Air-Raid Podcast Celebrates 300th Episode
Jun 28, 2016, 4:22 PM | Updated: 4:31 pm
Photo Credit: Mairead Roden
I first met Aaron Roden many years ago when he was just a young pup in the podcast world. Aaron had emailed me some links to his then band, The Yuzh, (because he was hoping to get a spin on my mixtape podcast and as it turned out The Yuzh were pretty darn good) and at some point later asked me if I would be interested in being a guest on his podcast. I said sure and we’ve known each other ever since. It’s now been six years since the inception of the Air-Raid podcast and there’s no sign of it ending any time soon. Air-Raid is celebrating its 300th episode which features Sam Beam of Iron and Wine.
Aaron was nice enough to take some time to answer a few questions about his podcast beginnings, favorites moments and the future of Air-Raid.
the mixtape: What do you enjoy most about hosting/producing the Air-Raid Podcast?
Air-Raid Podcast: The thing that I have come to love the most about doing this show over the years is learning more about the people who are responsible for some of my favorite art. The people creating these songs, books, movies, and comedy all have lives that have shaped them into who they are today that you don’t always get to see and I love bringing that out for people to hear.
tm: 6 years ago when you first started this thing, what were your original hopes, expectations? Could you have ever guessed you’d be up to 300 episodes?
ARP: When I started this thing in 2010 my goal was to showcase the life stories of friends that were doing cool things out in the world. I figures that I would probably stick with it for a couple months and move on to something else to occupy my free time like most of my creative endeavors. However, when people actually started listening to it and giving me feedback, requesting different guests, and so on; it kind of spiraled out into what the show is now. I had no idea that it would have any type of success, which still baffles me a bit, let alone staying power. Seems a bit crazy that it has been 6 years already.
tm: Do you have a favorite moment from the show? How bout a favorite WORST moment from the show?
ARP: What I have been able to experience while doing this show has afforded me many unique opportunities and put me into a number of weird and cool situations. But one of my favorite conversations I have had in the last 100 episodes has got to be with Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces and Digable Planets. This was one that I was super nervous for because he had kind of a reputation for being a bit tight lipped in interviews. However, when we did our thing he was open, funny, and really charismatic while telling me stories that he had never really talked about before. After the interview, his producer contacted me and said that that had been the best interview Ish had ever done. That moment has really stuck with me.
My worst moment actually just happened a couple of weeks ago, I have about 2 minutes of tape of what will most definitely go down as the worst experience I have ever had while doing Air-Raid. Stay tuned, it will be episode #303!
tm: Why is this 300th episode so important for you?
ARP: For me 300 is a really important number in the podcast world because it shows that you have been doing your thing for a LONG time. Most podcasts (I think) do a once-a-week schedule so 300 is kind of like a badge of honor. I am super proud that have made it here and that I have built this thing from the ground up that people around the world seem to enjoy. I had never done anything like this before, nor have I stuck with anything for this long so yeah, 300 is pretty cool.
tm: What’s in store for the future of The Air-Raid podcast?
ARP: I’m not sure, but I do know that it will keep going. We’ve got some great stuff planned for the summer and upcoming episodes with people like Director and composer John Carpenter, Montreal based band Plants and Animals, and of course THE WORST interview I have ever done. So I will continue to trot along with Air-Raid and (hopefully) continue to have some great conversations with some talented individuals.
