Dan Ozzi music writer and author of Sellout & co-author of Tranny

No Wristbands! We Drink For Free

Dan Ozzi - author of the national bestseller SELLOUT - The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore 1994-2007 - is our guest for episode #24. He also co-authored (with Laura Jane Grace) TRANNY - Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout. He joined us to talk about those books, how he got started as a music writer and his thoughts on Chicago. Plus he shares his love of soda.

Time stamps:

2:45: How did you get started in music writing?

6: Was music something you'd ever written about before?

8:30: How did the book with Laura Jane Grace come together?

11:20: When did you zoom out and realize this era was worth writing a book about?

12:20: Where do you jump in and follow the scene in real time?

20:38: When you were writing Sell Out were there any bands that you hadn't intended to write about that during research really stood out, and you had to write about?

21:52: Where do you start when you start writing a book?

27:41: Any surreal moments working on the book?

31:20: How does it feel to write about someone who did something that wasn't always the best thing to do?

33:45: Any revelatory moments from anyone interviewed in the book?

35: The idea of selling out seems like an outdated concept, do you think this is a good thing to not be held to the same standard as those bands from the past?

40:38: Was there a band you appreciated more after writing about them?

44:31: What has the response to the book been like?

48:30: What are you working on next?

49:20: When you think of Chicago music, what do you think about?

53: Think or thin crust pizza fan?

55:10: Favorite spot to see a show in Chicago?

56: What makes the Chicago music scene unique to you?

58:45: What have you been listening to lately?

61:49: What is your go to cheap drink?