NEPA Scene

We start off Episode 29 by stuffing our faces with beautiful handmade burgers and delicious pulled pork mac and cheese courtesy of Pittston catering and pop-up restaurant concept Peculiar Culinary Company and offering our amateur reviews. Over a few beers by Susquehanna Brewing Company, we talk to the PCC husband and wife team - chef/owner Gene Philbin and business manager/event coordinator Miranda Philbin - about when they met, how Gene’s Italian family and some sabotaged dinner got him into cooking, making weird concoctions at McDonald’s, working corporate jobs until they launched their dream business full-time, training their palettes and developing peculiar dishes, what it was like behind-the-scenes of “Guy’s Grocery Games” on Food Network, who Gene’s all-time favorite chef is and why, the importance of buying local ingredients and supporting local artists of all kinds, where the couple chooses to go out to eat, and their current Kickstarter campaign to fund a food truck.

In The Last Word segment, we point out that satire and humor should be left to those who understand how it actually works, which leads into a bigger discussion about how to better support local artists and businesses, why every little bit helps, and Internet criticism.

Also, see the hosts of the NEPA Scene Podcast introduce the performers live at the NEPA Scene’s Got Talent Finals Showcase next Tuesday, June 23 at Thirst T’s Bar & Grill in Olyphant, starting at 7 p.m.! The details are at the end of this week’s podcast.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Anthony Ranella III, James Simon, and Brian Nardella of Loyalty Barber Shop and Shave Parlor are our guests on Episode 28. They talk about buying the shop and expanding to a second location due to increased demand, choosing the life of a barber over very different career paths, establishing a rapport with their customers that extends beyond business, expressing creativity through traditional barbering with a modern touch, the differences between barbering and cosmetology and how work atmospheres vary, etiquette for both men and women in the shop, dealing with the “hipster” label from critics, and partnering with other independent local businesses to form a close-knit community in downtown Scranton.

In lieu of The Last Word segment, we try something new with some random rapid fire questions to close out the show.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Scranton bluegrass band Coal Town Rounders sit down with us in Episode 27 to talk about how they discovered this music, learned new instruments, and formed the group; booking and playing various festivals, including the weird ones with drugs and laser beams; the universal appeal of bluegrass and introducing it to new audiences; the transition from playing traditional songs to writing original tracks; recording their new album, “How It Used to Be,” live at home in two days over the Christmas holiday; printing and folding every CD cover by hand at Revival Letterpress; the differences among bluegrass, country, and folk music; meeting celebrities; hoping for a Tastykake endorsement; and the story of how collecting “bad” art from yard sales and flea markets led to owning a $21 five-foot-long cat painting that hangs above one band member’s bed.

In The Last Word segment, we discuss how to offer constructive criticism - and take it - without hurting anyone’s feelings or burning bridges and a concert cancellation in Wilkes-Barre that sparked a heated debate about the local music scene.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

In Episode 26, Johnny Waering and Dave Oakley of 3 Guys and a Beer’d Brewing Company bring over a growler of one of their newest beers, Chewhoppa IPA, so we have a few glasses and talk about how they went from homebrewing to a full-time business in Carbondale with products distributed across eight counties, their line of various brews and the interesting stories behind them, contacting Lucasfilm about the use of “Star Wars” imagery on Chewhoppa’s label, the ingredients and water used in their beers, the rise of the craft beer market, keeping up with demand and expanding to a new facility, handling criticism, and what happens when you get stuck in the fermenter and the beer is overflowing. LondonForce singer/guitarist and The Stude audio engineer Angelo Maruzzelli of LondonForce fills in for Jimmy this week.

In The Last Word, we discuss a reader’s comments about the legitimacy of art in Scranton and whether or not the term “hipster” applies to certain artists, and we address a petty and poorly written article that went out of its way to disparage local musicians and those who support them.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Dunmore comedian Dan Hoppel is our guest on Episode 25. He relates the interesting story of the ups and downs that led him into stand-up comedy and we talk about marriage and relationships, different types of comedy and comedians, writing jokes about everything from death to being overweight, who the best professional comedians are currently, and the next steps in his career. We go off on many weird and funny tangents and Lauren laughs and makes more faces at the rest of us than on any previous show. Jer Tobin of Big Idea Photo and Video Productions fills in for Jimmy again this week.

In The Last Word, we talk about how NEPA Scene’s newest weekly feature, Beautiful People of NEPA, came about and the overwhelming positive reactions we’ve received from it, which leads into a discussion on what beauty is and how it’s often defined for us by fashion and the media.

