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Pod-Crashing Episode 47:
I once had a program director that constantly reminded us to deal with Radio Reality. He\u2019d begin every conversation saying, \u201cHey! This is how it really is!\u201d Mike put so much refocus back into my career that I began watching every level of the Broadcast game. Hey! This is how it really is!
Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s conversation with actor Paul Ruben. The creator of Pee Wee Herman is having a difficult time trying to understand the concept of a podcast. The typical question, \u201cWhat\u2019s the difference between this and radio?\u201d Conan jumps in to explain only to realize that after a year or so of doing podcasting he still can\u2019t figure out why it\u2019s called a podcast.
I still remember how pouty I was about the name back in 2012. I hated the term podcast. Especially since the age of iPod listening was quickly disappearing. I had just gone through the death of AM stereo and HD Radio. So much energy put into trying to reinvent the wheel only to watch it fizzle like a firecracker on a rain soaked July 4th holiday.
My good friend Nathan Richie was the first to step up and say \u201cIf you don\u2019t like calling it a podcast then stop doing it. Start educating your listeners. It\u2019s Listening on Demand.\u201d
Too difficult to say. It needs a dictionary definition to go with it. Besides, when I get a phone call from a promoter about doing conversations with Gordon Lightfoot and Dennis DeYoung telling them I host fourteen Listen on Demands\u2026 they literally stop. Then ask, \u201cA what? Do you mean a podcast?\u201d
Hey! This is how it really is! Radio\u2019s Rodeo Clowns can\u2019t come walking up the dusty path and change the barrel racing rules.
When I meet up with new people and tell them I host podcasts it\u2019s pretty much the same act over and over, \u201cOh! I\u2019ve listened to a podcast once or twice. Was never impressed.\u201d Or the virgin podcast listener\u2019s answer is \u201cI can\u2019t find the time to check into a two hour rant from Joe Rogan. Is Marc Maron really that pissed off at the world?\u201d
I\u2019ve heard all the questions! It\u2019s like being a podcaster turns everything into the six degrees of separation. So many listeners think we\u2019re all in touch with each other. You know hang on the weekend. Free food at Denny\u2019s at 3am. Then it\u2019s back to creating new episodes on Monday.
Hey! This is how it really is! I keep in touch with a lot of podcasters. Everybody needs to be swapping notes and experiences. It\u2019s only going to raise the bar on quality. I\u2019m not saying we should suddenly jump into a pair of Program Director shoes. Oh hell no! The art of being a great podcaster is doing it your way.
I love checking in with new-be\u2019s like Pete Kaliner who\u2019s extremely fresh from the large tower but on fire with podcasting because its keeping his fans and followers locked in on the energy he generated while with a Talk station forced to clean house.
It\u2019s not that I\u2019m babysitting or trying to pull off a Stock Market takeover. We need to create a stronger brother and sisterhood during these extremely early steps of digital vocal dancing. How Pete lays out his political conversations fed by a need to keep it local shouldn\u2019t sound like my conversations with Elizabeth Chelan who\u2019s got new research on how the military is struggling with recruiting volunteers.
Texture is everything. This is how it really is!
Part of growing with your podcast is knowing what to podcast. That\u2019s an extremely tough mountain to climb for many. I mean, here it is! Your own podcast! Got the Zoom L-8, a fancy microphone, sound proofing, great set of cans and and and\u2026 so what do you wanna talk about? Just hit record and we can wing it right?
Collaborations are a cool thing but know your game. A couple of great friends want to chum it up on a podcast. I\u2019m always ready for any performance. But I\u2019m a show prep junky. I never drop tracks unless I go into the episode fully prepared. Hey! This is how it really is!
My conversation with Gordon Lightfoot yesterday needed to be an all-out conversation. To get Gordon into that emotional circle of storytelling I didn\u2019t need to sound like I was pulling questions from thin air. Great talk begins with trust. Those receiving your questions will lower their guard when you build your relationship around the thought of a couple of people that happened to cross paths at Starbucks.
Did I invent that? Oh hell no! I study the masters Stern, Rogan, Maron, Ronan Farrow, Bill Burr and the calmest of the smooth talkers Bob Pittman from Math and Magic and iHeart Media.
Hey! This is how it really is! In this age of free form thinking and speaking the squeaky wheel isn\u2019t always going to be the bird that gets the first worm. Part of growing your podcast is know what to podcast. Knowing arrives from experiencing. Not stealing ideas but using your own skills to bring forward a sound inspired or influenced by. Conan O\u2019Brien does a brilliant job with long form famous people talk. What kind of nightmare did he go through developing that style? He\u2019s a television guy who was barely given six to eight minutes with his guys. Now he\u2019s getting over and hour with Pee Wee Herman?
I\u2019d love to see how Stern would handle a conversation after the producer on the other side says, \u201cYou\u2019re out time is 10:09.\u201d And the clock in front of you says its 10:06. I\u2019ve only turned down one interview during a moment like that. I honestly said, \u201cI love and respect this actor so much that being with him for only three minutes shows a disrespect for his presence as an artist. The universe will unite us again a different day.\u201d
I\u2019ve done my fair share of itty bitty teeny weanie talks and had to rely on my producing skills to create an episode that wouldn\u2019t make the listener feel like I just wasted their time. I\u2019m not Entertainment Tonight where they billboard that coming up next so and so and he and she and when the story lands it was only 30 seconds in length.
Hey! This is how it really is!
Alright it\u2019s time for me to reach out to Dennis DeYoung. He\u2019s teamed up with Julian Lennon and Jim Peterik both of whom are huge conversationalists with a solid value at bringing forward the story and experience. Two days of prep has gone into this project. My friend Allan asked if I\u2019d go anywhere near the history of Styx. No\u2026 No need. There\u2019s a lot more to talk about than living in the past.
So what\u2019s the moral of the story? There\u2019s no greater feeling then watching your analytics grow. When advertisers start researching your episodes the process gets even more exciting. Building an episode is like creating a craft beer. If you ain\u2019t making what the bar can sell\u2026 that stack of BBQ\u2019ed ribs are gonna sit on that grill all night. I learned that from a club owner in the 1990\u2019s. He told me to stop playing love songs. It doesn\u2019t sell whiskey. Tired sweaty dancers buy it up.