#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.
Get your FREE #HMBradio/Radio St. Pete stickers! Email thehomemadebroadcast@radiostpete.com your address and we'll send some out. Follow us on twitter: @home_made_man & check out the HMBradio Facebook: facebook.com/hmbradio
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)
#HMB 216 - #GoodKnight & Hard Times with Zac Townsend
Zac Townsend & your boy Bill (December 2017)
Oh boy, a very Happy New Year to you's! I'm back in the confined makeshift "studio" space in an undisclosed location better known as my apartment with a brand new podcast to kick off the new year. #HMB 216 ft. local idiot, writer and comedian Zac Townsend. I lifted the ban temporarily in order for him to come talk about his brand new, exciting gig with The Hard Times, a satire website akin to The Onion. Many of The Hard Times staff writers eventually move on over there at some point. They're kind of like the cream of the crop as far as satire goes, I'm sure you have heard of them. I very excited for Ol' Zacky Boy but make no mistake, the ban is now back into affect so see you never, loser.
Also, I start the show this week talking about the UCF Knights Football team declaring themselves the 2017 National Champions after defeating Auburn in the Peach Bowl. I hate the UCF Knights. I hate them for no other reason that they are the arch-rival of the college I went to, Go Bulls. I know a lot of Knights though and they are all grand human beings so I was happy for their joy and swallowed my tribal allegences and wished them a "congrats!" over a group text message. Then the "National Champs!" texts started to roll in and that's when my joy for them turned sour. Are you kidding me? You really believe that? National Champs?
UCF, you didn't play anyone worth a damn aside from Memphis (who lost their bowl game to Iowa State) and USF who squeaked out a last minute victory against a mediocre Texas Tech. Look, beating Auburn is a huge accomplishment and it's great for the conference moving forward. That win may push some people to give the American Conference a little more respect in the future but for now, I need you folks to go ahead and revel in your undefeated season. I want you to go put on your "2017 Peach Bowl Champions" shirts, smile with pride and frig the heck off.
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) Leave a voice or text message for the show @: (813) 693-2124 or over at HMBradio.com and check out the latest podcast below:
The Call Up:
Image from Joe Sale & design by Leah Lauber
When I started #HMBradio, I did it in part to get on the radio, the real radio. When I started #HMBradio, I wanted to be on a radio station with a vision. I wanted to be apart of a group of brash, unapologetic & unwavering on-air talent with the goal of changing the way people viewed talk radio. I wanted to be on The Bone.
Now, in some small capacity, I have that opportunity as the co-host of "#StayWoke" with Anna Hummel every weeknight at midnight. You know, it's a start. I get to work with and learn from some of the best radio veterans in the state if not the country. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be on-air, in a Top 20 market when just 5 years ago I was a guy talking into an iPhone with my roommate on the first The Homemade Broadcast bitching about the lawnmower going off outside and the phone picking up that noise on the recording. It's surreal.
It's a hell of a way to end the year on a accomplishment like that. I'll still be putting out podcasts on "#HMBradio Tampa Bay" weekly on Tuesday mornings in 2018 so please, if you haven't, subscribe and rate the show. It only takes a minute and really helps out. The Homemade Broadcast airs Sunday's on RadioStPete @ 6:15PM & Monday's at 10:15PM or on demand via Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2wuLR7a) or iTunes (https://goo.gl/xKN5OY) & of course, tune in to #StayWoke at midnight on 102.5 The Bone.