If you've spent any time in the Chicago tribute scene, you've probably seen Chris "C-Bob" Bobrowski on a stage somewhere — Rok Brigade, Super Unknown, Ten, No More Tears, No More Faith, and roughly ten other projects depending on the weekend.

C-Bob returns to Hogpod with Pete Jansons and Bongo Mike for a wide-ranging one: AI and musicianship, the Chicago tribute scene, shrinking attention spans, David Lee Roth, legacy bands with zero original members, and Reggie's full-album Halloween shows — all circling the big question underneath: is live music becoming a dying art form, or is it just changing?

Plus the Long Grove bridge that's been hit 75 times, C-Bob's line of the night — "Everybody wants to be a rock star; they just don't want to pay for it" — and the reveal that the man has roughly 28,000 albums catalogued in Excel and backed up on a NAS.

🎯 KEY MOMENTS

00:00 An AI companion sings C-Bob the Lane Tech fight song

00:46 Two Lane Tech alums reconnect — room 144 & the drafting-to-engineer path

03:02 Welcome back — and congrats, C-Bob married Amy

03:47 The Coterie's comeback & the one-hit-wonders scene

05:20 Herding 30 musicians — the Wolfie jams & how these events come together

07:58 In memoriam: Peter Katsis — Ministry, Riviera & The Firm

09:45 C-Bob's 15 bands — Rok Brigade, Super Unknown, Ten & No More Tears

13:08 The Long Grove bridge that's been hit 75 times

15:30 Reggie's Halloween full-album night — Ten does Pearl Jam's "Vs."

17:10 Rock House — the band playing what nobody else plays

19:13 Why the Discord jam ended — Andrew Blake takes the torch

22:00 Orland Park fest, the rain & Wedding Band at 25 years

25:55 Ronnie Platt — Shooting Star to Kansas

34:58 AI & musicianship — "a tool, not a creative element"

37:16 Glenn Hansard, "Falling Slowly" & the live-music conversation

43:57 Can AI replace the musician? The synthesizer question

47:14 Are younger fans still coming out to live shows?

51:11 Is live music a dying art form?

51:53 "Everybody wants to be a rock star" — nobody wants the 10,000 hours

55:34 Keeping people engaged — video walls, medleys & showmanship

1:01:11 "Nobody watches the whole thing" — the Shorts game

1:07:03 Old bands with zero original members — the Ship of Theseus

1:07:59 David Lee Roth: showman, not singer

1:10:44 Rapid fire — favorite new band, Jerry Garcia & getting old

1:14:15 28,000 albums, an Excel list & a triple-backed NAS

📍 Chicago music - Chicagoland music scene - tribute bands - Rok Brigade - Ten - Super Unknown - AI and musicianship - David Lee Roth - Ship of Theseus - live music - Reggie's - Pearl Jam - Chicago tribute bands

🎤 FEATURED LINKS

Rok Brigade — Def Leppard tribute

https://rokbrigadeband.com/

/ rokbrigadechicago

Ten — Pearl Jam tribute

https://tenchicago.com/

/ tenpearljam

Super Unknown — Chris Cornell / Soundgarden / Audioslave / Temple of the Dog

https://super-unknown.com/

❤️ Support Hogpod on Patreon

/ hogpod

🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons and Mike "Bongo" Orfanos (Bongo Mike)

📞 Booking — booking@hogpod.org

#Hogpod #ChicagoMusic #ChicagolandMusicScene #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #TributeBands #RokBrigade #LiveMusic #AIMusic #ChicagoMusicScene #PearlJam