Big Bang Theory? Fiction folks – this man is the REAL deal.
In the future, I believe Scott Maxwell’s contributions to space exploration will be more than a mere footnote in a history book somewhere. He’s a natural story teller with an eye on what’s important, and if I dare say, the dramatic and funny as well. He’s a geek who get’s Shakespear, can quote from The Princess Bride to make an all too funny point, and happens to be the frakin Mars Rover Driver Team Lead. We live in the future folks because there’ somebody in charge of driving more than one rover on another planet -now where’s my jet pack? Scott is one of the funnest and easiest interviews I’ve done. If you want a new drinking game, take a drink every time I laugh or giggle. Yeah, I geek out pretty bad – even when we talk musical theater. o.O

I  seriously doubt any of you will blame me after listening to the show. Oh, want more incentive? Ever want to know how they did a brain transplant on a robot on Mars, from Earth? Yeah, I though you might.  Enjoy!

Scott Maxwell (@marsroverdriver) on Twitter

Blog: Mars and Me
http://marsandme.blogspot.com/

Scott on Google+
https://plus.google.com/112648317373638762082

The Show!

Interview With A Geek, Episode 8, Scott Maxwell

Oh, and if you don’t think this man is completely awesome and worthy of all my geeking out.. he’s credited as a writer on the most recent Disney Winnie the Pooh movie. WINNIE THE POOH!!

Also  Brian wanted to give a special thank  you to Guy Brand at welovefine.com!

Enjoy our chat!

Brian Kesinger’s Tea Girls via Clockwork Couture
http://www.clockworkcouture.com/home/brian-kesinger-s-tea-girls.html

The Tea Girls Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Kesingers-Tea-Girls/212094505475204

Brian’s Fine Art America Page
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/brian-kesinger.html

Brian’s IMDB Page
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1293044/

Vote for Brian’s Incredible Star Wars shirts!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=443859995631986&set=a.218773931473928.60997.212094505475204&type=1&theater

The show! 

Interview With A Geek, Episode 7, Brian Kesinger

This show is all about celebrating the Geek. There are many types of geeks and I like to talk to people who are not afraid to geek out and be proud. Clare is without a doubt the type of geek to geek out with the best of them. Who is this Clare Grant you say? Well, she’s an actress, gamer, unicorn, reformed baseball nerd, collectible card game pro, model, and the cohort of Boba Fett. Where might you have seen her? Walk the Line? Black Snake Moan? G33K & G4M3R Girls? and there’s more! Lot’s more. Where have you heard her? Star Wars: The Clone Wars Yes. Fraking Star Wars: The Clone Wars. and Robot Chicken. I could stop there. But I won’t. In addition to her already mighty geek cred, add an appreciation for Lego Bricks, cosplay, fine southern cooking and the Chicago Cubs. In this episode we talk about all this, her up coming projects and… space. Oh, Clare.. I’m so very very jealous. #spacecamp

Please note: This post will be updated with the Sausage Balls recipe. Seriously. Listen and learn and.. No laughing.

IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1740127/

Twitter
 https://twitter.com/#!/ClareGrant

TeamUnicornFTW
http://teamunicornftw.com/

Website:
http://claregrant.com/

Blog
 http://claregrant.com/blog/

Technical Notes: (ie. What went technically wrong during the interview).  This interview was planned to be audio only, so video was not a problem at all. (check)  Audio, was better… Mic failed. Skype (the internets actually) failed… my antique chair my mother restored and gave to me as a gift many years ago.. fail.

Interview With A Geek, Episode 6, Clare Grant

Hi again everyone! This interview is a bit different, even for this show. When I started asking people to be on the show, people who I thought were cool, geeky and all around awesome, I never imagined I’d be sharing an interview and not be able to share my guest’s name.   That is exactly the case I faced when interviewing thefourmonkeys. Who are the thefourmonkeys? Well they are one of the premiere stop motion animation teams (and a family) who use Lego bricks to make incredible films. If you’ve seen a brickfilm, chances are you’ve seen one of theirs or someone’s who has benefited from their experience. Over the course of several months, I worked with thefourmonkeys and was able to interview them via email. I spliced together their recorded responses with recordings of me asking the questions. It’s a little different but I applaud their steadfastness and desire to protect their privacy! I also owe them a great many thanks for their willingness to be interviewed and their patience while I put this together. So, sit back and listen to a unique story about four of the most awesome Lego building primates around!

Where can you find thefourmonkeys on the web?

