Just when Vinnie thought he was done with Scott — The LIFERS Podcast pulls him back in! Vinnie Dombroski —vocalist for the Detroit, Michigan band Sponge— is a hustler, baby. He’s a guy who fully subscribes to the inspiration/perspiration formula. Which is to say: Vinnie’s not afraid of a little hard work (he is, however, apparently afraid of food). On this episode we talk to our pal about Sponge’s unlikely origin story, switching from drumming to singing, growing up in the shadow of Motown, touring with Iggy Pop, driving George Clinton to the airport, career advice from Buzz Osbourne, and the joys of not remembering the ‘90s. ALSO: What’s The Best?!? is BACK!!! And we’re coming for you, Detroit!

And that’s a wrap! After two months and 43 shows, the Everclear/Local H/Sponge juggernaut is OVER! Ronnie DiCola and Pete Beeman beam in to look back fondly on our favorite shows, favorite pizza, and anything else that comes to our frazzled mind about a tour that will surely go down as being one of our best ever. Thank you.

Local H is heading down the home stretch of their tour with Everclear & Sponge — so Scott calls in from the van to file one last(?)road report. Note: This episode contains only 3% of your recommended Halloween content. We BLEW IT!!!

This week on the podcast: That rarest of unicorns — a Road Report from the van! A salty green grape eating Scott calls in as the Local H tour travels from South Carolina to North Carolina. Plus: A Led Zeppelin What’s The WORST?!?

This week on another Road Report edition of the podcast: Gabe joins the band (and Karen) on the road for a few shows in his home state of Florida — so we make him drink a shitty NA IPA and record his reactions. That’s all that happens on this episode.

Local H is halfway through their tour with Everclear and Sponge — so Scott called in from Tennessee where the band is staying in a cabin by the lake while they prepare to resume the tour in a cave underground. You’ll understand when you hear the episode. Local H tour dates: Oct 3 — The Caverns — Pelham, TN Oct 4 — The Eagle Theatre — Sugar Hill, GA Oct 5 — Vinyl Music Hall — Pensacola, FL Oct 7 — The Plaza Live — Orlando, FL Oct 8 — Bilheimer Capitol Theatre — Clearwater, FL Oct 9 — The Parker — Fort Lauderdale, FL Oct 11 — Sunrise Theatre — Fort Pierce, FL Oct 12 — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall — Jacksonville, FL Oct 14 — Charleston Music Hall — Charleston, SC Oct 16 — Neighborhood Theatre — Charlotte, NC Oct 17 — The NorVa — Norfolk, VA Oct 18 — Asbury Lanes — Asbury Park, NJ Oct 19 — The Paramount — Huntington, NY Oct 21 — Big Night Live — Boston, MA Oct 22 — Irving Plaza — New York, NY Oct 23 — Toad’s Place — New Haven, CT Oct 24 — Xcite Center at Parx Casino — Philadelphia, PA Oct 25 — Black Cat — Washington, DC Oct 27 — House Of Blues — Cleveland, OH Oct 28 — Bogart’s — Cincinnati, OH Oct 30 — Egyptian Room at Old National Centre — Indianapolis, IN Oct 31 — The Vixen — McHenry, IL Nov 1 — First Avenue — Minneapolis, MN Nov 2 — Thalia Hall — Chicago, IL

The Local H tour with Everclear and Sponge is headed back east - so Scott called in from a hotel in Baker City, Oregon and this time Gabe and Ben were ready. With YOUR questions! Well, at least it's something.

Local H is on tour with Everclear and Sponge - so Scott called in from a hotel in Medford, Oregon to file a Road Report about being on tour with Everclear and Sponge.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Local H's major label debut album, Ham Fisted. To celebrate this milestone, the band has recorded and released a brand new re-imagining of the album, which they are calling reFISTED. On this special edition of song imploder Ben Reiser sat down with frontman Scott Lucas and G&P records head honcho Gabe Rodriguez for a deep dive into their thoughts and feelings about the original Ham Fisted as well as a thorough exploration of every track on the new release. https://gandprecords.com/?srsltid=AfmBOooP2kEik_ANOdGL4WDSG6ZN-cEDL9dapWO1xasE0c7Be7ZwIvDv

This week we welcome our ol’ buddy Art Alexakis to the podcast to talk about this little tour he’s doing with Scott in about two weeks from now. No big deal. We also talk about Art’s band Everclear, their major label breakthrough SPARKLE AND FADE (which turned 30 this year and is the reason for this little 2 month tour that Everclear’s doing with Local H and Sponge, by the way), their indie label breakthrough WORLD OF NOISE, California projects, Portland haters, ditch digging, sobriety, girl dads, smoking cigars with Butch Vig, Geddy Lee, Paul Stanley, and we pick the best(?!?) California songs (don’t worry, we didn’t let Art pick “Santa Monica”). PLUS: Scottie Rose tries to put the kibosh on all of it.

The New Orleans rock band Zebra has always existed out of time. Despite having one of the fastest selling debuts in Atlantic Records’ history, Zebra never really fit in with the glammed up ‘80s metal bands they were being lumped in with on the pages and airwaves of Hit Parader and MTV. But that apparent inability to fit in may be exactly what endeared them to a herd (or a zeal) of avid fans who would wear out their bare bones cassette of ZEBRA and eventually go to Kmart and stealthily rip open a vinyl copy of the record to steal the lyric sheet so he could figure out what Randy Jackson was singing. Okay. We may be talking about Scott here. ANYWAY — this week we’re thrilled to welcome Mr. Jackson to the podcast to talk about the 50th anniversary of Zebra, recording with Jack Douglas, being a rock band in New Orleans, being a rock band in Long Island, befriending Twisted Sister, touring with Cheap Trick, seeing The Beatles live, being forced to talk about Bon Jovi, and the lyrical prowess of the Moody Blues. And more black beans.

