1918 Radio Drama Lets Us Know: More are Coming

February 28, 2011 By 2 Comments

Matthew Boudreau, a stellar audio engineer and colleague from over at Audio Drama Talk, has kept me in the loop about the development of his new audio drama, 1918. The show promises absurd writing, a tight cast, and excellent production values. Here’s a quick trailer:

1918 Trailer 1 – More are Coming from Aural Stage Studios on Vimeo.

Here’s a blurb about the show from its creators:

It’s 1918 and aliens have crash landed on the planet. At the climax of World War I, Axis and Allied scientist are racing to find uses for alien technology. Triplanes and Sopwith camels are rigged with laser systems. Believed dead after being shot down, Manfred Von Richtofen, the infamous Red Baron is restored to health as a cybornetic robot and enlisted to aid Germany in it’s quest to fight the return of the aliens. But the key to their quest lies in the hands – or rather the voice – of a talented, capable and tenacious vocalist, Evelyn Ceriwyn, and the bumbling, but charming scientist, Dr. Henry Isotope.

Be sure to tune into the show at http://www.1918show.com/ on March 1!

Filed Under: 1918, Adventure, News, Steampunk Tagged With: , , ,

Coming Soon: Firesign Theatre’s Duke of Madness Motors

February 7, 2011 By 3 Comments

Firesign Duke of Madness MotorsExciting news for Firesign Theatre fans! Via “Snook” -

The Firesign Theatre and Seeland Records is proud to present DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS, the long-awaited ultra-comprehensive “Dear Friends” radio reissue that fans have been dreaming of for decades: http://www.firesigntheatre.com/domm/index.html

DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS is the ultimate box-less boxed set of Firesign’s complete broadcast output for the years 1970-1972, when they were blowing minds on Los Angeles radio with The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour, Dear Friends, and Let’s Eat. Our reissue package is nothing less than the complete history of the period in one 108-page book and one DVD-ROM of MP3 data. The book contains an 8000-word historical essay, new interviews with Firesign and their producer and engineer, complete show rundowns, original scripts, vintage Phil Proctor photocollages, found objects and much more. Meanwhile the DVD-ROM is a data disk containing every show of the era, fully restored and remastered, encoded to MP3 – over 80 hours in all. Dump to your hard drive and let the fun begin.

DUKE OF MADNESS MOTORS will be available in stores starting February 15 – but if you pre-order now directly from the Firesign Theatre, we’ll ship you a copy the moment we get them from the printer, possibly as early as the beginning of January. It’s a limited print run and there’s gotta be more than a thousand of you Fireheads still alive and salivating for one of these babies, so act soon! One book-plus-DVD costs just $45 postage paid to the U.S. and Canada, or $50 post paid worldwide (we accept PayPal, credit cards, checks, or well-concealed cash). To order, just go to www.firesigntheatre.com, where you can also hear audio samples, take a peek inside the book, and read two rambling essays from your faithful Firesign archivist demonstrating the depth of his obsession as exemplified by his tragic proclivity for crate-digging and bunker-diving over the last ten years.

THIS MEDIA BLITZ IS WORD-OF-MOUTH ONLY, SO IF YOU KNOW A FIREHEAD – PASS IT ON!

If you’re a Firesign Theatre fan, you don’t need to be told more. If you’re not, order this, and prepare to be blown away!

Filed Under: Firesign Theatre, News, Radio Drama Tagged With: , , , ,

Roger Gregg Serves Up a Delicious “Seven Deadly Sins”

October 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Fresh from the Emerald Isle comes this new treat from Roger Gregg, a scene from a new production of Faustus… Roger has been talking about his desire about doing Faustus since I visited back in 2008, and it’s thrilling to see it becoming a reality.

Here is a scene from the new show which will run in Dublin from November 18 to the 26th in Smock Alley Theatre:

I asked Roger whether there will be an audio adaptation of this work, similar to what he did with The Stuff of Myth. Roger says:

Yes … In fact one of the central tenets of the stage show is have an on-going live sound score being performed on stage by all the demons. Using no pre-recorded material, very little amplification and employing many ‘OTR’ type sound effects gadgets in with the musical instruments.

There are many imagistic scenes in which very little is said and the story is conveyed through the movement and actions of the actors and the sound-scape and music.

So the audio version will be a ‘Concept Album’ with alot of musical passages.

This new show is so exciting that I’m tempted to cash in some frequent flyer miles to see the show myself. Share new Crazy Dog’age with your friends!

