Seeing Them Live

Tom Fitzer, STL’s first guest in Season 1, joins Charles and Doug with more bizarre concert going tales. Tom is a social worker and the lead singer/rhythm guitarist of the band Wrought Iron Soul. Tom returns to share a new batch of concert stories. Find out why he always loses his shirt at a Lynyrd Skynyrd or Rolling Stones concert. Other tales focus on concert experiences with John Fogerty, Joe Cocker, and The Guess Who.Tom opens with a story about seeing Peter Frampton and Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Star Plaza around 1998, where the live music overtook him and he ran up and down the aisles with a Skynyrd flag, entertaining the crowd. This became a recurring theme at concerts where Tom often became the "sideshow.” He then shares several Lynyrd Skynyrd stories, dubbing it the "curse of Skynyrd" including one incident that resulted in a visit to the Merrillville County Jail.Tom then shifts to a Rolling Stones story from December 12, 1997, at the TWA Dome in St. Louis — his second Stones concert, which he attended at age 17 with two friends against his mother's wishes. Tom recalls being a "purist" who initially dismissed Dave Matthews but came to appreciate him later. He also shares how his love of classic rock started when a friend's brother played Led Zeppelin II, and how when he heard "What Is and What Should Never Be" it was a life-changing moment.Tom talks about a John Fogerty concert, originally scheduled for June 1998 but postponed because of the Bulls' sixth championship run which gave Tom time to bond with his father on a family vacation to North Carolina, where they listened to the Blue Moon Swamp cassette repeatedly. At the rescheduled show, Tom and his friends successfully shouted "Grapevine" loud enough for Fogerty to hear them and play "Heard It Through the Grapevine."Tom closes with a Joe Cocker and The Guess Who show at the Rosemont Theatre on October 1, 2001, where he threw his shirt during Joe Cocker's set, was told to buy a shirt or leave, and ended up purchasing a Joe Cocker shirt in the lobby. The conversation touches on the power of live music and how songs like the Taj Mahal collaboration can instantly transport you back to a specific moment in time.In the final segment, Tom and Doug discuss Wrought Iron Soul, which has been together for 11–12 years. After an original member retired, they sought a new keyboard player who could also sing. After making an announcement during a gig at Johnny’s Blitz in Westmont, IL, they made a remarkable connection — Billy J. Kramer of the 1960s English band The Dakotas, who had worked with Brian Epstein, John Lennon, and George Martin responded to the announcement by referring the band to Greg Jacks, a full-time professional pianist. The band can be found at wroughtironsoul.com and on Facebook.BANDS: The Allman Brothers, The Beatles, The Black Crowes, The Dakotas, Dave Matthews, Deep Purple, The Doobie Brothers, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Foghat, The Grateful Dead, The Guess Who, The Hurricane Project, Jethro Tull, Joe Cocker, John Fogerty, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Led Zeppelin, Little Feat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peter Frampton, Randy Newman, The Rolling Stones, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Steppenwolf, Steve Winwood, Taj Mahal, Wrought Iron Soul, ZZ Top.VENUES: Allstate Arena, Johnny's Blitz, Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont Theatre, Soldier Field, Star Plaza, TWA Dome, United Center, World Music Theater.LINKS: www.WroughtIronSoul.com PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/SeeingThemLivePlease help us defer the cost of producing this podcast by making a donation on Patreon.WEBSITE - BECOME A GUEST:https://seeingthemlive.com/Visit the Seeing Them Live website and click on the link to fill out a form so we can consider you as a guest on the show.INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/seeingthemlive/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550090670708

In this episode of Seeing Them Live, Charles welcomes Jennifer Edwards, the creator and host of the YouTube channel Jen's Addiction, where she shares her passions for music, vinyl collecting, comic books, art, and classic horror. A self-described nostalgic with a deep emotional connection to vinyl, Jennifer explains why records are more than just a listening format — they're art you can hold, display, and collect. She and Charles dive into the perennial debate of vinyl versus CDs versus streaming, with Jennifer making the case that the warmth and nuance of a record — the fingers on the strings, the imperfections, the artwork — create an experience that digital formats simply can't replicate. She also shares her adventures in bulk collecting, including purchasing a collection of 3,000 CDs, and offers practical advice for collectors navigating Discogs, first