Seeing Them Live

S02E13 - Jim Sees a Bad Prince Show

Episode Summary

In this episode, Charles and Doug are joined by Jim the Podcast Sherpa, host of Too Many Podcasts, a show dedicated to exploring the vast world of podcasts. The trio discusses Jim’s concert experiences, starting with his first and most memorable concert—The Police at Madison Square Garden in 1980 during their Zenyatta Mondatta tour. Jim shares how the energy of the crowd and the electrifying performance left a lasting impression on him as a teenager, setting the bar high for future concerts. They also touch on Jim's other notable concert experiences, including seeing Tina Turner’s energetic comeback performance in 1984, a controversial Elton John concert, and multiple Billy Joel shows, highlighting the unique qualities that make each of these performances stand out in his memory. As the conversation unfolds, Jim recounts a humorous incident at a Joan Jett concert where he and his friends played a prank involving "pre-concert mooing," and another unexpected experience at a Samantha Fox show where his choice of headwear led to an amusing situation. Throughout the episode, the hosts and Jim reflect on how live performances not only create unforgettable memories but also showcase the evolving journeys of artists, making each concert a unique experience.

Episode Notes

In this episode of Seeing Them Live, hosts Charles and Doug welcome Jim, known as the Podcast Sherpa and host of Too Many Podcasts, a podcast dedicated to exploring other podcasts. Jim shares his unique experiences attending various concerts, beginning with his first concert in 1980, where he saw The Police at Madison Square Garden during their Zenyatta Mondatta tour. He reminisces about the electrifying atmosphere and how the concert left a lasting impression on him as a high school student.

The discussion also touches on other memorable shows, including Tina Turner's powerful performance as the opening act for Lionel Richie in 1984, where her high-energy stage presence captivated the audience. Jim also recalls seeing Elton John at Madison Square Garden during the Leather Jackets tour in 1986 and dispels a rumor about the singer allegedly assaulting a fan. He goes on to describe the experience of attending Billy Joel’s record-setting 12 Gardens residency at Madison Square Garden, which also happened to be his wife’s first concert, highlighting the shared joy of live music.

The conversation takes a humorous turn as Jim recounts some lighter concert memories, including a prank involving "pre-concert mooing" at a Joan Jett concert in 1983 and a surprising encounter at a Samantha Fox show in 1989. Charles and Doug also share their own concert anecdotes, with Doug emphasizing the consistent quality of Billy Joel’s performances and Charles recalling a chaotic food fight during a Joan Jett set at a Police concert. The episode is filled with entertaining stories and insights, reflecting the hosts' and guest’s deep appreciation for live music and the unforgettable moments that concerts create.

BANDS: Bare Naked Ladies, Billy Joel, Clint Black, Coolio, Elton John, Joan Jett, Lionel Richie, Prince, Samantha Fox, Sheila E, The Police, Tina Turner, Wynonna Judd.

VENUES:  Jones Beach, Madison Square Garden, Manchester Apollo, Orpheum Capitol Theater, The Marquee Club.

 

Episode Transcription

[00:00:00] Charles: Our guest today is Jim the Podcast Sherpa. Jim is the host and creator of the podcast Too Many Podcasts, which is a podcast about podcasts. Jim's podcast helps people find new and interesting podcasts, and also helps you grow your playlist. He has interviewed podcasters, artists, musicians, and other interesting people. And along the way, he says he tells a few bad jokes.

[00:00:28] Jim: More than a few. 

[00:00:31] Charles: I don't know Jim, I kind of find them pretty funny from time to time. I'm laughing out loud in my car. People think I'm weird driving around laughing to myself. 

[00:00:41] Jim: Imagine what they think of me when I come up with these jokes.

[00:00:43] Charles: So, Jim, welcome to Seeing Them Live. 

[00:00:46] Jim: Thank you very much Charles and Doug. 

[00:00:48] Charles: We're also joined today by my cohost and producer, Doug Florzak. So, just a bit of a quick background, we were on Jim's podcast, Too Many Podcasts about, I don't know, what'd you say about a month or five weeks ago, something like that. And, you know, he was asking about.

[00:01:07] Our podcast and we're talking about concerts and such and then Jim, you, uh, you laid a couple of concerts on us and one of them was a Prince show, which we'll talk about in a little bit that runs contrary to what everybody else has told us about Prince live. Well, we'll get to that in a bit. And then, uh, and also an interesting Joan Jett story too.

[00:01:34] We'll get to those in a minute. But I thought, we usually kind of try to go in chronological order at first. We'll skip around a little bit here. Not too long, but your first concert you listed is also as your best concert, was The Police in 1980 at a place called the Orpheum Capitol Theater.

