Hey, this is Paul Martin and Ray the Roadie with the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. Happy holidays, everybody. It's the end of the year.

It is. It is the end of the year. I don't know.

I'm kind of sad to see 19 go. Yeah. Yeah.

But the Roaring 20s are right in front of us. Yes, they are. But we started our podcast in 2019.

We do. And we've got 28 episodes under our belt. That's not too bad.

Not at all. This is going to be number 29. This is our annual recap of the year, even though it's the first annual.

Our first annual. That's right. And we've met with a lot of great people, man.

It's like, look at this. lot of guys out there, a lot of gals, and some great music, some great entertainment. Yes, we have.

And we started out doing this in a live situation. We talked to the Dancing Noodles. We talked to five guys named Mo, both in clubs.

Oh, yeah. And it was kind of noisy. Very noisy.

And we just had a little portable recorder that we used. And we still use that. We still use it occasionally.

Yes, we do. But now we've got a nice studio here at the L&I Rock and Roll Museum. On Route 66.

And it's working out great for us. Sounds really good, too. It does.

It does. I really appreciate everything that Ron Romero and everybody involved at the museum has done for us. It's a great little place here.

Yes, it is. Yes. And that's where we're at right now.

That's right. That's right. Beautiful downtown Joliet.

So I mentioned the Dancing Noodles. We started off with the Dancing Noodles. And a band I know pretty well.

You do? Yeah, I do. I've heard of them a few times. I think I've seen them.

And we talked to Terry and Eddie Kammer. Terry Canning and Eddie Kammer. And some guy named Paul Martin.

He was with them, too. Yeah, I was interviewer and interviewee at the same time. That's right.

That's right. That was a beautiful Riley's Daughter in Oklahoma. Yes, it was.

It was at Riley's Daughter. And I will mention that we will be playing along with anybody who wants to come. I'll get this out there right now.

Who is anybody that wants to come? Is that a new band? No, it's anybody who wants to come. Oh, okay. And hopefully you do come to see the Dancing Noodles and some of the old freewheeling guys.

And it's a memorial service for Kevin Fabish, our sax player who passed away recently. Yeah, there was a sad day. It will be January 12th at Riley's Daughter, so be sure and come on out.

And I'm not sure the time. I think it will be sometime in the afternoon. But come on out.

You can check the Dancing Noodles, perhaps the Dancing Noodles website or maybe Facebook. Yes, be sure and check out Facebook. It's all over the place.

So be sure and come on out for that. And it will be a wonderful jammed day. Yes, it will be.

Yes, it will be. And then we move down to Five Guys Named Moe. Five Guys Named Moe.

Them guys have been around like forever. I mean, any weekend you look around, they're playing. Yes, they are.

They're busy, busy boys. Yes, they are. Yes, they are.

Jose, he's a little crazy, man. He just keeps booking, booking, booking, and, you know, they're out there. They play some great music.

Yes, they do. Yes, they do. Nice following.

Yes, they do. They play all over the south side and, well, all over everywhere, I guess, right? Yes, all over the place. And then the following week, our number three episode was Tynan.

Enough said. That's right. You know, if you haven't heard that story, you can look it up.

You can look it up yourself, yes. But it was a good interview. It was a good time, you know.

But then we moved along to episode four, which was M&R Rush. I can't believe those guys are still together. I think they played my prom.

Did they? Yeah, probably. I think so. I think they did.

Yeah, I kind of know that band, too. That's right. You would know them, guys.

Because you're from the area, right? Right. Yeah, you're from the area over there. Yeah, over by there.

Over by there, yeah. Yes, the band, whoa. Sorry, the whole table just shook here.

I think we had an earthquake. I think we did have a little earthquake. But the band is still playing.

It's still rocking and rolling after many, many years. Many, many years. I think in about three years, it's going to be like 50.

Really? I believe so. Wow, yeah, I guess you're right. 50 years in 2023.

So make sure you guys make your plans to come and see the band in 2023 for the 50th anniversary tour. That's right. Still rocking.

And still coming out with new music, too, on top of it, which is awesome. Yes, we're still writing, still writing. And still out there rocking.

Then we moved on to Jim Peterick. Jim Peterick. I think, oh, that's that guy from Ides of March.

That's right. Jim is a great interviewer and a great guy. He invited us to his home and his studio, and it was a beautiful place.

