Shows
Five Dollar BuzzAnarchy in the U.S.S.A.Episode 310 - Special Guests: Noel Lawrence and Burke Roberts
Cinema is pretty close to being dead. We've hit a stalemate where multiplexes only play caped crusader films, the streamers love their ripped-from-the-headlines docuserials, and network television is a vast wasteland of mundane competition reality shows. Lots of vacuous, hollow paeans to escapism and vanity. Warhol was not wrong, every asshole is getting their fifteen minutes.
Somewhere in this miasma of dreck exists the blistering heart of the pure, the transfixed, the recalcitrant filmmaker feverishly concocting pieces of art in direct opposition to the moribund mainstream. Utilizing the short form, these art...
2022-04-061h 04Five Dollar BuzzFamous Last WordsEpisode 309 - Special Guest: John Pirruccello
The Buzzards are big fans of the acting profession and we're especially fond of character actors...the best kind. It's even better when those people are even cooler in real life.
Take the career of John Pirruccello. He started out doing voiceover work for TV and radio commercials, video games, cartoons and movies. He leads a weekly improv group while also performing in sketch comedies, theater and television and movie roles. He also did stand-up all around Los Angeles. On stage he was in Horton Foote's (Best Screenplay Oscars for To Kill a Mockingbird, Tende...
2022-03-311h 19
Five Dollar BuzzFamous Last WordsEpisode 309 - Special Guest: John Pirruccello
The Buzzards are big fans of the acting profession and we're especially fond of character actors...the best kind. It's even better when those people are even cooler in real life.
Take the career of John Pirruccello. He started out doing voiceover work for TV and radio commercials, video games, cartoons and movies. He leads a weekly improv group while also performing in sketch comedies, theater and television and movie roles. He also did stand-up all around Los Angeles. On stage he was in Horton Foote's (Best Screenplay Oscars for To Kill a Mockingbird, Tende...
2022-03-301h 20Five Dollar BuzzBuzzards in Exile: Desert Island Five
Episode 308 - Special Guests: The Buzzards
On this special evergreen episode, The Buzzards play a game that's been around for some time. BBC Radio 4 have had a game called "Desert Island Discs" since 1942, where they ask various celebrities, athletes, politicians and pundits to imagine being stranded on an deserted island and they can only keep with them the following items; five pieces of music, a book and a luxury item. They already get to have the Complete Works of Shakespeareand the Bible. The rest is all theirs to imagine.
Well. The Buzzards do it almost like that. But we've already read a...
2022-03-2358 minFive Dollar BuzzRunning Pure: Wagering with Adam LevitanEpisode 307 - Special Guest: Adam Levitan
The Buzzards love their sports. But they also love their gambling. And boy, do they love sports and gambling all at the same time.
In this episode, The Buzzards take a deep dive into the world of fantasy football and gambling. In order to really sell this topic you need an expert. So, naturally, we not only found one of the best, we found the very person who began the first online practice of fantasy wagering expertise.
Adam Levitan is a name anyone that closely follows fantasy sports will know in an instant. He is one...
2022-03-1658 minFive Dollar BuzzEpisode 306: Non-Pharma Payroll: The Origin of Hyphae Wellness - Special Guest: Nick CiufoWelcome to the one year anniversary of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ. This is our 46th episode and we're happy that it drops on the very same day as our first.
What do you think you know about mushrooms? You know there are mushrooms you can eat, mushrooms that make you high and mushrooms that can kill you. What do you know about the medicinal properties of mushrooms? Chaga mushrooms help aging, inflammation, and lowering cholesterol. Lion's Mane helps with cognition, memory and concentration. Reishi helps with sleep, anxiety, depression and focus.
There is a Pacific-Northwest company that features prominently in mushroom cultivat...
2022-03-081h 02Five Dollar BuzzEpisode 305: Adrian Bonenberger Tosses a Molotov Cocktail on the Invasion of UkrainePutin just invaded Ukraine. It's confounding, frightening, a dick move and utter bullshit.
