ThePhillyBlunt

Alex Tewfik – Inside Philly’s Food & Drink Scene

October 19, 2020 Food & Drink, Writers 49:47

Alex Tewfik is a restaurant veteran, who loves both restaurants and writing. He currently covers the Philly restaurant and drink scene for Philly Mag. He joins us to talk about his perspective and experiences in an industry that’s struggling to survive.

Ambience was always a major factor into the success of most restaurants. We discuss how restaurants are adapting now that most ambience consists of outdoor seating on a picnic table. Convenience and quality takeout has almost surpassed ambience. Alex touches on his fears that only restaurants with deep pockets will survive the pandemic. In a worst case scenario, only chains would survive.

Alex talked about his lessening expectations when he goes out for food. He is actively conscious that people are risking their lives to serve food. Expecting service at the levels before the pandemic just seems unreasonable.

What changes does Alex think remain in Philadelphia? Will streeteries continue? Does the PLCB allow to-go cocktails to continue? Will the restaurant model remain a tip-based industry for servers? Is Alex dining indoors these days?

In a hysterical Blunt Round, Alex details an injury suffered while performing a drunk dance move.

LINK:
Alex Tewfik: Instagram/Philly MagD

Antonio “Tone” Johnson: Inside the World of Black Barbershops

October 9, 2020 Artist, Authors 42:52

Antonio “Tone” Johnson is a photographer who grew up in the West Philly and Overbrook sections of Philly. He’s got a new book out called “You Next: Reflections in Black Barbershops and he’s our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.

Johnson’s most recent project, You Next, focuses on barber shops as sites for the cultivation of black male identity and wellness. He’s interested in capturing how those spaces and the communities within them are constructed and maintained.

Tone shares his childhood experiences in barbershops with his father and uncle and how a trip to Havana gave him the idea for the You Next project. He ran a successful kickstarter campaign behind the idea. Soon after, he was traveling the country documenting Black barbershops.

We talked with Tone about the importance of the barbershop in the Black community, what makes a barbershop special, and the importance of the vibe of the shop. He also documented haircut day at Fulton County Jail and shares the impact that day had on him.

During the Blunt segment, Tone confesses to his wildest haircut, best Halloween costume and his go to steak shop in town. We also vented about folks in the suburbs claiming they’re from Philly.

The You Next project is an important one and we think you’ll find his inspiration and process for shooting the book an interesting listen.

LINKS:
Antonio Johnson: www/Twitter/Instagram

Arnetta Johnson – The Jazz Disrupter

October 1, 2020 Activist, Entertainment, Music 43:51

Trumpeter Arnetta Johnson has performed on the world’s stage, she’s only 26 with a bright future, and she’s our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.

At 13, Arnetta Johnson decided to take up trumpet at Camden, New Jersey’s High School for the Creative & Performing Arts in an effort to get out of class. Four years later, she entered the prestigious Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. Soon after, she performed at the Super Bowl as a member of Beyonce’s backing band. These days, she’s leads her own band called SUNNY.

Arnetta discussed growing up in Camden, her journey to Berklee in Boston, and the culture shock of that move. It was the first time she encountered racial slurs and faced life without a corner store. She soon realized that her fellow students had far more personal training leading into their arrivals at Berklee. She locked herself away in the practice room for most of her freshman year to catch up, and catch up she did.

She made a couple of connections at a show in Philadelphia that followed her to Berklee and eventually led to a gig in Beyonce Knowles’ band for her Super Bowl performance.

Arnetta is the self-proclaimed “Disrupter of Jazz” because she wants to disrupt everything you think of when you hear the word Jazz. NPR recently called Arnetta Johnson one of the Top 20 Artists to Watch.

Current events weigh heavily on Arnetta. She candidly discusses the importance of current events influencing the music she creates and how music has always been influenced by history.

We also talked about the pressures of being a band-leader at the young age of 26 years-old.

Arnetta’s story is an impressive and inspiring story.

LINKS:
Arnetta Johnson: www/Instagram/Facebook

Greg Seltzer – The Man Behind Philly Music Fest

September 15, 2020 Authors, Entertainment, Music, Writers 00:39:35

He’s a CPA, mergers & acquisitions attorney, author, and founder of the Philly Music Fest. He is Greg Seltzer and he’s our guest on this episode of The Philly Blunt.

By day, Greg Seltzer is a major player in the world of mergers and acquisition law. By night, he’s an author of two books The 1965 Project: The Intersection of History and Music in 1965 and The 1968 Project: The Intersection of History and Music in 1968 and the man behind the annual Philly Music Fest.

