Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Comic book legend Neal Adams still breaking ground and having fun before Clarks Summit Comic Con

ARCHIVES: Comic book legend Neal Adams still breaking ground and having fun before Clarks Summit Comic Con

Illustrator and writer Neal Adams is a legend in the world of comic books, but his legacy isn’t behind him – it’s up ahead. The 71-year-old New Yorker “couldn’t care less” what he’s remembered for. His early comic strips? His groundbreaking work that changed the way fans look at Batman, Superman, Deadman, X-Men, Green Arrow, […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Scranton pop rock band The Great Party’s school (bus) of rock

ARCHIVES: Scranton pop rock band The Great Party’s school (bus) of rock

You may have rode on a party bus before, but certainly not one like this. Scranton’s favorite Ameri-pop act, The Great Party, is returning to their favorite Philadelphia venue, The Legendary Dobbs (304 South St., Philadelphia), and this time, they’re taking the Electric City with them in a big yellow school bus. For only $35, […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Less labels mean more for Scranton/Boston rock band Lesser Animals

ARCHIVES: Less labels mean more for Scranton/Boston rock band Lesser Animals

“Whenever I show my friends this music, the first question they ask me is, ‘What would you call this?’ I’m really at a loss. You can call it millions of kinds of things. You can call it rock, and you pretty much call it every single subgenre,” bassist Zach Bilson replied when asked to describe […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Cloudy with a chance of death – Scranton horror movie ‘Deatherman’ comes to VHS

ARCHIVES: Cloudy with a chance of death – Scranton horror movie ‘Deatherman’ comes to VHS

Many horror directors have gone down in cinema history for attempting to make a good, scary film and instead producing B-movie schlock. Bobby Keller, however, failed as a filmmaker in a much different way. “My original plan was to make a movie so bad that it was unwatchable, but I feel like I failed in […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Old-fashioned meets new school at Loyalty Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Archbald

ARCHIVES: Old-fashioned meets new school at Loyalty Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Archbald

With close shaves and neatly trimmed, parted hair slick with pomade, the well-dressed proprietors, employees, and customers of Loyalty Barber Shop & Shave Parlor in Archbald seem to have walked out of the 1930s and ’40s. Their gauged ears and detailed tattoos from neck to toe, however, remind you that it’s still 2012. The mix […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Primus sails the seas of 3-D – guitarist Larry LaLonde enters third dimension at F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre

ARCHIVES: Primus sails the seas of 3-D – guitarist Larry LaLonde enters third dimension at F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre

When Primus, the funky alternative rock trio from San Francisco, announced that they would be embarking on a three-dimensional tour, many fans asked, “How can a band do a tour in 3-D?” It’s such a peculiar concept that even guitarist Larry LaLonde isn’t exactly sure how it’s going to work yet. “We’ve been trying to […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: ’60s rock band Glass Prism resurrected for live ‘Rock Opera’ in Scranton

ARCHIVES: ’60s rock band Glass Prism resurrected for live ‘Rock Opera’ in Scranton

For a band that broke up in 1971, the Glass Prism are definitely four busy guys. In between recent interviews for various newspapers, local and college radio, and television, guitarist and pianist Tom Varano caught up with NEPA Scene to tell the story of his Scranton-based progressive rock band once again, one that he has […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Inspired by a flourishing scene, Kingston punk heroes Title Fight grow with ‘Floral Green’

ARCHIVES: Inspired by a flourishing scene, Kingston punk heroes Title Fight grow with ‘Floral Green’

With his shoulder-length hair pushed behind his ears, wearing a white Floorpunch T-shirt and rolled up jeans, 22-year-old Ned Russin is easily identifiable as the bassist/vocalist of local punk band Title Fight as NEPA Scene meets him outside his Kingston home. The beautiful, well-furnished household he leads us into, however, isn’t exactly the abode one […]

 Rich Howells

INFINITE IMPROBABILITY: Peter Mayhew reflects on Chewbacca and a Wookiee-sized life before Wizard World Philadelphia

INFINITE IMPROBABILITY: Peter Mayhew reflects on Chewbacca and a Wookiee-sized life before Wizard World Philadelphia

It’s hard to believe that “Star Wars” just turned 35 this past week and it’s still as culturally relevant and significant to all of us as ever. Like most young boys, I grew up watching the original saga on television and my worn-out trilogy of VHS tapes – I still have a “Return of the […]

 Rich Howells

ARCHIVES: Scranton college band Eye on Attraction looking for progressive rock perfection – and fun

ARCHIVES: Scranton college band Eye on Attraction looking for progressive rock perfection – and fun

Progressive rock band Eye on Attraction may be made up of three University of Scranton students and one Marywood University student, but a typical college band they are not. “Frantically” wanting to form a band, enthusiastic drummer Andrew Merkle, a senior, met bassist Joe Joules Quincy, a junior, during Quincy’s first class. He was wearing […]