James Kicklighter sent me a link to a new video out with himself, Edith Ivey, Berry Stolch and Jonathan Pope live from the Macon Film Festival.

Hear about the background of the film, what it was like making it, and of course, some delicious tidbits about the golden age of radio!

Do check out James Kicklighter’s site for more information about Theater of the Mind and his projects, and recall our conversation with him a few months ago about turning memories of radio into film!

What can I say, I’m giddy beyond words.

My own audio drama group, FinalRune Productions, was featured in the Wall Street Journal on February 25, 2010.

The article, entitled “Return With Us to the Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear—Via the Internet,” heavily focused on FinalRune’s signature field recording style and director Fred Greenhalgh’s passion for reviving audio drama in an age of the iPod.

I’ll let the article speak for itself, and wait, there’s more… great video!!!

Radio Drama Revival wants to offer huge congratulations to Yuri Rasovsky and Roger Gregg for achieving nominations for two separate, yet equally big awards.

Yuri Rasovsky’s The Maltese Falcon was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, an enormous accomplishment for an audio drama.

And jeez, if you haven’t listened to The Maltese Falcon yet, do! I raved about it in a review I did a few months ago because it deserved it, and much more. It’s one of the best audio mysteries you’ll hear.

While the actual award went to Michael J. Fox’s, Always Looking Up, let’s congratulate Yuri again for bringing audio drama to a major awards night.

Our compatriot across the sea, Roger Gregg, has been nominted for his country’s Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Sound Design for his work in Barrabbas Theatre’s Johnny Patterson: The Singing Irish Clown.

While this doesn’t honor his radio drama work directly, his sound design is, of course, a direct byproduct of his excellent work in audio drama and the nomination is a huge honor.

Not being from Ireland, I asked Roger what these awards were about. He simply put, “in Ireland these are THE Awards. The only ones that matter when it comes to professional theatre.”

Congratulations again Roger and Yuri, it’s a great day for audio drama when two of our own get the recognition they deserve!

Today we continue our three year anniversary special and self-reflective analysis.  Today we focus on the most memorable interviews I’ve ever done.

This was a really hard one to put together, because I’ve done a ton. In fact, here’s a link to all interviews on Radio Drama Revival.

Here are some of what I consider the very best:

1. Roger Gregg @ Crazy Dog HQ in Ireland (Episode 117)

   I’ve had the huge pleasure of speaking with Roger Gregg on several occasions, but none more interesting than in his den of iniquity in Dublin, Ireland.

   Roger speaks of the promise and challenge of audio programming, and how innovative use of art is the way to keeping audio relevant in the YouTube age.

2. Tom Lopez on ZBS Film Noir (Episode 127)

   This past summer I was looking for people to talk about the National Audio Theater Festivals (NATF) and it made sense to talk to Tom Lopez again, arguably one of audio’s most influential and creative producers.

   This interview was fun because we got to talking about short-form audio drama and experimenting with a visual component.  Like Roger’s interview, we got a veteran’s view of audio in our society and ideas on how audio can keep its place in an environment of media glut.

3. Sue Zizza and Pat Fenton (Episode 84)

   In what I think is my only interview with both producer and writer, Sue and Pat talked about the work that went into the audio dramatization of Jack’s Last Call, including a lot of fun anecdotes about Jack Kerouac’s life and some gems about audio production.

4. Scott Hickey and Brian Price Talk about the Slasher (Episode 81)

   Ihad the occasion to sit in behind-the-scenes in the recording of “The Slasher,” an – ahem – killer work by The Grist Mill and a great opportunity to see seasoned vet Brian Price do what he does best.  This interview brought in producer and director to talk about their ambitious approach to audio – producing stories by published authors – and getting together an incredible cast and a professional recording space for their show.

5. Erik Bauersfeld and Jim McKee Talk About Radio Drama in the Bay Area (Episode 134)

   In case interviewing Tom Lopez wasn’t good enough, I got to talk to his mentor, Erik Bauersfeld, who’s been inspired by radio drama since he first heard the Witches’ Tale back in the 1930s.

   In this interview we touch on everything from his early days at KPFA doing Black Mass to his pioneering productions in field recorded audio drama.  By the way, Erik won the prestigious audio luminary award from Third Coast Audio Festival this year!

Did I miss something?  Disagree?  Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Welcome to day two of our three year anniversary special and self-reflective analysis.  Since Jan 2007, I’ve had a chance to feature a LOT of good work on the show.  75 hours and counting of audio goodness so far!

It’s impossible to feature everything that’s good, particularly because there are episodes in so many different genres, from a heavy dose of horror to holiday tales, classic retellings to contemporary drama, sci-fi, fantasy, and even a little bit of romance.

