A man and his fantasy.
director, editor: R. Anthony Harris
grips: Joey Wharton & Tyler Matthews
stylist: Rachel Boxley
performers: Reggie Pace, Kelli Strawbridge, Gabriel Santamaria and James Seretis of the The Hustle Season Podcast
model: Brittney Rozay
dancers: Sam Koff, David Lim, Andrew Lim & Lamont Gonzales-Sierra
sound recorded at La Cocina Studios in Richmond, VA
special thank you to The Richmond Coalition Theater
production: Major Major
majormajor.me
RVA #39 is on the streets now! Here’s another article from the issue, in which the artist behind J. Roddy Walston and The Business gets together with Kelli Strawbridge for a fresh look into his work on The Hustle Season Podcast.
You probably know his business: now meet his pleasure. J. Roddy Walston, of J. Roddy Walston and The Business, has officially laid rumors of extended hiatus to rest with two new projects. He’s announced both a solo tour and a new project named Palm Palm — a hard-driving organic rock and roll formation with Charlie Glenn of The Trillions, and The Southern Belles’ Raphael Katchinoff and Andrew Carper. In their episode together on The Hustle Season Podcast, Walston sits down with Kelli Strawbridge to discuss tour life philosophy, the labors of fame and obscurity, Richmond musicality, and his abiding disdain for Americana music.
Kelli Strawbridge: When did you form the band?
J. Roddy Walston: I was 21, and I’m almost 39. So it was 18 years ago.
K: 2002. You got a lot of traction in the later 2000s when social media wasn’t a thing. What do you feel kept the band going? You got a lot of licensing, a lot of songs on TV shows — what was it, since Facebook wasn’t popular?
JRW: We used Myspace early on for touring. Facebook is so clamped down and monetized; if you were in a touring band doing everything yourself, Myspace was awesome. You could go to any city, search “rock band,” and it popped up the bands in order of popularity. Over and over again, [we’d send messages to bands] saying, “Love your music so much, Band A that we don’t know. It would be a dream to play a show with you.” We had done it so long through word-of-mouth and endless touring — being this nationwide local band. There’s a romance in that; if you can build your audience one by one, they’re yours. We’re these explorers setting off into the unknown. If I wrote a book about our band, it would probably be called You Missed All the Good Shows, because we were touring for about five years before anybody knew who we were.
K: You were also before the “RVA Generation,” if you will. You migrated from Tennessee to Richmond.
JRW: We’re old people [laughs]. I went to Baltimore, where I met two of the guys who became the band — Steve, the drummer, and Billy, the guitar player. Then I came to D.C. for a year after I got married. D.C. is not fun if you don’t have money. Before we went on tour, I had one pair of pants. I walked past a nail, and it wasn’t like “Oh, I have a cool little tear.” It ripped from my mid thigh down to my shin. I was losing my mind. I thought, “This is not cool. I have one leg of a pair of pants, and one short. I guess this is how I’m going on tour.” We were so poor. In the middle of that, though, the iceberg was starting to crack up; we finally had label interest. We were figuring out how to get to L.A. I remember having this feeling many times, thinking I was in the game, then I stepped past this curtain and we were in an infinite loop. It kept happening.
So around that time in D.C., we were about to start touring, and it made no sense for us to have a place at all. My in-laws out in the West End had this cabin in the back of their property… There was no bathroom, there was a wood burning stove. It had a loft that we slept in. It was rustic, but it was amazing because we got to live there for free — and that was exactly what we could afford.
K: So it wasn’t ideal at the time, but it seems the scene had changed quite a bit by the time you moved [to Richmond].
JRW: There were bands starting to happen. The first show I put together in Richmond was us, Trillions, Sports Bar, and Great White Jenkins. That was a fun show. I don’t even know how I contacted them… I ended up being buddies with all those guys since then. That was the foot in the door.
K: Your bass player was here in Richmond. Were the other two [members] here?
JRW: They’ve [always been] in Baltimore. I met them playing in other bands, and said, “I’m serious about this… I’m trying to get in the van and go.” And they said, “Us, too.” That was probably one of the most powerful forces for our band — you hit the point where you’re not making enough to live, but you’re also not in town long enough to keep any kind of job. Then you just have to keep going.
K: Did it ever feel like it became profitable at all with touring? Did you ever feel like it paid off?
JRW: Yeah, in the way that four of us have paid our bills for the last ten years with it. But we’ve also had to manage our expectations of what bills could be… You start at 17, 18, 19, living in a crappy apartment, keeping a crappy job, and always hoping that at some moment, somebody will come along and say, “Let’s go on tour.” Then you quit that job and say, “See you later. I’ve stopped paying my car bill. Take it back. I don’t care.” And you just go.
