No Wristbands! We Drink For Free – Details, episodes & analysis

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No Wristbands! We Drink For Free

Mark & Tom

Music

Frequency: 1 episode/26d. Total Eps: 74

No Wristbands! We Drink For Free is a podcast for Chicago music scene fanatics BY Chicago music scene fanatics. With over 40 years of music memories and experiences we are here to champion all things Chicago music - from local bands, to touring bands passing through Chicago, to radio stations, to music venues, to the background players - concert promoters, record pressers, engineers, producers. Each episode runs about 1 hour, and features an in depth interview with someone associated with the Chicago Music Scene. We will be releasing podcasts monthly. If you care about Chicago music, you will love our Podcast.

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🇨🇦 Canada - musicInterviews
25/08/2026
#94
🇨🇦 Canada - musicInterviews
24/08/2026
#83
🇨🇦 Canada - musicInterviews
23/08/2026
#62

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https://firsttime.chirpradio.org/
2 shares
https://of1000faces.bandcamp.com/
2 shares
https://www.gregkot.com/
2 shares

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Score global : 68%

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Jon Langford & Sally Timms of the Mekons (and more)

Episode 73

Friday, August 14, 2026 • Duration 45:05

Jon Langford and Sally Timms have been making great music for a long time. Originally hailing from Wales and England respectively, they both eventually found their way to Chicago. They've done a lot in the 30 plus years that they've called this home. We talked a bunch about their most famous band, The Mekons, as well as their many offshoots that developed over the years. Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Three Johns, Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments and more. We also get into Jon's artwork and the beautiful new John Prine mural that he designed. Of course, plenty of discussion about the incredible City of Chicago and what they have planned for the future.

photo by Frank Swider

Time stamps:

2:10: What led to you moving to Chicago?

8:05: Talk to us about what the evolution of Chicago music has been like in your time living here?

14:45: Trying to make it in the music business from the standpoint of how hard it is, and you were wondering why there weren't more patrons of the arts for music.

21:16: How did the Mekons on the Mekong come together?

24: The Mekons should set up a travel agency.

26:50: The band has to be open to those unique opportunities.

32:30: More immediacy in playing in more intimate settings.

33:10: How did the John Prine mural come about?

39: What is your favorite go to cheap drink?

40:10: What do we want to plug on the way on out of here?

43: What do we need to do to get you to play at their house?

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Jeff Lescher of Green

Episode 72

Saturday, July 11, 2026 • Duration 01:32:08

Jeff Lescher has been putting out records since 1984. His band, Green, is one of my all-time faves. He's a unique talent with an eclectic group of influences - The Kinks, 40's/50's/60's pop songs, Big Star, The Beatles and more. If you haven't heard them before, maybe start with Green's 1987 album, Elaine MacKenzie. We talked with Jeff about his long career, a few of his regrets and his recent solo records. Of course, we also talked about his long history with the Chicago music scene.

Time Stamps:

3: When did you first become enamored by music?

8:34: When did you decide that you wanted to make your own music?

13:30: Did you think people would come around to your music or you just explored what you wanted?

16: You got critical acclaim eventually.

17: At what point did you think Green coalesced into what you wanted?

25: Elaine Mackenzie is quite varied, it's impressive.

30: Did you aspire to be a rock star?

39:45: You got to open for Husker Du at their final Chicago gig. How did that come together?

43:10: Looking back, do you feel like you wish you'd done something differently, or do you not regret any of it?

48:50: Why did europeans respond so favorably to the band?

51:40: You weren't following trends, you were just doing your thing.

53:30: What do you attribute the gap in Green releases to?

59:20: Do you want to continue to make music regardless as to whether or not it helps make a living for you?

60:50: Is there a reason you put out solo music instead of as Green?

65: There is a resurgence of power pop, does that surprise you?

67:14: Thick or thin crust pizza?

69: Where is your favorite place to play shows?

72:22: What makes Chicago unique?

80: What is your go to cheap drink?

81:29: Jeff is working on a podcast!

Miranda Winters of Melkbelly & Mandy

Episode 63

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 • Duration 56:34

Miranda Winters grew up in Providence, RI - but she's all in on Chicago. She plays guitar and sings in Chicago noise rock quartet Melkbelly (along with her husband, Bart Winters). Her most recent project was the all-female band Mandy wich released the LP Lawn Girl last year. Look for Melkbelly out on tour in the next few months.

Time stamps:

1:30: What are some of your earliest musical memories?

3:50: What were some of your gateway bands?

5:30: At what age did you decide you wanted to be a musician?

7: How and when do you get to Chicago?

8:10: What were your first impressions of Chicago?

10:12: How long did it take you to find your Chicago music community?

15: What's it like working creatively with your husband?

18: Talk to us about Mandy

20: What is your creative process like?

23: Is Melkbelly working on anything right now?

27: What was it like being inside the hurricane as people were saying Melkbelly was blowing up at SXSW?

30: Did you cry the first time you went to Electrical Audio?

31:30: Song destroyers - how did you come upon that process? how does that process work?

