Dave Hoekstra visits with Chicago-born singer/songwriter/musician Nicholas Tremulis, who talks about his new club venture The Blue Nocturne, an intimate space in the basement of the Chopin Theatre in Wicker Park, his path through addiction and sobriety with friend Ivan Neville, the evolution of protest music, and stories from over three decades on the stage with a deep rolodex of music cohorts.

Dave Hoekstra welcomes David Brown, Chief Preservation Officer and EVP of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Mike Gassman, CEO of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Inc.; they pay tribute to a titan in the field of preservation in the U.S., former keeper of the National Registry Dr. William Murtagh, who died in October at the age of 95.  They discuss Murtagh’s process for designation, which included input from local communities and consideration for how sites fit in the […]

Dave Hoekstra visits with Molly McGown, events coordinator at the new U.S Pizza Museum, now at the Roosevelt Collection (1146 Delano Ct. West).  She talks about how the whole thing came together and the competing projects from around the country, why Chicago’s diverse pizza style offerings make it a prime spot for the museum and various pizza summits, they type of artifacts, media, and interactive exhibits are on display, and more.

Dave Hoekstra visits with Jim Musselman, founder of folk label Appleseed Recordings, which is celebrating it’s 21st anniversary with Roots and Branches, a 3 CD, 57-song set of new and old recordings from the annals of American music history from artists like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne, and more.  Musselman discusses how the label  grew of out his work as an attorney with Ralph Nader and a trip through war-torn Northern Ireland, and […]

Dave Hoekstra talks with Cliff Froehlich, executive director at Cinema St. Louis, who previews the St. Louis International Film Festival which runs November 1-11 in the Gateway City.  They discuss the festival’s mission to expose the local region to a slate of great films to which they might not otherwise have exposure, finding the right balance for the growing number of documentary submissions sent in, and what’s going on at the festival at large, including Dave’s own film The Center of Nowhere, about the rich musical heritage of Springfield, MO and the Ozarks.

Dave Hoekstra visits with singer-songwriter and producer Gurf Morlix, who’s appearing at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn on Tuesday night, October 30th.  He talks about the influence of his friendship with late Faces keyboardist Ian McLagen  and his professional relationship with Lucinda Williams, his participation with Ethan Hawke’s upcoming film ‘Blaze’, about the late songwriter Blaze Foley and how rare it is to find authenticity in Hollywood-style biopics, his new album ‘The Soul and the Heal’, and more.

Dave Hoekstra visits with writer/director David Rice, and actor Christian Gray of the First Folio Theatre production The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe.  They discuss the unique nature of the show, which is an interactive experience inside the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, bringing Poe’s work to life in an intimate setting and how such a tight venue affects the approach to performing.  Gray, who portrays Poe, also talks about tapping into such a complex historical figure, and more. […]

Dave Hoekstra and Andrea Thome visit with Matthew Barlow, brand manager at Wisconsin’s Kaukauna Cheese, which is celebrating 100 years as a leading source of spreadable cheese, cheese balls, cheese logs and more.  They discuss the product’s place in Midwest culinary history and the Wisconsin supper club scene, staying true to local dairy farmers and the authentic Wisconsin cheddar flavor, and more.

Dave Hoekstra visits with author and former TV journalist Andrea Thome, who talks about her efforts to fight  carcinogenic pollution from the Sterigenics chemical plant in Willowbrook, why she has taken such a personal stake in the battle, how the Illinois legislature fits into the discussion, and more.  She also talks about her career writing romantic novels, and working as a TV news/sports reporter in Cleveland, where she met her husband, beloved HOF slugger Jim Thome.

Dave Hoekstra visits with Will Freeman, Professor of Physical Education at Grinnell College in Iowa, who completed a summer-long cross country road trip in a Morgan 3 Wheeler.  Freeman discusses the mission for the trip, which ties into a course he’s teaching and a book he’s working on with the focus on rediscovering the American dream through an intimate road experience.  He also talks about the 3 Wheeler, that was hand-built in England, and covering over 16,000 miles and the 48 contiguous states in such an unconventional vehicle.