When I got to Richmond, it was the beginning of what’s going on now. That’s what was different from when I was in Baltimore — everybody here can play. That was the hard part when I moved from Tennessee to Baltimore. In Tennessee, you could throw a rock and hit a guitar player who’s probably also a dope drummer. And everyone can sing; church choirs breeding over and over again. I’ve never been the guy to say I’m the greatest musician in the band; I [like to] look around and feel it out, get involved with players I think are rad. I have a lot of ideas, so that was tough for me. [It was] way different from Richmond… it’s crazy how good everybody is. I’m still just an idea guy. The new band I’m in, Palm Palm, I’d rather not even touch something.
K: Let’s get into that a little bit. I really dug the last record that you guys did, the J. Roddy record. I feel like you didn’t tour as much; you did promo, pushed it, and then you had some shows with Palm Palm.
JRW: The first show of Palm Palm was Crowefest 2018. I’m pretty sure I got hit by lightning… One of the things I love about Palm Palm is that it’s so fast. I experimented with Charlie Glenn on a few ideas, and at that point, we didn’t know what the band was going to be. I was writing riffs with keyboards and talking to drummers from around the country. I had a very specific idea of who I wanted that drummer to be; someone who could play heavy and fast, but also funky.
Glenn invited me to see Raphael Katchinoff play with Nightcreature. There’s one song Nightcreature has where he starts feathering his kick foot, and I thought, “What’s going on here?” We got together and [it worked]. He said his buddy Andrew Carper should play bass. We got together, and I thought, “Wow, this is something else.” It’s weird, because it is actually complicated, crazy music. It takes a lot to put that music together. We went to South By Southwest with one-half to three-quarters of any song actually written, then experimenting on the way down. We were making up words and melodies on the spot.
K: This is definitely different from J. Roddy and The Business, so what made you [decide] to do something different altogether?
JRW: It’s still developing. We were never making so much money that I would call us an “industry,” but it was our job. It was difficult to disconnect — “this is art, this is job.” I honestly think that artists aren’t doing their job. Art is not doing its job. Everyone thinks it should be making money.
It feels like in the social media age, success is popularity and making money. Kids change. I’m not sitting here saying, “Back in my day, we all liked anger. Why aren’t kids angry?” But also… why aren’t kids angry? There’s one teenager from a different country, [Greta Thunberg], sailing around going, “The world’s on fire!” and all the other kids are saying, “Eh, I’ve got Tinder and Fortnite.” Stop being distracted, and listen to the music that supplements your anger, grief, and anxiety. The awfulness of being young, alive, human, and aware of all the weirdness — that’s what I want art to be. Art can be celebratory and great, and positive too… but [for example], I hate Americana. I think the South should not rise again. Shove your flag up your ass. I hate this stuff. [Art] should be confrontational and pushing buttons.
That’s what I was getting at with Palm Palm. I think stuff should be risky; it should potentially go off the rails. If it doesn’t, that’s amazing. If it does, you stand behind the curtain. But if it’s not pushing you all the way out there — to that point where you’re just holding on — you’re just going to do what you do in rehearsal. I want this gooey energy to flow out of the speaker, like “Is that a saxophone? Am I just making up that melody?” That’s what I think rock and roll should sound like.
Interview by Kelli Strawbridge. Words by S. Preston Duncan.
From announcing the Avail reunion shows in Richmond to interviewing tattoo artists, musicians, and hometown folks, No Lies Just BS Podcast host Nick Swartz opens a personal window into Virginian life from his Harrisonburg shop, Alley Cat Tattoo.
“I don’t really do things in the conventional way.”
When he first started the No Lies Just BS podcast, host and owner of Harrisonburg’s Alley Cat Tattoo Nick Swartz had a lifetime of stories waiting to be told.
From humble beginnings in Clifton Forge to being kidnapped with his brother at eight years old, Swartz could have easily captured an audience with the tales of his own upbringing — but his stories weren’t the only ones Swartz wanted to tell.
“Not everyone is a great storyteller, but everyone has a story to tell,” Swartz said. “I’ve talked to people from all over the place… I’ve got a ton of stories that I haven’t told yet on the show, but I like to sprinkle them in when my memory is sparked by someone else.”
The podcast, which started three years ago this October, is a storytelling podcast with a focus on the tattoo community. From interviewing world-renowned tattoo artists to hometown folks from rural regions of Virginia, to hosting the original Avail reunion show announcement in its Tim Barry episode — which quickly ignited fans from Richmond and across the nation — Swartz made a point to highlight voices from all walks of life.
“The podcast has kind of grown on its own. And it’s weird, because I get recognized in Richmond a lot more than anywhere else — but I also have people look at the podcast and go, ‘What’s that?’ more than anywhere else.”