The Buzzards want to get to the bottom of this. We need help because the media out there has so many conflicting messages it's difficult to figure out just what in the holy fuck is going on.
When in doubt, we reach out to our most trusted sources. In this case, we have someone that is directly involved with the conflict and has the most precise and stone cold take on it. All of us are on this epi...
2022-02-261h 10Five Dollar BuzzEpisode 304: James Duval Is a CharacterOn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards rip it up with venerable character actor and musician James Duval who has had one helluva career.
His career starts with what would become a lifelong cinematic relationship. His work with filmmaker Gregg Araki has spawned four feature films, one MTV pilot and one television series including TOTALLY F***ED UP, THE DOOM GENERATION, NOWHERE, KABOOM, "This Is How the World Ends" and "Now Apocalypse".
Jimmy would go on to a career that spans over 30 years and over 175 credits. Some of his other m...
2022-02-221h 11Five Dollar BuzzEpisode 303: Big Waves & Soundwaves: Special Guest Brent Broza (@brozaphoto)On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards get a taste of Southern California's Orange County from the 1980s. Award-winning photographer Brent Broza shares the impact that growing up within the twin countercultures of hardcore punk and surfing had on him and helped shape his future career as an artist.
Brent started by photographing his friends in bands and his friends surfing. Eventually he would get paid for it and would go on to photograph globally recognized musicians such as Jack Johnson, Descendents, Pennywise, Blink-182 and artists Shepard Fairey and Greg "Craola" Simkins just to...
2022-02-151h 01Five Dollar BuzzEpisode 302: Livestream Underground: The Challenge of Paul Boyd and Kara Scobey BrownWe are all driven by the notion of fate. Some believe that fate is inevitable, while others believe that fate is what you make of it. And then there are those who believe that fate is given a push by luck. Some seem to have all the luck while others were born under the proverbial bad sign.
On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards chat it up with two people that made a movie about the pursuit of good luck and the extremes of which the central character will go to achieve it.
I, CHALLENGER is a stoner com...
2022-02-081h 19Five Dollar BuzzEPISODE 301:DOOM GENERATION : With Special Guest HUGO MARTINWe've been playing first person shooter games for years now. "Grand Theft Auto," "Call of Duty," "Halo," "Resident Evil," are all games that have seeped into the general pop cultural landscape. We watch others play these games online, as spectators, as fans, as a new form of entertainment.
All of these games would not be possible without the innovative one-two punches of "Castle Wolfenstein" and its more massive cousin "DOOM."
FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ starts season three with a veritable bang bang. Not only do we get to discuss the latest "DOOM" incarnation, "DOOM Eternal," but we get the badass that dir...
2022-02-011h 10Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: Episode 220: The FDB Holiday Spectacular: Buzzards on IceYear end specials are for the birds. Remember those holiday special shows in the 70s and 80s when networks like ABC or CBS would throw their B-list actors from their shitty sitcoms together in amazingly awful skits, toss in a few "hip" up-and-coming musicians like Captain & Tennille or Pepsi-disco-cocaine boy Leif Garrett as they sing the standard holiday crap and have the whole affair be an excuse to try and salvage the sagging ratings of moribund TV shows that were written in crayon on a napkin in the first place?
Well, welcome to the FDB version of that! Except we ta...
2021-12-211h 36Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: Episode 219 : Special Guest : Jerad W. Alexander, Author, U.S. Marine.Jerad W. Alexander is a writer, who's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Esquire and other notable print publications. He is the author of the recently released book "Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War". Mr. Alexander served as a U.S. Marine during the peak years of the Global War on Terror from 1998 to 2006. His military service took him to Iraq, East Africa and the Mediterranean region.
Prior to his deployment to Iraq, Alexander was part of a chemical/biological threat response unit based in Washington DC. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, this special unit...
