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Randy Wilson Is Creating His Best Life

RVA Staff | February 20, 2020

Topics: podcasts, podcasts in Richmond, Randy Wilson, richmond va, RVA, The Randy Wilson Podcast, things to do richmond va

Life coach and self-described “podcast nerd” Randy Wilson talks with influencers and community leaders from all walks of life on the eponymous Randy Wilson Podcast.

Putting your voice out into the world has never been more accessible than it is today, and that’s something Richmond-based podcaster Randy Wilson is taking advantage of with his self-titled Randy Wilson Podcast. Originally from Elkin, North Carolina, the 336 native discusses a plethora of topics on a local and national scale with influential individuals from various communities around Richmond and beyond.

Wilson first came to Virginia to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree at Emory & Henry College. While in attendance there, he discovered his passion for speaking from a public platform, with the intent of both informing and entertaining his listeners, through his work at the campus radio station.

“I’ve always been a communicator,” said Wilson. “When I was doing the campus radio, it was at that time I recognized: ‘I like this.’”

Wilson’s radio show at Emory & Henry took a talk-radio approach to sports and music. However, on his current podcast, his graduate studies in clinical psychology and his years of experience as a community counselor and life coach are a factor as well.

“My background as a counselor and communicator is used to talk to all walks of people,” said Wilson. “My brand is that I can talk to anyone.”

That ability to communicate with a diverse cross-section of people is part of what makes Wilson’s podcast worth listening to. “I’m really passionate about podcasting, [and] I have the desire to really invest a lot of time and energy into it,” said Wilson, who has traveled from his central Virginia home up and down the east coast, from Atlanta to New York, in order to record episodes of his podcast. “It’s not something I plan on stopping.”

He does indeed talk to many different sorts of people, focusing on those he calls “the change-makers of the community.” Prior guests have included everyone from Virginia State University graduate turned Miss USA 2016 DeShauna Barber to Valentine History Museum Director Bill Martin and popular Richmond rapper Michael Millions.

“What I like to do is highlight people who are ready to be highlighted,” said Wilson. “The podcast gives me a place to engage with different types of people … who are competent within their respective industries. It helps me in terms of my development, as I’m constantly building a relationship with people across all industries.”

Wilson’s focus in his conversations with guests goes beyond the things those guests are best known for, and that’s entirely intentional. He’s looking for something deeper — something that goes beyond accomplishments to tell who that person really is.

“We are all artists because we are all creating our life,” he said. “Every day, we make an intentional effort to create the life we want to live.”

Episodes of the Randy Wilson Podcast are released about once a week, and can be found on all streaming services, including Spotify, iTunes podcast app, and YouTube. They can also be streamed from the podcast’s website.

Written by Taiya Jarrett and Marilyn Drew Necci. Photos by Cherese Broyles, courtesy Randy Wilson.

Get Lost In Williamsburg with Phillip Merritt

Ethan Malamud | February 13, 2020

Topics: 1000 years from now, architecture, art, fiction, History, lost in Williamsburg, lost in Williamsburg podcast, No F#@%s Left to Give, phillip merritt, podcasts, richmond va, RVA, supernatural, vimeo, williamsburg va

The Lost In Williamsburg podcast tells listeners a supernatural story of the city, shifting from the 18th century to present-day through strange and unexplained happenings. 

Phillip Merritt has “No [email protected]%s Left to Give” when it comes to art.

Phillip Merritt is an architectural landscaper by day, and a multi-dimensional artist by night. Merritt is widely known for his award-winning podcast Lost in Williamsburg and his tongue-in-cheek music videos on Vimeo — all of which he writes, plays and slays all by himself under the name 1000 Years From Now. His latest work, a music video titled “No F#@%s Left to Give,” is quite the ode to finding one’s artistic voice, and the freedom to express it no matter what age you are.

While it was always a dream for Merritt to play music, it never came as naturally to him as the visual side of art. “I don’t really play an instrument, although I do have a guitar that I strum along with. When I put together videos, I can strum a few bars and stitch them together,” he said. “I don’t really have much time to practice, especially if I’m writing, so that takes up most of my free time. I use Logic Pro and GarageBand to put together keyboards and other sounds.”

