Exploring Washington State

Mark Pickerel is our guest for this episode.  Mark was the original drummer of the band Screaming Trees. Originally from Ellensburg Screaming Trees were one of the first bands to be signed to a major label during the "grunge era" The episode was recorded in the recording studio where the first Screaming Trees album was recorded.

Mark is an amazing story teller and the episode is full of stories from his time playing drums.  Currently Mark is performing with his band Pickerel and the Peyote 3 around the Northwest.  

In addition Mark has a vintage clothing business and a used records business. His inventory can be found at multiple locations in Kittitas County and beyond.  

If you are a fan of the Seattle music of the late 1980's and 1990's this episode will make your day.

 There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.   

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

Tom Stocks of Taylor Shellfish Farms joins us in this episode to chat about Oysters and more.

Taylor Shellfish Farms started farming shellfish in the  Puget Sound in 1890.  Much has changed about how Oysters, Clams, and Geoducks are farmed since the 1890's Tom shares a ton of information about Taylor Shellfish works to insure that the shellfish you enjoy today will be available in the future.  Sustainable is the focus every single day.

We learn about what makes the Oysters of Puget Sound some of the most desirable Oysters in the world today. 

Tom shares how he trains his staff how to shuck Oysters blindfolded so that they can effortlessly and safely shuck hundreds of Oysters daily at Taylors Oyster Bars. Tom has even designed a knife that makes the process easy and safe.

Tom explains why they do not serve red  wine at their restaurants. (the shellfish come first)

Baseball, beverages, food and more help round out the episode.

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.   

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

In this episode we are joined by Evan Calkins proprietor of Hoban Cards in Chehalis Washington.

Hoban Cards is a small letterpress company that specializes in thoughtfully designed printed business cards & stationery.

What started out as a hobby has grown into a business that has three antique  letter presses  and is selling beautiful and memorable business cards all across the U.S.

Evan shares stories about his journey as a printer and provides us with inspiration his company name.  Can you guess the inspiration? Take a look at the example cards on their website and see if you can find the pop culture references hidden in plane sight.

When Evan is not designing and printing cards he and his family enjoy exploring the region in their Westfalia.  He also has handmade wooden kayak that looks amazing.

In our busy digital age there is something warm, welcoming, and dare I say calming about a hand fed business or calling card that makes bold statement.  I cannot wait for my new cards to arrive. 

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

Chris Jones of The Chris Jones Band (CJB) joins us for this episode of the Exploring Washington State Podcast.

Chris is originally from Washington State but has spent some time in Okinawa, and on the east coast.  Then one fateful day while touring with his dog he met his current wife in Tacoma.

Now CJB is making music in Washington State again.  We were introduced to Chris at a industry event and knew we had to have him on as a guest.

At the time we recorded this episode Chris just returned from recording in Nashville with Jessica Lynne Witty. Chris shares his story about recording in Nashville.  We broke our rules and talked about another state =) It sounds like he absolutely had a blast in Nashville and soon we will be able to hear the songs that were recorded there.

Chris has a dream to play The Gorge.  We have no doubt that he will soon make that a reality. Make sure you check CJB out on any of the streaming services. If you're in Western Washington make sure you get out and see the band play. You can thank us later.

Chris plays two songs for us on this episode. Warning there will not be a dry eye in the house when you listen to his song "My Dog"

Thanks Chris for being our guest!

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

Andrew Handley co-founder of Union Hill Cider Co in East Wenatchee joins us for this episode.

Union Hill began with a failed experiment to make cider by letting it ferment in a closet.  Lets just say the first batch was not a success.  Fast forward to 2021 and Union Hill is creating some amazing ciders!  So glad they did not give up.

Andrew is an orchardist and along with his father and two close friends created Union Hill Cider Co. We chat about cider making, the Wenatchee Valley and much more during our episode.  We are also joined by Andrews wife Katja.  

When you are in Wenatchee you need to make sure you check out Union Hill Cider Co.  I personally really enjoy their 2021 Whiskey Business.  Barrel aged 10 months in red wine barrels and then finished in American Whiskey barrels.  You can pick up the Whiskey which makes this one so, so good.....tell them Scott sent you!