2021-12-061h 04Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: Episode 218 ”Josh Gets a Job” Special Guest: Josh Weinstein"The Simpsons" is probably the most famous American television series in history. It's the cultural landmark equivalent to STAR WARS, Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer," and Michael Jackson's "Thriller." It's had 33 seasons. Only news shows, NFL programming, soap operas and "The Tonight Show" have been on longer.
The show was developed by the legendary Matt Groening along with Oscar-winning filmmaker James L. Brooks and the multi-talented Sam Simon (who passed away in 2015 and his contributions to the world are sorely missed). Along the way they hired many fantastic writers, producers and showrunners including Conan O'Brien, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, Al Jean, etal...
2021-11-2959 minFive Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: Episode 217: DIGITAL BOILER: With special guest Colin SullivanColin Sullivan is the founder and CEO of Mintgreen.
Based in British Columbia, Sullivan’s organization makes Digital Boilers that heat communities sustainably with Bitcoin.
This Canadian visionary is attempting to solve 2 crises at once: establishing a stable currency in a world rife with hyper fiat currency inflation and generating heat where it is scarce and needed.
Listeners will be hard pressed to find a more compelling story of positive vibe ambition against a relentless torrent of negative news, in an always expect the worst atmosphere.
A breath of fresh air and a reason to be hopeful for the fu...
2021-11-221h 08Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: Episode 216: Misery and Profits: Special guest: Bethany McLeanAuthor, journalist, and Vanity Fair Magazine contributing editor: Bethany McLean sits in with the boys to talk some shop… College, journalism, documentary filmmaking, Enron, the opiate crisis, Bob Dylan, penguins, parenting tips for raising strong, confident, kickass daughters, penguins, did we mention penguins? This one has it all! Don’t miss it.
2021-11-1558 minFive Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: EPISODE 215 The Picture of Rich RagsdaleThere are those of us from Generation X in the U.S. that grew up on a steady diet of horror films, underground comix, sci-fi mags, punk and metal music while the rest of the country soaked up sitcoms and disco. It was an era where such preoccupations were not met with wide enthusiasm despite occasional mainstream successes.
This, of course, has all changed. To define grunge, for example, is to say that it was the synthesis of metal & punk with both noise and classic rock thrown in for good measure. Hollywood has gone all in on horror and especially fil...
2021-11-071h 05Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: EPISODE 214 Cannabis Cup III Special Guests: Brian Jones and Patrick RyderThe Buzzards go for round three about the business of marijuana. This episode we get frontline reportage back from our cannabis correspondents and Buzzards-at-Large Brian Jones and Patrick Ryder. They covered the MJBizCon in Las Vegas and have quite a bit to fill in as to the bright future marijuana has in its steamrolling legalization throughout the individual states of America (it's gonna take some doing to federalize it...as you'll hear).
The convention has the look and feel of any other convention but the aroma sure is better and the participants are a whole other crowd than the usual sh...
2021-11-0256 minFive Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ:EPISODE 213: Fetch the Seam I Missed: Guests: Teresa Coates & Jason ”Hawke” HamiltonEmily Dickinson wrote a poem about recapturing the spark she once held for something that she truly desired. On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ we honor that spirit by interviewing two people that have reinvented themselves and are now on the journey of their lives, reigniting that spark they both held years ago as artists and world travelers.
Teresa Coates (www.teresacoates.com) is a world class sewing expert and teacher. She is so good that she now has her own streaming show called "Sew Together Tuesday" where she demonstrates how to put together a specific pattern each episode, ala...
2021-10-271h 06Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: EPISODE 212: From Mexico to Phoenix: Special Guest: Eric KramakOn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, we are just a two-Buzzard squad with George and Roger while Pete takes a u-turn down the newborn baby highway.
We're up to the task, though, because this guest today is a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool Generation X variation of the Ramblin' Man. We are excited to have Eric Kramak in the house, coming to us live from Amman, Jordan, our first guest to talk to us from outside of the U.S.
Eric works for IMPACT Initiatives, a humanitarian non-profit organization that does research and analysis into those areas of the world that hav...
