Hot Rods & Hijinks

Katrina Serene Photography on Weddings, Seniors, Travel Shoots & Classic Cars | Hot Rods and Hijinks Recorded at LillyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, the Hot Rods and Hijinks podcast welcomes photographer Katrina Morlen of Katrina Serene Photography as the show’s first female guest. Katrina shares how she started photography in high school, turned her first paid senior session into a full-time career after being unexpectedly fired, and has now worked full time for about 15+ years. The group discusses busy seasons (prom, seniors, fall and Christmas), mini sessions, client privacy, and how she focuses on photographing people and emotion. Katrina recounts travel goals that led to shoots in New Mexico, Hawaii, and Jamaica, and talks about her automotive background, her mom’s long auto-parts career, and restoring her mom’s 1967 GTO after it sat for decades. She closes by encouraging others to chase business ideas.

This Hot Rods & Hijinks episode features Kent Bewley, longtime Greeneville-area car man and owner/curator of the City Garage Car Museum (210 S Main St, Greeneville, TN). He recounts his family’s dealership roots starting in 1937 with Packard, adding Pontiac and Cadillac, later moving into Chevrolet and other franchises, and his own career working every job on the lot while selling 10,000+ cars. The conversation traces Greeneville’s automotive and tobacco-era economy, local dealership history, and memorable characters and stories, including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Firestone passing through town, John Bohannon’s engineering feats, and a poker anecdote involving Charlie Hendrickson and JFK. Kent discusses Oldsmobile’s boom years, corporate missteps like early GM diesels, cars he regrets selling, and a story about Phil Bachman’s brief meeting with Enzo Ferrari.

Reed Lane and Tommy Bennett introduce the Hot Rods and Hijinks podcast from LillyJack Custom Shop in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, sharing how they got into cars and why they’re still in it. Tommy recounts his 36-year career starting with car audio, detailing, and window tinting—learning precision work through a master collector—plus unusual tint jobs like an outhouse and historic sites, and discusses his long-term Volkswagen passion and current 1959 Beetle build with patina. Reed explains Lilly Jack Customs’ focus on mechanical, fabrication, and electrical work, their crew’s versatility, and projects like bagged chassis builds and Crown Vic front-end swaps. They preview upcoming events including Still Runs in Albemarle, NC and Greeneville’s Sundown on Depot charity show with new activities like a soapbox derby and valve cover races, and invite listeners to follow and suggest guests for the growing podcast.

World-Renowned Tattoo Artist Christian “Big C” Navarro Talks Tattoo Warriors, Travel Stories & an Ink-for-Bike Trade At Lily Jack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, the Hot Rods and Hijinx podcast welcomes Christian “Big C” Navarro of Inked Family Tattoo in Pheonix, featured in major tattoo magazines and a Tattoo Warriors Season 1 finalist who is preparing to film Season 2. Christian shares how a tattoo convention on an old ship in Jersey was shut down for power/licensing issues, leading artists to finish appointments by tattooing in hotel rooms, plus stories of tattooing in kitchens, bars, Airbnbs, and even near the Cologne Cathedral. The hosts discuss Tyler’s portrait leg piece from Philly’s massive convention, Christian’s old-school hand-stenciling approach, and his background as a certified ironworker/welder. They also cover a custom skateboard-themed lowrider bicycle built for Christian via a tattoo trade, his shop team, travel schedule, and future plans to move somewhere greener.

(May contain content not suitable for kids)

Hot Rods & Hijinks Ep. 3: L Train on Greeneville’s Mini Truck Glory Days, Cruising, and Car Culture Nostalgia From Lily Jack Customs in downtown Greenville, the Hot Rods & Hijinks podcast welcomes local mini-truck scene originator Jason “L Train” Alderman, reflecting on 1990s–early 2000s cruising culture as “real-life social media,” where friends met on Tusculum Boulevard, took pride in clean, lowered rides, and kept drama minimal. They reminisce about the era’s staples—simple static drops, air shocks, early tilt-bed ingenuity, booming sound systems, cassette/CD gear, and distinctive trucks and cars (Toyotas, Mazdas, hardbodies, and later sport compacts and big-wheel sedans)—and how trends evolved into bags, fabrication-heavy builds, and later lifted trucks. The hosts discuss Burger Chef as a lost hub, notable local builds and stories, the return of events like Maggie Valley and NOPI, and invite listeners to share photos of former rides on their Facebook/YouTube pages.

Recorded at LilyJack Customs in downtown Greeneville, Tennessee, the Hot Rods & Hijinks podcast hosts chat with Jared Collins and Garrett Ware of Motion Creative Media about what they do and how they got started. The guests explain they help businesses improve online presence through photo/video, storytelling, and ongoing content strategies based on audience goals and performance data, noting people now seek authentic content amid AI and algorithm-driven feeds. They discuss capturing personal histories, comparing an untold life story to a “library burning down,” and relate authenticity to the value of real, matching-numbers cars versus replicas. The conversation covers their early under-quoted first music video, pivoting from weddings during COVID to commercial work, challenges of running a business, and memorable projects like filming Forged in Fire judge Jason Knight and a postpartum support conference.

On this episode of Hot Rods and Hijinks podcast recorded at LilyJack Customs Shop in downtown Greeneville, hosts Reed Lane and Tommy Bennett interview Southern California hot rodder Chris Spaulding about growing up around Ascot Raceway and Lions Drag Strip and getting hooked on cars after seeing a neighbor’s burnout. Chris recounts building a 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 lowrider, the rise of hydraulics and indoor car shows, and the role of car clubs and shared builds. He describes owning 34 cars, including a Boss 302 Mustang, Volkswagens, vans, a Pro Street ’47 Chevy he later crashed, and a scratch-built ’26 touring car with an Ed Iskenderian engine. Chris also discusses meeting major figures like Chip Foose, Boyd Coddington, and George Barris, compares past and modern craftsmanship, and shares his current projects: a ’56 Buick, a ’64 Fairlane, and the ’26 build.