Hank Watson's Garage Hour - Cars, Trucks, Beers & Guns
08.25.12: Villains! Classic GH, w/ Jaws, Blofeld, Joker, Angel Eyes, Beetlejuice VS Darth, and the Introduction of the Villains Cage Match

Killer Garage Hour: the Villains Episode.  We collect more than 70 movie villains of every stripe, from Blofeld to Little Bill, Darth to Ming, Jaws to Angel Eyes, plus Cruella DeVille and the horde of nutbars from Fatal Attraction.  Dirty Dave, Crag Maxwell and host Justin Fort put together some rules for villains, too, and in the process discover that Jaws is much more of a uberhenchman than an outright villain, much to Justin's dismay.

Credit where credit is due: the genesis of this classic Garage Hour episode was at a brewery in Ouray, Colorado - Mr. Grumpy Pants, to be exact.  Off-Road.com editor Jaime Hernandez asked what had happened to Richard Keil (Jaws), and it all spun out of control from there.  Good times.

jf

Direct download: HWGH082512.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 11:40pm EDT

04.26.14: Cars, Trucks, Beers and Punks! Pop Core "Look Up Here", Mobile Devicing Tickets, Explosions, Twisted Manzanita, GM's "Fat Keys" Scandal, Santee's Street Fair, Desert Toys on Craig's List, Gas Prices, Sasquatch and Awesomesauce.

With the guys from Look Up Here in-studio, SuperMeg, East County Beerlord Jeff Trevaskis and former factory test driver Justin Fort whip up a batch of gearhead-talk radio superiority on Saturday's show.  You can't go wrong (well, you probably could) with a room full of punk rockers, and we pull off a show full of explosions (propane, acetlyne, Sobe and snow), desert toys (LS1, anyone?), gas prices, corporate skulduggery and beer-sipping refinement.  Someone even mentions brisket.

The call is also out for Sasquatch Run 3: The 'Squatchening; which is looking likely late in May, so stay tuned.

jf

Direct download: HWGH042614.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:34pm EDT

04.19.14: Guitar Dudes! Rock/Roll, Best Guitar Players, Best Rock Bands, What's a Pickup, Plus Off-Road, The Hills in La Mesa, Toyota VS Jeep and Smashing Instruments for Profit

Put a bunch of guitar experts on a gearhead show and you'll get more than you bargained for, including all sorts of stories about the rock and rollists, tales of humbuckers (whatever the Hell they is), pickups and frets, plus cars, trucks, beers and guns (of course).

Joining host Justin Fort and irregular cohost/food ninja Chef Jeff on this week's Garage Hour are none other than off-roading buddy Seth Hollander, guitar instructor of some repute (SethMetal.com) and the proud owner of the DeathRunner and lots of guns, and Battleship Dan, pro guitar builder (TopGearGuitar.com), guitar tech to the stars and confirmed Garage Hour superfan.

Also, the sincerest of Garage Hour apoligies: due to an ill-timed Kong infestation of KCBQ's 50,000-watt broadcast tower on the east side (of El Cajon), we lost a few minutes of the second hour.  Better luck next time.

jf

Direct download: HWGH041914.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:29am EDT

04.27.13: Screamin' Jesus! (the 320mm Spigot Mortar) Plus Prius Bashing, Windmill Bashing, Nick Bashing, Batman Bashing, Hipster Bashing, and Stereo Equipment

With everything from electric cars to electric stereo parts, this Garage Hour episode is chock-full of good gearhead talk.  Mike the Mic joined Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, Agent Aya and .45 Phil for what was originally slated to be an episode about stereo equipment (a fondness held by Mike and Justin), but the ship of state quickly veered off course in true Garage Hour fashion.  The topic list expanded to Solzhenitsyn, Batman, Freud, Chuck Norris, ammunition prices, new beer, old bombs, new tanks, and monoliths versus obelisks.

We also get a tidy history of the WW2 siege mortar called the Type 98 by the Japanese who lobbed 'em at us, and Screamin' Jesus by GIs who had to watch them tumble, from our very own military historian, .45 Phil.

jf

Direct download: HWGH042713.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:46pm EDT

06.22.13: A Big Pile of Conspiracies (Flight 800, the .50-Cal Ricochet, NSA, Drones, MRAPs, McChrystal VS Hastings) and 100 More Reasons to Pay Attention

This is the episode that catapulted the Garage Hour to doubled listenership, and the show that put the gearhead goons from San Diego into an expanded time slot.  Download a full hour of everything from Flight 800, the FBI, NSA, DHS, drones, Stingers, the .50-cal ricochet, Sasquatch, Japan's thirst for 5.56 ammo, the populist media's unfortunate contribution to it all, and how the Garage Hour plans to fix it.  Oh yeah, with cars, trucks, beers and guns.

