NEPA Scene

George is off again and taking a break from beer, so Derek and Rich sample two very different sour beers - Home, Sour Home by The Rare Barrel and La Folie by New Belgium Brewing Company - and discuss the unique brewing process and surprising flavors in sour beers. We also talk about NEPA Scene turning one year old, the NEPA Scene’s Got Talent competition and the Samuel Adams National Stein Hoisting Competition, the passing of Wes Craven and his legacy in film, the dated cheesiness of special effects in films like “Death Spa,” found footage films and how they can be done well, foreign movie “sequels,” costumed characters and Spike TV’s “Jail,” the new “Star Wars” toys unveiled on Force Friday, going broke ordering from Amazon, punk music, rebooting shows on Nickelodeon, reality TV and judging people, graphic images on TV and the Internet, keeping up with societal progress or getting left behind, and the presidential race, democracy, and socialism.

Derek Warren’s popular How to Pair Beer with Everything column on nepascene.com is now a podcast! Joined by NEPA Scene founder and editor Rich Howells and beer enthusiast George Zvirblis, they’ll try a different brew each week and examine it through all the senses, diving into personal experiences and opinions, pop culture, news, or whatever comes to mind. While Derek is an experienced beer reviewer and aficionado (and co-host of the Beer Geeks Radio Hour on WILK 103.1 FM) and George is a beer collector who travels to breweries nationwide, Rich is more of a casual craft beer drinker (and co-host of the NEPA Scene Podcast), so they’ll both offer their own uncensored perspectives and ask guests to share their own.

Every episode is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

With George out this week, we delve into our most serious episode yet, as we recorded on the same day as the tragic shooting of two journalists on live television in Virginia. As we drink Smuttlabs Kung Fu Hobo and Schmutzig Hopfen Weisse by Smuttynose Brewing Company, we start off light, talking about hobos and catcalling, before getting into mass shootings in the United States, how news stories get politicized and turned into opinionated commentary, real-life violence on TV and the Internet, the upcoming presidential election and voting on only one issue, the Jared Fogle and Penn State sex abuse scandals, and conspiracy theorists. We also discuss the premiere of “Fear the Walking Dead” and fans judging it too early, the difficulties in recommending movies to others, customer service trolls like “Hope That Helps” and consumer entitlement, and why we’re not sports fans.

Derek Warren’s popular How to Pair Beer with Everything column on nepascene.com is now a podcast! Joined by NEPA Scene founder and editor Rich Howells and beer enthusiast George Zvirblis, they’ll try a different brew each week and examine it through all the senses, diving into personal experiences and opinions, pop culture, news, or whatever comes to mind. While Derek is an experienced beer reviewer and aficionado (and co-host of the Beer Geeks Radio Hour on WILK 103.1 FM) and George is a beer collector who travels to breweries nationwide, Rich is more of a casual craft beer drinker (and co-host of the NEPA Scene Podcast), so they’ll both offer their own uncensored perspectives and ask guests to share their own.

Every episode is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Peckville singer/songwriter Katie Evans premiered the first single from her new demo exclusively on NEPA Scene.

This episode comes to you a day late and 100 yen short. I talk about the parts of the rainbow I neglect, mispronounce artists' names, and see how many redundant synonyms for “robot” I can think up.

Drunk Illustration Tuesday is a weekly column/podcast on nepascene.com featuring the distinctive work and alcohol-fueled musings of Scranton artist Brendan Howells, who currently resides in Japan.

In Episode 8, all three hosts have returned from trips to various breweries - Rich traveled to Dogfish Head in Delaware; George went to Tree House, Trillium, and Night Shift in Massachusetts and OEC in Connecticut; and Derek camped out at the Belgian Comes to Cooperstown event at Brewery Ommegang in New York - so, naturally, we go much more in-depth about beer and brewing than in previous episodes as we sample Eureka w/ Citra by Tree House Brewing Company, Nirvana IPA by Brewery Ommegang, The Cask by RavenBeer (Baltimore-Washington Beer Works), and The Calling IPA by Boulevard Brewing Company. We tell stories from our mini vacations and discuss what makes each brewery tour unique, pairing food with beer, the crazy tale of how Derek got alcohol poisoning, the documentary “Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau,” our first concerts and meeting “Weird Al” Yankovic, old music venues in the area, avoiding political discussions, remembering “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, editing curse words out of movies for TV, and more!

Derek Warren’s popular How to Pair Beer with Everything column on nepascene.com is now a podcast! Joined by NEPA Scene founder and editor Rich Howells and beer enthusiast George Zvirblis, they’ll try a different brew each week and examine it through all the senses, diving into personal experiences and opinions, pop culture, news, or whatever comes to mind. While Derek is an experienced beer reviewer and aficionado (and co-host of the Beer Geeks Radio Hour on WILK 103.1 FM) and George is a beer collector who travels to breweries nationwide, Rich is more of a casual craft beer drinker (and co-host of the NEPA Scene Podcast), so they’ll both offer their own uncensored perspectives and ask guests to share their own.