[00:01:54] It was in November 29th in New Jersey, and it was during their Zenyatta Mondatta tour. And I was wondering how that concert has stood the test of time to all the other ones you've been to.

[00:02:05] Jim: Oh, actually it wasn't the orphan it was Madison Square Garden in New York City.

[00:02:09] Charles: Oh, okay. 

[00:02:11] Jim: So that already adds to the mystique. 

[00:02:14] Charles: My bad. You had mentioned you had like a, a theater background in high school. And, so go, go ahead and tell us about that experience. 

[00:02:23] Jim: Sure. I was actually in high school. I believe I was a junior or junior or senior. And there were two guys that I knew, and I guess it was supposed to go with someone else and they canceled, and they said, they came up to me and they said, Jimmy, you want to come to a concert with us? And I was like, I've never been to a concert.

[00:02:40] Sure. I'll go. And back then, you know, concerts weren't, you know, the mortgage inducing equivalent that they are today. 

[00:02:48] So, uh, you know, I went, you know, riding in the train with the city with these guys. And we sat actually kind of behind the stage. So, you had like a pretty good angle. I always think that that's such an interesting angle when you go to see a concert, because you kind of see what the performance sees, but you're just a little bit higher up.

[00:03:07] Charles: Right.

[00:03:08] Jim: And I just like, I just love that feeling that like the minute when they came on, I mean, they had opening acts. They had Jules Holland, who was from Squeeze and a guy named Tom Robinson. And they were on maybe for like 15 minutes each, but the minute they come on, they. I had never been somewhere where you had this massive crowd and it just became electric and just this wave came over the wave of excitement and it was just, you know, one of those things I guess you really have a hard time forgetting.

[00:03:37] Charles: Yeah, right. I think on your podcast, I had talked about that Eagles concert that I went to when I was, I think I was 11 and it was just like you were just saying, there's nothing that the volume, the cheering, the show, the musicians was just, it was hard thing to forget. And, and so were you a Police fan? 

[00:03:56] Jim: Yes. Yes.

[00:03:57] Charles: Yeah, I think, I think maybe everybody was, right?

[00:04:00] Jim: It was pretty easy to do. I like that album because I think they were kind of really on the cusp of really getting out into the public eye. I mean, the first two albums are fantastic, and they were, they were critical phase, but I think, you know, they were going on the big tour. And now all of a sudden everyone was going to see them. And I think that, you know, that just kind of propelled them into the super stardom.

[00:04:22] Charles: Yeah. I had seen them a few years later in '83 on their Synchronicity tour at Comiskey Park, the old Comiskey Park where the Chicago White Sox used to play. And I just felt really fortunate to have been able to buy a ticket cause it was such a hard ticket to come by, you know, and I just felt fortunate. And Joan Jett was one of the opening acts. So, we'll, we'll get to that in a, in a little bit.

[00:04:46] Jim: Okay.

[00:04:48] Charles: Anything else you want to add to that about that show, Jim?

[00:04:51] Jim: Well, I mean, I did see them, I think like, like a year or so later with the ghost and machine ghost in the machine tour, which was, it was good, but I, I just didn't have that same feeling because I guess I knew kind of what to expect, you know, and that album, I didn't like as much as Zenyatta Mandana. So it was like, yeah, it was good to see them again, but it was like, you know, but, uh, I don't know it was it was almost like kind of magical I think for you know for a 17 year old kid to kind of see something like that and like I said when you're looking out at the crowd like they're looking out at the crowd from that same angle you know and as you said you know I was involved with theater in, uh, in high school, you know, doing some plays and stuff like that.

[00:05:32] I was always kind of like a performer. I was a band geek. I was in the chorus. All that sort of stuff. So, you know, being in front of a crowd wasn't scary, but to see that kind of number is just like, it's very awe inspiring, I think.

[00:05:46] Charles: Yeah. That's unbelievable. Yeah, that's a great album and that must have been a difficult ticket to get as well.

[00:05:52] Jim: Yeah. 

[00:05:53] Charles: You mentioned like several other, we'll call 'em runners up to the best concerts, Because I know it's sometimes it's hard to choose people like, oh, I, I, can't just pick one, but we'll touch on a, on a few here. We'll go through 'em. You had mentioned a Tina Turner show. Well, she was the opening act for Lionel Ritchie. This was in 1984. 

[00:06:15] Jim: Right. 

[00:06:16] Charles: A memorable show for you.

