We Rock

Broadcasting live from the 2025 SMBA Convention, this episode is what happens when you put two monument guys behind mics with zero supervision. Austin and Tony are joined by special guests Jonathan Benson and Nick Ortiz for a no-holds-barred conversation on convention chaos, design drama, and whatever else we could fit in before the hotel kicked us out. It's part industry insight, part comedy hour, and all rock-solid content. Buckle up—this one’s polished, but not too polished. 

 In this episode, we talk all things SMBA as we gear up for the upcoming convention in San Antonio. From hotel plans to industry happenings, we’ve got the latest scoop. Plus, someone’s invented a brand-new clamp for setting monuments—and we may have had too much fun coming up with names for it. Tune in for laughs, updates, and a little inside baseball from the monument world. 

 In this episode of We Rock, we dig into the headaches of working with difficult cemeteries—those plot blockers who seem more committed to saying "no" than to helping families. We share the workarounds, the wins, and the WTF moments we've had trying to navigate overregulation, under communication, and power-tripping gatekeepers. Plus, we wade into the copyright controversy making waves in the Facebook groups. Who owns the art? Who’s throwing lawsuits? And who’s just being petty? Tune in for some real talk, a few laughs, and maybe a little ranting. 

 In this episode of We Rock, we tiptoe through the minefield of monument design copyright drama—the kind that’s been setting Facebook groups ablaze with spicy comment threads and passive-aggressive comments. We’re not lawyers, we don’t play them on TV, and we’re not naming names—so if you think we’re talking about you… that’s on you. We break down the difference between inspiration and imitation, why some folks are suddenly gatekeeping granite, and how this whole thing might be hurting more than helping. Bring your popcorn, but leave your cease and desist letters at the door. 

In this episode, we recap Tony's trip to Hard Rocks.  Also sprinkle in a little tariff talk and get easily distracted by the baseball games we are watching.

In this episode we recap our trip to Monucon and highlight our experiences there.  We also dive into some recent issues each of us have had to deal with when it comes to dealing with difficult cemeteries.

We are live from the one and only MONUCON!!!!  In this episode we sit down and go over our experience at what we would call the monument show of all monument shows.  We also hear from a few great friends of ours such as the "Don" Joe Cassara, Tanner Lewis, & Ian Aiello.  

**ALERT**
Be listening for a great offer only for our listeners!!!  Later in the episode we have a code for 50% off your registration for MONUCON!!!  This is only for We Rock listeners, and we appreciate the opportunity to pass on the savings to our audience.

Joe joins us today to give us an update on the upcoming MONUCON convention.

In this episode we are joined by Brad Myers of South Boston Memorials and Vice President of Marketing for MBNA.  

Recently there has been discussion revolving around the topic of whether or not there is value in being a part of a national or regional organization in the monument industry.  In our discussion, we make the case for why we believe there is value.

In this episode, John Couch of Eternity Stoneworks joins the podcast.  Any of you that follow the FB pages may or may not have seen him around, and whether you disagree with him or not, take a chance and listen.  We jump headfirst into some of the topics of discussion and also get a chance to better know him.  Hope you enjoy because it was definitely a fun conversation.