Making Changes

So professionally some things are changing….I think/hope. It was suggested recently that my podcast should be video instead of audio only. I’ve actually been thinking about this for awhile now but I was undecided. (That’s a polite way of saying wishy-washy) But I’m committed to the change now. Actually I would like to think of it as an upgrade.

I’m not entirely sure how it will be presented but I’ve got this part figured out….all of the future episodes will be approximately a half hour in length, unedited, and recorded from Zoom. Past episodes were quite heavily edited. Some conversations were nearly ninety minutes long and I cut them down to fifty or so. The audio version will be available wherever you normally get your podcast and then the video version, or at least clips, will be available on my YouTube channel. I’m still trying to sort it all out. I’ve got a lot of technical stuff to work out too. The plan is to be up and running before February 2024.

When I started out doing this stuff I knew that I didn’t know anything about it and that mistakes were unavoidable. That means that as I continue to learn and grow, changes are inevitable….or at least they should be. I’ve enjoyed many entertaining and informative conversations with my artistic friends and I thought others would enjoy listening in. So I started the podcast with the idea that the listeners could be “a fly on the wall”. I steadfastly avoided the “interview” model of a traditional show. Well, I was wrong. Nobody cared to listen to other people shoot the breeze. And, like many people, I was slow to acknowledge it. But I’ve finally come around.

While talking about it with my advisor I was urged to transform this blog into a vlog and do video only. I’m not too sure I want to do that. I enjoy the act of writing. I probably should have been a writer instead of a musician. If I were to turn on the camera and just talk about this weeks topic I would likely just babble away. And if I scripted it first I would recite it with all of the finesse of an eighth-grader reciting Shakespeare. This may not be the smartest move but I think I’ll just continue writing for the time being.

I bounce my ideas off of my wife. She’s very smart and very intuitive and often thinks of angles that I miss. I also pay a consultant an hourly fee to help out periodically. Honestly, I’m not smart enough to think of this stuff by myself and I’m always looking for input. So with that in mind, please send me your thoughts and ideas, criticisms, complaints, or just general comments. Such things matter to me and are beneficial. I’m sorry that I can’t afford your hourly fee. I’m sure you’re worth it.