Shaun Groves
The first podcast recording went very well yesterday. “Shimmy,” who works for WAY-FM in Nashville, loaned me their very nice portable digital recorder. Very swanky. Thanks, “Shimmy” for that. And Derek showed up ready to talk.
I’ve never met Derek before. Two things surprised me about his appearance, in spite of having been warned beforehand. First of all, Derek Webb has inhumanly perfect teeth. You probably think you’ve seen perfect teeth so you’re saying to yourself, “Yea yea, perfect teeth, move on.” But, no, you don’t understand. They look as if they’ve been sculpted from ivory, perfectly uniform, perfectly white…inhuman. Secondly, Derek Webb doesn’t come up to my shoulders. I don’t know how tall that is – I’m no scientist – but it’s definitely within the parameters of what Brody calls “Switchfoot sized.” Ginny Owens, Stephen Curtis Chapman, my sister, my four year-old, Derek Webb and, of course, the guys in Switchfoot are all “Switchfoot sized.” It’s Brody’s music business equivalent of what the food industry calls “snack sized.”
And this is a PR problem for the Christian non-violence movement. Its only proponents in the Christian music business seem to be me (freakishly thin) and Derek Webb (Switchfoot sized). Of course we don’t want people to fight – that’s partly out of self-preservation is it not? Who are we going to fight…and beat? What we need is someone with some girth to join our ranks – someone who COULD kill another human being but has decided that’s not the Jesus way. Now THAT would be powerful.
Derek is placing a call to Jeremy Camp right now as I type.
Here’s a Switchfoot sized sample of the upcoming podcast with Derek Webb, taped yesterday – the beginning:
Shaun Groves says:
I know that’s a weird sample – leaves off in a strange place and is mostly me talking, but it’s just the way the recorder divided up the material. That’s first mp3 of a few dozen.
The podcast truly is 80% Derek talking and 20% me asking questions and making fun of him.
So, never fear Derek fans. You’ll get plenty o Derek for your listening pleasure in the final podcast.
Which leads nicely to a question I have. How long should a podcast be ideally? I lose interest quickly. So I’m thinking no more than 10-15 minutes. What do you think?
Nancy Tyler says:
Oh man, that makes me Switchfoot size too. Ginny and I are the same height.
Short’s good on the Shlogcast. People can concentrate on 10-15 minutes of content.
Shaun Groves says:
btw, I forgot to mention this in the post. I read every interview I could find with Derek and listened every one of his podcasts before interviewing him. One of my goals after all that research – after realizing that he, like me, says the same things over and over again in interviews – was to get him to say new things or new things about old things. And he did.
He made two admissions he’s never made anywhere else that I’m aware of. One is in regards to his theology. He said something that could upset some of his fellow “reformed” friends. That wasn’t his point in saying it, but it just might happen. And I think that’s good – not upsetting people – but saying what he did. The second has to do with his career from here on out. What is he doing next and why? I don’t think he’s talked about that before. So, if you’re a fan of Derek’s and you’ve heard him talk a lot (and he has talked a lot) you will hear some new stuff coming out of his mouth in this podcast.
And yes, Nancy, you are Switchfoot sized – on the tall end of that elite group of diminutive individuals but you are in it.
Michael Krahn says:
That is funny stuff (the post I mean) and the first time I’ve actually laughed out loud while reading one of yours.
cheers
Erin says:
I loved the clip! Can’t wait to hear the whole thing. As for the length of the podcast, the ones I listen to range from 15 minutes to over an hour, so whatever you do, I’ll listen to it. I, however, realize that I’m abnormally attached to podcasts.
RevJeff says:
Ummm, I could loan you some girth if you can find a doctor willing to do the transplant… length of PC – 15-20 min… with bloopers as an extra cut…
jane says:
tis good. waiting to hear the rest. I have a short attention span as well.15-20 minutes is good. relevant’s podcast is around 45 min-1hr, most of the time it’s way too long.
Sonflower says:
Be sure to try the Cinanmon Crunch Bagels… ;p
RBerman says:
Put up the whole interview! That would be keen.
Andy Vandergriff says:
dude…i’m 6’4, 225 pounds. and a songwriter…who is ardently against violence and war…for whatever that’s worth. I can’t wait until the whole podcast comes up.
Clifton says:
wow, thats true, I was at a switchfoot concert and Jon walked rightin front of me in the crowd and my initial reaction was wow, he’s short. that doesnt stop him from being my hero though.
shaunfan says:
I also like 15-20 minutes (Switchfoot sized) as a good length for a podcast however every now and then a super-sized (Shaun sized) podcast based on content would be fine. How often do you plan to post the podcasts? If they are weekly for example, I’d like longer podcasts closer to 30 minutes or more. If we’re going to get more than one podcast per week, then shorter is better.
Christin says:
When will you have the podcast finished? I’d love to hear the rest!
I didn’t realize the Switchfoot guys were small. I guess I would not be Switchfoot sized because I am taller than Ginny Owens by a few inches.
I think 10-15 minutes is good for the podcast.