Various Things

Michael is one of those rare folks, that combines talent, passion, and drive, in a way that makes them very good at what they do. And over the years, he has learned how to be, the photographer he has wanted to be. In this interview, we talk about Michaels experience working in the photography world, from his first job as a digital archivist at Magnum, to the grind of working as a photojournalist,...

Todays interview is with Jason Orr. Jay got his start playing guitar, with the band benchmark in Woodbridge, Virginia in the early 1990s, and by the late 90s, had moved down to Richmond, to play guitar with the hardcore band, Hate-O-Four. He then went on to play with one of my favorite bands ever, Dead Serious. He also contributed vocal duties with Press Your Luck, and the infamous Barfight.

Today's interview is with Marty Key. Marty is the owner of Steady Sounds, a record store which stood here in Richmond, VA, and became a fixture of Richmond culture in the 2010s. And also, Marty is a musician, starting out as the frontman for the Richmond Punk Group Bad Guy Reaction in the 1990s, and later, playing bass for a whole host of bands, from Bratmobile, to Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, You...

Those sounds you heard at our opening, are of Lucky and Lo Lem, both rescued Northern white-cheeked Gibbons, which were recorded by today's guest, Primatologist Caroline Rowley. Caroline got their start in this field, as an undergrad at Tulane University, and then went on to Central Washington University for a Masters in Primate Behaviour and Ecology. And over the past few years, has applied these...

Today's interview is with Taylor Steele. Taylor was the singer for the 1990s hardcore band Four Walls Falling. As vocalist, he delivered leftist politics with a concern for both animal welfare and the environment, backed with a lyrical positivity that encouraged the listener to believe in their own power, and capabilities, a foundation that served as an inspiration for many future Richmond punks,...

Today's interview is with activist, Krissi Vandenberg. Since the 1990s, Krissi has been involved with the outreach group, Vegan Action, and since 2000, has served as the executive director, leading the organization to certify many vegan products on store shelves, offering folks a researched, and verifiable way to make cruelty-free choices. It was awesome to talk with Krissi, and hear her story of...

Today's interview is with artist, Alix Petrie. The first time I saw Alix's paintings, I was blown away. There was a unique style, a language, that just made my brain happy. And in getting to know her, I got to see her actually paint, which is one of those moments where, doing what she does so well, a person transforms, before your eyes, and you realize, this is what this person was born to do. And...

Todays interview is with Giustino Riccio. For almost 30 years now, Giustino has played the timbales in the Richmond Virginia-based salsa band, Bio Ritmo. And more recently, has been studying, experimenting, and crafting, some amazing pizzas, first for friend in a restaurant, then as an extension of the Galley restaurant here in Richmond. Now Guistino is gearing up to share these pizzas with friend...

Today's interview is with tattoo artist, Amy Black. Since the 2000s, Amy has been doing custom tattoos here in Richmond Virginia. And along the way, began offering realistic cosmetic tattooing to survivors of breast cancer. In this interview, we talk about how she got started, how she came to work with cancer survivors, what its like running her own shop, as well as her personal experience with Bu...

I met Thomas Barnett around 1993, when he was the singer for the band Inquisition. As a young punk here in Richmond, inquisition showed a path for me and my friends, that was both inspiring and empowering, both in their content and in operation. Thomas had a clear love for both people, and punk rock. And it came through so clearly. At any show, you could find him, talking with folks in the crowd,...

Todays interview is with Rob Huddleston. Rob is a musician and songwriter, who since the early 1990s, has been making music in the vein of punk rock, first as bassist for the, I will call them legendary, richmond punk band inquisition, then as a guitarist and singer in the band Ann Beretta, as well as with music released under his own name. It was awesome to talk with Rob, get an overview of his f...

If your from Richmond, Virginia, you may be familiar with the record store, Vinyl Conflict. For the past 9 years, it has been owned by today's guest, Bobby Egger. Bobby is a fan of punk and hardcore music, who as you will hear today, has taken the skills hes honed over the years, to help make an impact in the culture of punk rock and independent music, either with the store itself, it's record lab...