[00:06:19] Jim: This was, her comeback. Private Dancer had not been out too long and she was starting to tour with like big name artists and, going to see her, this was at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, which was another big, great arena to see shows. And this was like a huge stage. And I mean, nothing to take, you know, not to take anything away from Lionel Richie, but, you know, Tina Turner hitting the stage.

[00:06:41] And with that much. experience and just stage savvy. I mean, she was perpetual energy from like the minute she hit the stage till the minute she left. She did not stop moving. She was shimmying and shaking in heels in a short skirt, one way across the stage and all the way back the other way. It was just unbelievable.

[00:06:59] You like when you see artists with that kind of energy, you almost kind of get tired watching them was like, okay, you have to stand still for a second. I gotta catch my breath. 

[00:07:08] Charles: Yeah, I've told stories before where I, when I'd see Iggy pop live, he was kind of the same. He never stops moving. He's always doing something, you know, and just, it's, yeah, you're like, you kind of almost need a breather from, you know, halfway through the show just to kind of catch your breath from that kind of a performance.

[00:07:28] Jim: Iggy kind of like, didn't he used to throw himself on like a broken glass or something like that when he was on the stage? 

[00:07:33] Charles: Yeah, he did stuff like that. He took, uh, I don't. There was an interview I listened to where he poured, like, hot candle wax on his chest or something, you know. Always, abusing himself, I guess, crowd for the show. Did you have anything else to add to that? 

[00:07:50] Jim: No, I think that was pretty much it for, you know, for that. I mean, it was a great show all, all in all. I mean, she was probably one of the best openers that I've probably seen. And then Lionel Richie just put on a fantastic show as well. So, it was really a good mix for anybody who was in the crowd that night.

[00:08:08] Charles: Yeah. And then you, uh, you had also mentioned this Elton John Show, which was at Madison Square Garden Leather Jackets Tour 1986. And what, what was struck me with that one, is that there was a talk that he had assaulted a fan or something. I couldn't find anything about that, you know, but I have to say I didn't, you know, do, like, exhaustive research. It didn't pop up on the first page of Google.

[00:08:37] Jim: Yeah, I mean, first of all, he didn't assault anybody. So, we should be clear about that. When they're out on the stage and they just kind of go to the edge of the stage and they like high five everybody that's out in the crowd. He was basically just reaching his arm out and high fiving people.

[00:08:52] And all of a sudden, the next day, it was in the papers that actually said, you know this person was suing Elton John. His lawyer was saying that Elton John was a martial artist. I'm thinking like, how the heck would a martial artist reach off of a stage and like deliver such a deadly blow to somebody? It was like, nine feet away from them.

[00:09:13] Charles: Well, maybe the guy didn't know how to do a high five. He used his forehead instead of his hand, right? 

[00:09:17] Jim: He has like, stuck his face into it.

[00:09:20] Charles: Okay. Well, that, that makes more sense, but that was a real, it was a legitimate lawsuit then, was.

[00:09:25] Jim: Uh, I think it got thrown out, but you know, it got a lot of publicity that he was suing them. And I was like, you have got to be kidding me.

[00:09:34] Charles: I did not, hear of that or see that, but that's, uh, quite a story. Maybe he is a martial artist, who knows, you know? 

[00:09:42] Jim: Maybe Elton doesn't even know he's a martial artist.

[00:09:46] Charles: His hands are registered weapons or something, right? 

[00:09:49] Jim: On the piano, 

[00:09:50] Charles: On the piano, right, exactly. And then also that same year you saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. And it was the 12 gardens tour. And it was like this record setting residency at the time. And I know Doug, you've been to quite a few Billy Joel concerts yourself.

[00:10:09] And, yeah, I was just going to ask you guys like what makes a good Billy Joel concert or what, stands out when you see him live?

[00:10:16] Jim: Doug, you want to take it first?

[00:10:18] Doug: Sure. I would say it's the quality control. I mean, all of his shows were exceptional. He always had, he always surrounded himself with exceptional artists. I think he had a sax player that he had worked with for a long time. His drummer, I think he worked with from day one. It was always just a really exceptional show, and, for me, it was always a good date night.

