CAMPBELL COUNTY RECORDER
Your Community Recorder newspaper serving all of Campbell County
7
$ 99 /EA.
Easter Lily
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 | BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK ###
With Card • Prices valid until 4/7 • While Supplies Last
YOU’LL BE Delighted
Meet Cincinnati native behind podcast
'And That's Why We Drink'
Christine Schiefer, co-host of the paranormal and true-crime podcast "And That's Why We Drink," poses for a portrait in Covington, Kentucky, on Monday, March 22, 2021. Schiefer moved back to the Cincinnati area from Los Angeles in May 2020. MEG VOGEL/THE ENQUIRER
True-crime, ghosts and lemons
Briana Rice
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Ghosts, spooky things, booze and a Cincinnati native all come together for a podcast called "And That's Why We Drink." Christine Schiefer, who grew up in Clifton, and Em Schulz, originally from Virginia, bring true-crime, a little bit of drinking and paranormal phenomena together in their popular podcast. Schiefer graduated from Summit Country Day and is now 29. The podcasting pair met in college at Boston University and became friends after graduation when they both moved to Los Angeles to pursue fi lm careers. "We both had very entry level, cliche Hollywood jobs. We'd spend evenings getting together, I'd drink a lot, Em'd always bring, like, food and ice cream. We'd stay up until, like, 2 or 3 in the morning talking about ghosts and murderers. At one point, Em was like, 'Let's turn this into a podcast,' " Schiefer said. At fi rst, Schiefer was against it, but later agreed. She's glad she did. The show just aired its 200th episode in December and has now had more than 80 million downloads. "I never ever dreamed that it'd be kind of relevant someday," Schiefer said. They spent all of their savings on audio equipment and dove in, with no real experience in podcasting, outside of a course Schiefer took in college. "We were operating under the theory that only our parents would listen," Schulz said.
Schiefer says that she and Schulz are "extra people," they both have big personalities and are known to make jokes. The pair got to know each other through the podcast. "I think that's one of the reasons why the podcast got so big, because people felt like they were becoming friends alongside us and getting to know each other at the same time," Schulz said. Now they'd say that they are best friends. Some memories stick out to the pair, like the time Schiefer leaned something new about Schulz while recording their fi fth episode about John Wayne Gacy. "Our listeners learned with me the fun weird fact that Em had graduated from clown college," Schiefer said. The quirks of the show are endless, like a lemon that they keep, after fi nding it during a hotel stay. The lemon now comes on tour with them and has a "cult following." What started as a side gig has now turned into their full-time job. "It still doesn't feel real," Schiefer said. "And That's Why We Drink" has been airing episodes for four years now. For the fi rst few years, Schiefer edited and produced all of the episodes, in addition to working a day job. The show now has a dedicated producer. This podcast focuses on spooky topics like murders, ghost stories and curses. Schiefer and Schulz do not share the topics ahead of time, so every episode is a surprise for listeners as well as each other. Schiefer likes to focus on true-crime and Schulz usually focuses on ghost stories.
Some episodes come with content warnings, like the episodes about haunted dolls. After listening, fans have reported car problems, nose bleeds and migraines while the episode was playing. Though drinking is a part of the show, it's not a requirement. Schiefer is currently drinking box wine from Trader Joe's and Schulz drinks a tea drink called "London Fog."
In dreams Schiefer had her "dream job" at Nickelodeon but quit to make the podcast full-time. After a decade away, Schiefer moved back to the Cincinnati area in 2020 now that the podcast is being recorded from home. She doesn't just talk about spooky things, she likes to live with them. She says her Newport home is now haunted and this isn't her fi rst real-life experience with ghosts. Schiefer likes all things creepy and old and seeks out furniture at estate sales. She spends her free time exploring records about her house and calls it a "dream." She says she hears people going up and down stairs and sometimes feels like a person is in the house with her. The big dream is for the podcast to go on forever. Schiefer also does another podcast with her brother called, "Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet" where they do dramatic readings of one-star reviews. "Your grandparents were on to something," Schulz said. "Radio is cool."
So, what’s next for outdoor music? Are we doin’ this? Chris Varias
Special to Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
A woman walks across Fountain Square, Tuesday, March 24, 2020, the fi rst day of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's shelter-in-place order in response to the pandemic. When will live music return to the square? KAREEM ELGAZZAR/THE ENQUIRER
Contact The Press
News: 513-903-6027, Retail advertising: 513-768-8404, Classified advertising: 513-242-4000, Delivery: 513-248-7113, Subscriptions: 513-248-7113.
The battle of the brand-new, similarly sized venues is upon us. Both are indoor-outdoor complexes. Both are operated by talent buyers with history and capital in the region. On the Cincinnati side is the Andrew J Brady Icon Music Center, with an outdoor capacity of 8,000 and 4,400 for indoor shows. Across the river, it’s the PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation: 7,000 outdoor; 2,700 indoor. They both have fancy names, but we can call them the Icon and Ovation. They’ll be competing for the same bands. Could that drive up the guarantees paid to bands, thereby driving up ticket prices? Or could the competition force the venues to keep prices low? It has been over a year since a Cincinnatian could
For the Postmaster: Published weekly every Thursday.Periodicals postage paid at Newport, KY 41071. USPS 450130 Postmaster: Send address change to The Campbell County Recorder, 654 Highland Suite 27, Fort Thomas, KY 41075 Annual subscription: Weekly Recorder In-County $18.02; All other in-state $23.32; Out-of-state $27.56; Kentucky sales tax included.
stand outside on a warm evening with thousands of others, a beer in hand, watching a band. So it’s fair to assume there is pent-up demand in the marketplace. Under normal circumstances, the battle of the new venues would be upon us, as big outdoor summer tours start typically around here in April. But the battle is deferred. Until when? We will see, as we check in with the principals at the Icon and Ovation, as well as other operations of outdoor music events in the area. Cincinnati, remarkably enough, survived a Jimmy Buff ett-less summer last year. Can we do it again? Will we have to? Rosemarie Moehring says there will be music at Riverbend this summer. But she doesn’t know when that fi rst show will be. “We don’t have an exact timeline,” says Moehring, the director of marketing for MEMI, Riverbend’s operator. “Obviously we’re still monitoring everything and going to follow the state guidelines, but we think midSee CONCERTS, Page 2A
Vol. 24 No. 15 © 2021 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED $1.00
WFDBHE-25013r