Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy (and their musical friends) have definitely tapped into something with this "play R.E.M." thing. Mike & Jason originally started this exercise by playing album sets of some of their favorite artists like Neil Young, The Modern Lovers, The Smiths and more. But when they picked out Murmur by R.E.M. in 2023, the whole concept took off in a big way. After playing Fables of the Reconstruction last year, they are heading out on a big tour playing Lifes Rich Pageant. Both shows at the Metro in Chicago are sold out, but there are plenty of other dates available, including a September show at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. Definitely worth checking them out!

Time stamps

3: How did the musical project come together?

5:21: Are you a big R.E.M. fan?

10: You got R.E.M. together!

11:30: What part did Chicago play in getting this project going?

15:30: What was the reception like as your project started taking off more and more?

19: How did you enjoy Sky Blue Sky?

21:08: There are parallels between acting and singing in a band, but in most cases, you aren't getting an immediate audience response, how do you feel about that difference?

25: Have you had any insights into the difference between the four R.E.M. albums you've covered?

30: Any stories from having spent time with the band?

38: What else do you have going on aside from the upcoming show?

The first Art Brut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, came out in 2005. The buzz started slowly, but then Pitchfork gave it an 8.9 rating and things took off from there. Four more LP's followed from 2007 to 2018. We got a chance to talk with bandleader Eddie Argos about his musical career and his love for Chicago. Art Brut is touring this spring, playing that first record as well as a few more greatest hits. They hit the Subterranean in Chicago on April 15th.

Time Stamps:

2: What are some of your favorite musical memories from growing up?

4: Did you always want to be in a band?

5:30: How did you make your way to London?

9:30: Is it odd for you to feel like the driving force, but you don't play an instrument?

11:30: What was the original plan for Art Brut?

12:30: The Pitchfork review - positive fallout from that review.

16:40: When Bang Bang came out, did it feel like everything was falling into place, or was it more complicated than that?

20:30: Did you feel internal pressure following up Bang Bang Rock & Roll?

24:30: Are you feeling pressure and comparing yourself against your peers in the art-wave scene coming out of London?

26:15: When recording the follow up are you the driving force telling people what your vision is and say we need to make this happen?

27:35: Do you have any regrets or things you'd wished you'd done early during the early stages of the band?

29:30: Did you feel like you had to keep going and couldn't afford to take any time off?

30:25: Being a comic book fan, how has it impacted your music?

32:11: How do you hook up with Frank Black?

37:50: Art Brut is a band that a lot of musicians love, who are some artists that you have been surprised love your band?

39:45: Talk to us about how your upcoming tour came together.

42: What do you love about Chicago?

45:23: Are there plans for any new music?

46:10: What is your writing process like?

47:20: Are you ever surprised by the bands that you've inspired?

49: Thick or thin crust pizza?

50:10: What is your favorite venue to play in Chicago?

52:30: What do you think makes Chicago such a unique music scene?

53:40: What is your go to cheap drink?

54:50: Anything you want to plug on the way on out of here?

John Perrin is an incredible Chicago drummer and has toured or recorded with an impressive list of artists, including NRBQ, JD McPherson, Young Fresh Fellows, The Smoking Popes, Jake La Botz, Rodney Crowell, Jim Boggia, The Hushdrops and many more.

We talk about how he got his first drum set at the age of two and played in his first band with his dad & brother at the age of ten. We also covered his love of record collecting, his incredible New Year's Eve experience and his love of Chicago.

Time Stamps:

1:40: What happened on New Years?

9: How did you find your way into the Chicago music scene?

16:22: Is it by choice that you tend to play with people older than you?

21: NRBQ talk!

25: Who wouldn't want to be friends with Scott McCaughey?

28:50: Tell us your engagement story!

32: Talk to us about the life of a session musician?

41:20: You are about the experience - you want the spontaneity

46: What is a dream project for you?

65:25: Thick or thin crust pizza?

66:40: Favorite venue to play a show and favorite venue to see a show at?

68:14: What makes Chicago so unique as a music town?

70:10: What is your go to cheap drink?

72: What do we have going on over the next couple of months?

Dag Juhlin has done it all - well, almost all. He's been in too many bands to count & played with nearly everyone in the Chicago music community. The Slugs. Poi Dog Pondering. Sunshine Boys. Expo '76. Courtesy Patrol. Young Fresh Fellows. R.E.M. Tribute band. He'll most certainly be playing at a Chicago club near you very soon!!!

Time stamps:

3:13: When did you know you wanted to be a musician?

10:17: Were The Slugs your first "real" band?

14: What's your best Kenn Goodman story?

16:27: There was a big Chicago DIY scene in the 80s. Who did you play with?

18:30: How did you take to songwriting?

24:30: Do you know what project you are writing for when you write a song?

29: How did you make it into Jason Narducy's orbit?

37:11: You reunited R.E.M.!

41: Is it hard to set aside time for all your disparate activities?

42:13: How did you end up in Poi Dog Pondering?

52: Let's talk music docs!

60:21: Thick or thin crust pizza fan?

64:45: Favorite venue to see a show, and favorite venue to play?

72:55: What makes Chicago a unique music scene?

74: What is your go-to cheap drink?

76: What do you want to plug on the way on out of here?

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?

50:45: What are some Chicago bands that are near and dear to your heart?

52:30: What is your go to cheap drink?

54: What are you excited about coming up over the next couple of months?

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?

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?

55:05: Favorite venue to see a show and favorite venue to play a show?

56: What makes Chicago music scene unique?

58: How did the of1000faces project come to be?

59:48: What is your go to cheap drink?

61:20: Anything you'd like to plug on the way on out of here?

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?

45: What keeps you going with Sound Opinions?

48:44: Thick or thin crust pizza fans?

51:45: What are some of your favorite venues to see shows at in Chicago?