The inclination to create has always existed within Merritt. He got his start as a visual artist, and he’s always had an affinity for sound. The same cannot be said for writing,  even if it’s the majority of what he does artistically in his projects.

“I always hated writing in school when I was younger,” Merritt said. “But now I don’t have to please anyone with it. I can do it however I want; it’s a bit more freeing.” 

Merritt was born in Iowa, then lived in Texas through his formative years before graduating from the University of North Texas. Armed with an undergraduate degree in Drawing and Painting and a graduate degree in Landscape Architecture, he moved to Williamsburg in 1993 at 25 years old to be closer to his partner of (now) 30 years. 

“I always thought Williamsburg was a really fascinating place,” Merritt recalled. “It’s interesting; as a kid, my mom, aunt, and grandmother all loved visiting there. It was so beautiful. There are all of these incredible arrangements of spaces behind all the buildings and paths — it’s a very inspiring place to wander through. The whole thing is kind of ‘work of art meets a museum.’”

Merritt works to shed light on the city’s different layers on his Lost in Williamsburg podcast. Most people think of the town only as a tourist attraction, and it’s easy to forget just how old Williamsburg is. “They did a fantastic job rebuilding these buildings,” Merritt said. “It’s a world-class display of architecture, and I don’t think many people realize that. It’s also a huge step in historic preservation.” 

The beautiful scenery is undoubtedly an inspiration behind the podcast. It’s clear that Merritt is a landscape architect; that career choice, however, was also the driving factor in his search for an artistic outlet. It eventually led him to envelope his creative hankerings into a large, 20-episode script. 

“You hear a lot about people following their dreams, and I decided, ‘Why not give it a shot?’ I want to encourage people to try new things. I wasn’t necessarily a writer or a musician, but I just tried it and put it out there. I didn’t really edit myself, so a lot of the stuff I first put out was kind of rough, and not as high-quality. But people shouldn’t care about making ‘bad’ art — it’s more about the attempt to make art. Just getting it out there… do it long enough, you’ll start to improve.” 

Merritt received interest from actors sparked by fliers he put up, but with many roles to fill, he ultimately reached out to friends who didn’t come from acting backgrounds.

“It was awesome to see someone [working] with no experience in acting, who would never get up in front of a real audience,” he said. “Some people gave really terrific performances as complete amateurs. When there’s no camera or audience, it really allows people to feel a bit more free in regards to acting. Not being scared to say yes to something. Together, you can make something really fun and interesting.” 

The dramatic podcast is everything you wouldn’t expect it to be, but in the best way possible. At first, you think you’re about to hear a scary story, but what it turns into transcends any one genre. It’s like The Twilight Zone meets Dawson’s Creek — but slightly gay, ghostly, and full of murder.

The details that set Merritt’s work apart from that of other artists are his refreshingly brazen words, expressed through the dialogue he writes throughout all of his projects. LGBTQ subtleties are common, but he doesn’t fixate on these moments — he lets them lay naturally into the characters’ interactions, as they do in real life. These matter-of-fact relationship moments help normalize LGBTQ relationships in mainstream media, just as they continue to integrate into the fabric of our society. 

The storyline flips between colonial times and the present-day happenings of Williamsburg, intertwining musical breaks that Merritt splices throughout the narrative strategically. His music becomes pieces of the story arch on its own.

Merritt (at left) at Podfest 2017. Photo via Lost In Williamsburg/Facebook

The plot begins by following Thomas Jefferson and Professor Jobriath on a witch hunt, along with a William and Mary student, Aaron, who inadvertently falls victim to the antagonist. Enter Hebexa: a character who haunts them across dimensions, casting curses on other characters that, when they aren’t malicious, are quite entertaining. One example is the love spell she casts in one episode, falling on Thomas Jefferson and a plantation owner’s son. The millennium-teetering storyline is stitched together sonically, much like the foundation of a musical theatre play. Merritt also weaves in a podcast within the podcast, “Cacophony,” a radio show which kicks off Episode Two. Aaron’s character is interviewed on the fictional show about the latest up-and-coming news regarding his band. 