Grab a load of this podcast for a big fat conspiratory freakout, with Agent Aya (suspiciously good with a handgun), .45 Phil (27-year Marine storm trooper from back in the Reagan days) and former factory factory test driver and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort, because they'll also take a few shots at Mayor Bob Failner, Manzanita Brewing's Apricot Blonde, Restore the 4th, antique steaem, the patheticness that is Joe Biden, and the value of America's enlisted military in times of crisis.

jf

Direct download: HWGH062213.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:00pm EDT

04.12.14: Fast Guys Talk Lone Pine Time Trials, Plus Hillclimbing, Radical Crawlers, Smart Car Tipping, Smart Cars with Hayabusa Motors, the Demise of the RamRunner, Rio Shotgun Shells and a Bunch of Other Stuff We've Broken

All gearhead, all the time...  Host Justin Fort has Bret Norgaard from Yawsport and Neil Alexander from the Lone Pine Time Trials (coming up in May) to talk their little slice of road-racing heaven, the adventure that is high-speed time-attack on a real airport course, and the parties that go on in tandem with it all.  We also get into everything from Hayabusa-powered Smart cars (why people are tipping them over), to the failed Dodge RamRunner (and why it was no Raptor), hillclimbing for folks on the West Coast, Powerstroke and 502-powered crawlers and a truckload of other awesomeness.

Okay, so Han Solo and Greedo get into the mix, and there's some chatter about Rio shotgun shells, the police and English politics, but it's the Garage Hour - we digress.

jf

Direct download: HWGH041214.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:25pm EDT

09.19.09: Classic! Thunderboats, Cannibals @ the Fair, Claimer Racing, Taking a Dive in F1, Smog Laws, Brett Farvrere and Conservative Conservationism

Excellent early Garage Hour - episodes like this are what brought the show to life way back in 2009...  Everything from CanAm to Batman, fake mechanics and poseur Farves, Orwellian education, chicken legs, Grand Prix.com, team orders, TV laws, smog laws, thunderboats and deep-vees, the unfortunately named Dimebag Darrell (RIP) and tales of a mentally insane cannibal who was taken to the fair.

And like every Garage Hour, there's a serious moment or two - Dirty Dave, Grizzly Chris and hillclimbin' slicer-dicer Justin Fort chat about the need for conservatives to conserve on their own, before someone with less scruples but a bigger stick up their butt tries to force you to.

jf

Direct download: HWGH091909.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:19pm EDT

06.11.11: Ferd FTeenthousand VS Sasquatch, 24 Hours of LeMans, Shooting Trap, Broken Studios, Beck & Scientology, Engineers' Brains and the DMV

Killer show! This reloaded Garage Hour features a pile of legendary topics, including the Ferd FTeenthousand (whale house!), Sasquatch, scary celebrities, Beck's Scientology, Gavin Newsbag, Amon Tobin, stoner metal, Israel, the 24 Hours of leMans, Franchi shotguns, busting clay and Kevlar tornado shelters.

While we're at it, Black Ryan, Dirty Dave and former factory test driver Justin Fort also beat the Hell out of Glenn Danzig (who hasn't?), Moby (everyone should) and President Pickle (he's asking for it), and talk up the awesomeness that is engineers, shooting trap and the British VS the Argentines.

It's gearhead radio: who are you to resist?

jf

Direct download: HWGH061111.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:29am EDT

04.05.14: Fred Simon and District 52, Ford VS Chevy, Jag VS Benz, Dog VS Cat, King Crimson, Plus 100 More Garage Hour Questions for Candidates

You can't spell politics without... a "p"... and the Garage Hour can't get this close to the mid-term elections without having some hopeful congressional candidates in the studio.  What can we say?  Gearheads like to vote.  Besides, we all want some more change.

This episode featured Dr. Fred Simon, candidate for San Diego's 52nd Congressional District, and before you get bent out of shape that we were talking politics again, don't you want to hear his thoughts on things that matter, like Ford VS Chevy, protections for off-road access, and whether Fred plans to run guns for Islamic terrorists in the Philippines with a Chinese mobster named Shrimp Boy (which we advised him against)?

There's also some actual serious questions, such as the good doc's positions on the Second Amendment, getting things done instead of talking about getting things done, equal opportunity VS equal outcomes, and who his favorite Supreme Court justice is.  He had very good answers for everything but his preference for Chevys.

Grab the podcast, complete with Eryk from CalGuns.net and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort.  Because you ought.

jf

Direct download: HWGH040514.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:28am EDT

06.29.13: Semi-Vintage Garage Hour - the ComicCon Episode, with Batman VS Superman VS Aquaman VS Brock Sampson VS Han Solo, Plus Filner VS Madrid, Gun Stores, Venn Diagrams and the Weather

Well, some episodes don't stay gearhead for long, and this one went decidedly cartoon in about five minutes.  Join us for an hour (one of the last hour-only Garage Hours) of unrelenting comic book action, with none other than SuperMeg (before the nickname), Jesse Caverly, author and zombie expert, and .45 Phil, a walking, talking comic book hero in his own right.

It's not like we didn't try - there were gun stores, shooting events, big Buicks, an attack on hipsters (because they're there) and an attack on mayors (because Failner), but we kept winding up talking ComicCon, Batman, Superman, bad guys, Aquaman, Han Solo, Brock Sampson (just because), geek VS nerd and the Venn diagram necessary so it all makes sense.

