Livestream with Popko 11-5-24

Mike from Bellwether Ritual talks with Popko

Follow:
https://linktr.ee/thepopkoproject

Transcript:

Mike:
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Welcome to the Bellwether Ritual live stream. We’re getting started now—give everyone a moment to jump in. And if you’re watching on replay, feel free to skip ahead a couple of minutes to get right into the interview. Let me also get things set up on Instagram…

Alright, we are live on Instagram as well! If you have any questions throughout the interview, feel free to drop them into the comments on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitch. We’ll get to them as we go.

Alright, here we go! Welcome to the Bellwether Ritual live stream where we discuss music, the local Lehigh Valley scene, and everything beyond—bands, social media, and more. Today is Tuesday, November 5th. My name is Mike, and I’m the guitarist and vocalist for Bellwether Ritual. I hope you had an awesome week! Halloween was a little crazy, since it fell in the middle of the week, but we had some really great shows on the 25th and 27th at The Gem in Spring City, PA, and John and Peters in New Hope. We dressed up with a WrestleMania theme—it was a hot mess, but so much fun. Those pictures will be released soon, so keep an eye out!

Also, just a quick reminder to visit our website, bellwetherritual.com, and like and subscribe if you like what we do here. Most importantly, support your local musicians!

One more big reminder: a very special event is happening this Saturday, November 9th. It’s Slouch Fest at Sokols in Bethlehem, PA, starting at 5:00 pm. The event is to support Richard Jenak, aka Sir Richard Slouch, a radio host on WMUH who is very ill. The community is coming together to raise funds, so please come out, donate, and celebrate Rich with us!

Alright, tonight, I’m thrilled to welcome our guest, Popko. Popko runs the Popko Project, an award-winning podcast that features interviews with bands like Breaking Benjamin, Everclear, Tantric, Cold, and more. He also has the Popko Project Radio Experience, a one-hour show on Fuzz 96.1, where he features music from bands in and around Northeast Pennsylvania.

We’ll talk about all of that and more tonight. Popko, thank you so much for being patient with us and finally making it onto the stream. It’s been a long time coming. How are you doing tonight?

Popko:
I’m doing good! Well, my face might be frozen on the screen, but I can hear you fine, so we’ll make the best of it. Thanks for having me, Mike. This has definitely been a long time coming, so I’m excited to be here.

Mike:
Yeah, I hear you loud and clear, no worries! Technology, right? I’m dealing with some internet issues myself today, so I get it. But we’ll power through!

Popko:
Yeah, it’s been one of those days.

Mike:
Absolutely! So, right off the bat, is there anything you want to plug or promote? I know you’ve got a lot of stuff going on. Let everyone know where they can find your work or upcoming projects.

Popko:
Yeah, for sure! Everything is under The Popko Project on social media, so you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I play music from bands in and around Northeast Pennsylvania, and I feel like you’re right on the fringe there, Mike. I don’t know why I haven’t had any of your stuff sent my way yet!

Mike:
Yeah, you’re right about that! We just released our latest EP in July. It’s on us—we’ll get it over to you ASAP!

Popko:
Thanks! I’d really appreciate it. I’ve been doing the show for a while now, and I try to showcase a lot of local talent. You can find the Popko Project on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and pretty much wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s easy to find—just search for The Popko Project.