(Produced by ... aka Stray Dog Recording Company) A tragic turn of events at the worldâs smallest circus. Les Petits Tristes is an excerpt from , Tiny Tales of Woe, a collection of audio shorts. Notes: Words by Jill Summers, music by David Whitcomb. Engineered by David Whitcomb at Stray Dog Recording Co. in Chicago. Also, do yourself a favor and check out their beautiful submission to the Third Coast Festival's project.
(Produced by + ) Merry Christmas from Big Shed!! Producer John Biewen () dropped by with some great recordings of bedtime with his kids. Thanks for sharing it, John. We wish we were eight, again. This is a real treat, and for once we're seasonally timely! We hope you enjoy it. In addition to all of his own documentary work, John also directs the audio program at the . We're big fans of the program and are glad to add this to their in the shed. In case you're insatiable and want more Big Shed fun...
(Produced by ) (Photo: ) Happy Thanksgiving at Big Shed!! This holiday we're thankful for everyone who's been so supportive of Big Shed. We're feeling the love. Thanks so much for listening and for sharing your amazing work. Woohoo!!!!! (much luv, jen and shea) But instead of Turkey, we're offering you a big serving of pigeons. WTF?! That's right pigeon haters, this week they've come home to roost at Big Shed. (audio) and (photo) just started work on a new project about pigeons keepers in Brookl...
(Produced by ) Here's the next episode in our series live from the , where we're bringing you a little good, clean audio fun with Zak Rosen. We rarely have a chance to talk in person with our producers before the show ... so sometimes we get a little carried away. Fortunately, Zak was up for the excursion. Once you get past the tomfoolery (did I just type "tomfoolery"?) You'll be treated to a beautiful sonic spanish soundscape. Here's what Zak has to say about his piece: "These are some of the s...
(Photo by of ... thanks for being a shutterbug) (Produced by ) Last week, Jennifer and I joined 350-ish other audiophiles in Chicago (well, Evanston, IL) for the sixth annual . The conference alone was so inspiring that we're both back home with a wonderful mix of enthusiasm and exhaustion. This year was extra special for us because Big Shed kicked off the conference by hosting a listening room on the opening night. It was a great chance to show though sound what this podcast has evolved into th...
(Produced by ) A few weeks ago, Shea was visiting beautiful SUNY Potsdam in upstate NY to make a presentation about audio documentaries to students at the school, an audio pep rally recruiting students for a cool project he's working on with prof. audrey sprenger (you'll hear more about that in the coming months ... enjoying the mystery?). David Sommerstein, a supercool reporter with , came out for the presentation, too (that's David in the photo above). After the presentation--flattering us to ...
(Produced by ) About this week's piece, Layne says: "this piece is made entirely of samples from a winter camping trip in Feb.06 to in New Hampshire, plus guitar recorded the next day in the inter-zone b/w woods and all the rest. It was debuted at the and appears on my recent cd 'the lost spaces ... reconstructed' on the dc-based . textual accompaniment goes something like this: human again. sense of self as distinct from world happily crumbles as the earth offers itself to you, opens as it is a...
(Produced by ) "There's nothing I can say to you that will prepare you for this." - Matt Largey Thanks to Matt and TK for dropping by the Big Shed. Hope the stars at night are big and bright down there. Personal Note: This is also a belated birthday shout out to Shea's father, Ben Shackelford (who's with a youger, clean-cut Shea). Shea questions whether he will tell him about it, because of the scattalogical content leading up to our birthday wish at the end of the piece. But he asks, "it's the ...
(Produced by ) Get your dancin' shoes on. This piece from Minnesota producer Dave Engen is a treat for your audio feet. We first met Dave a year ago at a summer audio institute. He returned to Duke again this summer to produce this fine piece. Weâre proud to run it. A little bit of trivia, Dave was partners with Big Shed alum at their first audio institute â two peas in your iPod. Hereâs what Dave had to say about this piece: âThe Bandwagon old-time TV music show is one of the countryâs longest-...
