The Flock – Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Class of 2026.
Backstage at the Harris Theater in Chicago on induction night, Sept. 27, 2026, original members of The Flock and today's line-up sit down with Pete Jansons and Bongo Mike to tell the story, 50 years later.
How a suburban high-school band turned into a jazz-rock band on Columbia Records, how their roadie turned out to be a classically trained violinist, the Kinetic Playground showcase that started a record-label bidding war, opening night at the Olympia in Paris, the big festivals, and the day Led Zeppelin's crew pulled the plug on them at the Bath Festival.
Plus: the kid who grew up across the street from the band's house and ended up playing in it, and how The Flock came back together for Ravinia and the Hall of Fame.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold open: Led Zeppelin pulled the plug
0:57 The Flock live
3:12 Hogpod intro
3:22 Backstage at the Harris Theater: how The Flock got in
5:57 Original members, 50 years later
7:50 Eleven musicians on stage tonight
8:36 How it started: the roadie who played violin, the Kinetic Playground, the record deal
16:15 Opening night at the Olympia in Paris and the big festivals
18:22 Everyone they played with, and Bath 1970
20:48 Jimi Hendrix walks into The Scene
21:49 The kid across the street: how The Flock came back
26:49 A harmonica player joins The Flock
27:30 From The Mauds to The Flock
28:47 Soul Machine, Spencer Davis and the Aragon
33:48 "We really should be awarding the fans"
34:03 Outro
TOPICS: The Flock, Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2026, Harris Theater, Chicago jazz rock, 1960s Chicago bands, Kinetic Playground, Columbia Records, Olympia Paris, Bath Festival 1970, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Ravinia
HOSTS
Pete Jansons
Mike "Bongo" Orfanos
Subscribe to HOG POD for more Chicago music conversations.
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 #TheFlock

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