Info

Meet My Good Friend

This is a podcast where I interview random people that I meet to prove that everyone has a story to tell. It's StoryCorps + Humans of New York, I guess. So far I've met an IT guy, a jewelery merchandiser, a crazy conspiracy theorist, a hippie chick, a hairdresser, an astronomer, a stand-up comedian, and a traveling insurance adjuster. Who will I meet next?
RSS Feed Subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Meet My Good Friend
2015
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: July, 2015
Jul 23, 2015

I met Eric during karaoke night at a club in Cleveland. His favorite animal is a platypus because “They’re aquatic, and they’re like a beaver had sex with a duck.” I feel like that amazing description may be all you need to know about Eric before you listen, but I’ll tell you more anyway.

Eric talks a lot about growing up in “the hood” and why family is the most important thing in his life. Learn why he considers his mom a super hero.

We also talk about his budding career as a barber, something he’s done for ten years but is only now going to school for. At some point his “bodyguard” comes over and starts questioning me about what I’m doing and the interview sorta peters out after that. It really was incredibly interesting talking to Eric up to that point though. Actually, I think it was just getting late and Eric wanted sleep. Or beer.

Anyway, listen in to my talk with my good friend Eric and learn a thing or two about the hood and family and barbering. Meet my good friend Eric with the lovely sounds of karaoke in the background.

Jul 15, 2015

Meet my good friend John. This John is a different John than the John you met last week. A quick warning: this episode is NSFW more than any other so far. If you’re listening at work or around children or small dogs, use caution.

John wastes no time telling me how well-endowed he is and later tells me that he has “about 9 bitches.” He is a pretty serious pool player who claims to have not lost a game in over 5 years. Learn his secrets including “practice” and “geometry.”

John is also a Harley motorcycle rider who takes pride in the fact that his bike is loud enough to ruin your picnic. He also wears all leather (to be safe) but no helmet. Go figure!

Listen as he calls out LeBron James! John claims that LeBron can’t beat him on the pool table OR on the basketball court. As of this posting, LeBron has yet to issue a statement.

The absolute best part of this interview happened after I had stopped recording. I packed up my gear and was heading out when I saw John playing pool in the back. I went to say “bye” and when I did I saw him scratch while going for the 8 ball.

Jul 8, 2015

John is the guitarist for a band called Burlap to Cashmere. I met him after a show that I didn’t see and I had never heard of the band. After a 30 minute chat (and some research I did later) I found out that Burlap to Cashmere is a pretty well known act in both the worlds of Christian and secular music. In fact my brother had one of their CDs in his car stereo when it was stolen many years ago. I think John had a good time chatting with someone who had absolutely no idea who he was.

John describes Burlap to Cashmere as Paul Simon meets Cat Stevens over Greek Balkan music. To try to figure out what that means we listen to a portion of their song Build A Wall. John also likens the band to “an acoustic version of Rush,” meaning they are an acquired taste but put on a great live show.

We talk about crazy Greek time signatures, his family’s connection to Bon Jovi, having a limo driver at 18, and being recognized in Dunkin Donuts. It’s like a really interesting episode of Behind The Music, but one in which no one dies of a drug overdose. Meet my good friend John.

Jul 1, 2015

My good friend Kevin is an amazing person. His job is to lend support to the families of homicide victims and this episode can get pretty heavy at times. For someone who deals with murder, funerals, domestic violence, and sudden infant death, Kevin has an awesome view of humanity and our ability to overcome the most horrible circumstances. He talks about the help he gives to those in need and how he takes care of himself so the seriousness of his work doesn’t drag him down. It’s really interesting stuff and I think you will enjoy meeting him.

I met Kevin at a storytelling event in Cleveland called Told. Before we go into his job as a social worker we talk about this amazing event where regular people randomly get called up and share true stories with an audience. Told events also have two featured storytellers who have more time and tell prepared stories. The theme of the evenings stories was “love in Cleveland,” and a real actual wedding broke out at the end of the night. It was crazy! Kevin and I will tell you all about it.

So it’s a bit of a 2 part episode. The first portion is about Told, and then we go into homicide, poverty, and social injustices. I think the 2 parts fit together nicely though, especially because the stories that night were about love. I don’t know. Just listen.

And thanks to Dave from toldstories.com for hosting a great event! Now meet Kevin.

1