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Blake Smith

Referenced in 16 episodes

Episode 225 cover

#225: Fig Dish Promotional Obligation Part 2: The Revenge

July 11, 2025

Blake Smith, Rick Ness and Mike Willison of the band Fig Dish discuss the inspiration, recording process and marketing of their 1995 debut album "That's What Love Songs Often Do" with Scott Lucas and Gabe Rodriguez. The band shares anecdotes about working with producer Lou Giordano, their expectations for the album's success, and the record label's reaction upon delivering the finished album. Thirty years later, the band reflects on their mixed feelings about the album as they prepare to re-release it on vinyl and play anniversary shows.

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#224: Hotdogs, Fireworks, and Fig Dish!

July 4, 2025

In this podcast episode, the members of the 1990s Chicago rock band Fig Dish (Blake Smith, Rick Ness, and Mike Willison) discuss the 30th anniversary reissue of their debut album "That's What Love Songs Often Do" and reflect on the writing, recording, and promotion of the album. The band also discusses their upcoming shows and the challenges of rehearsing after many years.

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#212: Dag Juhlin

March 21, 2025

Dag Juhlin discusses his music career, including playing with the band The Slugs, joining Poi Dog Pondering, and recently touring with "The R.E.M. Experience" tribute shows featuring Michael Shannon and other musicians playing R.E.M. songs. Juhlin reflects on what keeps him passionate about making music and his aspirations to continue creating and writing in the future.

Episode 183 cover
🎸 Replacements

#183: Dave Rockland

August 9, 2024

Dave Rockland, who has worked at Jam Productions in Chicago since 1994, joins the hosts to discuss his experiences in the Chicago music scene over the past few decades. They reminisce about memorable shows and albums from 1993, the year Dave moved to Chicago, including Nirvana's final Chicago shows, Liz Phair, The Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream, and Quicksand opening for Rage Against the Machine at Metro.

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#153: 153. LIFERS Live!!! - At Gman Tavern with Fig Dish (01/02/24)

January 12, 2024

Scott Lucas of Local H hosted the Lifers podcast live at the Gman Tavern in Chicago. The show featured Scott playing some acoustic songs and discussing topics like working remotely during the pandemic with co-hosts Gabe and Ben. Special guest Rick Ness from the band Fig Dish also appeared to discuss an upcoming album of previously unreleased recordings from the 1990s.

Episode 152 cover
🎸 Replacements

#152: 152. LIFERS Live!!! - At Gman Tavern with Deanna Belos on New Year’s Day!

January 5, 2024

Deanna Belos of the band Sincere Engineer joined the Lifers podcast hosts Scott Lucas, Ben Massarella, and Gabe Rodriguez for a special live New Year's Day episode at GMan Tavern in Chicago. The hosts discussed past New Year's Eve antics, Belos' music career, and played a round of Cards Against Humanity with guest Brendan Kelly before Belos performed a couple original songs to close out the show.

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#132: Sleepaway Glamp

August 25, 2023

Scott, Gabe, Ben and their significant others are on a "glamping" retreat at Camp Wandawega in Wisconsin. Scott and Gabe performed at a campfire the previous night, with mixed results. The group shares stories and jokes about their experiences at the camp so far, and discuss movies, music and pop culture tangents throughout the conversation.

Episode 130 cover
🎸 Replacements

#130: Rick Ness

August 11, 2023

Rick Ness, member of the band Fig Dish, discusses the band's history, from their early days playing Neil Diamond and REM cover songs to getting signed by a record label using creative tactics. The band recently released a collection of unreleased tracks recorded with producer Andy Gerber during sessions for what would have been their third album. Ness also shares humorous tour stories and anecdotes about the 1990s Chicago music scene.

Episode 129 cover
🎸 Replacements

#129: REM Draft Day With Jason Narducy

August 4, 2023

Jason Narducy and Michael Shannon put on a show at Metro Chicago playing REM's album Murmur in full for the venue's 40th anniversary, with REM's Mike Mills making a surprise appearance to sing backing vocals. The podcast hosts and Narducy discuss the show, their favorite REM songs, and do an REM song draft.

Episode 92 cover
🎸 Replacements

#92: Mike Willison

November 18, 2022

In this episode, Scott Lucas and Gabe Rodriguez interview Mike Willison, formerly of the bands Fig Dish, Caviar, and Prairie Cartel. Willison discusses the history and evolution of those projects, his songwriting process and use of sampling, touring mishaps and adventures, and his current career in the wine industry.

Episode 80 cover

#80: Guest Implosion

August 26, 2022

Scott Lucas, Gabe Rodriguez and Ben Reiser discuss the song "Keep Your Girlfriend Away From Me" from Local H's album Here Comes the Zoo. Lucas shares the lyrical inspiration came from the movie In the Company of Men and toxic masculinity, but he feels the execution was clunky and the message may have been misunderstood by listeners. The hosts also briefly discuss and debate the merits of the bands Cinderella, Zebra and Boston.

Episode 60 cover

#60: Joe Shanahan

April 1, 2022

Joe Shanahan, owner of the Metro and Smart Bar in Chicago, discusses the venues' 40-year history. He shares stories of booking and befriending influential artists like REM, Nirvana, New Order and Gang of Four in the 1980s and 90s. Shanahan also talks about his own battle with cancer and subsequent activism to support cancer research.

Episode 58 cover

#58: Blake Smith

March 18, 2022

Blake Smith, formerly of the bands Fig Dish and Caviar, joins the podcast. They discuss the Chicago music scene in the 90s, touring mishaps and pranks, and the ups and downs of being in major label bands during that era.

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#48: Greg Corner

January 7, 2022

Greg Corner discusses his experiences growing up as a metalhead in the Chicago suburbs, playing in the band Kill Hannah, and navigating the major label music industry in the early 2000s. He also recounts how he transitioned into DJing, eventually playing Barack Obama's 50th birthday party fundraiser in 2011. Throughout the conversation, Greg and the hosts share stories and opinions on various music and pop culture topics.

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#40: Road Report #9: Last Night of the Re-tour at the Metro

November 12, 2021

Scott Lucas, Gabe Rodriguez and Ben Reiser discuss the final show of the Local H tour at the Metro in Chicago, which coincided with Gabe's 50th birthday. The show was filmed for a Local H movie, with the band giving the audience instructions on how to act and not look at the cameras. Throughout the evening, Ben interviews various people at the Metro about the band, the tour, and their experiences as Local H fans.

Episode 12 cover

#12: A Massive Overestimation Of Consumer Curiosity: The 3x5 Tour

April 30, 2021

In 1996, the bands Local H, Limblifter and Stanford Prison Experiment went on the 3x5 Tour, where three bands played for $5 to attract music fans. Despite expectations of label and media support, the shows were poorly attended and the tour became emblematic of the over-estimation of consumer interest by record labels in the 90s alternative rock scene.

Blake Smith | The Local H Lifers Database