The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 160
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- The Pipes Magazine Radio Show – Episode 160
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Kevin Godbee
- Oct 6, 2015
- 1 min read
Kevin GodbeeThank you for joining us for The Pipes Magazine Radio Show—the only radio talk show for pipe smokers and collectors. We broadcast weekly, every Tuesday at 8 pm eastern USA time and are available on nearly all podcast sites and apps. Listen on your computer, tablet, phone and even in the car! Our Featured Interview tonight is with Matt Guss. Matt is the president and one of the founding members of The Seattle Pipe Club. They are one of the largest and most successful pipe clubs in the USA, and they also have quite popular boutique pipe tobacco blends. In "Pipe Parts", Brian will recap his trip to Jackson MS to see Country Squire Tobacconist and The New Orleans Pipe Show. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Tonight’s show is sponsored by Sutliff-Tobacco.com, CupOJoes.com, SmokingPipes.com, Missouri Meerschaum, 4noggins.com, Cornell & Diehl, and Savinelli Pipes and Tobaccos, and MarketingPipes.com. Please give them some consideration when making your next pipe or tobacco purchase.
We hope you enjoy our 1-hour show produced just for you—the pipe smoker and collector. The following link will launch a pop-up player. Alternatively, you can download the show in iTunes and other podcast sites and apps after the initial broadcast is complete here.
(Left to Right) Sam Guss, Matt Guss, & Henry Guss at the Seattle Pipe Club Annual Dinner
Seattle Pipe Club Website
Seattle Pipe Club Tobaccos
Written by Kevin Godbee

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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 517! Our featured interview tonight is with pipe maker Robert Amundson. Robert might be the most northern pipe maker in the world. He lives in Alaska, and there is a town named North Pole, and it’s south of him. Like many pipe makers he has a background in carpentry. He was inspired to explore pipe making while buying a pipe in a store in 2014 and seeing a block of briar, which he also bought. Robert is a member of The Seattle Pipe Club, and he made their Pipe of the Year in 2021. In Pipe Parts, we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 516! Our featured interview tonight is with Dr. Charles “Matt” Watson. Matt holds a Ph.D in Quantitative Biology, an M.S. in Biology, and a B.S. in Wildlife Science with a minor in Forestry. He is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. In our opening Pipe Parts segment, Brian will offer advice on what to look for when buying old / estate tins of tobacco to tell if the seal has been compromised. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
I do not like hot weather. When the mercury pushes close to body temperature, my icy heart begins to melt, and when it reaches the point where I break out in a sweat as a result of the strenuous act of sitting upright, I consider calling around to see if I can book time in one of the refrigerated drawers at a local morgue. Heat and I just don’t get along well. We never have. Indulge my rambling, if you will; this really is about pipes and tobaccos. During the cooler months, I’m most often drawn towards fuller mixtures, rich with latakia, redolent of those wonderful aromas of campfires and leather and the smells of classic British sport cars and motorbikes that occupied so much of my youth. Seriously. It’s not the spice of orientals alone that brings comfort, but the warm blanket of latakia itself. These fuller mixtures recall some of my fondest smoking memories. I’m reminded of walks in the woods on cool, misty days, when the smoke would hang in the air, chilled by the moisture, its perfumed clouds delighting my senses, or evenings by the fire, accompanied by a wee dram of a fine malt, a comfortable chair and a good book. When the weather is all “hotting up,” though, I find latakia, in more than gentle seasoning proportions, to be too much of a good thing, almost overwhelming, so I turn to lighter mixtures and especially virginia blends, with or without perique. It’s something I’ve always found interesting, if occasionally vexing. Is it the temperature? The humidity? The pressure of the air molecules as they dance around, mingling with the tobacco’s smoke? Cosmic rays? Is it a subtle change in body chemistry that results from seasonal changes in diet? Set and setting? Or, is it some confluence of all these factors, and others not noted, that has such a profound influence on my smoking pleasure? I know I’m not completely alone; over the years, I’ve had conversations with pipe smokers who experience similar changes in tastes as the weather shifts. Interestingly, others insist that I’m delusional, that climate has no influence at all upon their choice of tobacco, and that they smoke the same tobaccos year round. Perhaps they live in relatively constant climates, or choose tobaccos with smoking characteristics that are less influenced by climate. Sometimes, I’m a little jealous of them; having my choices limited by something as