Dave Specter shares stories about the legendary Otis Clay.  He talks about a new track that was produced in honor of Otis and talks about Walk A Mile In My Shoes: A SPACE Tribute to Otis Clay + Tribute Single Release Party. It will be December 1st at 8pm and features an all-star lineup paying tribute to Otis with proceeds benefitting The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

Baseball marketing legend Mike Veeck joins Dave Hoekstra for a World-Series discussion on the Veeck family philosophy of incongruity (exemplified by Harry Caray’s 7th inning stretch), the importance of learning how to listen in business and in life, and his father Bill Veeck’s 1948 World Champion Cleveland Indians team, the gutsy moves of bringing in Satchel Paige and Larry Doby, and more. http://serve.castfire.com/audio/3181304/3181304_2016-10-29-234704.64kmono.mp3%20?ad_params=zones%3DPreroll%7Cstation_id%3D3772.mp3  

Dave Hoekstra talks to Dennise Zaccardi, the Executive Director of Community Television Network, an organization that empowers Chicago youth with training in video and multimedia production.  Aaron Bradshaw and D’Angelo Smith participated in the program and shared their experience of learning and being able to express themselves through video. The also talked about  Hard Cover’s 30th Anniversary party and show at the brand new CANTV studios, featuring the fabulous Chicago comedian Dave Helem and Chicago Sun Times columnist Mary Mitchell […]

In this podcast exclusive -Rick Sherry and Joel Paterson from Devil in a Woodpile join Dave Hoekstra to talk about their POWOPA! Event.  POWOPA = PuttinOut Without PA.  They discussed their time playing with blues legend Honeyboy Edwards.  They also perform the song Easy Ridin’ Mama and go into the instrumentation behind it.  Dave finds out how the environment and place feed into the music.  They also perform Stove Pipe Blues. POWOPA is a new all-day festival brought to you […]

Dave Hoekstra visits with guitarist and singer/songwriter Jon Dee Graham in this segment from this summer’s American Music Festival at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn.  Graham discusses the festival and it’s audience’s willingness to listen to a variety of music, his own approach to his work with an emphasis on total commitment, growing up on the Texas/Mexico border, collaborating with Susan Cowsill and more.  

South Chicago power-pop outfit The Bedbugs pay a visit to the Nocturnal Journal to play a few live tunes and talk about the band’s origins in the neighborhood’s steel mill, the music scene in that oft-overlooked part of the city, their influences that range from the Beatles to 10,000 Maniacs, and continuing to add new dimensions to the band over the course of a 30-plus year history.   The Bedbugs are Mario Zavala (vocals and guitar), Jenny and Samantha Hunt […]

Dave Hoekstra talks with LA-based singer, songwriter and producer Ben Vaughn about his long musical pedigree and some of the prolific figures he’s worked with over the years.  He talks about the underappreciated work of The Morells/ and Skeletons and how Lou Whitney helped him unlock his own songwriting potential; unearthing and producing a comeback album for the late Arthur Alexander; harnessing the “late night blues” with Alex Chilton and Alan Vega, and more.  

Dave Hoekstra talks with Toure Muhammad, of Black Chicago Eats, a directory of black-owned restaurants and eateries, providing info on roughly 100 spots with a wide array of food offerings.  He talks about his favorite culinary experiences growing up as a South Shore native, the evolving definition of soul food, and efforts to make it more health-conscious, the site’s efforts to emphasize the importance of marketing to restaurant owners, and more.  

Dave Hoekstra talks with Iowa State student and intern Josie Burgett about Farm Her, an organization with the mission of changing the image of agriculture, by showcasing women’s contributions at the forefront of the industry.  She talks about Farm Her’s GROW sessions that provide education and networking to get young girls interested in farming, her own family’s background in the swine industry, the value of a great mentor in learning the trade, how farming works best as a “family affair” […]

Musician Phil Angotti and author Robert Rodriguez join Dave Hoekstra for a conversation on the lasting influence of the Beatles’ ‘Revolver’, which turned 50 this month.  Phil talks about his early exposure to the band, the lost art of power-pop and his various Beatles cover projects which place emphasis on the detail of the music, rather than “suits and wigs. Rodriguez, author of Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock ‘n’ Roll discusses why it took time for people to recognize […]