Introducing Pod Squadron

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (aka Florida) I ended up really getting into the Star Wars Franchise. If you ever talked to me, I'd probably have much more to say about video games or comics, but Star Wars was my science fiction / fantasy outlet.

I never mentioned it much, but I ended up starting a group on Facebook to talk about the franchise, and it got really good. A lot of my friends ended up joining and discussing all things Star Wars. Fast forward some time, and people that knew me from my group suggested that I help jumpstart a podcast.

That's how I met up with the guys at Pangeekery. 

So now I host the podcast with Chinese Pirate, Hot Nerd Girl, and Kaleidoscope Creature, and it's created in conjunction with the Pangeekery Network.

You can find Pod Squadron on all the major channels including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your Internet fix. 

We're currently going following along with The Mandalorian. If you have something to say about that, let me know!

- Mr Benja -

ADD Podcast 009 - Pandemic Level Energies w/ Raphael Phillips

If you don't know, Raphael is one of the more interesting friends I roll with. We speak about a number of things, including social media, leaving Facebook, sales/marketing, art development, design, and therapy. It gets wild.

NOTE: Please excuse the audio. We had to get the recording done, but the information in the podcast is well worth it.

Download this episode here.

- Mr Benja -

Pod Squadron?? Wait... Benja's Hosting a Star Wars Podcast

The Pod Squadron Podcast Is Here

* Here's The Backstory *

Earlier this year, I was reading up on Star Wars news and finishing up the first season of The Mandalorian. I was a bit late on it, but season 2 was coming out and I was feeling good about Star Wars.

You see, I had gone through the tumultuous period known as the Sequel Trilogies Arguments. Regardless your feelings on those films, you likely thought it was a tough time to be a Star Wars fan. Things got testy. It was weird.

But I've been a Star Wars fan since...forever, and some YouTube comments and  aren't going to ruin my joy. So I kept my private Facebook group going (want an invite?), and embraced all things Star Wars again. 

I suppose my enthusiasm and knowledge got someone's attention, because through this I ended up getting invited to do a podcast with some of my friends.

* Here's The Podcast *

I'm currently putting our podcast out on the different podcast channels and building something that's bigger than Star Wars. I'm hosting with theater producer Andy the Chinese Pirate and social maven Tracy the Hot Nerd Girl. We go live every week on Twitch. We also have other guests that show up from time to time. Currently, we're following the releases of The Mandalorian episodes and will continue on to other things after that. If you're keeping count, that means we've got three episodes completed. 

We need your support, so be sure to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you check out podcasts.

Get Pod Squadron on your favorite player here.

- Mr Benja - 

ADD Experience Podcast 008 - BenjaCon 2020

The San Diego Comic Con was always a special time for me. The networking, sights, sounds, events, friends, hype, new reveals, etc. were all very transformative for me. SDCC (along with other conventions) became a thing, so I'm starting a loose initiative that I will continue to add to over time called BenjaCon. This is the story of that venture.

Click HERE to Download This Episode.

- Mr Benja -

ADD Podcast 007 - 2020 Part 2

So...I've split up 2020 into two parts. The first part where I thought things were happening one way. The second part is where I realized that everything was changing. You've got to keep updating and making things better. For me, that includes this podcast. 

Click HERE to Download This Episode.

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience Podcast Links Updated

I just updated all of the podcast links so that you can listen to the ADD Experience on your favorite player.  They're on the right side of the page (unless you're on mobile) and on the Podcast page linked at the top. Or you can just come by the blog here to check out all the episodes and leave comments. I even added a boring ass RSS feed so that Krehan won't get mad. 

Be sure to come back to the blog and leave me some comments so we can argue over the Internet like grown ups.

- Mr Benja -

Homecoming: A New Way to Envision Stories.

I just finished Homecoming on Amazon. I liked it! It felt different, but I couldn't place why. Then learned that it came from a podcast featured on Gimlet Media. Ohhh...holy crap. Now I see. The podcast format necessarily has a different feel. I applauded the effort.

Then I realized that Serialized and story-based podcasts are a *great* way to get stories out there for people to pick up stories that they might not have with a book or a television show. Now my mind is whirring. The format is a different one.

While I know that the audio story is not new in the podcasting world, the way that people consume media rapidly changing. Looking forward to more interesting stories being created from this medium in the future.

Let me know what you think about the future of podcasted stories!

And if you're into any, let me know in the comments.

Click HERE to check out Amazon's "Homecoming" on Prime.

Click HERE to check out the original "Homecoming" podcast page from Gimlet.

- Mr Benja -

ADD 006 - 10 Rap Albums That Changed My Life

ADD 006 - 10 Rap Albums That Changed My Life

- Mr Benja -

ADD Quick Bit 1 - Low Level Anxiety

ADD Quick Bit 1 - Low Level Anxiety

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience 005 - Creative Artistry w/ Marcellus Barnes

ADD Experience 005 - Creative Artistry w/ Marcellus Barnes

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience 004 - The Secret Podcast Agenda Explained

ADD Experience 004 - The Secret Podcast Agenda Explained

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience 003 - Quarantine Creations with Patrick Hickey Jr.