pressings, and the sometimes-murky world of limited-edition numbering.The conversation then turns to Jennifer's lifelong concert-going journey, starting with her very first show — The Romantics at the Long Center in Lafayette, Indiana, when she was around 14 years old. That experience was transformative, igniting a passion not just for live music but for playing it, leading her to pick up the bass guitar at 16 and briefly front a band called The Llamas. Jennifer recounts some of her best concert moments, including seeing The Damned from the front row at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, catching The Cure on the Disintegration Tour, and watching Neil Peart's drum solos with Rush. She also shares an unforgettable encounter with Ogre, the singer of Skinny Puppy, at a monster convention — a conversation that lasted over an hour and ranged from music to horses and left her feeling that meeting an idol later in life, when both people are in a better place, can be far more meaningful than a fleeting interaction in the chaos of youth.Jennifer opens up about her most disappointing concert experience — the Jane's Addiction reunion show in Indiana, which was canceled just a few shows before the end of the tour, leaving her heartbroken after looking forward to seeing both Jane's Addiction and Love and Rockets. She also describes her most surprising concert: the 1995 Grateful Dead show at Deer Creek, where the crowd turned unruly, fans broke through the back fence during "Desolation Row," and the band kept playing as the situation spiraled — an eerie precursor to the end of the Dead era. The episode wraps with Jennifer sharing cherished pieces of her concert ephemera, including a Power Station T-shirt from a legendary teenage adventure in Cincinnati (where a photo lab worker handed her extra prints from John Taylor's personal camera) and a pair of drumsticks caught from Jesus and Mary Chain drummer Zach Alford. She also discusses her approach to album reviews on her channel — favoring enthusiasm over critical jargon — and encourages listeners to find their passion, engage with creators, and be part of the conversation. You can find Jennifer on YouTube at @JensAddiction.BANDS: Adam Ant, Bauhaus, The Beatles, The Bel-Airs, Chic, The Cramps, The Cure, The Damned, Danzig, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Fontaines DC, Gary Numan, The Grateful Dead, Howard Jones, Jane's Addiction, Jesus and Mary Chain, Julie London, The Kinks, The Llamas, Love and Rockets, Madonna, Peter Murphy, Pink Floyd, Power Station, The Psychedelic Furs, Robert Palmer, The Rolling Stones, The Romantics, Rush, Skinny Puppy, Squeeze, Tin Machine.VENUES: Aragon Ballroom, Brooklyn Bowl, Brown County Amphitheatre, Credit One Amphitheatre, Deer Creek, Elliot Hall of Music, Holiday Star Theater, Hollywood Casino, Long Center, The Metro, Old National Center, The Salt Shed, Soldier Field, Tweeter Center.LINKS: YouTube at @JensAddiction. PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/SeeingThemLivePlease help us defer the cost of producing this podcast by making a donation on Patreon.WEBSITE - BECOME A GUEST:https://seeingthemlive.com/Visit the Seeing Them Live website and click on the link to fill out a form so we can consider you as a guest on the show.INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/seeingthemlive/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550090670708

In this episode, Charles sits down with TJ Horn, a Boston-area drummer who has played with several bands — most notably the critically acclaimed Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys. Beyond his drumming career, TJ is a passionate live music fan who set a personal record in 2025 by attending 75 concerts in a single year. He's also known in certain Boston circles for his live readings of erotic fan fiction. It's a wide-ranging conversation about music, performance, and what it means to love live shows. TJ traces his passion for live music back to a 1994 Depeche Mode concert at the Blockbuster Pavilion in Glen Helen, California — a show his uncle brought him and his family to when he was just 12 years old. That night sparked a lifelong obsession. That same year, his uncle also took him to Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and the legendary Lollapalooza '94 — where TJ saw the Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, L7, and a then-unknown Green Day, just weeks before they exploded in popularity. Over the years, TJ has accumulated remarkable concert stories: chatting with Fred Durst for 40 minutes at Ozzfest while watching Tool, seeing Porno for Pyros perform a surprise acoustic set on a walkway at Lollapalooza '95, and stumbling upon a tiny 40-person Touché Amoré show after standing in the snow for a wristband. His 75-show year in 2025 came about naturally — fueled by a wide network of friends with different musical tastes, a work schedule