2021-10-201h 00Five Dollar BuzzFIVE DOLLAR BUZZ: EPISODE 211: Voices. Special Guest: Alyx RuibalOn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, we are lucky to have with us one of the most exciting young voices to pop up on our radar that we can hardly contain ourselves. She is Alyx Ruibal, who has become a social media personality and uses her platform for a myriad of significant reasons. She is striving to become a professional dancer and demonstrates the many techniques she's developed over the years. She is a burgeoning actress who recently wrapped her first feature film, a family drama called HELLBENT ON BOOGIE about a young woman with autism that wants to be...
2021-10-151h 04Five Dollar BuzzMothers of Invention Special Co-Host: Maryann Snow, Special Guests: Lori Miller and Gail MunschWe here at FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ use the word "mother" a lot - usually in a derogatory context and in conjunction with another celebrated epithet. In this episode, we get our comeuppance and dutifully and respectfully pay heed to the very cradle of our own existence, motherhood itself.
And we will not be alone. Pete opens our show but has to forego the actual interview due to his newfound status of fatherhood. In his stead, we have Pete's sister, Maryann Snow, as George and Roger's co-host. A mother of three herself, she provides particular insight that would escape the usual Buzz...
2021-10-081h 06Five Dollar BuzzTuesday, September 24, 1991: The Day Pop Music Took On a Blowtorch Facelift Special Guest: Kevin ColganIt's been three entire decades since the celebrated year of 1991 in regards to rock and roll music has passed. Here in the U.S., it was a hangover of sorts from a ten year stretch of excess and irreverence - symbolized by the financially successful spate of inane and bloated hair metal bands - fondly known as the 1980s.
Back in ’91 the world was witnessing the wind down of the Persian Gulf War, enjoying OJ Simpson’s reprisal of the beloved law man Nordberg in the cinematic sequel to THE NAKED GUN alongside Leslie Nielsen, and craw...
2021-10-031h 15Five Dollar BuzzWhat to Expect When You‘re Expecting - Non Regents Deluxe Dad Edition, Or, Mansplaining FatherhoodIt’s been said a woman becomes a mother the moment she learns she’s pregnant. Rivaled by no system known to MALE, the female reproductive system (complete with a vast array of inherent natural selective nurture traits triggered upon conception), is an amazing and infinitely fascinating vessel of life creating and life sustaining machinery. Long the subject of fine art, prose, anthropologic study and scientific inquiry; the process of becoming a mother, or “matrescence,” is a neurobiological experience so profoundly divine, sitting here — attempting description with a pair of male thumbs seems almost akin to taking an Etch a Sketch sta...
2021-09-1958 minFive Dollar BuzzThe Afghan Epitaph: Three Cups of Kool-Aid with Lauren Kay Johnson, US Air Force @LaurenKayJ was raised in the Seattle area by a mother who was an Operation Desert Storm Veteran. Lauren herself went on to serve as an Air Force public affairs officer and award-winning Department of Defense journalist, deploying to the Republic of Mali and Afghanistan.
She joined FDB on the 20 year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.
She reflects on a wide range of topics associated with the terrorist attacks of that perilous day and her involvement in the GWOT that followed. Lauren speaks on how Sept. 11 played a role in her decision to join the Air Force. She fondly recalls her mother's influence on her...
2021-09-1555 minFive Dollar Buzzn Vino Veritas: The Passion of Clancy: With Special Guests Brian Clancy and Heather HoislbauerOn this episode the Buzzards get it together with repeat guest Brian Clancy as we do another round of wine tasting, this time it's all things red. To add some additional flavor we have a great friend of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, Heather Hoislbauer, partake in the episode's festivities. FDB artist Nate Garden joins along
Brian Clancy is an international certified Sommelier. A real wine badass. Coming from the great state of Hawaii, he regales us with an authoritative sermon on the values of various varietals and their specific ingredients and regions that will blow your mind...if not your eyes, nose an...