Swartz has come to know many of his friends and podcast guests through owning Alley Cat Tattoo. Since No Lies Just BS started, he’s sat down with tattoo artists like Richmond’s Brian Bruno at Absolute Art, Mike Rubendall of Kings Avenue Tattoo in New York City (according to Swartz, one of the most high-profile shops in the world), Jill Bonny of San Francisco’s Studio Kazoku, Virginia’s Scott Sterling, Timothy Hoyer, and more. He’s also hosted musicians like Scott H. Biram, Old Heavy Hands, and Ryan Braces of Bracewar.
“I was trying to tell these stories out about growing up in the mountains and having this crazy life,” Swartz said. “My brother and I got kidnapped when I was eight and he was eleven. We were left in an empty condominium in Florida for a month. We were around rednecks, bikers, and scumbags, drugs and crazy shit. I was telling these stories [as I started the podcast], but I was sort of directing them toward a tattoo audience, because that’s where I was known.”
An especially-beloved voice for Swartz is that of Mary Jane, a local artist in her 70’s who made her way into his shop seeking her first tattoo. Mary Jane had just seen the latest season of Stranger Things, and noticed the character with a fishbone tattoo on her ear. Sick of wearing earrings, Mary Jane decided to get her first tattoo on her earlobes.
“I hear her setting an appointment, and she has an incredible Southern accent from the far South. And I love accents — it’s something I’ve always been drawn to,” Swartz said. “I said to her, ‘Do you know what a podcast is?’ And she said, ‘Yes, of course. What am I, an idiot?’ I asked if she’d like to be on my podcast, and Mary Jane said, ‘Well, my friends will probably think I’m crazy for spending the day with some weirdo like you, but I’ll do it [laughs].’”
Mary Jane (Episode 98) went on to tell a remarkable tale of growing up in Alabama and living through segregation. Born in Tuscaloosa — at the time, the national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan — she lived in the Deep South until 1969 before moving to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Her family included a black woman, Johnnie Mae Jones, who was her daddy’s best friend and worked as their live-in nanny for 50 years. In high school, Mary Jane and her friends used to get drunk and sneak into Klan rallies.
“She said, ‘I remember going to these meetings as a little girl,’ and I thought ‘Oh my god, she’s gonna be racist, I’m gonna have to throw her out of here.’ Then she went, ‘The only thing I knew about these guys was they wore white… things… over their heads, and that they were white trash. You knew they were the lowest of the low,’ and I said, ‘Oh, thank God.’ I’ve had the gnarliest tattooers from all over the world reach out to me and say she’s their favorite episode — now, she has two full sleeves of tattoos and two half sleeves on her legs. And she’s part of our family, she comes to cookouts at my house.”
Stories like Mary Jane’s aren’t uncommon to No Lies Just BS. Swartz has hosted guests from tattooers to musicians and hometown locals — all telling their own little pieces of life with a laid-back, and usually comedic, flare.
“Anytime you have the opportunity to be friends with someone, it improves upon your life,” Swartz said of Mary Jane. “We’ve become the best of friends. She’s a special lady.”
As the owner of a tattoo shop nestled in the Shenandoah Valley between the Appalachian Mountains, Swartz has come to hear the wild and entertaining stories of his many customers, musicians, and tattoo artists in the industry.
“[Jill Bonny] came on, and told a story about visiting two Japanese tattoo masters in Japan, both of them in their 80’s. One of those gentlemen is Hori Yoshi III,” Swartz said. “He prepared a statement to be read on my show, which is mind-blowing. He’s been my favorite tattooer for years, and I never thought I would be in contact with him.”
Of the few people Swartz has pursued more than once to be on the show, Tim Barry was one of them. When he initially didn’t hear back, Swartz assumed it was because of his enthusiasm for Avail, a part of Barry’s life that was behind him. But out of the blue, he got a text from Barry that said, “I want to do the show, and I want to do it on this day.”
“Avail is a big deal for me, they made a huge impact on me,” Swartz said. “I said I couldn’t do that day because I had someone flying in from LA to do the show and hang at the shop for a couple days, and he goes, ‘Well, it’s got to be this day. And if it can’t be this day, it can’t be at all.’ I was like, ‘fuck!’ [laughs], so I went to Richmond… And he said the real reason why you’re here is because Avail is playing in Richmond for the first time in 12 years.”
The episode quickly reached the music community in Richmond, sparking a wave of excitement for the reunion in Virginia and around the country. When he first announced the show dates on the podcast, Barry noted an episode of No Lies Just BS that hosted his bandmate, Beau Beau.