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

In this episode we are joined by Jane Park.  Jane lives in the Seattle area and has found a very interesting way to keep herself sane during the pandemic.

Like all of us Jane was getting stir crazy sitting at home without many options.  What started out as a way to keep herself occupied has turned into an amazing Tik Tok following.  That's right Jane is Tik Tok famous.  She has over 3 Million followers!

Sharing dance routines with her friends has morphed into sharing stories about life with her two children and some very incredibly entertaining skits.  Jane was a TV reporter before moving to Seattle. So, she is comfortable in front of the camera.

We chat about life with kids, Seattle, Tik Tok, and a lot more during our conversation.  This is a great casual conversation about life during a pandemic and more. 

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

Professional bagpipe player Jori Chisholm joins us for this episode. Jori has won the United States Gold Metal award 4 times.

Jori started playing the pipes at 11. 

One of the interesting things we found out about Jori is that he has played twice with Bob Weir (The Grateful Dead) in Seattle.
There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration. 

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

In this episode we chat with Tomas Perez co-founder of Bell's Cookie Co. in Seattle.

What do you do when the pandemic causes all of our catering clients to cancel their plans? Why you bake cookies of course.  Tomas and his wife Brooke were running a catering company and like many were having a lot of challenges when COVID was in full swing.  One night they were talking about what to do and they came up with the idea to bake cookies.  Within a week Bell's Cookie Co was born.

Tomas shares some great information about Bell's Cookies and the 12 varieties that they are currently serving. We talk about how they started with delivery in the Seattle area. Then opening a pop up stand near their commercial kitchen. Now, they have a retail location in Greenlake right across from the lake.

Bell's donates some of their proceeds to charity and they strive to be a business that is open and welcoming to everyone.

Could you use a good cookie?  Make sure to listen to this episode and determine which one would be your favorite.  Personally the Lemon Blueberry Shortbread and a cup of coffee sounds like a winner to us!

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

This episode we are joined by Seattle area TV and radio personality Pat Cashman.  

Pat got his start in radio by creating radio shows that he would broadcast through his parents house via the furnace. Even his grandmother would listen and would have grill marks from laying on the floor listening to the floor vent. 

After he started his career in Oregon and Idaho Pat ultimately ended up in Seattle at King 5. Early in his career at King he started working on Seattle Mariners commercials.  After a while Pat started contributing to Almost Live!  

Almost Live! was a local sketch comedy show that ran for 15 years.  Pat shares some great stories about his time on the show.  The Ballard Driving School and Roscoe's  Oriental Rug Emporium are just two of the skits we chat about. Pat also has done a series of podcast interviews called Almost Live! Still Alive where he interviews everyone who was involved in Almost Live! 

Pat does charity auctions, keynote speeches, writing, and hosts a podcast of his own.  Peculiar Podcast with Pat Cashman and Lisa Foster.  

This was truly an enjoyable experience for me to have a conversation with someone who contributed much humor to my life through the years. You will love listening to this episode.

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.  

Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ExploringWash)

Andrew Joslyn started playing the violin at age five. Today he is our guest  on this episode. In-between Andrew has accomplished more than most people twice his age.

This conversation covers Andrews start at age five learning the violin and growing up in a family of well known and established classical musicians to his most recent project as Curator/Orchestrator for the Essential Series by the Seattle Symphony.  His most recent show in the series is with Nancy Wilson of Heart with the Seattle Symphony on July 9, 2021.

Throughout the conversation Andrew shares stories about his musical career including his time in the band Handful of Lovin' and as the Orchestral Director for Macklemore including going on four world tours.  Andrew is also a National Trustee for The Recording Academy (The Grammy Awards)

In addition Andrew has participated in over 400 commercial recordings, worked as the film composer for multiple Hollywood films, contributes music to some the most popular podcasts and acts as the manager and arranger for Passenger String Quartet.

We chat about his favorite venues to play. There is an honorable mention to a surprise Seattle location that you will have to listen to find out about.  His story about El Corazon is hysterical. Find his recommendations for coffee and more.

This was so much fun for me, and I know you will enjoy learning more about Andrew and all  his musical contributions.

There are so many amazing places to explore in Washington State, you should just pack your bags and go! Explore Washington State is the perfect place for inspiration.