It’s a podcast, and it makes perfect sense to me! Reading is terminally dull, we can all agree on that. Writing is not as bad as reading but still, it’s up there with the rubbish things to to in life. That leaves rithmatic and chatting. Now, I like sums as much as the next man, but just as long as the next man is Paul Macintyre who I sat beside in Vinnie Brown’s maths class. He HATED sums. So, that leaves chatting.
Do you listen to podcasts already? If so, nice one. I do too and I think they are great. If you don’t then I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to start.
Jam Crack is my new thing; my new podcast thing. I have already pumped out an episode, have one with Tommy Caldwell in the can ready to go and, as I type, I am waiting to go and pick up a reading from someone. So it’s a goer. I’m in the game, as Gus would say.
Speaking of Gus, he lives in my road. I’ve known him for years, initially through working on guidebooks then later while working on life. He is the subject of my first podcast. Getting as far as the first one wasn’t easy. First I had to:
Think about doing a podcast
Think some more about doing a podcast
Read up on podcasts
Research recording gear
Buy the gear
Think about not doing a podcast
Learn how to set up recording gear
Work out what podcast hosting is
Decide what to call it
Create an RSS feed
Work out what an RSS feed is
Finish my website
Work out how to get on iTunes
Decide who to interview
Pluck up the courage
Think about not doing a podcast
Phone Gus
Well enough of these things happened that I got my tush round to Gus and did him. It was fun. Then edit, tweak, upload, download, shake-it-all-about-load and oi presto! Here it is.
Do you get podcasts? I got into them listening to an American one called The Enormocast. I’ve listened to nearly them all over the years and think they are great. Click here and I’ll do a list of the shows I’ve enjoyed most. He spends an hour or so chatting with climbers.
The other one I’m a fan of is Scrobius Pip’s Distraction Pieces. He’s a spoken word poet and rapper who speaks mainly to people involved in music, comedy, TV and other general culture. Again, if you don’t already listen, click here for a selection that I have really enjoyed, just to get you started. Again his are hour-long interviews. So that’s what I’m doing; copying those two.
I hope you get it and like it. My plan is to release one every four weeks for a year – keep it manageable. And inbetween times I would like to read, or have someone else read, a classic climbing or mountaineering story. This will all take some organising I guess, so let’s see how it goes, and let’s not get too uptight about schedules.
So, a quick lowdown on podcasts if you’re not used to them. The best way to listen is to subscribe on iTunes. Follow this here link and go to View in iTunes and click the subscribe button. That way it will download to your device and you’ll have it when you’re offline. If you do use iTunes, it’d be nice if you subscribed. If in time you like it, it would be nice if you would rate it and review it. The other way is to go to the Jam Crack Podcast page on my website and listen to the player. On this you can stream, download and subscribe.
I’d love to know what you think, what you like or don’t like, and what you would like in the future. Comment on here or on Facebook or Twitter. I’d love to have a mixture of famous and not-so-famous, as long as everybody has a story. I’m not going to probe them for info, just have a chat. My ideal is that at the end of the hour we had an idea of whet the person we’re talking to is about. So no training info, no deadhanging stories, no nutritional facts etc; soz.
I’ve not got it planned too far ahead. I will release the Tommy Caldwell one soon. I was editing it last night and it tickled me. Time will make lots of decisions for me I think.
Anyway, Jam Crack Podcast now exists. It’s a bit of a personal triumph in terms of how many barriers I feel I had to overcome to make it happen. It’s been mostly my own effort, although I got help and advice from Chris Kalous, John Roberts, John Blomquist, Andrew White and probably some others. My brain feels well clever now.
So I hope you stay on board. It’s all about you, whoever you are, so make your voice heard. Chip in, slag off, take the piss. If you like it I’d love you to share the podcast and spread the word.
I’ve got a good feeling about this.