“Tim told me, ‘Listening to you talk to Beau on the podcast, and the way you described our shows, was inspiring, it made me feel good. Then I was opening for Hot Water Music in London, and they described the Avail shows the same way. I listened to Over The James again, and it sounded really good… so I decided to talk to the guys [about a reunion].’” Swartz said. “It was a face-melter for me. I didn’t know he was going to do that when I got to his house.”
At the beginning, No Lies Just BS got its name from the first Blues Brothers movie — Swartz’s favorite to date. His son’s name is Jake Elwood Blues Swartz, and the podcast’s name was no less intentional.
“It’s been a part of my life my whole life. After Jake gets out of prison, he asks, ‘When are we gonna practice?’ And Elwood tells him the band’s not together. Jake says, ‘You told me the band was still together, you lied to me!’ and Elwood says, ‘Ah, it’s not a lie, it’s just bullshit.’ My wife suggested the name for the podcast, and I agreed because I didn’t want to be the guy to discuss serious topics — there’s a place for those things, and I’m just not the guy to host that show.”
Swartz still tries to make a difference in the world, especially close to home. He just doesn’t like to make a big deal out of it.
“I’m the type of person that I believe as long as we take care of our own, and our own neighborhoods and communities, everything will be okay,” he said. “I do it here. Whenever it’s time to pack the bus for school, I go around and get everyone in the shop to pitch in for school supplies for kids in our area. It’s not a huge thing. But I feel it makes a difference here.”
As he became more involved in the culture over his 16 years owning Alley Cat Tattoo, Swartz came to meet many people with interesting backgrounds and stories he thought the world should hear. As No Lies Just BS grew its audience, he found that the most valuable piece of the podcast was its ability to share the jokes, tales, and personalities — the small, often overlooked facets of everyday life — that give a community its soul. Its underground and personal vibe makes listeners feel like they’re sitting in the room with their favorite artists and musicians.
“There’s this incredible tattooer out of Norway named Marius Meyer, and he was one of my early listeners,” Swartz said. “He said to me, ‘Nick, the draw for me is not the tattoo stuff, but it’s the window into Appalachian life from a country boy’s point of view. There’s no way I can get an authentic version of that where I live, unless I read a book that was written 50 years ago. It just doesn’t exist.”
The podcast offers its listeners a look into the region’s culture. With little other outlets aside from local news, No Lies Just BS creates a way to tell Virginia’s stories from a personal view that many news stories don’t convey.
“The thing that I enjoy is bringing stories to the table that people would not hear otherwise,” Swartz said. “My brother and I lived in a place where, if you needed to, you couldn’t holler for anybody. It was just our house in the woods. We cut wood to stay warm, we killed deer and caught trout to feed ourselves, and we had a giant garden. It’s a point of view that I can provide and share that’s just not often touched on.”
Swartz feels that there’s a difference between his own perspective on life in the back country of Virginia that isn’t captured by most who choose to write about it.
“Often those little articles and news stories [about life in the area] are written from an outside perspective that is spoken to someone that they pity,” he said. “I’m proud of where I’m from, I’m proud of who I am. And the things that I’ve experienced, good and bad, equipped me for life.”
Swartz is interested in everyday people, and with them, he’s heard everything from the complicated to the humorous and bizarre. A passionate chef, Swartz takes a personal investment in cooking — and after cooking with Old Heavy Hands, Brother Hawk, and the artists of Absolute Art among others, his cooking and connections through tattoo communities helped him become close friends with many people from the tattoo industry, including Bracewar’s Ryan Braces.
“Ryan’s been my buddy for many years, and he was booking a show at Strange Matter for Brother Hawk and Old Heavy Hands,” Swartz said. “He asked if I’d come down there and cook, so I went with a buddy of mine. It was a blast. I hit it off with those dudes, we drank whiskey and smoked, and I gave them a ton of food for them to take on the road. So at that point, we decided to link up, and Bracewar booked a show in Harrisonburg. He’s a solid guy all-around — those dudes are my close friends, and they mean the world to me. That’s my family.”
Another favorite musician of his guests on No Lies Just BS, Scott H. Biram, originally made an impact on Swartz the first time he saw Biram play. That happened back in the 90s, when Biram opened for Hank Williams III in Washington, D.C. When Biram played a show in his town years later, Swartz reached out to a friend at the venue about getting him into the show.
“He told Scott, ‘I think you guys are very similar, and you’d get along just fine.’ So Scott avoided me at all costs,” Swartz laughed. “A year later he comes back, and his manager tells me the reason he avoided me is because he plays a persona on stage — from my friend, he thought I was just like his persona. And he didn’t want to associate with anybody like that. But I’ve been to his shows and bought him drinks so many times, I said that if he sees me, he’ll know me. I texted Scott a picture of me, and immediately got a text saying, ‘Aw hell, man, I didn’t know it was you!’”
