Car Con Carne

HellsGate Haunted House owner, operator, and designer John LaFlamboy returns to Car Con Carne alongside also-recurring guests John and Maria from Chicago band clubdrugs. We recap this year's HellsGate adventure and get awesome insight from LaFlamboy about the experience. Call it a post-mortem, if you will…

We get into all the behind-the-scenes background of the immersive HellsGate experience, starting with the showstopper of the season: the brand-new CLOWN CAROUSEL. LaFlamboy details the seventeen years of planning, and mechanical engineering required to pull off the rotating nightmare, complete with period-accurate 1920s Art Deco trim, counter-rotating canopies, and German circus clown death masks. We also discuss the aftermath of the severe late-summer tornado that swept through the 66-acre grounds, downing power lines and uprooting over 80 mature trees while miraculously sparing the outdoor sets.

We also talk about how LaFlamboy shadows guest groups to direct his 150 to 200 actors in real time, and how he pre-builds and designs the haunt's upcoming sets using Lego models (no, seriously). We hit on several HellsGate highlights, including the disorienting, brain-breaking realism of the swamp, the claustrophobic coats-in-the-closet room, and the hilarious consequences of taking a wrong turn mid-haunt and facing a chorus of actors yelling "Shame!" (That was me. Whoops.). Plus, John reveals his alter ego, "Earl"—a full-silicone creature suit he wears exclusively on Wednesdays to cause chaos by navigating the entire haunt backward, interacting only with the props.

Car Con Carne is sponsored by Exploding House Printing in Hermosa. Jonathan and the team deliver boutique-quality screen printing, embroidery, and merchandise for bands, brands, and small businesses at large print shop prices. Get a quote at explodinghouseprinting.com or check out their work on Instagram at @explodinghouse.

Chicago's premier monster band, The Ooozin Ahhhs, crawl into the car for an annual Halloween interview tradition. Parked outside Gene & Jude's in River Grove, we chow down on hot dogs and fries while breaking down their hectic spooky season schedule.

The very-scary band talks about their upcoming live shows, rehearsals, and impending brand-new original tunes. Plus, they provide a terrifying live performance crafted specifically for the podcast.

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Exploding House Printing handles all your screen printing, embroidery, and merchandise needs. Headquartered in Chicago's Hermosa neighborhood, they specialize in boutique quality at large-shop efficiency for local bands, brands, and small businesses. Get a quote at explodinghouseprinting.com

Veteran concert photographer Bobby Talamine talks about his excellent new book, Femmes: At Full Volume, a photo collection celebrating women who have shaped modern music.

Bobby and James talk about the art of visual storytelling, the power of physical books in an increasingly digital world, and the stories behind some of the book's standout images. From enduring a torrential downpour to capture Lorde at Lollapalooza to shooting electric moments with artists like PJ Harvey, Karen O, Brittany Howard, Peaches, and Mavis Staples, Bobby breaks down what it takes to catch lightning in a bottle through the lens.

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at exploding house printing dot com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their clients.

Chicago singer-songwriter Kelsey Montanez makes her first appearance on the podcast, to introduce her new alt-rock project: CHANNELS. Bandmates Hannah and Jesse joined in for a chat outside an Evanston Starbucks.

Discussed in this episode: Kelsey talks through her evolution as an artist

How CHANNELS came together through shared musical chemistry, philosophical debates, and a mutual love of tarot

The story behind Kelsey's moody single "Big Machine" and her unconventional songwriting methods

Drawing inspiration from bands like Interpol, Queens of the Stone Age, and Hole

Upcoming singles including "Isolation," studio sessions, and live shows at venues like Cubby Bear

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at explodinghouseprinting.com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their many happy clients.

Tanner Dane hops in the car while parked in Wicker Park to talk about turning a canceled summer tour into one of the most exciting grassroots live music movements in Chicago.

After his initial plans fell through, Tanner took matters into his own hands, launching spontaneous, pop-up Tuesday night acoustic performances along the Chicago lakefront, eventually settling in near the AIDS Garden. What began as an effort to get back to the basics exploded across TikTok, drawing massive crowds, the attention of Chicago Park District officials, and even an encounter with the police that ended with a citation, a complimentary officer, and pro-bono lawyers stepping in to help.

In this episode, we cover:

• Building community through lakefront pop-ups and leveraging TikTok to connect directly with fans.

• Transitioning from his band Hollyy into a deeply personal solo project.

• Collaborating with Chicago rock veterans Scott Lucas (Local H), Blake Smith (Fig Dish, Caviar), and drummer Jason Batchko.

• The inspiration behind the post-breakup single "Hardest Lessons Learned".

• Growing up on Stax, Motown, and classic soul records.

• Securing a major label record deal and gearing up for his first ticketed, headline hometown show at Schubas on November 5.

Sponsor Spotlight: Exploding House Printing

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery, and other merchandising needs. They are local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. If you are a band, an artist, a small business, or a brand, they can handle your t-shirts and merch from top to bottom. Jonathan at Exploding House has been screen printing for decades and brings boutique print shop quality at large print shop prices. Check out their work on Instagram at @explodinghouse, or visit explodinghouseprinting.com to request a quote.

Sitting in the car outside a Mount Prospect Dunkin', James catches up with solo electronic/industrial artist I Ya Toyah to discuss music, tour survival, and staying grounded in an image-obsessed world.

Key Episode Highlights

• Tour Discipline & Balance: I Ya Toyah explains her strict approach to touring, going completely sober on the road to protect her stamina and vocal health, while contrasting it with her everyday love for sweets and evening cocktails.