Philly Music Fest is unlike any other music festival in the country in that it is a multi-day multi-venue festival exclusively featuring bands with Philadelphia connections. Local food and drink companies provide all the beverages and food during the festival. All the proceeds from the event go to local music-education programs throughout the Philly area.

The 2020 version of the Philly Music Fest will be live performances live-streamed from the Ardmore Music Hall on September 24th and 25th.

Greg sits with us to discuss how the Philly Music Fest came to fruition, the difficulties of organizing a music festival during a pandemic, his work in negotiating a lease between the NHL and Citizens Bank Park for the Winter Classic hockey game, his discovery of jazz in State College, and how historical events shape the music released in the years following.

During the Blunt Round, Greg discloses the amount of Phish shows he’s attended and it’s a pretty ridiculous number, as well as some local bands and artists that we all should be listening to these days.

LINKS:
Philly Music Fest: www/Facebook/Instagram/Twitter

Inga Saffron – Pulitzer Prize-Winning Architecture Critic

September 15, 2020 Authors, Entertainment, Writers 00:39:04

Inga Saffron came to Philadelphia in 1985 to work as the Philadelphia Inquirer as a Suburban Reporter. She spent five years as the Inquirer’s Eastern European correspondent and eventually became their architecture critic in 1999. Since then, she’s been writing about Philadelphia’s changing skyline and neighborhoods. In 2014 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for her work at the Inquirer.

Inga sat with us just after the news broke of the 76ers submitting a development proposal for Penn’s Landing. She provides great insight on that proposal and what the future development of Penn’s Landing might and should look like. We discuss how the city can develop Penn’s Landing while keeping it a destination that the general public can continue to utilize.

Tax breaks are always in discussions when developers approach the city. Inga shares talks about the possibilities of tax breaks and whether or not the city still needs these tax breaks or abatements at this point.

She talks about the immediate and long-term effects that working from home has on center city life and businesses, her mellowing-out on the Philly Mural Arts Program, her hatred of large video screens around town, and whether or not streeteries and cafe dining is her to stay in the Philly.

Inga even shares with us her teenage crush and favorite city takeout joints during COVID-19 in the Blunt Round.

She has a new book out called Becoming Philadelphia that you can purchase HERE.

LINKS:
Twitter/Instagram/Inquirer

BAMM ROSE – Fighting for Sex-Workers’ Rights and More

August 23, 2020 Activist, Artist, Entertainment 00:32:28

BAMM ROSE, a retired stripper, is the founder and CEO of Stilettos, Inc, a non-profit that works for improved and safer working conditions for strippers and sex workers in the Philly area. She has also organizes the Philly Stripper Strike to bring awareness to the racism and colorism in gentlemen’s clubs and to the harassment that sex workers endure on a daily basis.

Rose also organizes “dog walks,” which are protests were women dog-walk consenting white people to signify an end to white supremacy and a future that is more inclusive of women and people of color. So far, the dog walks have taken place down South Street and in Rittenhouse Square.

Bamm joined us for this episode to  discuss her activist work, her experiences as a sex worker and what brought her to the place she is now, and how she is looking to improve the sex work industry and the world around her.

Shout out to our sponsors. Shibe Vintage Sports where you can score all your Philly team gear as well as shirts about Philly’s cultural history. Local owners. Local artists. Shibe Vintage Sports where every stitch tells a story.

And Jawnville.com for the rants, ramblings, and observations of a born-and-raised Philly bloke.

LINKS:
BAMM ROSE
Stilettos, Inc.

Dr. Stephen Klasko – The Most Honest Man in Healthcare

August 9, 2020 Authors, Business, Healers, Writers 01:18:51

Dr. Steven Klasko is the CEO of Jefferson Health, named the #2 Most Influential Person in Healthcare, and probably the most honest healthcare executive in the country. In this interview he spills the dirt on the issues of government, healthcare providers, insurance companies, and pharmaceuticals and how to make the country better and healthier for all citizens.

Dr. Klasko, born in South Philly, started his career out as Little Stevie Kent, a radio disc jockey on WYSP in Philadelphia. After being fired, a counselor told him to consider taking the MCATs. He went on to become an OB/GYN, delivering thousands of babies. He transitioned to the management side of healthcare after earning his MBA. On top of that, he’s an author having written numerous books on America’s healthcare industry.

He pulls no punches in discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Philadelphia or America’s healthcare crisis.

Dr. Klasko professes what we already know—healthcare in America is broken. He provides valuable insight into the absurdities that exist between insurance companies, the government and providers and how they often fail the American citizens.