When Biram came on the show, he played a version of “Mule Skinner Blues” in the office. The old-time bluegrass song has been a favorite of Swartz’s since he was about 10 years old.
“For a moment, I was like, ‘This is unreal. I can’t believe it, he’s sitting five feet from me playing a song that I’ve listened to my whole life.’ That really made a big impact on me. He’s a solid guy, it definitely kind of blew my mind — he was also one of the first people that had no reason to give me a chance. In tattooing, you might know who I am, but in the rest of the world, I’m just a dude.”
After more than 160 episodes, there are still plenty of guests Swartz hopes to host on No Lies Just BS in its future. From tattooers like Baltimore’s Uncle Pauly and New York’s Rose Hardy, originally from New Zealand, to honky-tonk musician Wayne Hancock from Texas, the list keeps growing as Swartz meets artists from different walks of life. Most importantly, he wants to hear their stories; especially more from ordinary folks like Mary Jane and his Uncle Benny.
For many of us, the words of a passing stranger in our day-to-day encounters are nothing more than white noise in the background of life’s routines. But for Swartz, something as simple as an accent overheard from another room can open the door to a lifetime of stories shared, new friendships, and the sense of community that connects us all as individuals. The simple things are, to him, things to be valued — and whether it’s small talk or a big moment with our artistic heroes, he’s able to use No Lies Just BS as a means to bring people together.
Catch up with Swartz at Alley Cat Tattoo in Harrisonburg, with his shop’s artists including Chris Porter, Andrew Conner, Trevor Smith, Richie Stutler, and Jake Hockman, as well as piercers Katie Davis and Sarah Pennington (who also performs in Richmond as a popular burlesque artist by the name of Sindi Ray Boustier).
Listen to No Lies Just BS on Spotify or their website, and check out Alley Cat Tattoo on their Instagram.
What’s happening, craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s RVA On Tap, RVA Magazine’s weekly column for all your craft beer-related events, releases, festivals, and all the booze news your hearts desire.
If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!
This week, we’ve got an early announcement for a very special fundraiser to the people of Richmond, plus the return of Scream Forest Blood Orange IPA and more to get your Halloween juices flowing.
This summer, our friends at The Answer Brewpub and across the Richmond community lost a beloved member of The Answer’s family, and a beloved friend to folks all around the city. Quy Pham, a longtime bartender at our favorite brewpub and close friend of the owner An Bui, is memorialized forever now on the building The Answer calls home, in a mural along its main wall.
“Diablo Forever” is the phrase of the summer, and one that will stay endlessly in the minds and hearts of all those Quy touched in his life. Last month saw the release of Quy Forever by The Veil Brewing Co. in his honor, and it was brewed to taste sweet, like all our memories of Quy are.
Coming up on September 14, The Answer Brewpub and Mekong are hosting a celebration of Quy’s life and a fundraising event to benefit his family. They’ll have a special beer and glassware auction for fundraising, with bottles, glassware, and other memorabilia donated by the friends and community of Quy and The Answer. If you’re unable to make it out to the event, you can still do your part and donate to his family’s GoFundMe page, which lists an excellent and heartfelt tribute to the kind of guy Quy was with the folks he loved:
“Quy’s ability to at the same time be the most humble caring human and the most sarcastic outgoing comedian is unparalleled. If you have never seen the TV show Cheers, go watch it right now. If you have, you know that you could easily insert Quy as a main character.
“His innate ability to understand people and make them feel relaxed and at home embodied the best of the RVA craft beer & food community. The truth is, he represented the best of what everyone should aspire to be… an amazing friend to everyone. As soon as you sat down at the bar at Mekong you felt like you were at home. If you passed him walking through The Answer with that smile, it was infectious. Quy was always laughing, smiling and giving the best hugs. He was an amazing father & husband and inspired others to be the same. He was always a source for motivation for whatever you wanted to accomplish. Quy has and will continue to impact countless lives.”
After the tragedy of his loss, friends of Quy around town have come together to help his family during hard times. If you’re able to make it out to the fundraising event, your support would be greatly appreciated by The Answer and its community.
Now that fall is nearing, the local breweries around town are gearing up for all the events and releases it brings. With Halloween just around the corner, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House has partnered up with Creepy Hollow Scream Park again to drop Scream Forest this Friday, a Blood Orange IPA that made waves last year for its awesome flavors… and an awesome photo shoot to accompany it.
Creepy Hollow Scream Park is out in Glen Allen, and it’s filled with spooky scenery to keep the experience going at every turn with realistic illustrations and scary surprises. It’s Richmond’s favorite Halloween destination, and it’s made even better by the blood orange flavors bursting in Scream Forest. This IPA was dry-hopped with Mosaic hops to give the blood orange a nice base, added right before they kegged it to keep the tastes fresh — and it’s “bloody delicious,” according to those who have had the pleasure of drinking this spooky brew.
