May 2010
1 post
Episode 14: Dave Awl
My guest this week is the delightful Dave Awl, a performance poet, author, and alumnus of the Neo-Futurists and Pansy Kings.
In this episode Dave tells many wonderful stories, shares a few works from his collection What the Sea Means, and compares your host to a pair of trousers.
Stream or download Episode 14
Get the show on iTunes
Follow I Just Got Here on Twitter / facebook if...
March 2010
3 posts
5 tags
Episode 13: Jess Hutchinson/World Theatre Day
I met Jess Hutchinson at the League of Chicago Theatres offices to talk about how Chicago is celebrating World Theatre Day. Jess, who is the Artistic Director of New Leaf Theatre, is one of the driving forces behind Chicago’s participation in WTD.
World Theatre Day is this coming Saturday, March 27. If you’re here in Chicago, check out the facebook page for the celebration at the...
3 tags
Episode 12: Kevin Zolkiewicz
Talking transit, from hot-button CTA politics to charming Kenosha streetcars.
Look, you’re already here at my podcast, right? So you’re probably kind of a dork, right? And your ears perked up when I said “public transit”, didn’t they? I thought so.
Transit is especially a thing here in Chicago at the moment because of the recent CTA cuts, which came into effect...
4 tags
Episode 11: John Campbell and Friends
A Chicago webcomic artist at home with special guests Corinne Webb, the L train, and the flu.
I sat down with John Campbell, writer/artist behind the webcomic Pictures for Sad Children, last week as he was getting over a nasty flu. As promised in the program, here are links to the After Last Season INCIDENT:
Original viewing
Commemorative t-shirt
An EW article in which John Campbell says...
February 2010
5 posts
6 tags
Episode 10: Actor Slash Model
This week, Actor Slash Model talk about their music and filmmaking projects and perform a couple of songs.
I met with Simon Strikeback (right) and Madsen Minax (left) in Madsen’s basement-slash-recording studio to chat about their music, their new documentary, the intersection of trans activism and the arts, all that good stuff.
Actor Slash Model will be performing at Lily’s Bar on...
Whither
Reader dorkas suggests, on the question of weather, that Midwest : blizzards :: California : earthquakes. I think she’s on to something…
1 tag
A lull in the imaginary schedule
Next episodes (in which IJGH will be dorking out about transit with Kevin Zolkiewicz and paying a visit to indie-grass musician-rockumentarians Actor Slash Model) (not at the same time) (although that would be cool too) will show up pretty late in the month of February.
ETA: Also on the show in February: John Campbell, writer/artist behind the webcomic Pictures for Sad Children. He’s famous...
January 2010
5 posts
4 tags
Episode 9: Dan Telfer
On Tuesday evening I caught up with comedian Dan Telfer before he performed at Chicago Underground Comedy.
(Not right before, mind you. Right before he went on was when he had to kick that heckler out. There’s nothing like live performance, kids.)
Stream or download Episode 9
Get the show on iTunes
We had a wide-ranging talk about comedy performance, the interwebs, how to decide if...
3 tags
Weather
Recently there was a Severe Weather Advisory OMG Blizzard’s A-Coming, and since these natural-disaster-ish winters are new to me, I asked my local friends on the interweb whether I should be, like, concerned, or if this was just going to be like any other Chicago winter day but with more complaining, or what.
The various responses broke down along basically these lines:
1) Real blizzards...
3 tags
Episode 8: Paul Miller
This week I talked to Paul Miller, a Chicago actor and the managing director of Red Tape, about all sorts of things. (He’s also a Reedie!)
Episode 8 on Libsyn Get the show on iTunes The 2010 CFANN — Chicago Fringe Artists Networking Night — will be on February 6 at Red Tape’s home, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 621 W Belmont. As always, you can email me...
3 tags
True story
When I went to see American Buffalo at Steppenwolf (recommended, btw) I snagged a second-row rush ticket, which was pretty sweet.
In the front row, essentially right in front of me, was a young lady who read her program for a considerable stretch of the first act. This was very, very distracting, because there was Tracy Letts up on the stage, and there in the front row was a program-reader, and...
