First Crack 50. The Challenges of Comedy Theater at the Brave New Workshop

Caleb and Katy McEwen, the artistic directors at Minneapolis’ legendary Brave New Workshop comedy theater and I discuss the challenges of running a comedy theater. The ongoing struggle to strike the balance between challenging material and filling seats. Additionally, Caleb’s definition of good improv feels an awful lot like a good podcast. Listen to the …

Garrick Speaking at MN-ASIS Brain Food Sampler July 12

On Tuesday, July 12th, I’ll be evangelizing podcasts, wikis, RSS, and weblogs as part of MN-ASIS’s “And Now for Something Completely Different” brain food sampler series. Date & Time: 5:00 – 6:30 Tuesday July 12 (speaker starts at 5:30) Place: Pad Thai 1659 Grand Ave just west of Macalester College RSVP atreacy@ treacyinfo.com that you’ll …

Subscribing to the First Crack Podcast is Easy with iTunes 4.9

If you’ve been listening to the show through your web browser, your life just got easier. The latest version of Apple’s iTunes is out now and full support podcasts. Here’s how Click Here to subscribe to the First Crack Podcast in Apple’s iTunes Select the “Subscribe to Podcast” from the “Advanced” menu Copy and Paste …

iTunes 4.9 with Podcasting, First Impressions

The new iTunes 4.9 supporting podcasts is out today, it will do wonders for increasing the visibility of the most popular podcasts and radio station-produced podcasts. This is definitely the easiest way to subscribe to a podcast, whether browsing or manually. Until iTMS URL linking is functional, it’s a two step process to subscribe to …

First Crack 49. Improv Comedy in Minneapolis with Five Man Job

A conversation with the Minneapolis improv group Five Man Job on the Minneapolis improv scene and the difference between the Who’s Line is It Anyway? and Del Close’s Harold flavor of improv. You might want to know: there is some cursing in this episode. Listen to Improv Comedy in Minneapolis with Five Man Job [32 …

RSS Feeds to Replace CDs

To this point, musicians need to press bits of plastic (records, CDs) each time they want to share music with their fans. This means, enough music has to be ready to make pressing bits of plastic worth the cost. These bits of plastic are then shipped at an additional cost to stores where hopefully the …

Saint Paul the Auto Repairman

Record highs today in Minnesota when I pulled over for an en route police car complete with lights and sirens. As I stopped, the tire jumped the curb. I didn’t think anything of it until I couldn’t move after the squad car passed me. Now, I’m stranded yards from one of the busiest intersections in …