34: Has the reaction to the Mandy record surprised you at all?

37:30: The two most recent Melkbelly songs are very different, how did these songs come to be?

39: How long does the process usually take with recording?

40:45: What makes the Chicago scene so special?

43:35: Favorite place to play shows/see shows in Chicago?

47:20: Thick or thin crust pizza fan?

Didjits with Rick Sims, Beanz Decatur & Billy Fury

Episode 62

Friday, September 12, 2025 • Duration 31:06

Rick Sims and his new bandmates, Beanz Decatur and Billy Fury, share how this upcoming Riot Fest gig came about. The last Didjits gigs happened back in 2006 - so we are all in for a treat as the band gets ready to play Riot Fest on Friday 9/19 and the Empty Bottle on Sunday 9/21.

Time Stamps:

1:36 - Pavement & Didjits re-form - are The Smiths next?

3:20 - How did the Riot Fest gig come together?

5:30 - Beanz & Billy join the band.

6:20 - How did Beanz & Billy get together?

7:50 - Were Billy & Beanz familiar with the Didjits?

8:55 - How did the practices go?

12:36 - How long have you been practicing together?

13:33 - How about playing Riot Fest?

15:25 - How does it feel to be playing these songs after so long?

16:35 - How will this compare to previous Didjits shows?

18:45 - Excited to play the Empty bottle?

19:35 - Is this a one-off or will there be more Didjits?

21:02 - More Didjits music?

23:45 - Strictly Dynamite response?

27:20 - Is Brad Sims coming out for the shows?

28:20 - What's on your "To Do" list when you're in Chicago?

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Matt Walker - drummer with of1000faces, Cupcakes, Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Garbage & more

Episode 61

Saturday, September 6, 2025 • Duration 01:05:50

Matt Walker has always wanted to play the drums. It was his first instrument and he took to it immediately. He's now made a wonderful career of it - playing in an amazing list of incredibly bands. Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Garbage and more. His band, Cupcakes, put out a major label record, but broke up too soon. Nowadays, Matt puts out his own work as of1000faces. We talked about Matt's career, as well as his thoughts on Chicago.

https://of1000faces.bandcamp.com/

Time stamps:

3:07: Was it always your intent to play drums, or did you learn something else and segway into drums?

4:21: Who were some of your earliest drumming influences?

6:51: Did you learn anything from your dad about listening to music critically?

10:52: At what point do you start to expand your music playing from the blues scene into more rock type acts?

15:16: What was that band that clicked for you that you played in?

17: How do you get tapped to audition for Filter/what is an audition like?

21:30: You enter The Smashing Pumpkins at a super tumultuous time, what is that tumult like?

28:24: How quickly did you have to learn The Pumpkins songs before going on tour with them?

35:15: What led to you leaving The Pumpkins?

39:28: Tell us more about Cupcakes

43: Did you take more ownership because this was your band?

44:19: How do you get hooked into the Morrissey orbit?

49:13: Is it stressful to be in a band with Morrissey?

51: What is it like going in the studio with Morrissey?

53: Thick or thin crust pizza fan?

Greg Kot & Jim DeRogatis of Sound Opinions

Episode 60

Sunday, August 24, 2025 • Duration 01:03:23

Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot have been writing about Chicago and music for a long time. Greg was the rock music critic at the Chicago Tribune from 1990 to 2020. Jim spent 15 years as the music critic at the Chicago Sun Times. Both have written several great books - Greg's published books include Wilco: Learning How to Die, I'll Take You There Mavis Staples and Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music. Jim's titles include Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips and Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. But they may be best known for the long-running podcast Sound Opinions which celebrated its 1,000th episode in 2025.

We loved getting the chance to talk shop with Jim & Greg about what it has been like to cover music for so long, how things have evolved over the years and what they like (and dislike) about Chicago. As a disclaimer - Jim's views on Chicago pizza are his alone and do not reflect the opinions of No Wristbands (and he's clearly wrong!).

https://www.gregkot.com/

https://jimdero.com/

Time stamps:

3: What's the biggest misconception people have about being music journalists?

10: What are some of your greatest music discovery moments you've experienced in Chicago?

14:30: What has changed throughout your time as being a music journalist?

17:45: With the rise of online music publications, did that have any impact on how you wrote and/or talked about music?

28: People should get paid to be music journalists.

32: Who are some bands/artists from Chicago that you felt like never hit as big as they should have?

35:25: What makes Chicago such a good and unique music scene?

Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms, Slapstick, The Broadways, The Falcon and Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds

Episode 59

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 • Duration 01:39:00

Hell Yeah, we got Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms on the show!! Chicago Punk Legend! We go deep into the history with one of Mark's all-time favorites. Slapstick, The Broadways, The Falcon, the Wandering Birds, The Lawrence Arms, Nihilist Arby's and so much more. We went a little long with this one because it's so fucking good. Enjoy it!

Time Stamps:

3:30: How you doing Brendan?

5:30: Despot talk!

10:19: What are some of your earliest music memories?

