The Big Wakeup Call

It was an absolute thrill to chat with Glenn Tilbrook, who has been an inspiration to me as a songwriter ever since I discovered I could. Squeeze is one of my all-time favorites and I was overjoyed when Glenn told me the story of how he and Chris Difford wrote "Up the Junction," my favorite Squeeze song.  Squeeze is about to begin the U.S. leg of their "Squeeze Songbook 2019" tour, which comes to the Chicago Theatre on August 31st (Glenn's birthday!)

Dana Schwartz dialed into the show to talk about her new podcast, "Noble Blood," which looks at the history of royalty and monarchies, including sex, drugs, blood, and all the good stuff that would get the show censored on terrestrial radio.

Jack Bannon plays young Alfred Pennyworth on the new series "Pennyworth," which is on Sunday nights at 8CT on Epix.  We talked about getting into the origins of the character from a fresh perspective, why '60s London makes a great background for the characters and events, and whether or not The Beatles could have conquered evil in this alternate universe.

Stu Cook is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as member of Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Stu called in to talk about the last go-round for Creedence Clearwater Revisited, who are on their "Final Revival" tour.  Getting to pick Stu's brain for some bass-playing advice is something I'll never forget.

Steve Guttenberg called in for a quick chat about his latest movie, Miss Arizona.  We discussed the uniqueness of his character, whether or not he's ever kept any movie props, and his fun appearances on The Goldbergs.

I've been battling a bad case of laryngitis that has my throat feeling like sandpaper, but nothing was going to stop me chatting with Howard Jones, one of the most original and innovative musicians from the '80s.  It was fun chatting about his new album "Transform" and geeking out about synthesizers.

I was very excited to chat with one of my all-time favorite actors, Vincent D'Onofrio, about his new movie (which he directed) "The Kid."  After a brief bit of fan gushing regarding "Criminal Intent," we discussed the film, and then Vincent gave me an impromptu acting challenge (which I more or less failed miserably).  A fun interview with one of the greats.

Bill McCormick dialed up live from the World News Center to chat about Alexa's annoying attitude and Atari's Asteroid insights.  Plus: Star Wars' shaky science and racist Google revisited.

Music legend Jim Peterik called in for a discussion about songwriting, producing, and his new album "Winds of Change," which features collaborations from Dennis DeYoung, Mike Reno, Kevin Cronin and more, and also featured a "lost track" with vocals by the late great Jimi Jamison.

Bill McCormick from the World News Center called in for his weekly segment where we proceeded to talk about unnecessary Disney remakes, unnamed future Marvel movies, unneeded humble bragging, and unrealistic chances of portraying Namor. Plus: unbelievable amounts of overlapping dialogue and unnerving uncomfortable pauses.