2021-09-021h 07Five Dollar BuzzSmoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em: The Business of Weed Special Guests: Sean Stiefel and Brian JonesThe Buzzards go round two on the commodification of marijuana in the United States. Previously we spoke with Patrick Ryder and Brian Jones about the few insurance companies that will cover growers, distributors and sellers on Five Dollar Buzz Episode 10, "Cannabis Cultivation to Corporation" (audio only on Spotify and iTunes).
On this episode, we discuss the world of cannabis hedge funds with the leader of the finance industry Sean Stiefel, the CEO of Navy Capital (navycapital.com) and returning guest Brian D. Jones, who is the Executive Vice President of QuadScore Insurance Services.
Navy Capital was founded in 2016 with Sean becom...
2021-08-2658 minFive Dollar BuzzInterview with the Laughing Black Vampire: The Haunting of Steven Van Patten Episode 204"Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make." - Bram Stoker
The Buzzards go goth on this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, as we speak with acclaimed horror author Steven Van Patten and talk about all things vampires, werewolves and the shape of horror to come.
Van Patten is the author of the trilogy Brookwater's Curse - Volume1, Volume 2 and Volume 3: Extinction Agenda - about a former Georgian plantation slave named Christian Brookwater who becomes a powerful vampire. He becomes an agent for a secret vampire law enforcement who has to keep those damn werewolves in check...
2021-08-121h 13Five Dollar BuzzSpiritual Opium: Will Hershey On Invensting, Gaming, and FuturismThe provenance of video games was always the domain of the misunderstood misfits. Old school coin-operated stand up terminals were located in smokey dive-bar back rooms or seedy shopping malls. The early in-home entertainment consoles were first adopted by the propeller head and pocket protector set. As those gaming systems became more advanced and realistic, the introverted and ostracized members of youth became the standard bearers of the online gaming communities.
The Boomer establishment has a rich history of being at odds with the video game industry. Early 1980s fears of Japanese manufacturing supremacy, placing societal violence's blam...
2021-08-051h 03Five Dollar BuzzBoonetown: The Life and Times of Mark Boone JuniorOn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards mix it up with legendary character actor Mark Boone Junior, or just "Boone" as he prefers to be called.
Boone's had a weird and storied career, from his improvisational cabaret beginnings with Steve Buscemi to early No Wave work with underground directors like Eric Mitchell (THE WAY IT IS OR EURYDICE IN THE AVENUES, UNDERGROUND, U.S.A.) and Lizzie Borden (BORN IN FLAMES) to indie darlings like LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, SLAVES OF NEW YORK, Buscemi's masterpiece TREES LOUNGE (among several films that Buscemi directed), and PETE SMALLS IS DEAD.
Hol...
2021-07-301h 12Five Dollar BuzzFDB on DMT: Psych-Out with Rick Strassman, M.D.Welcome to Season 2 of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ. For the first time ever and from here on out we will be providing both an audio only version on Apple and Spotify as well as a video recording on our new FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ YouTube Channel!
And boy do we start out with a doozy. On this episode the Buzzards talk with renowned professor, researcher and author Rick Strassman, M.D. He is the clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He also held a fellowship in clinical pharmacology research at UC San Diego and was...
2021-07-221h 11Five Dollar BuzzOf All the Gin Joints in the World...Special Guests: Brandon Hinke and Nate Garden
SPECIAL CONTEST FOR THIS EPISODE - SEE END OF THIS ARTICLE!
On this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards find themselves deep in overly navigated waters with enough experience between the three of them to be experts themselves. It is a love letter to the lowbrow (or is that Löwenbräu). An episode especially dedicated to the Dive Bar.
We are excited to introduce Brandon Hinke, who started Pictures of Dives, both a Twitter account and an Instagram page (@picturesofdives on their respective accounts) dedicated to all things Dive Bars, wherein folks...
