Various Things

Todays interview is with James Hoffer. I first met James in the mid-1990s, as he was playing in bands like Thread, later known as Forefront, around the Richmond Punk Scene. And together with bands like Indypendant, they were part of a group of bands from south of the river, here in the Richmond Hardcore scene. And over the years, James has kept on playing in bands, and writing and releasing music....

Today's interview is with Pedro Aida. Pedro is a musician, a vocalist and guitarist that began playing in punk bands in the 1990s. He also is known as a recording engineer, who got his start at Richmond's Sound of Music, before opening his own studio, Audio Verite. Currently he plays in three bands, the band Fire Sale, which is kind of a punk rock supergroup, Shotclock, and The Iron Roses, in whic...

For 20 years, Jenny Mcgurk made things for the sets of the film, video, and ad industry. And then one day, she realized it was not fitting where she was at in life any more. So she took a class on something she was interested in, and a whole new world opened for her, a life of work in the spiritual realm. Today, she offers a variety of spiritual services, painting, readings, as well as connecting...

Todays conversation is with musician, and recording engineer, Chris Unrath. Chris has been playing in bands around Philadelphia, since 1980. First in the punk band No Milk, then again in the more alternative band, Baby Flamehead, which kind of blew up for a bit. And today, he's still playing in rock bands. But perhaps my favorite band of his, was when he was in Helen Back and the str8-razors, in t...

Todays episode is with Earl Yevak. Earl is a musician, artist, and tattoo artist, currently located in Denver, Colorado. I've known Earl since the late 1990s, from hanging our and going to hardcore shows here in Richmond, VA. So this conversations goes into topics that go WAY back, from his life in Straight Edge and Hardcore, being one of, essentially, the founders of the Guerilla Crew, joinging t...

I met Bo here in Richmond, Virginia, around 1994, when he sang for the band Uphill Down, and worked at the local indie record store, Soundhole. And between those two things, Bo kinda changed my life. One, by the model of his band and how it operated to us young southisde Richmond, VA punk kids, even going so far as to record us, and help us source tapes, and two, from his recommendations of music...

Today's interview, is with Rob McAdams. Rob is the director of Partners in The Arts, a group working out of the University of Richmond, to integrate the arts into learning in local schools. The result, is the creation of programs that capture, and awaken a students creativity, to bring a deeper understanding and exploration to the subjects they may engage in. Its kind of amazing. And Rob has done...

Todays interview is with Doug Nunnally of The Auricular. Doug started reviewing music around 2009, on his music blog, and quickly discovered the depth of music here in the city of Richmond, VA. Since then, Doug has gone on to extensively document and champion this music, most notably with The Auricular, a online publication that serves as a distillation of his love for exposing, appreciating, and...

Today's interview is Jeff Grant. Over the years, we've spoken to Jeff on this podcast a few times, first back in 2014, then in 2019, and now in 2023. And each time we check in, Jeff seems to be doing something new and awesome. From running a record label and making music with his band Full Sun, to opening a group of coffee shops, hopscotch coffee, in Bloomington, Indiana where he has lived for the...

Today's interview is with Ryan Groat. Ryan has been a guitarist, playing in hardcore bands for the past two decades. He got his start playing with his teenage friends in the hardcore band, Down To Nothing. This is where I first met him, when I recorded some of their early recordings, and quickly it became apparent the amount of talent he had for guitar, and enthusiasm he had for hardcore. After pl...

Today's interview is with musician and designer, Dan Tulloh. I first met Dan back when we were both in our teens here in Richmond, and I quickly discovered him to be an amazing guitarist. His guitar work is something that blends heaviness, melody and structure, in a way I have found few artists to be able to pull off, shaping the bands he has played with, like Indypendant, From Earth To Ashes, Sca...

Today's conversation is with someone who is making a big difference in the lives of the young kids who call her their teacher, Robin Cullum. I first met Robin years ago, and through bits of fate, I've gotten to know her more and more. Robin teaches kids that are deemed to have special needs. They may receive this designation for a variety of reasons, but the main thing they have in common, is that...

