#PPAMonth Podcast Roundtable #4

Mikey

5 years ago

Gather around the roundtable for another round of questions!

Pokemon Podcast Appreciation Month is still going strong! As part of this month long celebration, we have sent out a roundtable survey to our as many Pokemon Podcasters in the community. We asked these amazing podcasters several different questions. Some of these questions include what makes a great episode, their thought process when picking music and their proudest moments.

We have received several different responses from different Pokemon podcasts. The idea with these Podcast Roundtable is feature different kinds of podcasts and how they respond to them. After all, a Pokemon TCG podcast will response differently to questions compare to a Pokemon Specialty podcast.

Below are the podcasts for today’s Podcast Roundtable.
A Wild Podcast Has Appeared (News)
Pokemon GO Podcast (Pokemon GO)
Victory Road (News & Anime)
PokeDads(Pokemon TCG)

Now that you know who we have at the table, lets go see how they reply to our questions!

1: What lets you know that you made a great podcast episode?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): If we’re laughing throughout – it means we’re doing our job. Pokemon is supposed to be a place where people can escape and have fun so if we can’t have fun doing the show then why do it?

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): When I make Joe laugh more than he says “Oh man.”
Joe (Pokemon GO Podcast): The feedback from the listeners.

Doug (Victory Road): We receive numbers for our releases, so we definitely know which of our episodes are most listened to, but I think for me, a great episode is something that I walk away from feeling really good about. It’s a gut feeling, and sometimes I’m surprised by that gut feeling. I love our high concept and “what if” episodes, but there are a lot of “regular” episodes that I feel really great about.

Rick (PokeDads): It’s really the interaction we have with people after the episode is dropped. I constantly think the last episode won’t be as good as the week before. But somehow, we see numbers climb every week and that makes me feel like we have something going and we try to make the best Pokemon TCG Product possible.
Scott (PokeDads): So to me, I feel that a great Podcast episode has a good flow from all of us. Be it all 3 of us actual PokeDad’s, or the guests that we might have. The episode itself feels good as we’re doing it but it’s also the reaction we get from our fans afterward that helps us know that we are validated in how we feel about the episode.
Aaron (PokeDads): For me, it is when the recording stops and you can finally take that deep breath to relax and something sticks with you from the podcast. It might be a deep discussion you had during the podcast or some part that you can’t help but laugh about, but I still think about it days later.

2: What kind of feeling do you wish your listeners would get from listening to your podcast?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): I hope our listeners see us as a resource for staying up to date with things going on in the world of Pokemon but also feel like they’ve pulled up a seat to the table and feel like one of the crew.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): We want them to leave entertained and feeling good about how they choose to play the game.

Doug (Victory Road): I think we’re creating the kind of content that people can just “hang out” with. We don’t strive to be breaking or hard-hitting news, and we don’t feel compelled to manufacture our takes to be as hot as possible. We’re typically pretty relaxed, and if a particular subject isn’t fun for us, we don’t bother. The way I always put is “we talk about Pokemon as we feel like it,” and I hope that’s the vibe people get.

Rick (PokeDads): Amused/Happy. I personally want to set the vibe for this podcast to be a fun as possible. We love the game and we want to let people (know) how enjoyable this game is and that you can have fun learning the game with 3 dads trying to get in the same boat. We are learning with our listeners and that’s the main priority of our Pod.
Scott (PokeDads): What I want to have the listeners understand is that we are emotionally attached to what we talk about. As in, we enjoy what we do and we enjoy who we talk to and the content.I don’t consider myself an expert, but it’s just a matter of having fun and reaching out to other people. I want the podcast to come off as warm and inviting to people from all ages, backgrounds, or wherever they are in their own lives. We try not to be judgemental or too opinionated, but we do have times where we make it known what we stand for and believe in as well.
Aaron (PokeDads): Amused. I want our listeners to leave our podcast with a smile on their face and the thought that one part of the podcast made their day better in some way. I want them to feel like they are part of a great community where we can all talk like we have been friends since we were kids.

3: What is your thought process when it comes to picking music for your podcast?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): Nope we don’t do music.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): We don’t do licensed music. We have some royalty free music as our intro that just felt Pokemon esq.

Doug (Victory Road): Once we had a name for the podcast, the music was a no-brainer. It’s the Victory Road theme! Kyle took care of getting it arranged and approaching a friend for some voicework, and the rest is history.