3 tags
Episode 7: Sketchfest Gabfest
A chat in Fizz Bar & Grill with a gaggle of Chicago sketch comedians.
Episode 7 on Libsyn
Get the show on iTunes
I met with John Bohan, Jim Fath and Nikki Pierce yesterday evening after John & Nikki (aka No Longer Friends) performed at Sketchtest.
Unfortunately I had to trim out a large chunk of our talk due to equipment problems (and I got no decent audio of NLF’s set), but...
December 2009
10 posts
1 tag
Episode 6: Christkindlmarket
Episode 6 on Libsyn
Get the show on iTunes
CONTENT WARNING: EXTREMELY SANTA-HEAVY
Well, on Friday I was feeling a little down in the dumps.
Finding myself unfit for any serious endeavor, I thought I’d go check out Christkindlmarket, the German-style holiday market at Daley Plaza. I brought my little mic/recorder with me in the hopes that, after I got some massively fried things in my...
1 tag
Episode 5: Mickle Maher
Episode 5 on Libsyn
Get the show on iTunes
Mickle Maher, a Chicago playwright and founding member of Theater Oobleck, joined me this week for a non-fireside chat.
Here’s the post from the Steppenwolf blog that Mr. Maher alluded to: 1% of You, posted by Tracy Letts (August: Osage County). Fun fact: I asked online if anyone wanted to suggest questions to ask in this episode. I received...
Bonus IJGH!
Yesterday’s non-fireside chat with Mickle Maher was supposed to be the last episode of the year, but today I took my little microphone down to Christkindlmarket and talked to people for…quite a long time, it turns out. I will be going through a butt-ton of tape* from that and posting episodes 5 and 6 this weekend.
I hope you’ll enjoy both, although only one of them involves...
Whoever had “your toilet will break when you have an interview scheduled in your home” in the Mishap Pool for today’s interview with playwright Mickle Maher, come on up and collect your payout.
1 tag
Episode 4: Chicago Underground Comedy
Episode 4 at Libsyn
Get it on iTunes
In which I drink beer and interview Chicago Underground Comedy’s executive producer Elizabeth McQuern, as well as several performers and the bartender.
ChUC is Chicago’s premier alternative comedy showcase. You know, the one I’ve been telling you guys about. It’s on every Tuesday night at the Beat Kitchen, doors at 8:45, show at...
Get well soon, Dan Telfer's tiny adorable child
Tonight’s interview had to be postponed, as my scheduled guest’s tiny adorable child fell ill. (Now I feel bad about taking bets on what was going to go wrong for Episode 4.)
I went to the show anyway and talked with the very charming and knowledgeable executive producer Elizabeth McQuern, whom I wish I had been prepared to interview, and also talked to just about everyone else who...
Episode 3: Mikayla Brown
Episode 3 on Libsyn
Subscribe on iTunes
Mikayla Brown, executive producer of the Chicago Fringe Festival, joined me to talk about the origins and vision of the festival and the nuts-and-bolts for prospective performers.
This week’s sound problem was that my fancy little digital recorder crapped out completely, so we had a nice fireside chat in front of my non-functioning fireplace and...
3 tags
Episode 2: Stephen Elliott
Episode 2 at Libsyn
Subscribe on iTunes
Whew! That was a faster turnaround time than the first ep, all right.
Tonight I talked to San-Francisco-based, Chicago-bred Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries (one of the absolute best things I’ve read this year), in front of an artificial fireplace in the back room of a very noisy bar. The podcast also includes his reading from...
Yes
I am aware that “I Just Got Here”, when you take away all the spaces and capitalization, also appears to say “I Just Go There”. I was not aware of this until I put it in a URL. Oh well.
3 tags
Episode 1: Dominic Pacyga →
Episode 1, linked above (or on iTunes), is finally up and downloadable. At least, I’m assuming it is. It sounds okay to me.
On the first episode of I Just Got Here, author and history professor Dominic Pacyga joined me to talk about his new book, Chicago: A Biography. We met in his faculty office at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. (Following which I went out of town for...