Rich Howells

NEPA SCENE PODCAST: Break the Barrier indie wrestling festival in Old Forge and Powerbomb.TV

NEPA SCENE PODCAST: Break the Barrier indie wrestling festival in Old Forge and Powerbomb.TV
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The NEPA Scene Podcast is back in a new location with new co-hosts and a fresh format, conducting the same honest, uncensored interviews and in-depth discussions about Northeastern Pennsylvania that the show has become known for, covering local arts, entertainment, and the issues that matter to the area.

Recorded and produced every week by Internet marketing company Coal Creative in their production studio in downtown Wilkes-Barre, the podcast is now presented as a live, multi-camera show that streams in high definition on NEPA Scene’s Facebook page on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. Every hour-long episode is hosted by Rich Howells, editor and founder of NEPA Scene; Brittany Boote, owner of Boote Photography Studio in Forty Fort; and Johnny Popko, the senior marketing consultant at local radio stations Alt 92.1, Rock 107, and ESPN Radio. Viewers are encouraged to tune in and interact during the Facebook Live stream so that the hosts can address comments and answer questions as they come in.

After the live webcast, the show is available the following Friday as an audio podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher, while the video version can be seen on Facebook and YouTube.

In Episode 9, we talk to our producer, Coal Creative founder Gerard Durling, about his latest creative projects – indie wrestling VOD service Powerbomb.TV and the Break the Barrier 2017 indie wrestling festival, coming to GSW Arena in Old Forge on Sunday, June 11.

We discuss his early interest in wrestling and how it grew, his experiences training and performing as a wrestler himself, the difference between indie wrestling and big televised wrestling like WWE, what makes a good indie wrestling show, what is “fake” and what is real in wrestling, local promotions like Grand Slam Wrestling in Old Forge and Chikara in Philadelphia, the purpose of launching Powerbomb.TV and streaming live events, the origins of Break the Barrier and what has gone into this new event, the various styles of wrestling and different countries that will be represented at Break the Barrier, the challenges of organizing and promoting this event, interest outside the area, and encouraging people in NEPA to check out something new.

In The Last Word segment, we talk about the local “controversy” surrounding rapper Uncle Murda performing at the Ali Baba Liquor Lounge in Wilkes-Barre. NEPA newspapers and TV stations have focused on Uncle Murda’s lyrics about killing cops, getting reactions from local law enforcement, while the owner of the venue seems to welcome the publicity. We look at all sides of the issue and debate whether or not this concert should be a concern or if it was blown out of proportion by the media while reading comments from our viewers.

For more information on Break the Barrier 2017, see this article and the Facebook event page.

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The views and opinions expressed during this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the hosts, NEPA Scene, Coal Creative, or our sponsors.