Chicago clubs want cover bands—but where does that leave original artists? Zacky Manic spent almost 10 years making Mood Swing, re-recording songs as his singing, guitar playing and production skills improved.
Zacky joins Pete Jansons and Bongo Mike to talk grunge roots (he heard Nirvana at two years old), running the studio at Harper College, why Chicago clubs book cover bands over original acts, his struggle to get booking emails answered, and the story behind his song "Butt Rock."
Plus: the greatest grunge singer of all time, seeing Korn at Alpine Valley as a kid, and the Pop-Tarts debate.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: Why "Butt Rock"?
0:49 Zacky Manic – Butt Rock (official video)
4:37 Hogpod intro
4:47 Harper, the home studio and 10 years on Mood Swing
9:49 Grunge roots: Nirvana at two
12:27 What is grunge? The Seattle sound
18:02 Ten years to make Mood Swing
19:12 Building a band
21:10 Booking original music in Chicago
24:00 Covers vs. originals
27:12 Tribute picks and the Green Day voice
28:37 How he writes songs
32:07 Chicago loves cover bands
34:58 "I'll do it myself"
36:18 Instagram, Spotify, TikTok
39:39 Greatest grunge singer of all time
41:40 Velvet Revolver, Spoonman, Temple of the Dog
44:06 Why call it Butt Rock?
44:58 First concert: Beach Boys, then Korn at Alpine Valley
47:50 Favorite movie: Silence of the Lambs
50:25 The white van speaker scam
52:00 Pop-Tarts, toasted or not
53:09 Outro
TOPICS: grunge, original music, Chicago cover band scene, home recording, booking gigs, Layne Staley, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Korn
ZACKY MANIC
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/zackymanic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4dNmXG7aCKKPF6vNTFTXyA
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/zacky-manic/1887815964
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zackymanic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zackymanic
Butt Rock (official video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BK3txbkfs
HOSTS
Pete Jansons
Mike "Bongo" Orfanos
Subscribe to HOG POD for more Chicago music conversations, and follow Zacky through the links above.
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hogpod
Be a guest or book us: booking@hogpod.org
Join the email list: https://hogpodlist.subscribepage.io
#Hogpod #ChicagoMusic #Grunge

Casper Alexander — the Peoria-raised rapper, stage manager and promoter behind CHISongwriter — says 400,000 TikTok followers don't mean much at the door. He's spent 15 years booking, performing and building shows, and he's seen the gap between online clout and real ticket sales firsthand.

Casper stage-managed the Mosquitoes' set at this summer's Lincolnwood fest, and now he's on the other side of the mic. We get into the 319/309 Tour across central Iowa and Illinois, why booking in Peoria is harder than Chicago, what 10 years of 309Fest taught him about selling sponsors, why he went from AI skeptic to using it as a blueprint, how COVID pushed him into full-time freelance, Drake vs. Kendrick vs. the '90s — and a lightning round that settles toasted vs. untoasted Pop-Tarts.

🎯 KEY MOMENTS

0:00 Cold open — 400K followers vs. the door

1:57 CHISongwriter performance

7:17 Stage-managing Chicago's summer fest season

9:05 Riot Fest storms & the mud problem

11:40 Bongo's rain-boot rule

12:43 The 319/309 Tour

13:44 Iowa City vs. Peoria — Gabe's & hometown venues

16:38 Chicago vs. Peoria — town politics & cancel culture

18:36 400K followers vs. ticket sales

19:30 Rapper vs. band — who pays the players?

21:40 AI in songwriting — from skeptic to blueprint

24:11 Data centers, water & the power grid

26:38 309Fest — 10 years, 8 editions

28:28 Selling sponsors — pride & mental health

30:08 The three sponsorship tiers

32:43 Booking politics & security

33:29 "Why should you be on this show?"