[00:10:41] My next-door neighbor who was also my friend, kind of turned me on to Billy Joel when he first came out because when the Stranger album came out, in the early period, when that was first released, he was not well known. My friend said, well, you know, come over to my house and listen to this album I got. This guy's fantastic and listened to it. And then he and I would go to see him almost every time he came into town. So, we would usually make it a double date and it was always a lot of fun. And he's just an exceptional, musician and performer. You always knew there was going to be a good show with him,

[00:11:19] Jim: Yeah, I agree 100 percent Doug. Yeah, he, I think he really is in tune also to his fans in the way that he kind of has an idea of when he accrued so much of a career that like, I know what you want to hear. So, you know, let's, let's do it. Let's have a good time about it. And, you know, like you said, he surrounded himself with this fantastic touring band and, you know, they even brought the songs even more so to life. So, you know, just a great, great crowd experience all over.

[00:11:48] Doug: Right. I mean, I would say he's kind of in the same category as like Bruce Springsteen and, those types of bands where they're known for putting everything into it, everything into the show. They don't hold anything back. And, pretty much from beginning to end, you know, it's a high-quality experience. 

[00:12:08] And you're right. The crowd really gets into it. He knows how to get the crowd into it. Everybody knew the words to their songs and everything. So they would, everybody would sing along with it. It really increased the interaction between him and the audience that you came to expect when you went to his shows.

[00:12:23] Jim: And, you know, being lucky enough to see him in Madison Square Garden, him being a lifelong New Yorker. Well, up until now, I guess, uh, is always an experience for, you know, the hometown crowd. Now he's, now he's down in Florida.

[00:12:36] Charles: Okay. Doug and Jim too, when you see somebody like you'd mentioned Doug, just kind of starting out, not, maybe not an unknown, but then, you know, growing and growing over time, that's kind of cool too, to see the evolution of the performer. And then, 12 nights at Madison Square Garden. And Jim, you were there on the 12th night, is that correct? 

[00:12:56] Jim: Yeah. It was the 12th night. Yeah. I don't remember what year it was. I don't think it was the same year as Elton. I believe it was a little bit after. That was my, that was actually my wife's first concert as a matter of fact.

[00:13:05] Charles: Oh, okay. Like a date night, like Doug was saying,

[00:13:08] Jim: Yeah.

[00:13:08] Charles: Cool. Cool. 

[00:13:10] Jim: Billy bringing people together.

[00:13:11] Charles: That's right. Yeah, matchmaker. Alright, so, we can move on then to this 1983 Joan Jett at Stony Brook University?

[00:13:22] Jim: Yes.

[00:13:23] Charles: Which I'm assuming, they must have some kind of concert hall or venue on the campus? 

[00:13:29] Jim: Right. Yeah. that, that was like, I don't remember how we ended up getting tickets for that, but yeah, that, this was the mooing story. So this is basically started as a, as a harmless joke. There were two other friends that I was going with. And one friend I'd actually been to a lot of these other concerts with.

[00:13:47] So I said, you know, you want to help me play a joke on the other guy? And he was like, of course I do. So, we staged like a fake argument over who was going to mooo before the lights came up. And I was like, well, I'm going to do it. And he said, no, I want to do it. And of course, the other friend is like, what are you guys talking about?

[00:14:04] And I said, well, you know, it's, it's about pre-concert mooing. And he's like, what, what is pre-concert mooing? I've never heard of this. So, I said, well, you know, before the headliner comes up, the lights go down. And he said, yeah. I said, well, what happens is somebody in the crowd goes, 

[00:14:19] and then everybody starts going, "moo, moo, moo, moo, moo." and then the crowd goes crazy. And then the lights go up and everybody starts screaming.

[00:14:27] So we were like, wait, it's your first concert. Why don't you moo? And he was like, oh, I don't know if I want to do this or not. So, it actually turned out that by the time the lights came up, another guy who came with us, who was, that was his first concert. He let out this big loud moo anyway.

[00:14:41] Charles: Did, did anybody join in or, or no?

[00:14:44] Jim: Maybe some dairy farmers. I don't really know.

[00:14:46] Doug: Is that kind of a Joan Jett thing or is that just at any concert? 

[00:14:52] Jim: I just made it up 

[00:14:53] Charles: I think it's a Jim, uh.. 

[00:14:55] Jim: It's a Sherpa thing. 

[00:14:56] Charles: A podcast Sherpa thing. Yeah. Yeah. Well, well, my, my Joan Jett story, you know, there was like this whole program of bands in July of 1983; The Police concert at, like I said, the old Comiskey Park and she was the opening act and during her set. I think she's about the third band to play. There might've been like five bands total. A massive food fight broke out between the upper and lower deck. 

[00:15:28] Like everything, and I was on the, in the infield. So I was, I was removed from the melee. It was interesting to watch and it just moved around the stadium. The whole time she played like a, like a massive wave, you know, like, I don't know if they still do the wave at sporting events, but it was like that, except it was with food. It was unbelievable just to watch something like that. I don't know how it started or why or how it grew to be such a giant ordeal, but yeah, it went on for quite some time, basically the whole time she played.

