Don't tell, but we decided to sneak a podcast out of the jar where Jesse Dukes has been keeping us neatly tucked away.  Thanks to some help from a veteran Big Shed producer, Emma Rayes, we're secretly bringing you our first PoopCast ... straight from the big poop shed.

Emma brought us this documentary journey from lovely Rio de Janeiro.  While working in Brazil, she had a little incident ... which led to this trip for a poop exam.  Emma took time away from a supercool project to put her pride and prudence aside to bring us this flowing tale (pun intended) of adventure and misfortune.  If you're wiped out (again ... intended) after a long week at work, we hope you'll kick back and enjoy it.  We think you will, in the end (dear god ... somebody stop us).

Ps. Rumor has it that we're getting out of this jar in the very near future.  Stay tuned for updates and new audio! 

(Producer: Rachel Quimby) Nobody really knows why Rockland, Maine has a rather large population of Jews--legend says a ship was turned aside at Ellis Island and sent up the coast to the picturesque and sleepy coastal town.  In any case, Adas Yoshuron Synagogue is an old building with many generations of Amita Jarmon discusses what it's like to be Rockland's first rabbi since 1937. Congregants, community members and Hebrew School kids weigh in, too. Rachel Quimby produced the story in the Fall of 2007 while attending the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.  Now she lives and works in Charlottesville, VA.

To set up the piece, our introduction includes outtakes from an interview with David Berman, of the Silver Jews recorded by Jesse Dukes, who produced this piece in 2006.  Jesse Dukes continues to usurp curator duties, but seems to be feeling some pangs in his conscience about trapping Shea and Jennifer in a jar.

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(Produced by Amy O'Leary) In the 1980's, Danny Felsenfeld was a nerdy, Jewish kid--crazy about Richard Wagner--who naively showed up at a meeting of the Wagner Appreciation Society in Southern California.  He found himself in the midst of some very scary Wagner enthusiasts, and had to cast about for a way to make his escape.  Amy O'Leary talked to Danny while she was producing the WNYC mini-series "The Tristan Mysteries".

Also: Jesse Dukes has usurped curating duties in the Shed and Jennifer and Shea remain miniaturized and trapped in a small jar.

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(Produced by Jesse Dukes) Last summer, Philadelphia rock band The Extraordinaires tried their hands at musical theater. Producing a musical might be the last thing you'd expect from these early twentysomethings who hail from the DIY punk rock universe. Nevertheless, they felt that the the fullest expression of their album "Ribbons of War" could only be a musical play, complete with costumes, props, actors, and a democratically written script.  Producer Jesse Dukes was commissioned by Studio 360 to produce a narrated story about the musical.  He did so, but afterwards he wasn't quite satisfied that he had told the story he originally wanted to tell. Inspired by the Maysles Brothers, he decided to retell the entire story without using his own voice to narrate, but instead try out the verite form in audio. 

Oh, and something strange seems to have befallen Shea and Jennifer...

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(Produced by Tim Telkamp) Come along for a ride on the rails with this audio postcard from the New Hope Valley Railway.  This postcard is a companion piece to Tim Telkamp's photo-essay “4’ 8 1/2" – A year in the life of the New Hope Valley Railway, 2003-2006.â€? Tim’s audio and photographs tell the story of a tourist railroad in Bonsal, NC.  The project follows the volunteer staff as they maintain and operate locomotives and tracks.  It is history being relived and preserved, and it’s all for the love of Railroading.

This week's podcast is also a Big Shed Birthday shout-out to our dear friend, fine accordianist, and brilliant artist Ann Marie. Happy Birthday, Ann Marie!!!

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(Produced by Love & Radio) We'll it's time for our annual pilgrimage to chi-town to the beloved Third Coast International Audio Festival.  So we thought it would be appropriate to bring you a little taste of last year's conference, courtesy of Nick and Adrianne at Love & Radio.  This interview took place in the bathroom during the PRX dance party.  It contains physical violence, broken hearts, video games and Gregorian-ish chanting ... weird, but true.  For the geeks in the Shed, Nick recorded this with one of these cool HHB mic/recorders.

The long-ass intro features Big Shed alum Owen Agnew, Clive (one of Shea's students who hosts a death-metal radio show at the youth center where he works), and the ungodly-fun band pictured above who plays regularly at Dupont Circle in DC.  Thanks to producerly cowardice, we have no idea what the name of the band is.  Maybe someday Shea will ask them.

We'll try to drop you a line from the Festival or soon thereafter.  Hopefully this year, Shea will be a little more composed than he was in last years podcast from chi-town ... but what fun would that be? 

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(Produced by David Goren) We've got a big new idea at Big Shed ... returning series!!!  In the coming year, we're going to offer a few returning series from amazing and innovative audio producers, and proud doesn't quite capture how we feel about bringing you David Goren's Shortwaveology. We're sure you'll love his first installment.