It was. It was a great time with him. He's got a lot of stories, but he's been playing around with a lot of people for a long time.

Yes, he has. Yes, he has. Almost 60 years, I'd say, close to that, right? Yeah, probably.

Probably. I know you want to get a few more years over you there. That's right.

But Jim showed us his collection of guitars. He showed us his car collection, and he was very hospitable to us. Yeah, he's got some great guitars.

Yes, he does. Some big money there. And he's still cranking out good music, too.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's got the world stage thing that he does and the Ides of March, and he's certainly a busy man. I think he's involved with that Cornerstones of Rock, too.

Yes, he is. You know, where they all get together. Yes.

So who did we see after that? After Jim Peterick, we visited episode six was with Cadillac Groove. Cadillac Groove. Those guys are nuts.

They are indeed. They are nuts, but they are so much fun. Yes, they are.

Yes, they are. They're a horn band. They are a horn band, yes.

And they have a lot of fun. They go out and they play. And they are another band who is busy, busy, busy, busy, busy.

Yes, they are. And you know what? They got a unique song mix. You know, it's from some rock.

There's some soul, some funk, a little New Orleans influence. Yes, yes. You know, and they are just so much fun.

I mean, you really got to go out and see these guys. I mean, they go out and they play around the crowd. They walk around the clubs.

I mean, it's something you've really got to see. Yes, yes, it is. And I've had the opportunity.

We both have had the opportunity to work with them a little bit since then. Do we have a phone call coming in? We do. Hello? Paul, this is Ted.

Hi, Ted. Well, look at this. We've got Ted Phillips on the line.

Hey, guys. How you doing? I'm doing great, man. How you been, Ted? Oh, not too bad.

Well, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too. Thank you.

Thank you. So what? Oh, yeah. It's been a very interesting year.

Yes, it has. I'm sure it has for you. Yes, it has.

It's like I told Paul the other day. I said, have you heard any good jokes lately? Yeah, how about it? Well, Ted, for those of you who don't know, I played with the band Tynan, and we'll leave that right there. There you go.

But the band has broken up, and Ted has moved on to bigger and better things. Who are you playing with now, Ted? Well, you know, after the whole Tynan thing happened, I got so many calls from people that wanted to have me jump in with them. And I decided that I was going to take some time off.

And, you know, the last four to six years, I've been pretty much working every weekend. And, you know, I got grandkids now and all that stuff. And I wanted to spend some time with them, you know.

So I told everybody, you know, I'm just going to take a break. But I did get a call from a couple of particular guys that were forming a Whitesnake tribute band. And I said, well, that's different, you know.

I said, I've never did a tribute band before. And, you know, Whitesnake, you know, kind of appealed to me. You know, I kind of like the hard rock stuff.

It's what I grew up with. And, you know, there's not a lot of people doing it for, you know, for many reasons why, you know. First of all, David Coverdale's got one exceptional voice.

It's very hard to cover, you know. Right. So, but the musicians in the band are fantastic.

And we're grabbing the bulls by the horn. It's called Bad Boys is the name of the band. We already did one debut show.

It cheers out one of the Lothians. And we're continuing on. We got about another three or four booked in the early summer or spring.

And it's sounding good, and I'm having a lot of fun. That sounds great. That sounds great.

And so have any of the other guys hooked up with any new bands? No, the communication hasn't been there yet. A lot of us were, when everything happened, we're pretty shocked about, you know, what went down. So I have played, actually, with two of the members, two of the horn players, doing gigs at, like, casinos when I was filling in, substituting for other keyboard players and filling in with bands.

And I show up to the casino, and then all of a sudden one of the horn players from Tynan was there, you know. Whoa, hey, cool, you know. So as far as I know, everybody's kind of gigging, you know, just sitting there with bands here and there.

I don't know of anybody that's got anything substantial yet or anything. Steady, right? Yeah, steady kind of work. But I want to tell you, you know, I don't know why, because every single person in that band, every single musician in that band was fantastic.

They were wonderful to work with, and I enjoyed my time with the band. And I hope the best for all of them, because they're exceptional musicians. We had a good time.

That's great. That's very audible of you, sir. It's not even that.

They deserve it. They were fantastic musicians, and I'm sure everybody's going to be getting in something soon. Well, we're going to have to get together with the bad boys and do a Rock and Roll Chicago podcast with them.

