Today Justin sits down with comedian Mike Polk. Mike's all over the place doing standup, sketch and videos. We talk about his influences, how he grew up, whether to or not to be political publically and the lack of an abundance of female comics in Cleveland. 

Today on No Sleep in the CLE, Justin Markert sits down with Cleveland rock band Ottawa. In a year and a half Ottawa has accomplished quite a bit for a local band. We talk about the meaning behind their name, songwriting process, favorite local bands, and the philosophy that a good melody is a good melody even if it's a NKOTB song. 

Today we talk to Chayla and Ryan from the band Seafair who will be releasing their debut album at the Grog Shop on May 23. We play cuts from the record and talk about their journey as a band. Other music featured: Ottawa

In our second episode of the week (!) we sit down with Jimmy Graham. Jimmy is a fascinating comedian who is a part of the Accidental Comedy Club collective run by Ramon Rivas. While he'd probably make fun of me for saying this, his comedy is almost performance art, he pushes boundaries. He once won a comedy "contest" and burned with winnings in front of all the losers. He tells a great story about how he once incorporated a homeless man (?) into his routine. 

Justin Markert sits down with Cleveland singer/songwriter Megan Zurkey who is releasing her latest ep, "Behind Your Eyes" at the Happy Dog on May 15 with the Ohio Weather Band and Top Hat Black. Megan talks about how she got into music, her favorite artists and the songwriting process.

Justin interviews Sam and Jimmy from Welshly Arms, who are releasing their debut album this week and will be performing at the House of Blues in Cleveland on Saturday May 9. We talk about how the band got started, the agony of choosing an album/band name that isn't too goofy and isn't too serious, the power of no, tips for local bands, and through a series of strange coincidences realize what a small world it is.