Episode #49 - Mike Martzke (Lil Mike)

Mike Martzke aka Lil Mike organized, promoted and emcee'd hundreds of concerts and nightclub events for bands including Sublime, Green Day, Fugazi, Rancid and many more. But before all that, he challenged the status quo in Reston with bands like Toolin' for Bovines and Jesus Freak. These early bands laid the groundwork for the Reston hardcore sound to come. And though he loved seeing live shows in DC at the time and had made many connections there, he realized that he might have to leave and go all the way to San Francisco to not be harassed and ostracized in his own hometown. Once in SF, Lil Mike hooked up with some players from Reston and formed the celtic-folk punk band Bedlam Rovers. He provides vocals on their album Squeeze Your Inner Child. He also played guitar behind two 12-year-olds in the Rolling Scabs, a punk band that opened for the likes of Naked Raygun and Frightwig at Gilman St. Those are just some of the credits from Mike Martzke's storied career, and stories are what Lil Mike excels at telling, in speedy, rambling monologues that weave the story of punk together over four decades and two coasts. You can find some links to his music and more information about Lil Mike here: https://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2005/02/the_rolling_sca.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3dhQqa71V4 https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Komotion+International%22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVFOPIZ192w&ab_channel=whammo64