(Produced by Nic Beery) L o o k d e e p l y I n t o o u r e a r s . . . (it's okay, we used q-tips)Oddly, this turned out to be a nice follow-up to our last podcast, "Hello." Nic sent us this eerie "found sound" that came with a 1970's Revox reel to reel recorder that his neighbor was throwing away after a yard sale back in 2002. Unfortunately, he doesn't know the spooky guy on the tape, nor does he know Sandy. But hopefully she's either kicked her habit ... or at least ditched this scary friend...
(Produced by Jennifer Deer) We're taking our own medicine this week, and damn it tastes good. For your listening pleasure, Jen re-cut this piece, which she originally produced a few years ago. "Hello" is a fun excursion into the in-between space of a phone conversation. enjoy!
(Produced by Jennifer Deer) You've waited for it, and here it is ... another Budget Buddies!!! Don't worry, we didn't sort out all of our financial or personal issues since the last episode. This week, Shea questions Jen's medical practices. Jen question's Shea's sanitation. And change, change, change ... change of fools--what the hell is that noise in the background? By the way, the grand total was over $50, and my apartment is now spotless thanks to some guitar lessons 4 house cleaning barteri...
(Produced by and ) Can a cup of tea a day keep the doctor away? North Carolina native Annie Melvin continues the tradition of keeping her medicine chest in the garden. Kavanah Ramsier and Nikki Brown produced this piece as part of the Summer 2006 Audio Institute at the Center for Documentary Studies in Durham, North Carolina. Another shameless plug for CDS! But they do good stuff, and we are really captivated by this piece. for the Audio Institute as well, and the same weekend Nikki and Kavanah ...
(Produced by ) When a severe thunderstorm chases two independent filmmakers off of a North Carolina beach, the director decides to interview the cinematographer while waiting out the storm. Beginning with a simple question - ÃïïWhatÃïïs the most amazing thing youÃïïve ever experienced?Ãïï - Elephantoms takes the listener on a true wildlife adventure, from the rainy coast of North Carolina to the parched deserts of Namibia Ãïï in search of wild, South African elephants. We met Todd during a podca...
(Producer Laura Kwerel) Less a band than an experiment in sound, The Books, create an emotional collage of music, found sound, and documentary. Much of their work is stitched together from recordings that seem strangely familiar--old television shows, home movies, outdoor sounds-- making their songs feel like a nostalgic trip through our own memories. This year the band, composed of Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong, finally came out of the studio for a national tour. Their first stop was at Bostonâ...
(Producer: Jennifer Deer) That's right, it's round four of Big Shed's financial soap opera. In this exciting edition, Shea gets a bait and switch on his capers and pasta, and Jenn adds a new line item in her budget ... "crazy people." Happy Tax Day!!!! Note: Perhaps you think you've discovered the source of our financial struggles--an inability to count. Sadly, it's not that simple. We didn't forget episode 3 of budget buddies, we just finished this one first.
(Produced by Amara Hark-Weber) Playing for X is the story about an unexpected birthday gift from an old friend. It tells how the friendship has changed over time, and why this specific gift is important. We heard this piece at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies tenth annual Documentary Happening. Hopefully, we'll feature a few more pieces from that weekend, including a bbq cellphone adventure (yikes!).
(Producers: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) Here's round two in our personal documentary soap opera. What bills to pay ... what foods to eat (or not eat) when shopping on a budget ... and other important questions facing two freelancers hoping to de-emphasize the "free" part of that title. As before, we suggest that you listen to this one while you're planting bulbs for the spring or darning your socks--like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of conversatio...
(Producers: Vige Millington + Andrew Starner) One afternoon, we talked about Skyâs experiences growing up as a child in Istanbul, Turkey, a landscape that exists now only in his memories. This is one of the stories he told us, and the song he sings (with a translation) is his sonâs current favorite. Sky and his wife run The Wellness Cafà on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DCâa health store that also sells amazing soups (hence the photo). Note: Andrew and Vige produced this piece as a project fo...