[00:16:05] You had to watch, watch her play and then, you know, watch the food fight too, at the same time. So, that's my Joan Jett story. You had another; kind of unexpected thing happened to you at the Samantha Fox show at a club in Sag Harbor in 1989. It involved a beret, I guess.

[00:16:24] Jim: Yes. For whatever reason, I wore a beret. Not like I was trying to be pretentious or anything like that. It was more like a military style beret. And, I'd gone out to see her. This was a club on, like, on the eastern part of Long Island. It was not really a big club. It's pretty small. And I actually went by myself, which was kind of weird.

[00:16:43] And it was late at night. And, she was a really good performer. I was really surprised because I thought a lot of this stuff was going to be like lip syncing or whatever, but she just came out, she sang live, she moved around, you know, she probably prettier in person. And even like the, the pictures that you saw of her at that time.

[00:16:58] And I got pretty close to the stage. And when she was doing the song, I Want to Have Some Fun. I took off my beret and I gestured to her, like, "Can I, can I throw it to you?" And she nodded. 

[00:17:10] Charles: Oh. 

[00:17:10] Jim: So, I threw it to her and she caught it and she threw it on her head. And she finished the song.

[00:17:15] Charles: Wow. Did she give it back?

[00:17:16] Jim: No, you know, the funny thing is, the next day, I got home late and I was living at home still cause I was still pretty young and, my mom's friend was over.

[00:17:27] And she said, you went, she said, what, why are you so tired? I was like, Oh, I went to a concert to see Samantha Fox. I said, I threw a beret up to her. She said, well, why didn't you put your phone number inside the hat? And maybe she would have called you. I was like, Oh man, why didn't I even think about that?

[00:17:43] Charles: Yeah. A nice segue here, Jim, was it a raspberry beret? Because I think we need to start talking about Prince now. 

[00:17:52] Jim: This is where the hate comes in. Right? Where the listeners are like, what is he talking about? 

[00:17:57] Charles: When we were talking to you on your show, you had kind of a disappointing experience with Prince. It was the Purple Rain tour, right?

[00:18:04] Jim: Mm-Hmm. Yes, it was.

[00:18:06] Charles: Okay. Yeah. Why don't you tell us about that?

[00:18:08] Jim: Sure. A few of us had gone to see him and on the ticket it actually said, you know, wear something purple. And I was like, okay, whatever. And I'm thinking like, well, I'm in a dark concert hall, how are they gonna know if I'm wearing something purple? So, we went, the opening act was Sheila E who was fantastic.

[00:18:23] That lady put on a show between the drumming and throwing the drumsticks up in the air and, spinning around, catching him and just like not missing a beat and everything she interacted with the audience. And I was like, okay, this is going to be a good show. And then like, when Prince came out, it seemed like everything, every song that he performed, it was like, he was reenacting his music videos.

[00:18:45] He didn't like acknowledge the crowd or like, not even like, "Hey, Long Island, how you doing?" You know, nothing, you know, it was like, you know, it was like he kind of had an attitude about being there, like he didn't want to play. So, you know, it was just a disappointment that the music was fine, but I had heard so much about Prince live being this, you know, incredible performer.

[00:19:06] And I was like, I could have just stayed home and watch MTV to see this. There was nothing special about it, but, and I'm thinking like, yeah, what a waste of purple underwear.

[00:19:15] Charles: Yeah. Cause, you were the only person that has said, at least on our show, that was a disappointing performance because everybody else says it's like usually one of their best, but I have read online, probably a little later, like after Purple Rain, some of his other tours, people reporting, you know, a bad Prince show.

[00:19:35] Usually though it has to do with like the sound or something, which, you know, may have been out of his control to some extent. You know, it wasn't so much the performance. It was like the sound quality was, was terrible. 

[00:19:48] Jim: The Acoustics were actually fine. it was just, you know, the show, it kind of left me flat. And it was funny because, one of the friends that I went with saw him the following tour when it wasn't the Purple Rain tour. And he said, that was a completely different show from what we had just witnessed. So, so I knew that it wasn't just me.

[00:20:06] Charles: Yeah. Well, you, you know, that, that happens and, uh, you're, you're the first to, uh, report a disappointing Prince show. So, I thought we had to hear more about that. So, you had a Bare Naked Ladies concert you went to it at Jones beach, right?

[00:20:22] Jim: Yeah. They have an open, empty, open amphitheater.

