Episode 6: Snow Day!

Thanks for coming back for another episode of Radd's Basement! This week we take a break from the drudgery of listening to old men reminisce about their past as EGM editors. Today it's me sans guest discussing some things I've got going on! I thought it would be nice for the two of us to have some time together... Okay the truth is the snow prevented me from getting to my guest this week. So it's a SNOW DAY! I considered cancelling the show until next week, but you know, I think those of you who show up here every two weeks deserve a podcast! So here it is, Episode 6 wherein I discuss my love of video game soundtracks on vinyl, my new video capture card, and the NES Classic. It's short, it's sweet, and it's better than a root canal! Please enjoy.

  

Episode 5: Terry Minnich

This week's episode of Former EGM Editors: The Podcast... er, I mean, Radd's Basement: Nerd Culture Podcast, features one of the greats of the gaming genre. He's a former EGM editor whose specific focus was video game tricks, codes and strategies. He's also the current co-owner of Pixel Blast Arcade in Lisle, IL, pfft, whatever, no big deal. He's Trickman Terry, A.K.A. Terry Minnich! An expert in all things gaming, (both console and arcade) as well as nerd extraordinaire, we had a "Blast" (get it? see what I did there?) discussing Terry's origins in nerdery, our time at EGM, (we were hired the same day) as well as what it takes to run an arcade. We laughed, we ate way too much pizza and we hope you enjoy what we had to say as much as we enjoyed saying it! Here's Episode 5 of Radd's Basement (which took place in Terry's basement)!

  

Episode 4: Danyon Carpenter

I'm back with another episode of me talking a lot, and my guest talking a little bit. Radd's Basement Episode 4 is here, and today I'm joined by one of the greats! Former Senior Editor of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine and the technical guru behind Gaming FM's success... My best man, Olaf, A.K.A. Danyon Carpenter! He was nervous about his first podcast, and frankly thought he had nothing interesting to say. I spend 2½ hours proving him wrong, and we had such a great time talking about how we met, gaming, our time at EGM, as well as what it takes to build a video game radio station. Laughter, fun and education ahead! I hope you have as much fun as we did, so please enjoy me and Danyon saying stuff. HMPH!

  

Episode 3: Dilip Trivedi

This week I welcome to the show one of my dearest friends, really more than a friend, he's more like family. It's former Gaming FM founding member, Dilip Trivedi! He and I share literally a lifetime of nerd memories and experiences together, so we talk about them today. First we discuss our love of gaming and game soundtracks, which led to us working together for years on Gaming FM. Next, we talk about our trip to L.A. to knock around E3 back in 2003. We also discuss our mutual love of Star Trek and the difficulty choosing a super hero TV show to watch these days. Finally we discuss how different our lives would be if we'd never met. But mostly, it's a mini-Gaming FM reunion, and a heck of a lot of fun! Special thanks to Dilip's wife Angela who sat by patiently while we discussed our nerdy memories for two hours while managing not to go into labor. Be sure to give your congrats to them on their upcoming bundle of joy!

Also, Dilip was good enough to provide me with a copy of the Flash animation he created when we launched Gaming FM in 2003! (Yes it's Flash from 2002, so web only, sorry mobile users)

  

Episode 2: Mike Vallas

Please enjoy Episode 2 of my nerdy podcast! This time I had the pleasure of sitting down with my dear pal Mike Vallas. If you listened to my previous podcast Gaming AM, you may remember him from Episode 11 & 12. A fellow nerd with many mutual interests, we also had the distinction of working together at Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine (where we met). So we discuss our mutual nerdery, favorite video games, but mostly relate what it was like to work at EGM in the golden years and beyond. We had a blast, and we're looking forward to doing it again soon! I hope you have as much fun as we did. Please visit on social media or comment here if you'd like to suggest a topic for next time, or just Like and Follow! See you in a couple weeks when I will feature another another nerd for you to meet and listen to an incomprehensible conversation with!

  

Episode 1: Andy DiGenova

Today I am so happy to be able to bring you the first episode of my brand new podcast! My first nerd guest is none other than super famous podcaster Andy DiGenova! Known for his MANY podcast endeavors (well, 2) we were so happy to finally work out a time to be able to do a podcast together. We discuss Andy's nerd origins, his Batman fetish, and I find out how the other side lives when he answers the question "Why did you like Batman v. Superman?". We also discuss The DC and Marvel TV universes. We had a blast and I hope you do too, so enjoy and thank you so much for swinging by to give me a shot! If you liked it (or hated it), leave a review, Follow and Like, and come back in two weeks (or sooner, maybe?) for more fun!

  

First episode in the can!

Got back in the saddle last night to record with my first guest. Episode #1 is officially in the can! After some editing magic, you'll be hearing it for yourself this weekend. Let's get this show started already!

A quick update!