Yeah, that would be great, because the musicians that are in that band have been around for a long time, and they also play with other bands too, so it's kind of light duty, I guess you could say, only playing once or twice a month. And it's freeing me up. I haven't had that in a long time, and I'm actually really enjoying it.

That's good. That's good. You got any shows coming up in the near future? The soonest one I want to say is February 11th, I believe, at Tailgaters.

We're going to be with TNT Chicago. A lot of the bookings that we're going to be doing is going to be double bills with other like-type bands, whether it's a heavy metal show or an 80s show, something that we can get the seed in really good with those kind of bands. And it gives everybody a little taste of what the white snake is or heavy metal or 80s, whatever.

It fits right in with all of those types of groups. Well, it sounds like fun. Yeah, and we do have a Facebook page too, so it's The Bad Boys.

You can find it on Facebook. And like I said, we're having a lot of fun. Letting our hair down, man.

There you go. Well, thanks for calling in. We appreciate you calling in and joining us today on our urine review, and we'll be sure to contact you to get together with The Bad Boys.

Yeah, it sounds great, and I'm loving the podcast. They're all sounding great. You're having some great musicians, great bands on there.

You guys are wonderful. I love what you're doing with this. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. No problem.

Happy New Year. Happy New Year, guys. All right.

Good to talk to you, Ted. Take care. Bye-bye.

Bye. Good to see that Ted's doing well. Yes, it is.

Yes, it is. New with The Bad Boys. I've got to get out and see them guys.

So where were we? We were talking about Cadillac Groove. Cadillac Groove, those crazy guys. But like I said, I started to say you and I have had the opportunity to work with them a little bit and do some shows with them as far as running the sound and working for them.

And they sure are a lot of fun. Yes, they are. Definitely recommend you go out and see them.

Anybody that's looking for something different, they're definitely different. Yes, they are. Yes, they are.

And after that, we met with the world famous Mr. Tommy Shackle. Ted, I've got to tell you this story. We met with Tommy Shackle.

We did our interview. It went on about 40 minutes or so. And it wound up that we started talking, and we talked, and we talked, and pretty soon it was midnight.

We started at 7 o'clock in the evening, and pretty soon it was midnight before they were kicking us out of the place we were at. Yeah, they were. They were.

I mean, the stories just kept going and going and going. But man, he's one funny guy too. That was just a riot.

Yes, Tommy Shackle, for those of you who don't know, played with the Buckinghams. And many other local groups. He was on with the Leisure Suits with Johnny Brantley.

That's right. And now plays shows with Paul Revere and the Raiders. Paul Revere's Raiders.

Paul Revere's Raiders, excuse me. That's right. That's right.

And I guess they're going to be out and about quite a bit this upcoming year. They took a little hiatus this past year, but just did a minimal amount of shows. But he said this year they're going to be rocking it.

Yes, and then we moved on. We moved on to Episode 8. We talked with the Neverly Brothers. The Neverly Brothers.

Yes. Kevin and Keg. Kevin and Keg.

Garosham. That's right. Some great guys.

I've had the opportunity to work with them many, many times in my days at the Blue Chip Casino. And they're just fun with their stories that they tell about the evolution of rock and roll and the way that Kevin tells them is just amazing. He's a historian.

He's a historian. I mean, gosh. I mean, really, the guy knows a lot.

Yes, he does. Yes, he does. And that was a fun interview.

That was a fun interview. We did that one, too, along with Tammy Shackles at a place called Gracie's. Well, it's not called Gracie's now.

What's it called? It's called the Old Plank Trail Tavern. That's right. But nobody ever seems to know what that place is.

And then you say, it's Gracie's. And they're like, oh, yeah, I remember Gracie's. Gracie's has been there since, like, the earth was put together.

Great little bar out in downtown Frankfurt and a very comfortable place to go and do an interview before we had this beautiful studio. And then we also met there with Strung Out. Episode 9. Yeah, Episode 9. Them guys showed up, too.

They're kind of wacky themselves, too. Yes, they are. Very unique band, though.

How about it? I mean, they play some music that nobody plays. I mean, come on. Electric Light Orchestra, you know, stuff like that.

You got that cello. Steely Dan. Yeah.

Nobody plays that stuff. Hold on. We got another call coming in.