[00:20:25] Charles: Yeah, what? I mean, I hear about Jones Beach and it sounds like such a cool place to see a show, but I, was wondering if you could maybe describe the venue a little bit.

[00:20:35] Jim: Sure. Open air amphitheater. It's pretty big actually. And it's on the water. So, you actually, if you kind of look past the stage, you can see, I don't know what body of water is. It's I know I should lose points for that, but you can see the water. It's not the Atlantic Ocean. It's, I guess it's one of the bays or whatever.

[00:20:52] And, uh, really nice. They actually fixed it up this year from what I understand. They made it even. even nicer. And, they usually announce their schedule around Memorial Day. I remember that was always like a, like a Long Island tradition. Like you had to wait until, you know, what, what, what artists are going to be playing there.

[00:21:10] And, you know, and all of a sudden, the ticket buying frenzy would start. And yeah, I saw a number of artists there actually, aside from Bare Naked Ladies, I had seen a few country concerts as well. You know, they've, they've had all different, different types. 

[00:21:24] When I saw Clint Black and Wynonna Judd, they called it the Black and Wy tour. Three songs into his set, Clint, of Clint Black, the power went out and he, they couldn't play. So, you know, he felt terrible, but I mean, I really respected him, what he did. After this, he went backstage, he came back out with a bullhorn and he was talking with the crowd for like about a good 45 minutes, hoping that, you know, they would repair the electric. And, unfortunately it never got fixed.

[00:21:55] They didn't know what was going on and he was calling it the Clint blackout. But, you know, I, I had to give him, you know, credit because I think a lot of other big names would have just been like, well, you know, I don't like this place. See what happens, you know, and then, and then just walk off with, and he wasn't like that at all.

[00:22:11] And it's funny, the papers made it sound like he's, they were like, he said he would never play Long Island again. I was like, never said that. Like, why did he hang out with us for 45 minutes? 

[00:22:21] Charles: That is pretty cool because I've been to shows, smaller concerts, where, yeah, the performer just walks off stage if there's something malfunctioning and that's it. They just left; they never came back. So, you know, something to be said about, about entertaining a crowd with a bullhorn for 45 minutes. Can't be easy. So, the Bare Naked Ladies, that was, what, 1998? And that was a good show.

[00:22:44] Jim: Oh, yeah. Yeah. They are very entertaining if you've never seen them. This was about the time; the album Stunt was out and there were five of them. There were now four. Cause I know Steven Page had since left the band and kind of did his own, he's doing his own solo thing for now. But, between the interaction of the two lead singers who were just having fun and they were just a lot of it was like improvisation just being funny. Ed Robinson would like go on to these impromptu raps in like the middle of a song and he would just babble on about like the silliest things.

[00:23:16] And I remember there was a point in the concert, it was early. And I guess one of them saw that there were two empty seats in the front row and they ran out into the crowd and they grabbed two people and brought them to the front, front row seats.

[00:23:34] Charles: Hopefully those two people weren't just running late, right?

[00:23:37] Jim: Yeah, whoops.

[00:23:40] Charles: Yeah. Hard to, hard to argue your seat back after that probably, right?

[00:23:44] Jim: Yeah.

[00:23:45] Charles: All right. Well, cool. Well, Jim, I thought we could move to maybe chatting about your podcast. So, you broadcast from, Mount Podcastia is it? In the Sherpa Chalet? 

[00:23:56] Jim: In the Sherpa, Shoopaloo Studios.

[00:23:59] Charles: Okay. I imagine there's a lot of fireplaces in there, right?

[00:24:04] Jim: It would have to be.

[00:24:06] Charles: It's chilly there. I would think. Right? I counted and I don't know how accurate this is, but you have, as of this recording, 316 episodes, does that sound about right?

[00:24:16] Jim: Yeah, maybe a little bit more.

[00:24:19] Charles: Okay.

[00:24:19] Jim: But, uh, yeah, I know I'm right now in my 12th season. I'm almost coming to the end of that. I do like 20, 25 episodes a season plus a wrap up for each season. 

[00:24:30] Charles: Okay. Okay. So yeah, and I couldn't get a read on when you started. I had listened to, today as a matter of fact, the podcast One Bad Review. That was from 20, 2019. 

[00:24:42] Jim: Charles, that was the show that you picked? 

[00:24:44] Charles: Well, no, I've listened to a few, but that was the one that came up next. 

[00:24:48] Jim: Yeah, uhm, I started in April of '19, and yeah, I've been pretty much consistent, you know, through today. The reason why I'm laughing about that episode is this guest had, uh, the One Bad Review is the name of her podcast and it's, it's not around anymore. And the interview was, was probably one of my most awkward interviews. But yet, it stays in my top 20. 

