FULLSELF SESSIONS

FULLSELF SESSIONS 29 — Jon Babin is HERE 🚪 A Hot Topic hat. A ghost mall. Rock n roll roots that refuses to die- we dive into the ruins of Stratford Square — dust, echoes, and the strange beauty of what used to be. The conversation drifts through Spring Hill, Golf Mill, FYE aisles, burned CDs, and the feeling of discovering music when it still felt like a secret meant just for you. #plans Then it opens up. Jon Babin (of @leverband ) steps in — tracing the thread from childhood karaoke machines to building full records from nothing but instinct. We talk about the records that shape you — Plans by Death Cab for Cutie, the emotional architecture of a “perfect album,” the era that blurred indie, folk, and dream pop into something sacred. The pull of artists like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, The Beatles, The Doors — and even the unexpected sparks: Eminem, Chumbawamba, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys. Everything counts. Everything leaves a mark. This is about building something from the ground up 🌱 Jon breaks down his solo process — writing, tracking, playing every instrument, finishing an entire album in 21 days. No waiting. No excuses. Just commitment to the songs and the belief that they deserve to exist. And then it expands beyond music. Chicago’s DIY scene — alive, diverse, and necessary.
The need for real representation, real voices, real inclusion. The idea that leadership isn’t given — it’s taken, built, embodied. By the end, we’re somewhere deeper:
Dreams as signal.
Songs as transmissions.
The subconscious as collaborator. Some things feel random.
Some things feel destined.
Most of it lives somewhere in between. This one is about memory, creation, and the fire that keeps pulling you back to make art ⚡️ Link in bio! Tap in & tag someone you think would dig this sesh ! Somewhere between the signal and the silence- PEACE, LOVE & Rock n roll forever& alvvvays ! -FULLSELF :x/:o #FullselfSessions

FULLSELF SESSIONS 28 — SYLVIA IVY It’s time. Episode 28 has been forming in the background for a while now… and today it finally steps into the light. This one means a lot. @_sylvia_ivy_ returns — and what unfolds is something deeper than an interview. It’s a document of transformation. Of moving through instability and coming out the other side with clarity, softness, and power. We talk about 2025, about healing, about learning how to observe your own mind like a chessboard instead of a battlefield. There’s something in this conversation about witnessing yourself — journaling, dream states, reflection — not as escape, but as entry. Entry into something more honest. And then… the music. A whole new world is opening:
An ensemble. A living, breathing band. Songs being reimagined, reshaped, taught, shared. Letting go of control just enough to let the “happy accidents” in. There’s something beautiful about hearing someone talk about collaboration not as compromise — but as expansion. We get into tone as something cosmic. Intervals as relationships. Tritones. Minor seconds. The tension that makes things feel alive. This episode holds a lot:
healing
process
music philosophy
laughter
bugs (yes, really)
and the reminder that you don’t have to be perfect to begin — you just have to begin. If you’ve been waiting to step into your next version… this might be your sign. FULLSELF is not an idea.
It’s a practice. Episode 28 is out now. Tap in.

Thrilled to announce here on Good Friday that @fullselfsessions 27 with Chicago’s very own @stalledband is out NOW! 💥 Weee open on 27 — the breaking point, the threshold — and trace it back through survival, sound, and the slow reconstruction of Zzz JUICEYiest thrashy ggoodnesss that IS da sound of STALLED. The heart of da FULLSELF found here again within the session chambers. DIY blood still in the concrete… And beneath it all… Pave Desire. A record born from obsession, duality, conviction — the tension between honoring your fire and burying it alive. Mysterious. Cinematic. Heavy in ways that don’t always make notes— sum frequency’s here R unmatched, unexplainable.. again why Stalled continues to be on of my favorite bands today. Beee ready.. 4/17/26! The new Record is coming!!! We discuss deep cuts, weird covers, sour candy memories, dream states, and the kind of creation that only reveals itself when you’re fully in it 🌀 This one doesn’t just play — it lingers through the ether’ vividly ~ Link in bio! Pave Desire out 4/17/26 ⚡️ #FULLSELFSESSIONS27 #Stalled #PaveDesire #417 #binauralbeats

#flyer 🥏

Alrighttt.. ⚡️ DoCtOrZ orderZ here: MAY 18th ! @_sylvia_ivy_ @diondre_dunigan @publicmaximiano !!! ⚡️ @lowdown.chi ! 🚪 at 6.30 ! TuNeZzzzzz at 7 pm! #DoctorFullself #may18 #lowdown #DIYchirawknroll ⚡️

OMG! FULLSELF SESSIONS pop up GIGaROOOO at the BURLY TONIGHT!? @thefu11m00n + @starter.wife + @grobstagram AAAAND @themichaelprussellnow LIVE at @theburlingtonbar TONIGHT!!!? it’s sooooooooooooo PaRtY Tiiiiime!!!!!!!! Whoooo!