Hello. You're on the air. Hey, Ray.

Marty Martirosian. Hey, Marty. It's Ray and Paul here with the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast.

How you doing, buddy? All right. How are you guys doing? We're doing good. We're doing great.

Merry Christmas. Happy, not Happy New Year yet, but Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas. So, how have you been? Wait a minute. And happy holidays.

That's the proper way to say it. That's politically correct. There you go.

I'm doing great. How about you boys? We're doing well. Good.

Good. What are you doing? What's going on here, man? We're doing our year in review. We're going through all the list of bands that we've talked with and contacted.

And we thank you for calling in. Oh, no problem. I just want to say good job to you guys.

I've listened to every episode. Oh, thank you. Just want to let you know that.

And I've learned so much about all this Rock and Roll Chicago stuff that goes on that I thought I knew, but I didn't know. Well, it's been fun for us getting into some of the insights and some of the bands, getting some of the backstories and some of the behind-the-scenes stuff that you don't always get to hear about. You got it.

You got it. Well, let me tell you something historic about Marty Martiroski. Okay.

Okay. Sure. All right.

Drumroll, please. Wait a minute. Hey, Paul, something.

Oh, whoops. Sorry. Something that, Paul, you don't even know.

How about that? All right. So, you know, as you know, we all hibernate. The M&R Rush hibernates in the winter months that we say, you know.

And then we start playing again in May. But this year looks like we're going to start in April a little earlier. But I was rehearsing the other day by myself trying to learn how to play drums and the songs that we do.

And I just got this wild, wild idea to do something I haven't done since 19, let me get this straight, 1972. Well, I know it's not a drum solo. No, that's right.

Yeah, that's right. But so what I did is my son, Kevin, as you know, is a drummer, and Kurt, they always, when they come on over, they always look at my kit and they always say, how the heck do you play this thing? Everything is so far away. So what I did is for the first time, and how many years is that, 72? So that's 80, 28.

I already said it's almost 50. Is I made my drum kit, the setup, I changed it. You did? For the first time.

No, you didn't. And it's, yes, and it's, you know, I have four tom-toms, the high tom-toms, and I made them very close to me so that my sons can't jab me anymore, saying that, you know, why do you play this this way? It's so far to reach everything. So I don't know if it's just them saying that or me being as experienced and old age that it was harder for me to move my arms that far.

So now they're real close, man. So you didn't eliminate any, right? No, of course, did not eliminate any, but nice and close. So, see, I told you something, Paul, that you didn't know about.

No, I didn't. I didn't know that. And I would say, just coming off of rotator cuff surgery, maybe that's that I had.

Maybe that's the reason your shoulders are starting to hurt you. It's sympathetic pain. That's right.

It's all kinds of things, fingers, you know, shoulders, arms, hips, all that stuff. But anyway, hey, so have you talked to a lot of people today or what? Am I the first one that I called in? No, no, no, we talked to Ted Phillips. Oh, okay, good.

How's Ted doing? Ted's doing good. He's got a new band called Bad Boys, a white snake cover band. Oh, that's neat.

So he's doing well. We'll have to check that out sometime, right? Yeah. So does Eminar Rushka got a name for their tour for 2020? Yes, in fact, we do.

You know, that's kind of a cool story is Jeff wrote a new tune. Oh, my gosh, I just went blank. What is it called? What is it called, Paul? I don't know.

And you didn't do any research on me and your old band, right? I mean, what the heck, man? I hear you all the time, you know, saying all this wild stuff to Ronnie Rice and Jim Peterick and stuff and, you know, but nothing on your own band, I'll tell you. Well, I figured they knew that, you know? Yeah, but the name of the tour is Let's Do It Again, all right? So you've done it before? Yes, we have done it before, and every year at the end of our yearly run, you know, which is about 10, 12 shows a year, is we say to everybody, look, hey, do you want to do it again? Are you still having fun? This year we said yes, and we said, you know, we always say, okay, let's do it again. So that's the name of the tour this year, Let's Do It Again.

And that came up from a song that Jeff wrote? Yeah, actually I can't remember what the name was, but what happened is Cher used that name before we did, and her being a little bigger than us, we decided that we can't have the same name of the tour. And, you know, I really got down on Jeff saying, Jeff, man, you know, you co-wrote a song with Cher. Why didn't you tell her that she couldn't use it for her tour? You know what I'm saying? That's right.