Rick (PokeDads): The intro and outro were done by a music artist on Fiverr in an 8-bit style. I love the Scott Pilgrim vs the World video game Sound track by Anamanaguchi so I wanted something like that.
Scott (PokeDads): Regarding music, we all have a very similar taste in what we like. Be it Senses Fail, New Found Glory, whatever. We all like similar music and we want it to be conveyed somehow to match who we are and what we enjoy.Our opening intro to the Podcast, obviously isn’t some sort of mainstream music act, but the point was to convey something that brought us back to a time that we like regarding our youth and our memories of nerdy things such as 8 bit Nintendo games or old school Mario. That’s when we started really liking Pokemon in the first place.
Aaron (PokeDads): I leave the music up to Pokedad Rick for the most part. He has always been the more musically inclined person of the group. If I am asked though, my opinion ends up being which ever option seems to fit the best for the situation.

4: How do you handle the structure of your podcast? Why is it structured a certain way in segments?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): We get the news done first so that way if people just want to come for that they can. The deep dive discussions are where the magic happens. This is where we as hosts really get to shine with our takes.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): We want our show to feel like a good hang out or conversation. So we greet each other and talk about our experiences because its what we look forward to. Then we do the headlines, tips, and questions. It just felt right.

Doug (Victory Road): We have two types of regular episodes, and each has a very traditional structure. We’re not fancy. For our standard or “full-numbered” episodes, we catch up first, talk about news second, and dive into our main topic third. On the full-numbered episodes, we welcome tangents and go wherever the discussion takes us.

On the other hand, for our Ash Bash commentary episodes, we cut to the chase. We introduce what we’re watching, we hit play, and we watch together. Bam. Easy.

All of that said, we’ll occasionally veer from these structures, because we’re always open to high-concept or “what if” episodes. “What if we did a Pokemon Royal Rumble?” “What if we caught fallen off fans up with the Galar region?” These episodes are built from the ground up to serve each particular concept.

Rick (PokeDads): We always start the podcast with catching up with the dads. We don’t always see each other, so it’s nice to see how our week was and have the listeners get a taste of what it’s like to be a dad and want to have a hobby at the same time. From there things tend to change from week to week.

Open packs are always the last thing we do. Just fun time giving Codes and Me pronouncing Pokemon Names wrong.
Scott (PokeDads): So the structure is all Rick usually! We usually get updated from Rick on what we will be talking about, certain segments, or people that may be special guests on the Podcast. I usually have my own “Grinds my Gears” segment that was added, and we all have some sort of opinion and what we can talk about or maybe should talk about. However Rick is definitely the main person that handles the structure and the outline of the Podcast, and he is freakin awesome for it.

5: What kind of style do you think your podcast has?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): We’re incredibly casual – we want our fans to feel like they’re in the room with us.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): All the styles like there never was.

Doug (Victory Road): I think our style is very chill, very casual.

Rick (PokeDads): Our style tends to be ourselves. We thought long and hard on how we wanted to approach this. It came down that we wanted to be us and have fun. We can get a little vulgar at times but I think that’s the charm. That there are all kinds of different people that love this game.
Scott (PokeDads): Our style of podcast I believe is pretty unique. It’s not me just saying that either. We have had some really good feedback from our listeners and fellow podcasters and Trading Card Game players regarding how we do business. One of my personal intentions when doing the Podcast was to be unfiltered and uncensored, but that is how I am in my daily life anyways.I personally treat the podcast like is an extension of who I am and what I believe in. I also feel that Rick and Aaron do the same thing, but we all have our own approach because we are all very unique individuals. I use a lot of very graphic and at times poor language, but I think it just shows what kind of personality I have and who I am. Some people don’t necessarily like that, and maybe our Podcast isn’t for them, or maybe it is and they just overlook or look past certain things they might not normally be in to. This also showcases what we bring to different types of people.
Aaron (PokeDads): I think we have a pretty laid back friendly style (much like my relationship with Rick and Scott) that also provides the information our listeners are looking for when they listen to the podcast.

6: Why do you choose to release your podcast on the day that it is released on?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): Literally because we didn’t have a podcast going live that day on ComicBook.com.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): It’s the day after recording. Originally we pickled Thursday (nights 8 pm EST at twitch.tv/pokemongopodcast) because that’s when our original third host Brian Ibbott could record. After he had to step away we stayed on Thursdays because it was our routine.

