Original Shooting Star member Van McLain and new lead singer Ronnie Platt are in Cara's Basement.  Van shares a lot of fun stories from the band's long history.  "Last Chance" is one of Cara's favorite songs and he explains the meaning behind it.  There's also a bit of similarity between Shooting Star and Spinal Tap...you'll hear why in this episode.

The best is saved for last...please don't leave early because at the very end of the podcast you will hear the exclusive world premier of "George's Song" with Ronnie Platt on vocals!

It's impossible to pigeonhole this band's musical genre.  And you certainly cannot underestimate their wide range of songwriting abilities.  Each of their albums are so completely different from one another.  Linkin Park is simply a remarkable groups of talented individuals.  One of the best bands to experience live, too.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a press conference call (representing the Chicago Music Guide) with two of those members - Chester & Mike.  Both guys were very forthright with their answers. 

Linkin Park has been touring the world promoting their current album "Minutes To Midnight" .  Their North American leg of the tour begins Febuary 12, 2008.  You'll hear a lot of juicy details about this tour, also their view on collaborating, songwriting, what it was like to work with legendary producer Rick Ruben, and much much more!

I had the incredible experience of talking with Lovehammers' singer Marty Casey, bassist Dino Kourelis and drummer Bobby Kourelis in their practice studio in Chicago recently.  Unfortunately, guitarist Billy Sawilchik wasn't there because he had the flu.  I brought some beer and we just kind of hung out and chatted.  They shared some funny stories about the early days of the band including some pretty wild parties.  You can tell how down to earth these guys are and it's also obvious they work really hard at their craft and have no egos. 

After bringing them onstage on several occasions it finally dawned on me to ask them if I said their band name correctly - turns out I never did.  Oops!  That was my very first question, too. 

Thanks to John Gaskill from Pawnstar Productions for helping record this episode.

Happy Holidays!

Aimee Mann has an album of Christmas songs called "One More Drifter In The Snow" (you'll hear a snippet or two) and is back for her annual holiday tour.  We chat about that, the record industry, even the fact that she sometimes cooks a goose for Christmas.  This phone interview was originally done for The Chicago Music Guide - this is the extended version.

Marty Casey & Lovehammers have a great rockin' holiday song, "Merry Christmas (All Year Long)" - you'll hear a snippet, then a fun conversation with Marty, Dino & Bobby from Lovehammers.  Marty Casey is doing a short solo acoustic tour right now - you'll hear why in our conversation.  This is just a "tease" for the full-on Lovehammers episode of Cara's Basement that is coming in the near future!

Jay-Z.  Paul Simon.  David Lee Roth.  Smashing Pumpkins.  John Denver.  What do all of those artists have in common?  Chris Steinmetz was behind the controls when they were in the studio.  Pretty much any artist you've heard of has recorded with Chris.  He just launched his own label,  Stonecutter Records, and their first release is "Acoustic Chicago".  He is in Cara's Basement along with Andreas Kapsalis, one of the artists on "Acoustic Chicago" - Andreas performs LIVE about halfway through the episode, so don't bail early!

Go to www.StonecutterRecords.com to find out more about "Acoustic Chicago" - featuring Marty Casey & The Lovehammers and a dozen other great artists from the windy city.

I was fortunate to be part of a press conference with Amy Lee prior to the Family Values tour (which Evanescence headlined with Korn) representing The Chicago Music Guide.  It took me this long to post it only because I was so backlogged with other interviews.  She is an amazing talent.  Such a spectacular songwriter and singer - certainly one of a kind! 

MelodicRockFest is the celebration of 10 years of one of the most awesome websites (I check it out often), www.MelodicRock.com.

Three of the many artists that will be part of that concert are in CARA'S BASEMENT:  Jim Peterik (ex-Survivor), Jimi Jameison  (ex-Survivor) & Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger).  Andrew McNeice, the founder of www.MelodicRock.com and organizer of MelodicRockFest, also checks in.

What an incredible line up at The Morris Performing Arts Center in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday, October 6...
SCRAP METAL - featuring Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (Nelson Brothers), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter), Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) with special guests Jim Peterik (ex-Survivor), Jimi Jamison (ex-Survivor), Jack Blades (Night Ranger), and probably more guests.  Kevin Chalfant will perform plus many other artists - check out the full details at www.melodicrock.com/southbend/index.html

It's a TWOFER...please try to listen to BOTH fascinating interviews.
(total runtime is 28:54)

First, you'll hear a fun phone call with Dino Kourelis - bass player with Marty Casey & The Lovehammers (one of my very favorite bands!).  We spoke while his infant son slept on his lap.  If you know what a crazy rocker his is, that mental image is very unique!  He discusses new ventures for The Lovehammers and their strong bond with their fans, among other things. 

Next, I had a very intense conversation with Peter Himmelman.  We spoke not long after he played the "kids-a-palooza" stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago.  Peter Himmelman is an Emmy-nominated TV composer, an acclaimed creator of children's music and a shares his vast knowledge and offers great advice about the music business.  He gets very deep with every topic we discuss.