Join Three Notch’d at their Scott’s Addition spot this Friday for the release, and get your spooky gears turning… we’re only a few short weeks away now from cold nights and the thrills of the season.
Happy birthday, Intermission Beer Company! The Glen Allen brewery is celebrating its second birthday this Friday, and we couldn’t be more excited to congratulate them on two trips around the sun together.
For the occasion, they’ll have two new beers on tap: Levy-goz-ah, a Cranberry-Lime Gose coming out Friday, and Ghost Light Lager on Saturday. With a new brew for each evening, Intermission will be keeping the party going throughout the weekend with some awesome entertainment as well.
On Friday, you’ll catch Firesides Food Truck along with the Richmond Astronomical Society for an awesome show, and dessert with Lil’ Stuff Cookies, which has some delicious galaxy-looking batter that fits the occasion. Saturday night, Haulin’ Balls RVA is coming out with music by Spenser Morgan to jam through the evening and celebrate the 2-year anniversary right.
Our friends at The Veil Brewing Co. are at it again, with another multi-release that just went down last night.
Hornswoggler made its way back last night, and this one’s on the opposite end of the flavor spectrum. The Chocolate Milk Stout is on the heavier side, with a huge percentage of fresh chocolate and caramel malts to complement its milk sugar and actual chocolate additions. It’s a little heavier at 7% ABV, and it comes with a surprise: in a true Willy Wonka-inspired candy fashion, this beer will be coming out with 10x Golden Tokens hidden underneath the 4-pack holders that will win you a free Hornswoggler glass if you find one. The glasses aren’t ever going to be for sale, so if you’ve really got your heart set on this limited-edition swag from The Veil, you’ll want to grab a 4-pack ($18.00/pack) while you can!
Summer Sauce Tastee came out just in time for the end of summer, and this smoothie-style Sour Ale was brewed with oats, milk sugar, and tons of awesome fruits to bring out the warm-weather season’s best. You’ll taste a crazy amount of apricot, guava, and passionfruit, according to the brewers, and this 5.5% ABV brew is perfect for an early evening or the last days by the river of the year.
Now that we’re past Labor Day, I think all of us can describe the last few days with the name of The Veil’s next brew: Sick Weekend. And we mean that in the fun style (though I’m sure after your first two nights of celebrating the holiday, you probably got some of the hungover style, too). This brand-new IPA just made its debut last night, brewed with raw and malted wheat and malted oats, then over-saturated with fresh Galaxy, BRU-1, Motueka, and El Dorado hops, hitting in at 6.5% ABV.
Merciless was the fourth release of the night, another fresh recipe from The Veil with some of my most favorite flavors. This Double IPA was brewed with raw wheat, malted wheat, oats, and “piles” of fresh Citra, Galaxy, Simcoe, and Vic Secret hops — plus some extra Citra and Simcoe LP for an extra boost of hop saturation and flavor without the bitterness. Like most Double IPAs, its higher in ABV at 8%, and it’s smooth straight out of the tap.
Check back with us next week for more of The Veil’s delicious releases, and hopefully (fingers crossed) another week of several dropping all at once.
It must be the week of multi-releases, because we’ve got an awesome one coming from Final Gravity Brewing Co. too.
This Friday, Final Gravity’s returning a few fan favorites and bringing out something brand-new. If you’re part of the Final Gravity fan club like we are, you’re gonna be really pumped on a few of these coming back: like Morning Glory New England DIPA, made with Cashmere and Azacca hops.
Also this week is the return of Satellite of Love Berliner Weisse with mango, lime, tangerine, and pineapple-passionfruit flavors — plus the new California Dreamin’ West Coast IPA that blasts flavor with bold hop bitterness, and just a hint of pine for a clean, easy drinkability.
DaddyG PopUp is also heading out to the brewery for the release, and you’ll only be able to get Satellite of Love to drink on site, so make sure to swing by and get a few favorite tastes while they’re here!
Over the weekend at Fine Creek Brewing, Vitalism came out for their Friday Beer Feature. This 7% ABV Hazy IPA brings out a sweet aroma of bright tropical fruit from its Kohatu and Mosaic hop combinations, and notes of papaya and pineapple from its fresh-cut fruit.
It was also brewed with earlier additions of Idaho 7 and German Amarillo hops, so you’ll catch even more fruity tropical tastes like blackberry tea, citrus zest, and mild bits of floral in this beer. Fine Creek sits on a gorgeous farm outside of town in Powhatan, so if you haven’t made it out yet, this beer is a great reason to go enjoy the outdoors on the last of our warm days before fall makes its way in.