13:30: Cool babysitter who was on SST

17: Growing into liking punk rock via Reckless Records

19: Gladhands and the start of Slapstick

22: Is it weird for you for people to deify Slapstick, something you did so long ago?

25:30: Cap'n Jazz/Slapstick crossover event

27:52: You go from Slapstick to The Broadways

30: Did your experience in The Broadways inform your time in The Lawrence Arms?

33:45: How did you get your first Lawrence Arms album out on Asian Man Records?

37:40: When I think of The Lawrence Arms, I think of The Fireside

43:25: How long did it take to fill the void of The Fireside closing?

45:23: Did any musicians take you under their wing as you were coming up?

51:13: Has the process of how you create music changed over the years?

53: When you write do you know what project it is for as you are writing?

57: You were just on a song with Sincere Engineer. How do you try to help cultivate the next wave of Chicago musicians?

64:06: You've seen a lot of Chicago bands, are there bands that you feel didn't get their due?

After Hours with Stacey & Erik Olson from fForest Fest

Episode 58

Friday, April 18, 2025 • Duration 35:35

Stacey & Erik join us to talk over their plans for the fourth edition of fForest Fest in Morris, IL. They filled us in on the entire musical lineup, the move to two stages in 2025 and all the other great things to do in Goold Park - food trucks, cool vendor market and lots of green space to play. Bring the whole family out for a wonderful day of music and fun! Saturday, June 7th - gates open at noon. $10 cash at the gate (kids 5 and under are free).

https://fforestfest.com/

Time stamps:

1:30: How did fforest fest 3 go?

5:35: fforest fest is a true labor of love. how many stages do we have this year?

7:12: Let's talk about our bands

9:45: We are getting Pet Needs!

16:21: Make sure you remember your ID - story time!

23: Make sure you buy merch!

27:33: Sponsors to thank

31:21: What's your favorite thing about running fforest fest?

33:30: Inside tip - Liam Kyle Cahill and Kasey Christensen are playing a bar in town the day after fforest fest

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Mario Cannamela of Bottom Bracket

Episode 57

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 • Duration 55:51

Mario Cannamela (vocals & guitars) joins us to talk about his Chicago-based band Bottom Bracket. Originally formed in Springfield, IL, the band released their first EP Dreamland in 2017. Near the end of 2021, Mario said "fuck it" and moved to Chicago. Along with Tim Recio (bass/vocals) and Rob Diaz (drums), the band released their fantastic second LP, I'm So Afraid Of Where on Count Your Lucky Stars Records in November of 2024. We talked with Mario about all of that, plus so much more - including his thoughts about our wonderful city of Chicago.

Time stamps:

2:23: How are you doing today Mario?

5: When did you get your first guitar?

9:30: Fuck it! Let's move to Chicago! How did you meet Rob and Tim?

12:25: Tapping is in a lot of your songs, how do you utilize it?

14:51: Did you feel like you were making the leap when recording I Am So Afraid of Where?

17:30: How do you think Chicago has influenced the band?

20:44: Do you feel like you belong in Chicago?

22:11: What is your creative process like?

23:41: Do you write with a theme in mind?

26:35: How did the everything come together with the record and label?

28:43: Do you have a song on the record you are most proud of?'

32: What do the next six months look like for the band?

33: Who were some of your gateway bands in the emo universe?

39: How did the Subt show come together?

41:30: The bike is a significant thing for the band, and you like riding, where do you like to ride in Chicago?

43:20: Thin crust or deep dish pizza fan?

45:19: Favorite venue to play/see shows at?

Cory Branan

Episode 56

Saturday, March 1, 2025 • Duration 01:04:49

Born in Memphis is 1974, Cory Branan has been releasing albums since The Hell You Say in 2002. He released three great records on Chicago's Bloodshot Records - Mutt, The No-Hit Wonder and Adios) and his most recent LP (his 6th overall) is the excellent When I Go I Ghost in 2022. Many of his musician friends - Jason Isabel, Brian Fallon, Laura Jane Grace, Craig Finn, Jody Stephens, Ben Nichols, Sadler Baden & more - have appeared on his records. We talked with him about all of that, about his songwriting process, his Chicago experiences and his upcoming tour with his buddy Chuck Pagan. Enjoy!

Time Stamps:

2: Was it hard for you to have Rollingstone rewrite your history naming you a best new artist over 10 years into your career?

7:25: How did you find John Prine? What stands out to you about him?

13:50: When listening to a great songwriter, are you able to enjoy it, or are you analyzing it?

17:45: What is your creative process like now?

20:30: How does your OCD impact your writing?

24: How do you choose who you work with?

28:30: Being from Memphis, is it surreal to play with Lucero and Jody Stephens?

53:15: Did Bloodshot Records end up paying you?

53:45: Deep dish or thin crust?

55:30: Favorite venue to play in Chicago?

58:40: What makes Chicago a unique music city?

61:30: What is your go to cheap drinks?

62:23: Anything you'd like to plug on the way on out of here?

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No Wristbands! We Drink For Free – Details, episodes & analysis

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No Wristbands! We Drink For Free – Details, episodes & analysis

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