EPISODE · Jun 24, 2026 · 1H 2M
Two Worlds Collided: Q101's Steve McEwen on Chicago Music, Cubby Bear & AI
from H.O.G. POD: Chicagoland Hyper Local Music Scene · host HogPod Chicagoland's Hyper Local Music Chat
Same high school. Same college. Same football team. Same career pivot — and somehow the same suburb. Steve McEwen and Pete Jansons have been living parallel lives since Lane Tech, and this week the former Q101 afternoon DJ walks through every spot those two worlds collided.Steve was on the mic at Q101 when Chicago's alternative scene was white-hot — he introduced Jakob Dylan at the Cubby Bear, caught the last Soundgarden show at the Aragon, and earned what he calls his "PhD in music" at SIU's WIDB. From there it's Medusa's, the Q101 band-name audition, Lollapalooza then vs. now, JVO, Joe Shanahan and the Metro, whether AI music is even music, why he traded the mic for real estate, the Bears stadium mess — and the one Pop-Tart rule he refuses to break.🎶 We turned this whole conversation into an album. "Two Worlds Collided" — 8 AI tracks built from Steve's stories, from "Bill Pang" to "Before They Were Huge" to "Go Sell a House." Out now on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/album/1q7Jj5...🎧 All Hogpod AI Albums on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QtmZ...🎯 KEY MOMENTS00:00 Intro02:26 Two worlds collided — Lane Tech, SIU football & parallel lives03:38 Cubby Bear GM meets Q101 DJ — introducing Jakob Dylan07:09 WIDB radio school — Bob Odenkirk the legend, "my PhD in music"09:19 The Q101 audition — pronouncing 100 band names10:48 Before they were huge — Gwen Stefani, the last Soundgarden show, Lenny Kravitz x312:56 Lane Tech melting pot — the "Bill Pang" story14:55 Medusa's — the all-ages industrial playground17:22 JVO — Chicago's interview king before Carpool Karaoke19:53 Cubby Bear lore — Sue Miller, Lounge Axe & Jeff Tweedy22:50 The 1980s George Loukas clip — punk nights at the Cubby Bear27:39 Lollapalooza then vs. now — is the scene dying?34:38 Is AI music? Autotune, Bad Bunny & Al Jourgensen's two computers38:20 Fake faces, filters & "reconnect as humans"39:46 Why he walked away from radio for real estate43:45 The Bears stadium mess — Arlington Heights vs. Indiana53:42 How to actually pick a real estate agent56:52 The trades are the future — what AI can't touch59:13 First concert confession — Barry Manilow at Ravinia1:01:24 Rapid fire — the Pop-Tart rules📍 Q101 - Chicago music scene - Cubby Bear - Medusa's - WIDB - Bob Odenkirk - Jakob Dylan - Smashing Pumpkins - Lollapalooza - Joe Shanahan - Metro - JVO - Al Jourgensen - AI music - autotune - Chicago real estate - Chicago Bears - the trades - Lane Tech - SIU Salukis🎤 Steve McEwenhttps://stevemcewen.comhttps://makingchicagomove.com❤️ Support Hogpod on Patreon / hogpod 🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons & Mike "Bongo" Orfanos (Bongo Mike)📞 Booking — [email protected]#Hogpod #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #ChicagoMusic #Q101 #CubbyBear #ChicagoMusicScene #Medusas #Lollapalooza #AImusic #ChicagoRealEstate
What this episode covers
Same high school. Same college. Same football team. Same career pivot — and somehow the same suburb. Steve McEwen and Pete Jansons have been living parallel lives since Lane Tech, and this week the former Q101 afternoon DJ walks through every spot those two worlds collided.Steve was on the mic at Q101 when Chicago's alternative scene was white-hot — he introduced Jakob Dylan at the Cubby Bear, caught the last Soundgarden show at the Aragon, and earned what he calls his "PhD in music" at SIU's WIDB. From there it's Medusa's, the Q101 band-name audition, Lollapalooza then vs. now, JVO, Joe Shanahan and the Metro, whether AI music is even music, why he traded the mic for real estate, the Bears stadium mess — and the one Pop-Tart rule he refuses to break.🎶 We turned this whole conversation into an album. "Two Worlds Collided" — 8 AI tracks built from Steve's stories, from "Bill Pang" to "Before They Were Huge" to "Go Sell a House." Out now on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/album/1q7Jj5...🎧 All Hogpod AI Albums on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QtmZ...🎯 KEY MOMENTS00:00 Intro02:26 Two worlds collided — Lane Tech, SIU football & parallel lives03:38 Cubby Bear GM meets Q101 DJ — introducing Jakob Dylan07:09 WIDB radio school — Bob Odenkirk the legend, "my PhD in music"09:19 The Q101 audition — pronouncing 100 band names10:48 Before they were huge — Gwen Stefani, the last Soundgarden show, Lenny Kravitz x312:56 Lane Tech melting pot — the "Bill Pang" story14:55 Medusa's — the all-ages industrial playground17:22 JVO — Chicago's interview king before Carpool Karaoke19:53 Cubby Bear lore — Sue Miller, Lounge Axe & Jeff Tweedy22:50 The 1980s George Loukas clip — punk nights at the Cubby Bear27:39 Lollapalooza then vs. now — is the scene dying?34:38 Is AI music? Autotune, Bad Bunny & Al Jourgensen's two computers38:20 Fake faces, filters & "reconnect as humans"39:46 Why he walked away from radio for real estate43:45 The Bears stadium mess — Arlington Heights vs. Indiana53:42 How to actually pick a real estate agent56:52 The trades are the future — what AI can't touch59:13 First concert confession — Barry Manilow at Ravinia1:01:24 Rapid fire — the Pop-Tart rules📍 Q101 - Chicago music scene - Cubby Bear - Medusa's - WIDB - Bob Odenkirk - Jakob Dylan - Smashing Pumpkins - Lollapalooza - Joe Shanahan - Metro - JVO - Al Jourgensen - AI music - autotune - Chicago real estate - Chicago Bears - the trades - Lane Tech - SIU Salukis🎤 Steve McEwenhttps://stevemcewen.comhttps://makingchicagomove.com❤️ Support Hogpod on Patreon / hogpod 🎙️ Hosted by Pete Jansons & Mike "Bongo" Orfanos (Bongo Mike)📞 Booking — [email protected]#Hogpod #ChicagoPodcast #MusicPodcast #ChicagoMusic #Q101 #CubbyBear #ChicagoMusicScene #Medusas #Lollapalooza #AImusic #ChicagoRealEstate
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Two Worlds Collided: Q101's Steve McEwen on Chicago Music, Cubby Bear & AI
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