[00:25:11] Charles: Yeah. 

[00:25:12] Jim: I figured there was a part, you know, she talks about product reviews and I would do a bit with her that I found if you go on Amazon, there is an item that they sell called the banana slicer. It's in the shape of a banana and it's got little cutters in it.

[00:25:25] And, you know, you put the banana in and you slice it. There are over 5,000 reviews on this Charles, and they're hilarious. If you want to just waste an afternoon and just cry from laughing. You have to read some of these things. It was just like, I think people like, so the first funny one and they said, Oh, I'm going to outdo this.

[00:25:43] And it just kind of built up this flood. So, I figured like, well, let's read these. But I don't think the woman who hosted this podcast kind of got the joke. I think she thought that these were legitimate product reviews. So, it was like, well, this is awkward. Let's kind of move on to the next subject. 

[00:26:02] Charles: Well, when the one review was from Jim from State Farm or whatever, whatever his name is, uh, he lost his job because he was slicing bananas and, and forgot to go to work. Okay. I thought, yeah, that probably didn't really happen, but, um, it was, it was funny, you know? 

[00:26:21] But yeah, you have like a huge range of topics, as you can imagine, there's, as you say, there are Too Many Podcasts and on every conceivable subject. And, I was going to ask Jim, when you recommend podcasts are they always like an active podcast, or would you recommend like someone who did 50 episodes and they stopped doing it like three years ago, does that factor into your decision to feature a podcast?

[00:26:51] Jim: Yeah. Well, during, uh, most of the episodes that I did when I, you know, interview these podcasters, their show was active. 

[00:26:58] Charles: Yeah, I'm, I'm talking like towards the end when you, you hit, you recommend like a half a dozen things to listen to or you know, you go through like a brief list of what, what you've been listening to, or kind of you curate, right? You, uh, hey, these are, these are the top ones I think are worth a listen. And I was wondering if those are, you know, active necessarily, or maybe not.

[00:27:21] Jim: That's an interesting question. Uh, actually kind of modified my approach on that because the first few seasons were Sherpa suggestions and like, if I was doing a theme, let's say if I was interviewed you guys. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I would say, I would recommend, I would look up, list names of other music podcasts.

[00:27:39] Like, well, if you don't, if you like Seeing Them Live, maybe you'd like listening to this and this and this. But as I went on, I said, you know, I am the podcast Sherpa. I said, I should really be looking into these things and being able to, you know, tell people what it's about. You know, and I'm kind of keeping my opinion to myself for most of the time.

[00:27:59] So I changed it to Sherpa samples where I looked at the podcast charts and now I talk about like stuff that are more current or even that maybe might've ended recently and just give like a little, uh, summary about what these podcasts are about. You know, it's, it's kind of hard to tell people what to listen to because everybody has different tastes.

[00:28:20] So I kind of stay out of like, I like this and you won't like this because, you know, we, we've all got our own tastes and our own preferences as to what's good. I mean, for Sherpa samples in my upcoming episode, the next time I do it, I listened to the Shizzy Litt podcast. Now. I don't know who Shizzy Litt is, and it was about five minutes of like a lot of hip hop slang. 

[00:28:47] And you know I didn't know if he was talking about Coolio being arrested, or if he was talking about going to a garage sale, but I was like, well look, this is a podcast that's out there, if you like Shizzy Litt, you know, he's got a podcast, so maybe you want to check it out.

[00:28:58] Charles: Yeah. I mean, the, the topics are so varied. And I'd mentioned at the beginning, you've, you've interviewed musicians and artists and authors and self-help author people. And, so yeah, it's a wide range and you kind of do navigate like, you might be interested in if you, if that particular episode resonates with you.

[00:29:21] And, I was going to mention, Jim, this is, and I'm cheating a little bit here. Right, Doug. This is our 24th episode and I'm including the trailer. Cause the trailer took probably as long as any episode to, to actually make the damn thing was a minute and a half. But, Doug, spent hours producing it.

[00:29:40] So from a stats point of view, podcasting stats, I had read or heard, that only one percent of podcasts make it to 24 episodes, which is still 30,000 by the way, which is still too many podcasts, right? But I thought that was interesting that, you know, we've, made it that far and we, we thought it was fitting to have the podcast Sherpa kind of guiding us through this one. We appreciate you being on the, on the show, but are there any other stats like that, that stick in your head on about podcasting at all?