Labor Day Weekend brought another great new release with Ardent’s Mixed Berry Gose.
This is Ardent’s most-fruited gose ever, and at a low 4.4% ABV, it’s great for any time of the week — so if you’re still reminiscing of easy nights and fun over the weekend, this is a great one to sip on during the week to ease up those back-to-work blues.
Mixed Berry Gose is packed with raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, and black currant to pour with a distinct purple color and a sweet, jammy flavor that balances out the tart acidity of the gose style. It’s full of flavor while staying on the refreshing side, and it’s one you won’t want to miss.
Out at Stone Brewing Richmond, a national release got an early debut just for the beer-lovers of Richmond to taste first.
Stone Buenaveza Lime & Sea Salt Lager just came out at the East End brewery, and it was inspired by the area Stone originally called home: Southern California, just minutes from the border. According to Stone, many of their flavors have been influenced and enriched by our Southern neighbors, and this Buenaveza was inspired by one in particular. Stone Xocoveza, an imperial stout released back in 2014, brought all of the rich and complex flavors of Mexican hot chocolate into a beer.
This Stone style is back again now with Buenaveza that follows that same take on a classic lager, and you can get it now in Richmond — which you’ll want to do soon, because it won’t be back in distribution until next year, when it’ll come out on a national scale.
Our favorite local beer podcast is out with a new episode again, and it’s as great as ever. Booze Clues just released a new episode and hosted another live recording, and you can catch the latest episode here: called Clown Battle Royale.
Booze Clues takes national headlines of all things drunkenly-inspired from around the globe, with the world’s most “spirited” headlines… which are always hilarious, and often include the nation’s mysterious residents like Florida Man, who is somehow always getting into the worst shenanigans. Make sure to check out their latest comedy episode and subscribe, both to make fun of the world’s drunks and to feel a little better about your own Saturday night drunken shames. We all know we’ve had them.
A new beer is on tap now at Kindred Spirit Brewing, and it’s “dangerously drinkable” at 9.3% ABV (lord help me, because these are always the first to get me). Imperial Red is full of malty goodness, with a resiny-hop finish to keep the flavor as high as the alcohol percentage.
It’s been described by some drinkers as “The best Red I have ever had,” with its smooth, easy flavor that makes the high ABV surprising. It was out back in the spring of last year, and this new brew of the old variation is just as delicious as ever.
That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at [email protected], and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!
Every Friday night, RVA Mag brings you a lovely and wonderful playlist curated by Virginia’s most influential artists, musicians, and institutions.
This one comes to us from Nick Swartz, who is not only the main man behind the No Lies Just Bullshit podcast, but also the owner of Harrisonburg’s Alley Cat Tattoo. Beginning with nothing more than he and a rotating crew of friends and relatives telling stories about their crazy lives, the podcast has grown over the past three years to host world-renowned guests from the worlds of tattooing and punk rock. It was even the place where the world first learned about the Avail reunion that took place last month!
For his playlist, Swartz brings us a wide spectrum of tunes, everything from metal to country to hip hop, but all of it comes from a spirit of rebellion and freedom. This makes it the perfect playlist to enjoy as you launch your wild n’ wolly summer weekend.
Get loose, Virginia.
Open this playlist from mobile in your Spotify app HERE.
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
October has ended, but every day is Halloween in my heart. It’s nice when everyone happens to be in the spirit at the same time, but what am I to do when that month ends? Luckily, there’s a horror podcast that spends the entire year talking about horror films and the surrounding pop culture, which I can listen to anytime, whether it be October 31st or February 2nd.
Hallelujah.
Terror InPodNito is a weekly podcast that discusses all things horror: from movie reviews to news and theories, they cover every nook- and blood- and gut-soaked cranny they can get their hands on. Started by three friends (Palmer Sturman, Alex Lootens, and Sam Berson), Terror covers everything that is badass about the horror genre.
I went to visit the podcast on one of their recording nights, and fitting enough, it was when the Richmond area was under a tornado watch. Of course, it rained and flooded on my way there, and the power went out toward the end of our interview.
Naturally, but also very appropriate.
The podcast records in Sturman’s home, which was covered in Halloween decorations and ready for the season — with bins of more decor ready to go up when he and his wife got a chance. I was also greeted by Luna, the world’s biggest, fluffiest, and friendliest dog. Not exactly what I would have expected out of an interview about horror, but it was a much-welcomed surprise.
They had been friends for a long time, and shared a love of discussing horror films. After a good drinking session, they wondered the question we all would in that situation — Why not do a podcast?
“It started with off with us giving a synopsis of films,” Sturman said. “We kind of got bored with that really quickly, so we started adding new segments and seeing where things went.” Lootens added that it got more analytical as it went on, even though they laughed that none of them have any kind of film education.
