Retro Rock Roundup with Mike and Jeremy Wiles

In this episode, we speak with Mike and Ray from Librarians With Hickeys.  This Big Stir Records, Akron, Ohio based band writes and performs some of the best hook_filled, jangle rock/pop songs that I've heard in decades!  We dicuss their music, their love of '70's Gold and their latest single "1972". 

In this episode, we speak with Ron Romero, director of the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66.  We discuss the history of the museum and their upcoming 5th Annual Induction Ceremony on Sept. 27 at the Harris Theatre in Chicago.  Inductees will include, Survivor, Koko Taylor, The Boyzz, Kevin Cronin, Gary Richrath, and more.

In this Chicago Scene episode, we speak with singer/songwriter Pete Cimbalo AKA Pie Eyed Pete about his musical journey and his latest excellent album, Lights, Camera, Action!

In this episode, we speak with the members of Strawberry Alarm Clock!  Almost 60 years since Insense and Peppermints took the world by storm, the original members are back and better than ever.  We discuss the band's legacy and the staying power of Insense and Peppermints. We also deep dive into their fantastic new Big Stir Records album, Where's One?.

In this week's episode, Jeremy joins Mike in the studio to deep dive into The Rolling Stones' 25th studio album, Foreign Tongues!

In this bonus episode, we expand the musical horizons of Retro Rock Roundup.  We talk to Jazz trumpeter, songwriter and a true "Mugician", Keyon Harrold.  We discuss his musical upbringing, the artists he's worked with, including Keith Richards, Darryl Jones, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and many more.  We also deep dive into his cutting-edge original music and talk about his upcoming tour.

In this episode, we talk with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals.  We discuss the band's legacy and their current 60th Anniversary tour.

In this episode, we speak with Christina and Rex, founders of Big Stir Records.  This great indie record label combines a roster of legacy artists like Graham Parker, The Cyrkle, and Strawberry Alarm Clock with cutting-edge indie pop/rock artists like Librarians with Hickeys, Dolph Chaney and their own band The Armoires..

In this episode, we speak with Phil Lewis, lead singer of L.A. Guns.  We discuss the band's current tour, how they are still playing at such a high level, and we preview their latest live album,Live From The Guild Theatre.

In this special 4th of July episode, we speak with 2 of the cast members of The Sound of America - The New Benjamin Franklin Rock Musical.  This musical has been called "Tommy meets Hamilton" and even includes a virtual cameo from Roger Daltrey!

In this episode, we speak with the legendary drummer of Slade for over 50 years, Don Powell.  We discuss the band's history and legacy as well as some great stories of parting with Ozzy Osbourne.  We also deep dive into the great music of the Don Powell Band.

In this New Music Friday episode, we speak with Jim, Marc, and Justin of The DelCobras, one of Philadelphia's hottest power pop bands! We discuss the band's musical journey, songwriting process, and their latest single, Get Closer!

In this episode, we are joined by The Mighty Manfred to discuss his great band, The Woggles.  Signed to Little Steven's Wicked Cool Records, The Woggles have been making infectious garage-rock since 1987!

In this bonus episode, I recap the recent Dead Daisies/Glenn Hughes concert at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL!  It was a one-off, once-in-a-lifetime concert where legendary Deep Purple vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes joined The Dead Daisies for a night of Dead Daisies hits and a set of Deep Purple classics.

In this Chicago Scene episode, we speak with Chris Neville, vocalist and keyboard player for The Meadowlark Lemons.  This great Rock/Jazz/Soul band plays infectious songs with a stellar lineup!  We discuss the band's formation and their self-titled debut album!    

Why was Paul McCartney's 1986 album Press To Play such a critical and commercial failure? Mike and special guest Michael Bagford give us their thoughts on this Much Maligned Album!!

In this episode, we Zoom all the way to the country of Malta to talk with Joseph Azzopardi from Upper Lip - an amazing hard rock band that has just released a great new album, Devil's Ride.  We discuss the band's musical journey and deep-dive into Devil's Ride.

In this Chicago Scene episode, we speak with John Fournier, leader of the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective.  We talk about the formation of the band and their groundbreaking new album, No Wind & No Rain.

In this episode, The Dead Daisies guitarist, Doug Aldrich returns to the Retro Rock Roundup studio to discuss the bands One Night Only show at The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL, where they will be joined by legendary vocalist, Glenn Hughes!  They will be playing great Dead Daisies classics as well as a set of Deep Purple classics!

In this episode Mike welcomes special guest and friend Austin Hough to talk all things Graham Parker!  We discuss how we first discovered his music and deep dive into our favorite Graham Parker albums and songs.

In episode 2 of our "Cover Me" Week - we speak with Doug Platt and Chris Sulcer, founding members of Small Town - A John Mellenamp Experience.  We discuss the bands formation, Doug and Chris' favorite Mellencamp albums and we recap their recent show at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, IL

As part of "Cover Me" Week on Retro Rock Roundup, we speak with Nick Psyhogios, leader of Chicago's Own Piano Man Band - Billy Joel/Elton John tribute.  This band gives you the total Billy Joel/Elton John experience.  We talk to Nick about his musical journey, getting signed to a record deal in the 80's by Paul Anka, and how he created Chicago's Own Piano Man Band.

In this New Music Friday episode, we speak with Jackson Reed, leader of the Calgary-based band, Jackson Reed and The Silverbirds.  We discuss the band';s musical journey, and their excellent new album Live in '25.

What did Jeremy find at the record store this time??  In this episode, we dive into an album that Jeremy found at a local record store and bought it because he liked the album cover, even though he had never heard the band's music before.  The album is from Afro Rock legends Osibisa, and the album is their 1971 release Woyaya.  We discovered what an excellent album this is and we wanted to share it with our listeners!

