NEPA Scene

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/

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/

Kaylin Karr and Nathan Montella of Scranton indie acoustic pop duo Skip Monday are only 20 years old, but they know what they want and they’re willing to work as hard as they can to get it. In Episode 20, they discuss how they instantly clicked as friends and musicians and developed beautiful, catchy songs that, in just a few short months, have kept them booked every week. Karr recalls how she moved across the country and spent several years in Alaska before returning to Northeastern Pennsylvania to pursue music with Montella, while he explains how he transitioned from drumming in punk bands to playing the cajón, commonly known as a box drum, in Skip Monday. They tell funny stories about meeting Sarah Palin and planning a last-minute photo shoot, and they also touch on receiving sponsorships and plans to expand into a full electric band.

In The Last Word segment, we jump into the ongoing media debate about actor Paul Sorvino and “The Trouble with Cali,” the independent film he made using Lackawanna County taxpayer funds that may never be released. Sorvino recently blamed the media’s bad reviews and publicity for its distribution issues, stirring up even more controversy, so we offer our opinions and a few solutions to the mess.

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.

Breaking Ground Poets director Katie Wisnosky and intern Bailey Bloyd are our guests on Episode 19, and we discuss how the volunteer organization helps students ages 14-19 write, read, and perform their own poetry, discover and develop their voices, and prepare for poetry slam competitions. They share some funny stories about working with the students in the classroom and on the road and explain what they think goes into creating honest, meaningful poetry. We also get into the slams and readings and how TwentyFiveEight Studios ended up hosting these events, which often surprise the audiences by showing them just how powerful and entertaining poetry can be.

The final poetry slam of the BGP season, featuring 15 young poets hoping to qualify to represent the group this summer in Atlanta, Georgia, is Saturday, April 4 at 6 p.m. at TwentyFiveEight Studios.

In The Last Word segment, we read comments from readers reacting to a recent article on a credit website naming Scranton as the fourth most overindulgent city in the United States and debate what exactly that means and whether or not we agree with this assessment.

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.

Due to technical difficulties, we have no NEPA Scene Podcast for you this week. We recorded one, and we thought it was a great episode, but apparently the computer didn't think so and stopped recording just a few minutes in, which we didn't realize until after we had finished. We apologize to our guests this week and acknowledge that everybody hurts... sometimes.

In Episode 18, we talk with local comedians Alan Dudeck and Sergio Marzitelli about their upcoming role in Geekfest, a benefit at Bones Bar in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, March 21 for Joe Michalochick, who has been hospitalized numerous times deep vein thrombosis and diabetes and is unable to work. We discuss how our guests got into comedy and the things we’re all geeky about, including films, TV shows, zombies, comic books, conventions, collecting, and cosplaying. These stories go back to our childhoods and run all the way to the present.

In addition to other comedians, the Geekfest benefit also includes musical performances from Prosody, Skip Monday, Attracted to Syn, Phoenix, Years of Madness, and TMO Rocks and a cosplay contest, so all attendees are encouraged to come in costume for the chance to win prizes. For more details, visit the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/416672918498073/

In The Last Word segment, we delve into an article about cosplaying at video game conventions and read positive and negative feedback about it, addressing why we cover such topics on the site.

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 photographer Jason Riedmiller is our guest on Episode 17, sharing personal tales about his life as well the stories behind his portraits, which include famous celebrities, everyday working class people, and his current show hanging at Loyalty Barber Shop in Scranton called “The Forgotten,” which focuses on hospice patients and the elderly. We also talk about the perils of concert photography, music he grew up on and shooting bands he both loves and loathes, the important influence of German photographer August Sander, and what happens when you drink too much on Mark’s birthday.

In The Last Word segment, we read an e-mail from a former NEPA resident who wishes us well and a comment from guy involving hipsters, filmmaking, and zombies.

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 improv comedy group Here We Are In Spain makes Episode 16 one of our funniest shows yet. Five of the six members of the group join us – Brit Giblin, Don McGlynn, Rob Klubeck, Jonathan Maier, and Patrick Martin – to discuss different types of comedy and why they chose improvisation, how they are able to craft their humor on the spot, the friendships that came from working together, how they’re been received by NEPA audiences, acting in local shows and films, and their monthly shows at the AfA Gallery that have grown into a steady following. Football, Bill O’Reilly, penguins, the former pope, and other random subjects end up in there somewhere, too. As always, the show is uncensored, but this one gets particularly raunchy, so it’s not for the easily offended!

In The Last Word segment, we hear from readers who attended our successful NEPA Scene Mid-Winter Showcase event last week and read some of the varying reactions we get whenever we post about Breaking Benjamin.

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 15, we chat with actor and playwright Conor O’Brien about founding the Scranton Fringe Festival, a brand new four-day event coming to the area in the fall that will feature all types of performance artists across multiple venues. The former co-director of The Vintage Theater discusses the Scottish origins and local details of the festival, along with what it is like to act and direct in one of the most notoriously tough cities in the country for live theater. The winners of this year’s Oscars are also debated, and we discuss taking “The Darling Core,” an original play co-created by O’Brien, to New York City.

In the Last Word segment, we respond one last time to a pesky comment troll and end with some much more positive interaction with readers commenting on the Oscars and controversial comedian Daniel Tosh’s upcoming Wilkes-Barre appearance.

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.

Scranton illustrator and educator Ted Michalowski joins us in Episode 14 to talk about his extemporaneous art style; turning the typically solitary act of drawing into a social event; serving as a courtroom artist during the trials/hearings of Hugo Selinski, Eric Frein, Mark Ciavarella, and many more cases that made national news; how to teach and encourage students of all ages to pursue art; and founding unique cultural events in the area like Synaesthesia Social - all while he is drawing us! The versatility of his art leads into discussions about education, the local art scene, fostering creativity, and other topics.

In The Last Word segment, we respond to an unsubstantiated comment from a reader familiar to our regular listeners who is consistently negative about the area and ask him to talk to us directly about whatever is really troubling him, even though he’s probably just a troll.

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.