Episodes
Ep. 238 | 2025 Beatlefest for Beatles Fans
In much of the world, fall has arrived: a time for pumpkin spiced fajitas, cozy, warm Lâeggs (TM), and candy corn suppositories.
But in the magical world of Beatlefestlandia, itâs always 85 degrees, Simon Kirke is hanging out with Eddie Deezen, and everyone gets a picture sleeve of Ringoâs âYouâre 16â!
Letâs Huey Lewis and the Fake News (#Fox) our way back in time, to August, as we proudly present - in colour! - the global podcast premiere of âThe Beatlefest for Beatles Fansâ! BYO colostomy bag o'wine, as Tony, T.J., Producer Casey, P3Z-Nutz, and a Sgt. Pepper movie finale-worthy cast of thousands (tens?) head to Rosemont to kick summerâs lazy ass one last time.
Incredibly (bit much?), this year marks the UB3 (#Cantaloop) sharing the Fest for Beatles Fans together, as a trio, for what feels like the first time! Feels like the very first time!
Speaking of Foreigner, If the Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 AD, a.k.a. âThe Antichristâ, was a fan, would he have been a Juke Box Nero? (Angry Chicago guy: AND HOW COME THEY ASK JAGBAG QUESTIONS NOW BEFORE THEY EVEN GET TO THE PART OF THE BLURB WHERE THEY SAY THEYâRE GONNA ASK DUMBASS QUESTIONS? AND HOW COME CHICAGO MEDIA DONâT COVER THE WHITE SOX NO MORE JUST CAUSE THEY AINâT IN THE PLAYOFFS? AND HOW COME THE WOKE BLACKHAWKS GOT A THEME NIGHT DEDICATED TOâŚâ)
Sssssh. Heâs asleep. His snoring is disturbing, a tell-tale sign that heâll die soon. His son is a dancer, doing âCarouselâ in Peoria, and has a roommate named Raoul. Life is tragic for this broken soul, but the sun will rise tomorrow, and when it does, heâllâŚâŚ
Ssssssh, this author is now asleep. Emotionally.
Fin.
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some BRAND NEW MERCH or find us on Patreon.
13 Green Potatoes by MENDOZA on Bandcamp/Apple Music/Spotify! (and other streamers)
Ep. 228 | A Beatlefest Preview With Skylar Moody
The 2025 Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans is coming up...like a flower...next Friday, in beautiful, mobbed up Rosemont, IL. To preview the merriment and madness (#ourhouse), the UBP welcomes #1 Beatle Stan, Fab/Gear social media influencer, and friend of the program, Skylar Moody!
Plus, Producer Casey drops by to help preview the 3rd Annual UBP F**k It We'll Do It Live Taping at The Fest! And as piano hero and fascism fighter Ben Folds says, "but wait, there's more!", like...
âłď¸ At which legendary Rosemont dining establishment are the UBP3 (#Cantaloop?) more likely to dine during a union-mandated Fest dinner break: Giordanos, Caddyshack, or that Hyatt bar that used to rotate but no longer does unless you've made mistakes?
đ If you can't own a physical copy of "Beatles '64", does it even exist? Do you?
đť Will the UBP's live Tribute to Terri Hemmert be the most memorable event in Chicago media history since Geraldo opened Al Capone's vault?
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some BRAND NEW MERCH or find us on Patreon.
Ep. 189 | âDaytime Revolutionâ Documentary (2024)
In 2003, The Redwalls, a really good band hailing from Chicago suburb Deerfield, IL kicked off their album âUniversal Bluesâ by encouraging a âColorful Revolutionâ; in a most Beatle-esque Banger fashion.
By coincidence (?), a mere 31 years earlier, there was a colorful âDaytime Revolutionâ as John, Yoko, and friends took over a weekâs worth of âThe Mike Douglas Showâ - a.k.a. the guy all of us, if weâre being honest, initially confused/conflated with âThe Dick Cavett Showâ.
This new, soon-to-stream documentary examines these historic episodes, and had a brief in-theaters showing on what wouldâve been Johnâs 84th birthday. Tony saw the film solo in Chicago suburb Glenview, IL, as T.J. handled the un-related, un-paid improv rehearsal many miles from his home - and even further from #GlenviewsFamousDawgPark. The result is a new-ish phase Beatles podcast, reproduced for streaming by Producer Casey. Roll up for this special UBP field trip, an aural journey (cue: âFaithfullyâ) of Tony documenting a documentary, as documentary commentary from T.J. documents Tonyâs documentary commentary of the documentary's documentary commentary.