But anyway, so that's the name, and we're starting out early, and here goes a plug, man. You know, I always got a plug, right? We're doing shows in April this year, and we got some new little theaters that are pretty cool that popped up. On April 3rd, we're going to be at Ron O'Nesty's club, kind of club theater called Club 210 in Highwood, Illinois.

So that'll be a new place for us. And then we're playing on Saturday, May 16th, the Venue Theater in Aurora, Illinois, which is a nice theater. And then we're going back already May 30th in Michigan in Three Oaks, Michigan at the Acorn Theater, and we have a bunch more dates that'll be popping up.

So we're all excited. That sounds good. We're going to have to get out and check you guys out.

Oh, wait. I guess I'll be there, won't I? Maybe I'll come out and check you out if I'm that busy. Yeah, check it out, man.

Check it out. But anyway, I wanted to say, good job, you guys. And so this is going, you're going into your second year, right? Right.

Second year, season two. Yeah, but I do, you know, and again, I'm not going to get down on you, Paul, on this. I'll get this to Ray because Ray, I know, is handing all the business stuff of your podcast.

I went today, again, to the post office, and I still did not get any royalty check for using Rock & Roll Chicago as your opening man. So I just, you know. We'll have to check on that.

I don't know. I'm sure they'll check one out. I'm sure I'll have to check.

It's our accountant. You just can't count on that guy. There you go.

Hey, the thing is, I do want to say thank you to both of you for using that tune for your opening. I really appreciate it. Well, thanks for letting us.

You don't have to send us any checks. Okay. Even though that I was trying to retire sooner than I was planning, but I won't depend on those royalty checks.

Yeah, well, we only play 18 seconds of the song, so we're within legal limits. Yeah. So, hey, listen.

I heard that you're going to start traveling and go out of the country, you know, from bands that started in Chicago. Yeah. As soon as the budget, we've got to get that accountant.

The damn accountant is not getting back to us. It costs enough just to drive to Joliet. There you go.

There you go. But, hey, it's great hearing from you guys. Really appreciate everything.

Yeah, everything that you're doing for the Chicago scene, and it's great entertainment, and it really motivates me. I always listen when I'm working out. You know, I try to work out every week a couple times, and when I get my earbuds in and I listen to you guys, it makes me do a couple more reps than normal.

Well, that's good. That's good. But good job, and Merry Christmas to both of you, and Happy New Year.

All right. Thanks for calling in, Marty. Appreciate it.

Thanks, Marty. Okay. Happy New Year.

Take care. All right. Bye-bye.

Marty Martirosian from M&R Rush, the M of M&R. You know him pretty well, don't you? I thought so. Apparently not.

I didn't know that he moves his drums like that. I did not either. I mean, I just thought they just stuck in the ground there, and that's the way they always were.

He didn't move nothing. So, let's see. We were talking about the Strung Out guys.

Yes, we were. And some amazing music that they put out. Yes.

Strung Out, like I said, is a very unique band, and they've got some great stuff, and they were fun to interview. Yes, they were. We met with them at Greasy's, the old Plank Trail Tavern, too, and it was a good time with them.

It was Greasy's, wasn't it? It was Greasy's, yes. Then the following week. Greasy's.

Greasy's? The Greasy's Spoon? No, it's not bad. Then the next week took us all the way out to the western suburbs to see the one and only Mitch Michaels. That's right.

We thought we'd interview Mitch. We got a chance to talk with him and talk about his book, which is... Doing the Cruise. Doing the Cruise, that's right.

Doing the Cruise with Mitch Michaels. And so we cruised out to the western suburbs, out to the river, to the radio station out there, and met with Mitch, and it was fun talking with Mitch. Yes, he's got some great history, too, in Chicago radio.

I mean, he was instrumental in disco demolition and the startup of some radio stations, and he's got a lot of history here in Chicago. If you get a chance, pick up his book. It's very interesting.

It's a very good book, very good. And then next week brings us to Kiss Kissay. That's right.

Pes Band. It was Pes Band. That's right.

We met with Mimi and Mike Gorman. Mike Gorman. Right.

And here once again, Mimi invited us into his home, and we did an interview there in his little studio. And it was fun talking with Pes Band, one of the great, great bands from the 70s. They really were, you know, and they just didn't have the right brakes.