There will be cars and trucks and beers and guns in the next episode.  Promise.

jf

Direct download: HWGH062913.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:24pm EDT

03.29.14: We Care A Lot - About Off-Roading, Sasquatch, Gun-Running Senators, Dolphins (They Don't Taste Like Fish), Tactical Shotguns, Environmentalists, E-Cigs and Tilting at Windmills

How about something completely different? The Garage Hour goons (and the vice mayor of La Mesa) had a really involved conversation about the environment, with none other than a real environmentalist!  Apparently, nature tastes like steak.

Sure, cohosts .45 Phil and Crag Maxwell happily joined Justin Fort to chat off-roading and shotguns (sounds like we're ready for a Sasquatch Run!), but they were also educated by an environmentally aware friend of the show, Leslie Rapp, on the topics of dolphins, Blackfish, free-range whales (did we say that right?), and we were escorted through the serious California politics behind the attacks on Seaworld by Kristine Alessio, vice Mayor of La Mesa.  We also figured out that it's the silly names people give killer whales that make them... kill people...  What the Hell kind of name is Tillikum?  Call the poor things Tyrone or Pete or Emily and they'll be so much happier.  There's also a fun bit of shrapnel for the nutjob envirowhackos who are giving granola a bad name.  Chill out!

Podcast it up immediately, before Seaworld finds out about it.

jf

Direct download: HWGH032914.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 11:54pm EDT

05.26.12: Vintage! Memorial Day Show, w/ POWs, War Movies, Freedom Station, Lincoln VS Vampires, Hybridiots, Stupidists, Monster Trucks, Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, Bullitt, and Rampant Unprofessionalism

We dish out some real respect on this Memorial Day, with extensive chatter about Americans who've given the ultimate measure in the name of God and country. Like the icing on this Cake of Respect, the Garage Hour goons also discuss San Diego's Freedom Station, American POWs from all conflicts, and a serious heap of war movies.

In this episode, former factory test-driver, road racer and all-around professional Justin Fort also renews his long-standing argument with cohost Dirty Dave regarding the historical relativity of Abraham Lincoln's unfondness of vampires.  They also get up to monster trucks, tracks from Metallica, ZZ Top, Led Zeppelin, Soundgarden, Nick Cave, and live shows with Buddy Guy, plus the movie Bullitt (happy birthday, Steve), the Mumford Lane, and pizzas from superfan Tristain.

Don't let the hybridiots get you.

jf

Direct download: HWGH052612.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:23pm EDT

03.22.14: Get Traff@cked (Because Those Idiots Won't Tell Themselves Off) With All the Things You Hate About Traffic, Plus Guns, Gardening, Silver State Open-Road Racing, Rock & Roll, the Tick, Food Trucks, Hipster Hunting and Twistidity

When one of these unscripted episodes turns out right, it's such a great feeling. Hostus Maximus Justin Fort coupled SuperMeg and the return of Chef Jeff from Eastbound Bar & Grill to do two hours of everything that's wrong with traffic (because we can all relate). You can't go wrong with an endless list of the things that incompetence, ignorance, insomnia and insolence do to the already insufferable dense driving in southern California, and we charged full-steam into all the causes of and answers to.  If there's anything you can get on board with, it's SoCal traffic being off its rocker.

Just like the Garage Hour, however, we dive deep into a host of other awesomeness (because gearhead!), including the Silver State Challenge (260mph, anyone?), tactical shotguns, how hipsters are uncool by nature, and more Dude Food.

Grab this one before it's gone (though it won't be - hurry because we care).

jf

Direct download: HWGH032214.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:41am EDT

08.10.13: Beer Names (Night Fighter!), Local Off-Roading for Summer, Tony's Pissed List, Unphoning, Because Railgun, Beer-Con and Regular Cons.

Intriguing or offensive, but never boring: it's your kind of doom on the hoof, and now for two hours!  Join us for some adventures in beer (Night Fighter), off-roading, railguns, Beer-Con, and the introduction of the Garage Hour's PSA (unphone, dammit!).

And as was born Night Fighter English Ale, we were joined by Manzanita Brewing so we could get down to naming their newest beer, an English-style brown ale with hints of coffee and stone fruit. We go through the whole list of beer names, including crowd pleasers like Improper Copper Ale, Bob's Your Uncle, Cajon Oval Brown, Bulldog Brown, Monkey Wrench, Cuyamaca Mud and, God help us, Jerry Brown Ale and the totally unnecessary Filner Pilsner.

We also chase Calguns' next Meet & Greet, a little bit about off-road maintenance and good summer trails in San Diego, what was up at that day's Beer-Con, the geek wonderment that are railguns (yay!), a few items from "The Reasons Tony's Pissed" List, courtesy of Tony's Lube & Tune, and a full studio with .45 Phil, Agent Aya, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner), ManzaNina and Larry from Manzanita Brewing.

jf

Direct download: HWGH081013.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:30pm EDT

03.15.14: New Guns and Old Rock & Roll w/ Springfield Armory and Skynyrd's Innyrds, as well as Gov't Motors'  Liability Meltdown, Flight 370 and a Truckload of Info That's Good for Firearms Owners in CA

The gearhead mavens from the Garage Hour served up everything from nifty new firearms to dusty old war stuff in this show, as well as dabbling in the unfolding Flight 370 mystery (how couldn't we?), and taking a run at the pending recall-liability disaster facing General Motors and its bailout masters in the UAW and big government.