In this interview with speak with Debora Masterson, author of Freedom Quest:  A Love Story.  The book celebrates the music, dreams, and love story behind a 70's band that almost made it.

In this episode, we speak with the members of Refestramus.  Restramus is a Chicago-based band that combines prog rock ambition, cinematic storytelling, with hard rock energy.  We discuss the band's formation and their latest album, Morri's Rock Boutique.

In this Chicago Scene episode, we speak with Singer/Songwriter Josh Chicoine who has been writing and performing great music for the last 3 decades.  We discuss his musical journey from his early 2000's band The M's, to his latest project Cult Canyon and their debut album, Smoke Tracks to his Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Second Hand News.

In this episode, we are joined by Jonny Foster of the UK band Hardwicke Circus and their legendary manager, and co-founder of Stiff Records, Dave Robinson, to discuss Hardwicke Circus' recent tour of Ukraine. where they played in underground clubs, churches, and hospitals, literally in the middle of a war zone, just to bring people and music together.

In this episode, we speak with legendary drummer Carmine Appice about his recent reformation of his 70's Blues/Rock Band Cactus and their latest album Temple Of Blues, Part 2.  

To celebrate our 400th Episode of Retro Rock Roundup, Jeremy and Mike do another in their Much Maligned Album series and discuss the 1978 Sgt.Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Soundtrack featuring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.  How can something that looks so good on paper go so wrong??  Jeremy and Mike fill you in on the details.

In this episode, Mike interviews his concert friend and rock superfan, David Stockton, about their many  individual concert memories and how live music can bring people and communities together.

In celebration of Motorbooks Week, author Martin Popoff joins us to talk about his latest book, Kiss '76 - Twelve Months That Defined The Hottest Band In The Land.

To celebrate Motorbooks Week, author Daniel Bukszpan returns to the studio to talk about his latest book, Rush & 2112 - 50 Years.  The book is an excellent celebration of Rush's legendary album that helped launch their career.

In this episode, we speak with folk music legends John McCutcheon and Tom Paxton.  John and Tom have been friends for decades, but only recently decided to join forces to write and perform together.  The result is an amazing album, Together Again!

March Rockin Madness Week Episode 3!  New England Singer/Songwriter Frank Viele returns to discuss his new critically acclaimed EP, The Silo, and his current tour including his shows at SXSW in Austin, and his upcoming performance at Chicago's Uncommon Ground on March 20th!

March Rockin Madness Week kitcks off with our conversation with New York rocker, Bruce Wojick.  We discuss his musical journey including seeing Elton John's 1975 Tour when he was 13 years old.  Then we deep dive into his latest album with his band The Struggle - The Hard Way!

In this episode, we speak with British guitar legend Brinsley Schwarz.  We discuss his early years with his band, Brinsley Schwarz to his work as part of Graham Parker and The Rumour to his latest solo album, Shouting At The Moon.

In another of our Much Maligned Album series, Mike and Jeremy dive into Styx 1983 studio album, Kilroy Was Here.  Was it truly the reason for the band's 80's breakup?  Are there some hidden gems? Why is Mr. Roboto an earworm 43 years later?  Check out the episode to find out!

On this New Music Friday episode, Travis and Anthony from the great Chicagland partry rock band, Sounds Of The Good Life, join us to talk about their latest music and their new single 2+2!

In this episode, we speak with veteran heavy metal vocalist, Rick Hughes (Sword, Saints and Sinners) about his latest album, Redemption, that features great inspired songs and a cast of all-stars including Brad Gillis, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Alridge, Robbie Krieger and more.

In this New Music Friday episode, we speak with 12-year-old singer/songwriter, Holden Garcia, who has just released his debut album, Tainted Tapes, where he sings and plays all the instruments!  We talk about his start in music, dive into his album and talk about his upcoming Record Release Party at Black Dog Vinyl in Plainfield, IL

In this episode, we speak with Michael Gaiman and Pete Lavezzoli, organizers and producers of All You Need Is George, an exclusive all-star celebration of George Harrison's music.  We discuss the origins of this great legacy tribute and their current tour which starts this month.

In this Bonus Episode ,we talk with Jacob Deraps, vocalist and guitarist for Deraps - an amazing band that is bringing back the great hard rock of the 70's and 80's.  We discuss their latest amazing album, Viva Rock N' Roll, and their upcoming Canada and American Tour!

In this episode, friend of the podcast and Electric Talon Records recording artist Wax Mekanix returns to discuss the great new music he released in the last year and his latest single Naked.

In this weekend flash episode, Mike recaps the amazing Ronnie Montrose Remembered Concert he attended on January 24, 2026, in Anaheim, California!

In the latest edtion of our Chicago Scene series, we speak with veteran guitarist, singer/songwriter, Andon Davis.  We discuss his musical journey and the great bands he has been part of, including The Riptones and The Real Pretenders, and we dive into his new solo album and his upcoming record release party. 

In this episode we speak with Brian Greenway, guitarist and vocalist with the legendary Canadian rock band April Wine.  We discuss their musical legacy and their upcoming Canada and US tour with Triumph.

In this Much Maligned Albums series, Jeremy and Mike deep dive into Cheap Trick's 1986 album The Doctor to find out why it wasn't the right Rx for the band.

Legendary vocalist Keith St. John, from Montrose, Kingdom Come, Lynch Mob, and so many more, joins us to discuss Ronnie Montrose Remembered-NAMM JAMM 2026 - The 10th Anniversary Show on January 24th in Anaheim, California!

Omad Records recording artist, Robert LaRoche, returns to the studio to discuss his excellent new solo album, Sacred Vow.