Doug (Victory Road): We’re actually part of a larger network called the Four-Eyed Radio Network that’s home to a number of shows featuring geeky content (Spider-Man, Power Rangers, Star Trek, etc.). So podcasts (are) release over the course of the week to spread that content out and to avoid everything dropping at once.

Rick (PokeDads): It really depends on when we record. I feel like Friday is the safe bet because that’s the last possible day to launch a new episode for that week. In a ideal world I would love for it to come out on Thursday since that’s when the numbers reset on Anchor.
Scott (PokeDads): I think the release date has been somewhat fluid, but I would gather its a lot to do with doing the actual pod on a Sunday or Tuesday, and then Rick having enough time to get the episode all clean and shiny for the fans! And, whats a better day to release a pod than a Friday? Its good weekend listening material if you ask me. Keeps the content fresh in people’s minds!

7: What kind of image do you shoot for your podcast? Branding?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): We have our standard lockup – but then add things each week based on what we’re talking about.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): We go for a family friendly vibe which can be hard for Charles sometimes. PG13 is our line. The branding is inviting and inclusive. We both believe everyone should be welcomed into this gaming community.

Doug (Victory Road): We try to be fun. We don’t take ourselves super seriously, and we never want to alienate potential listeners. It was always our goal to create a podcast that anyone, regardless of age or sensibility, could pick up and enjoy.

Rick (PokeDads): Pokemon TCG can be for everyone. Doesn’t matter if you’re 6 collecting the cards or a dad in his 30s and 40s wanting to play for himself or connect with his kids that play too. Our goal is to hope our sons will play at some point too.
Scott (PokeDads): Our image is this: three normal, everyday dads, who love Pokemon and love nerding out regardless of what anyone thinks. Our brand is built on the fact that, in mine and Ricks case, a woman let us have sex with them, and in all three of our cases, said women are actually okay with us being around their children!No, but seriously, we are dads, we are the best of friends, and we can just be us. No filters, no judgemental issues, no crap. Normal dudes talking about a passion. One day, hopefully, our kids will be embarrassed by this and that would be an image booster as well!

8: What is your proudest moment of your podcast?

Jim (A Wild Podcast Has Appeared): We got to interview the writers of Detective Pikachu pretty early on in the show and it was such a great experience.

Charles (Pokemon GO Podcast): Having listeners contribute to the making of the show with emails, links, and most of all the voice mails!

Doug (Victory Road): For me personally, our Sword & Shield coverage is something I’m very proud of. We produced five full-numbered episodes in five weeks (more frequent than is our usual), and we had different guests and concepts for each and every episode. Victory Road is both Kyle and me, but Kyle is the original driving force; for Sword & Shield, I joked that Kyle left me the keys and let me do whatever I wanted, and I’m still really happy with how that month of episodes turned out.

Rick (PokeDads): Spending all our time on getting this podcast up and running. When we first put the 1st episode out, that was my proudest moment. There was no more talking about what we should do and that we did it.
Scott (PokeDads): I think that the proudest moment of the podcast is just having people that want to listen and enjoy the content. What I mean is that I am proud that we have listeners and fans that enjoy what we put work into and that we have a product that others can use and learn from and enjoy. I’m proud to know we are doing something for others. It’s nice to have that connection with no strings attached. We have never met a majority of our listeners, but still can have that connection. That’s awesome to me.
Aaron (PokeDads): The first voicemail we got from a fan was my proudest moment. His name was Eric and he talked about (how) much he enjoyed the podcast and how our podcast had helped him.Early on in the podcast we talked about our favorite Pokemon and mine is Vileplume, always has been. I try to bring her up every so often in the podcast when the opportunity presents itself, much to the groans of my fellow PokeDads. My proudest moment was when we were doing a live Instagram stream and a fan who goes by the name Snorlaxian brought her up at a point when Rick and Scott were doing pack battles I believe. Scott’s reaction to hearing the name Vileplume made my night and the fact that someone had done something I had already been doing to the other PokeDads to mess with them in a fun and harmless way is my proudest moment of the podcast so far.

Special thanks to Jim, Charles, Doug and The PokeDads from their respective podcasts for taking the time to answer these questions. We hope you love these podcasts! Make sure to give them all a review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcatcher! See you next time for your next roundtable!