2021-06-261h 14Five Dollar BuzzAn American Non Regents Diploma Story: George Kursar Buzzard In The Flesh
Another special edition of what we've unofficially nicknamed "Meet the Buzzards" has our man George Kursar in its crosshairs. Pete and Roger hold a pair of single bolt action rifles at George's head to get the inside dirt on his life's story. To pile on the insult, we blast on with Buzzard-at-Large Tom Glasgow, who doubles down on the Kursar Comedy Hour.
George is a life in constant transition, from his interest in all things arts & sciences to sports & leisure to finance & technology, and on and on he goes. His is an ever curious mind with a heat-seeking information valve that...
2021-06-1852 minFive Dollar BuzzPortrait of a Punk as a Young Artist: Special Guests: Walter "Monsta" Ryan and John StewartOn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, the Buzzards get down with hardcore punk rock drummer Walter "Monsta" Ryan and his good friend, and ours, John Stewart.
Walter is the seminal journeyman drummer and is featured in bands such as Burnt Offerings, Chronic Plague, Paranoia, Decayed, Possessed, Bonecrusher, Machine Head, Powerhouse, Madball, Lordz of Brooklyn, Subzero, Doomsday Device, Cromags, Merauder, Murderer's Row and D.R.I.
John joins in the conversation from the "mean streets" of Marin County and explains his near lifelong friendship with Walter. He might also be secretly shepherding a gaggle of geese in his house...
2021-06-121h 12Five Dollar BuzzMelancholy and the Infinite Comedy Badass: Bridget McManus Cracks WiseComedy guru Bridget McManus schools the Buzzards on this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, where she waxes poetic on all things stand-up; past, present and future.
McManus is an award-winning stand-up, performer, television host, screenwriter, director, producer and actor who created and hosted the comedy talk show "Brunch with Bridget" and "Bridget McManus Presents: That Time of the Month," both for the Logo Network.
She has starred in her own comedy specials, wrote and produced a mockumentary series aptly titled "McManusland," a romantic series called "Maybelle," a horror series "Buyer Beware" and the relationship talk show "Happy Wife, Happy Life."
Bridget...
2021-06-071h 13Five Dollar BuzzA Soldier's StorySpecial Guest: Adrian Bonenberger
In this FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ episode recorded specifically to coincide with Memorial Day, the Buzzards have a heavy full metal discussion with author and teacher Adrian Bonenberger, a Yale graduate with a B.A. in English, who then joined the U.S. Army for seven years.
Adrian spent twenty-five months in Afghanistan in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 10th Mountain Division and was awarded two bronze stars, three army commendation medals (one for valor in combat), and an army achievement medal.
Post military career, Adrian wrote "Afghan Post: A Memoir" about his first hand experiences throu...
2021-05-301h 04Five Dollar BuzzThoughtful Leadership: Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and the GenX perspective in The Garden StateSteve Fulop is the mayor of Jersey City, NJ. In a few weeks, when the census results are tallied, most observers expect it will become the largest city by population in the Garden State. Seeking election for a 3rd term this coming November, Mayor Fulop takes some time out to check in with The Buzzards.
By 2001, the SUNY Binghampton alum had found his way back to the NYC area after spending some time in Chicago. He was working for the distinguished financial services firm Goldman Sachs on Sept 11 in lower Manhattan when the planes hit the World Trade Center. No...
2021-05-241h 04Five Dollar BuzzThe Mt. Rushmore of the Almost Famous: AxemenHere's a blast from the recent past; the very first recording the Buzzards ever did. This will also be the first time that you will hear just the three of us - George, Peter and Roger - do an entire show just by our lonesome. And being the first episode...well...you could hear the initial sparks of the Buzzards discovering their fire. It can be a bit rough but we were just spreading our wings!
The topic at hand is one dear to all of our hearts - music - particularly guitarists. We each got to pick four but wit...
2021-05-201h 05Five Dollar BuzzBlood, Boobs and Balls: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Cancer But Were Afraid to Ask Special Guests: Mike Vail, Sarah Shapiro and Tom GlasgowThis episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ is unlike any other thus far. The Buzzards have three special guests that give us their personal accounts of their experiences with the Big C: Cancer. From the harrowing ordeals of chemotherapy to the darkly humorous side effects and oddball experiences the three guests share with wit, warmth and a funny bone.