35:24 COVID → full-time freelance

36:39 Cubby Bear story — East Coast vs. West Coast

37:30 Drake vs. Kendrick today

40:01 What's next — "What's for me will be for me"

41:53 Acting & modeling — Smashburger, All Steel

44:56 CHISongwriter.com & artist consulting

45:57 One song won't sell out the Garden

46:32 Lightning round — first concert, favorite movie, Pop-Tarts

50:14 Wrap

📍 Chicago - Peoria - Iowa City - 309Fest - CHISongwriter - Hip-Hop - Independent Artists - Stage Management - Festival Production - Riot Fest - Live Music

🎤 Guest Links — Casper Alexander

Website: https://www.chisongwriter.com/

X: https://x.com/CHISongwriter

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHISongwriter

❤️ Support Hogpod — https://www.patreon.com/hogpod

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

📞 Booking — booking@hogpod.org

#CasperAlexander #CHISongwriter #ChicagoMusic #PeoriaMusic #309Fest #ChicagoHipHop #IndependentArtist #StageManager #RiotFest #DrakeVsKendrick #AIMusic #LiveMusic #ChicagoMusicScene #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #Hogpod

What happens when a Chicago singer takes Ratt's "Round and Round" and drops Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" right on top of it? The guys cheer, their faces fall, the girlfriends rush the stage, and by the chorus the whole room is back.Casey Torrey fronts Remix Riot, a Chicagoland festival band that mashes rock and metal anthems with pop hits. Think "Smoke on the Water" under Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." She also sings in Acousticatz, her duo with pianist and guitarist Eric Floden.Casey tells Pete and Bongo Mike about the mashup she "hated and loved at the same time," how Remix Riot came together with Dan Banker, Larry Neubauer, TJ Wilkes and Randy, why music purists don't always love the mashup idea, and how she went from Tennessee church soloist to Monster Jam regular to one of the busiest voices in the Chicago scene.Plus: the Coterie charity shows, a Slayer tribute that sounded like one very long song, Dolly Parton's time-capsule song, Prince's vault, Def Leppard in the round, Lord of the Rings in Legos, Steven Tyler's lyric monitors, and the Pop-Tarts question.🎯 KEY MOMENTS00:00 The mashup she hated and loved02:03 Remix Riot live mashups05:20 Meet Casey Torrey06:00 The Coterie & Mike Dermont08:35 Acousticatz with Eric Floden09:17 What is Remix Riot? Smoke on the Water + Poker Face10:43 From Blue Sirens to Acousticatz11:54 Bongo's tambourine gets confiscated13:16 Why Chicago musicians support each other15:33 How Casey caught the music bug16:18 Monster Jam & her first band, Pet Rock18:03 Dolly Parton's time-capsule song19:36 Prince's vault21:24 Gatlinburg, stick shifts & Chicago people23:38 COVID collabs & Amy Grant24:34 Johnny Cash, the Man in Black25:18 How Remix Riot was born27:28 How they pick the mashups28:45 Devil Went Down to Georgia + Summer of '6930:04 Ratt meets Katy Perry at the Vixen32:04 A rocked-up "Royals" & the guitar-solo payoff33:26 Run-DMC, Aerosmith & "Walk This Way"36:15 Purists vs. mashups37:19 "Is this the same song?" A Slayer tribute38:04 Sampling & borrowing chords39:28 "When I sing, I make people happy"40:37 Cover bands complaining about covers42:06 Broken Peach & being first44:36 Congrats on the engagement45:52 De Beers, Blood Diamond & a lab-grown ring47:35 Bongo's serious questions47:59 First concert: Def Leppard in the round51:00 Worst concert & Pete's Aerosmith '8453:51 Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings in Legos56:57 Pop-Tarts: love 'em or hate 'em?58:05 Steven Tyler's lyric monitors1:00:30 Where to see Casey next📍 TOPICS IN THIS EPISODECasey Torrey - Remix Riot - Acousticatz - rock pop mashups - Chicago music - Chicagoland music scene - live music - cover bands - the Coterie - Def Leppard - Ratt - Katy Perry - Aerosmith - Run-DMC - Dolly Parton - Lord of the Rings🎤 FEATURED LINKSRemix Riothttps://remixriotband.comhttps://www.facebook.com/remixriothttps://www.instagram.com/remixriotmusichttps://www.youtube.com/@RemixRiotBandhttps://www.tiktok.com/@remix.riotAcousticatzhttps://www.facebook.com/purrcatzNext up: Acousticatz, Fri Oct 9 at Reefpoint Brew House, Racine WIRemix Riot returns for the 2027 festival season❤️ SUPPORT HOGPODhttps://www.patreon.com/hogpod🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons with Bongo Mike📞 BOOKINGbooking@hogpod.org#Hogpod #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #CaseyTorrey #RemixRiot #Acousticatz #Mashup #ChicagoMusic #ChicagolandMusic #LiveMusic