First, you'll hear a short conversation with Ikaro, lead singer of Ankla, an excellent metal band on the Ozzfest tour.  We spoke a few minutes before they hit the stage in Chicago.  He shares some funny backstage Ozzfest stories (the lead singer of Lamb of God likes to BBQ for all the bands on the tour) and breaks the news of their involvement in next years' Sirius Sattelite Radio tour. 

Next, you'll hear Against Me! lead singer Tom Gabel.  We spoke two days before they played Lollapalooza as he sat in his tour bus.  He has a very interesting story about his disgust with CBGB's and talks in detail about his creative process.  He's truly a songwriting genius and has a great sense of humor. 

Finally, you'll hear from the real School Of Rock president and founder, Paul Green.  The School Of Rock Allstars played the "kids-a-palooza" stage at Lollapalooza and we chatted as he was on the way to the catering tent before they performed.  He looks, sounds, and even acts just like the character Jack Black played in the movie - yet the movie supposedly was not based on him.  Yeah, right.

I can now honestly say I have a RATT in my cellar, since original RATT lead singer Stephen Pearcy is in Cara's Basement!

It's quite a shock that RATT has recently reunited and is touring.  Some very bad words were said to the press years ago by members of RATT about each other.  Stephen obviously wasn't happy when there was a RATT reunion without him a few years ago.  But they've patched things up and are currently touring with Poison (it should be called The RATT POISON Tour!).  It's almost the entire original lineup. 

Stephen discusses this reunion, the past, the future...hope you enjoy this episode of Cara's Basement!

Styx is one of the greatest albums EVER.  It spent several years on my turntable.  I knew every word to every song.  And I remember being very distraught when my parents wouldn't allow me to go to a Styx concert when I was a sophomore in high school because it was on a school night.  Ironically, years later I not only saw Styx perform many times but also met them in person on several occasions.  I had talked with original Styx member JY briefly a few times over the years and it was always a pleasure - but having this one-on-one conversation with him was extraordinary.

James "JY" Young is an original member of Styx (they've been together since around 1970) and as you listen to this podcast you'll realize how intelligent JY is and how passionate he is about his music.

Styx is a phenomenal band to see perform live.  They are not stuck in the past, either - their new music ROCKS!

Foreigner's "Double Vision" album was so prominent during much of my pubescent years...I used to crank it up all the time on my bedroom stereo while staring at the picture of the guys in the band on the album cover - so I can't believe I actually had the chance to spend 20 minutes chatting with the one and only Mick Jones!  Foreigner songs were HUGE in my "coming of age" years and he is a rock & roll legend.  This conversation is amazing because he touches on so many interesting things.  Did you know he produced Van Halen's "5150"?  He spills fun stories about that experience.  And he also addresses the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion.  Keep in mind that he was once a session musician for Zep and Jason Bonham is currently Foreigner's drummer...plus, he's tight with the suits at Atlantic Records...so the way he reacts to my questions about the possibility of a Zep reunion is very interesting...

Stick around for the whole episode, because at the end you get an added bonus...a blast-from-the-past interview with Sammy Hagar!

Rick Kaempfer just released an amazingly entertaining satirical novel: $everance.  It is the first book I've managed to finish in two years (due to my preoccupation with my crazy toddler) and I laughed out loud many times while reading it - yeah, it's that funny!  If you work in the radio business you'll love the inside view of the industry and if you're not in the media you will certainly learn a lot of eye-opening trade secrets.  He also co-wrote an earlier book (with John Swanson), The Radio Producers Handbook.  Both books cover a subject matter he knows all too well: broadcasting.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Rick was a nationally recognized radio producer in Chicago for Steve Dahl & Garry Meier (1987-1991) and John Records Landecker (1993-2003).  I first met him at WLUP when he produced The Morning Loop Guys (2005).  He has also hosted his own radio show, wrote and hosted national radio specials, and currently co-owns an advertising agency in Chicago.  Rick has some amazing blogs (links are below) that I read regularly and highly recommend, plus he is also a contributing editor at Shore Magazine and a humor writer for The Beachwood Reporter.  Rick literally writes something new for public consumption every day.  I don't know how he does it all while raising three boys!

Jim Peterik visits Cara's Basement!  Survivor was one of my favorite bands in high school so sitting down with him one-on-one was very a very surreal experience.  Jim Peterik has written (or co-written) many well known songs - go to his website to see a detailed biography on him. 
ALERT:  Do not bail early - he plays TWO amazing live acoustic songs at the end of the podcast!

Here's the songs you'll hear performed LIVE:
"Is This Love" (Survivor)
"Vehicle" (The Ides Of March)

Michael Tafoya visits Cara's Basement!  The Boyzz From Illinoizz were a legendary Chicago rock band in the late 70's.  They toured nationally, including a televised jam with Meatloaf (we talk about that night in the podcast).   After The Boyzz, Michael Tafoya formed The B'zz (the ONLY unsigned band to ever perform on American Bandstand) and now Tafoya's Lost Boyzz.  You'll hear a great conversation and some of his music!

Here's the songs you'll hear:
"Get Up Get Angry" - The B'zz
"Life" - Tafoya's Lost Boyzz
"Too Wild To Tame" - The Boyzz From Illinoizz

Dobie Maxwell is a talented stand-up comedian and experienced radio personality.  You'll hear one of his funny "soapboxes", then a very enlightening peak into the mind of a very interesting & intelligent man.