Zig At The Gig podcast

About Zig At The Gig podcast

Zig at the gig is a long-form interview-style show. The host Dave Deitke is a full-time Musician from Cleveland, OH. Who plays in an original band called C-level and teaches an adapted music class. Zig at the gig started as a podcast for Negative Space, a non-profit art gallery, promoting events and artists from the galley. The show has grown to include all facets of entertainment, including artist authors and musicians.

Publisher

Zig at the gig

Category

arts · music · tv & film

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

31 Oct 2018

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

334 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Wonderlick

   Interview with Tim Quirk of Wonderlick Jay Blumenfield's mother died two days before he got on a plane to Virginia to record this Wonderlick album. He went anyway. He and Tim Quirk — the two halves of Wonderlick, a band that's been making records since 2001 — had spent months planning this trip. Inspired by two wildly successful (artistically AND economically) house show tours and binge-watching Les Blank documentaries, they wanted their next LP to capture the sense of immediacy and abandon those acoustic house shows had fostered. So they hired a mobile recording engineer and fiddler named Mike Mitchell in Floyd, Virginia, a tiny Appalachian town where every other citizen just so happens to be a virtuoso player of old-time music. Their original plan had been to arrive on a Friday night, when the Floyd Country Store hosts weekly jamborees, and hire some of the musicians they heard to record Wonderlick’s latest batch of songs in a cabin in the woods. But Mike assembled a stellar crew of locals before they even arrived: banjo players, an upright bassist, a drummer, a clog dancer. He'd also secured a meditation center called the Shanti for the recording — a gorgeous open space with a wood-burning stove that, the band couldn't help noticing, felt a lot like the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks. They'd spent a week Googling the Nashville numbering system, because that's what the Floyd musicians wanted instead of chord charts. The idea was to find out what happens when you teach old-time musicians your punk-y songs. Best case: invent a new genre that somehow sounds like it's been around for centuries. Worst case: waste all the money you earned on your last tour on embarrassingly unreleasable tapes. So Jay flew east with his grief, and Wonderlick got to work. The result is Wonderlick Loves You, an album that has all the immediacy and abandon they’d been reaching for, as well as an undercurrent of woe they hadn’t expected but probably should have been prepared for. It's not a folk record so much as a Wonderlick record played with folk instruments. And it’s not a collection of love songs so much as a set of songs about people who feel unloved — a boy who’s jealous of all the attention a teenager with leukemia gets, a daughter who can't stop worrying, a daredevil who jumps over increasingly ludicrous things to command out attention — that try to correct the very problem they sing about by existing. They cut five songs the first day. Eight more the next. As the sessions progressed, the local musicians stopped following the chord charts and started inventing. Mike heard string quartet parts, and plugged in his electric fiddle when a song demanded it. The bassist compared one tune to Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Fifteen-year-old Margo MacSweeney, a banjo player Tim and Jay saw perform at Friday’s jamboree and insisted Mike hire for the sessions ended up singing on most of the album. Jay describes her voice as sounding “like a vinyl record from the 1920s; she’s only 15, but she sounds 2,000." When Tim asked her if she'd ever heard of Evel Knievel — the subject of one of the songs she was keening on — she replied, "I don't really know modern musicians." After hearing the playback of everything Margo had sung, Jay and Tim compared their goose bumps, and Jay told Tim he'd always wanted to make their Astral Weeks. There's a song called "Eric," which shares its title with a book Tim read when he was ten, about a teenager who dies too young. The chorus mentions how much Eric's mom loved him, and how the person singing it wonders what that kind of love might feel like. Tim insisted on singing that part, because he couldn't bear anyone thinking a child of Susan Blumenfield's felt unloved — since Tim had loved her almost as much as Jay did. They finished vocals at Landslide Studios in Asheville, outrunning an ice storm, eating at Waffle House on gift cards from a fan who'd once hosted them for a house concert. When the engineer whispere

2. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Wesley Stace

   Interview with Wesley Stace Wesley Stace was born in Hastings, Sussex, in 1965, and educated at the King’s School, Canterbury, and Jesus College, Cambridge. He released 17 albums under the name John Wesley Harding, before switching back to his birth name for more recent recordings, including 2021’s Late Style and the monumental limited-edition Secret Series, for which he revisited his entire discography for new solo acoustic releases. He has also published four novels. Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders, his variety show based at City Winery in NYC, continues to sell out. Since the Cabinet’s inception in 2009, the show has become a virtual who’s who of contemporary performers, writers, and comedians. It’s “one of the finest nights of entertainment this city has to offer” (New Yorker), “a brilliant evening of laid-back fun” (Village Voice), and “one of the most whip-smart variety shows on the market” (Portland Tribune). Stace has been joined onstage by Lou Reed, Rosanne Cash, Iggy Pop, John Prine, and Bruce Springsteen (with whom he recorded a duet on his album Awake), among many others. He appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His songs have featured in films (including High Fidelity) and TV (Transparent) and been covered by many other artists, from Graham Parker and Josh Ritter to Kelly Hogan and Tanya Donelly. His first novel, the international bestseller Misfortune, was published to great acclaim in 2004. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, listed as one of the books of the year in the Washington Post and the Boston Phoenix, and was one of Amazon’s Top Ten Novels of the Year. His second, By George, (2007) was one of the New York Public Library’s Books To Remember of 2007, and Booklist Editor’s Choice for books of the year. His third, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, (2010) was called “the most confident musical fiction I have read in years” (New Statesman), and an “Inventive black comedy unfolding with Nabokovian precision” (Financial Times). His most recent publication was 2019’s Out Loud, Mark Morris’ memoir, which he wrote with the choreographer. Stace has taught at Swarthmore College (a course called “Novel Beginnings/Beginning Novels”). He has also twice taught a songwriting course (“How To Write a Song”) at Princeton University with poet Paul Muldoon. He has also taught creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Stace’s work has itself been the subject of a university course, “The Allusive John Wesley Harding/Wesley Stace,” at Central Connecticut State University. He has written and reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently working on the libretto for Dido’s Ghost, the opera on which he is collaborating with Errollyn Wallen CBE, to premiere at the Barbican in 2021. He has lived in America since 1991, and resides in Philadelphia with his wife Abbey, daughter Tilda, and son Wyn. https://www.wesleystace.com/detailed

3. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Paul Zamost of The Effigies

   Interview with bassist Paul Zamost of The Effigies. Chicago’s pioneering punk bands, shaping the Midwest punk scene with their aggressive sound and captivating lyrics. The band’s DIY ethos and commitment to authentic themes about corruption and urban alienation positioned them as a seminal influence on the punk scene for generations. Led originally by vocalist John Kezdy, bassist Paul Zamost, drummer Steve Economou and guitarist Earl Letiecq, the band’s early work blended the raw energy of classic punk with a distinct Midwestern working class sensibility, setting them apart from the coastal scenes of New York and Los Angeles. Their early performances in small Chicago clubs energized a local community of fans and helped establish the city as a notable hub for punk and alternative music. Early releases such as 1981’s “Haunted Town” EP, 1982’s 7” single “Body Bag” b/w “Security”, and 1983’s “We’re Da Machine” cemented the band’s significance in the expanding scene. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, The Effigies shared stages with many prominent acts, including local favorites Naked Raygun and Big Black, as well as national acts The The, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, The Cramps and PIL. Their live shows became legendary for their intensity and were seen as a threat to the local rock establishment still mired in tribute and cover bands. Renowned record engineer Steve Albini writes that “The Effigies were absolutely essential to development of a healthy punk scene in Chicago. Between them and Naked Raygun in the early 80s they basically kept the scene going until it developed momentum beyond them. The Effigies were a moving force during a crucial and exhilarating time.” While the band drew inspiration from post-punk, hardcore and metal, they have always maintained that, at heart, they are a punk band. Their music consistently embodies the core values of the punk movement: celebration of individuality, egalitarian ideals, and the power of a committed supportive community. In 2023, the band emerged from a period of relative inactivity to record a new album. They teamed with Andy Gerber at Million Yen Studios, who also produced the 2007 release Reside, and would go on to take over lead guitar duties with the band. The tragic death of founding member John Kezdy in August of 2023 marked a deeply emotional turning point for the band - Kezdy’s vision and charisma had been central to the Effigies identity. Inhonor of his legacy and last works, Burned was released in October of 2024 on BFD Records followed by reissues of 1984’s For Ever Grounded and 1985’s Fly on a Wire. To support the album releases and continue moving the legacy forward, the band enlisted a new vocalist, Geoff Sabin, whose energy and passion have reinvigorated the group. Their return to the stage has featured festival sets at RiotFest, Rebellion, and PunkRockBowling, a regional tour with The Black Crowes, and coast to coast shows including prominent clubs like Metro, The Whiskey, Sainte Rock, and The Middle East. The live sets havebeen embraced by long-time fans and critics alike, signaling that The Effigies are poised for a new chapter while maintaining the spirit and integrity that Kezdy helped establish. As of 2026, The Effigies are touring extensively, with plans to continue reaching audiences worldwide. Tickest to SEP 27TH https://www.bandsintown.com/e/108364731?affil_code=&app_id=js_effigies.com&came_from=700&utm_campaign=event&utm_medium=web&utm_source=widget https://www.instagram.com/theeffigies https://www.facebook.com/share/1DL4Hp63Wr/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://open.spotify.com/artist/17gqhz2M1O1fSw1Uwmeqtv?si=vIdoXARpTsiDTwTSIOYyQg&utm_source=copy-link https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-effigies/259248417 https://music.youtube.com/search?q=The+Effigies https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Effigies https://www.bandsintown.com/a/150038-the-effigies https://www.tiktok.com/@the.effigies?_r=1&_t=ZP-98dTczMNHaQ

Who has been a guest on Zig At The Gig podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Chris Stamey
• Bennet Cerven
• John Leon
• Pete Francis
• Steve Short

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,122,851

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

13 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

77

Contact Zig At The Gig podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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