Shortwaveology is a periodic rumination on the sound, history and culture of shortwave radio broadcasting. David wants to thank former Radio Canada International program host Ian McFarland for the use of his compilation of shortwave station interval signals and sign-ons. You can find more information about that here.

Also thanks also to Kim Andrew Elliot for the Moscow Mailbag recording. Kim has a very interesting blog about international broadcasting, and public diplomacy.

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(Produced by Rebecca Sheir) David Traver, Alaska's reigning Mr. Fur Face, is the president of the Southcentral Alaska Beard & Mustache Club, and his belly-length whiskers won him a first-place prize at the 2003 World Beard & Mustache Championships.  This fall, he's competing in the 2007 World Championships in England, after which he'll retire -- shaving his award-winning facial hair down to something more manageable -- much to the delight of his wife.  Rebecca spent time with David at the barbershop where he's a brand new customer (his former barber recently fled Alaska for the Lower 48).

We met Rebecca last year at the Third Coast Festival, where her story "Honoring the Body: Tahrah" received the Director's Choice Award.  Rebecca is also a Host and Producer for AK (Alaska Public Radio Network).  We're tickled pink to welcome her to the Shed.

Just in case our bbq outing piqued your aural appetite, here's a little audio hushpuppy where Shea reveals insights from one of the darker periods of his life.

Ps. Thanks for bearing with our belated posting of new audio.  We have (um ... shea has ;-) been running a bit behind.  But please stay tuned.  We've got a ton of great tape coming soon that's definitely worth the wait!

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(Produced by Amara Hark-Weber) We're back!  And this week, we're listening to three short pieces from Ghana--"Storytime," "Sweeping with Simone" and "Daniel in the Market"--sent to us by our friend and Producer Amara Hark-Weber.  Amara recorded these while working as a Hines Documentary Fellow in Ghana. We looking forward to hearing more tape from Amara before she returns to the States.

This episode of Big Shed proudly features Shea's mom (aww) and dad (like father, like son).  Click here for a super bonus mysery rough cut outtake of his interview with them!

Big Shed is proud to air the second installment from our infamous international documentary desk.  Shed alums Emma Raynes and Amanda Hark-Weber are both working overseas as Lewis Hines Documentary Fellows and are sending us wonderful tape of the people and places they're getting to know.  We really appreciate their doing this and are elated to share their sounds and stories with you.

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(Produced by Jennifer Deer) Like a traveling medicine man peddling a homeopathic remedy for the mass media slogans of the day, the Mantra Trailer focuses attention on the personal and spiritual mantras people live by, one voice at a time. Jen speaks with artist Sherri Wood about the podcast she's created to kick-start this project.

Check out the Mantra Trailer site and drop her a mantra!  FYI - Sherri just returned from The MacDowell Colony, the oldest artists' colony in the country.  Check out this NPR story about MacDowell that featured Sherri's project. 

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(Produced by Jesse Dukes) Drive west from Portland, Maine on US 302 and you’ll pass a giant mechanical television repairman on the left. The repairman was built by Al Hawkes years ago to promote his television store. Al sold TVs for years, but his real love was always country and bluegrass music. He’s been a performing musician, record producer, pirate radio broadcaster, and general promoter. Now, he works like a mad scientist in his basement to preserve recordings and document musicians who played a part in Maine’s musical history. His basement is filled with records; some 50,000 or more. Every now and then, he goes into his stacks and pulls out an old treasure.

Jen forgot to say in the piece that Jesse Dukes is a producer on the Virginia-based radio program, With Good Reason.  Thanks so much for turning her on to this awesome tune "Shifting Texas Sand." She went on a web hunt for it immediately.  (And Shea wants to out Jesse as an alum of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Maine.)

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(Produced by Katie Mingle) Looking to get more experience with the dead and ghosts, producer Katie Mingle spent some time in a "pauper's graveyard". She narrates her experiences there. She tell what she finds, and more importantly, doesn't find, in one of the only "below ground" cemeteries in New Orleans, LA.

A special thanks to Katie for her patience (link for MySpace users).  Have a great time at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies!

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(Produced by Emma Raynes) Meet Ruana, the world's cutest 6-year-old Portugese teacher.  This languange lesson comes to us from our friend and Producer Emma Raynes.  Emma recently ran off to Brazil, where she's working as a Hines Documentary Fellow, a very cool program housed at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies.

Check out Emma's blog to read about her encounters with language, rivers, rituals, migrant workers, orphans and lice!

Big Shed is proud to announce our international documentary desk.  Shed alums Emma Raynes and Amanda Hark-Weber are both working overseas as Lewis Hines Documentary Fellows and are sending us wonderful tape of the people and places they're getting to know.  We really appreciate their doing this and are elated to share their sounds and stories with you.

