Music and Booze With Mo

Xavier Sumter speaks and sings on this episode, about the myriad of instruments he studied before deciding that maybe his voice was the favorite, and picking up bar skills all the way from Baltimore to his current gig at Chicago's Nobody's Darling. We talk inclusion, community, and all the singers who have (and will!) inspire his cocktails. Check out his playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/use...

Tiffanie Barriere, aka The Drinking Coach, represents for the South and more. She made an Atlanta airport bar (One Flew South) an international destination and sensation, and now finds herself educating others not only on how to make cocktails, but the history behind them as well. She also crushes at karaoke. (pic by Gregory Miller) Check out the songs she's loving right now: https://open.spotify....

Sticking around home for this episode, hablo con Marlene Olarra, a native Angeleno who is running the bar at Highland Park's Nativo in East Los Angeles after a stint at the highly regarded Faith + Flower, braving the elite in Beverly Hills, and learning some basics from bar legends. Oh, the music of J Dilla may have influenced a drink or two along the way. Find her playlist here: https://open.spot...

James Horn is both a veteran of Philly's punk scene (his ex bands include the Tough Shits & The Whips) & legendary spot Tattooed Mom, where everybody knows your name... and probably your band. Between living in a rock 'n' roll party house and landing his dream bar job, he's got some stories to tell. Check out his soundtrack to your night out here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cWulf8A...

Feizal Valli's bartending past was full of strippers & gangsters, his present is about closing his award winning bar in Birmingham, Alabama (the Atomic Lounge) for his future new place, The House of Found Objects. Music went along for the ride - R.E.M.'s Mike Mills got behind his bar, & Elvis was key in Atomic's success. Check out Feizal's found music here: https://open.spotify.com/playlis...

Bassist and bar manager Todd Daigle, of Littleton, Colorado's Palenque Cocina y Agaveria, tells us all about the European punk tour circuit, mezcals he loves to sip, and why he named his puppy after a Rancid song. And stick around to hear a track from his current band, Egoista! His sippin' tunes here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

We're back in a bar! Dottie Deville not only owns San Diego's legendary dive, Til Two Club, with her husband, but she also creates the musically themed drink menu and is a pretty popular burlesque dancer too. She can shake her cocktails and her ta-tas! She regales us with tales of ghosts, dangerous bands, and having a grandma in the burlesque biz.  Check out her Spotify playlist here: https://open...

Alli Patton of Birmingham, Alabama's Pilcrow Cocktail Cellar balances bartending & music journalism after being inspired by the movie "Cocktail" and her deep love of Dolly Parton. She's also made the playlist to her dream dive bar, "those beautifully unglamorous shelters from the storm," which you can find on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iXKsIzsUquMLbwTUxaIU4?si=81ff31acd7164e40

Greg Dulli may be mostly known for his work with rock bands The Afghan Whigs & Twilight Singers, but he also co-owns a bunch of bars scattered around LA & New Orleans (The Short Stop, R Bar, & many more). He also happens to be a dear friend, & an inspiration for this podcast. What better person to be the 100th guest? Hang with us for a chill session about his days serving up drinks...

It's the 4th anniversary of this podcast, so I ventured to my favorite bar in the whole world - The Hotsy Totsy of Albany, CA - and talked to co-owner Michael Valladares about the ideal neighborhood bar, the East Bay music scene, and tacos. A perfect martini, and tacos. Check out this very East Bay playlist too (as a former East Bay kid, I approve!): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6LXzAfQ1JeU7I...

Ben Torres of Charlotte, North Carolina's Vintage Whiskey & Cigar Bar is pretty sure he was pulled up onstage during a Red Jumpsuit Apparatus show to play keyboards during their first song a couple decades ago. He's definitely sure about some whiskeys you must try, playing in a piano bar to bachelorette parties, & how to improve the "Charlotte palate." Check out his schizophrenic playlist...