that freed up his evenings, and a simple philosophy of saying yes when a cheap ticket or a spare invite came along. On the music-making side, TJ is a self-taught drummer who got his start playing along to Green Day and the Ramones in his bedroom as a military kid who had just moved to Boston. He's gone on to play with bands spanning punk, hardcore, and art-rock, including The Martyrs and a rock opera project featuring Amy Winehouse's saxophonist and members of The Replacements. His longest creative relationship has been with Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys — a theatrical "steam crunk" band known for elaborate costumes, steampunk conventions, annual RPM Challenge albums, and now an upcoming horror sci-fi film directed by Walter himself. TJ also speaks fondly of the erotic fan fiction readings that made him unexpectedly famous in Boston's burlesque and cosplay scene — a side gig that started with dramatic readings of bad dating app messages and turned into a crowd-favorite variety act. For more from TJ, find him on Instagram at @tjbrokenproton. BANDS: A Tribe Called Quest, Amy Winehouse, Beastie Boys, The Boredoms, Boy's Life, The Breeders, Bridgit Calls Me Baby, Coal Chamber, Converge, Cyndi Lauper, Deftones, Depeche Mode, Dropbear, Eagles of Death Metal, Elastica, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, Face to Face, Fight, George Clinton, Green Day, Hole, Jack White, Jay-Z, L7, Lady Gaga, Less Than Jake, Letters to Cleo, Limp Bizkit, Metallica, Ministry, Motörhead, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Ozzy Osbourne, Porno for Pyros, Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Replacements, Rosalía, Salt-N-Pepa, sapling, Sex Pistols, Smashing Pumpkins, Shonen Knife, Soulfly, Stellastar, Stereolab, Suicidal Tendencies, The Killers, Tool, Touché Amoré, Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys. VENUES: Blockbuster Pavilion (Glen Helen, CA), Boston Garden, The Middle East (Boston), San Diego State University's Aztec Bowl. LINKS: TJ Instagram: @tjbrokenproton. Walter Sickert movie "Ashwire": https://www.fangoria.com/ashwire-trailer/ PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/SeeingThemLivePlease help us defer the cost of producing this podcast by making a donation on Patreon.WEBSITE - BECOME A GUEST:https://seeingthemlive.com/Visit the Seeing Them Live website and click on the link to fill out a form so we can consider you as a guest on the show.INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/seeingthemlive/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550090670708

Charles is joined by longtime friend and concert enthusiast Andy to recap their 24/7 Live Music Challenge — an ambitious attempt to see 24 live music events in just seven days, inspired by "Concert Joe" Sarkis of New York, who famously attended 1,000 shows in a single year back in 1992. Based in the Chicago area, Charles and Andy plotted their week using ChatGPT to build efficient nightly itineraries, hitting 24 shows across 16 different clubs without ever buying tickets in advance. They quickly learned that averaging three and a half shows per night was brutal — three shows in one night put them behind schedule, while four was a struggle to pull off even once, let alone repeatedly. The conversation walks through each night in detail, from a jazz set at the historic Green Mill and a punk show at Subterranean to blues legends at Buddy Guy's Legends and Blue Chicago, a folk night at The Hideout, and a storytelling-meets-live-band show at Martyrs that reminded them both of NPR. Along the way they battled real tornado warnings that knocked out power at multiple venues, forcing last-minute audibles, and stumbled into unexpected magic — snagging the last two seats at nearly every stop, watching Buddy Guy hang out in his own club ahead of his 90th birthday, and catching an incredible impromptu bass solo from a musician neither of them had heard of before. By the end of the week, Charles and Andy had hit their goal of 24 shows for a total of just $313 in cover charges (well under the $1,000 budget Andy had braced his wife for), capped off by seeing Santana and the Doobie Brothers at a Tinley Park band shell. Standout moments included the high-energy punk band Squint and Kansas City act Season to Risk at The Liar's Club, while the sheer physical toll — late trains, torrential rain, and blown-out eardrums — made clear why neither of them plans to repeat the full challenge. Still, both agreed it was a rewarding way to break out of their musical comfort zones, discover new venues worth revisiting, and appreciate just how much dedication (and money) serious "concert chasers" like Concert Joe put into their passion. BANDS: Able Baker, Amyl and the Sniffers, Cherry Decay, Dog Caller, Dot, Grateful Dub, Greasy Gravy, Groove Witness, Jerry's Middle Finger, Public Opinion, Santana, Season to Risk, Squint, Tunnel, liverwhip, the