Every episode is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Scranton singer/songwriter Adam Bailey premiered his own uniquely modern take on "Wayfaring Stranger," an old folk song, exclusively on NEPA Scene. It is available on his debut EP, "Step One." Read more here:

http://nepascene.com/2015/08/song-premiere-stream-download-adam-bailey-modern-take-wayfaring-stranger-free/

In Episode 36, our special guest is Dee Culp, the author of NEPA Scene’s weekly column on local LGBTQ issues, Living Your Truth. After briefly talking about last week’s NEPA PrideFest and its move to Pittston this year, we delve into a deeply personal discussion with Dee about being a transgender woman and the hurdles she’s had to overcome, starting with a difficult childhood and moving through depression, school, finding a career, and dating while wrestling with her sexuality and gender identity. She recalls coming out to friends, family, and even her boss, and what it was like meeting other transgender people from the area, who are more common than people realize. She explains how her life has changed since she’s come out, why she started embracing activism and writing Living Your Truth, and she shares the touching story of her mother’s surprising reaction.

In The Last Word segment, we react to the comments on Dee’s article on the recent incident at Kildare’s Irish Pub in Scranton, where a woman was allegedly asked to leave after she used the women’s restroom because she was mistaken for a man, and we discuss the meaning of the term “cisgender,” which confused some readers.

Professionally recorded every Monday at The Stude in TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton and released exclusively on nepascene.com every Tuesday, the NEPA Scene Podcast is a free supplement to the website, expanding on the arts and entertainment stories covered on the site and going beyond them to discuss other news and entertainment topics.

Each week, the unedited and uncensored podcast features Rich Howells, NEPA Scene founder and editor; Mark Dennebaum, president and owner of TwentyFiveEight Studios; and Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

In Episode 35, Astorian Stigmata vocalist and guitarist Dennis Condusta is our special guest. Originally from Wilkes-Barre, the goth rock band has spent the last two years living in California and recently returned home after signing with Standby Records and releasing a new album, “Bones and Memories.” With photographer Tom Bonomo of Eyedesignstudios filling in for Lauren this week, we discuss the formation of Astorian Stigmata, how and why they developed their throwback synth-driven sound and gothic Victorian fashion sense, playing in venues on the Sunset Strip and making it in big cities like Los Angeles, being asked to fly out and partner with YouTube to create a music video, handcrafting merchandise and establishing a personal connection with fans through websites and social media, the importance of marketing and business and how they affect creativity, and working with management and a label in 2015. We also ask for advice for local musicians striving to reach that next level.

In The Last Word segment, we talk about NEPA PrideFest, the positive feedback we’ve received from our weekly LGBT column Living Your Truth (including one particular commenter’s kind words), and why it’s necessary to cover these issues frequently rather than just once a year or when celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner put them in the spotlight.

Professionally recorded every Monday at The Stude in TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton and released exclusively on nepascene.com every Tuesday, the NEPA Scene Podcast is a free supplement to the website, expanding on the arts and entertainment stories covered on the site and going beyond them to discuss other news and entertainment topics.

Each week, the unedited and uncensored podcast features Rich Howells, NEPA Scene founder and editor; Mark Dennebaum, president and owner of TwentyFiveEight Studios; and Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

In Episode 7, Rich is on vacation, but Matt Dapkins of Massive Beer Reviews returns as the special guest as we imbibe three excellent IPAs - Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA, Odell Brewing Company’s Barrel Thief, and 3 Floyds Brewing Company’s Zombie Dust - and talk about classic WWE, Quentin Tarantino films, Chicago pizza, pirating movies and music, beer collecting, and black and white movies.

Derek Warren’s popular How to Pair Beer with Everything column on nepascene.com is now a podcast! Joined by NEPA Scene founder and editor Rich Howells and beer enthusiast George Zvirblis, they’ll try a different brew each week and examine it through all the senses, diving into personal experiences and opinions, pop culture, news, or whatever comes to mind. While Derek is an experienced beer reviewer and aficionado (and co-host of the Beer Geeks Radio Hour on WILK 103.1 FM) and George is a beer collector who travels to breweries nationwide, Rich is more of a casual craft beer drinker (and co-host of the NEPA Scene Podcast), so they’ll both offer their own uncensored perspectives and ask guests to share their own.

Every episode is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

In Episode 34, we sit down with bassist Eric Ross, drummer CJ Krukowski, and vocalist Chris James of groove metal band Threatpoint to talk about organizing the first-ever Scranton Music Festival at Nay Aug Park, set for this Saturday, Aug. 8. We discuss how and why they chose to mix so many different genres of music - from blues to rap to country to punk rock - into one free festival, the difficulties in finding a location, the lack of all-ages venues in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the changing state of the local music scene, how technology has affected attendance and participation in live events, the benefit of wrapping up shows earlier in the night, judging people by their appearance and opening minds to new music, and the importance of everyone - bands and their fans - sticking together. There’s also a story in there about a very scary picture taken while on tour that involves a cowboy hat and possible nudity.

In The Last Word segment, we bring up the Steamtown Music Awards and the Electric City Music Conference and musicians’ negative and positive reactions to them on social media, concluding that everyone, whether they win an award or not, involved in music in NEPA benefits from events like these.

Professionally recorded every Monday at The Stude in TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton and released exclusively on nepascene.com every Tuesday, the NEPA Scene Podcast is a free supplement to the website, expanding on the arts and entertainment stories covered on the site and going beyond them to discuss other news and entertainment topics.

Each week, the unedited and uncensored podcast features Rich Howells, NEPA Scene founder and editor; Mark Dennebaum, president and owner of TwentyFiveEight Studios; and Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.