[00:30:17] Jim: I actually, it's funny that you mentioned that. When I first started doing the show, I was so concerned about how many listeners were checking out the show. I think sometimes when people do these shows, they have these delusions of grandeur. Like, well, my voice is going to be out there and millions of people are going to be hearing me and I'm going to get all these ads to do.

[00:30:38] These underwear companies are going to be calling me and, you know, and it just doesn't work that way. You know, you have to really, build up and let yourself be known and, you know, build up a fan base because that's what really carries a lot of these podcasts. If you're the greatest podcaster in the world and nobody listens to you, then how great are you?

[00:30:58] You know, I had a gentleman on who's, his name is John Capos and he's a chocolatier in Australia. And we were talking about, social media. And he said, would you rather have one listener who's really enjoying your show or a thousand that could take you or leave you? And I never looked at it that way.

[00:31:17] You know, when you think about it, podcasting to me has always been stories. You know, you want, you want the story that you're telling to reach people. And, you know, even if you get. Just the 10 people that always listen to you for the rest of your show. Who knows what effect you may have had on their life as opposed to people who listened for 10 seconds and go, "Nope. Boring. Next one."

[00:31:38] Charles: I kind of feel like a podcast is like its own social media platform, like the podcast. So, you have all these people that tune in. We meet people such as yourself. I feel connected to the guests then kind of forever. It's like this small community of listeners and guests and people you interact with. It's kind of like its own social media microcosm, I guess. 

[00:32:07] Jim: I think between like podcasters, there, there becomes a sort of universality between them because we probably all experienced the same things where you have like, the technical issues in the middle of a great interview, you know? Or, like, I forgot to press the record button.

[00:32:29] Charles: I haven't done that yet and I just jinxed myself, but I, I've, I've been told that that will happen to you at some point, which I'm not looking forward to.

[00:32:38] Jim: But yeah, I think, you know, we all relate to that. And, you know, especially like, you know, we may have like frustrations with getting guests sometimes or, you know, or, you know, different things, you know, all the different elements that go into putting on the show. They can be completely different shows like night and day, but the same frustrations are there.

[00:32:56] And you know, learning to get past that and just putting on a good show and you know, doing something unique that makes you stand out amongst, even if you do something that everybody else does. You want to make yourself memorable. 

[00:33:09] Charles: Yeah.

[00:33:10] Jim: That's it. Just Plug away.

[00:33:13] Charles: Well, Jim, as you say in your show, you have the part of the show, this shameless self-promotion.

[00:33:19] Jim: Yes.

[00:33:20] Charles: So, tell people where they can find you and anything else you'd like to add as we wrap up here.

[00:33:27] Jim: Sure. Thank you. First of all, thank you so much guys for having me on the show. If people want to check out that episode, check out the episode with Charles and Doug were on here and we got to talk about some of their stories as well. I'm pretty much on podcast apps everywhere, if you want to find it. 

[00:33:41] There's two types of episodes. There's the Too Many Podcasts episodes and the Sherpa Screening Room where it's the entertainers, the writers, the singers and such. But it's altogether. New episodes or sometimes even old episodes out every Wednesday. And we do the classic episodes Saturday. Also, I have a website called sherpalution.com. My social media, sherpalution, mostly on Facebook and Instagram. I do a little TikTok when I was doing some videos, but I'm having some technical issues, but we won't get into that. And, uh, also the sherpalution YouTube page, and there is no video, as I always say, you're welcome for that.

[00:34:17] Yeah. Oh, you know what, before I go, I'll tell you like a little quick story. My original intent, before I did Too Many Podcasts, I was wanting to do a music podcast. And, uh, I emailed a whole bunch of artists and there was an eighties artist that I emailed that would be a fascinating interview.

[00:34:31] And he's now living in Berlin. And I wrote this thing, would you be interested in coming on my show? And there, and one of his people wrote back and they just wrote, he would not be interested. And that was the entire email. The guy lived in Berlin. I was like, why did he just write nine?

[00:34:47] Charles: Well, that's, you know, short and sweet, right? Did it include punctuation? Was there a period at the end of that sentence? Exclamation point?

[00:34:56] Jim: I think it was a period, but it was, he was probably typing in German. That's what I'm guessing. " He would not be interested, do not bother this man again." 

[00:35:05] Charles: Yeah. I think this was great and we'll stay in touch and check out Too Many Podcasts.

[00:35:11] Jim: Yeah. And everybody check out Seeing Them Live.

[00:35:13] Charles: Thanks Jim. 

Jim:  Thanks so much, Charles. Thanks Doug.