Q & A with Chris Rigo and Greazy Keyz

Greazy Keyz: All right. Welcome to *Local Music Somewhere* on rBeatz.com. I’m your host, Greazy Keyz, with a very special Hurricane Helene edition. Today, we have a special guest, Chris Rigo. Welcome to the studio, Chris.

Chris Rigo: Thanks for having me, Jason. Absolutely.

Greazy Keyz: Great to have you! So, we’ve got a lot to talk about today. You’re all over the place—not just with your music but also with your comic book entrepreneurship and everything else you’ve got going on. Let’s start by introducing you to everyone and diving into your background. Earlier, we were chatting about how both music and comics influenced you early on. Can you tell us a little more about that?

Chris Rigo: Sure! I started collecting comic books as a kid, around eight years old. But as I grew older, I drifted away from it—mostly because I wanted to get a girlfriend, and back then, being into comics wasn’t exactly considered cool. But, you know, things have changed a lot with pop culture and the rise of superhero movies. It’s cool now, but back then, it was different. 

Around high school, I started playing music and ended up in a band called Sugar Glider. We eventually got signed, but we broke up in 2013. That was a turning point for me, and I needed to pivot to something else. Even while we were signed, I wasn’t making much money, so I was supplementing my income in other ways.

Yeah, even in signed bands, the money can be tight.

Exactly! We were pretty much broke on those last tours. 2014 was a transitional year for me, and in 2015, I started setting up at conventions. Luckily, I had some connections—my first job ever, back when I was in fifth grade, was at Dave’s Comics in Fort Mill, South Carolina. I worked there during the summers, bagging and boarding comics. Dave Henson, who ran the shop, still organizes the Charlotte Comic-Con, so it was an easy in for me. 

Wow, that’s amazing.

Yeah, and by 2017, I was running my own convention at Cabarrus Brewing Company, which still happens on the first Saturday in May every year. It’s funny how life comes full circle—what started as something I did on the side has turned into a full-time gig. In the last year, we did 60 events, and the year before, 48. We’re already at around 50 this year, which is pretty much every weekend!

That’s incredible! So, you’re basically doing a comic book convention every week?

Pretty much, yeah. My better half, Sarah, and I often divide and conquer—she’ll do one event in one city while I handle another in a different location. Funny enough, Sarah was the girl I started dating back in ninth grade. She was very supportive of my comic collecting, even when I was hiding my long boxes because it wasn’t considered cool. I still remember showing her my collection—like my X-Men #1, which I bought for $50 as a kid. At the time, that was a huge amount of money for me.

Man, that’s awesome! $50 was a lot back then—and still is!

Absolutely! These days, I’ve got two retail locations—one in Concord that’s been around for about five years, and a newer one in Annapolis. The business is called Bey Weirdies Comics & Toys. We also run a convention series called MicroCon. The Concord MicroCon, which started in 2017, takes place at Keber Brewing Company. And on November 17th, we’ll have an event at Americana Beer Company in downtown Monroe.

Sounds like comics have become not only a passion but a source of income for you. At what point did it become more than just a hobby—when did it turn into a career for you?

Honestly, it was more of a gradual thing. As a kid, I never imagined I’d become one of the most prolific comic dealers in the Carolinas. After college, I was really pursuing the music thing, but life changed, and I found myself drawn back to comics. What started as a way to supplement my income grew into something much bigger. If 8-year-old me could see what I’m doing now, I think he’d be pretty impressed! I’m very thankful for everything that has happened.

Sure. So, taking it back to your musical side, do those worlds interact much, or do you keep them pretty separate? For example, does your love of comics influence your songwriting? It seems like some of the imagery and content are fantasy-based.

Yeah. There aren’t any songs on my solo work from the last three years that are directly comic book-themed. But I do like the abstract, the fantastical, and the ethereal. The monsters that hide in the dark—I love that kind of stuff. A lot of comics lean into that too.

Sure.