Yes, episode one is still coming! It's a matter of aligning schedules with my guests for recording. I have a theme song, I have a first guest, I have some free time, it's coming together! In the meantime, head on over to iTunes and listen to me be a guest on my pal Andy Digenova's podcast, Holy Batcast: The All Batman Podcast. We discuss, well Batman! It's Batman Day after all. (I totally knew that Batman Day existed before today, no really!) So while you wait for my first guest to get a day off work, enjoy me talking about stuff with friends once again!

The next big thing

I have taken to my blog today because I'm super excited to tell you about two new projects I have coming up!

The first is pretty obvious as you can see from the revamped logo above, I'll get to that in a moment.

The second project... My video game repro shop Radd Repro will be branching out beyond game cartridges. I'm going to begin designing and building arcade cabinets! This one is slowly getting off the ground with help from my former Gaming FM co-conspirator and pal Danyon Carpenter. We're super excited to start building our prototype cab, the format of which I'll keep under wraps for now. However when it's done, the good folks at Pixel Blast Arcade in Lisle, IL have graciously agreed to play host to our amazing machine. In addition, Radd Repro now has a blog so that I can chronicle the building process of the prototype cabinet and also post various other shop updates. This way you won't need a social media account to keep up with the latest I'm cooking up. Stay tuned!

Back to the first project. Yes, you are seeing correctly, I'm starting another podcast. You're probably aware of my first podcast, Gaming AM, which was a spinoff of Gaming FM, the video game radio station I helped run for 5(?-ish) years. Anyway, once I had about 10 episodes of Gaming AM under the belt, I felt I was getting into the groove and really just enjoying the hell out of it. So much so, my brain began brimming with ideas to expand and do even more with this newly discovered entertainment medium which I find so gratifying. 

I listen to many podcasts, but there's one in particular from which I will call my inspiration. Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen. For those who don't know, Rob Paulsen is a voice actor whose unmistakeable charm I first heard in the somewhat minor role of Air Raid in an episode of The Transformers. When I heard his voice, and really many of the voices in the animated series' of the 1980's I became obsessed with finding more of their work and learning about their backgrounds. Like video game composers, voice actors are another group of unsung heroes who in my mind don't get enough recognition. Anyway after Transformers, I hoped I'd hear Rob's voice again. The next time I heard him, it was in a much larger role as Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He then appeared as Pinky in Pinky and the Brain, Yakko Warner in Animaniacs, plus countless others. Anyway, Talkin' Toons is a podcast where Rob, who is an absolutely delightful host with such wit and positivity, interviews other voice actors and gives them the recognition they deserve. They talk about the voice acting industry, share stories and memories from jobs they've worked on, and it's an absolute delight to listen to. When I listen to it, I point and say, that's what I wanna do.

But alas I'm not a voice actor, so I suppose I can't follow that dream... Ah, but I am a video game industry veteran. Via Gaming FM, and EGM before that, I came to know a number of people who have interesting stories and experiences that they love to talk about, and people would certainly love to hear about. Those people know other people I don't, and so on... Maybe I could make this pipe dream a reality. My first attempt at this was via Gaming AM.  I arranged an opportunity to sit down with Mike Vallas, a former EGM editor. We had such a good time, the podcast lasted five hours. This felt right. So the rest as they say is history. Don't misunderstand, Gaming AM also felt right and I had an amazing time doing it! It was my full intention to keep both of my podcasts going. However, raising my daughter is priority one and with Radd Repro branching out, the time management of a second podcast was going to be difficult. So sadly, I have parted ways with my beloved first podcast. I had previously posted about this on the Gaming AM blog, so at the risk of repeating myself, you can instead read my post there at your leisure.

So the format of the podcast will be as follows: Me talking to people. Sharing stories, discussing nerd culture, and our experiences within it. Wikipedia sometimes doesn't quite do history justice, so it's my way of giving people their well deserved time in the spotlight. Sometimes I'll interview folks who work in the industry, from big shots to bums you've never heard of, but who I feel deserve their due for their hard work and contributions to the world of nerd culture. Sometimes I'll interview just my pals from the 'hood who share a mutual love for being the nerds we all are. 

So that's it. My first guest is already lined up and you'll be seeing this very soon! Please look forward to it! Thanks for visiting, and please follow me on social media if you are interested in updates. Radd's Basement: Nerd Culture Podcast is on Facebook and Twitter. Please Like and Follow, it means so much, and also thank you for taking the time visit today!

Meanwhile, three years later...

Been a while, sorry. I've been busy. Here's what's I've been doing:



In addition to Gaming AM, I opened a shop making video game reproductions called Radd Repro. Also still raising a kid. So yes, this blog has become something of a wasteland. If you wanna follow my current exploits, best to visit Gaming AM or Radd Repro. Thanks for visiting here, and I'll see you out there!