intractable as the weather can be challenging to my inner control freak. But, the influence of climate on smoking can be subtle or alarming, and no amount of note-taking has led me to anything resembling actual understanding. Hold that thought. I first became aware of this phenomenon one cool autumn evening while waiting with some friends for a table at a popular restaurant. I had with me a lovely smooth Drucquer/LaCroix apple, one of my finest smokers at the time, and a tin of my recently discovered Benson & Hedges Finest Smoking Mixture[fn]The B&H was a beautiful mixture, produced by Gallaher, Ltd, and it came in a beautiful red and gold tin. Virginias, with a bit of latakia and perique, and it was this blend that inspired my own Piccadilly. Tonight, as I scribbled my final paragraphs, the weather was cool, breezy, and felt like rain might be coming; rumor has it there’s a storm developing off the coast. I’m enjoying that very combination that I enjoyed so much that evening so long ago. We’re all quite a few years older, tobacco, pipe and smoker, but the experience is no less superb, and the memories kindled, equally so.[/fn]. Knowing that we’d have at least a 45 minute wait, I had time for a bowl. That smoke was one of those memorable ones that always brings a smile when recalled. (How many remember when you could smoke a pipe in public without a torch and pitchfork brigade instantly forming a circle, insisting you are killing babies not yet conceived and chanting demands for your head? How far we’ve fallen in so few years.) It wasn’t the first time I’d smoked that tobacco in that pipe, but it was somehow different. It led me down a path of wonder just how much environmental factors can influence the enjoyment we take from burning a bowl of shredded leaves. One of the most dramatic examples of this that I can recall happened in August of 2002, while visiting friends in Denmark. There is a certain tabac, a Virginia flake loved by many, but one that I generally find tortuous; smoking it has always seemed to me to be the pipe smoking equivalent to sucking on the business end of a plasma cutter. I figured it was just a body chemistry thing. But when a friend offered a fill of this hell-spawned leaf, his regular smoke, I graciously accepted, rubbed out a flake, tamped it into the smallest pipe I had with me, and was astonished by the experience of a cool and enjoyable smoke. What? Figuring there must be some difference between the “home trade” tobacco sold in Denmark, and what was exported to the US, I bought a couple tins for further exploration. During my visit, I smoked through most of the first tin, enjoying every bowl, but when I returned to California, that very same tobacco, in the very same pipes, reignited my fear and loathing of the stuff. The temperatures at home and in Copenhagen at the time were not much different, so clearly something else was at play. If I were to throw a dart at the guess board, it would be that humidity was a factor. Another, albeit somewhat embarrassing anecdote might put a bit of meat to the bones of this hypothesis. One morning, some years ago, while still brain-fogged by insufficient sleep following a late night gig, I found myself coming to barely-waking consciousness whilst in the shower. Nothing odd there. But, the pipe clenched between my teeth at the time […]
Ah, the dog days of summer. Just think of your poor family dog who must endure the heat and humidity in a fur coat. The Pundit’s beautiful Golden Retriever just plops down on the floor exhausted and sleeps. A lot. And speaking of heat and humidity, a frightful thought on the global front, it is time to think of good summer tobaccos. Nothing too heavy, just a light little tap on the shoulder, so to speak. Maybe a Virginia-burley blend with a touch of Perique. I like the ribbon cuts for summertime smoking when the “livin’ is easy and the fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high,” with thanks to George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess opera. And, yes, back in the day, Pundit was quite the fly-tying, pipe-smoking, chest-wading, trout-hunting, crazy rod-toting, fly-fisherman. Corn cob pipes were for smoking when fat, high-flying trout were jumpin.’ Never one of those beautifully designed and lovingly hand-crafted pieces of old wood briar. No sir. No risks are taken when excited and shouting for joy with a large trout on the other end of the fly line. Only to note in the splashy chaos the magnificent briar leaped from mouth to the fast-moving stream and sped off downstream. But now back to dog days and pipe tobacco. Virginia-burley flakes are also a fav in the blistering days of summer. And let’s not bypass our light English blends. Or the noticeably light aromatics. Nothing drenched in dressing. A wee dram of topping will do. A few of the heavier Virginia-Burley blends, say from Cornell & Diehl, require patient puffing. Nothing rolling down the tracks at full steam sort of thing. Slow and easy with some of the heavier VaBurs. Especially if you are a nicotine wimp like the Pundit. A moderate nic hit is fine. But I have occasionally gone so far over the dark nic abyss with strong tobaccos loaded with nicotine so as to experience the onset of that most disconcerting sensation of falling, spiraling into the dark unknown, with cold sweats, hazy thinking, and hallucinations. “Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore.’ Poe’s “The Raven!” would then be the exquisitely apt verbal utterance we squeak out involuntarily when suffering the turbid depths of that awful green gills feeling. Okay, light up the Virginias with perhaps a little touch of perique and a dab of burley. Slow and easy on puffing, like hot evenings in the South. This next thought from the Pundit might be too much of an existential question, but here goes. Is it possible to own too many pipes? Have you successfully reached the end of pipe collecting and stuffing the cellar with more tobacco than you will ever consume? And do you then find this quiet realization quickly subsumed by a sudden and viral case of PAD, compelling one to add even more to the seemingly ever-expanding herd? Which then sends PAD sub-variants of TAD into whirls of ignition. Thus adding more pipes and tobacco to a sagging pipe shelf and a bloated tobacco cellar. How does one curtail the lifelong pleasure of collecting beautiful handmade pipes and artfully created tobacco blends? Cull and sell much of the overgrown collection, did I hear someone say! Nay, nay, replies Pundit. This is just not going to happen on Pundit’s watch. So, what to do? That’s a reasonable question. With perplexing problems that arise in every life, I fill a briar bowl with an aged blend of Virginia and puff away until a light goes on somewhere within the deep folds of the mind. No lights yet, but I’m working on it. Maybe a museum! Mayhaps my daughters will decide to keep them instead of tossing them (oh, the horror, the horror!). All suggestions toward a possible solution to this nagging problem will be greatly appreciated. No need to mention sales talk. It won’t compute. And now for a notable major cigar smoker and pipe personality from the past—Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. And commander of the “Birds” and other scary movies such as “Psycho,” both of which should not be viewed alone in the dark. Sir Alfred was born in Leytonstone, England, near London, on Aug. 13, 1899, and died in Los Angeles, Calif., on April 29, 1980. His legendary films collected 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins, although he never achieved the award for Best Director despite five nominations. But he did earn two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! He was once referred to as a “young man with a mastermind.” And Sir Alfred was indeed the master of melodrama, suspense, and thrillers. Just the memory of “Psycho” gives Pundit the heebie-jeebies after all these years. A quote or two from the master of suspense: There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it A glimpse into the world proves that horror is nothing other than reality. And yes, boys and girls, Sir Alfred did indeed smoke pipes, despite his fearsome film noir. No less authority than guru tobacco reviewer Jiminks says the wizard of the thriller smoked Dunhill pipe blends. Amen to that. And one more notable consummate pipe smoker, former President Gerald R. Ford, who served our great nation from August 1974 to January 1977. The 38th President stepped up his vice presidential duties and guided the nation through its “long nightmare,” after Watergate took down his predecessor, President Richard M. Nixon. Again, Jiminks, says Ford reportedly smoked Field & Stream, Walnut, and also noted in a book publication he also puffed Edgeworth Ready Rubbed. The Pundit leaves you with one of his gems of thought: Pipe smokers are the mind workers of the world, an oft-repeated pipe proverb by the Pundit. We are an eclectic group that enjoys each other’s company and conversation. Those qualities seem to be in scarcity today. We need more pipe smokers, Quoth the Pundit.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 515! Our featured interview tonight is with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA. Jeremy has been a pipe smoker for over a decade and is passionate about pipes, pipe tobacco, and blending tobacco. Tonight’s discussion will focus on tobacco grading, and believe it or not, there are some funny things involved with this. Did you hear the one about the farmer’s daughter? In our opening Pipe Parts segment, Brian will discuss one of his favorite drink pairings with a pipe – coffee. He has four cups a day. Whoa. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 514! Our featured interview tonight is the fourth and final episode with Fred Janusek. He is a Doctor of Pipes, and professor of mathematics. Fred is in his early 80s, and he has been smoking a pipe since college in 1957. His first pipe was a very shellac-covered Yello Bole. These are some great stories of back in the day when pipes were everywhere. In our opening Pipe Parts segment, Brian will provide a refresher on English pipe brands that you might want to buy as estate pipes. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
HI Brian,
Sounds like you had a great time in New Orleans.