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(Produced by Jill Summers and David Whitcomb ... aka Stray Dog Recording Company)

A tragic turn of events at the world’s smallest circus.  Les Petits Tristes is an excerpt from Transfixed: Through the Fresnel Lens, 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 "Talk to Me About Love," their beautiful submission to the Third Coast Festival's 99 Ways to Tell a Story project.

(Produced by John Biewen + Jennifer Deer) Merry Christmas from Big Shed!!  Producer John Biewen (seen here in his own japanese manga) 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 Duke Center for Documentary Studies.  We're big fans of the program and are glad to add this to their special place in the shed.

In case you're insatiable and want more Big Shed fun, we have two bonus downloads for you:
- Jingle Bells (the skype remix)
- And last year's hit video Mitchell the Christmas Moose.

We'll be back next week with something to help you ring in the New Year.  Until then, Happy holidays! (from jen and shea)

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(Produced by Owen Agnew) (Photo: Allison Lucas) 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. 

Owen Agnew (audio) and Allison Lucas (photo) just started work on a new project about pigeons keepers in Brooklyn, New York—a group of folks they've found to be surprisingly large and diverse.  Owen and Allison were kind enough to send us sights and sounds from their first day of recording.  The voice in the piece and face in the photo is Michael Scott, whose father had pigeons before him. And this particular recording was made at one of his coops in Canarsie, on top of his grandmother’s house.

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(Produced by Zak Rosen) Here's the next episode in our series live from the Third Coast International Audio Festival, 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 sounds I heard while I was living in Alicante, Spain during the Spring of 2005.   I brought with me a mini-disc player, binaural mics, and a ridiculously rudimentary grasp of the language.  This is my first collage, and one of my first pieces altogether.  The Quiet American is owed a debt of gratitude for creating a wonderfully inspirational and informative  website that helped me a lot in the beginning." 

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Ps. Now can hear "Shed Your Audio Inhbitions," the Big Shed Listening Session at the Third Coast Website. along with recordings of all the other amazing sessions.

(Photo by John Barth of PRX ... thanks for being a shutterbug) (Produced by Jennifer Deer) Last week, Jennifer and I joined 350-ish other audiophiles in Chicago (well, Evanston, IL) for the  sixth annual Third Coast International Audio Festival.   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 the last two years.  Everyone had wonderful questions and comments about the pieces.  And conversations about the podcast continued on throughout the conference.  We were and remain flattered and elated about the reception. 

You can download the full presentation here.  It's about 90 minutes long and plenty of fun.  We thought it might be a little long for the regular podcast, but if you're interested, please download and enjoy it.

That being said, a personal note from Shea: Oh my god.  Jennifer, I can't believe you're running this tape!  My mother will be horrified.  My friends will be ... not so surprised.  My ego will be deflated.  I'm glad we have the documentary courage to use this.  Just kidding.  all I really want to say is thanks for the Alka Seltzer ;-).  

Ps. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone at the Third Coast International Audio Festival! 

(Thanks to Adrienne Mathiowetz of Love and Radio, Dennis Conrow of New Letters on the Air, Paul Sturtz of the True/False Film Festival and  Noah Miller of the outLoud Radio Project for being semi-recognizable in the above photo.)

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(Produced by David Sommerstein) 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 North Country Public Radio, came out for the presentation, too (that's David in the photo above).  After the presentation--flattering us to no end (truly, we're still blushing)--David interviewed Shea about Big Shed and ran this really nice piece.

The North Country Public Radio website summed up the presentation this way: "Sound is really cool and everyone should grab a microphone and recorder and try their hand at making radio. After the lecture, he and David Sommerstein ducked into a stairwell to escape the rain and chat about why he prefers radio to other media."

Thanks for the story, David, and for letting us re-cast it here.

Ps. Woohoo!!!! -- We're going to the Third Coast Audio Festival! October 25-28 in Chicago . Big Shed will be presenting a listening session Wednesday night.  Hope to see some of you there.

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(Produced by Layne Garrett) About this week's piece, Layne says:  "this piece is made entirely of samples from a winter camping trip in Feb.06 to Smarts Mountain 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 DC listening lounge and appears on my recent cd 'the lost spaces ... reconstructed' on the dc-based sockets label.

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 always open, and you offer yrself open yrself lose yrself sink into crunching earth breathing sky fading light warming friends creeping cold enveloping silence."

Check out Layne's MySpace page. (He's one of our friends. You could be too!)

Ps. Woohoo!!!! -- We're going to the Third Coast Audio Festival! October 25-28 in Chicago . Big Shed will be presenting a listening session Wednesday night.  Hope to see some of you there.

Check out the IndieFeed Big Shed at iTunes