Cohosts suiting up to work on this episode with host Jusin Fort were none other than Duncan Lancaster, lead singer of Skynyrd-tribute band Skynyrd's Innyrds, and long lost adventure junkie, Black Ryan.

Joining Hank Watson's Garage Hour's usual suspects in the studio was special guest Randy Linkmeyer of Springfield Armory (as well as Crimson Trace, TruGlo Sights and Aguila Ammo), who was ready and willing to chat about all things firearms and gun ownership in the state of California and beyond.

jf

Direct download: HWGH031514.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:16pm EDT

03.08.14: Dude Food! Gearheads Talk Local Eats with Eastbound Bar & Grill, BBQ, Smoking Meat, Marinades, Burgers, Hot Sauce and Peppers (and Fish Heads), Plus the Power Team VS the Strength Team

Yummiest episode ever. We focused on our appetitie for Dude Food this show, talking cooking, eating, beer with food, smoking and barbecuing meats of every stripe.  Grow your own hot peppers? We discuss how.  Want to make killer slaw?  We have the ingredients. Enjoy eating more than cooking? Tell your friends to grab the podcast so they'll make it all for you.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is joined in the studio by Chefus Maximus Jeff Hall (of Eastbound Bar & Grill, and upcoming "The Hills" in La Mesa), plus radio cohost stalwart .45 Phil (That Which Goes Bump in the Night) and up-and-comer SuperMeg (though her sidekick Husband Guy couldn't make it this time).

Also on-tap for this episode of the best gearhead radio on the AM dial is a studio visit by the Power Team and the Strength Team ministries, who were appearing at Foothills Christian Church the next day, as well as our usual caravan of killer talk topics, including .45 Phil's Tank of the Week, the national tragedy that is Daylight Savings Time, and SuperMeg's taunting of Archfiend Wes Luthor.

It's all good - come get some.

jf

Direct download: HWGH030814.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:48pm EDT

12.21.13: Made in the USA, Duck Dynasty, Redneck+Truck, Porsches, Blues Brothers, Chicago History, Term Limits, Pajamification, and ReChristmasification

Proving that gearhead talk radio can mantain its balance when talking about politics, the Garage Hour combined both in this fine Made In the USA episode (now, with the latest technology!).  From trucks, Porsche, VW corporate and hybrids to term limits, fighter plane pilots and religious hot dogs, this is a fun episode - you won't need your seat.

Additional chatalogical content includes the Duck Dynasty dustup, the upcoming Superstition off-road Run, conservatives VS centrists VS progressives, the Blues Brothers, eating enough roughage, the Mayor of Furniture, Justin Fort's theory on revenge of the losers (anti-mongers), the Supreme Court, gift buying for the holidays and 2013's holiday trend of ReChristmasification.

Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is joined in-studio by his crack team of political commentators, anchored by La Mesa Vice Mayor Kristene Alessio, .45 Phil (Special Assistant to the Vice Mayor) and Crag Maxwell, general antagonist of all things political.

jf

Direct download: HWGH122113.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 12:46pm EDT

09.24.11 (Vintage Garage Hour): Silver State Cars, Big Red Camaro, Bilstein, Coronado Classics, Hiking In Iran, Stuxnet, Beer, Beer, Glow-In-The-Dark Cats, and Skynyrds Inyrds.

With killer Silver State flyby sounds (ever wonder what a big-block sounds like at 217?), this reloaded Garage Hour brings together two of our old-school cohosts, DoubleMint Cameron (now knows as the Scarecrow) and Skynyrd's Inyrds' lead Duncan Lancaster for an hour of serious gearhead talk. Also included is an great chat with Gina from the Coronado Classics, because race car.

This episode has it all - Camaros, Bilsteins, hiking in Iran (or How To Know You're a Grade-A Moron), road racing, computer viruses, glow-in-the-dark cats and, of course, beer.  There's also tales of Mexican prison, San Diego ubergearhead J. Bittle, El Sasquatcho, the Bears, Amelia Earhart, and a call in from the Lord of North County (Mr. Dustin, Top Earner).

jf

Direct download: HWGH092411.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:31pm EDT

10.31.09 (Vintage Garage Hour): Halloween, Batmobile VS Ghostbusters Hearse VS Damnation Alley Thingy, Ferraris, Movies Not for Kids, Poison Ivy, Stephen King, Critical Mass and the Plague

From the Ghostbusters to the apocalypse, this is a Halloween Garage Hour that drives every stake home.  Admit it, you can hear the Ghostbusters' siren in your head right now...  In a rare case of good planning, we even nab calls from Nacho in Wisco and Jaime in Ramona, so our interstate cabal of gearheads and beerheads and cheeseheads and cartoon villians is complete.

On-air with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is none other than Poison Ivy (and her alter-ego, Tess), The Most Interesting Man in the World, Grizzly Chris and Dirty Dave.  They cover the gamut of essential talk-show topics, like sharks eating people, Animal House (Eat Me!), the Blues Brothers, M'night Shlamalamlam's movies about trees and owls, Critical Mass and why it might be insane, Stephen King's natural state of paranoia, and the lunacy that was the Pickle Administration's Cash for Clunkers program.