Doobie Brothers, La Croix Mystique, Majesty. VENUES:  Andy's Jazz Club, Beat Kitchen, Blue Chicago, Buddy Guy's Legends, Cobra Lounge, Fitzgeralds, Garcia's, Jazz Showcase, Martyrs, Salt Shed, Shubas, Subterranean, The Empty Bottle, The Green Mill, The Hideout, The Hungry Brain, The Liar's Club, Tinley Park (band shell). PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/SeeingThemLivePlease help us defer the cost of producing this podcast by making a donation on Patreon.WEBSITE - BECOME A GUEST:https://seeingthemlive.com/Visit the Seeing Them Live website and click on the link to fill out a form so we can consider you as a guest on the show.INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/seeingthemlive/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550090670708

In this episode of Seeing Them Live, Charles interviews Alan Rosenberg. Alan is the creator and host of The Alan Rosenberg Show on YouTube, a channel dedicated to his lifelong passion for music. Growing up on Long Island, New York, Alan was introduced to rock and roll at an early age through his older sister, whose bedroom walls were covered in posters of The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Allman Brothers. By age 10, Alan was already building what would become a meticulously catalogued collection of over 5,000 albums — all of which he has listened to multiple times. In this episode, Alan takes host Charles Zona through the roots of his obsession, including the typed yearly album lists he kept starting in 1973, a tradition handed down from his sister that eventually evolved into a comprehensive digital database tracking every album he owns, every song on it, its chart position, and the year he acquired it. Alan shares vivid memories from more than five decades of concert-going, starting with his very first show — The Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in June 1975, featuring the legendary Lotus Stage and a then-new Ron Wood sitting in as guest guitarist. From there, the conversation moves through highlights including the Stones' massive Steel Wheels Tour at Shea Stadium, a Simon & Garfunkel reunion in Central Park, and what Alan calls perhaps his most purely fun concert experience: seeing The Rolling Stones at the intimate MGM Grand in Las Vegas during the 1999 No Security Tour. A standout moment from the episode is Alan's account of seeing U2 at The Sphere in Las Vegas — a venue he discovered before it became widely known — where the crystal-clear, immersive sound system left him calling it one of the greatest concert experiences of his life. The conversation also covers some of Alan's more disappointing experiences, including a Hackney Diamonds-era Rolling Stones show at MetLife Stadium where the sound quality was, in his words, "atrocious," and a Van Halen reunion show at Jones Beach that failed to deliver. Beyond the concert stories, Charles and Alan dive deep into the philosophy behind The Alan Rosenberg Show, where Alan refuses to review a new album until he has listened to it at least five times — sometimes eight or nine — because, as he puts it, music is deeply personal and mood-dependent. He discusses the decline of new music on classic rock radio, the fearlessness of artists like David Gilmour who still play entire new albums on tour, and why he believes the era of great classic rock concert experiences has fundamentally changed due to ticket prices, stadium sound problems, and the industry's shift toward playing only the hits. Alan also touches on his love of deluxe box sets, his growing appreciation for Taylor Swift's Midnights, and the warm, knowledgeable community he has built around his YouTube channel, which now features close to 600 videos. BANDS: The Allman Brothers, Billy Joel, Blue Öyster Cult, Dave Matthews, David Gilmour, The Eagles, Genesis, Harry Styles, Iron Maiden, James Brown, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues, Nazareth, Olivia Newton-John, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Ratboys, The Rolling Stones, Ron Wood, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Simon & Garfunkel, Taylor Swift, Tina Turner, U2, Van Halen, Wishbone Ash, The Who, Yes. VENUES:  Brendan Byrne Arena (Meadowlands), Central Park, Jones Beach, Madison Square Garden, MetLife Stadium, MGM Grand, Shea Stadium, The Sphere (Las Vegas), SUNY Albany, The United Center (Chicago), The Vic Theater (Chicago), Westbury Music Theater, World Music Theater (Tinley Park, Illinois). PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/SeeingThemLivePlease help us defer the cost of producing this podcast by making a donation on Patreon.WEBSITE - BECOME A GUEST:https://seeingthemlive.com/Visit the Seeing Them Live website and click on the link to fill out a form so we can consider you as a guest on the show.INSTAGRAM:https://www.instagram.com/seeingthemlive/FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550090670708