Steele Saunders' podcast "I Love Green Guide Letters" recently released its 181st episode. Since the show began in late 2011, Saunders has become quite the podcaster with not only this one but another Star Wars related podcast (the immensely fun Steele Wars podcast) as well as a number of appearances on many high profile podcasts like TOFOP, Dum Dum Club and Comedy Film Nerds (amongst others).
In honour of this glorious achievement, Steele went back and has released the first ten episodes in a special bundle for a tiny cost (more on that later). Here's 8 reasons (in no particular order) why you NEED to get this package.
The Rawness
Like any show in its infancy, ILGGL, sounds very different in these early episodes to what it has become today- and that's for a number of reasons. Saunders had yet to develop a number of the vocal quirks (such as the high pitched voice used for reading the letters) and catch phrases ("I dooooooo love those green guide letters!") that the show has become known for. Not only that, but as the podcast medium was still very much in its infancy, many of his guests at the time were not entirely comfortable with exactly what they had to do (Luke McGregor famously thought the show was about environmental tips!). Yet despite this, these episodes are rarely dull, in fact there's an energy that crackles through all ten episodes that I'm not sure has carried on through to today's episodes.
Before They Were Famous.....
Whilst names like Charlie Pickering, Dave O'Neill and Lawrence Mooney were well known at that stage to the general public, comedians like Luke McGregor, Ronnie Chieng and Tegan Higginbotham were not. Nowadays, all three are regulars on TV and are pulling in massive crowds to their live shows. If podcasts in general have done nothing else, it's help young comedians raise their profiles considerably- and that includes Saunders himself.
Ronnie Chieng
Ronnie's appearance in episode 2 is a fascinating study in how a comedian finds what Justin Hamilton would call their "comedic voice". Compare the Ronnie of this episode and his appearance on a now legendary episode of the "Steele Wars" podcast recorded in April of 2015 and it is like chalk and cheese. In his first appearance he is more happy, laid back and chilled and even mentions how little he knows about technology. Jump forward and you have an aggressive, angry comedian yelling at Saunders for most of the podcast about the Star Wars Expanded Universe and mentioning every little internet trick he knows. It's clear this is the Ronnie that people love and appreciate, but it all begins in that early episode of ILGGL....
Brevity
It's interesting that many of these early episodes run between 40 and 60 minutes (the shortest is episode 2 at a mere 34 minutes and the longest is 78 minutes for episode 9). There was a single mindedness about these episodes that Saunders admits was not great. Start the show, tiny bit of banter and then plow on in to the letters. These days it is not uncommon for the opening banter to reach silly proportions (in one extreme case it was an hour before they got to the first letter!). Personally, I think Saunders has gone a little too much the other way nowadays (but I suspect I'm in the minority on this one) but the latter batch of these episodes gets it just about right.
The Q and A episode
As a bonus, Saunders waxes lyrical about these early days in a newly recorded episode that comes as a bonus episode with the bundle. He talks about many of the issues that he believes he had in those days and how his mental processes in the way he works the show have changed over the years. It's a great insight into how one man and a microphone can create an environment and mythos over a few short months. Even by the end of episode 10, Saunders is already thinking about what works and what doesn't. It's a great peek "behind the curtain".
Mooney vs Toadfish
Episode 9 with Lawrence Mooney and Kelly Fastuca is the definition of a "classic" episode. This is the episode that just keeps on giving. Mooney has always been at home in the uncensored and unbridled world of podcasting and nearly every episode of whatever show he's on is worth a listen, but this one is a priceless gem. It all begins with a letter about the soapie "Neighbours" and quickly spirals out of control with Mooney letting fly on the newly skinny Ryan Maloney (Toadfish). "When toadfish got on the Lite and Easy ads and got on the trampoline with his kids," gripes Mooney"and a lot slimmer than he usually is... you think you know what? die in a house fire c***". but he's not finished... "don't dare evolve the character into your lifestyle choice you f*****g selfish, retarded tool!". It's not just the words but the almost deadpan, monotone delivery of it that makes you wonder just how angry he is.
It's those comments that would finally payoff a few years later when Maloney himself appeared on the program and Sam Simmons rang Lawrence from the stage to get him to repeat those comments. Mooney would make so many wonderful appearances on this show but this one was his first and one of his best.
Supporting local talent
Saunders' years of experience on the Melbourne comedy scene gave him access to the best comedians around the traps- most of whom were unknown outside of fringe festivals and comedy nights. Reading the list of guests now, nearly all of them have found a higher degree of exposure (like the three I mentioned earlier). Whilst Saunders has always enjoyed having high profile, international guests, it's the local comedians who really give the show its essence and it all starts in this batch. What's great is that Saunders will put the more well known comedian alongside a lesser known one (something that continues to this day) like Josh Earl (relatively unknown at the time) put alongside the high profile Charlie Pickering or Xavier Michelides alongside the veteran Justin Hamilton. Talk to any of the comedians and they'll tell you that a large part of their current audiences have come to them through their appearances on podcasts like this.
It's really cheap!
$2.50. That's all he asks for. 10 hours of entertainment for less than the cost of a coffee in a trendy Melbourne cafe (or even a crappy Melbourne cafe). You can pay more if you want though. It's a great way to support the podcasting world which runs on a LOT of goodwill of its listeners. As a fervent listener, I always try and support Steele when he's in Adelaide doing live shows, or buy merch but something like this is an absolute no brainer for me. Even if you've never heard the show before, it's a dirt cheap way to get into it (if getting the latest episodes free is too hard for you). Support the podcasts you listen to, support the Australian comedy scene and give a little bit of loose change.
No comments:
Post a Comment