The fallout from the Great Chips & Salsa Incident continues as we invite Dino Proserpio from the I EAT MOVIES podcast to help us stage a cultural intervention for Gabe. As most of you are aware, interventions are never pretty — so we’ve lightened things up with some petty squabbling over East Coast vs. Third Coast, Sean Connery impersonations, Jennifer vs. Bailey, Greg Giuffria, potatoes vs. tomatoes, and we pick the best(?!!) uses of food in pop culture. You’ll understand when you hear it.

Picture the scene: You’re a young screenwriter getting your first taste of success — but it’s with a movie that didn’t quite come out the way you wanted and the victory feels hollow. Suddenly, you find yourself being typecast as a writer of silly comedies while the industry boxes you out and the opportunities and (self)respect begin to slip away. What do you do? If you’re Larry Karaszewski (and long time screenwriting partner Scott Alexander) you swerve hard out of that lane and typecast YOURSELF as auteurs of your own re-invented genre: The Anti-Biopic! Out of this savvy strategy the enduring classic ED WOOD is born and you are swept up in Hollywood’s warm and loving embrace. Cut to a montage of THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, MAN ON THE MOON, BIG EYES and a lifetime of accolades, happiness and total fulfillment. THE END! On this episode we talk to Larry about going to inappropriate movies at the drive-in with his dad, a college experience that actually paid off, writing PROBLEM CHILD and then watching Robert DeNiro watch it, having a roommate that wrote HEATHERS, resurrecting Frank Perry, producing AUTO FOCUS, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, orphan films, Milos Forman, and we pick the best(!!!) New York movies.

R.I.P. Ozzy Osbourne.

More than any other band from the ‘90s, Failure was a perfect fusion of technology and art. If you put on a Failure record — you knew it was gonna sound great. So it stands to reason that Failure’s new documentary — EVERY TIME YOU LOSE YOUR MIND (now on HULU) — is gonna LOOK great. Perfectly shot. Perfectly edited. But what really elevates it above the current glut of streaming documentaries is an innate understanding of the simple art of storytelling. It sucks you in and never allows itself to become a cheap advertisement for the band. It helps that singer-guitarist-director Ken Andrews has a background in film and video production, but it also speaks to Failure’s entire career of meticulous high-production values and DIY quality control. It’s an ethic that persists to this day with a remarkable run of post-hiatus classics that began in 2014 with their comeback album THE HEART IS A MONSTER — an album that kicked off a successful and well deserved second act for one of America’s finest rock bands. One that actually merits a documentary about itself. On this episode we talk to Ken about ALL that stuff. We even touch on some stuff that ISN’T in the doc. ALSO: We pick our favorite documentaries.

This week it’s the conclusion of our special Album Imploder episode commemorating the 30th anniversary reissue of Fig Dish’s THAT’S WHAT LOVE SONGS OFTEN DO. Rick, Mike and Blake are still on hand as we take a deep dive into side two (or at least what we assume is side two) of the band’s beloved major label debut. FINISH IT!!! Elsewhere: Scott’s mad at Sharon Osbourne, Ben loves Yungblud, and Gabe’s afraid of pompadours.

It's 4th of July - so that means it's time for hot dogs, fireworks, and Fig Dish! On the eve of the 30th Anniversary re-issue of That's What Love Songs Often Do (first time on vinyl), 3/4s of Fig Dish (Blake Smith, Rick Ness, and Mike Willison) stop by to shoot the shit about their upcoming live gigs opening for Letters to Cleo, and stick around for a special edition of Album Imploder!

This week on the podcast: We’re babysitting. We’re also protesting on the mean streets of Madison, talking about Danzig at 70, watching the trailer for the Bruce Springsteen movie, pondering Puff Daddy, calling Pegboy, disparaging fake Father’s Day, wondering who the hell Fun Boy Three is, and picking the best songs of summer.

Ben Kweller’s excellent new record COVER THE MIRRORS comes with a heartbreaking back-story —it was borne out of the tragic death of his teenage son Dorian— but in typical Kweller fashion, the album is an inspirational and life affirming collection  that also happens to be the best thing he’s ever recorded. On this episode we talk to “the kid” about producing himself, growing up in Texas with a drummer dad, Face Time collaborations, his first slug-bugging meeting with Scott, Jewish rockers, Nirvana and Garth Brooks, why you’ll never make it through his new song “Letter To Agony” with dry eyes, and we pick the best(!?!) Beach Boys songs.  Upcoming Ben Kweller Tour Dates: Tickets at benkweller.com Follow BK's socials @benkweller July 9, 2025 Wednesday Aspen, CO Belly Up July 11, 2025 Friday Denver, CO Bluebird Theater July 12, 2025 Saturday Fort Collins, CO Aggie July 14, 2025 Monday Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge July 17, 2025 Thursday Seattle, WA Neumos July 18, 2025 Friday Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret July 19, 2025 Saturday Portland, OR Mississippi Studios July 21, 2025 Monday San Francisco, CA Independent July 22, 2025 Tuesday Venice, CA The Venice West July 23, 2025 Wednesday Los Angeles, CA Troubadour July 25, 2025 Friday San Diego, CA Casbah July 26, 2025 Saturday Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom

After a week off, the boys are back on their mics (Gabe's is working!) for a fond look back on an iconic Local H morning television appearance. Also: An informal What's the Best Spielberg?!? What's the Best grilled cheese?!? Gabe contemplates breaking his exclusive LIFERS contract, Ben goes third person, Scott stays limber, and Justine dares Gabe to say it to her face. Enjoy!