You don’t need to be from Williamsburg to appreciate this podcast. The city is fairly well-known outside the area, and a fun aspect of the show for Merritt was working with locals and their Tidewater accents.

“I got a kick out of sending that out, and having people all over the world hear what makes our area distinct,” he said. However, the themes within Lost in Williamsburg are what make it universally accessible.

To learn more about Merritt’s work, check out Lost In Williamsburg on Apple Podcasts and Soundcloud and hear an episode for yourself. His work in music videos and animation can also be found on Vimeo, at his 1000 Years From Now channel. 

Richmond Isn’t For Foodies, It’s For Eaters

Ash Griffith | November 12, 2019

Topics: Dan Pashman, Fire Flour & Fork Festival, Josh Kadrich, King Family Vineyards, Matthew Ficou, podcasts, The Sporkful, UnMoo, Virginia Museum Of History & Culture

The Sporkful podcast’s Dan Pashman visited Richmond for 2019’s Fire Flour & Fork Festival to record a live podcast about wine and (vegan) cheese from right here in the river city.

“We’re not for foodies, we’re for eaters,” Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful podcast, announces at the beginning of each week’s episode. The Sporkful is a podcast that takes a much deeper examination into food and the culture behind it, and asks the question – what can we learn about each other? Earlier this month, Pashman learned a lot about Richmond and why it is growing into a booming food mecca at 2019’s Fire Flour & Fork Festival, presented by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.

Pashman originally began his career as a journalist and in radio, ultimately with an end goal of having his own radio show. As times and media evolve quickly, he eventually realized podcasting was the way to go – then got a radio show in the end after all. The Sporkful initially began with his desire to dig into the grittiest and most absurd details about food.

Food is heavily tied to our cultures and who we are as beings. To Pashman, the easiest way to learn about another person really comes down to a very simple question.

“You can learn everything there is to know about a person by just asking ‘What do you like to eat and how do you like to eat it?’,” said Pashman. “What a person eats tells you where they’re from, where their family is from, what they grew up eating, and also what choices they make as an adult now. It tells you where they’ve been and where they’re going.”

The Sporkful’s Dan Pashman at Fire Flour & Fork. Photo by Ash Griffith

It’s Pashman’s opinion that, through food and the willingness to ask strangers food-related questions, we can learn that the mouse was right, and it really is a small world after all.

“Every part of your identity is reflected in what you eat,” said Pashman. “It might be the salient stand-in for identity.”

But what did Pashman learn about Richmond during his time in town? Probably that we will happily stand in line for wine and cheese samples, no questions asked. Pashman was at Fire Flour & Fork on Sunday to record a live episode of his popular podcast, which featured two Central Virginia residents – Matthew Finou of King Family Vineyards, and UnMoo founder Josh Kadrich. They were on The Sporkful to discuss, respectively, wine and (vegan) cheese — what else?

For the podcast, Pashman interviewed Kadrich and Finou separately, focusing on not only their expertise but what their knowledge revealed about them as people.

Kadrich shared the story of the way his vegan cheese company, UnMoo, came about even though he himself is not a vegan. The story stretched from his early days working in a lab to the realization that he needed to find a significantly less costly avenue for his boyfriend’s goat cheese addiction. Finou shared not only the not-so-secret explanation for orange wine, but also established his wine philosophy, which is that it should never be that serious.

Ideas like the ones shared in the live podcast — such as why vegan cheese should never be a substitute, or what exactly the sorcery behind rosé might be — come to Pashman from various places. Everyone from production staff to listeners suggest lines of food-related thought to pursue. And the most unexpected ideas have at times resulted in the show’s strongest, most important episodes — like the recent series about the word “plantation” and its use in marketing.

“Our mantra for every episode is: we want people to learn something and to feel something,” said Pashman. “In those two plantation episodes, I think that people felt a lot and learned a lot.”

UnMoo’s Josh Kadrich speaks to The Sporkful host Dan Pashman at Fire Flour & Fork Festival. Photo by Ash Griffith

Fire Flour & Fork was flooded with attendees of all stripes — industry folks, food fans, and curious outsiders. A variety of these folks attended The Sporkful’s podcast recording, which featured both established fans and newcomers to the podcast. While many in attendance could tell you their favorite episodes, Pashman had trouble narrowing his down.

