Archive for February, 2011

From S.I.R., With Love
Saturday February 26 2011 @ 2:23 pm

WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE!

Some folks have Tweeted about not finding the promo code box. Stitcher says to simply leave promo code smod in the feedback section of the app once it’s downloaded and they’ll count it as a vote for smod, as well as enter you into the month-long, weekly drawing for $250 in crap from Jay & Silent Bob Secret Stash!

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE!

We launch SModcast Internet Radio LIVE on May 9th. The only way this could happen is thanks to our good friends and partners over at STITCHER!

Stitcher is a FREE news-&-talk mobile app (available for iPhone, Blackberry or Android phones) that’s kinda like Pandora for podcasts and talk radio: it allows you to build channels full on streaming, free content on your mobile device.

If you’re using it already, you know what an amazing service this is – and now it’s gonna be the home of S.I.R. on all mobile platforms! If you’re in your car, you’re traveling, you’re working out, or you’re in class – you can be listening to SModcast Internet Radio streaming LIVE, right on Stitcher. You wanna listen to S.I.R. on your laptop or desktop? Simply go to http://www.smodcast.com – But on your mobile? It’s Stitcher, bitchers!

Go to Stitcher.com and download the app – BUT MAKE SURE YOU ENTER OUR PROMO CODE – WHICH IS THIS: smod

You enter SMOD, you get a chance to win a $250 gift certificate to Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash! We’re giving away one a week, all month long!

The good folks at http://www.stitcher.com/smod are bringing you S.I.R. Show them your thanks by downloading their app, entering the promo code: smod and tell them “Yes, S.I.R.!”

/SundayMorningUpdate
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On May 9, SModcast.com will loom larger than a simple site packed with podcasts. On May 9, we launch an online talk station we’re calling SModcast Internet Radio.

Or S.I.R. for short.

I know: it’s a little weird.

For the uninitiated (or For Those Who Came In Late), lemme catch you up to speed with a brief SMistory of time…

It started with one podcast: SModcast, with Scott Mosier. Three years later, SModcast finally got its own website.. Two months after that, longtime SModcast guest hosts Bryan Johnson and Walter Flanagan recruited Brian Quinn and launched TELL ‘EM, STEVE-DAVE. We were two shows strong: could we get a third going?

HIGHLANDS: A PEEPHOLE HISTORY was next. After that, we took the show on the road, touring SModcast as LIVE NUDE SMOD. By the third tour, we were joined by the STEVE-DAVE boys, and it was clear that live versions of these podcasts could sustain audience scrutiny, not to mention (with all the applause and live laughs) flourish.

When I got home from the second LIVE NUDE SMOD tour, I started to miss the live aspect of doing the podcasts in front of a small crowd. I mused as such one day on Twitter, Tweaming about opening a small, black box theater where we could do our podcasts live whenever we wanted. Matt Cohen was on it like a lid on a just-porked Fleshlight, containing all that viscous goodness in what a Twitter follower suggested be called SModcastle. And on July 25th of 2010, on an opening night we called Prima Nocta, we lowered the SModcastle drawbridge (as well as the level of podcast discourse) and welcomed folks into what resembled my home office if I lived in the Haunted Mansion at Disney Land.

The 50 seat SModcastle quickly acted as the farm team for the SModcast Network, producing show after show that would become the internal organs of our burgeoning podcasting concern.

Malcolm Ingram was in the middle of doing his momcast entitled The Toronto, Ontario Mo & Glo Show when I urged him to do a live show at the Castle. What started life on August 15th, 2010 as GAY CLOWN quickly rebooted (compliments of the perfect suggestion by Puck U. defensemen Troy Alden) as BLOWHARD.

I’d gotten to know Ralph Garman over the course of many visits to the Kevin & Bean Morning Show, where I always enjoyed joining him for his hourly Showbiz Beat updates. Ralph suggested trying a variation on that theme at the newly opened SModcastle and I suggested calling it HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON. The show sold out the moment it was announced and continued to do so for the next three months, courtesy of a strong weekly Garmy presence.