First up, Pete interviews Mike Vail and his detailed wrestling match with leukemia. After a few days of noticing that he has tiny round spots on his lower extremities (called petechiae - pronounced puh·tee·kee·uh) Mike decides to have them checked...
2021-05-131h 27Five Dollar BuzzBuzzards in the Flesh: Waking Pete Liska / Ghost in the Machine: Kaitlin WeichselIn this episode of FIVE DOLLAR BUZZ, Buzzards George and Roger tackle their toughest interview yet: fellow Buzzard Pete Liska. Liska is not a man to indulge in ego-centric self-aggrandisement. His gifts tend to be focused on his supportive-ness, his genuine interest in the human condition and his respect for humanity. But, man, does he really hate talking about himself. His fellow Buzzards shake Pete's leaves loose from his tree (and at 6'6", that's a tall tree) and get him to open up about his past and how he came about to be the person he is today.
And then we...
2021-05-061h 07Five Dollar BuzzPhish's The Clifford Ball: 25 Years Later, Part IIThe Buzzards reload Clark's glass slide piece (another Aaron's Alley purchase) one more time and double down on Phish's The Clifford Ball show. Premo's spoof of choice, "Kurt Muller", is tested early and often.
During this particular sesh, they are joined by none other than Sigmund Bloom, the co-owner of Footballguys.com and one of the most significant podcasters generating content in the world today. Bloom's knowledge of Phish is deep and vast. He attended Syracuse University in the mid 1990s, properly positioned to witness Phish 1.0 at the absolute peak of their power. Bloom expertly shares his experiences at various Phish...
2021-05-0156 minFive Dollar BuzzCannabis Cultivation to CorporationThis week, George, Pete and Roger share a joint together with two dudes that make the business of getting stoned, dare we say, respectable. We're talking about the cannabis industry in America and all of its, ahem, "highs" and lows.
First we have Patrick Ryder. He is the North American Cannabis Practice Leader for HUB International; a top five global risk management brokerage firm. From Denver, CO he has been working with multinational cannabis companies on risk mitigation techniques since the release of the Cole Memorandum paved the way for states to decriminalize adult-use marijuana.
Then we have Brian D. Jone...
2021-04-261h 12Five Dollar BuzzShaka King Reigns SupremeIn this episode, the Buzzards interview writer-director Shaka King. In just under a decade Mr. King has amassed an impressive resume, including a string of films that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and several highly-acclaimed television series episodes.
His latest film, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, is the hard-hitting examination of the last years of the enigmatic revolutionary-activist Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton and his subsequent betrayal at the hands of a colleague, William O'Neal, who was conscripted by the FBI to do their bidding. Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Ac...
2021-04-1854 minFive Dollar BuzzPhish's The Clifford Ball: 25 Years Later, Part IPsychedelic prog rock jam band Phish put on a two-day event at recently closed Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, NY on August 16-17, 1996. The event became the largest show of that year and really kick-started Phish beyond a huge cult-like band and more into the mainstream waters of bands like the Grateful Dead (a comparison that is not their particular favorite or their fans).
What's remarkable about the show is that the two-day event was primarily all Phish-based who played seven sets for about 80,000-90,000 people.
We are led by Buzzard George Kursar who ropes in co-hosts Roger Mayer (who...
2021-04-091h 02Five Dollar BuzzFEAR AND LOATHING IN '21: MY GOD, WE MISS YOU DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSONThe Buzzards dedicate an entire episode to the Godfather of Gonzo and how sorely missed he's been over the past five years. Hunter S Thompson is the famed journalist and author of novels "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs" and "The Rum Diary" among several others and was the bacchanalian court jester of the countercultural movement of the late 60s and throughout the 70s.
