Welcome to our Podcast Showcase series! We are featuring one podcast each time. We’ll give you a short overview about the people behind the microphone! They share the process they use to podcast efficiently, including tips and recommended tools used for their podcasts and more. The Podcast Showcase series is brought to you by Podcastpage.io – The Podcast Website Builder.
Today we are interviewing Reed Kavner from the the Low Tide podcast.
Low Tide Podcast
Tell us what your podcast is all about!
Low Tide is a scripted comedy in the format of a local public radio news show, like “All Things Considered.” It’s set in a fictional seaside community called Conch County, whose residents have a lot of passion but not a ton of common sense.
(Example: They have an annual footrace called The No-Ice Ice Skate Skate Race, where the runners wear ice skates while sprinting down paved streets. Injuries from the race overwhelm the county’s 911 system every year, but the locals love it anyway.)
Low Tide is for anyone who loves NPR and the humor of shows like “Parks and Recreation” or “Bob’s Burgers”.
What’s the story behind your podcast?
The idea for a sketch comedy podcast formatted as a public radio show had been knocking around in my head for a while.
A few months into quarantine, me and all my comedian friends were losing our minds out of boredom, so I brought together a group of writers on Zoom to brainstorm and determine if this is even a good idea. The brainstorm Zoom eventually turned into a writers room and six weeks later we had our first episode written.
We cast 22 of our favorite comedians and actors, who all recorded themselves at home, and Conch County came to life.
How do you plan or prepare each episode?
We have so many spreadsheets. Maybe too many. Once the script is finished for a segment, we make a list of all the characters, sound effects, and other production elements it requires. Once we know what segments will be in an episode, we get to work casting the roles and try to find actors who can play a few different characters across different segments.
We hunt for sound effects and music, and sometimes have to get a piece of music made for us.
Finally, every episode is introduced by a real-life NPR personality, so we start calling in favors and cold-emailing to find someone who’s willing to join our silly little party.
Can you share some podcast stats with us?
Our very first episode was included on a Spotify comedy podcast playlist, which flooded us with thousands of downloads and set a high bar for future episodes. Our first season only has four full-length episodes, but our listenership has grown steadily, with each episode receiving a few hundred downloads in its first seven days.
Do you have any tips for fellow podcasters?
Have fun, experiment, and try something weird. Listen to shows that are completely different from yours and draw inspiration from them. Take advantage of the medium’s creative possibilities and don’t worry about trying to sound like traditional radio. The microphone you use matters way, way, way less than the acoustics of room you record in.
What podcasting tools are you using?
We host our show with Simplecast and of course use Podcastpage.io for our website. The show is edited on Adobe Audition and we rely on Epidemic Sounds for nearly all of our sound effects and music. We use Forecast to manage metadata, set chapter makers, and encode our final MP3. All of our performers record on their own gear. I play the show’s main anchor and I record primarily with a Shure SM57 through a Cloudlifter and a Zoom H6.
- Podcast host – Simplecast
- Microphone – Shure SM57
- Website builder – Podcastpage.io.
- Editor – Adobe Audition
- Sound effects & music – Epidemic Sounds
Where can we follow you?
- Website – https://lowtide.fm
- Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0WGbUADDyGTV4YfHW50HZe
- Twitter – @lowtidefm
- Facebook – @lowtidefm
- Instagram – @lowtidefm
Thanks Reed for sharing your interesting story and tips with us.
That’s all for this Podcast Showcase edition. If you’re interested in participating in future editions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly.