If you've spent anytime observing the Richmond Hip Hop Scene, you may have come across an Emcee by the name of BlackLiq,or Black Liquid as he used to be called. It may have been hearing him emcee, or perhaps, or acting as DJ on one of the two radio shows he hosts. But if you get the chance to talk to him, you will realize that the philosophy shared through his works, does not stop where the art do...

Todays interview is with artist Kate Parnell, Kate is an amazing artist who, with her project Garfieldfrommemory, has found a way to transcend many of the boundaries of both art, and social media, and make a unique connection with people that resonates in a way with folks that is almost hard to describe. She also is co-creator of the Washington DC-based zine, HorseCorn, where she publishes anythin...

Today's interview is with Mark Miley. Mark Miley is a recording engineer, who, in the 1990s and 2000's, recorded a TON of bands at his Glasshand Studio here in Richmond. And if you listened to music from this city, chances are, he may have recorded a record by a band you loved. And when he wasn't recording, he was playing drums with his band Armwood, a genre defying band that is still continue to...

Greg Kusterbeck is a multi-instrument musician, who gained notoriety in the mid-90s Southside Richmond Punk scene as the bassist of Uphill Down, and recently has been releasing music with his band Slugging Buddha, as well as 92FU. On the recording front, he has crafted himself a business mixing recordings for punk rock bands, from his Teal Wave studio, at his home in Florida.

For almost three decades, Kirsten Gray has been helping artists to share their work with the world, via her art gallery, the Eric Schindler Gallery, located in the Church Hill neighborhood, of Richmond, Virginia. I was excited to talk with Kirsten, and find out how a gallery works, what she looks for in both art and artists, and also, her thoughts on what artists should do when approaching a galle...

This weeks guest is Israfel Sivad. Israfel is an author who has built a prolific collection of releases, focused on documenting his personal story of struggles with mental health. His latest book, Disorder, continues in this format, and takes the reader back to the beginning of that journey. I got to know Israfel in the south-side Richmond Virgina punk rock scene in the early 90s, where both out b...

We talk to a seven year-old about Minecraft, Pokemon, and the Sims.

We first talked with musician Jeff Grant in 2014 about making music and running his record label. However, since that time, Jeff has gone on to co-found the Hopscotch Coffee shop in Bloomington, Indiana, and become a father. So I called up Jeff to find out more about his business, and life as a musician, business owner, and father.

This episode is with BCMusic1st. BC is a multi-talented artist, a hip hop artist, who, with his traditional understanding of hip-hop, has adapted his life to mold into the traditional four elements of hip hop. So today, we talk with BC about how he approaches each art, his history in making culture, and how he approaches these things not only as a rap fan, but also as a father.

For a while now, Andrew Clarke has been the co-owner of 821 Cafe, a unique, and popular restaraunt here in Richmond. I say uniqe, because it is one of the few places in the city that has such a divere crowd. You will see a family, next to a punk rocker, next to a VCU student, next to a bar regular. And the place gets busy. So I wanted to talk to Andrew, who I met growing up, and who I played in a...

Tim Towslee has lead an interesting life, from working at record stores, to roadeying for touring bands, to learning other trades like barbering, or working at a tattoo shop. But it was his drive for learning, and his realization of the issues in the public education system that drove him to what he spends most of his time on, teaching. In this episode, we talk with Tim about how he got into punk...

For some folks, punk rock is more than a genre, it's their way of life. For the past twenty years, that calling, to make music, do things yourself, and connect with a community has been heard by todays guest, freeman martin. As the singer in a number of bands, and as a tattoo artist, freeman has left his mark on a lot of things in richmond. But also, he's a collector of these things. So I was exci...

Since the 2000s, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been gaining a popularity in the united states at an increasing speed. Today, you can find Gyms that specialize in Jiu-Jitsu with realtive ease. But it hasn't always been that way. Andrew Smith was one of the folks that this art caught on with, and over the past decade he has been working to become both a highly skilled practioner, as well as, a teacher of...