Around the same time, I was scheduled to do a second episode of Prima Nocta favorite HAVING SEX, WITH KATIE MORGAN. But the sudden loss of a beloved family pet prevented Katie from getting to Los Angeles that week. With a hole to fill, I asked the recently recovering Jason Mewes if he wanted to do an audio version of the biography blog I’d written about him years before: ME & MY SHADOW. I remember saying “If you’re talking about drugs in front of people, you’re not doing drugs by yourself. This’ll be good for you, sir…” JAY & SILENT BOB GET OLD was an instant success, selling out weekly nearly as quickly as Babble-On.

With those two shows bursting at their seams every week (so much so that we’d have to turn away audience), it became clear they’d outgrown SModcastle – resulting in a move up to the JON LOVTIZ COMEDY CLUB at Universal CityWalk. With ample room for 300 or so as well as a kitchen and, most importantly? A BAR, BITCH! Well, those shows were mysteriously much funnier. Both podcasts have been selling out consistently since their CityWalk debuts.

But even with the absences of two of the biggest draws, SModcastle continued to flourish, acting as the film school where we conducted the RED STATE OF THE UNION Q&A class for twelve weeks. We went all art-chick for one amazing night with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Fucking Palmer that we called Starfucking. The stage is also the home of SMovieMakers (a podcast where I talk with filmmakers), SMarriage at SModcastle (where – by the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church – I can wed your ass to someone else), and Crimson Mystical Mages (parts 2 & 3 of which are coming soon, written by Mos and Mewes respectively). Matt Cohen’s BAGGED & BOARDED has enjoyed the longest run of any show at SModcastle, growing weekly to include guests from the worlds of comics, movies and television. Legendary Canadian Tom Green brought a podcast version of his show to SModcastle, and actor/musician Paul Hipp brought in his HIPP & ZIGZAG MUSIC SHOW (a strong pod well worth a listen). And POP SICKLES with Derek Armijo and Brendan Creecy gave our two most loyal theater ushers their own show.

SMinterview is a show I’ve started doing at home (kinda like an audience-less version of SMovieMakers, featuring non-movie folks), and back in Jersey, the TESD boys launched a spinoff show of sorts called PUCK NUTS. The NJ Devils-centric weekly hockey podcast, like all SModcast.com shows, quickly went to number one in its category.

But the linchpin to SModcast Internet Radio was definitely PLUS ONE.

Twelve weeks ago, my wife Jen and I started doing a podcast that’s quickly captured nearly one hundred thousand downloads per ep (the only show that got there quicker was Jay & Silent Bob Get Old). The addition of the female voice at SModcast was the dam-buster: based on the Twitter feedback, I could easily sustain an hour chat with Schwalbach DAILY. And more importantly? People might tune in daily. When I pushed for more than an hour a day show, she capped it at two. Two hours?!? The moment that stream starts a’flowing, how am I supposed to limit myself to merely two hours? I’m gonna wanna strip off all this leather and purify myself in the waters of our own Lake Minnetonka, wearing only panties.

So I said “Mewes? You and I are gonna talk six times a week from now on.”

To which he said “Who even knows that many fucking words?”

I do.

I am a talker. Always have been. When Miramax bought CLERKS, I was relieved to be out of personal credit card debt, sure – but the distribution highlight that had my heart racing the fastest was knowing we’d get to do a commentary track for the CLERKS laser disc (now the Cro-Magnon Man of home video). There are three DVDs available (with a fourth en route) in which all I do is stand there and sweat while I answer your questions. I talk on the radio, I talk on the TV, I talk in my sleep.

The only complication I can foresee with the SModcast Internet Radio live stream is there might not be enough hours in the day to get all I wanna say out there.

SModcast just celebrated its fourth birthday. Since that moment Mos and I first sat down to record what I called a “movie-less commentary track”, the show has spawned a book, a theater, a cartoon, three tours (with a fourth tour combining the drawing power of both SModcast and Jay & Silent Bob Get Old right around the corner), and a full-blown network. A 24/7 Internet Radio station is just the logical progression.

TELL ‘EM STEVE-DAVE debuted one year ago. With two podcasts on one site, folks Tweeted I should try for a five day week of programming. When we hit that, they pushed for seven days a week. We now run eight shows a week at SModcast.com – with another seven or so podcasts that run monthly or intermittently.

One year later, we’re preparing to talk to you ’round the clock. And more importantly? Now that we’re gonna be live? We’re prepared to talk with you, too.

