12 minute read
Voices in the void by Arvin Ramgoolam
Voices in the void
Arvin the binge-listener turned podcaster.
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In our pandemic isolation (and even before), local podcasters have proliferated, exploring topics ranging from motherhood to hiking to deep conversations about race and resilience.
Lydia Stern
By Arvin Ramgoolam
For years, during my drives around the valley, I’d become tired of the holy trinity of my car CD player: Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths. To change things up from my usual gloomy shoe-gaze brit-pop, I’d begun downloading podcasts for my long drives, and then I became addicted enough to suddenly realize I needed to make a trip to Denver in order to binge listen to some of my favorite podcasts. Podcasts fulfill two of our most basic needs as humans: to be told a story and to learn something new. The best podcasts combine both; they give us information by telling us a compelling story in a digestible format. Podcasts like This American Life, Radiolab and Invisibilia take this a step further with pregnant pauses and audio-engineering tricks to dramatize even the simplest stories.
With the flourishing access to recording technology and the inquisitive nature of most people, it’s no surprise that podcasters have been popping up here in the Gunnison Valley. Local podcast topics range from the outdoors to the fascinating lives of the people of our valley.
Bart Laemmel began his podcast, Make a Mess, Clean It Up, as a part of his new business, Nu Action Life Coaching. Inspired by The Tim Ferris Show and Debbie Millman’s Design Matters Podcast, Bart sought to talk to people in the valley who’d led interesting lives and faced challenges, and to find out what part of their background or routine was key for overcoming those obstacles. For himself and for others, Laemmel wanted to learn from people’s experiences and hear “fantastic stories about everyday life.” His first episode featured his friend, entrepreneur and adventurer Jay Prentiss, who since getting sick last year had become a “Covid long hauler.” What
Bruce Eckel and James Ward record an episode of Happy Path Programming for their fellow techies.
Lydia Stern
Through Awkward Angler, Erica Nelson offers her own take on social justice and fly fishing.
a year earlier would have been a conversation about Prentiss’ backcountry exploits instead became a warm and difficult conversation about the disease that has affected all of us, but in this case impacted someone who had once seemed invincible. I had to stop listening at points because of the raw honesty about the difficulty Prentiss was experiencing. The beauty of Laemmel’s podcast (with a handful of episodes so far) is his openness to learning and having challenging conversations about failure and triumph in our everyday lives.
Erica Nelson, a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, began fly fishing when she worked for NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) in Wyoming, borrowing a rod from the gear closet because fly fishing seemed to be the thing everyone did in Lander. She then became an Instagrammer to share her adventures. Conversations grew around place and around people of color in the outdoors, so she created the Awkward Angler podcast. Nelson was tired of “influencers” in the outdoor world and wanted to say and hear more about social justice and fly fishing. Existing related podcasts, she felt, held a singular story: white guys fishing and “conquering” the outdoors.
Frank Konsella, real estate guru, author and backcountry ski magician, began his podcast, Crested Butte Is Home, to connect with clients and future clients but at the same time to explore the stories of new and old residents of the valley. I was fortunate to talk to Konsella for his first pandemic episode, which meant I was his first remote interview. His questions were poignant and interesting, and we had a great talk about the things we love about the valley. Konsella said his overall mission with the podcast was to “connect people who love the valley but don’t live here full time and to build a bridge with fulltime residents.” As a side effect, Konsella’s podcast also became a way for locals to get to know each other during this era of social distancing.
The Momversation Podcast with Leah Wrisley and Melissa Statler tackles one of the most pressing issues: parenting. A proposed mom’s group, hampered by the difficulty in getting parents together, became a partnership between college friends reconnecting on Instagram. Wrisley called the endeavor “affirming on a soul level.” Their main mission was to have an “open conversation about all things motherhood.” The podcast has become a robust array of mom outreach with an Instagram page, replete with quote cards, a wealth of interviews, memes, and a blog that touches on everything from postpartum issues to challenges faced by working mothers. The Momversation Podcast is so good, even people without kids and whose kids have grown up can appreciate the candor and conversation of Wrisley and Statler.
Kyleena Falzone, supermom, restaurateur and business maven, created a podcast because of the 2020 shutdown and helping those in need. According to the Secret Stash Pizza website, “We started a podcast to bring more hope, hype and inspiration to those who could benefit.” Her first episode explored the life of polar adventurer Eric Larsen, who was part of perhaps the last human-powered team to traverse the North Pole (due to melting ice caps). After that episode was recorded, Larsen was diagnosed with cancer, and Falzone in turn raised money for his family as they endured a challenging time. The Secret Stash Podcast is, in effect, the ouroboros of podcasts, a podcast that began from the inspiration to help people, that featured a guest who then needed and received help, and that will inspire others to help people in their communities everywhere.
