hasn’t done in 25 years.  Plus he talks about how Chicago is beginning to boom, COVID restrictions possibly being lifted, seeing a Quiet Place 2 and more!!

What is Phonation? I'm chatting about the podcasts-on-vinyl crowdfunding project with my co-conspirators Giorgio Reyes and Zach Spangler. We had plenty of video mishaps as we recorded (it's been a long time since I did car-based podcasts on a regular basis), but the audio sounds great! Check out the Kickstarter ! Car Con Carne is sponsored by Siren Records McHenry

Alex Botkin of Lavasocks Records joins me to talk about the rerelease of 80s punk comp “The Thing That Ate Floyd” and the forthcoming Rancid tribute “And Out Come the Lawsuits.”   Sponsored by Siren Records McHenry

Letdown is the next band to break big out of Chicago. Half a million TikTok users can’t be wrong… Blake Coddington of Letdown returns to Car Con Carne just as the podcast makes its return to recording in the car! As we talk about Blake’s career, we share dinner at Byron’s Hot Dogs at 1701 W. Lawrence (thanks to Mike and his team there).   It felt amazing to return to the car! Thanks to Siren Records McHenry for sponsoring the show.

Frank and his wife will be celebrating 14 years this week! He talks about how great his wife is, dinner dates at night, and how their bad luck has struck again. Plus, he talks about the kids in his neighborhood, why you shouldn’t cross Olivia Rodrigo, and much more!

The music of Illinois is on display in Springfield at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in the “State of Sound: A World of Music in Illinois” exhibit. I made the trip there to record a special episode of Car Con Carne from the studio created especially for the exhibit. Joining me in a deep dive into various aspects of the exhibit and Illinois music history is “State of Sound” curator/old friend Lance Tawzer. Back in the day, I knew Lance as a musician (The Lupins, Material Issue), but more recently he’s well-established for his outstanding museum work. He truly outdid himself with State of Sound.   Car Con Carne is sponsored by Siren Records

Has it really been 20 years since Lucky Boys Confusion released their breakthrough album, "Throwing the Game?" As the band readies a live stream performance for Thursday at 8pm, they join me to reflect on Throwing the Game.

The first "Situation Chicago" benefit album is out of print, and a new one is on the way! Trey Elder of Quiet Pterodactyl returns alongside Shawn and Matthew of Miirrors to preview Situation Chicago 2, a benefit album of Chicago notables including Miirors, Umprhey's McGee, Jeff Parker, Robust and more!

Let’s talk about the 90s! Frank talks about how excited he is for one of his favorite childhood game shows to return, his love for 90s nostalgia, his many adventures to the movie theaters, how his kids wouldn’t do well in the 90s, a new podcast launching this week, and more!

Ramones song structures collide with Motorhead rock swagger, and the result is glorious. Meet Austrian punk heroes DeeCRACKS Sponsored by Siren Records McHenry