ADD Experience 003 - Quarantine Creations w/ Patrick Hickey Jr.

Click HERE to download.

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience 002 - My Sketchbook Process

ADD Experience 002 - My Sketchbook Process

- Mr Benja -

ADD Experience 001 - On Living Digital...

ADD Experience 001 - On Living Digital...

Click HERE to download.

- Mr Benja -

8BitCubist Podcast Ep 001

I gave the first podcast a 000 index because it's kind of like the origin story. With this one, I'm just getting into the swing of things with my first real podcast. This whole coronavirus thing is what got me to set up the recording software and get serious.

Speaking of serious, be sure that you're subscribed on YouTube.



- Mr Benja -

The Return of The 8Bit Cubist Podcast

I was a podcast OG. Mostly thanks to Raph and Marcellus back in the late 00s. I didn't worry too much about recording my shit talking though. But between, myself, Raph, Jeff, Ryan, Theo, Marcellus, Josh, and a few others, there was always good shit-talking to be done. We found that out after bonding over video games, SoCal, and the San Diego Comic Con.

Come to think of it, we were all from vastly different places. That's probably why it was so unique.

Here's basically how the version were:
Version 1 - The Paiiow Podcast: Randomly wild. Missed it? That's too bad (many to many)
Version 2 - The 8Bit Cubist Podcast: Group Sessions (one to many)
Version 3 - The 8Bit Cubist Podcast: Interview Sessions (one to one)
Version 4 - The 8Bit Cubist Podcast: Mr Benja goes full art (singleton)

The current version of The 8Bit Cubist podcast is a direct extension my art and a complement to it as well. That is, it's an individual exploration of life viewed through the lens of a game.


Also, I'd definitely appreciate it if you could subscribe on YouTube so I can prove to the algorithm that I'm worth it. You know how that goes.

Thanks.
- Mr Benja -

The Crisis That Halted Podcast Posting

I got a message from my good friend, Ryan. He wanted to know why I'm posting all this shit, but haven't sent out any podcast episodes.

Man...I ran into an online existential crisis.

See, I follow the classic saying from Busta Rhymes that states, "Don't talk about it, be about it." I realized that a podcast *could* be the epitome of that statement. I felt I was focusing a bit too much on talking about topics when I hadn't lived up to my 2020 goals of being about my art. (And you know I take my New Years Resolutions seriously.)

That didn't sit well with me. So for February, I put my primary focus on staying on the creative habit, so I wouldn't start letting that slip away from me. Because I'll be damned if I become that noisy guy that doesn't create anything.

Also, the current idea is that you just fart out any kind of content and that'll be good for your brand. I've seen that happen enough times to know that's not the case. Also, that'd be bad for the rest of the brand if you saw my regular print creations and things fall off in exchange for some online hot air.

Anyway, don't worry. I'm still doing the podcast, but I promised you steak over sizzle, so that's what I'm doing. Always.

- Mr Benja -

Knocking Off The Podcast Rust

Recording a podcast is work for me, but it's something that needed to be done for The 8BitCubist. I'm not exactly sure what to call the format that I'm putting together, but it's getting there.

The interesting (I won't call it 'fun') part of recording was noticing how many mistakes, stumbles, and logical errors I made. I haven't done this sort of thing in a while, so it took a second to get used to again. And since people expect a certain amount of quality from me on this, I couldn't just start off half-cocked. I had to knock the rust off and get to work.

Good thing that I'm an introvert that can just mull around all the thoughts in my head and put them out in a coherent manner though. Otherwise this thing would never get off the ground.

The podcast will get put out there along with my 2020 art plan.
I'll basically be centering around the 8BitCubist philosophy, which is "Life Imitating Game, Imitating Life".

Let me know what you'd like to hear me cover in the next couple weeks.

- Mr Benja -

The Podcast Is Returning

After almost a year of working through different angles and options, it's become apparent that The 8BitCubist podcast needs to come back for 2020 and beyond.

I've spent the past several weeks testing and figuring out a plan that would work for the audience. There were a few versions I tried, but didn't work out. Those will never see the light of day. I've finally got what I was looking for though: something that matches the art, entertains, and educates. I think the listeners of the previous podcast would appreciate that. Watch the website and 8Bit Cubist on social media for release information.

http://facebook.com/8bitcubist
http://instagram.com/8bitcubist

- Mr Benja -

The Paint Trips Podcast Appearance

So I made an appearance on a podcast on an art podcast. I t came about because I was at an art  party talking shit about my own audio recording history when I run into a guy named Nigma 32 that has been running an art podcast and wanted to talk to a cool ass artist. I was ready.

Now usually, I get bored talking to people for that long, so I figured I’d be out of there in 30 minutes, but I ended up staying and recording for a good three hours talking all types of good shit. You know why? Because talking good shit runs in my veins. I already knew how to back up what I say, so listen in and catch some good gems.

Bonus points for anyone that knows where the colors I selected for my episode come from.

I'll get the time codes later so you can jump to a certain section.



- Benja -