Podcast up and try this one on.  It's a classic.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_103109.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:17pm EDT

03.01.14: Off-Roading at King of Hammers and a 2014 KOH Report, plus Rec-Roading, Portal IFS, TDS, Diesels, Scottie Bombs, Led Zeppelin, and the Growing Mess in The Ukraine

Host Justin Fort brought King of Hammers competitors Shane Henry and Mark Underwood to the studio to chat about this year's KOH race, plus KOH history and all of the growth that series like KOH are experiencing. These guys started in their garages just like everyone else, folks, so be impressed by the rigs their work has wrought.

In true Garage Hour fashion, we get into the details, doing a breakdown of Mark's recipie for a portal IFS.  In the process, we catch some sporty threats chucked our way by epic builder Scottie at Addicted Off-Road, and from the 13th Ring of Hell, otherwise known as Yuma.  There's also Bronco fail-extasy, TDS analysis, and a review of Deadbolt, KYUSS, Earthlings? and Led Zeppelin.

More fun on the Garage Hour includes a .45 Phil-powered rant about the Pickle Administration's lack of game, which has been brilliantly exposed by Vlad Putin's scarily effective Soviet-style game, and a little more about the three stooges (Obama, Kerry and Hagel) who can't even pretend to have a clue about what they're doing.

Grab some podcast - it's up, now.

jf

Direct download: HWGH030114.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:43pm EDT

01.04.14: A Critique of New for 2014 Cars and Trucks, Loser Politics, Driving Gently, the Tijuana Effect, Shotguns for Marines, and a Serious Analysis of the Problems Facing Fallujah

Sometimes the Garage Hour is a real gem (and sometimes it's something else...). This episode is one of those gemlike objects.  .45 Phil and Mike the Mic join host Justin Fort to work over the 2014 San Diego Auto Show, and on the way they have a very sincere conversation about the resurgent troubles facing the residents of Iraq, as related by a 27-year Marine who spent half a year in Fallujah (our very own .45 Phil).

On the way, we'll dabble in the usual Garage Hour deliciousness, including a tirade about Christmas decorations, plus auto-workers' unions, junkyards, shotgun VS M4, Israel, tanks, and as promised, lots about the new cars and trucks hitting the US market in 2014, including big trucks (Dodge VS Toyota), small cars (the Focus ST) and why Hyundai and Kia are killing it.

jf

Direct download: HWGH010414.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 7:25pm EDT

12.11.10: Vintage Garage Hour (w/ the Hoarsest Host), plus Railguns, Hydroshocks, Beetlejuice, Texas, Antigravity, Antimatter and Armored Vacuums

Ready for a 100%-random Garage Hour? This one's got it all - Buck Rogers, bullets, Beetlejuice, plus Texans declaring war (again?), the famous armored vacuum discussion, a how-to on heckling at movies (Step 1: bring Creature), ecoterrorists, plus antigravity, antimatter, and probably Auntie Entity for all we know.

The show must go on, even when the host doesn't have a voice. This is a fun one - you can hear Hostus Croakthemost Justin Fort try to push through a blown set of pipes while the cohosts just make it worse...  Special thanks to Grizzly Chris, Black Ryan and Mr. Dustin, Top Earner for revelling in Justin's suffering.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_121110.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:58pm EDT

01.11.14: A Preview of Manzanita Brewing's New Distillery, Plus Fallujah, Tequila, Shooting, Writing Checks, Ronald Reagan, Tires,  San Diego Drivers, Suburbans, Superstition, Spirits, and Pawns VS Minions

Ahhhh, the Garage Hour.  We bring intriguing and offensive to a whole new level without upsetting the FCC.  Much.  On this epsiode, we chat up Jeff Trevaskis, head of Manzanita Brewing, about their new distillery.  We also discuss what it takes to be a small brewer (and a small company) in San Diego's blue-collar nexus, East County (Santee, to be exact), and in California.

Following the formalities, however, the conversation will wander.  You insist.  We hit off-roading, big trucks, tire care and how Southern Californians screw themselves again and again in crappy weather, preparedness, rock and/or roll, as well as plans for a visit to the range, local beers, the cost of a good still (which has a whole lot of zeros), and more reasons to unphone yourself.

Justin Fort - former factory test-driver, off-roader, shooter, eater, and Hostus Maximus - is joined in the studio to chat up Trevaskis by none other than .45 Phil, 27-year Marine and That Which Goes Bump In The Night.

Grab the podcast immediately, or we'll tell Phil where you live.

jf

Direct download: HWGH011114.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:59am EDT

08.21.10: When Animals Attack the Garage Hour/Bears, Bulls and Sharks, Oh My (... Or Solutions to San Diego's Pig and Seal Infestations) plus Jeeps, Darwin and Chicks from Montreal.

Vintage Garage Hour right here - it's "When Animals Attack the Garage Hour".  If you hear about bears eating nature fans, bulls goring bullfight fans, sharks attacking boats, and you ask why they didn't shoot it with a bazooka, well, you're going to love this hour of killer gearhead talk.

We dip into San Diego's pig problem (not enough bears) and seal problem (not enough sharks), mooses, as well as San Diego's sasquatch, Bubba the Bear from Tahoe, and why Darwin is on their side.  We also visit with the scoupe origin story, Zach Wilde, Clutch, Ballers with Dollars, the hot and the short in Montreal, Megaman and Jeeps in Holy Jim Canyon.

