It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice...
A couple of years ago I quietly finished my first podcast, Can You Take This Photo Please? I just let it slide out of people’s minds and subscription feeds as I looked elsewhere to find my creative outlet. Initially it was a podcast about comedians, delving into their habits and techniques, from the well established to the brand new. For a long time I loved producing each episode as I not only had an opportunity to ask the questions you would never normally ask of your colleagues but I also learned a lot in the process.
Then eventually I fell out of love with the podcast.
I lost focus on what it was meant to be all about. I lost the drive to talk to my colleagues. I lost interest in comedy. I moved to Sydney at the end of 2015, disillusioned with the industry and bereft of inspiration for the art of writing jokes. I took time off from stand-up with the idea that maybe, just maybe, this was the end of the line. I used my time away to work on different projects, different ideas. In that time I learned a lot of lessons. Good lessons. Lessons that reinvigorated me.
In the process I rediscovered my voice.
I wrote a three part play, “The Ballad of John Tilt Animus”. It had a distinct style that was unlike anything else I had previously produced. It won some awards and had some people walk out. I felt like electricity was running through my veins over both of these outcomes. I took chances with the play. Most of it worked. Some of it didn’t. I felt like I was back at the start of my career, back in the mid 90s when, like Jon Snow, I knew nothing. That time was beautifully creative because I didn’t know the rules and I didn’t have one idea that was a bad idea. In hindsight there were plenty of bad ideas but I sure didn’t know it at the time.
Recently I felt like I wanted to return to the podcast world, to reconnect with that creative outlet. Before I could do so, I needed a new idea. I didn’t want to go back to the old format. That was done. It had to be something that was exciting, something that I could dive into. I not only wanted to share my thoughts on a topic but I also wanted to learn. Then the new HBO series Watchmen was announced and my idea came together.
I launched Big Squid last week, as quietly as I let my previous podcast disappear. My new podcast will do a deep dive into the TV series and the original graphic novel. I’ve already recorded some great episodes breaking down each chapter of the comic. I’m excited for you to hear them. Then I watched the first episode of the new TV series yesterday and had my faith rewarded. Damon Lindelof and his team, off the success of the brilliant The Leftovers, has created a show that is dangerous, satirical, funny and strange. So many words to describe this new show and I’ve barely scratched the surface.
There was so much to unpack with the first episode. You can find the Big Squid links at this site, just head over to the Podcast and Socials section. We’re up at the site and Spotify, with iTunes following suit soon. I have created a Facebook page which you can find here if you’d like to join. For those of you who aren’t interested in crossing over to FB, I’m going to link the articles we talked below for you, information that extrapolates just how dense and thrilling this new show is.
Here are a list of topics from the first episode:
The dark undercurrents of the musical “Oklahoma!”
Soraya McDonald’s insight into race regarding the first episode.
The first black deputy sheriff Bass Reeves.
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
This is exactly the type of entertainment I have always loved, from TV to movies, from books to comics and everything else. I love art that can be viewed as entertainment but if you want to dig deep, you can find a level of depth and meaning that will broaden your mind and give you an insight into how the world works today. It is the type of comedy I aspire to achieve. Sometimes I get there. Sometimes I don’t. It is always worth taking a swing though. Playing it safe is a one way trip to artistic oblivion. I think David Bowie said it best when he was asked about that very topic.
It’s important to love your job when you can. It has been over 25 years since my first gig. I’m now 47. “Where did the time go?” and other cliches come to mind. Yet I’m excited to be back with this new podcast. I’ll be back each week with blogs and podcasts that expand my thoughts on each episode, the lessons I learned, the theories that come to my mind and the overall thrill of watching something that reminds us all that the best roads taken are never the ones that have the easiest track. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, but when you reach your destination, you’ll certainly love the view.
Hammo
October 22, 2019.
Sydney, Australia.