No, no, unfortunately they didn't. They were big local favorites, huge local favorites, and certainly wish they could get back together and do something. It would be great if they could.

You know, like they said, just when they seemed to be going on the right track, this band called The Talking Heads came out and, like, ruined it for everybody. Well. It's just a change.

I mean, it was a musical style change. They had a unique pop sound, and unfortunately they just couldn't make a go of it. Right, right.

But then we moved on to another unique band, a unique Chicago band with a pop sound, kind of a pop sound, and that was Frankie Capek. We talked to Frankie Capek of The Kind. The Kind, yes, sir.

They were very, very popular back in their day. I mean, they put out, what, a couple of albums? They were out touring a lot with a lot of big names. If you get a chance, check out episode 12 with The Kind.

Frankie had some great stories. Some great stories. Some rock'em, sock'em stories, I'll tell you.

Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Week 13 took us a little bit, a little bit left of the rock'n'roll element with Hartsfield.

Yes, Hartsfield, I've been friends with Scott Bonshire forever, and we met with Scott and a couple of other guys in the band, and it was fun talking with them, and, of course, they have their own flavor of country rock, I guess you'd say. Definitely, definitely. Good stuff.

They're very popular, and they're still popular, but back in the day, they were big. They were playing everywhere. But they're still out there playing, and a little bit different line-up.

Some of the same guys, some of the original members are still with them, and they're out there still knocking it out. You can always check out their website to find out where they're playing. Week 14 brought us to the Melody Mart in Homewood, Illinois, where we met with John Folstrom of Midnight.

Right, John, also a fantastic bass player, and wrote the book EADG4. Four. EADG4, which is if you're looking to pick up a bass and learn to play bass guitar, this is where you learn it, right there.

Definitely, definitely. I guess it's internationally known, that book. Yes, it is.

He's still playing. He plays with the Big Boppers. And every Friday night at Mama Mia's Pizza in Homewood.

Yes, sir. It's kind of an acoustic thing that they do there, and it sounds like fun. Definitely go check them out.

And then Week 15 brought us out to Joliet, Illinois, where we met with the founder and CEO of the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, Ron Romero. That's right, Ron is doing a lot of great things, a lot of great things for Illinois rock and roll. And if you have the blues and every kind of music you can imagine that came out of Illinois, will be featured here, where we're at right now, at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, Route 66.

And Ron is just an amazing guy. Yes, he is. He's doing a lot of work here, putting in a lot of time.

Hopefully, this place will be open middle of next year. If you haven't yet, be sure and check out the Road to Rock radio station, roadtorock.org. Dot net. Dot net.

Roadtorockradio.net. Dot net, I'm sorry. And be sure and check them out on Facebook as well, because you'll find out all kinds of great things that's happening here at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum. And so be sure and check that out.

Yeah, they've got a blues concert coming up in February. I think it's like February 7th there's going to be a concert. I believe it's here at the museum.

And then in March, at the end of March, I believe it's the 29th, we're having the first Hall of Fame induction. Oh, that's awesome. So, yeah, so check that out on Facebook or on the website and get more information on that.

Sounds good. So week 16 kind of kept us in the Joliet, Plainfield area. That's right, with a band called Saints and Sinners.

They've been around for quite a long time. Yes, they have, and they're still rocking it. They are.

They are still rocking it and doing well and playing all over this southwest area. Yeah, and I think they said that they originally started in 64, was it? Right, I believe so. Yeah.

So that's longer than M&R Rush. That's right. That was as long as the heights of March.

That's right, exactly. So then week 17 brought us to the South Suburbs where we met with Replay from the Heights. The Heights.

Over by there. Over by there. You know, they're by the south side there.

Over by the Jewels. That's right. That's right.

Yep, they're a bunch of crazy guys too, and they're still rocking the South Suburbs, south, southwest side, still out playing quite a bit. Yes, they are. Yes, they are.

They are keeping busy. And so check out Replay from the Heights. From the Heights.

And we met with the legendary Bobby Dunn. Bobby Dunn, what a character, but what a good guy, and a great entertainer. He's been playing forever, but he left Chicago for some time, went to the west coast, went to Hawaii, and now he's back in Chicago.

You can catch Bobby Dunn just about anywhere on the south side. And Bobby held on to the old tradition of he doesn't post any of his shows on Facebook or online. You call his hotline to get information on where he's playing.

