Buzz Blog

While 2014 saw more of a cooling down period in show creation and a solidification of podcasts that had been established the previous year, 2015 is starting to ramp back up to the same levels we've seen in the past. A massive influx of new podcasts are striving to put their own voices into the market, and while a good portion of those shows died off in the first 10 episodes, we're starting to see promising podcasts that have potential to really take off. This week we chat with the three fine gentlemen behind Two Dudes and a Gay, discussing their show and coming into a market on the rise. (All pictures courtesy of TD&AG.)

Aaron, Jason & Brady
TwoDudesAndAGay.com

Gavin: Hey everyone, first thing, tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Aaron: I am an educator and musician and a big sci/fi comedy geek. I love consuming and creating content.

Jason: He’s number one content man.

Aaron: I hail from the great state of Utah and am happy to be here.

Jason: I am creator, writer, director, host and star of the popular BBN podcast Two Dudes and a Gay.

Brady: If you want to know about me, go to HeartlessCorporation.org.


Gavin: What got each of you interested in podcasting and what are some of your favorite shows?

Aaron: My all time favorite podcast is Professor Blastoff. Hanging out with these guys is really what got me interested in the medium. I would always record things growing up, too, so it was natural.

Jason: Brady came up to us and said, “we should do one!” As far as favorite podcasts, I found Comedy Bang Bang and Superego early on and they make me laugh.

Brady: Driving home from movies and annoying Aaron—making up stuff that didn’t actually happen in the movie and seeing Aaron’s confused face.

Jason: We also used to record audio bits all the time as kids before podcasts existed. We’ve been doing this since we were little and now there’s a place to upload it.

Brady: What I like about it then and now is you can do this more easily than film. You can have a gunshot or explosion without a lot of an effort and tell a stupid story or idea.

Gavin: Prior to any of this, did any of you have an interest in talk radio or interview shows? Or was it more spurned on by new media influences?

Aaron: I started out listening to re-broadcasts of shows like Radio From Hell and This American Life. It was a relief to listen to them rather than music on the commute.

Jason: I just want to have a good time. We just want to make each other laugh.

Brady: Brady: Yeah, same here.


Gavin: When did all of you meet each other and become friends?

Jason: We’re not friends.

Aaron: I met Jason in junior high 20+ years ago and I could always make him laugh in the hall waiting for English class after lunch.

Jason: They were pity laughs.

Aaron: They were gut-busters, and I was charmed by that.

Brady: I would say we all really met when we lived together in Millcreek in 2008.

Gavin: How did the idea come about to start your own podcast?

Brady: I kept hounding these guys. I said, “I’m funny; you’re allright; let’s do this.”

Aaron: I’ve got some microphones laying around, let’s do this!

Jason: Let’s do this!


Gavin: What was it like gathering all the equipment and setting up your own recording space?

Jason: We were just using a little handheld recorder before, now we’re in a studio. The Bottom of the Barrel Network takes care of all that for us.

Aaron: I remember plugging in the Zoom and the sound quality being terrible and the beagles whining in the background.

Brady: And I was right about that.

Aaron: Now it’s become a huge data-management issue; gigs and gigs of audio.

Jason: I wake up early in the morning and Aaron’s been working for hours.

Brady: Shirt off, abs glistening from all the hard work.

Gavin: Did you do any test episodes prior to starting or just jump right in with the first one?

Aaron: The Zoom H6’s built-in microphones on the coffee table as we spoke in a circle. We started adding more microphones and better equipment.

Jason: We recorded quite a few before we even released them.

Aaron: We’re a few months out.


Gavin: What kind of feedback did you get from listeners to the first few episodes?

Jason: We really only got one bit of feedback: “Brady hates animals, Aaron is really trying, and Jason is a good time.”

Aaron: One of our listeners said he loves when the studio execs verbally beat me up. And that he needed some help getting it on his Windows phone. I am working on that.

Brady: He needs to go to the Mac products.

Aaron: It’s available on Android.

Jason: As far as other listeners, we’re the #1 podcast 100% of all time.

Brady: We’ve got listeners all over the world: Canada, South Carolina, and Saudi Arabia.

Gavin: What's been some of the biggest lessons you've learned about making a show since starting?

Jason: Not a thing!

Brady: I would say that our format has changed. We started out with three main sections. We don’t really do story-time anymore. I was expecting to get The Moth and This American Life style stories each week. Instead, we got stories about weirdos at 7/11.

Aaron: And yet some of those original segments still exist. I’m going to get all emotional. I’ve learned the value of taking risks. Jason freestyle rapped for the first time on the show. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but he did it anyway.


Gavin: What's the process like for all of you in creating show topics to bring to a recording?

Aaron: For me, I just take notes throughout the week. Or I’ll be driving in my car and a Kaylee idea will come up and I’ll record it.

Brady: It’s pretty much the same for all of us. The show is highly improvised. There are a few occasions when a character existed prior to the podcast like Joe Wiseman, Banjo Jones, or Kaylee.

Aaron: Sometimes it helps to have a little setup or backstory to spring forward from. But by and large the times I’ve laughed hardest is when one of you guys has said something spontaneous.

Brady: Jason puts a lot of work into editing the ads and most of those are improvised.

Gavin: Now that you have a good grasp on things, are you going to put in new segments or any changes, or keep things as they are?

Aaron: I think the show is going to continue to evolve. Stay tuned for a Beagle Musical this summer.

Jason: I don’t think I would change anything at this point.

Brady: The voicemail bit will be interesting and we should be able to do fun things with that.

Jason: I’m happy with the way things are because we’ve always been moving forward and trying new things. It’s always something new and exciting.


Gavin: What do you think of the podcast community we have in Utah?

Aaron: We’ve declared war on an NPR parody show called Consider Our Knowledge.

Jason: We’re doing everything we can to be #1, 100%.

Aaron: I will say that I love Bill Allred’s Let’s Go Eat Show. He’s a great interviewer.

Brady: I’ve listened to I Am Salt Lake a few times and SLUG Soundwaves.

Gavin: What do you hope to do with the show over the next couple of years?

Brady: We want to be #1!

Jason: We will achieve that.

Brady: We will be guests on Professor Blastoff, WTF, and Comedy Bang Bang.

Jason: We want to be interviewed by Ira Glass, where he comes here.

Aaron: Act one... Brady… Act two... Jason. Don’t go anywhere.

Jason: We just keep growing.

Brady: Getting larger and more swollen.

Aaron: As a podcast.

Brady: I really want to see “rock-hard, quivering podcast” typed out.


Gavin: What can we expect from all of you and the show over the rest of the 2015?

Jason: Our phone number is 801-893-2414. We have set this up as a way to interact with our listeners.

Brady: If there was a question that wasn’t asked in this interview, ask it! Maybe we’ll answer it, maybe we won't—alright! And I would suggest starting with the mini-podcast episodes, going on to the best-of episodes, then going on from there.

Aaron: See the process after you’ve come to know us already.

Jason: Rate, comment, subscribe on iTunes - all that!

Aaron: I’m continuing to work on music with MusicExplorers.org and a lot of my personal stuff is on Bandcamp.

Jason: Go to my Bandcamp. Don’t pay money for my EPs—just download them for free. There will be a new one coming out by the end of the summer. Post-progressive rock!

Brady: Rock-hard, quivering music.

Jason: Brady’s probably the busiest of us all.

Brady: Most of them you’ll find links at HeartlessCorporation.org.