The Overnightscape Underground

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1:24:51 – If you have been wondering where the podcast has been, Smidge has been trekking across Europe for much of this Summer (hinted at during a special intro here)! But now he’s back and he brings you the long awaited follow-up episode to the all-out music extravaganza which began back in May. So if you did not hear Part #1, we highly recommend you go back and listen… because this second part hits the ground running right where we left off!

Join Smidge as he continues his conversation with special guest Michael Lenzi (Chicago Indie-Rock musician and owner of Sweet Pea Records). While the first part episode focused on his musical journey with the band Number One Cup (from their rise, until their untimely end in the late 90’s)… the story was not over for Michael by any means! While his former band was known for their catchy brand of Indie pop, Michael now desired to start something that had much more of a searing post-punk edge to it. So he joined forces again with former Number One Cup bandmate Seth Kim-Cohen & devised yet another brilliant Indie Rock project called The Fire Show. Michael tells how The Fire Show pushed their experimental & creative ambitions to the max over the course of three albums, during which they gained critical acclaim while never conforming to any music industry standard.

Michael also chronicles his career following The Fire Show (from the early 2000’s until the present) during which he has continued as a solo artist with a series of excellent albums released as Resplendent, LENZI, and Tough Solar. And now he has re-united once again with Seth Kim-Cohen for a brand new LP release as Nil/Resplendent. This episode is a must listen as we hear many fascinating stories and explore some extraordinary music!

Also, please share the love and listen to some of our favorite podcasts at: Onsug, Static Radio, Insignificast, The Hustle, Rock Solid, & The Not New Review, The Unblinking Ear, & The Pods & Sods Network.

License for this track: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Attribution: by Smidge Kurdlebaum – more info at onsug.com or trashcanrock.com

Released August 2019 on The Overnightscape Underground (onsug.com), an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

1:46:24 – Join Smidge as he welcomes a very special guest to the show for an all-out music extravaganza! Michael Lenzi was one of the key members of a pivotal Chicago Indie-Rock band from the 90’s called Number One Cup. Hear the story of how a Bowie/punk rock fan from DC followed his music dream to Chicago, and ended up forming a  band which found an audience very far away! Learn how mailing their 1st single to the legendary John Peel in the U.K. in the early 90’s changed everything for the band. From tales of being stranded out West on their 1st U.S. tour, to playing festivals throughout Europe, to such onstage antics as the destruction of their instruments/gear, an encounter with Thom Yorke of Radiohead, to recording in the same famous studio used by Nirvana for their final LP (while former Husker Du drummer Grant Hart wandered in!)… this episode is packed with many fascinating stories of Michael’s music journey with Number One Cup!

A special note that Michael & his wife run their own independent record label called Sweet Pea Records, and all the music used to soundtrack this episode may be found & acquired through this site. Please also check out their Facebook page as well. Besides Number One Cup, many of the other music projects Michael has been part of can be found on Sweet Pea Records as well. Cheers!

Also, please share the love and listen to some of our favorite podcasts at: Onsug, Static Radio, Insignificast, The Hustle, Rock Solid, The Not New Review, The Unblinking Ear, & The Pods & Sods Network.

License for this track: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Attribution: by Smidge Kurdlebaum – more info at onsug.com or trashcanrock.com

Released May 2019 on The Overnightscape Underground (onsug.com), an Internet talk radio channel focusing on a freeform monologue style, with diverse and fascinating hosts.