The website(s):
http://thefourmonkeys.webs.com/

http://brickfilmersguild.com 

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/thefourmonkeys

Twitter:
@thefourmonkeys

Technical Notes: (ie. What went technically wrong during the interview).  I don’t think anything went wrong during the interview. What went wrong was I said something that wasn’t exactly clear while introducing the show. You actually DO get to hear me ask SOME of the questions, I’m just not asking them LIVE to my guest. Lazy, podcaster…

Interview With A Geek, Episode 4, thefourmonkeys

After more than three months of getting my act together, I was finally able to sit down and interview the talented Jody Ellen. Now many geeks may know Jody from her singing with the Steampunk band Abney Park, however, many more will probably be introduced to her incredible singing (and songs!) via her upcoming solo album! I was able to see Jody and AP perform in Dearborn, Michigan during last year Steam Expo. She along with the rest of the band were very gracious and accessible to their fans. It was shortly thereafter that I discovered her on  Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook and her amazing solo work. Jody’s voice is amazing.  It’s hard to describe or compare it to another artists’.  I’ll just say that it beautiful. Listen and tell me I’m wrong.  That being said, during this interview you’ll get to listen to three unreleased (and unfinished) tracks from her new album! Oh, you also get the definitive versions of the MILK story. I also admit to being a Bluegrass Music geek.

Where to find Jody.

On the Web:
http://jodyellen.com

Her Blog:
http://thingsjodydoes.wordpress.com/

On Twitter:
 @JodyEllenLove

On Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=506234769

Facebook Fan Page (Like her!!):
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jody-Ellen/236088523131759

YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JodyEllenMakeup

Technical Notes: (ie. What went technically wrong during the interview).  This interview was planned to be audio only, so video was not a problem at all. (check)  Audio, was again. FAIL.  During a test before the interview I had adjusted my audio settings so everything was just peachy… but then I tweaked something. Bad, bad sound engineer.

Interview With A Geek, Episode 4, Jody Ellen

This week I had the great privilege of speaking to Alaskan singer and songwriter Marian Call.  Oh, did I mention she’s a Browncoat too? Sometime ago I discovered Marian’s work from her album Got To Fly, which is an album inspired by some of my favorite science-fiction.  That album got my interest, but the rest of her work was what blew me away. The range of her voice and styles..  well you’ll have to take a listen to her work and see for yourself. (MarianCall.com) Amazing stuff.  Behind all this great music is a intelligent, fascinating, articulate and funny spirit. She’s also a bit of a geek too.  The interview takes it’s twists and turns and while we talk about her 50 state tour, the sad state of geek on geek infighting, we NEVER discuss space once. (I’m jealous) Which I suppose I’ll have to save for another interview.

Contacting or finding out more about Marian is made easy via these links.

Twitter.com/MarianCall
Facebook.com/MarianCallMusic
Official Blog at MarianCall.Wordpress.com

- More Good Stuff:
Videos of Live Performances at Youtube.com/MarianCall
Marian’s photos at Flickr.com/MarianCall
Photos of Marian at Flickr.com/BrianAdams
Listen for free anytime at MarianCall.Bandcamp.com
Lyrics & Random Thoughts at MarianMarginalia.Wordpress.com

Technical Notes: (ie. What went technically wrong during the interview).  This interview was planned to be audio only, so video was not a problem at all. Audio, was. I failed to replicate my audio setup from my last interview and I ended up sounding like I was underwater. I promise, I was not underwater or in a submarine while doing the interview. I just failed to use my own notes. Bad, bad podcast host.

Interview With A Geek, Episode 3, Marian Call

Update: Yes, I bought “Something Fierce”.  Today.
Update: I went blank during the interview on the name of the source of my “Firefly Soap”. Here it is:
Luxury Lane Soap – LuxuryLaneSoap.com – Twitter: @KyleeLane
Now go get all clean and shiny!

Like my previous interview, this one had its share of technical difficulties. While video did indeed happen this time, the conversion and compression process left me less than thrilled. On top of that, my camera has some dead pixels. Enjoy the greenish mark on my shirt.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing her experiences and passions. It’s always fun talking to her and I always learn something geeky from her.  After the camera stopped rolling, we continued chatting for quite a while which inspired me to think about an “after show” for future episodes. The after show would be more conversational in style and could go anywhere, topic wise. I do wear a fez throughout the entire episode and.. it’s true, I’m not wearing any shoes either.

Sit back and enjoy the show.

Interview With A Geek, Episode 2, Saltzman

Oh, I changed the music! I picked a jazz piece entitled “Hmmmm…”.  It was composed and arranged by Sergeant First Class Joseph Henson. The recording features soloists: Tony Nalker on piano and Kenny Rittenhouse on trumpet. I found the piece on The US Army Band’s website and if I understood the rights I’m legal to be able to use it.  It’s a fun original piece and it may stick around. I encourage you to check out the website and explore. There’s come great music there!

Cheers!

The interview had its share of technical difficulties. First, my homes carbon monoxide detector goes off which explains the strange edit just after the interview starts. Second this show is supposed to have video sometimes and the application that was capturing it died. Luckily, I had an external recorder capturing the audio allowing the show to go on.

I can’t thank Jessica enough for her time and patience. It was truly a joy to speak with her and, as both a fan and an admitted fanboy, I geeked out a bit during the interview.  I have a feeling that’s just how it’s going to be.

So, sit back and enjoy the show.

Oh, and if you don’t like the music, please watch for a special public service announcement at the end of the video.

Cheers!

Interview With A Geek, Episode 1, Jessica Mills