We are joined by historian and Thompson contemporary Clifton Lee from Baton Rouge, Louisiana who gives us insightful background and context of the good D...
2021-04-031h 20Five Dollar BuzzLawyers, Pods, and MoneyThe Buzzards meet up with esteemed wife-husband attorneys Giovanna A. D'Orazio and Scott M. Peterson of the aptly named law firm, D'Orazio Peterson located in Saratoga Springs, NY. They are both upstate New York natives with many years behind them working for very prestigious law firms before Scott went out on his own, soon followed by Giovanna. Dedicated to helping the individual over the corporation (many David vs. Goliath cases) they also share their spare time with two children and both sit on several boards. Scott is on the Board of the Saratoga Affordable Housing Group - they help folks get h...
2021-03-281h 03Five Dollar BuzzBuzzards in the Flesh: Co-Host Roger M. Mayer/Rabble Rouser: Tom TaylorThis episode we highlight Buzzard Roger M. Mayer. He is a prolific film producer known mostly for outsider indie horror films ANTIBIRTH, THE RAMBLER, THE OREGONIAN and docs BIG RIVER MAN and JACO. He worked for the Sundance Film Festival for 14 years and was the Festival Director/Head Programmer for the Silver Lake Film Festival and the Downtown Film Festival-Los Angeles (now known as the DTLA Film Festival). A bleeding heart pain in the ass with a penchant for atonal dissonant noise and APOCALYPSE NOW, we hear a little about his journeys in life and the philosophies that he lives b...
2021-03-261h 00Five Dollar BuzzCocktail DreamsTerry Rogers is the owner/operator of Harbor Point Wines and Spirits located in Stamford, CT. She has been involved in the wine space for over 40 years. She previously owned Horseneck Wines in Greenwich, which she purchased in 1989. There her expertise in old world wines from Italy, France and Spain, as well as varietals from Northern California was heavily relied upon by her regal clientele of executives, hedge fund managers and sophistos. She sold a robust portfolio of wines to NYC restaurants and famous steakhouses, during the late 1970s and 1980s. A true pioneer in the industry, she was one of th...
2021-03-211h 10Five Dollar BuzzMother Teresa, Joey Ramone & Illegal Skateboarding in CubaThe Buzzards meet up with the founder of Amigo Skate, the Robin Hoods of Havana, Rene Lecour. Part Punk Rock, part Hip Hop DJ, part outlaw and part saint, Lecour started Amigo Skate in Miami in order to bring illegal skateboards to the children and teens of Cuba where such vehicles are considered contraband.
We also interview filmmaker Vanesa Wilkey-Escobar, who produced and directed the award-winning feature documentary AMIGO SKATE, CUBA which is about Lecour and his band of merry folk that help smuggle in contraband and the main contacts in Cuba who are there to keep the movement moving f...
2021-03-1857 minFive Dollar BuzzTales From The Super BowlWe peek through the various key holes of some of the most exclusive events surrounding the NFL’s premier annual event. This deep dive includes reflections on parties hosted by Playboy, Maxim and Tao Group.
Daniel J. Cohen, Dr. Mark Goldstein, and Dr. Brian "Booker" Wraith have attended every SB since 2002. These tales are as much about sports, boozing and gambling, as they are about friendship, tradition and extraordinarily generous charity.
2021-03-1442 minFive Dollar BuzzFarm To ToiletEric Lovenduski is owner/operator of Slate River Farms in Greenwich, NY. Slate River is a small family farm focused on regenerative farm practices. The farm raises 100% pastured chicken, eggs, turkey and 100% grassfed beef along with straw, hay and some crops.
Matt McCormick is the Corporate Chef at Weber Grill Restaurants in Chicago. Chef McCormick has cooked in restaurants in Miami, Atlanta and Birmingham, AL.
Lovenduski and McCormick join Pete Liska, Roger Michael Mayer, and George "The Wizard" Kursar to discuss the food system - from farm to toilet!
The guys even wish a ve...
2021-03-091h 10