The Carmody Central Podcast is a lifestyle podcast covering all things culture. There’s sex, comedy, even existential dialogue. Host, Jennifer Carmody brings in a guest, like comedian Colin Quinn, and they schmooze and kvetch for an hour. But it was her show with comedian Jim Norton (as Chip Chipperson) that really put her on the map.
Carmody can be as aimless as it is insightful, but this self-described “talker” embraces her show’s twists and turns, and somehow gets you where you need to go. She calls it “eavesdropping on your hot neighbor’s psychotic conversations.” She was kind enough to have a conversation with me earlier this week about the show, internet trolls, and her process as a podcaster.
Why podcasting?
To be honest, it just happened. I’m a TALKER, and I had a lot of people encouraging me to do something with my big mouth. I am a writer, and I work in film production, but I wanted to do something more genuine. I was spending months working on projects that in the end had no part of me left in them. So I stopped being worried about sounding stupid or people thinking I’m a bitch and said screw it, and just put myself out there uncut.
How’d you land Colin Quinn?
Colin is an amazing man, and I’m so grateful that he was willing to be a guest on my podcast. Some people know this, but my ex-boyfriend is a comedian and through tagging along with him everywhere for 3 years, I was able to make some really cool acquaintances. And luckily those people liked me enough to say yes to being a guest on my podcast.
I took a peak at your iTunes reviews, and it looks like small, angry person decided to drop all of his/her own disappointment in his/her own life on you. What’s your take on comment troll culture and how has impacted your online life?
(Laughs) That review is intense, the guy who wrote it deserves a hug. One, cause clearly he needs a damn hug… and second because he really took the time to listen to every episode, he should be thanked for that. Most people that dislike something just move on, he’s dedicated, he stuck with it… you gotta respect that. He even regularly checks my reviews to “thumbs down” the good reviews and keep his on top. Translation: He’s my Biggest Fan… in the review he talks about reading my blog, checking my modeling portfolio. Damn- I wish the people that loved me cared that much. I have friends that were even guests on the show who haven’t listened yet. I should hire that man to be my personal assistant and motivator once the show gets bigger. I like his attention to detail.
That said, my comments on trolling… I feel bad for people that direct their attention toward negativity, what a waste of time. However, as someone who is putting content out on the internet… all dirty trolls are the prime free advertising. They will share your page, tweet their friends about you, and spread the word of how awful you are… it comes with the territory, and I love their obsessive hits on my site, thank you.
I don’t take it personally, I can relate. When I feel unreasonably angry because “someone sucks so bad.” I know the real reason is because they are doing something that I want to be doing, and they are doing it with better results than me. Sometimes I read magazine articles and I get angry how bad the advice is… but, actually I’m angry because I felt that I could write it better and I’m pissed at myself because I didn’t take the initiative to write that article.
Not only did someone else do what I want to do, it’s also working well for them. It all comes back to yourself, and it’s your choice how you use that feeling. Does it motivate you to share it on your Facebook wall and shit talk it with your friends? Or does it motivate you to try and prove that you can do it better than they did?
That poor bastard who wrote my podcast a bad review is most likely just jealous I got to sit around and chat with all his favorite comedians… and he thinks he can do it better than me. And maybe he can… too bad he is wasting his time writing reviews and keeping tabs on other people’s success, not taking the time to make his own podcast.
This whole answer is SURPRISINGLY still shorter than his iTunes review. He’s thorough, man; it’s a shame that people waste their energy in the wrong places. Hopefully more people in the world will learn how to direct their attention towards the things they enjoy and less towards downloading things online that make them upset. They’re only perpetuating and advertising the things they are bitching about.
How do you prepare for a show?
I wish I had a good answer for this. Usually in some panic, I write down a bunch of ideas related to the topic, pace around my apartment and then just go with it. I enjoy getting “off-topic;” I think the best ideas come of it. And it’s kind of the point of the show, to not be so interview-y. I like to keep the conversations natural, and it won’t be if you think about it too much before.
But I’m still learning all of this, and I’m not an actor or comedian so more preparation will definitely work to my advantage as I’m getting new guests. I’ve already been a speechless ass a couple times on my own show, but oh well, I’m not Johnny Carson; this isn’t the Tonight Show. I’m Jenn Carmody; this is my show, so people can take it or leave it.
Where do you see Carmody Central Podcast in two years?
That’s a great question. My mind is actually blocked from seeing that far in advance; it’s literally black. But, in the near future, I will definitely be adding video episodes and making the show longer if the demand is there. When I’m more established and not at a full-time day job, then I’d like to extend the show, eventually do some events. Much further into the future, I want to be ranking in iTunes.
I have hit Top 6 in the Comedy Section of iTunes, and #24 of the Top Charts on all of iTunes. Now I’m off the list, but that week run proved to me I can get Carmody Central Podcast there again and keep it up there. It’s going to be a lot of work, and I have a lot of different projects that I’m working on. Like I said, I am a writer and filmmaker, so I plan to use the podcast to open other doors, and those other endeavors could mean new guests to the podcast.
What episode are you most proud of?
I’m just really proud of everything so far, but I definitely have to say my most proud moment was the Chip Chipperson Exclusive Interview, which is shocking to say, because Chip is definitely a low point for mostly everyone else’s life that he comes into contact with.
But Chip is one of my closest friends, and you can only tell someone to shut up so many times before you just love them. So not only was that the most fun to record, it was featured on Opie and Anthony, which helped the podcast rank so high in iTunes, and the episode itself was in the Top 100 Episodes for a couple days. To date the show has received 70 thousand downloads; it was a very proud moment. It shows me I can eventually get all my episodes to that level with work.
Sometimes I forget to enjoy the process of getting there, I just want them all to be Top 100, but it’s a journey; and I’m lucky that I have a podcast and listeners that can experience it with me.