“The first plantation episode is pretty high on the list,” said Pashman. “The donut king, the Syrian Sandwich, [among others]. Then there’s some silly ones, like our April Fool’s one that I want to play again at the end of the year — because it’s a lot funnier when you know it’s a joke.”

Whether you identify yourself as a foodie, an eater, or both, The Sporkful’s live taping and Fire Flour & Fork were great places to be. Richmond’s local food scene continues to prove itself as one of the best in the country. We’ll have to wait a bit before The Sporkful’s Richmond episode goes live, but thankfully, we have plenty of delicious local snacks to keep us busy in the meantime.

Top Photo: Matthew Ficou of King Family Vineyards speaks to Dan Pashman of The Sporkful podcast at Fire Flour & Fork Festival, by Ash Griffith

No Lies, Just Bullshit: Homegrown in Harrisonburg with Virginia’s Underground Podcast

Caley Sturgill | November 8, 2019

Topics: Absolute Art, alley cat tattoo, Appalachia, avail, blue ridge, blues brothers, Bracewar, brian bruno, brie swartz, brother hawk, clifton forge, Harrisonburg, hori yoshi iii, jill bonny, kings avenue tattoo, marius meyer, mary jane, music, nick swartz, no lies just bs, old heavy hands, podcast, podcasts, politics, rural virginia, scott biram, scott sterling, Shenandoah Valley, Southwest virginia, strange matter, tattoo, tattoo artists, tattoos, tim barry, timothy hoyer

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. 

Hey Ladies: Brandie Posey Is a Pretty Big Deal

Ash Griffith | October 22, 2019

Topics: Against Me, Brandie Posey, Burn This Election, Coalition Theater, Lady To Lady, podcasts, standup comedy, VSCO girls

Brandie Posey, the outspoken standup comedian and co-host of popular podcast Lady To Lady, comes to RVA’s own Coalition Theater tonight.

Allegedly, you should never meet your heroes. While that is sound advice for the heart, you should really make an exception if one of your heroes is Los Angeles-based comedian Brandie Posey. Posey is warm, friendly, and makes you want to tackle the world with her laid-back approach to comedy, which she displays both on stage with her stand-up, and as one-third of the popular podcast Lady to Lady.

If you’re not already familiar with Posey, you are about to be. Posey, who is originally from Annapolis, Maryland, was in Richmond back in June as part of the 2nd Best Fest at the Coalition Theater, and she returns tonight as part of her solo stand-up tour around the country. Coming back to the RVA was a pretty quick and simple decision on her part – she loves it about as much and as deeply as if she were a tried and true Richmonder herself. 

“It’s such a cool city,” said Posey. “I like how it seems like it really cares about its artists, and how it’s really locally focused and takes pride in that, which is refreshing.”

She described her style on her website as very riot-girl, and her description has not changed too much since then. She prides herself on having bits that start off grounded in reality before taking them to a level of absurdity — kind of an out-loud version of your best shower thought.

Posey originally met her podcast co-hosts, fellow comedians Tess Barker and Babs Gray, when they were all working as comics within the Los Angeles comedy scene. Eventually, they decided to come together and create Lady to Lady, which regularly garners upwards of seven million downloads. Posey says that doing the podcast has certainly had a positive influence on her stand-up since it began.

“You can’t plan what an hour of conversation is, and you learn to trust yourself more with riffing,” said Posey. “I think that podcasting has made me more loose onstage, in regard to reacting anything in the room that might happen. I think I’m more fearless at following something that isn’t one hundred percent scripted in my stand-up, and podcasting has made me trust myself to follow that thread.”

Among her casual list of “best of” moments, Posey casually cites opening up for punk band Against Me!, who were touring with The Interrupters at the time as well. No big deal whatsoever — she recalled just reaching out to lead singer Laura Jane Grace about whether the band had ever had a stand-up comic open for them before.

“Laura Jane Grace is a hero, she’s amazing,” said Posey. “She happened to post on Twitter that they were doing a secret pop-up show in LA and needed two openers. I asked ‘Hey, you ever had a comedian open before?’ She said, ‘No, send me a tape.’ So I sent her a half hour of me doing stand-up.”

