Mark and Tom are excited to have Frank Turner join for this episode. They talk about his upcoming visit to Chicago to play Riot Fest, his opening gig for Bruce Springsteen, his thoughts on songwriters Jeff Tweedy, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, his Lost Evenings festival in Anaheim, CA, his favorite Chicago music venue, his relentless touring and much more.

Deanna Belos joins Mark and Tom to talk about her great Chicago punk band Sincere Engineer. Mark and Tom talk about her love of The Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio, the upcoming Lollapalooza slot, the Sandburg Eagles and the best things about Chicago.

Leor Galil is a senior staff writer for the Chicago Reader and has written there for a dozen years. His work as a freelance culture and music journalist has appeared in numerous publications, including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone.com, The Washington Post, Forbes.com and many others. He joins Mark and Tom to talk about what it's like being a journalist these days, what he sees in the Chicago music scene and all the things he loves about Chicago!

Mark and Tom talk with Beverly Rage (vocals/guitar) from queer garage-pop band Bev Rage and the Drinks in the latest episode of the No Wristbands podcast. They cover Bev's musical journey from Canton, Ohio to Chicago, what it's like playing original music in drag and the challenges presented by today's political environment. And as always, they cover Bev's favorite Chicago things!

Join Mark and Tom for another After Hours episode. This time OK Cool joins to talk about their new EP Fawn and their upcoming tour.

Tom and Mark talk with long-time Chicago musician Brian Case in the latest episode. They talk about his musical history with 90 Day Men, The Ponys and Disappears. They also get into detail with his current band FACS and their new record Still Life In Decay. Brian also talks about record labels, touring and his son's band Lifeguard. And, as usual, all things Chicago!

Glenn Kotche of Wilco joins Mark and Tom. They talk about how he got started as a drummer, his early career, meeting Jim O'Rourke, playing in Loose Fur, joining Wilco , his solo projects and a whole lot more. Of course, they also talk about Chicago, too.

Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquist of Ok Cool, a rising Chicago indie band, joins Mark and Tom on the pod. They cover their upcoming EP “Fawn” as well as diving into their creative process, and as always, talk all things Chicago.

Bruce Adam’s joins Wade and Tom this one. Bruce co-founded kranky records and recently authored a wonderful book, You're with Stupid: kranky, Chicago, and the Reinvention of Indie Music. We talk about Bruce's early history working at Kaleidoscope, Touch and Go and Cargo Records. They also cover his history with kranky records and then talk about how he came to writing You're with Stupid.

Bill Roe of Trouble In Mind Records joins Mark and Tom for episode #25. Bill and his spouse Lisa played together in the garage band CoCoComa and in 2009 they started releasing records on their Trouble In Mind label. They are still busy putting out great stuff today. Bill shares with them what it's like to run a record label, what music he's listening to and, of course, what he loves about Chicago.

Dan Ozzi, author of the national bestseller SELLOUT - The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994-2007. He also co-authored (with Laura Jane Grace) TRANNY - Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout. He joins Mark and Tom to talk about those books, how he got started as a music writer and his thoughts on Chicago. Plus he shares his love of soda!

John Rossiter of Young Jesus joins Tom and Mark to talk about his latest release Shepherd Head, as well as his 2020 record Welcome to Conceptual Beach. They discuss his songwriting process and how his music has evolved. And, of course, they talked about all things Chicago, including his upcoming show Sunday, November 27th at Sleeping Village

Peter Gill, leader of the band 2nd Grade and guitar player in the band Friendship, joins Mark and Tom to talk about his music history, his songwriting and their upcoming shows on 11/15 at The Empty Bottle and 11/16 at Space. And, of course, his favorite things about Chicago!

Journalist/author Bob Mehr joins Mark and Tom to talk about our favorite rock book, Trouble Boys. He shares stories about The Replacements and what it took to write the book. He also talks about writing the liner notes for the new Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th anniversary release. And, of course, we chat with the former Chicago Reader critic about what he likes about Chicago.

In the inaugural episode of No Wristbands! After Hours, Andy Weber updates us on all the cool things that are happening at Smashed Plastic . We talk about the latest developments in the vinyl business, their new partnership with Jeff Tweedy and the upcoming music fest - Smashed Plastic Live Vol. 1 on October 1st, 2022.

Johnny Marriott from the UK punk band Pet Needs shares some great stories about their recent extended US tour with Frank Turner and The Bronx. Tom and Mark talk about the band’s 2021 album Fractured Party Music and their upcoming new one Primetime Entertainment. Johnny also reveals his favorite Chicago pizza of course!

Ben Quad joins Mark and Tom to discuss the excitement surrounding their new album “I’m Scared That’s All There Is”, why finger pointing at shows proves to them that they are making it, and their journey thus far.

Tony Assimos knows what it takes to run an independent record store. He opened Tone Deaf Records in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago in 2019. He talks to Mark and Tom about the good times and the challenges, including navigating COVID with a new business. As always he talks to the guys about what he loves about Chicago, too.

Tom and Mark sit down with Jon Ginoli to discuss his musical journey from his jangly power pop band The Outnumbered in Champaign, IL to his openly gay punk rock band Pansy Division in San Francisco. They talk about touring with Green Day, what Jon's musical future looks like and, of course, some of his favorite memories of Chicago.

Snow Ellet woke up one day to find that Pitchfork had given his 2021 EP Suburban Indie Rock Star a fabulous 7.1 rating. He joins Mark and Tom on the pod to talk about how he made that record, the impact of the Pitchfork review and his new EP Glory Days.