Onto your questions…

@sonic43
“Any chance of an iPhone app for S.I.R. streaming on the go?”

Fuck yes. You’ll hear all the details about it on Sunday’s SModcast, but suffice to say, we’ve found an ideal partner who’ll put access to SModcast Internet Radio within instant streaming reach of every mobile device on the planet. If you’ve got a smart cell phone, you’ve got S.I.R. And terrestrially, if you’ve got a computer or laptop, you’ve got S.I.R.

@jgrimmer37  
“will it be all original content or will there be old podcasts featured?”

At launch, we intend to start with four hours of live content a day. The programming weekday (weekends are being sorted out) will look like this (all times PST, or “Los Angeles Time”)…

8am – 10am (PST): SMorning, with Kev & Jen
It’ll be like daily episode of PLUS ONE with the addition of news, phone calls, games, etc.

10am – Noon: This will be the day’s new podcast that follows the current schedule at SModcast.com.
Mondays: Babble-On
Tuesdays: PlusOne and BlowHard
Wednesdays: Jay & Silent Bob Get Old
Thursdays: Puck Nuts
Fridays: Tell ‘Em, Steve-Dave

Noon – 2pm: Jay & Silent Bob Get Jobs
This won’t be as Jay-centric as Get Old; it’ll be more like a regular radio show, hosted by me and the Mewes. Here we’ll host guests, talk entertainment, and tell you what time it is (literally, not figuratively like Flava Flav). Expect lots of games: Mewes is a school-girl for the games.

Then, the day repeats. For the first month, the rest of the broadcast day will be filled out with our vast catalogue of podcasts at SModcast.com. The library has grown so large we can run almost an entire 30-day cycle without repeating any of the catalogue programs.

After the first month, others will slowly wade into the stream as well. The aim is to have 12 hours of live content by the six month mark, 12 hours of catalogue (meaning, all the podcasts on our site that already exist).

@madisonkerr  
“will the shows be available on iTunes after they have broadcasted?”

Each of the live shows will be podded and posted within an hour after they end. We’ve hired Matty Staudt to produce them both and run S.I.R. on a day to day basis. I met Matty when he was producer of the Alice Morning Radio Show in the Bay Area, where I sat in for a week. He produced the one-off pilot of The Kevin Smith Show that aired on KLSX here in L.A. back in 2005 (featuring me, Jason Mewes and Brian Lynch, with a guest turn by Edgar Wright). Matty will be the guy holding hands with us as we take this leap into the stream.

@Ruthico
“more girls on SIR pls”

Of course Mosier is coming along! He refuses to do daily, and won’t commit to weekly, but I’m trying to get him to do a monthly book chat show. As for other ladies, Jordan can sit in on the days I can’t do Jay & Silent Bob Get Jobs. And Katie Morgan would make an ideal LoveLine-like call-in show co-host.

@thatbenG
“will you do a daily show with @RalphGarman?”

Sadly for S.I.R., Ralph already has a daily radio gig at KROQ where he actually gets paid, so probably not a daily show. But never count out Garmy Strong: if by some interdimensional mishap KROQ is somehow swallowed whole into the depths of Hell one day, Ralph can always do morning on S.I.R. As it stands, he’ll be represented every Monday with Hollywood Babble-On and can always do anything he wants to my stream. Or even me.

@IAmZod
“Will there be a ‘Mosier Literature Hour?’”

Stop bugging me about getting more girls on S.I.R.! I already told you Mosier will be there. Jesus…

@ToastedSchizo
“Will it be physically possible to keep up with all the new shows?”

The beauty of SModcast.com is that it’s always there for you – on-demand for instant download. With the addition of the live stream, all of those shows can be reintroduced daily – and chances are, you’ll rarely ever hear repeats. It’s like the corny ol’ adage says: “You can never step into the same stream twice.”

@fspam
“Is S.I.R. going to offer opportunities to up-and-coming or new podcasters to get their voices heard?”

Fuck yes. After the first month, we’ll start a daily show entitled Pod U. – which is a streamin’, screamin’ showcase for YOUR podcasts! There’ll be at least 365 a slots a year to fill, so start send your submissions to PodU@smodcast.com.