ALSO: The UBPâs Medved + (Helen) Roeper ask:
đĽđĄ Does a movie with too many talking heads stop making sense? Or does it get nothing but flowers? Is Wings Wild Life > Wild Wild Life? Sick Byrne, quâest-ce que c'est?
âžď¸đť (Chicago guy - a Sox fan, but he doesnât hate the Cubs; only Wrigleyville and their fans, and maybe he has a point): âHow come the unique single mix of Steve Goodmanâs âGo Cubs Goâ - pressed, my friendt, on WGN Records! - ainât been made available anywhere else since the original 45? Maybe Dean Richards will return one of my many handwritten letters and tell me what exactly woke WGN is trying to hide?
𼪠Would former American Idol Reuben Studard have been more successful if heâd been slathered in extra 1000 Island and better swiss?
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon.
Ep. 187 | âOne Hand Clappingâ Film Screening
As Marla Gibbs (look her up, Boomer. Did I get that right?) once said, âthereâs no place like home!â And she was obviously singing about Skokie, Illinois - home of a cookie cutter AMC Movie Palace so glorious, it rivals only Chicagoâs famous Esquire Theater, now home to a shuttered Dallas-based steak chain. (#Progress)
Usually, Tony and T.J. only go on post-Bears game movie dates when it involves seeing the latest Marvel sequel to a Marvel sequel. (Turn up the volume on those explosions, projector man!) But a special field trip was made after a SEASON-TURNING BEARS WIN, to go see the limited, first ever theatrical release of Paul McCartneyâs âOne Hand Clappingâ. Is the film better on the big screen than tucked away on the âBand On The Runâ Archive Collection DVD? Does the music rock even harder in the theater? Whatâs the deal with popcorn prices these days, Obama? Tony and T.J. ask these salient and Soily questions, and also ponder from the backyard (of the theater):
đđ Is the Half Price Books in Skokie, IL this generationâs Tower Records? And if it is, is society in more trouble than we previously ever imagined?
đżđŠ Did âThe Popcorn Kidâ, the 1987 CBS flop about teens working in a movie theater, that T.J. used to videotape for some weirdo reason, ever have an episode about cleaning human feces from an exterior wall?
đ𤎠(Angry Chicago Guy): âHow come woke Tony donât ever get no Ohio-based Red Robin Gourmet Burgers on Hulu/FXâs âThe Bearâ? Some Chicagoan, NOT!â (He laughs a little too hard at his own use of âNOTâ, and begins to cough up Old Style from acid reflux. He vomits on his worn shoes. Itâs quite sad, actually. His son doesnât even call him anymore on Christmas; and after the hell he went through as a kid, damn right he doesnât. And yet, this man needs help - especially after this White Sox season - and yâall laugh? Like your life is perfect? What do you get out of this abject cruelty? Maybe thatâs a better question.)
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon.
Ep. 186 | The Fest for Beatles Fans 50th Anniversary
Sick episode, bro!
No, literally, this episode is sick!
Well, actually, Producer Casey was sick with COVID-19 during what was supposed to be a rare, in-person, Rosemont reunion of the Ubp3. #Cantaloop
Fortunately, The Fest For Beatles Fans (nee âBeatlefestâ) is always sick. Sick, in a good way, like the kids said in spring, â95. We need to legally mention that the Fest was NOT COVID-19 sick, thankfully; which means it probably injected bleach, and horse dewormer. What a great way to own the libz, for freedumb!
Somehow, Tony & T.J. were as healthy as two legally-giddy, mid-1970âs born Chicago guys can be, so they spent two beautiful days checking out all that this inspiring, lovely collection of fellow Beatles nerds has to offer. And Poducer Casey was able to rally, and contribute to our recorded shenanigans at the Fest from his sad, GrubHub-reekinâ hotel room. (Oddly, Casey did not order GrubHub.)
So stop your elitist reading, just push play (#FUAerosmith), and come celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Fest for Beatles Fans with us! Because we also ask other burning Beatles questions, like:
đď¸đś Is giving someone a beat-up U.K. 45 of âThe Beatles Movie Medleyâ, without the famously infamous picture sleeve, a âgiftâ or a âterrible insultâ?
đđş Isnât Bruce Spizer PARTIALLY to blame for leaving his books within the vicinity of a beer swigginâ Shandawg? And will T.J. ever get over the immense guilt for accidentially-yet-irresponsibly destroying his favorite Beatles historian's books?
