Cara's Basement

What lurks in Chicago radio personality Cara Carriveau's basement? Subscribe to this podcast to find out! Cara has a knack for striking up casual conversations with rock stars, actors, comedians, authors and all types of entertainers.

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Episodes

Dino Kourelis from Lovehammers and Peter Himmelman

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...

Aug 23, 2007•29 min

Lollapalooza & Ozzfest Extravanganza

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...

Aug 10, 2007•23 min

Stephen Pearcy from RATT

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 enti...

Jul 18, 2007•23 min

James "JY" Young from Styx

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 ...

Jul 10, 2007•34 min

Foreigner's Mick Jones

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 yo...

Jun 29, 2007•23 min

"$everance" author Rick Kaempfer

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 Pr...

May 17, 2007•32 min

Jim Peterik, Songwriting Genius

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) SUBSCRIBE THROUGH ITUNES HER...

Apr 18, 2007•33 min

Tafoya Is Too Wild To Tame

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 ...

Mar 15, 2007•29 min

Dobie Maxwell Is Damn Funny

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. SUBSCRIBE THROUGH ITUNES HERE

Feb 16, 2007•28 min

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