That's right, and that number is? Bobby's hotline is 708-267-3339. So episode 19 brought us to Hillside, Illinois. What happened in Hillside? We met with Tom Doody and J.C. Hook of the Cryin' Shames.

It was a fun time there. That was a great time. That was a good time.

Great crowd. Holy cow. Yeah, they packed it in out there.

I was really amazed. People brought their lawn chairs out, sat out there, and picnic benches and everything else, and watched the Cryin' Shames perform, right? Yep. Right out in the open there, right? Right in the middle of a park somewhere.

Yeah, it was a park somewhere in Hillside. It was a great show, though. A lot of fun.

Yes, it was. Beautiful night. Beautiful.

And Tom Doody is a very interesting person. He's got some great stories as well, so be sure and check out episode 19 with the Cryin' Shames. 19 with the Cryin' Shames.

Episode 20, we wound up going up to the north side of Chicago, met with Mr. Dag Julen. Dag Julen, who many of you may know from the Steve Dahl radio broadcast, or the Steve Dahl podcast, I should say now. Yep.

But you may know him from the radio broadcast as well. And he's with Poi Dog Pondering. He's with Expo 67.

76. Or 76, I'm sorry. You know, you get my ancient stuff, you forget these things.

And he's got a new band, the Sunshine Boys, which I've listened to their first album. They've got a new one coming out soon. Really some great music.

Yes, it is. Yes, it is. Very unique stuff.

And Expo 76 is a lot of fun stuff too. Yeah, definitely, definitely. He's a classy guy, man.

It was a great interview with him. Yes, it was. Yes, it was.

So, okay, then on the 21st, we're back here at the studio. Yes, it was actually our first one here at the studio. I believe it was our first real interview at the studio.

And that was with Tony Ingala of Joker. Yes, Joker, another band who had been around for a while, kind of left the scene for some time and is now back. And if you like ballads, rock ballads, if you love some heavy rock and roll, you might want to check out, not heavy, more like aluminum.

Titanium? It's a kind of aluminum rock and roll. Reynolds Rap. Not heavy metal.

Reynolds Rap. But some great ballads too. Be sure and check out our episode with Joker, with Tony Ingala, and that was episode 21.

22 brought us another unique band, Classical Blast. Classical Blast, I've had the, once again, another band I've had the pleasure of working with several times. And they are, they mix classical music with rock and roll, thus the name Classical Blast.

Correct. So, but if you haven't heard them, you've got to go out and see them. And they've got a cello and a violin and an acoustic guitar, and they've just got an array of instruments that bring you back to some classical sounds.

Yeah, and they do some like mashups. They mash up some classical music with some rock songs. Yes, they do.

And we played some of that on our podcast, so be sure and check them out. Yeah, definitely. Classical Blast.

Okay, episode 23, we met with one of the Beatle brothers, Jay Geppner. Jay Geppner, yes. That's a busy boy.

Yes, he is. He's doing all kinds of projects. As a matter of fact, I know he just got back from Brazil.

He did. He was in Rio. Yes, doing the Beatles thing there.

He's a Beatles aficionado. He's a John Lennon aficionado. And you might want to check out Jay Geppner if you don't.

I've known Jay for many years, but he's definitely a talented individual. Yeah, definitely listen to the podcast. You'll find the story about how he was basically discovered on the Jonathan Brandmeier show.

That's right. That's right. Interesting story.

Very interesting story. Then after meeting with Jay, we went and met with Greg Potter, originally of Teenage Radiation. Now, that was quite a unique interview.

Yes, it was. We talked with Greg for probably two hours, at least. At least.

And this was our first two-part podcast. We had so much we had to split it up into two parts, but he's got some great stories. And he can talk.

The boy can talk. You've put a quarter in him, I think. Yeah, how about it? He just wouldn't stop.

But really, some fascinating stuff and some funny stuff. It was a great time with him. So we split it up into two parts.

Part one was kind of the early years of Greg Potter. And part two was his... The Buddy Rich days. The Buddy Rich days.

He now plays with the Buddy Rich Band, which he tells in the interview that he's not trying to be Buddy Rich. Nobody can be Buddy Rich. That's right.

