Going Live
Red Bicycle Hall to begin hosting
live podcast series
The Red Bicycle 'REVUE’ podcast
will be unique to Madison
(November 2016) – The first recent radio drama performed at the Red Bicycle Hall on the Madison, Ind.’s Main Street was “Oh Madison, Where Art Thou?” It was followed by “Madison Graffiti.” Now, the creative gang at Red Bicycle Hall are taking on a true classic, “Madison Home Companion.”
Organizers at the Red Bicycle Hall have big dreams for this one. They plan to make a podcast that has the potential to reach around the world.
“This is not the RiverRoots Music series or has anything to do with anything else we have done locally,” said Red Bicycle Hall co owner Kevin Watkins.
“What we are looking to start is a Red Bicycle REVUE. Basically what we are doing is the recording of a podcast with a live studio audience.”
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Photo by John Sheckler Kevin Watkins, a co-owner of the Red Bicycle Hall, addresses the crowd at a recent concert by the band SHEL. |
“This is Madison Home Companion,” Watkins added. “Our host will be our own local Garrison Keillor. It will have a live band and a number of skits done in radio style. All the skits will be original and done by our narrator, David J. Loehr.
The show will be modeled after Prairie Home Companion on National Public Radio.”
The show will have some serial drama like the old Lone Ranger shows, he said.
“Some will be episodic and some standalone,” Watkins said. “All the skits are original and will be written by David. We will have commercials – some real, some faux.”
The shows will be performed and recorded live at the Red Bicycle Hall, 125 E. Main St.
“We are not trying to channel Garrison Keillor, but we are using his format,” Watkins said.
They will then distribute the podcast on the Incomparable Radio Network, described as a network of smart, funny, pop culture podcasts.
“There are already a number of podcasts already on the network,” said Watkins. “There are tens of thousands of downloads every week from all across the world.”
The group also hopes to broadcast on a local radio station. Each show recorded at the Red Bicycle Hall will produce 2 1/2 hour podcasts.
“Our first show on Nov. 9 and will feature two bands,” Watkins said. “Frog Belly and symphony, and our friend Tim Brickley of Indianapolis. He is not a newcomer to Madison. We call him the night watchman because he often crashes at the Red Bicycle.”
There will be some prerecorded music with bands but also live recordings.
“Frogbelly & Symphony are progressive rock echoes that through folk landscapes, with urban poetry, pop melodies, repetitive chants and experimental segues. The quartet splits their time between Sheffield, England, and Brooklyn, N.Y.,” said Watkins. “We think people will like them.”
Watkins plans for them to be produced together for the podcast.
“The Red Bicycle’s goal is to make Madison an entertainment destination,” Watkins said. “We will do these once or twice a month and have a Facebook page.”