But before you do that? Lemme FAQ your ass:
- Only one submission per show, so choose carefully. Multiple entries from the same show will void eligibility.
- If selected, you’ll receive an email confirming your identity/authorship two weeks out from airing, affording you ample time to inform your audience.
- Remember: we’re still in full-on build mode, so do not expect any answers for some time.
- Multiple “Did mine make it” emails/Tweets/phone-calls/blogs/FacebookUpdates will also void eligibility.
- Campaigning will also kill your eligibility, so no spamming me with “Do so-and-so’s show!”, unless you wanna insure so-and-so gets passed over.
- Your podcast will speak for itself.
- On the Pod U. page, we’ll post a bi-weekly schedule of our selects in advance.
- Again: this won’t start ’til after our first month of programming the earliest.

@Riddeller
“Is S.I.R. going to be a money making venture with outside advertising?”

That’d be nice – but as with everything we do, money is never the primary goal. The chief motivation is no deeper than this: it’s just something fun to do. I quote a young, pre-CITIZEN Charles Foster Kane: “I think it would be fun to run a newspaper.” That newspaper is an online radio station.

That being said, quite unlike Charlie, there were no defaulting boarders in my childhood, and so I didn’t inherit the Colorado Load millions: bandwidth, employees, a space in which to run a micro-yet-professional broadcasting studio that isn’t my house… these things cost money. It’s free to you, yes, but it costs on this end. Outside advertising will be required (and talk to Matty about how YOU can advertise on S.I.R.). Ad dollars and sponsorship will allow us to launch and maintain a free-to-the-public online radio station. This is not a new model, it’s the television model (which was also the radio model before that): audience gets free stuff to listen to in exchange for also listening to a few words from our sponsors.

And speaking of outside advertising, this brings me to a touchy issue: sponsored Tweets. I “sell” tons of shit on my Twitter stream all the time: some of it mine, some of it just stuff I’m passionate about. But I’ve never done sponsored Tweeting. I will be doing so soon. Nothing gross or obnoxious, but they will be paid endorsements nonetheless. If you object to this sort of thing, I’ll understand if you un-Follow me. But that money is going directly toward building the physical home-base/studio for SModcast Internet Radio. Bringing you the 24/7 free and funny will take money, honey – and while I’m crossing the country with my movies and – as with all things RED STATE – not personally earning a dime (all the money the tour earns goes to chipping away at the $4mil budget), I’ve still gotta somehow round up cash to put a roof over the newborn head of baby S.I.R.. We’re already in the ad game with the podcasts, and we’re gonna need to be deeper in the ad business to run a cost-free-to-the-listener internet radio station. So forgive me for whoring a little; it’s gonna get you S.I.R. by May 9th.

Or as Gramma used to say: “If you wanna enjoy the steaks, never look in the kitchen.”

@deoc13
“are u gonna take calls while doing S.I.R.?”

Absolutely. Otherwise, why go live?

@videinfra
“will S.I.R reduce/replace the regular pods or compliment them?”

Nope: all the weekly shows that exist now will still exist when the streaming starts. Each one will still have their own day of the week, but now they’ll also have the debut day platform on the stream as well.

In the next blog, I’ll tell you about our amazing webcasting partner (who you can hear all about on Sunday night’s new SModcast) as well as unveil what we have in store for SModcastle.

And don’t forget: the RED STATE USA TOUR kicks off IN ONE WEEK, MARCH 5th, AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL!

From there, we roll out ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ending in LOS ANGELES, AT THE WILTERN THEATER ON APRIL 9th! If you can afford it, come see our flick as we tour the country and stick around for another 90 minutes to shoot the shit with me as we Q&A the night away! If you can’t afford us this time around, no sweat: we’ll be in multiplexes October 19th.

And on APRIL 10th (the night after we wrap the tour at The Wiltern), we’re selling the past to pay for the future! THE VIEW ASKEW GARAGE SALE features props, costumes, and set pieces from the entire View Askewniverse and we’re emptying our attic to help with the cost of self-distributing Red State. But even if owning movie stuff isn’t your bag, you must get your hands on the hardcover auction catalogue book the good folks at PropWorx have put together. It’s like a View Askew yearbook, packed with memory lane imagery. Order your hardcover KEVIN SMITH SELLS OUT auction catalogue here.

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