We sat down with Tim Crisp of Chicago-based Better Yet Podcast and talked about how he got into the podcasting biz, influences, his interview wishlist, and what we can expect for Better Yet in 2019.
Interview
What was the fuel that made you decide that you wanted to do a longform interview podcast?
I wasn’t doing much creatively. I realized that most of my friends had a thing and I wanted to find something to put a lot of myself into. I was a big fan of Marc Maron and Terry Gross and especially Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast and always felt you gained so much insight into a person by just listening to them talk and interact in a conversation. Meanwhile, all of my favorite music is being made by people in the punk and DIY communities, people who you’d never hear on those bigger programs. So it was something that I wanted to hear and eventually just started doing it.
Interview wish list time! You can interview any three people but you only have a few minutes to talk to each one about one specific topic. Who is on your top three list and what one thing would you discuss with each?
Oh, this is good! Okay, firstly I’d want to ask Sadie Switchblade of Dyke Drama and G.L.O.S.S. about the Goo Goo Dolls. I know she’s a big fan, as am I. I’d ask Dan Yemen to give me his dream line-up for a hardcore band made up of famous psychologists. And I’d like to ask Blake Schwarzenbach if he’s grown out of Kerouac yet.
Please tell me all about that gorgeous pug who can be seen alongside all your guests in the promo shots!
That’s my dog Chloe and, yes, she is very photogenic! She gets very excited meeting new people so everyone who comes over is getting greeted by this stoked little snorting doughball! She’s very popular with everyone who comes over and the prospect of meeting her is definitely a good selling point for getting people to come over and do the show haha.
For those who are not well versed in music podcasts and want to delve more into the world, what podcasts do you recommend?
My favorite podcast of 2018 was Axe To Grind which is all about hardcore. Three very good talkers and what I like best is that they’re critical, not in the way that they just hate on things, but they talk about what they do and don’t like in a way that makes you want to listen and form your own opinion. It sounds basic, but not enough people are doing that these days!
I’m looking forward to the new Post-Trash Podcast which is still its infancy but is very promising. Song Exploder, Kreative Kontrol, and Turned Out A Punk are great too! I should probably plug my other show As You Were, my friend David Anthony and I talk about one Alkaline Trio song per episode.
I’m gonna have to be a little vague with these, but I did just get a very enthusiastic email from a certain audio engineer from Chicago who has a couple bands too. I’ve been working on a benefit compilation that will be out this year, and I’m really excited to let that out into the world and have some big plans for Better Yet when that’s released. Aside from that, for as many people as I’ve talked to already, there are still so many I’d love to have on so if they’re coming through Chicago in 2019 I’ll be in their inbox!
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