QC Uncut - QuadCities.com

For my 100th episode of the QCUncut podcast, I went back to the beginning, with the same guest I had on episode number one — Mike Thoms. At the time of our first episode, Mike was running for Mayor of Rock Island, and was the first in our series of interviews with the people running for the office at the time. Now, Mike is Mayor of Rock Island. We talk about a variety of hot-button topics, including the consideration of possibly selling Rock Island’s water and sewer service to a private company, the recent riots surrounding the presidential election and how some area Republicans in Rock Island County responded, the new law enforcement laws in Illinois and how they impact Rock Island, and more.

As always in our conversations, it’s provocative, eye-opening, and certainly educational as we discuss and debate the issues. It’s also the kind of candid and transparent conversation that this podcast strives for, and that we feel is incredibly important for the public these days, to show the depth and context of issues without any filter or editing, and with complete transparency so they can listen to all sides of an issue. I hope you enjoy it, and stick around for more episodes of QCUncut as we move into the 100s!

Reid Robinson has been in the music business since he was a teenager, and as the owner and proprietor of CoOp Records in Moline, he’s seen the amazing evolution of the music world on a national and local level since the mid-’90s. We talk about how the music world has evolved, how he got into music, his favorite albums and bands, and more.

The latest season of QCUncut begins with a lengthy discussion with Mike Halpin, state representative for the 72nd district, which includes the Quad-Cities. We talk about how covid funding packages could positively impact our area, other state legislation that would impact our area, how he’s been fighting to lower the costs of insulin, and other policies. We also talk about the divisiveness of state and national politics, the controversy surrounding Mike Matigan, and more. It’s an interesting and informative discussion you’ll want to hear!

Silvis boys Carter Ramsey, 13, and Zach Darras, 12, were messing around playing football in the backyard when they decided to try to emulate a famous one-handed catch by Odell Beckham Jr. on camera. After about 20 tries, they got it perfect, and with the help of a slo-mo effect and some background music (“Just The Two of Us”) they posted it on the popular social media platform TikTok. This was Monday afternoon. By Monday night, the video had gone viral and had started running up millions of views. By Tuesday, it had been shared by the NFL and ESPN and duetted by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and REALLY started racking up views. In our interview, the boys talk about making the video, what it’s been like to go viral and what they’d like to see happen with it in the future!

Circa ’21 and The Speakeasy co-owner and director of audience development Brett Hitchcock talks about the Illinois-side shutdown due to covid this week and how it’s going to impact Circa and the Speakeasy, as well as other businesses and downtowns throughout the Quad-Cities.

Marty Reyhons has been one of the most talented and impactful drummers in local music history. Over the past three decades, he’s drummed for major label-signed Tripmaster Monkey, indie label-signed Einstein’s Sister, and a host of local and regional favorites like Jim The Mule, Multiple Cat, Marlboro Chorus, and now, The Velies. Reyhons talks about how he got into drums and his experience traveling across the country and overseas playing with Tripmaster and Einstein’s, as well as various other cool and interesting stuff.

Community organizer Thurgood Brooks joins the show to talk about his just-announced campaign for Mayor of the City of Rock Island. We talk about his reasons for running, his platform, and his vision for the city, including ideas for 11th Street, the downtown District area, changing the perception of Rock Island in relation to the other Quad-Cities, attracting new businesses, and more.

Longtime friend and fellow author Jason Tanamor is our guest on the show, talking about his literary career, his years in stand-up comedy, celebrities he’s met who have been cool or strange, and his latest novel, “Vampires of Portlandia.”

Sales of firearms have been soaring in 2020 as civil unrest increases, and we talk to attorney and second amendment advocate Eric Puryear about it, as well as his open carry rally being held in front of Davenport City Hall, 226 W. 4th St., this Saturday at 4 p.m.

It’s a wide-ranging and interesting discussion that goes into a variety of perspectives on gun rights, civil rights, crime, and more. It’s not right wing media, it’s not left wing media, it’s uncut, uncensored, unedited conversation of nuance and complexity examining the issues in depth.

Bill Douglas, lead vocalist and co-songwriter of popular local band Einstein’s Sister, talks about his songwriting process, lyrics, the band’s return to recording after an almost-two-decade hiatus, and more!