• The Message Behind "Closer": She breaks down why she covered Nine Inch Nails' iconic song. Rather than just paying homage, she used it to confront modern culture's obsession with perfection, metrics, surveillance, and how people lose themselves trying to measure up.

• The "One-Woman Army" Ethos: I Ya Toyah discusses running her independent label, Famme Fatale Records, sharing why maintaining full creative control is essential to her authenticity, avoiding label formulas designed to pump out repetitive trends.

• Mental Health & The Bracelet Project: Addressing how creative work serves as therapy, I Ya Toyah details her direct suicide prevention outreach. She creates and personally mails free suicide prevention bracelets stamped with the 988 lifeline to fans, sharing stories of how these tokens have sparked life-saving conversations in public.

• What's Next: Looking ahead to a winter UK tour, I Ya Toyah reveals details about her upcoming single "White Walls" (dropping October 10 for World Mental Health Day), which concludes a thematic single trilogy leading into a new spoken-word and poetry-infused EP.

Exploding House Printing is here for all your screen printing, embroidery, and merch needs. Headquartered locally in Hermosa, Jonathan has been delivering boutique print shop quality at large print shop prices for decades, serving bands, brands, and small businesses alike. Find them on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse or visit exploding house printing dot com for a quote.

Is the modern comic book market spiraling back into the speculator madness of the 1990s? Patrick Brower, co-owner of Chicago's award-winning Challengers Comics + Conversation in Bucktown, joins James in the car to break down today's comics retail landscape.

Together, they dig into the explosion of variant covers, blind bags, and modern "what if" blockbusters like Absolute Batman. Patrick traces the structural shocks that reshaped the entire industry, from the collapse of Diamond Comic Distributors to the logistical hurdles comic shops face working with massive book distributors like Penguin Random House. They also discuss CGC grading obsession, the difference between modern readers and 90s-era investment collectors, and the unbeatable joy of digging through dollar bins for hidden gems.

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. They're local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. Reach out to them to partner on your t-shirts, merch, whatever - their focus is on small businesses, bands, brands, and everything in between. http://www.explodinghouseprinting.com

In this episode, Car Con Carne heads to Joliet for a special live conversation from inside the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 (9 W. Cass St.). Founder Ron Romero joins me to preview the 2026 Illinois Rock & Roll Museum Hall of Fame induction ceremony taking place Sunday, September 27, at the Harris Theater in Chicago.

Ron breaks down the extensive public nomination and voting process, how the museum preserves and documents Illinois music history across all genres, and new initiatives like the upcoming Amplify Illinois project (which I agreed to help with). We dive into this year's stacked class of inductees and honorees, including Terri Hemmert, Plain White T's, Jim Peterik, Kevin Cronin, Koko Taylor, The Flock, The Boyzz, Curtis Mayfield, WDRV (The Drive), and Brunswick Records. Plus, Ron shares stories about the museum's roots, the all-star house band, and what fans can expect on induction night.

Tickets and event details are available at roadtorock.org.

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Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs.

They're local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. Here's why I want you to consider them for your t-shirts, merch, whatever - their focus is on small businesses, bands, brands, and everything in between.

They've worked on products for Meat Wave, Empty Bottle, the Music Box, Dante's Pizzeria, the Brokedowns, and the list goes on and on.

Jonathan at Exploding House has been doing screen printing for decades. He knows what he's doing - besides his technical expertise, he delivers production efficiency and cost awareness to offer boutique print shop quality at much lower, large print shop prices. Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at exploding house printing dot com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their clients.

For this episode, I caught up with Dogs With Hats founder/frontman Sam Shrier outside Beat Kitchen to talk about the band's rapid rise, creative evolution, and upcoming plans.

Sam details how Dogs with Hats grew from a solo bedroom recording project into a tight, hard-touring unit, as well as the organic recording sessions at Palisade Studios for their debut EP Lampshades at the Party. We also get into the impact of their infectious song "Almost Famous," navigating major-label interest on DIY terms, and why staying committed to craft and full-length album cohesion matters far more than feeding the modern release algorithm.

Dogs with Hats plays Beat Kitchen on November 12.

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Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. They're local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. Here's why I want you to consider them for your t-shirts, merch, whatever - their focus is on small businesses, bands, brands, and everything in between.

They've worked on products for Meat Wave, Empty Bottle, the Music Box, Dante's Pizzeria, the Brokedowns, and the list goes on and on. Jonathan at Exploding House has been doing screen printing for decades. He knows what he's doing - besides his technical expertise, he delivers production efficiency and cost awareness to offer boutique print shop quality at much lower, large print shop prices.

Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at exploding house printing dot com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their clients.

I sat down with singer-songwriter Savanna Ruth outside Dunkin' Donuts over iced caffeinated beverages to talk about her forthcoming album, The Baseball Diaries.

After years performing as Burr Oak, Savanna decided to wipe the slate clean and step into a new creative chapter under her own name. We talk about the breakthrough moment of writing "Bad Thoughts," turning the raw fallout of a major breakup into vulnerable and relatable songs, and why artists have to give themselves permission to change direction entirely.

We also dive into what it was like working with co-producers Scott Lucas (Local H) and Blake Smith (Fig Dish, Caviar), alongside drummer Jason Batchko. Savanna breaks down how that powerhouse team pushed her to dig deeper, sharpen her lyrics, and deliver an unapologetic record. Plus, we get into the Jim Carroll inspiration behind the album title and why putting the full record out on vinyl via Easy Does It Records matters so much.

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Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. Check them out at explodinghouseprinting.com!