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10 Questions with ... Travis Clark
June 16, 2020
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Comedian, writer, musician, podcaster, actor. Hosted at Comedy World Radio Network. Podcast co-host/co-producer of several shows, including current "Pod the Life" and others including "Tiny Odd Conversations" with wife Brandi, "Quick Question" with Jonathan Sadowski, Limp Bizkit podcast "Three Dollar Pod, Y’all," Nirvana podcast "Heart Shaped Pod." Wrote for Universal Cartoon Studios (Woody Woodpecker), Disney, TBS ("The Man Made Movie"), and VH-1. Acted with Troubadour Theater Company, appeared on "CSI" and "Cold Case" and in the film "Punching The Clown." Voice work for cartoons. Produced for PodcastOne before joining Parcast.
1. You've done standup for years and you had that one detour into sort-of-radio at Comedy World (more about that later), but how did you get into podcasting and, ultimately, into producing podcasts?
I got into podcasting out of a need to perform again. I messed up my back when I was younger and by the mid 2000’s I was frequently bedridden and in constant chronic pain. My ability to go out and perform kept diminishing each year and by 2010 I had to have a very gnarly back surgery. The recovery time from the surgery was 10 months to a year. Like I said, it was gnarly. Suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands but no real way to maximize it. But I did have some mics and an audio interface laying around from back when I thought I could record music. I floated the idea to my wife that we should start trying to do a show together - a show that explored the humorous, odd conversations you have with someone you’re extremely close to. "Tiny Odd Conversations" was born, and our tag line was “it’s like eaves dropping on your crazy neighbors without having to get dangerously close to them.” We put out a weekly show for 4 years. Each episode was about an hour long and consisted of three different segments / 20-ish minute conversations. Some had themes, some didn’t. Some had reoccurring “characters.” We even did a Holiday special. We were never HUGE but we did build a decent audience.
One thing people always said about the show was that they thought it sounded like it was made in a studio: not really the feedback I was looking for while making an hour long comedy show, but I’ll take a compliment anywhere I can. Eventually, people started asking me about how to make a podcast, what equipment they needed, where you host files, how do you edit a show and is my co-host really my wife? I found out people would pay me to answer all of those questions… well, all but the last one. Eventually I started working with independent podcasters, then I started getting hired freelance to work at podcast networks, then next thing I knew I was a full-time employee at big name studios. To be clear, this was over a period of several years… it wasn’t just one wacky summer.
2. Different podcasts have different ideas about what a producer's duties entail. What things do you do at Parcast?
It is funny just how broad the term producer can be. It can mean you’re engineering a show, developing a show, booking a show, editing a show or even directing a show. Sometimes all of those things plus bringing the snacks. At Parcast my title is Line Producer. Basically I make sure the lines are produced. The shows I work on are fully scripted and it’s my job to make sure the pronunciations are correct and that the lines make sense. It’s a little bit like voice directing but not entirely. It’s more like a partnership with our talent. Everyone I work with is a great narrator/storyteller. I’m there to help out if questions come up and make sure we have a good overall “sound” to our reads.
3. Okay, Comedy World Radio Network, where we met and worked together in (checks LinkedIn) 2001, apparently. For the uninitiated, it was a too-early attempt at a streaming radio network with a video component as well, briefly also syndicated to a few radio stations (I remember being on in Chicago and Spokane, but that was about it), and had a lineup with a combination of standup comedians and radio hosts. It did not last. You were a co-host; what among your memories of that place stands out? Do you think it would have survived had it come out 10 or 15 years later?
Comedy World was… intense. You had TV people trying to make internet radio with stand up comedians and all on a platform that had no real audience. It was both awesome and completely off the rails. I was actually first hired as a comedy writer for the morning show and then I somehow ended up the co-host of the afternoon show. I was a 25-year-old animation and comedy writer/struggling actor and suddenly I became on air talent alongside legit comedians. Some days I held my own, some days I wondered when I was going to get let go. Turns out I was right to wonder that because I was let go just before Christmas. The whole company went bankrupt a few months later (unrelated). Now that I have some distance from it, Comedy World was an amazing learning experience. I made some friends, many of whom are still in my life. I made some… let’s say “not friends” too, but such is life.
