John Gabrysiak — “John G” — has spent 40+ years in the music business, from booking agent for John Mayall, Johnny Winter and Levon Helm to Music Director & Talent Buyer at Special Events Management (chicagoevents.com), where he now books the bands for Chicago’s biggest summer street festivals.Pete and Bongo Mike sit down with John for a full-circle conversation: Pete booked the Cubby Bear in the early ’90s; John was on the agency side that fed it. What follows is duffel bags of cash, sold-out shows in 20 minutes, the smoke weekend that cancelled BurgerFest, and an honest look at why a concert ticket went from $11.50 to $341.This episode opens with a tribute to Peter Katsis (1957–2026), the legendary Chicago-born music manager (Ministry, Bush, Smashing Pumpkins, Backstreet Boys), whose name comes up during John’s Morrissey story.CHAPTERS0:00 Cold open — in memory of Peter Katsis0:40 Welcome — meet John G1:15 Billboard at the library – Elton John at 123:49 NIU concert committee: Cheap Trick, Zappa, Sammy Hagar5:02 American Famous Talent: Lonnie Brooks to John Mayall6:40 ZZ Top’s Antenna Tour & Levon Helm with Ringo’s All-Starrs8:05 Fred Bohlander and the birth of Monterey International9:43 Cubby Bear days, Q Productions & Coran Capshaw’s $15011:44 Johnny Winter sells out the Cubby Bear in 20 minutes14:29 Duffel bags of cash – wire transfers & ACH18:11 The smoke weekend: BurgerFest Friday cancelled20:47 Weather, lightning & a festival monsoon save22:44 Freddie Jones’ “In a Daydream” on the Artemis mission23:34 Festival economics: the $10 donation nobody pays26:01 Booking the season — it starts in October27:46 Fewer national acts / “drink and sing ‘Jessie’s Girl'”31:34 The opening-act shakedown: how agents bundle33:21 Why people stay home now35:04 DJs, laptops & “$175 to see a laptop”37:46 AI ads and unlicensed band photos40:05 Ticket prices: Rush at $11.50 vs $34145:53 VIP packages with “no artist participation”46:33 What Special Events Management actually does48:22 The Lincolnwood Fest turnaround51:04 Polestar & the idea of a local booking database53:07 How many fests? ~15 a season54:09 Rapid fire: the worst concert ever (Morrissey / Riviera)57:23 Molly Hatchet & the cowboy-hat standoff58:47 Pop-Tarts closer + come back soonGUESTJohn Gabrysiak — Music Director & Talent Buyer, Special Events Managementchicagoevents.com | LinkedIn: /in/johngabrysiak | X: @JGTRICK | IG: @johngchicago#Hogpod #ChicagoMusic #LiveMusic #ConcertBooking #MusicBusiness #ChicagoFestivals #JohnnyWinter #JohnMayall

How does a suburban music teacher end up interviewing Blind Melon, an Allman, and the guy who wrote “Wagon Wheel”? She just slides into their DMs. Rachel Locker — host of the Rachel Locker Music podcast and a teacher at Our Music Institute in Northfield, IL — joins Hogpod to explain how she lands big-name guests the low-tech way: a direct message on Instagram. Along the way she walks us through the interviews that stuck with her — Blind Melon guitarist Christopher Thorn opening up about the loss of Shannon Hoon and how differently mental health was treated in the ’90s, Devon Allman on growing up without knowing Gregg Allman was his father, and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor on how “Wagon Wheel” grew out of an unfinished Bob Dylan demo. We also get into teaching five- and six-year-olds, why she ditched guitar for bass, meeting her husband (Pino Farina guitarist Mike Popko) on Facebook, and a live drive-by tour of the OMI studio to close it out. 🎧 Rachel Locker Music — on Spotify and Instagram (@rachellockermusic) 🎸 Our Music Institute — lessons, teen bands & a recording studio in Northfield, IL — https://loveourmusic.com 🎤 Pino Farina — the band featuring Rachel’s husband, guitarist Mike Popko 🎯 KEY MOMENTS00:00 Cold open — the music teacher who DMs rock stars01:15 Welcome — and Rachel’s on the clock (she’s got a class to teach)01:58 How Pete met Rachel — the Mosquitoes opening for Pino Farina at Sundance02:35 “Big time married” — her husband, Pino Farina guitarist Mike Popko03:43 Two and a half years of the Rachel Locker Music podcast05:03 A Blind Melon in the guest list — Christopher Thorn06:03 “I just DM them on Instagram” — how she books the big names07:49 Her favorite guest ever — Christopher Thorn07:56 Thorn on losing Shannon Hoon — the guilt, and mental health in the ’90s08:18 The eerie Blind Melon documentary — the last footage09:35 How many albums did Blind Melon really make?11:14 Devon Allman & the “Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul” documentary12:05 He didn’t know Gregg Allman was his dad until his teens12:37 Spotting Devon Allman in the crowd at Summerfest14:37 “Two wrongs don’t make a right” — Gregg’s on-stage lesson during “Midnight Rider”15:17 Warts and all — why live is nothing like the studio16:16 Pete’s disco-ball disaster with Heart of Glass16:51 Bass over guitar — learning, and chasing the calluses18:11 Inside Our Music Institute (OMI) in Northfield19:02 Recitals at Mad Catz & the Black Diamond sessions21:36 Facebook dating & the newlywed story22:44 The OMI teacher roster — Amanda Rebecca from Hairbanger’s Ball23:23 The co-host invite — “you get the guests, put ’em on here”24:04 “Wagon Wheel’s” secret — Ketch Secor, a Dylan demo & a shared songwriting credit24:46 Boone, NC & the tobacco-spitting meeting that actually happened26:18 Ketch playing with Ringo Starr27:44 Dylan going electric & the Timothée Chalamet movie28:35 Rapid fire — first concert, favorite movie & the Pop-Tart rule30:58 Where to find Rachel Locker Music + loveourmusic.com31:52 Bonus: a live drive-by tour of the OMI studio 📍 Rachel Locker Music – Blind Melon – Christopher Thorn – Shannon Hoon – Devon Allman – Gregg Allman – Old Crow Medicine Show – Wagon Wheel – Ketch Secor – Our Music Institute – Northfield – Pino Farina – Chicago music scene – music teacher – podcasting ❤️ Support Hogpod on Patreon / hogpod 🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons and Mike “Bongo” Orfanos (Bongo Mike) 📧 Booking — booking@hogpod.org #Hogpod #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #RachelLockerMusic #BlindMelon #ChristopherThorn #DevonAllman #OldCrowMedicineShow #WagonWheel #ChicagoMusicScene #Podcast

Dan Volpe has kept the same band alive for forty years, figures he’s owned something like a thousand guitars, and still flat-out refuses to carry a setlist. He’s the mastermind behind My Metal Heart and the guy who’s run Exide since 1984 — and he just became the third member of My Metal Heart to land in the Hog Pod chairs, after Elise and Mark Molloy. He gets into the Thirsty Whale nights when the smoke machine hid the whole band for five songs, naming a group after WVVX 103.1 blasting metal till 1 a.m., the day the guy who wrote “Switchin’ to Glide” tracked him down over a cover — and whether a cover-band lifer is ready to let AI write his next song. If you came up in the Chicagoland bar scene, this one’s for you. Grab a cold one. 🎯 KEY MOMENTS0:00 Cold open2:00 Back from vacation — straight into two band practices2:43 The 3rd My Metal Heart member to hit the Hog Pod (after Elise & Mark Molloy)4:45 Exide since 1984 & the birth of My Metal Heart5:24 Why he built VVX to play Van Halen to Metallica6:18 The band named after a dead radio station: WVVX 103.17:02 Suits on, “Cuddly Metal” — the My Metal Heart rebrand9:18 No rehearsal since 1991 — and it still works10:01 Walking in and playing last night’s leftover setlist front to back11:31 “Switchin’ to Glide” — the guy from The Kings tracked him down13:32 Thirsty Whale tales: smoke machines & an amp on fire17:16 Northwest suburb haunts — Chances Are & Dirty Nellies23:44 Are kids still getting into hard rock?25:25 Running a music store through the grunge takeover29:22 Does anybody still support live music?35:05 How DUI patrols quietly emptied the bars36:29 Why he brings earplugs to every show now40:18 Older brother, Van Halen ’78 & the spark44:07 The best guitar players going right now45:19 The power-chord “aha” that unlocked everything46:03 The AI snobbery segment: can a machine write your next song?50:35 How many guitars? Try 1,00053:16 Les Paul vs. Strat — the real difference55:05 His one-of-a-kind Hamer out of Arlington Heights56:49 First concert: Doobie Brothers, front row, age seven1:00:03 The vacation where he