How It Started...

The seed of the idea of podcasting started as a possible solution to help my son get some real-world media experience while pursuing his degree in Journalism. Wouldn't it be great if we could work together to record an amateur podcast he could use as part of his college portfolio? But like I am known to do, I couldn't just half-ass it. When I dream about something, I dream big. And then the project always seems to take on a life of its own and I jump in full-ass. Which I did in this case. Simply helping out on a school project wasn't enough for me. I wanted to create my own podcast.

So...I listened to every podcast I could get my ears on, decided what I liked and what I didn't, and decided on what I wanted put together to send out into the Podworld. I landed on a weekly variety show that would be fun but also educational, dedicated to my age group, the Gen Xers. Kinda left the kid out of the equation, didn't I? Not exactly. Now that I've done all the research, I'll be a great source of information next summer when he comes home and begins to work on his own show.

Welcome to my work in progress.

The Studio

First, I commandeered a "studio" space. Read: the walk-in Christmas closet in my basement. It's got 3 concrete walls, so it's actually not a bad place for peace and quiet. That is, once it no longer looks like Santa threw up all over it.

I put half of this junk in boxes for next summer's yard sale, and I still had more than enough to decorate my whole house for Christmas. Then of course there was the assembling of furniture and electronics. I still have to hang some decorations and hook up a few more things, but it's coming along.

Content, equipment, and research

But now for the hard part--finding enough to say for an hour a week. So, I researched what all the pods are talking about, and it seems that you can talk about pretty much anything--and I do mean anything--on a podcast. So, I'm going to talk about the stuff my friends and I like, are good at, and are knowledgeable about. We're going to talk books, entertainment, health and wellness, work, family and relationships, cool gadgets, weird news, hobbies and travel, childhood and teenage nostalgia, and how we can still manage to have fun while our aging bodies are failing us at every turn.

And then for the expensive part--equipment. Turns out you need a lot of shit to record a podcast that sounds semi-professional. I've now got mics, a mixer board, a dedicated computer, a portable recording device for off-site interviews, and a LOT of cords running everywhere. But the sound quality is fantastic, so there you go.

Don't get me started on having to learn how to set up the aforementioned mixer board (it literally took me hours to get the right combo of buttons and knobs to record myself saying "check" onto a track in GarageBand), plus learning how to do post-production editing, and then getting the finished version from my computer, through a host, and out to "wherever you listen to your podcasts."

But that's what I love about life. I'm always finding myself embarking on a new and exciting adventure, bumbling my way through an unending learning curve, only to come out the other side with something I worked hard for and can be really proud of.

All You Really Need to Know

WRONG SIDE OF 40 is finally something that's all about us (Generation X)! No longer are we the middle children of society, squeezed between the Millennials and the Boomers. WRONG SIDE OF 40 is going to have you partying like it's 1999.

Look for my podcast to drop in January of 2022. Help me keep it rolling by following, rating, and reviewing, and please urge your friends to do the same! Gen Xers, unite!