However, sometimes you just gotta pick your favorite babies.  Here are some episodes I think you should listen to again:

1. Dialogue with Martian Trombone (Episode 13) – What can I say?  I’m a lover of jazz music and this absurd martian tale showcases the endless wit of Great Northern Audio Theater.  Having David Ossman and Philip Proctor from the Firesign Theatre certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
2. Buried in Falling Sand (Episode 16) – While Dreamseeed has not produced much else, this gem of a sci-fi bears deserves a listen.This inspired, eerie tale does what science-fiction does best: use a society not so unlike our own to tell us truths we’d rather not know.  What WOULD happen if we had a drug that made us forget the work day?
3. God of the Razor (Episode 94) - The Grist Mill has produced many fine tales, but God of the Razor may be the best.Moody, atmospheric, and unremittingly dark, Joe Lansdale’s God of the Razor tells of the dark that lurks in the basements of East Texas… and in the hearts of men.
4. The Salmon of Blackpool (Episode 52, Episode 53, Episode 54, and Episode 55) – Okay, here’s a cheat, because it’s a series of four episodes, not just one, but it is worth it.Crazy Dog Audio Theatre’s “Salmon of Blackpool” is simply one of the most compelling produced and moving pieces of audio drama I’ve ever heard.  The only thing I’ve listened to that deserves the name “audio cinema.”  Give a listen and tell me you don’t agree.
5. Hayward Sanitarium (Episode 126) – And let’s not miss this entry from the catalogue of audio suspense.While we only featured one episode of it, “Hayward” is a masterfully written and produced tale of the goings-on at one strange home for the mentally in coastal Maine.  The precedent for shows like Wormwood and Shadow Falls, even if they don’t know it!
6. Medusa on the Beach (Episode 138) – Okay, well this is #6, but I couldn’t help myself.  I’m addicted to myth and Wireless Theatre Company’s “Medusa on the Beach” retells the myth of medusa beautifully.  Cheeky, moving, and dark, I’m delighted from the first few minutes.

Did I forget one of your favorites?  Want to share what you thought about a great audio artist?  Leave something in the comments below.

Tomorrow, we talk about the greatest interviews with audio artists over the past three years.

It doesn’t seem like so long ago that a chance opening at local radio station WMPG gave me a great opportunity: start my own weekly radio show dedicated to radio drama.

My goal from the beginning: expose more people to the medium of radio drama and give me an opportunity to share my own work with others.

Suddenly it’s 3 years later, and Radio Drama Revival has gone a lot of places I never expected and given me the opportunity to do a lot of cool stuff.

I’ve talked to lots of really awesome people, legends like Tom Lopez (two times), Roger Gregg (two times on the phone, and once in person), Tony Palermo, and Erik Bauersfeld, authors Mort Castle and Joe Lansdale, and all sorts of great independent dramatists, such as Brian Price and Jerry Stearns, Marc Rose and Geral McQuinn, Doug Bost, the guys behind Wormwood… the list goes on.

So, in light of all this, and a little sentimental, this week on Radio Drama Revival I’ll put posting some “top 5″ features – “best of,” if you will, from my heavily biased and nostalgic perspective.

We’ll start today.

5 Most Interesting Web Stats

It’s the digital age, and as a podcaster I have a LOT of data to try and comprehend. Here are some of the more interesting giblets:

1. Radio Drama Revival has approximately 400 regular weekly listeners via RSS (as reported by Feedburner).  RDR has had over 300 subscribers since the end of October, 2008.
2. Each episode gets 500-1000 (!) downloads right away, and stuff deep in the archives (episodes 100 and lower) still gets downloaded!Pretty much every archived episode gets at least one download a week.
3. The single most popular day on Radio Drama Revival, ever, was October 31, 2009, with about 500 people landing on the website.Overall, the October horror stories effort has been a huge success which is why I keep doing it. I’ll talk more about that in a follow-up post.
4. God bless Google.Nearly half of all traffic to this website comes from Google alone, particularly because of the good rankings I get for “radio drama” and “radio drama podcast”There seems to be some name recognition, though, because a decent amount of traffic comes from the word “Radio drama revival” and 20% of visitors actually return using a bookmark or typing in the domain by hand.
5. It’s not a surprise that the biggest audience for RDR is the US (about 66%), but outside of the US, the show is quite a global force! 155 countries tune in to the show, with every inhabited continent representing (sadly, no listeners from Greenland). The top 10? U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Phillipines, India, and France. Radio drama is an international phenomenon!

Tomorrow, we’ll be going through the archives to find the Top 5 Episodes You Should Listen to Again.

And if it seems like I’m missing anything, do leave a note in the comments!