Todays interview, is with musician, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and instructor, business owner, woodworker and overall awesome person, Trey Martin. Trey has had a few instances in his life, to pursue things tothe point where he became really good at them, one on the path of woodworker, starting from an early age, and two, in his path of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, started later in life. And where some...

Today's interview is with author, and academic, Chris L Terry. Chris spent his teen years singing in the Richmond, VA punk scene, where I first met him, and he has gone on from that to become both an author, and teacher. Chris' writing draws from his personal life, and offers a place of reflection to his experiences growing up as a human being of mixed race, in the south, admist the 90s, and punk...

Today's interview is with artist, Jack Lawrence. Jack began showing his work in late 90s, and over time, has built up a skill level that is truly astonishing for any painter. His work, painted so realistically you think it's a photograph, is usually made from staged sets he creates by hand, transforming his personal spaces, hiring actors to stand in, and then pulling that moment together, with the...

Today's interview is with musician, James Menefee. James started playing punk rock in the early 90's as the bassist for the band Fun Size, and over the course of that decade, took the band, from a band that self-released their own recordings, and played locally, to one that was on a label, and had toured the country. And later, formed River City High, a band that left off where Fun Size ended, and...

Today's interview is with Jason Bayless. For the past few decades, Jason has worked as an activist working towards radical change, with an emphasis on decreasing the exploitation and suffering of all living beings. From working with PETA to uncover abuse in Ringling Brother's circus, to working to extend the voice of the Zapatista community to his own, Jason's work has centered around tapping into...

Talking about art, earliest memories, Roblox, Youtube, etc. Bonus interview with a cat.

Today's interview is with Cody Jones. Cody grew up with a love for two things: DC Hardcore, and toys. And after pursuing a career in education, decided to leave a comfortable career to open his own toy store, the Toy Lair, here in Richmond, VA. Now a year in, Cody and his friends are bringing the worlds of underground art, and toys together in a really awesome way, from curating a selection of new...

Today's interview is with a visual artist many here in Richmond simply know as Oura, or Mister Oura. For the past few decades, Oura Sananikone's illustrative and graphic art an d characters have been a fixture in the Richmond, VA art scene, working across mediums from everything from zines to toys. And recently, with friend Cody, opened the Toy Lair shop in Carytown, here in Richmond, VA. So it wa...

Today's interview is with Jason Boyer. Jason began playing music in hardcore bands, and tattooing, while stil just in his teens. By the time i met him, he had developed into an amazing tattooist, and also had started on the musical path that he continues to this day, forgoing the more traditional band approach, to make his own music, on his own, first under the name, Nerve City. Today, His musical...

Today, to celebrate my 50th episode, we are interviewing my friend Dave Brown, who we had our first podcast with 10 years ago when I started this. Dave was my first guest, because, when I looked around the folks in my life, my world, he has consistently been a person that inspires me, and who I respect a lot. And since the time I interviewed Dave, he has gone through some big life changes, that to...

Todays interview, is with my friend, Zo, who you may know as yourbro, zo, host of the polkadotrabbit podcast, or from where I initially met him, as the singer of the 1990s Richmond hardcore band, indypendant. for years, zo has been a person in my life, that has met me with a deep energy, a focus on truth, that has resonated, and challenged my conceptions of the spiritual realms, and the physical w...

Today's episode is with Adam Nathanson. Adam grew up in New Jersey, and in the 1980s began playing in Hardcore punk bands around New York City, first with bands Mister Softee, and Trauma, then with life's blood, and band that ultimately led to the band Born Against. After Born Against, Adam went on to form an even more musically interesting band, called the Young Pioneers. In this conversation we...

Today's guest is Tim Towslee. We last talked to Tim back in 2017, about his experiences working as a teacher, teaching high school students, a job he had been working for over a decade. But in the last five years, some things had changed. Tim had become demoralized by the roles he was being expected to fill, and deeply effected, like any human being would be, by the issues he was witnessing among...