But he gets to play with the band and a lot of the members of the original Buddy Rich Orchestra. And Greg certainly fits the bill. And Buddy's daughter, Kathy Rich, is part of the band.

Right. Kathy Rich puts the whole thing together and is an integral part of the whole thing. Yep.

So if you get a chance, check out the Buddy Rich Band online on Facebook. Check out Greg Potter. You've really definitely got to check out the podcast.

It's quite a unique interview. That's episode 24 and episode 25. 24 and 25.

Episode 26 brings us to Mark Dawson. It was our first phone-in interview, actually. Yeah.

That's right, it was. Yeah. He called us up from Orlando, Florida, where he currently resides.

Mark has played with a number of Chicago bands. Yes, he has. He played with the Dreamer.

He played with Street Kids. Now is the bass player for the Grassroots. And lead singer.

And lead singer for the Grassroots. He's got his own radio program down there every Thursday night. Just look it up on Facebook or on his website.

All the information will be there. He does a lot of private shows. Definitely a lot of private shows.

And then follow after Mark. Hold on. I've got to tell you.

Mark wins, I think, the award for the craziest story. Oh, I forgot about that. You are definitely right.

That was nuts. Yeah. It's a story about an old roadie who, well, check out the podcast.

It's Episode 26. And hear this story that Mark tells us about a roadie who lost their truck. We'll just leave it at that.

Yeah, definitely. Lost the truck. Find out what happened to the truck.

That's right. And to the roadie. And so be sure and check that out.

That's Mark Dawson, Episode 26 of the Rock & Roll Chicago Podcast. Then we had our second phone interview right after Mark. We spoke with Mr. Ronnie Rice.

Ronnie, Ronnie Rice. Yeah, baby. Ronnie's been playing forever.

He played with the New Colony Six. Was the lead singer and songwriter for the New Colony Six for many, many years. And now just does shows on his own with himself, his acoustic guitar.

On his own would be with himself. Yes, well, on his own by himself. By himself on his own.

On his own. Whichever way you want to look at it. And just his acoustic guitar and the audience.

And he knocks out an hour and a half of rock and roll that will blow your mind. Yep. It's really good if you get a chance to see him around here.

He pretty much stays around the Chicagoland area nowadays. He doesn't do a lot of traveling. So you have a very good opportunity to catch him somewhere around here.

You can go to RonnieRice.com. RonnieRice.com. He's also on Facebook. And then finally, we closed out the year with episode 28 with the band Sundance. Yes, the band Sundance, horn band.

We interviewed them right here in our studio at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum. And they were fun. They were a lot of fun.

And man, they've got everything covered. They're doing weddings. They're doing private functions.

They're doing clubs. They're doing festivals. What's left? I don't know, but they've got it covered.

They've got everything covered. And they're really a good band. I saw them here a month or two ago at the Forge here in Joliet.

We're doing a fundraiser for the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. And they were the headlining band for the evening and very entertaining. I'm surprised that I've never crossed paths with them somewhere along the line.

Perhaps I did and didn't realize it. But I didn't know any of the band members. But they've been around since 1980 or so.

The 80s, right. And he said 40 years is coming up. Yeah, but I think they, well, he said they cover a lot of areas.

They do play a lot of areas. But predominantly the southwest suburbs, west suburbs. South side.

The south side, yeah. But they are going up to Huntley for New Year's Eve, they said, because their drummer lives up there. So I guess they're throwing him a bone and going to go up there.

Yes. So, well, that kind of wraps up our first year on our podcast, 28 episodes. I think that's pretty good, Paul.

Yes, it is. And we want to remind everybody, if you've got a band you'd love to hear about, get some insight into, some behind-the-scenes stuff, somebody who you'd just like to hear us interview, be sure and contact us on our Facebook page. Our website.

Drop us an e-mail at info at rockandrollchicago.net. And we'll be sure and get to it and try and get that band contacted. And if you have their contact information, that'd be great. And for some shameless self-promotion, any of you sponsors out there that would like to help out the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast, drop us an e-mail too.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, thank you very much for listening.

This is our year-end review, our year-end review. That's right. And we want to wish everybody a happy New Year.

Happy New Year. We'll see you guys all back in 2020. Thanks for listening.

Thank you. ♪ Chicago, rock and roll, Chicago, my hometown ♪ ♪ Well, I was born in the city, going to rock the city, Chicago ♪