(Producer: Jennifer Deer) Here's a new idea in our efforts to keep you knee deep in fresh content ... and echoing Jen's closing words in this piece, for god's sake please send us more material or we'll run more than these. I'm kidding. This is a fun new idea from Jen to bring you some of our personal budgeting hysteria. This was not staged. How scary is that?! This is one to put on while you're folding the clothes, like an overheard conversation on a train, where the ocassional bizarre turn of c...
(Producer: Shea Shackelford) Happy 2006! Thanks for subscribing. We're looking forward to a year full of great sound + stories for you. One of our New Years resolutions here at Big Shed was to keep in better touch with you. So even when we don't have a fabulous piece of audio prepared for you, we'll drop you an audio note--on the fly, like this one--just to say hey. Note: No insects were harmed in the recording of this audio scrap ... though I make no promises about what happened once the mic wa...
(Producer: Julia Cooksey) Fork is a superfun vox pop piece from producer Julia Cooksey, exploring important questions of cutlery. If you're spending the holidays with family or friends, We hope this audio inpires you to take stock of their kitchenware. We've been looking forward to bringing you this piece for a good long while, which is a well-spun way of saying that we've been running behind, and sitting on this great audio for far too long. In the holiday spirit, we wrapped this piece in a fun...
It's a video ... enjoy!
(Producer: Emma Raynes) Roller derby was a popular sport in the 1960's, airing on T.V. and drawing crowds to see teams like the Bay City Bombers. The sport lost steam in the 70's, but recently, women's derby teams have been popping up all over the country. Three years ago, Celia Fate (also known as Laura Weekland) founded the Carolina Roller Girls team in Raleigh, NC. The team is made up of an energetic group of women who like to put on a good show and knock each other around. This piece takes y...
(Producer: David Schulman) Every March, close to 500,000 Sandhill Cranes break their long migration with a stop along the Platte River in central Nebraska. For two or three weeks, they spend their days eating and dancing in the cornfields, and their nights roosting, en masse, along the muddy river shallows. Last March, our friend Margery Nicolson led us on a pre-dawn hike to a blind along the banks of the Platte, and within the Rowe Audubon Sanctuary. As dawn finally came, we became aware of ten...
(Producers: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) This is our first attempt at a remote report. So ... consider it a learning experience. Shea headed to Chicago for the always amazing Third Coast International Audio Festival, while Jennifer held down the Shed back home. Shea had such a great time with all of the amazing folks at the festival that ... well, he overslept the morning we'd scheduled a phone interview from the conference. As a result, enjoy this thrilling call from his hotel room....
(Producer: Eve Abrams) Eve interviewed kids entering junior high school about their excitement and anxiety. I can't get over how serious they are. I love the kid who reflects how he spent his childhood playing, but now those days are numbered. [This week's unrelated shed photo (courtesy Google Image Search) takes an innovative look inside.]
(Producer: Liz Lindsey) For me this story began with a phone call from a stranger. I was at work readying a photographic exhibit to travel to the mountains of Lenoir, North Carolina. The exhibitâs subject was teenage pregnancy. The woman on the phone identified herself as Crystal Dixon. A postcard for the exhibit had come across her desk in Lenoir, featuring a black and white image of young parents. Crystal relayed that when she had been pregnant 21 years ago, she had allowed only one photograph...
(Producer: Jennifer Deer + Shea Shackelford) Joe Thompson, an 86-year-old native of Mebane, NC, is perhaps the last African-American fiddler playing square dance music who actually grew up in this tradition. 28-year-old Rhiannon Giddens of Durham, NC, is one of a handful of black banjo players excited about carrying on the tradition. Joe opens his home to young musicians like Rhiannon who are interested in learning the songs and the style of music heâs been playing his whole life. Rhiannon takes...
(Producer: Allyn Meredith) I interviewed Sherri Wood for my thesis project about the creative re-use of items that would otherwise be trashed, such as the material that Sherri works with from deceased persons clothing for the making of quilts. For my purposes, this interview clearly illustrated the inherent power that is within the used cloth. In fact, the most vulnerable areasâthe worn and at times patched placesâbecome the most provocative during the making and in the final product of the pass...
