We caught up with the insightful Jeramy Kahle of The Canned Air Podcast a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jeramy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
The thing that first sparked my interest in audio was a gift my parents gave me for Christmas when I was 8 years old. They gave me a small tape recorder with a stack of blank cassettes. I carried that recorder with me everywhere, recording myself singing, songs off the television and radio, silly radio shows with my friends, etc. I was always asking for more cassettes because I’d fill them up so fast. I really wish I still had some of those old recordings, but they unfortunately were all lost over time.
As I got older, I became interested in playing and recording music with my friends. I built a small home studio that has evolved quite a bit over the years, and was perfect to have on hand when I learned about podcasting. But aside from the tape recorder they gave me, my parents have always been very supportive of my creative endeavors. Growing up they made sure I had the tools needed to keep recording, have always been interested in hearing what I’ve recorded, and are very supportive of the podcast. That kind of support goes a long way and I’m very lucky to have it.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
My name is Jeramy Kahle and I am the host and producer of the show Canned Air: A Tribute to Pop Culture. Canned Air is a nostalgic pop culture, comedy podcast on the Evergreen Podcast Network that is also hosted and produced by Jack Dougherty and Randy Hardenbrook. Since the show’s premiere in 2013, we have hosted a wide variety of conversations and special guests, featuring comic book writers and artists, movie and television producers and directors, musicians, and voice and screen actors.
I knew the second I learned about podcasting that I wanted to start my own show. The idea of the radio DJ and morning radio talk shows had always intrigued me, so when a podcast was first described to me as “a radio show that anyone can create and release online”, that was all I needed to hear. I immediately started researching how to create and release a podcast, pulled some like minded friends together, and never looked back.
We’re now in our ninth year of Canned Air and the experiences we’ve been lucky enough to have creating this show are just as fun and rewarding as when we started. We’ve always said, “We’ll stop making this show when it stops being fun to create.” But after all these years, we’re still having a blast and intend to keep going until we aren’t enjoying ourselves anymore.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During our second year creating this show, we were introduced to a gentleman who was putting together a podcast network for Wizard World Comic Con. We grew up reading Wizard magazine and were huge fans, so we really wanted our show to be featured on this upcoming network, which would later be called Wizard World’s Con Radio. When we submitted our show for consideration, the person in charge said, “I really like your show, but there’s an issue with it. You’re talking about upcoming events, movies, television shows, etc. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it puts an expiration date on each episode. For example, people won’t want to listen to an episode about an upcoming movie if the movie has long since been released.”
This made a lot of sense to us and we realized we had to reformat the show. Not only so we could be a part of this network, but so each episode, and the show itself, would stay interesting to the listeners no matter when they listened to it. That’s exactly what we did and we’ve been using the same format ever since.
After that, we were chosen as one of the shows to be featured on Wizard World’s Con Radio. We had a great time while it lasted, but about a year later Wizard World management changed hands and the new management didn’t see the value of supporting a podcast network. A short time later the network was shut down. We’re now part of the Evergreen Podcast Network and couldn’t be happier. Everyone at Evergreen is extremely supportive and strive to make each show the best it can be. Not to insinuate that Wizard didn’t, because they did. It was the suggested change in our shows format by Wizard that has kept our show relevant, and afforded us the opportunity to be a part of the Evergreen Podcast Network. For that, we’re very grateful.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
One of the best parts of doing this show is getting to talk with talents we and our listeners have been watching on television and in movies for years. We’ve been lucky enough to welcome amazing guests like Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Emily Swallow (The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian), Gates McFadden & Will Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), just to name a few. Nearly every guest we’ve welcomed has been extremely polite and grateful for the invitation.
However, we’ve also had a few guests who fall on the other end of that spectrum. One of which was so unpleasant, it shattered our egos and made us consider ending the show. I won’t say who it was, but if you know anything about the world of independent movies, you’d probably know the name. While talking with this person, one of our past co-hosts made a joke that did not land well. He never intended to be insulting, but through nerves and excitement, his words came out in a way that could be interpreted as such. I can understand if the guest was offended, but the way it was handled was just uncalled for. Not an ounce of class shown. This person immediately began to demean us and our show, saying we shouldn’t be podcasting at all, calling us vulgar names and saying things I won’t repeat here.
This was devastating for us. The things this guest said would be hurtful coming from anyone, but when they’re coming from a person you’ve looked up to and whose work you’ve admired, they’re extra painful. Still being fairly new to podcasting at the time and not having experienced this kind of situation before, we didn’t want to record another episode. We thought, “Maybe this person is right. Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
The more we processed what had happened, we began to realize a few different things. First, not everybody is going to be pleasant. That’s just the world we live in. And second, no matter how small this person made us and our efforts feel, we couldn’t let it sully all of the other amazing experiences that had come our way prior, or let it keep us from the ones that were yet to come. This taught us to power through the bad times and to truly appreciate the good ones when they happen. We have since put this recording on our Patreon page so everyone can hear one of our most trying moments!
Contact Info:
- Website: CannedAirPodcast.com
- Instagram: @Canned_Air
- Facebook: Canned Air Podcast
- Twitter: @CannedAirPod
- Youtube: Canned Air Podcast
- Other: EvergreenPodcasts.com