On-air with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is cohosting cornerstone Dirty Dave, with a rare appearance by Charlie, Justin's Other Brain, and a call-in from DSM Dustin.

Podcast it now, before the pigs get us.

jf

Direct download: HWGH082110.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:50am EDT

02.15.14: Attacking Politicians, Making Friends in High Places, 2A vs. CA's 9th Court, UAW and VW vs. Its Employees,  Not Hillary and Not Shooting Windmills

We get politics, politicians and political BS out of our systems on this episode of Hank Watson's Garage Hour, and yes, you want to listen. We hit all of the big targets: the weaponization of Obama's White House (scary), Hillary in 2016 (less likely than you think), and we connect it with local issues like San Diego's new mayor (Faulconer - is half-good enough?), term limits (purging ossified career politicians in small towns like La Mesa, CA), and the definition of ossified, La Mesa's 30-year mayor, Art Madrid (more likely to have a drink).

It's not all political, though - this is the Garage Hour.  We dabble in auto manufacturing (UAW and VW vs. Americans), Dude Food (Mexican dining options in San Diego), the shooting sports (including the CalGuns San Diego's carbine educational event at Matt Klier's Active Shooter Defense School), the invasion of the solar panels in San Diego's rural communities, and the suggestion that you avoid shooting windmills unless they shoot at you first.

In studio? Awesomeness: Kristine Alessio, Vice Mayor of the city of La Mesa; .45 Phil, 27-year Marine and Special Assistant to the Vice Mayor; Crag Maxwell, musclebound antagonist of crooked politicians and owner of Maxwell's House of Books; Hoosier Eric (all the way from Indiana); and the host with the most... speeding tickets... Justin Fort.

jf

Direct download: HWGH021514.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 4:47pm EDT

09.14.13: Vintage Racing, BMWs and Jeff Gerken, Thunderboats, Awesomesauce VS Thousand Island, Scary National Politics, CO's Political Payback, Bikers in DC and Jean Claude Van Damme's Glass Jaw.

The Garage Hour goons get a Coronado Classics/Speed Fest primer from Jeff Gerken of BMW of El Cajon in this episode of the best gearhead talk show since Top Gear full of beer, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. This is one of those little-bit-of-everything episodes you've come to demand from Hank Watson's Garage Hour.

On top of Jeff Gerken, we stacked everything from Thunderboats, Sasquatch and the Bilstein Boys, Jean Claude Van Damn He Just Got His Ass Kicked By A Hell's Angel (that's his full legal name), Colorado's political regurgitation of bad laws, California's black economy, how Debbie Wassername Schultz might be the love-child of Barney Fife and Chelsea Clinton, millions of bikers riding in protest through Washington D.C., and a reminder to unphone, just a little.

In studio? Justin Fort, professional gearhead, test driver and all around wheel to be reckoned with, and '45 Phil, 27-year Marine, Master Guns, and That Which Goes Bump in the Night. Join us for an hour, won't you, and grab the podcast.

jf

Direct download: HWGH091413.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:56pm EDT

01.25.14: The Smog Guy Episode, Plus Old Trucks, Old Catalytics, Old Volvos, New Rock, Tactical Shooting, Camp 'Yota and Killing the Hostage Chicken

Do you have questions about passing smog?  Curious about how to make your hot rod/ricer/sled/trail rig/show car/commuter slug survive two more years in California's growing emisions police state?  Want to know about all the new "regulations" CA has passed to make your car's life harder?  Hank Rotten's Garage Hour's Smog Guy episode peels back a few layers on what to do to pass the test, why old Volvos never fail smog and how the state is going to screw you, tuners, reprogrammers, the smog guy - Hell, even the hybrids are going to get screwed. Mike the Smog Guy also reveals a whole bunch of smog-testing secrets that CA's state of desperation probably wishes it could keep secret.

Don't worry - we won't let you down.  When the Garage Hour's Hostus Maximus Justin Fort and Mike Petscheck, of Smog Only/STAR-Certified Smog in El Cajon finally digress from the smog thing, they'll hit on why they always get beaten by old Marines at tactical shotgun competitions and how a fainting hostage chicken sure looks like a dead hostage chicken.  They'll also revisit ObmaFail #lostcount that was Cash for Clunkers, CA's ongoing electric and hybrid plug pig infrastructure fail, Swedish sniper rifles rechambered in .308 Winchester, Dude Food at Camp 'Yota, and Mike the Mic stands in for long-lost cohost Crag Maxwell and gets the station to use its liability warning on us.

Why? Because it's chock-full of great. Podcast it now.

jf

Direct download: HWGH012514.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 1:02pm EDT

02.08.14: WRX and STi VS Evo, King of Hammers, SHOT Show, Deep Purple, Army VS Marines VS Navy VS Coasties, and 9mm VS .40 S&W.

Fastest Garage Hour podcast ever! We hit all the buttons on this mammoth show, with WRX and STi versus Evolution, all the fun stuff at this year's SHOT Show, all the things that are wrong with "stanced" cars, all kinds of sauce, East County chin armor, the new mullet (the fauxhawk), Max Mosley's Nazi hooker orgy, military branch back-slapping, skeet shooting with prizes (otherwise known as Amazon drones), and why the most important rule when shooting anything is to make sure you look cool.