Filed Under: Crazy Dog Audio Theater, Live Events, News, Roger Gregg, UK and Ireland Tagged With: , , , , , ,

ZBS Brings Us a Steamy Inverness

September 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Steam Dreamers of Inverness. Illustration by Jaye OliverAudio fans delight, there is fresh Jack Flanders to be had.  And boy, is it steamy.

As we showcased a few weeks back with Lady Windemere’s Brass Fantabulous, ZBS has been on a steampunk kick, culminating in the release of the newest Jack Flanders adventure, Steam Dreamers of Inverness.

In this tale, we’re invited back to that magical place, with thousand of windows like so many eyes turned inward, and re-introduced to our friends Jack, Mojo and Claudine.  Jack’s trying to figure out what to do with the old mansion when he discovers a mysterious device… When activated with steam, the device sends the user into a steamy, Victorian world of dreams. 

Get a taste of it in this sample:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

For fans of Jack, you’ll find all of Tom Lopez’s witty rapport (“This clean coal isn’t clean at all!” / “Well, it’s a dirty business”) as well as mystic overtones (Mojo gives us some anecdotes exposing the Buddhist heart of Christianity), and signature dimension-traveling exploits.  There’s a welcome, comfortable feel in that musty old castle, and a feeling throughout the production that everyone involved is happy to be back home.

The MP3 download of the 2-hour production is available on ZBS’ website for a meager $17.

If you’ve never had the joys of listening to Jack Flanders, I suggest you start the journey now, it’s a wonderful one to take:

  • The Fourth Tower of Inverness – The original classic audio, ZBS’ original piece which mixes 60s culture, eastern mysticism, fire-breathing dragons, alchemy and dimension traveling for a romp unlike any before seen in audio
  • Moon Over Morocco – Jack Flanders’ second adventure takes him to exotic Morocco, where legends of the desert are relived and he meets Mojo the mystic piano man
  • Return To Inverness – I have a soft-spot in my heart for musty old mansions and so the Return to Inverness charmed me as much as the original.  Went Lady Jowls passes on, traveling Jack returns to the mansion to figure out what to do with it… Just in time to start getting hoodwinked with disappearing rooms, furniture, secret passages, and the other denizens of the mansion.

Visit ZBS’ site for a full listing of Jack Flanders adventures.

Filed Under: News, Steampunk, ZBS

Sounds for Soldiers Needs Your Help!

August 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Via Jeff Adams at Sound Stages Radio:

Sounds for Soldiers, the project by audio theater producers all over the world to send 10,000 MP3 CD’s to men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues to inch upward on the Pepsi Refresh project.

To remind everyone, that’s a grant Pepsi pays out to worthy causes IF they are voted in the top-ten of their category in an online poll. Everyone can vote once a day, either on the Pepsi Refresh site or by texting the number 101175 to the text number 73774.

Early in the week, we were at 184th. Then we jumped to 87th. Yesterday, we were 79th, and today we’ve climbed to 75th. That means were heading in the right direction, but going pretty slowly. The voting continues until August 31st.

Remember, this is not a “I’ll get there next week and vote,” thing – it’s a “I’ll go their EVERY DAY and vote thing.” Do it at breakfast, do it at dinner, do it as you sit down to surf the web in the evening, just do it! And the other thing? Tell your friends. Forward this message to your email list. Let everyone know.

This idea was originally put forth by veterans who told us men and women serving in forward areas depend on iPods to relax in the middle of the impossibility of combat. That’s the idea, helping the people who are helping us in a very small way.

Now you can donate from your own pocket at http://www.sounds4soldiers.org, but if you don’t want to give money, just vote daily in the Pepsi refresh project. Thanks for your time.

This is a very worthy cause, so cast your votes now!

Filed Under: News, Radio Drama

BBC Reaffirms Commitment to Radio Drama

May 4, 2010 By 7 Comments

To follow up on our coverage of BBC announcing the end of the Friday play, today it was reported that the BBC has made a commitment to keeping radio drama free from cuts for the near future.

The Stage News quotes BBC head of radio drama Alison Hindell as saying:

We are still the biggest broadcaster of radio drama in the world by miles and make hundreds and hundreds of titles – a claim that Hollywood can’t make. We now have to say, let’s guard that stronghold. And part of my job is to protect that.

So, not as dire a prediction as some fans felt after the Friday Play disappeared, but still not quite the moment to break out the champagne.

Still, as Roger Gregg pointed out last we chatted, radio drama’s only sustainable way to survive (at least on broadcast radio) is to adapt to new listening habits and become accessible to the iPod generation.

One podcast at a time :)

Filed Under: News, Radio Drama Tagged With: , , ,
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