#HMB 227 - Kick his ass, Seabass! with Sebastian Coolidge (@sebastiancoolidge)
Sebastian Coolidge a& your boy: 03/21/2018
Would you rather, if you had to choose: get walked in on the bathroom or walk in on someone in the bathroom? I’ve asked numerous people this over the past few days and while the answer varies, the reason for their choice is the same: “it would push the embarrassment on to the other person”. I’ve had both of these situations happen to me; they’re both humiliating in different ways. If you get walked in on, it’s the exposure type of embarrassment. They’re seeing a part of you that they probably would never see but also in the most vulnerable position you can be in. If you walk in on someone in the bathroom, there is an underlying perception of being a voyeur and a creep. Sure, it was an “accident”, psycho. You didn’t know someone was in here? Yea, okay Deviant Don. So, if you have to choose to be walked in on or to walk in on someone, what would you choose? Leave a comment below or leave a text/voice message on the #HMBradio line (813) 693-2124.
The question itself is a great ice breaker. Interviewing people I know a little bit or not at all is tough. I’m always afraid I’m going to say something off-putting, which I do a lot and lose the guest. Then the podcast is weird and tedious trying to win them back and trying to get them to open up a bit. It happens rarely and most of it is my paranoia but it can happen. I think it’s a good way to start cold with someone you don’t know. It will lower their defenses and get them thinking about the question at hand as opposed to sitting across a table from some dude they don’t really know in his apartment and wondering if they (me) are going to murder them. I know that by saying I’m trying to lower their defenses sounds like that’s what I’m trying to do but I swear, I’m not.
This week on the podcast, prolific St. Pete muralist/artist/designer Sebastian Coolidge stops by. I always admired Sebastian and liked his story. He moved here to St. Pete from Kansas City…uhhh…Kansas? No, Missouri? Uhm…one of those places to pursue art and was one of the first to just ask for a wall. It was on the now defunct Freshly Squeezed store across from The Bends on 1st Ave N. He went and asked the owners if he could paint a mural on the store and they said, “OK, sure”. That spawned more and more business that wanted him to paint something on their businesses and now that’s his job now: painting. I always love to see someone making a living from what they like doing. That’s really all you can ask for in life, the American Dream. Check out the podcast below:
The #HMB airs Sunday's on Radio St. Pete @ 6:15PM & Monday's at 10:15PM or on demand via Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2wuLR7a) or iTunes (https://goo.gl/xKN5OY) Leave a voice or text message for the show @: (813) 693-2124 or hit me up on our Facebook page or on twitter. Don't forget to tune into Stay Woke with Anna Hummel & myself weeknights after the Johnny B Show at midnight on 102.5 The Bone. The Homemade Broadcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: Taphouse 61 , Truvy Salon & Spa & Homemade Podcasts. We like them more than a friend.
THIRST gets quenched: Jared Hernandez arrested in St. Pete for vandalism.
Soon after Jared Hernandez, the artist formerly known as THIRST stopped by the podcast a slew of mural defacements started happening around town. I got a few messages asking if I thought it was Jared who was doing them. I dunno, I still don’t…but if I had to place a bet I’d say, “yup”.
No arrests were made in the defacement's in spite of a lot of local media coverage and comments from numerous residents naming Jared as the perpetrator on the Facebook posts. Things seemed to cool down after Derek Donnelly’s building and van we’re vandalized. Things seemed to get back to normal. Murals were getting repaired and new ones were on the way to competition. It appeared to be over. Then I saw a cryptic Instagram story on Jared’s account which is now lost in the ether but hinted at an arrest. A photo of a painting of Rasta that lived outside the 1 of 1 Customs shop with a freshly painted mustache and glasses was posted on Jared’s Instagram page with the caption:
“Biggest imposter award goes to Gary Taylor I Faithfully dedicated my time and efforts in helping this man make his own business prosperous. But you can& #39;t expect someone to remain faithful to you if you consistently undercut them on jobs maliciously. But when I express myself in an artistic way, people can& #39;t even take it with a smile and keep it moving. There& #39;s only grown babies who can& #39;t handle Street ethics. Which results in two Undercovers, seven officers, and a SWAT officer with a shepherd. The most expensive doodle I know 2,000”
Jared was caught in the act early morning on Feb. 22nd by a local resident who followed him after allegedly spray painting the ‘stache and glasses the Rasta sign. Police arrested Jared soon after and since he had a previous conviction for Criminal Mischief back in 2015 the new charge was been upgraded to a felony. According to Bay News 9, Jared is now under investigation for the mural defacement's.
Photo from Creative Pinellas
So, did Jared do it? I dunno, but if I had to place a bet, I’d say, “yup”. I guess we’ll all find out soon enough. I reached out to both Jared and Rasta but haven’t yet received a response from either. If they do, I’ll be sure to update this post. Check out the podcast with Jared here:
#HMB 217: Art is Dead & Government Unintentionally Helped to Kill It with THIRST
Jared "THIRST" Hernandez: 01/10/2018
I like St. Petersburg. It may sometimes sound like I don't but I do. I have reverence and respect for it. A few of the people that live in it I wish would sometimes disappear in a rapture but instead of heaven, they would just reappear in Portland, Oregon or something. I think they would be a lot happier there and so would I. I can't take the cold and they already have those stupid, big wool hats they wear even in the summer on their heads like a yarmulke. Anyway...
I watched St. Pete turn into a hub for the arts over the past decade. I don't really know exactly why it happened and most of the people I've talked to aren't entirely sure either but I think it had a lot to do with the expansion of the USF St. Pete campus and making it a more appealing option to kids. People like being near the water. There were some taller building in town. It has a bigger city feel while remaining relatively small. It has a lot of the best of both worlds. It was easier to organize because of that. Creatives linked up and started doing things. Murals, music, whatever. The ball started rolling and didn't stop. It had the right mix of performers and venues and "do-ers", who organized it all. Sometimes things just come together in a strike of luck and chance.
With the expansion of the arts, new business' opened, mostly bars and restaurants. They can be an art form in their own right. The city saw in influx of visitors spending money at these new and hip places and went from meticulously painting over graffiti to allowing it to live in the alleyways of the city done by vandals looking to make their mark. More people started coming to look at those illegal murals and spending more money in town. The city, in a smart move fully embarrassed the organic movement and even started giving grants to artists. They chose a few to lead the arts movement. Some say that's where the problem started...
Government, however well meaning, has an innate ability to bungle anything it touches. With the grants, it created a hierarchy within the art scene. It made those artists more important and influential. Peers became competition for the grant money and animosity bloomed between some artists. It's a shame.- I have mixed emotions about it. I like that creatives are getting paid for their work but in-turn it has made some artists change their styles based on what is getting attention via grant money. THIRST saw it and called it to attention. He released a series of drawings on his Instagram mocking the work of many of the more prominent artists in the St. Pete Art Scene. Some laughed it off and others threatened violence in retaliation. I thought, at first, it may be a well played marketing move to highlight the scene in a different way like the Rap beefs of the 90's. So, #HMB 217 asks what the hell is going on with the current State of the St. Pete Art Scene?
What do you think? Are you worried about the direction of the arts in St. Petersburg? Leave a text or voicemail: (813) 693-2124 or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter and listen to the podcast with THIRST below.
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The #HMB airs Sunday's on radiostpete.com @ 6:15PM & Monday's at 10:15PM or on demand via Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2wuLR7a) or iTunes (https://goo.gl/xKN5OY)