In studio with Hostus Maximus Justin Fort is a frightening array of cohosting awesomesauce: Dirty Dave, who escaped from Yuma; Hoosier Eric, who escaped from Indiana; Eryk from CalGuns.net, who'd like to escape from California; Charles from Wilde Built Tactical, who will probably help everyone escape; and Silent CJ (otherwise known as Godzilla), whose Evo is probably fast enough to escape Earth's gravity.

jf

Direct download: HWGH020814.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:31am EDT

03.27.10: An Hour at the 'Port - the Garage Hour Live at Pizza Port's Belgian Beer Party.

Awesome retrosauce right here: it's the Garage Hour live with old-school cohosts at the Pizza Port's Belgian Beer Party in 2010.  We brought all of Hank Watson's killing power to the 'Port, with Diamond Jeff Bagby and Tomme Arthur (both formerly of Pizza Port, with Tomme now at Lost Abbey and Diamond Jeff's new brewery about to open its doors), as well as ubercohosts Grizzly Chris, Mr. Dustin (Top Earner), Dirty Dave, skully artist David Lozeau (davidlozeau.com) and Mary Bowen.

We make the most of this one - live interviews with Jeff and Tomme, plus massively mispronounced Belgian beer names, lots of pro sipping, more Evo versus STi tomfoolery from Justin and Dustin, and tales of doom and merriment from the Garage Hour goons.  Just tune in and hold on - we make live radio something to warn your friend about.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_032710.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:37pm EDT

08.24.13: the Detailing Episode, or How to Wash Your Sled; Plus Batman, Choppers, Bacon and the Death Star.

On this Garage Hour, the crew will tell you how to wash your cars.  There's a studio full of expertise, and we tap into Mother's Polish's online Detail Guide to support a serious chat about the finer details of fine detailing for your car/truck/moped/tank/submarine.  Soap, detailer, microfiber, sponges, clearcoats, chamoises (?), clay bar, water spots, cotton towels and chrome polish, to name a few...

On air with Hostus Maximus (Justin Fort) is a large contingent of the Garage Hour's bad news bastion: the big slab of doom that is .45 Phil, a former KGB agent named Agent Aya, plus evil mastermind Wes Luthor, zombie expert/author Jesse Caverly, and the walking mystery that is Silent Strix.  Yeah, we brought everyone.

It's not a Garage Hour without some digression, however - we've got cougars, cougars (the other kind), pilots, terrorists, Batman, Clint Eastwood, the Death Star, Bob Failnure, plus .45 Phil's Tank of the Week and a hilarious duel between Agent Aya and Justin Fort. Download it now!

jf

Direct download: HWGH082413.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 9:39pm EDT

12.28.13: Marines, Trucks, Bullets, Off-Road Access and the Boys from RuckPack: Most Ruckable Garage Hour Ever

Oh dear.  Never has Hank Rotten's Garage Hour flipped the bird to the FCC more than on this episode, and you can thank the Marines. Joined in-studio by the folks from RuckPack - Oran "Turbo" Root and Jimmy O'Brien (go USMC!) - Hostus Maximum Justin Fort and Master Guns (27-year Marine .45 Phil) battle big words, the men and women at the tip of the spear, military manuals, shooting bad guys, driving good trucks, .45 versus 9mm (isn't that every episode?), off-road access and ammunition access to bring you the best damn gearhead radio.

While we're at it, RuckPack is a warfighter-approved nutrition/energy supplement being used by our military in the field, and Turbo and Jimmy are a few of the company's primaries. They came into the studio fresh off RuckPack's appearance on "Shark Tank" to talk produt, business and the adventure that is running a company while travelling to distant countries to blow things up.  They're serious operators, they're .45 Phil-approved, and they'll be back on-air soon.

Tune in and tell your friends - Hank Rotten's Garage Hour: entirely ruckable.

jf

Direct download: HWGH122813.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:08pm EDT

02.13.10: All About DUIs and How the Cops Will Get You - It's the Garage Hour's DUI Special.

Cop tires, cop brakes, cop shocks, cop think, cop talk, plus it runs good on regular gas - this is the original Garage Hour DUI Special, in which host Justin Fort is joined by Mark McCullough of the San Diego Police Department.  Mark and Justin lay out how the boys in blue outsmart drunk drivers - don't run and hide, it just makes you tired - and haul 'em in. To be blunt, they don't play fair, so stop pretending.

Yes, this is the famous DUI Special - legendary SDPD officer Mark McCullough raids the Garage Hour studio to tell it like it is.  This episode is full of good information that'll keep you driving sober.  We know Mark from back in the bad old days, and he's a really interesting guy on top of being a fixture in San Diego.  Meanwhile, if you hate the police, well, Mark will change that - this guy is hilarious, replete with "old days" cop stories you can tell around the campfire to scare your drunken friends.