I was in a little duo called *Solar Cat* that was comic book-themed. My better half, Sarah, was the drummer. That was just for fun, like when I played drums in a Southern rock cover band. But yeah, comics and horror definitely creep into my music. When I write, especially now, I prefer things to be vague and open to interpretation. I don’t like straightforward lyrics; I want people to interpret them in their own way.

I love that. So, you sing and play guitar, but you’re also a multi-instrumentalist. You play drums with the Kodiak Brotherhood, right? Let’s talk about your history with instruments. Where did you start, and how did you evolve from guitar to other instruments?

Yeah, I started with guitar in ninth grade. Everyone wants to be the guitar player, right? I didn’t come from a musical family, but I wanted to play guitar because alternative music was huge at the time. I remember getting together with friends to play—terribly, I might add—and one of them left a drum set and a bass behind. I started messing around with them, and drums came very easily to me. I’m a multi-instrumentalist, but I wouldn’t say I’m particularly good at any one instrument. I dabble. But drums are the most fun, even though people say they’re the hardest to pick up. For me, they were the easiest.

Interesting.

Bass followed suit. It’s the glue between guitar and drums. But yeah, I started with guitar during the new metal wave—Korn, Limp Bizkit, all that. Some of it was cool, some of it was whatever, but it was a thing. That was one of the last big music trends before the internet took over. After that, we had some emo stuff, but nothing as gigantic as new metal.

Right. And now, the 90s influence is coming back.

Absolutely. I grabbed coffee this morning, and the barista was telling me about kids wearing the same clothes their moms wore in the early 2000s. It’s wild how things move in cycles—baggy clothes, flannels, JNCOs coming back.

Yeah, it’s all cyclical. But with all you do—music, comics, and more—your life seems so diverse. How do you approach your entrepreneurial side? Is it just about making ends meet, or do you have a bigger vision?

My goal after *Sugar Glider* broke up was to become debt-free. I wanted to pay off student loans, buy a house, and handle my finances. Comics helped me achieve that. I’m not bragging, but they facilitated that dream. I feel like if anyone sets their mind to something and works hard enough, they can achieve it. They just have to be willing to make sacrifices.

My favorite collection I picked up was at the Renaissance Festival in Charlotte.

Interesting.

Yeah, it was a father and son running the dungeon, and they were closing up. They had some comic books they needed to get rid of. So, I went down, and it was like an empty Renaissance Festival—really eerie.

Wow, an empty festival?

Yeah, pulling up in a van, digging through the dungeon for comics. One of the finds was a Spidey 300—Amazing Spider-Man #300, which is the first appearance of Venom.

That’s huge. With the rise of the Marvel universe and DC, how does that impact comic book values?

Oh, without a doubt, those movies have kept comics relevant. If it wasn’t for the original *Iron Man* in 2008, the MCU wouldn’t have taken off, and comics would’ve just been old paper. The films boosted values, but there’s been some fluctuation in recent years, with Disney maybe putting out too much content.

Yeah, some of the films haven’t done well.

Exactly. For example, a poor movie release can negatively affect the value of an original comic book.

Interesting.

It’s like a cycle. Before a movie or TV show comes out, the value of related comics skyrockets. But after the release, the value drops, no matter how well it does. The question is how far it will fall before stabilizing.

Like stock speculation.

Absolutely, it’s all speculation. If you’re collecting, you should buy what you like, not just because a movie’s coming out. You might lose out otherwise.

Makes sense. So, with the new Doom movie, are your Doom comics shooting up in value?

Oh, yeah. Fantastic Four #5—Doom’s first appearance—is way up. But how long that’ll last, who knows?

That’s wild. But let’s pivot back to your music. You’ve been busy releasing original music and forming a new band. Tell us about that.

Yeah, the pandemic gave me some extra time to focus on my music. Shows shut down, and I remember my last one in Florence, South Carolina, right before everything closed—March 13th, 2020.

Same here. Everything changed that weekend.

It really did. So, with all that free time, I started writing and recording. In 2021, I released *Feel The Hate*. In 2022, I dropped an EP called *Blood in the Water*. Then, last October, I released *The Wilderness of the Great Abyss*, which is probably my favorite.

Love those titles.