Hoppel can be seen next at NEPA Scene’s Got Talent tonight at 7 p.m. at Thirst T’s Bar & Grill (120 Lincoln St., Olyphant) and on Saturday, May 16 at 6 p.m. at the Plymouth Eagles Club (145 E. Main St., Plymouth) for a benefit show with fellow comedians Elliott Elliott, Dave Savage, Zack Hammond, Kevin Lepka, Michael Grady, Timmy Mattos, and Delmer Von W for a family who lost everything in a fire.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Since we recorded on May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day, Episode 24 is a special show dedicated to discussing all things “Star Wars” with our special guest Rich Drees, editor and publisher of Film Buff Online. Jer Tobin of Big Idea Photo and Video Productions fills in for Jimmy this week. We start off by recalling the first time we saw the original films and then go into our unanimous disappointment with the prequel trilogy, the death of the old Expanded Universe, Disney acquiring Lucasfilm and its effect on the franchise, the marketing and merchandising, hopes for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and the new trilogy and anthology films, and everything in between, from midi-chlorians to Boba Fett to toilets on spaceships. We talk about creator George Lucas quite a bit and the love/hate relationship his fans have with him, and we also learn more about Film Buff Online and go off on a few tangents about comic book movies and TV shows, among other geeky topics.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Three members of Scranton indie pop rock band Esta Coda – Jay Preston, Jon Fletcher, and Dan Rosler – join us in Episode 23 to talk about the recording of their new EP, “Miles Away,” particularly why they recorded in different studios and tried something very different on one of the tracks, capturing the “life” of a song in a recording, the influence of the local music scene, and the differences in playing live at an all-ages venue, a bar, and a house show, all within the span of a week. They also tell us the funny story of a “nerd wrestling match” outside of one of their shows, and because it’s the news that’s simply too big to ignore, we get into the Baltimore riots and protests and the media’s role in the national conversation.

In The Last Word, we address a reoccurring issue with people complaining to us about other media outlets outside of our control and the irony of your competition being forced to recognize your accomplishments after dismissing your hard work originally.

http://nepascene.com/2015/04/nepa-scene-podcast-episode-23-music-live-recorded-current-events-esta-coda/

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

On 4/20, just one day after the NEPA Cannabis Rally at Nay Aug Park in Scranton, organizers Jeff Zick and Mandy McCarthy sit down with us in Episode 22 to talk about the success of their peaceful event, changing attitudes and growing support for cannabis legalization in the area and across the United States, the many reasons why it should be legal, what it's like in Colorado, and the country’s storied history with cannabis. Their friend Chewie (not the Wookiee, sorry), who they picked up on the way to the podcast, also offers some insight into being arrested for marijuana possession and how his life was altered forever for harmless and nonviolent offenses, which leads into a discussion about decriminalization and backing current legislation that could change these laws.

In The Last Word, we read and react to a few varied comments we received from readers about cannabis legalization.

http://nepascene.com/2015/04/nepa-scene-podcast-episode-22-advocating-marijuana-legalization-nepa-cannabis-rally-organizers/

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

The co-owner of the Electric City Tattoo Gallery, Michael "Woody" Wodock, is our special guest on Episode 21, discussing his transition from piercer to tattoo artist, the growth of tattoo culture in the area and shifts in trends and styles, the artistry behind the business, and organizing the sixth annual Electric City Tattoo Convention, which runs April 17-19 at the Hilton Scranton & Conference Center. He also recalls the best, worst, and strangest tattoos he’s done, how he ended up collaborating with other local businesses like Loyalty Barber Shop & Shave Parlor and 3 Guys and a Beer'd Brewing Company, behind-the-scenes stories from the convention, and much more.

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; Lauren Quirolgico, commercial and content strategist at Lavelle Strategy Group and editor at TwentyFiveEight; and in the control room, Jimmy Reynolds, a musician, teacher, and lead audio engineer at TwentyFiveEight. Every episode streams on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and nepascene.com.

Kaylin Karr and Nathan Montella of Scranton indie pop duo Skip Monday joined us for Episode 20 of the NEPA Scene Podcast, and while they were in The Stude at TwentyFiveEight Studios in Scranton, they recorded three original acoustic songs for us that can only be heard at their live shows.

Listen to the full podcast interview here: http://nepascene.com/2015/04/nepa-scene-podcast-episode-20-pursuing-career-music-young-duo-skip-monday/