This episode also contains a partial list of slang names for the fuzz that they don't mind hearing, and lays out a synopsis of how the state, the courts and the cops will bend you alllll the way over - financially - after you receive a DUI. Ready to spend $17,000 in a ten-year span, and way more if you try to fight the ticket?  DUIs ain't rocket science, they're a cash cow, but they're also a very bad idea - don't drink and drive.  Podcast us to learn more.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_021310.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 3:45pm EDT

08.31.13: Shotguns, Bad Traffic, Details of CA's Ridiculous Gun Bills, Back to the Future, and Old Rockers.

This Garage Hour has it all, most notably two hours, as well as cranes, bad traffic, shotguns, regular guns, muggers being beaten, Deadbolt, Ozzy and Metallica, fart jokes, terrorists, rugby, Marines, zombies and LBJ.  It also has an exacting discussion of the scary bills that the unhinged progressives in California's government want to make law while said progressives still hold a supermajority (someone hears a clock ticking...).

For this episode, assistance in all things gun is provided by Eryk from CalGuns.net, who joins 27-year Marine .45 Phil (That Which Goes Bump in the Night) and Hostus Maximus Justin Fort for two hours of killer gearhead talk.

jf

Direct download: Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_083113.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:19pm EDT

06.15.13 Garage Hour: Fast Guy Episode (w/ Skills!), Yawsport's Grand Opening, How to Kill It in Traffic (with Schnozzberries).

With the most unprofessional intros and outros known to big talk radio, this is Hank Watson's Garage Hour.  You're in for a treat with this one - it's the Fast Guy episode, with special Guest Brett Norrgard (one of the famous Bilstein Boys), proprietor of Yawsport and general road-race threat to be reckoned with.

Like the man said, this show's all about going fast - we talk basics like hand placement, wheel-to-shifter movement, seat adjustments (how to look like a tool and how to look like you know what you're doing), the best settings for your mirrors (if you can see your car in your side mirrors, you're doing it wrong), schnozzberries and the shuffle.  It's the Garage Hour, however, so don't despair: we've got steekers, the whambulance, Danica Patrick [sucks], Bilstein suspension parts [sexy], Fishbulb, the road-race dictionary and the glory that is chasing drunks on the freeway.

In the studio with test driver/road racer/hostus maximus Justin Fort are none other than Agent Aya (suspiciously good with a handgun), Scarecrow (formerly responding to Doublemint Cameron) and Nrett Borrgard from Yawsport.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_061513.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 5:11pm EDT

07.09.11 Garage Hour: Junkyards, 24 Hours of Nurburgring, Viper vs FIAT, the Scoupé, and How to Croak a Hungover Grizzly.

We thought you'd like one of the Garage Hour's classic shows (and because we've got four years of 'em), a special espisode on the rules of engagement when hanging out in big bear country, and a dude who kills a bear with a rock.

There's also the usual Garage Hour fare: road racing in Europe, Tesla versus reality, Viper versus FIAT, the grandeur that is a junkyard, Mitsubishi and Nissan living together, band names, gearheadventure, wreckage, nonsense and the high-caliber thinking that you've come to expect from Hank Watson's Garage Hour (in no particular order), plus FIAT bashing, Obama bashing, union bashing, and the aforementioned bear bashing.

Join test driver/road racer/radio host Justin Fort and cohosts Dirty Dave and Gary Voldemort, with calls in from Mr. Dustin and Black Ryan on-scene at San Diego's Over the Line tournament.  Bring a rock.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_070911.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 2:27pm EDT

03.09.13 Garage Hour: Trucks, Tanks, Indy, Gun Laws and ze Germans

Tune in for cars, trucks, beers and guns with test driver/road racer/radio host Justin Fort, who's got help this week from .45 Phil and Crag Maxwell as he whacks and bonks his way through hybrid owners, quiche eaters, Sasquatch and the Taliban.

This week's episode is full of goodies: sport-utility guns and sport-utility vehicles, red light tickets, Hoosier Eric and PlastiDipping a Miata, .45 Phil's Tank of the Week (the British Marks 1-4), Crag's flexing at .45 Phil's groupies, hybrid owner maliaise, the worldwide threat that is Google, and a long overdue goodbye for Hugo Chavez (with worms).

The cohosts on-air with hostus maximus Justin Fort this week are the walking slab of doom that is .45 Phil, 27-year Marine, Master Gunnery Sergeant, and Craig "Crag" Maxwell, political mover and/or shaker and the owner of Maxwell's House of Books.

jf

Direct download: 01_Hank_Watsons_Garage_Hour_030913.mp3
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 6:29pm EDT

12.22.11 Garage Hour: A Garage Hour Christmas 2011

The Garage Hour goons join host Justin Fort to record their 2011 Christmas episode in Manzanita Brewing's tasting room.  Friends of the show and regular cohosts come along for the fun, including Gun Dave from Fine Firearms, brewmaster Garry Pitman from Manzanita, plus Black Ryan, Garrett the Subie Guy and Dr. Nick Riviera (with Alex Hunt on the boards).  It's a lively show, revelling in everything from beer, trucks, hunting, guns, LEGOs, tales of Christmas shopping and visits with the patrons of Manzanita's tasting room.

Be sure to fast forward past the dead air at each ad break - it's a result of the live-to-tape format used to record a show on-site.

jf

Direct download: Garage_Hour.m4a
Category:gearhead personality -- posted at: 8:00pm EDT