Of course I know Matt Guss, and his brothers. They can usually be found at the Chicago Show. The Seattle pipe club is known for its special tobacco blends, which I believe, have had commercial success. Pipe clubs and pipe shows do have the effect of enabling one to form great friendships. I am amazed at the number of people that show up for a club meeting. Although we (Washington County, PA Club) has been going since the late 1990s, our largest attendance was about a dozen people. Great interview.
Music – G. Gershwin is always good.
Mail – Brian, ask yourself a question, If Mickey Mouse smoked a pipe (and I think he did in Steamboat Willie), would he be at the adult table or the kids table? Where would Popeye be? By the way, where would a VA or a VAPER smoker sit?
Rave – PBS Walt Disney documentary showing Walt Disney smoking a pipe was reality, not the glossed over Hollywood version. Documentaries should show the reality as it was.
Great Show.
Hi Brian!
Your conversation with Matt Guss was a lot of fun. He is among the legendary pipe club leaders around the country. His story of the development of the Seattle Pipe Club is primer for those who want to build a successful local fellowship of pipemen.
Mami Nixon? You, of course, mean MARNI Nixon, the “secret” dubbed voice of many movie stars. She sang for Natalie Wood in “West Side Story,” Deborah Kerr in “The King and I,” Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady,” and sang in many other films, including “A Dream is a Wish” in Disney’s “Cinderella.”
By the way, that’s probably my favorite Gershwin song.
And, I too, greatly enjoyed the Disney documentary.
A lovely show Brian, thanks.
Dino
Great podcast as usual. It was good meeting and talking to you at the NOLA Pipe Show.
I have since placed my order for Molto Dolce.
I enjoyed the report on the NOLA pipe show. The folks there were dealt some curve balls and handled them very well. Sounds like the new venue met with everyone’s approval.
The Matt Guss interview was very interesting. He is a leading figure in the hobby. When starting and running a pipe club the most important thing is leadership. Ours is a hobby in which most people simply do not want to lead. As a group they are very content to sit around, smoke their pipes and offer their wisdom to all within earshot. Actually getting off their duffs and doing something; not so much. This is what the Seattle Club has going for them: Great Leadership.
He is right that for a club to get people to come to their meetings you need to offer some kind of program to motivate them to attend. The topics don’t always have to be about pipes and tobacco. Within your own club you will have a number of people who have interesting jobs or hobbies that can make great programs.
The Gershwin was good and the singing was excellent. Marni Nixon is practically an unknown musical legend. Very few people know who she is but everybody is familiar with her body of work.
The Disney documentary was very good and quite entertaining. I remember watching the Disney Show in the 50’s and 60’s and thinking that Walt Disney was the greatest man in the world. Of course, as you get older you learn that everyone has warts. PBS deserves kudos for doing this historically accurate show. PBS is generally good about doing things like this. The BBC also has a good track record.
Ah, the poor, much-maligned Aro smoker is always feeling persecuted. They are the breakfast equivalent of people who eat Fruit Loops or Cap’n Crunch while the adults are eating corn flakes or Wheaties. No, just kidding, some of my best friends are Aro smokers. The dividing line between an Aro and a non-Aro can be vanishingly thin at times. The key thing is we all smoke pipes and should be doing what we can to promote the hobby.
Thank you Brian for the opportunity to be on your show! I was honored to chat with you. I was a bit nervous about doing the interview but much to my surprise I enjoyed myself very much. You made it fun and easy. The Seattle Pipe Club is near & dear to my heart and I feel blessed to be a part of it. The fact that our members enjoy it is just icing on the cake. We have been humbled at how successful our Seattle Pipe Club blends have become. We adore them and are so pleased that other pipe smokers enjoy them too. Joe Lankford is a club treasure and to my mind, the very best tobacco blender in the country. He’d be embarrassed by my comment but we love him and know it’s true.
Thanks again!