Adhel Martinez left her long time gig at LA's Black Cat when the pandemic shook things up for bartenders & made her way south to San Diego's Tahona & Polite Provisions. We talk murder ballads, cumbias, & all things agave on this episode. Her daiquiri & shots playlist is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0sds2Q7j4Vo5h7dupl6sni?si=cbc775c25fef409a

David Muhlstein, the Captain of the Captain's Cabin and Hula's Modern Tiki in Phoenix, Arizona, loves some pop punk and tiki cocktails. We talk about how he wound up on the cover of a Blink 182 album, falling deep into the tiki and tropical drink scene, and writing songs about girls. Check out his Covid comfort tunes here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Luigi Hernandez, bar director of Mexico City's Waikiki Tiki Room and co-founder of Tikilha Mugs, loves tiki cocktails, plays ukulele, and blends Mexico's rich cultural history with his tiki aesthetic. He's been working in bars since he was 15 and totally schooled me on Mexican rockabilly. He also has a fun playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Sam Miller, bar manager of SF's Pagan Idol, not only whips up amazing drinks and plays cello and raps, but he is also he is also making the world a more inclusive place. Hear about his non-profit B4.change, his love of Wu-Tang, bartending in Utah and playing hip hop in Wyoming on this episode. Playlist for revolution here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7d9VmyAqYET8GNuqqch1oI?si=3fbe405b8b8049b...

Noa Laporga, of Skull & Crown Trading Co. in Honolulu, tells us all about his local ghosts, being an indie rock kid in Hawaii, and the local island rums on this episode. Also, learn about his inaugural island weekender - Tiki In Waikiki! He also provided some jams to listen to: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7DxQ8i4FihDievBY9PmIb4?si=c0b59724631446dd

We're off to the Lei Low in Houston to chat with bar director David Perez about Mexican rockers, falling in love with rum, and accidentally giving a drink a naughty name... Check his playlist: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Ryan Lotz, beverage director of Traveler St. Hospitality (Boston's Shore Leave & more), recalls his sexy marching band days with the saxophone & how he fell in love with tropical drinks. Dig his jazzy mid-century vibe and more with his playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1PXSy3TVoO7YvAeLJPnL2d?si=51f5c5dd08734a24

Bartender, musician, serial entrepreneur... Shana Race does it all! From her start in Baltimore dives to LA cocktail haunts, punk bands to stoner rock, online cocktail classes and so much more, tune in for all sorts of stories! And her desert rock playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QeoJRKhnhxzR5Rfoz8KIR?si=c30479ba8a8d437e

Jesse Hubbard of Columbus, Ohio's Rye River Social, loves punk & has the war wounds to back it up. He's also taken his mixing skills to print with the book "Punk Rock & Cocktails," which pairs delicious drinks with rowdy records. Check out his playlist cuz it rocks: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Lauren Paylor serves us education (co-founder of Focus on Health), delicious cocktails (without alcohol!), social justice, & ukulele, all the way from Washington D.C.! Listen to her party tunes here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Shawn Lickliter has some tales to tell about his country club bartending days in Tennessee, touring the country playing rock & roll, & working his way up to bar director of one of LA's favorite spots, République. And his playlist? Space Westerns, baby! https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Becky Harris is not only the co-founder & chief distiller at Catoctin Creek Distilling, she is also the president of the American Craft Spirits Association. We talk about their Gwar collab (because whiskey is METAL), an upside of the pandemic, & how Missy Elliott is our spirit animal. (pic by Revel Photo Co.) Playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Dr. Nicola Nice & TJ River brought their backgrounds in sociology & marketing to the spirits world with Pomp & Whimsy gin liqueur, spun up some fun mood music to go with it, & taught some history of women making cocktails centuries ago along the way. Playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo

Lynn House, National Spirits Specialist & Portfolio Mixologist for Heaven Hill Brands, talks experimental musical theater, rhubarb & apple butter cocktails, and moving from the Chicago stage to the national one in the spirits biz. Also, Pat Benatar. Playlist here! https://open.spotify.com/user/shebmo