The Popko Project

Welcome to episode 29 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Damion Pick who served as the graphic designer for the Weekender from 2004-2006. For those of you who don’t know, the Weekender back in the day was THE BIBLE when it came to arts and entertainment in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. Not only was […]

Welcome to episode 28 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Nick Duvall, owner and master craftsman at Duvall Leatherwork in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Before opening Duvall Leatherwork, Nick was also the frontman of the metal band, Cyphilis, later knows as Spitcan. The band was extremely popular in Northeastern, Pennsylvania and even caught the […]

Welcome to episode 27 of The Popko Project where I’m joined by Christina Romanchick aka Christina Dugan as I knew her at the Weekender. Christina served as the marketing associate for the Weekender from 2002 – 2005 (intern and full time). She was my boss when I was an intern and I’m thankful she left […]

Welcome to episode 26 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Ben Travers. Ben is the owner and engineer at Astrology Days in downtown Wilkes-Barre, PA. Some people may know him from his time at the River Street Jazz Cafe, a top notch music venue in Plains, Pennsylvania. Others may know him as […]

***Disclaimer – none of the commentary in this podcast is in any way directed at the current staff or management team at the Times Leader Media Group*** Welcome to episode 25 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Rich Howells who served as staff writer and editor of the Weekender. I always felt […]

Welcome to episode 24 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Pat McGlynn and Stefan Ogonosky of the band Goodnight, Captain. They’ve been making music together for about 20 years now and will be releasing their new EP titled Departures on Friday, March 5th, available on all the streaming services. We talk about […]

Welcome to episode 23 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by the gentlemen from Violet Nine, a rock band based out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We discuss the release of their brand new single called “Grenade” which will be released on all streaming platforms on Friday, February 26th. Accompanying the new single is also […]

Welcome to episode 22 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Matt Morgis, the YOUNGEST intern in Weekender history. Some could say he accomplished more as an intern than some of us full time players did. We talk about how and why he started an internship at the Weekender when he wasn’t even […]

Welcome to episode 21 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Frank Marcinkowski of the band Mellifluous. We talk about the release of their upcoming EP titled “Just High Enough” which is their first bit of recorded material. That will drop on February 25th on all streaming services and they are planning an […]

Welcome to episode 20 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Katie Borkowski (aka Katie Gross during the Weekender days) who served as an account executive for the Weekender from 2005-2007. For those of you who don’t know, the Weekender back in the day was THE BIBLE when it came to arts and […]

Welcome to episode 19 of The Popko Project Podcast where I’m joined by the band Cuddledrug, who currently reside in Philadelphia but almost all have roots in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. We talk about how the band got started and their upcoming live stream that will take place TODAY at 4 p.m. on their Instagram page. We […]

Welcome to episode 18 of The Popko Project Podcast where I’m joined by the founder and lead singer of the indie/alternative rock band, Gasoline Heart. This was a real honor for me as I’ve been a huge fan of Gasoline Heart for about 8 years now. We talked about the band’s two new album releases […]

Welcome to episode 17 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Nikki M. Mascali Roarty who served as an intern, staff writer and editor for the Weekender between 2005 and 2012. For those of you who don’t know, the Weekender back in the day was THE BIBLE when it came to arts and […]

Welcome to episode 16 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Jim Mirabelli, the man behind the wildly popular, informative, and successful NEPA Pizza Review. Jim is an NEPA native who has been doing pizza reviews under NEPA Pizza Review for 9 years now. One of his pizza review videos has recently surpassed […]

Welcome to episode 15 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by The Tribe, a soul and R&B group from Northeastern, Pennsylvania. We discuss their new album called “Language!” which is available to stream everywhere, and how they recorded it during a pandemic. We also get into the history of the band, their new […]

Welcome to episode 14 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Bridget Chomko who served as an intern for the Weekender in 2007 before being hired full time as a sales rep later on that year. For those of you who don’t know, the Weekender back in the day was THE BIBLE when […]

Welcome to episode 13 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by members of a band called The Robinsonade from Northeastern, Pennsylvania. The band is comprised of Joe Lombardo, Ryan Grutt (also of University Drive, Alma Mater and Retrovai) and Nick Montini and Ryan Whitman (both also members of The Cryptid) They’ll be releasing […]

Welcome to episode 12 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by the man, the myth, the legend, Jim McDonald. Jim is the guy who started the Weekender publication back in 1993. For those of you who don’t know, the Weekender back in the day was THE BIBLE when it came to arts and […]

Welcome to episode 11 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Sam Chiarelli, a published author from Pittston, Pennyslvania. We talk about his book, “Dig: A Personal Prehistoric Journey”, which was released in 2018 and the upcoming free virtual discussion about it from the North Pocono public library on Thursday, January 21st at […]

Welcome to episode 10 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by a Northeastern, Pennsylvania based musician who goes by the name Telco. Once a trader on Wall Street in New York City, Telco discusses why he left a lucrative career to focus on music, the strategy behind releasing this project, streaming and playlists […]

Welcome to episode 9 of The Popko Project podcast where I’m joined by Kristie Grier Ceruti, aka Kristie Grier, aka KG. Kristie spent a combined 5 and a half years at the Weekender serving as editor and general manager. She was one the one who hired me as an intern at the Weekender so I’m […]

Welcome to episode 8 of the Popko Project Podcast where I’m joined by members of a hard rock band based out of the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.  We talk about the release of their new song called Filth Wish accompanied by their brand new video for it.  We also discuss the direction the band is […]

Welcome to episode 7 of The Popko Project Podcast where I’m joined by Tiffany Harm, aka T-Stine, who spent a combined 5 years at the Weekender serving as an intern, an account executive and an online content manager before leaving for Pittsburgh to pursue a career in education and development. I will always remember Tiffany […]

Welcome to episode 6 of The Popko Project podcast where Popko is joined by Amos Valenti, who is a co-owner of the Pittston, Pennsylvania based business, Pittston Ketchup Company. Amos tells us how the company got it’s name, the process of starting a business, why Pittston, what the future holds for the company and how […]

Welcome to episode 5 of The Popko Project Podcast where Popko is joined by Jane Clements-Smith, who served as an account executive for the Weekender from 2008 – 2009. The Weekender was, at one time, THE GO TO arts and entertianment publication in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. Before the Weekender, Jane spent some time working at the […]