The thing I remember most about that job was the indoor “trailer park.” There were literally double-wide trailers inside an industrial warehouse, complete with fake lawn and a rickety picket fence. There was something naïve, charming and terrifying about the whole place. I remember making a lot of questionable choices both financially and emotionally. And as stressful and odd and confusing as it was at the time, it taught me so much and in a weird way it also nudge me down the path I’m on now. Do I think it would be around if it came out 10-15 years later? Well, at the time, we were about 8 years too early. 10 years later we would have been 2 years too late so I think Comedy World would be a bomb no matter when it was released. Fun Fact: our logo was literally a bomb.
4. From your experience both hosting a podcast and producing, what advice would you give to podcasters on how to break out from the very large, unwieldy pack of hundreds of thousands of shows and build an audience? What do you think works best?
I love this question. The thing I think will always set you apart is authenticity. You don’t have to be an “expert” but you should be excited to talk about something. Are you genuinely interested in your subject matter or guests? If so it will show up on your audio and to your audience. But if you’re jumping on the podcast bandwagon just to make a show and hoping to catch lightening in a bottle, you’ll be let down if it doesn’t happen. Like anything else in life it’s hard to push through the tough times if you’re doing something just to do it. But if you have a burning passion and excitement around a certain topic then make a show! Personality and dynamic also go a long way. There should be something about you and the chemistry between your co-host(s) that an audience can latch onto.
When I first started, a lot of the shows I’ve worked were driven by big personalities. Now I work on shows that are more story driven and in a way the story is a personality. The more you understand the beats and the flow of a story, the more life you can give it. And understanding how to tell a story effectively, even if you’re not a storytelling show, is a huge part of what will make you stand out. I believe it’s one of the reasons so many comedians have been successful in podcasting.
5. Although I imagine that working on podcasts probably makes listening to other podcasts in your spare time a little unappealing, what non-Parcast podcasts do you like? It's similar to the previous question, I suppose, but what makes a podcast appealing to you in particular -- what kind of podcast do you like?
I admit my “podcast diet” is leaner than it used to be. I listen to a lot of the shows I work on once they are released to hear how they came out and take notes so I don’t have a lot of free time for other shows. I love independent podcasts a lot though. I love checking out what people are making out of the desire just to make a show. I’m a big fan of the Unpopular Opinion Network and their roster of shows, especially the ones about weird band histories. It’s the subject matter and the dynamic between the hosts that I really enjoy.
6. Who have been your influences, inspirations, and/or mentors in the business?
Marc Maron is one of the main reasons I wanted to get into podcasting. I may get some pushback for saying this but also the animated version of "The Ricky Gervais Show" that was on HBO for a bit. That show made me realize that a show could be about anything and you could just run with it. My mentors early on were Greg Behrendt, Dave Anthony and this guy Perry Simon. They taught me a lot, and oddly enough, I’m still friends with all 3 of them. I mean, I think Dave likes me…
7. Of what are you most proud?
Professionally – that I keep finding ways to reinvent myself and my career. Personally – that I’m pretty good at brewing coffee and I’ve made some real choice cups lately.
8. You've had an eclectic career: You've done standup on and off and you've worked on both sides of the mic. And you've acted, and you've written for animation. (I’m forgetting something. Music?) Apart from all of that, is there anything you haven't yet done that you would like to try as a career?
You forgot about my illustrious career as the manager of a hot dog stand back when I was a teenager. And yes there’s still a bunch of stuff I want to do! Currently I’m getting back into writing, and I would love to be staffed on a show again, this time, live action, though. I’m also really into voice acting right now too. As a HUGE fan of Disneyland and voice artists like Paul Frees and Thurl Ravenscroft I’d love to one day be a voice on a ride like the Haunted Mansion. “Welcome foolish mortals...”
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without __________.
...coffee, humor and self-doubt. I’m working on that last one though…
10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career so far?
Be adaptable. Where you start off doesn’t have to be where you end up. Every job I’ve ever had started as one thing and then grew into another. The more you are willing to learn and increase you’re skillset, the more chances you have to grow and explore. Also it helps to have options when you’re looking for work.
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