The Interrupters also happened to be playing that show that night, which only added to her excitement as a pretty big ska fan. Posey handled her nerves by engaging in a little stress eating at the salad bar of the local Sizzler.

“I just ate the salad bar until they told me I had to go onstage,” said Posey.

The Lady To Lady trio. Photo via Lady To Lady/Facebook

Lady to Lady tends to cover a myriad of topics and runs the gamut on anything that could be broached that week. However, the last couple of weeks on the podcast have opened the door on some investigative journalism that I had to poke further into. What exactly is a VSCO girl, and is it too late for me as a grown adult wannabe VSCO woman? Brandie laughed and explained that, unfortunately, that door to a dream is shut for me.

“I think the teens are so funny right now, and they’re definitely funnier than we were at that age,” said Posey. “This VSCO girl thing is so hilarious and meta. It’s like the Gen Z version of basic, where you use the VSCO app to facetune, and you wear Birkenstocks and an oversized sweater. It sounds like you’re describing nothing.”

Nothing is more punk that politics. Back in 2016 around the time of the election, Posey gathered together other comics in the Los Angeles area to put together a politically charged comedy record called Burn This Election, which donated proceeds to RAINN – because, as she cheerfully added, “Donald Trump would hate that.”

Ideally — hopefully, prayerfully, you name it — another record won’t be needed for the same reasons. However, when I asked about the possibility of a Burn this Election Pt. 2, if for no other reason than to raise awareness of the vitality of voting, Posey told me that it was not out of the realm of possibility.

“After doing it, it was very cathartic, and an amazing community experience,” she said. “To me laughter is defiance in the face of a world that wants to silence a lot of people, currently. [….]  I think we’re going to do another one regardless, but I feel more hopeful this time around. ”

As Richmond and its art scene grows, things start to look a bit different. And as the comedy scene grows it sees the waves of change — more women, more LGBTQ people, more people of color adding to the diversity of the scene. Posey sees this as a very positive trend.

“The more diverse comedy is, the better,” she said. “The lineups are richer, you’re hearing from more points of view, and there aren’t three dudes in a row who are like, ‘Oh, weed’s crazy!’ It makes the shows richer, and it makes life easier.”

In other words, get out there! If what you want isn’t there, find like-minded folks who will help you build it. Then, when you’re done? Enjoy the shit out of that Sizzler salad bar.  

Brandie Posey can be seen tonight — Tuesday, October 22nd — at the Coalition Theater, located at 8 W. Broad St, starting at 8pm. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door, or in advance from RVAComedy.com.

Top Photo by Paris Visone Photography, via Brandie Posey/Facebook

The Hustle Season Podcast: Ep. 98 NBC – New Background Check

Kelli Strawbridge | September 23, 2019

Topics: podcasts, podcasts. richmond, Richmond music scene, richmond va, RVAMusic, RVAPodcasts

RVA Magazine is proud to showcase The Hustle Season Podcast every Saturday afternoon. Produced at La Cocina Studio in Richmond, VA; homegrown musicians Kelli Strawbridge, Reggie Pace, James Seretis (La Cocina’s engineer) & Gabriel Santamaria bring their irreverent, outspoken and at times thoughtful opinions to the masses. Focusing on pop culture and politics both locally, nationally, sometimes otherworldly – join in as the guys try to figure out what’s going on this week. 

Episode 98 of #thehustleseason is LIVE! The Hustle boys talk about the live show at the Firehouse theatre this Tuesday Sept. 24th plus: a tribute to our fallen friend/colleague J. Dean Owen, an RVA legend from Iggy Plop & the Stooges, Bay of Pigs, Brown Sabbath & more, we remember Ric Ocseak of The Cars, also a famed producer & songwriter. More subjects including the Whitney Houston Hologram tour, the new proposed Richmond Coliseum, KFC’s doughnut chicken sandwich, what happens when you interrupt a couples sexy time and finally, the boys debate whether Shane Gillis should have been fired from SNL.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @thehustleseason
Get tix to our show @ firehouse theatre: The Hustle Season LIVE http://bit.ly/2lP8HBR

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