The discrepancies in healthcare between the wealthy and the poor is a major concern on Dr. Klasko’s. He talks about how two zip codes in Philadelphia, a mere mile or two apart, can have a twenty year difference in life expectancy and steps that we, as a nation, can do to combat this.

Klasko thinks out of the box. He is changing the way medical schools select students and the training they receive. He wants to change the way healthcare is delivered, provide broadband to all citizens, and work with other health institutions in the city to make Philadelphia as healthy a city as possible.

This is easily the most honest and informative discussion over healthcare, government, and insurance you will hear from a true visionary in the industry.

LINKS:
Dr. Stephen Klasko

Terrill Haigler – Philly’s Favorite Trash Man

August 2, 2020 Activist, Business 00:41:17

Philly’s favorite trash man, Terrill Haigler, joins us to talk Philly trash.

In a city that prides itself on being blue collar, it should come as no surprise that its latest viral sensation is a sanitation worker.

Terrill Haigler saw that a storm was brewing Philly, people angry at the trash department without understanding why trash was running so late. So he decided to start an instagram page where he’d explain exactly why they were running late. In about 6 weeks, he’s gotten over 9000 followers and his regular video updates get anywhere from 1000-6000 views. 

Terrill talked about a typical work day, about his theatre background, and about how he had to stay on the waiting list for 2 years before he landed the job. But most importantly, he talked about how difficult the job is in the COVID age. Going into work with not enough PPE, dealing with the heat and the Karens and the fact that people are throwing out way more trash than they used to. We discussed the good (engaging with people on route), the bad (almost a third of the workforce being quarantined because they either have COVID or were in the truck with someone who tested positive), and the ugly (sh*tboxes, which are….you’ll have to listen and find out). It’s a fascinating look at what goes on behind the scenes after you take your trash out, and Terrill has an infectious personality, which has a lot to do with the IG pages success. Informative, fun, and hilarious: this episode is really the epitome of what the Blunt is all about. 
 
LINKS:

A. Charles Peruto, Jr. – Legendary Criminal Defense Attorney

July 23, 2020 Crime, Politics 51:00

A. Charles “Chuck” Peruto, Jr. may be the biggest name in Philly criminal defense work. He wasted no time in making a name for himself in his 20s, taking the case of the Whitman Park Sniper. A few years later, he represented Joey Coyle, an unemployed longshoreman who stumbled across a bag filled with $1.2 million that had fallen out of a Brinks Truck. He also represented murderer Gary Heidnik and defended Joey Merlino. After Meek Mill passed over Peruto to take on another lawyer, Chuck took the judge in the Mill case as a client.  He is currently planning on running for DA, since he thinks that Krasner is doing such a poor job. 

Peruto discussed why Joey Coyle got caught, the tricks he used to unsuccessfully convince the jury that Heidnik was insane (he wasn’t), whether repping the mob was scary, and why he thought the judge in the Meek Mill case got a bad deal. Peruto talked about how he likes Krasner but doesn’t respect him as DA, and his thoughts about police.
 
He discussed the importance of law school, the problem with Ivy League educated attorneys, and how to win over a jury.
 
Peruto also told a never before heard story about his infamous fight with Howard Eskin at the Palm and Lynne Abraham that has to be heard.
 
He holds back on absolutely nothing. Whether you agree or disagree with him, you’ll be interested to hear what he has to say. A true Philadelphia original. 
 
LINKS:

DAMON C. WILLIAMS – Philly’s First Rap Columnist

July 20, 2020 Authors, Writers 45:40

We sit down with Damon C. Williams. Damon is an award-winning journalist having written for the Daily News for a decade and then at Philadelphia Tribune. A bulk of his work focused on local politics. Damon has also released a memoir available on Amazon called Soul in Ink, the memoirs of a journalist. Maybe more importantly, while at the Daily News, Damon started a rap and hip-hop column in the 1990’s that focused on local artists in Philly. It was one of the first, if not first, columns in a major metropolitan newspaper of its kind.

Thanks to everyone out there who helped make us a Philly Mag Best of 2020 winner.

Shout out to our sponsors Shibe Vintage Sports where you can find unique vintage-style shirts and hats. There’s a story in every stitch at Shibe. Shibe Vintage Sports. Philly owned. Philly artists.

And Jawnville.com for the observations, rants, and ramblings of a Philly bloke. This bloke, in particular.

Check us out on instagram, twitter, and Facebook all as THe Philly Blunt.

Stay safe. Wash Your hands. Wear a mask and enjoy this interview with Damon C. WIlliams.

LINKS:
Damon C. Williams: Twitter/Soul In Ink: The Memoirs of a Journalist