đđ (Angry Chicago guy, he smells like Comiskey circa 1987) HOW COME THE SUZANNE SUMMERS VEHICLE âSHEâS THE SHERIFFâ DIDNâT HAVE NO ROPERS OR FURLEYS? AND HOW COME KYLE ORTMAN [sic, moron] AINâT ON THE BEARS NO MORE?
The Untitled Beatles Podcast extends our deepest gratitude to the Fest For Beatles Fans for their incredible spirit, hospitality and love for all things Fab. And we salute the legendary Terri Hemmert for being both the longtime emcee and Chicago Radio Royalty!
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon.
THIS WEEKEND: UBP @ The Fest for Beatles Fans
It's the 50th anniversary of Beatlefest <buzz> ... errr... The Fest for Beatles Fansâ˘, and Tone-J ShanDozOff and Producer K3C Nutz will obviously all be there. Because at least one time a year:
The Untitled Beatles Podcast is filmed before a live studio audience.
Roll up and join us this Saturday, August 10, at 1 p.m. in the Palisades (Park) Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Tickets and more details at thefest.com.
Ep. 146 | Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live in Chicago
Itâs already October, and itâs been quite the merry goo year for The Untitled Beatles Podcast. In August, we recorded live at Beatlefest! And last week, we took a field trip to see Ringo Starr and His All Star Hamms (TM) at the beautiful, historic Chicago Theater; a Chicago landmark owned and operated by Madison Square Garden, just a few blocks from longtime classic Chicago store, Macyâs! (Damn you, NYCâŚ)
Tony and T.J. got to grace an actual Beatle with their presence - together, as a duo - for the very first time, And this weekâs episode captures the all the rawdio as the guys pre-game to the rockinâ sounds of Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkusâ death, demand obscure requests from the All Starr Band, and deep dish the entire concert; something TONY ABSOLUTELY WANTED TO DO!
Along the way, they simply must ask:
đˇ Is Warren Ham aware that, per Fox âNewsâ, thereâs a War on Ham?
đ˝ Is the studio version of âRosannaâ better than the live version because itâs tighter, or because it actually fâing ends?
đ§¸(Sad Chicago Guy:) IF THESE TWO CHUCKLEHEADS SITTING BEHIND ME DON'T STOP SHOUTING "PRIVATE PROPERTY" BETWEEN EACH SONG SO HELP ME BUTKUS I WILL SEND THEIR ASSES HOME TO KENOSHA IN GREEN AND GOLD FULL-BODY CASTS.
EPISODE LINKS
Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon
Ep. 138 | The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil - A Very Special Untitled Beatles Field Trip
What happens in Vegas⌠sometimes gets leaked back to your partner in your podcast feed. This week, T.J. and Tony PRODUCER CASEY trek out to the desert to take in a Wednesday evening performance of The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil. Tony and P3Z-Nutz get left behind in the studio, but may just get the last laugh, as the Drab Dos give their reviews of the show and hit on such timeless topics as:
𼊠Whatâs Gordon Ramsey got against Tony, and what gives with all the GI issues? (Or would they be Doughboy issues? #callback)
đŽ Whatâs a guy gotta do to get kicked out of the Mirage gift shop?
𤥠<angry Chicago guy> How come those fancy French clowns replaced the Old Style with 20-dollar craft brews, and I Am The Walrus with some Matchbox Twenty bullhooey?
And is it just us, or is P3Z sounding more and more like George Martin? #beatlesconspiracies
EPISODE LINKS
HEY COME AND MEET US AT THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS IN CHICAGO AUGUST 11-13
Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon
Ep. 122 | If These Walls Could Sing (2022)
"They're gonna put Ringo in the movies!" - Rush, Moving Pictures
It's a Tony & T.J. Marshall Field trip to the cinema, as they bravely brave a warm, late-fall Chicago day to see Tyler Perry's Mary McCartney presents, "If These Walls Could Sing".
Spoilers, the movie and Mrs. McCartney are both delightful. Five freaking fabs!!!
Plus:
đđťââď¸ Did T.J.'s famous faux friend, Todd Bridges, have similar or diff'rent strokes?
đ˝ Hey, is Tony still in the john?
âžď¸đâŹď¸ If Elton John is Derek Jeter, does that make Billy Joel Nomar Garciaparra? If so, did Billy Joel's groin also tear off while wearing a Cubs jersey?
Join Shmiskel and Shebert, at the sneak preview movies!
EPISODE LINKS:
NEW! Please support our scrappy show. Score some sweet merch or find us on Patreon