That image up above? It was taken on the day we recorded the first episode of Men in Gorilla Suits. It wasn’t taken while doing the podcast, because we were a little nervous, trying to see how it was all going to work out. After the first recording session was done and Shawn was on his way home, Christopher took the photo. We’ve learned a lot since that first episode!
Now we are 25! If episodes were years and the podcast were a person, we’d finally be getting lower auto insurance rates. We’d have enough years of adulthood beneath us to have the confidence to do bigger things. We might still get goofy on the weekends, but we’d have a better idea of what we wanted out of life. While the podcast isn’t a person, it’s a good analogy: we have enough experience working together to now look forward and know what we want out of the show. We’ll always be goofy, but we’re more confident and ready to focus on more than simply producing weekly episodes. We know we can do that — now it’s time to make things even better!
The episode isn’t quite like a “looking back” episode of a sitcom, but it’s all about the show: our favorite episodes and our favorite things about doing a weekly show. Our least favorite things about Men in Gorilla Suits. Things we’d change, and things we’re proud of. The prevailing sentiment of this episode is just doing the things you want to do! So many times, we talk ourselves out of the things that stick around in our heads and later regret never doing them. In its own way, this episode has some inspirational moments. Along the way, we talk about our process for producing shows and how we decided who does what. (Hint: we let it all happen naturally — we have never so much as had even a short meeting about the show.) We talk about all our mistakes and successes. In the end, this episode is a celebration of friendship and the benefits of making something on a regular basis.
So…Thank you to everybody who’s listened to the first 25 episodes. We’d love to hear your hopes for the next 25 in the comments!
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Congratulations! It seems like it’s only been 20 episodes. Maybe 21. 😉 Keep up the great work.
I’ve been experimenting with recording my voice (for indie voice-over opportunities), and I’ve gradually come to the conclusion that I don’t have a voice for radio, so to speak. How the heck do voice-over artists do it? It’s amazingly difficult, IMO. I suspect you either have voice talent or you don’t. Ironic that I use my voice extensively in my “day job.” I enjoy both your voices, BTW. 🙂 Keep recording, and I’ll keep listening.
Here are my future episode ideas (apologies if these have already been addressed, my memory is… something, I forget):
1. GMOs and hybrid plants and animals, including planimals
2. end-of-world scenarios (Earth or Mars)
3. violent illnesses, pros and cons
4. alcoholic drinks, favs and uses
5. other
I used to hate my voice in a big way. It’s not a normal voice, but I now see that as a bit of an asset. I’ve listened to podcasts with others and a complaint I hear about some: “I can’t tell who’s talking.” Having a distinct voice is, I realize, a good thing to have for a podcast.
I know people who do voice acting for cartoons and some voice-over work. At least with cartoons, a lot of it seems to have a willingness to not hold back. The people I know who made it are people who were not afraid to sound foolish in their auditions. So many people, even people experienced with voice work, are reserved. So cutting loose is hard. I was really self conscious when I recorded Hell Comes with Wood Paneled Doors as a podcast. I found once I cut loose when doing different voices that people liked it better.
I’ve thought about a show about alcoholic drinks. I think we could also do an entire show about coffee and tea. End of earth would be cool. GMOs could be interesting. My biggest issue with them is the enforcement of patent. “Hey, Organic Farmer Person who’s made a living for decades doing your thing. We detect our patent in your crops (due to drift), so…we just destroyed your ability to sell your crop as organic because we tainted it and oh, by the way, we’re suing you for infringing on our patent.”
Yes, Monsanto is evil.