Once a week at AMF Lanes, the gang from WellThatsCool.com experiences civil war as its weekly bowling night commences. Bo Hicks, one of the founding members and unofficial spokesman for the web-based organization, enters carrying his signature bowling ball, which looks like a giant blue eye.
It was about three years ago when Hicks teamed up with his friend Nick Rymer, a UA graduate working with Alabama Public Television who wanted to begin doing podcasts about events around Tuscaloosa, and anything else which came to mind.
Thus, Well That’s Cool was born.
“Our first shows were mostly just rambling,” Hicks said. “And we’d never know if a joke just bombed. Now we have a live studio audience and sponsors. It’s more than just a podcast; it’s an event.”
Finding information about everything going on around the city can be hard, Hicks said, so Well That’s Cool is dedicated to getting the word about ‘cool’ events out to the Tuscaloosa masses, providing movie and music reviews and just talking about cool stuff in general.
Their podcasts, recorded every Friday at 8:30 p.m. from the “Tree House” headquarters above Oak City Barber Shop, can be found for free on iTunes, and blogs on the site keep everyone updated in the meantime.
“It’s nice to see people take a chance on a form of new media to reach others,” Hicks said. “We love what we do.”
But podcasts don’t pay the bills. Every member of the team is also a working member of the Tuscaloosa community.
“We all have full-time jobs,” said Eric St. Clair, another member of the WTC crew. “Some of us work at elementary schools, others at UA. I met [Hicks and Rymer] through the ‘Druid City Drinking Club’ softball team, and we started doing events and stuff.”
For example, at Saturday’s charity Goslabi Challenge, several members of the website and some other faithful fundraisers ate spoonfuls of wasabi on stage at Little Willie’s to raise money for muscular dystrophy.
Their upcoming events include a “Big Lebowski” Wii bowling championship on Feb. 11 at the Bama Theatre. Bowling coupons for AMF Lanes and drink specials, including white Russians, will be available.
Another event WTC has seen success with and plans to do again is their paddleboat Brews Cruise, which will feature beer specials and live music as the Bama Belle rolls on the Black Warrior River.
“How often do you get to listen to a rock band going down the river on a boat full of beer?” Hicks said. “Never.”
But sometimes it is still slow going at Well That’s Cool headquarters, St. Clair said.
“Sometimes at our podcasts we’ll have 45 people, and sometimes we’ll have 8,” he said. “For every event that’s been a success, we’ve had a dud.”
The team hopes to solve that problem in the future by getting more word out about their website and encouraging people to take a listen to their podcasts—but fair warning, they have an “Explicit” rating on iTunes for a reason.
“We do reviews about music, movies and any stories that might tickle our fancies,” Hicks said, “because everyone needs a good fancy-tickling every now and then.”
The mission to help improve Tuscaloosa together has kept Well That’s Cool going since its inception, and although not all its founding members are still present, it continues to grow. Nick Rymer, who helped found the website, now attends graduate school in Harlem, N.Y.
“Nick still keeps up with us,” Hicks said, “which is the beauty of our medium.”
As they gear up for the new year’s events and episode 151 of their podcast, Well That’s Cool plans to continue getting involved in the community, entertaining the Internet masses and making Tuscaloosa cooler.