set up a friend’s entire guitar collection1:01:38 Pop Tarts: the final verdict 📍 Chicago cover bands – Exide – My Metal Heart – VVX – WVVX 103.1 – The Kings – Thirsty Whale – Hamer Guitars – Rick Nielsen – Van Halen – guitar collecting – Chicago live music scene – AI music 🎸 Guest linksMy Metal Heart — MyMetalHeart.com (Facebook / YouTube)Exide — on FacebookBook Dan — dan@vvxlive.com, or Joey DeMarco at United Talent ❤️ Support the Hog Pod: patreon.com/hogpod Hosted by Pete Jansons & Mike “Bongo” Orfanos 🎤 Want on the show? Booker / club owner / shredder → booking@hogpod.org #Hogpod #ChicagoMusic #DanVolpe #MyMetalHeart #Exide #ChicagolandMusicScene #ChicagoCoverBands #TributeBand #HairMetal #GuitarCollector #ChicagoLiveMusic #PeteJansons #BongoMike

What do you do when Jam Productions calls with five days’ notice and asks if you want to open for Bob Newhart at a sold-out Chicago Theatre?Heather Moran said yes — and walked offstage to a wink and three words she never forgot. This week the Bluewater Creek singer (with husband Mike Moran riding shotgun on the couch) covers a career that runs from opera training and Second City to Chicago jazz rooms, storefront theater in Andersonville, and the Lake County scene she now calls “a little Austin.” Along the way: the Heatherita, the night the orchestra hated her charts, playing Janis Joplin for Soundtracks of a Generation, the deep-cuts lesson every bar band learns the hard way, why somebody told her she sings “too pretty for rock and roll,” singing the national anthem from the top of a firetruck, Mike’s DJ etiquette rules, booking bands through Moran Event Group — and the first-ever puppy on Hogpod. His name is Alan. He slept through it.🎶 Catch Bluewater Creek live: Jul 23 Long Grove Music in the Park · Jul 31 McHenry Riverwalk · Aug 7 Libertyville in the Park · Aug 8 Sunset Pavilion, Lake Zurich (free) — billed as Bluewater Creek Lite🎯 KEY MOMENTS00:00 Bluewater Creek live — cold open medley4:47 Heather arrives + the Heatherita recipe6:23 Puppy news & the midnight-to-two shift8:00 Three years of Hogpod, zero monetized episodes13:03 Bongo’s intro — the washboard & djembe at Toadstool Pub14:22 How they met: Mosquitoes + Bluewater Creek at Sundance16:02 Sal & Soundtracks of a Generation — 18 shows18:34 “I’ve got a band in me” — the Bluewater Creek origin story21:48 Deep cuts vs. hits — the 80/20 flip23:50 2013: five days’ notice to open for Bob Newhart25:48 “Good job, kid” — the Johnny Carson wink27:08 Signing the Chicago Theatre green room wall30:10 Mom of three, gigging till 2am — the career takeaway31:20 Opera → theater school → Second City → Factory Theater33:04 Moran Event Group — working both sides of the stage40:01 “DJs aren’t musicians?” + the wrong-coast DJ disaster42:06 DJ trends — TikTok kids going back to the 70s43:33 Alan the puppy makes his public debut44:49 Let’s talk Janis Joplin49:19 Why the Janis songs come last in the show50:31 Classical training & 30 voice lessons a week52:38 “You got to smile and sing”54:39 “Too pretty for rock and roll”56:59 The rooftop stage going up at Doc’s57:59 The national anthem from the top of a firetruck59:20 What’s new on Main Street Wauconda1:00:22 Pitching 30 bands to book one gig1:02:39 How to book Heather & Mike1:07:04 Bongo’s rapid fire begins1:07:42 First concert: Shaun Cassidy, third grade1:10:38 Boulder days — opening for Big Head Todd & the samples1:12:46 The Pop-Tarts question1:13:38 Cheese fries: Portillo’s vs. everybody1:14:21 Berwyn, Fitzgerald’s & the Fire Alarm1:15:27 The right way to request a song from a DJ1:17:02 Hams from the Land of Clear Blue Waters — sign-off🎸 FEATURED LINKSBluewater Creekhttps://www.bluewatercreekband.com/Heather Moranhttps://www.heathermoran.com/Book bands & DJ — Moran Event Groupmoraneventgroup@gmail.com❤️ Support Hogpod on Patreon / hogpod 🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons, Mike “Bongo” Orfanos (Bongo Mike) & Chris “Rhodesy” Rhodes📧 Bookingbooking@hogpod.org#Hogpod #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #HeatherMoran #BluewaterCreek #BobNewhart #ChicagoTheatre #ChicagoMusicScene #LakeCountyMusic #Wauconda #Americana #LiveMusic