2026? Spring is here. It’s no telling the @stalledband episode has been STALLED.. Rumor of the new record being released continue to lurk heavy through the airwaves of wonder.. the winds of curiosity mill 🐉 #COMINGSOON #BathAndBodyWorks #chasingfireflies

Got to talk TONE again w/ @_sylvia_ivy_ ! Come catch some fresh noise (rumor FULL IvY band!! 🤪) will be there.. Tonight, tonight at Gallery Wrightwood 💥 ⚾️🎶! 6 pm ! 💥 🚪⚡️3325 W Wrightwood Ave⚡️ 🚪💥 I think @fuunny_faces will be there too.. Come see, feel, hear, touch, smell & experience da TONE! Music @ 7 pm

Okay. Who is ready for The EVERYTHING IS COMING UP MILLHOUSE Extravaganza at the BURLINGTON BAR 3/31 Tues ⚡️ NIGHT 💥 For a buy 1 get 2 tickets in premium PREMIER aka 2 for 10 TUEZ hosted by @chaepter aka “NIGHT AT THE BURLY 69” with possible feat. appearances of G.RiddlEr & potentially even $piceMaNg of Chicago’s very own @thegnarwaverangers Premier Premuim and LIVE (Not AI) experiences from Chi town acts such as @thefu11m00n , @starter.wife , @grobstagram & @themichaelprussellnow WiTh DaAa full band ! 🧨 Ticket link in bio. Let’s sell this out & MOSH TOGETHER IN LOVE OVER FEAR! RocknRoll 4ever Chicago !⚡️ Possibly even members of @thezookusshow to appear 💥 #Boom #NightAtTheBurly69 #MPR #StarterWife #GROB

🤠⚡️🎙️ FULLSELF SESSION 26 — PERSIAN COWBOY 🎙️⚡️ 🐎 OH YEaaa & HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL BODYS ALL LIVING BEINGZ BEAMING!! 🤗 Today weee welcome Sarah @sarahinthebeerlight — aka Persian Cowboy — into the FULLSELF universe 🌀 From making songs as a kid & forcing their little sister to listen… lol.. to piano lessons never taken seriously… to basements, house shows, DIY rooms, and the story of the journey from Madison to Chicago & how @persiancowband got DA name ! — 💥 This conversation was a true joy opening the new year here 🎶 📻 We dive n & chop it up about: 🌲 Madison’s all-ages DIY scene 🏠 throwing house shows (stress + reward) 🤠 HOW Persian Cowboy accidentally became the name 🚚 moving to Chicago + building a band 🌀 non-binary identity, relationships, belief, doubt, and meaning 🎶 songwriting, time, God, dead malls, and why art still matters Persian Cowboy has been a band since August 2024 — one song out, an EP on the way, and a DIY year ahead. 📍 SHOW TODAY — 2 PM @ @recordbreakerschicago AND @persiancowband & @c4rt3rward N friendz & BABY playing Schubas tavern 3/10 !! Get ur tixxx: /shows/02-10-2026-high-five/ 🎥 FULLSELF SESSION 26 out now on YouTube! Link in bio!! If you grew up in basements, house shows, or places that barely existed — this one’s for you ☯️ #FULLSELFSESSIONS #FULLSELF26 #PersianCowboy #DIYchiScene RecordBreakers 💿💘 SacredConversations ⚡️

The Year I Said YES To the FLOW 🌀Eye posted the 1sT Stream Of Consciousness jam w/o knowing it would open anything.. it opened portals & through the holy instant we fell— By the end of the year there were 206 SOC recordings — each one a document, each one a shedding- weee came into thee present through these notes What started alone kept widening SOC 200 performed/ filmed at DeAdMaLL Golf Mill with Doctor Sleep @startling_morning & SOC 206 with Chaepter @chaepter ⚡️ Different rooms, same electricity The TO IS project @thisoneissacred - performed 4 shows ⚡️ Learning to play louder & improvise with the wildly talented @jimmagas & @cartoonnastyyy 🌀 Noise as ritual, sound as offering! We cut a tape YUP! (only 18 remaining!!) ⚡️ these are not on streaming services or Bandcamp < physical only > I launched @fullselfsessions with the wonderful @_sylvia_ivy_ and kept saying yes to conversation — @gennawithagig was an excellent 1st guest for @rockradiousa ⚡️making it 42 plus Artists I got to speak & collaborate with this year ! 🥰🌀🫂 Learning how 2 listen as deeply as we play - thank you all so much 🤗 I followed the sound SOC wave sound to The Driftless — inward and outward & recorded and released my first improved live album (22 tracks) <SOC & freeeform flow> & then another 33 tracks for the Driftless II (dedicated to the one I love @mizlahoney ) All improvised. All captured in the moment ♾️ I also stepped behind the glass — engineering ZOOKUS @thezookusshow & recording my first LIVE Record at Al’s Pine Valley with The Full Moon @thefu11m00n 🌕 🎶 There were collaborations, mentors, slow moments too — including a stripped-down Don’t Fear the Reaper with my favorite Artist Way teacher @jetkaehn Somewhere along the way I stopped chasing outcomes and started honoring process. I let go of letting go & allowed forgiveness & starting breathing 🌀 This wasn’t about productivity It was about becoming No recap — . . . . . . . . . . . Just be With gratitude, smoke, courage & sound, keeep being ALL of you - peacen’LoVE -Michael P. Russell ⚡️ #YearOfBecoming #MichaelPRussell #StreamOfConsciousness #FULLSELF

🌕 FULLSELF SESSIONS 25 — NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIAL 🌕 We close the year with @chaepter — a true DIY lifer carving warmth out of limitations. Four-track recordings. One drum track. Live in a room. Tape over perfection. We talk building records fast and honestly, the beauty of creative constraints, analog obsession, Chicago’s electric DIY pulse, and why community matters more than algorithms. From The Hope Collector to stop-motion bugs, miniatures, mythic dragons, and the urgency to keep showing up for live music — this one is about agency, process, and making something every day. A New Year’s reminder from FULLSELF SESSIONS: create • connect • support your scene • keep rocking together 🖤 🎥 Full session on YouTube 💿 Music on Bandcamp 🔗 Link in bio #FULLSELFSessions #Chapter #DIYCHI #AnalogForever #NewYearsEve