We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kirk & Rain. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kirk below.

Hi Kirk, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

There’s no better way to learn than by doing. Our first episode was terrible when compared to our current standards. We were awkward, the audio was bad, and we weren’t even on video! But you have to make episode 1 to get to episode 2. We learned that a tiny recorder wasn’t good enough for a podcast. So we moved on to more professional equipment. We learned a lesson in being cheap when the newly purchased Yamaha audio interface didn’t properly record to our computer and we lost the episode. After that, we went all-in and purchased a Rodecaster Pro. That helped us tremendously in terms of audio quality and reliability and the few listeners we had, noticed. Over time, we learned some tricks and procedures from the real pros that just increased quality one step at a time. Now, one of our most common compliments is how professional we sound. We couldn’t get better if we were never worse.

All this to say, you can read all the articles you want and watch all the tutorials you want, but until you do something yourself, you won’t actually learn. We are still learning and always trying to be better, and will likely continue until the end of the line.

Kirk, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello there! We’re Kirk & Rain from Trammin’ – A Disneyland Podcast, where we take listeners and viewers through the Disneyland Resort through our eyes and memories. Our weekly Big Thunder Topics offer a unique perspective on tangible and intangible experiences in the Disney Parks, so we don’t need to rely on news to keep our show going.

In March 2020, just before the pandemic began and Disneyland closed, Rain had the idea to start a Disneyland podcast. We’ve been friends since the first day of high school in 2007 and have loved Disney and Disneyland for our entire lives, so we were natural co-hosts. Our lives don’t provide many opportunities to be creative, so this was our chance to finally have a creative outlet. All we needed was a fun name, but Kirk has been Trammin’ into Disneyland for years, so we were set.

We started by simply “just doing it.” Our first episode aired on March 17th, 2020, but we had only just decided to embark on this endeavor on March 10th. A lot of people want to start their creative projects once they buy the right equipment, generate enough hype, or have lots of ideas lined up. They even like to announce that they are going to start something and to “stay tuned.” We never believed in that, we just dropped it one day and started promoting it once the “product” was already out there. If you want to do something, you need to get out there and just do it. If you want people to be excited, give them something to be excited about.

Something we’re really proud of is our video podcast. For the first 19 episodes, we were audio only, like most podcasts. But as avid podcast enjoyers, we liked to watch video podcasts on YouTube. Naturally, we had to produce what we would want to watch ourselves. Episode 20 was our first official video upload and we’ve been doing that ever since. Our show can be found every single place where you can listen to a podcast, but can also be watched by anyone who prefers video. We’re proud to have a format that sets us apart, but most proud of uploading every single week since 2020. Someone wise once told us that Rule #1 is: Consistency is Key, and that is our guiding principle.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

We’re just here to entertain. We want to put out our best every week and have a place for listeners to come back to. Trammin’ has become a reliable source of comfort and entertainment for our listeners and we want to make sure we’re always here for them. Our mission has always been to be consistent. Over time, our goals have always evolved. From getting on video, to getting guests, to building and growing a community around Trammin’.

We consider ourselves entertainers rather than “content creators.” We do have the luxury of doing this as a hobby that costs us money rather than makes us money, but we’re here to have fun and share that fun with others. Even if we were in this as a career, we would still stress the importance of having a good time. If you’re out there to entertain, you can’t be all about “the grind” and chasing the bottom line. Sure, that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day, but if you want people to come back, you need to put out something great. “If you build it, they will come.” If you think of everything you do as content feeding into an algorithm, your product will lose its soul. If you put your heart & soul into your creative work, people will notice, and you’ll be set apart from the rest.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Just seeing the episode go live every week is the most rewarding thing. Knowing we showed up to record, made all the art, and put the show together successfully. We love hearing feedback about each episode and seeing what people enjoyed. We’ve seen our community grow and we love seeing listeners – our beloved TramFam – interact with one another even when we’re not around.

Contact Info:

• Website: Trammin.com
• Instagram: @TramminPodcast
• Twitter: @TramminPodcast
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/Trammin