Arden and Courtney of DØUBLE IDENTITY jump in the car in the dead of winter to talk about the band’s growth, songwriting, live show, and the need for CDs.

Car Con Carne is sponsored by Exploding House Printing.

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. They’re local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. Here’s why I want you to consider them for your t-shirts, merch, whatever - their focus is on small businesses, bands, brands, and everything in between. They’ve worked on products for Meat Wave, Empty Bottle, the Music Box, Dante’s Pizzeria, the Brokedowns, and the list goes on and on.

Jonathan at Exploding House has been doing screen printing for decades. He knows what he’s doing - besides his technical expertise, he delivers production efficiency and cost awareness to offer boutique print shop quality at much lower, large print shop prices.

Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at exploding house printing dot com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their clients.

You can always expect prompt and quick communication as they're a small company and are hyper-focused on making your vision a reality. Their goal isn't just to print another t-shirt; you put your heart and soul into your project or business- they want their work to reflect that passion, as well. Email info at exploding house printing dot com for a quote today.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“You're born, you'rе cursed, and every deck is stacked.”

Who are the Brokedowns? “A tradesman, two remote workers, and a pizza chef named Mustafa forged their sound in the industrial glow of Chicagoland, channeling blue-collar grit through a lens of existential comedy and transforming Midwest frustration into something loud enough to sound like hope.”

The Brokedowns piled into the car to chat about their excellent new album, “Let’s Tip the Landlord.” It’s not every day you can get all four guys in the same place, so I was excited to be joined by:

Kris Megyery (guitar/vocals)

Eric Grossmann (guitar/vocals)

Jon Balun (bass/vocals)

Mustafa Daka (drums)

We go deep into “Let’s Tip the Landlord,” an album that includes a saxophone, a disturbing recurring ad, loving gaslighting, the Beach Boys and Sirhan Sirhan … a must-listen!

See the Brokedowns at Beat Kitchen in April! You have plenty of advance notice!!

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Car Con Carne is sponsored by Exploding House Printing.

Exploding House Printing is here for all of your screen printing, embroidery and other merchandising needs. They’re local, headquartered in the heart of Hermosa. Here’s why I want you to consider them for your t-shirts, merch, whatever - their focus is on small businesses, bands, brands, and everything in between. They’ve worked on products for Meat Wave, Empty Bottle, the Music Box, Dante’s Pizzeria, the Brokedowns, and the list goes on and on.

Jonathan at Exploding House has been doing screen printing for decades. He knows what he’s doing - besides his technical expertise, he delivers production efficiency and cost awareness to offer boutique print shop quality at much lower, large print shop prices.

Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or check out their site at exploding house printing dot com for a quote, or to see a list of some of their clients.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’ve been reading comics since I was a small child. I’m pretty sure, without exaggeration, that I learned how to read largely because of comics.

Like anyone in the hobby, I’d fallen in and out of it through the years. These days, I’m fully back in it, though I’m not terribly concerned with new titles. I’m more interested in back issues, mainly from the formative years of my youth- the so-called “Bronze Age “ between 1970-1985.

I’ve been building up my collection with lots of “reader copies” - books that are good for the home library but won’t exactly be paying for any college tuition bills. As I’ve been jumping back in, it’s clear that since I started collecting many years ago, the hobby of collecting has changed a lot, to no one’s surprise.

“Slabbed,” or professionally graded and encased comics are very much a factor in modern collecting, making even amateur collectors think of comics less as pieces of a narrative and more as numbers on a 10 scale. I used to - still do - chase missing books and key issues. The chase for books that are only graded above certain numbers is relatively new and kinda gross to me, though I realize that may make me sound like an old man.

It’s an interesting time for the aftermarket, and that’s the focus of this episode. Don’t be scared: this one’s not a nerdy deep dive into comic book lore. Instead, it’s about the art and science of collecting, speculation, and the buying and selling of used comics. You don’t need to read comics to listen or watch this episode.

Two of my Facebook friends seem to have figured a lot of this puzzle out, and I’ve wanted to pick their brains for a while. Joining me are two guys who never met before recording.

First, it’s Jon Belonio. Find him at cstyledog on Instagram, cstyledog_comics on ebay

And here’s Dave Zortea. He’s at Zortea.us, Tiki Comics on Facebook Marketplace, and Tikicomicsandmore on ebay.

For this episode,we met outside the Half Price Books in Schaumburg - I’m not convinced there are deals to find at Half Price Books, but it made geographic sense to meet there.

Discussed on this episode:

-Is there money to be made in flipping comics?

-Where do you source comics?

-What platforms are best for selling?
-Should we all pool resources and do a video claim sale together?

-Raw vs. slabbed.

-The simple joy of having a good “reader copy”

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Car Con Carne is also sponsored by Exploding House Printing.

Bands, brands, listeners who want to get the word out: Exploding House Printing can help with your screen printing, embroidery and other merch needs.

Exploding House delivers production efficiency and cost awareness to offer boutique print shop quality at much lower, large print shop prices.

Check out their work on Instagram at (at)explodinghouse, or go to their website or just email info@explodinghouseprinting.com to get a quote!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.