One of Lootens’ favorite parts of the process is how they choose not only the theme for each month, but which films fit the chosen theme.
“We [choose them] as a group, and I feel like sometimes it has to do with the holiday,” Lootens said. “This month would of course be Halloween-themed movies, and Christmas would be Christmas-themed movies. But for the months that don’t have a specific holiday, we try to bounce around with different topics.”
Sturman added that they try to come up with a variety of different topics in order to keep things interesting. They keep a Google Document together so that any time someone has a new idea, they can add it and check it out.
“Generally someone comes up with a theme, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, this movie would fall under that!’,” Sturman said. “For instance, one of the ones that I have included on the document recently is Wild West films that are also horror films. And I’ve found more and more that fit that niche.”
I wondered if they ever came up with a great idea only to not find films to fit the theme — but they assured me that the opposite has happened. If anything, once they come up with a theme, they generally have issues narrowing the films down. After all, Wikipedia currently lists over forty different Christmas Horror Films in that category, so I guess anything really is possible.
The horror genre has been more ripe for remakes than any other genre, it feels like; so naturally, there are going to be feelings about the handful of remakes announced this year alone. Their take on remakes? Make it original.
“For instance, the remake of Psycho, which was a blow-by-blow remake of that movie? Don’t do that,” Sturman said. “This is going to be really controversial, but I really liked the Rob Zombie remake of Halloween. Part of the reason that I really like it is because he went in an entirely different direction from the original films, and gave Michael a purpose. A lot of people think that was a shot and a miss, but I enjoyed the fact that if you are going to take a franchise and try to reboot it, you go in a different direction.”
One thing that we for-sure all agreed on, though? The remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria is going to be all kinds of glorious.
“When I first heard about [Suspiria], I was adamantly against it, but I have seen so many trailers for it that now it’s one of my most-anticipated movies,” Sturman said. “We finally saw it on the big screen. The trailer looks even better when it’s a hundred feet,” Berson added.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that focusing on one thing changes your views on things. Despite not having studied film, the cast can make a solid argument for being on-par to film students at this point. One of the main things that has come from doing this podcast has been not only how they analyze films, but also the fact that they just can’t watch a film in the theater anymore.
“It takes me much longer to watch a film now,” Lootens said. “I’ll watch it, and then I’ll take a day and watch it again, even movies that I have seen before. I feel like it takes me a lot longer to watch a movie.”
“I don’t like watching movies in theaters anymore because I can’t pause it,” Berson said. “I can’t rewind and double check if I saw something. There are still some movies you have to see in theaters.”
“It’s harder for me to watch movies I’ve seen now,” Sturman said. “Now I’m not watching them for pure enjoyment, I’m watching them to pick them apart, whether it’s for good reasons or bad reasons.”
Thanks to overwhelming support from fans and the horror community, Terror InPodnito has received the opportunity to experience some pretty stellar things. From a friendship with Red Vein Haunted House, to interviewing a major horror icon, to even just meeting fans who loves their podcast, things have been pretty great so far for the trio.
“In Williamsburg, there is a horror convention called Scares That Care, and it’s a charity event and a horror-con,” said Lootens. “We had the opportunity to interview Doug Bradley, who is the original Pinhead, and Adrian King. For 45-50 minutes each, they took the time out of their day to sit down with us. Interviewing Adrian King was amazing and just… I got to talk about David Bowie, my favorite singer, with Doug Bradley, my favorite horror icon, and it changed my life.”
“The biggest draw for me, and the reason I continue to do this, is the people,” said Sturman. “We’ve connected with so many people that we just never would have an opportunity to otherwise. Not just horror icons, but fans. At Scares That Care, we met a fan that listens to the podcast and it blew my mind.”
So what do the next five years bring? As they all took a moment and sighed, unsure how to answer, they all agreed that mostly, they want to keep doing this for as long as both people enjoy it — and as long as it remains fun for all three of them.
“If it gets to the point where we can start making this a source of income, that’s great, but ultimately if it just becomes something where we read a couple small advertisements to keep the podcast alive I’m happy,” said Sturman.”
“I think really we just want to do it until it’s not fun anymore,” said Lootens. “When you break it down to the bare bones, it really is just three best friends talking about stuff that they love and also getting to meet and interview awesome people along the way.”
As we round out the spookiest (and best, let’s all be honest here) time of the year, it’s easy to get sad while we begrudgingly check off the days on our calendar like Linus awaiting next year’s Great Pumpkin. But don’t you worry, horror fans: Terror InPodnito has horror picks and news for you every month of the year — even around Christmas when Aunt Betty wants to ask you, once again, how life is going.
Terror InPodnito can be streamed and downloaded on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Buzzsprout.
