that, Gina jumped in the car to talk about how her career has led her to these sounds and this moment, her muse (a “Midwest boy with calloused hands), how her parents are remembered on the EP, and whether the song...
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Never mind the existential dread, here’s Alexis Plaen (Episode 1073)
Car Con Carne
Alexis Plaen releases her sharp, conceptual, and beautifully constructed pop debut, “Enjoy the Void,” on 10/10/25. In advance of that, she joined me for a conversation in Avondale that covered: *The pervasive album themes of existential dread and finding oneself *The devastating (and perhaps suspect) house fire that changed everything for her *The variety of styles and approaches to her music *The trouble with TikTok *The hauntingly accurate and memorable lyric, “Too bad a funeral’s cheaper than a hospital” If you haven’t yet heard Alexis’s music or watched her...
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Broken Robots meet challenge of ‘The Great American Struggle’ (Episode 1072)
Car Con Carne
I’m out of the car for this one, joining Broken Robots (Kat, Tony, Elix, Anthony, Ari) in the band’s Logan Square home studio for a long overdue conversation. The chat lands days before the release (9/12) of what is arguably their finest moment, “The Great American Struggle.” We talk at length about the meaning and construction of the songs and how they all fit together. It was important to frame the album’s completion around how the band has dealt with dramatic blows over the past few years, the most dramatic and impactful being Tony’s cancer diagnosis and his inspirational fight...
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Cinematic, avant garde, band Friend of a Friend eats tacos (Episode 1071)
Car Con Carne
Friend of a Friend is the brilliant and inventive musical group powered by Claire Molek and Jason Savsani. Their third album, “Desire!,” came out earlier this year, and it’s moody, atmospheric, at-times unnerving, and gorgeous. I love it. They joined me outside Tacos El Tio in Oak Park (1115 Lake Street) for a conversation about their history, “Desire,” and the incredibly spooky place where the album was recorded. Befriend Friend of a Friend. I think you’re going to love them. Car Con Carne is sponsored by Easy Automation: Looking to...
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‘If NPR’s Tiny Desk grew up, got day-drunk, and moved to the South Side’ - Wonderlick (Episode 1070)
Car Con Carne
I’m joined for this episode by two guys who spent decades turning a smart, biting sense of humor into underground, DIY favorites as part of Too Much Joy, and later… Wonderlick. We talked during the pandemic about Too Much Joy in a standard COVID-era “Zoom” chat… and this time around, I met Tim Quirk and Jay Blumenfield in person. We met at the wonderful Blue Island Beer Company, where the band was set to play later in the evening. Sitting outside on a perfect Chicago weather day, we chatted about: -The differences between Too Much Joy and Wonderlick -The new album, “Wonderlick Goes...
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Comedian Kristen Toomey heads to Apple TV with new special (Episode 1066)
Car Con Carne
This interview was a long time in the making – four years, to be exact – and that gets explained early in the show. In short, I sent an SOS to the world, and comedian Kristen Toomey received it. We met in Bensenville (home of Victory Auto Wreckers!) for a fun, smart, sharp conversation covering the art and science of being a working comic today, why she threw her phone out the window a few years back, social media, the time she was arrested as a teen, and why poly people were quite cross with her. I loved meeting and chatting with Kristen, and hope to make it a more regular...
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‘Americana with teeth’: Dave Suh and the Dirty Wings (Episode 1065)
Car Con Carne
After many years of profile roles in some excellent Chicago bands, Dave Suh is putting himself out there with his new project, Dave Suh & the Dirty Wings. The digital release of their album, “Set to Begin,” is set for August 12 and will be followed by a record release show at Montrose Saloon on August 15 (also playing: The Bon Mots, badcandy, and Cisco Pike). The whole band joins me for this one: Dave, Johnny Furman (bass), and Loren Guzik (drums), and the show starts with Dave doing two acoustic versions of songs from the new album! # Car Con Carne is sponsored by...
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Time Thieves steal my power-pop heart (Episode 1064)
Car Con Carne
Jonathan, Tim, and Mustafa of Time Thieves are my guests for a new episode recorded on the NW side of Chicago. We talk about the band’s power-pop leanings, emergence from much noisier bands, both 2025 EP releases (“If You Survive” / “Come Home”), gambling, concert etiquette, and Manowar. I enjoy these guys as musicians and people, and hope you have fun listening to this one! ## Looking to transform your home, office, or business into a smart, seamlessly connected space? Easy Automation is a local business, headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, that delivers custom...
info_outlineTaste of Randolph returns this weekend (June 13-15) for its 28th year! The event happens at ground zero for food in Chicago: Randolph Street, between Peoria and Racine.
To preview this year’s event, I sat down with Julie Darling (West Loop Community Organization President) at Hide+Seek (838 W. Randolph), a standout Randolph St. restaurant that offers a “creative American shared plates menu (incorporating) touches from Spain, France, and Italy.”
Also joining in the conversation are Mark Rose, frontman for Spitalfield, the band headlining the Q101 PIQNIQ Stage (West Stage) on Saturday night. We talk about the band’s new music (Play+Record) - the first new songs we’ve heard from them in a very, very long time. I say it in the interview, but it’s worth repeating in this space: “I Can’t Stop” may be the most hooky song Mark’s ever written.
As a bonus, we’re also joined by Sean Mulroney. Not only is he the owner of Double Door (new location opening in 2026), he’s also in One for The Ditch, who are playing the PIQNIQ stage on Saturday afternoon!
We had amazing food and a fantastic conversation. See you this weekend on Randolph St. - wear sensible shoes and sunscreen.
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Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Ninety Days in the 90s: A Rock N Roll Time Travel Story.
It's 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 time travel back to her carefree twenties, soaking up all the pop culture and rock n roll nostalgia you could ever imagine. To learn more, go to 90daysinthe90s.com or pick it up on Amazon.com or wherever you buy books.
And also follow 90daysinthe90s on Instagram for tons of Chicago scene & alternative music related content
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