With a far more specific audience, longtime local and computer programming author Bruce Eckel teams up each week with fellow programmer James Ward. In the Happy Path Programming podcast, they get down to the nuts and bolts of the programming world, its culture and technical languages. A podcast for both beginner and veteran programmers, it promises “no-frills discussions about programming, what it is and what it should be.” The podcast is a nice reminder of the non-outdoor-focused communities that flourish in the valley.
However, the outdoor podcasts are
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970.209.0609 cfarnan@mountainoffice.com Joel Vosburg 970.209.1581 jvosburg@mountainoffice.com numerous, to be sure. You can hit two summer activities with The Trail Show for hiking, Luke Mehall’s Dirtbag State of Mind and Peter Horgan’s Climbing Advocate Podcast on your way out to Taylor Canyon. While Horgan’s podcast tackles stewardship, advocacy and maintaining access to public lands, Mehall’s podcast gets into the personal stories of the climbers he’s known since his earliest days at Western Colorado University and finding himself in the crags and cracks of the desert southwest. Within his podcast you can feel the midday heat, contrasting the crisp, cold mornings that greet emerging car campers in Indian Creek. Mehall stresses that his podcast is also about mental health and people’s lack of knowledge about mental wellbeing, depression and the suffering it causes. The Trail Show, simply titled by Lawton “Disco” Grinter, is guided by his show’s tagline: “More beer, less gear.” It boasts a large worldwide audience that tunes in for stories about hiking around the planet. Some listeners don’t even hike but enjoy the often-hilarious banter among the show’s frequent guests about their love of beer and making their backpacks lighter.
There are so many podcasts in the valley, but I want to mention one in particular: the Gunnison Valley Audio Journal, supported by the local Resiliency Project. This is a thoughtful and insightful look at the Gunnison Valley through a literary lens, featuring writers and writing from all over the county. Producer and former KBUT staff member Chad Reich created the podcast in hopes “that it will introduce literary works by local authors to new audiences and that it will also encourage a podcast audience to pick up some local print magazines and do some old-fashioned reading.”
The most successful podcasters I spoke to were David Flora and Crested Butte’s own Annie (Rijks) Flora, at the helm of two award-winning podcasts, Blurry Photos and Quiz Quiz Bang Bang. Both podcasts have well over 100 episodes and boast an international audience. Blurry Photos began as a lore-busting look at monsters, myths and legends. David described it as a way to “explore the unexplained and explain the unexplored,” with a skeptic’s lens and critical thinking about the paranormal. He is fortunate to make part of his income from his podcasts. When I asked for David’s advice to other podcasters, he highlighted the need for time, consistency and quality. He said it takes about a year to get going, and a consistent release of episodes is vital to growing an
audience. Another tip: Adding blankets and rugs to a recording space helps to “make it not sound like you’re recording in a tin can.”
Quiz Quiz Bang Bang, “the pub quiz practice show that hits you POW! right in the quizzer,” was born from the absence of quiz-centered podcasts. Annie noted that in growing a podcast, you should look at what people are not talking about, take your perspective and passion and “throw your voice into the void.” The Floras began the projects in Chicago during their time acting in improv shows, which feeds the energy and abundant humor in both podcasts. The podcasts are a wonderful window into the couple’s creative and curious world, which will likely incorporate their new surroundings, as they recently moved to Crested Butte (where Annie grew up). Perhaps Crested Butte locals will appear on Quiz Quiz Bang Bang, or a team-up with Gunnison County MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) investigators will be the subject of a future episode of Blurry Photos. We’ll have to tune in to find out!
Addicted and ever looking for the next podcast, even I was inspired to start one. Over the last year, my thoughts about discussing race in the mountains became something more people were talking about. I decided the best way to have this conversation and create a way for others to have better conversations about race was to create my podcast, Crested Butte Conversations. I wanted it to be informative and engaging in a way that anyone could download it and listen on a trip to the grocery and back.
Ultimately, all of us, in creating our podcasts, wanted to do something we haven’t adequately been able to do in the last year: communicate. Perhaps when we can gather once again, clink our reusable metal mugs and hear our friends’ voices on a crisp fall day outside Rumors, we’ll have even better conversations than we did before, thanks to the podcasts we’ve binged. b
Editor’s note: We must be an articulate bunch! The valley boasts so many podcasters that we couldn’t include everyone in this article. But we’re curious. If you produce a locally based podcast, feel free to email the basic information to sandyfails56@gmail. com. If there’s enough interest, we’ll include more local podcast information online via the blog at crestedbuttemagazine.com. Now is the time. The space, views and privacy of a mountain home in a convenient location. Aperture is adjacent to the Town of Crested Butte with access from Gothic Road and Eighth Avenue. Enjoy year-round outdoor recreation, the Victorian charm of nearby Elk Avenue and exceptional neighborhood amenities. Homesites from .32 to .96 acres starting at $1,100,000. Build up to 5,000 sf home + 750 sf accessory dwelling. Only 23 homesites - just a few still available.
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Charlie Farnan
970.209.0609 cfarnan@mountainoffice.com Joel Vosburg 970.209.1581 jvosburg@mountainoffice.com
