Interview: Michael from Joypod feature

Hello and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Firstly how did Joypod first get started?About three years ago, elmo was living up in Milton Keynes, and he just gave me a call. He wanted to put together a podcast about games but didn't want to do it on his own - shows with just one voice can be a bit of a drone, so I was happy to help. I had no idea what we'd do, and I think I got involved simply because I was in the right place at the right time. We knew each other from rllmukforum.com and decided to give it a shot, recording a demo episode that we linked to on the site - a few people listened, gave us a bit of feedback, and we then recorded a 'proper' first episode. I listened to it again for the first time in ages last week, it was awful - I have no idea why anyone gave us a chance. We recorded in elmo's bedroom, using a single SingStar mic. The sound quality was awful, the editing was atrocious, and yet we kept going. And amazingly, we still are.Are there any podcasts out there on the world wide web that you really took inspiration from?At that time, not really - as I said, I had no clue what to do, I went in totally blind. There weren't that many games podcasts about at the time, especially ones that didn't take themselves seriously. As we've moved through the series, then evolved into the radio show, I've certainly listened to more and more - we both love Iain Lee's stuff, especially Shindiggery, which is superb (as is his Absolute show). At the moment, I really enjoy A Life Well Wasted - it's well produced and has great content. I'd love to do something along those lines, working in a more documentary style. Maybe one day. We say it a lot, but Gamerdork is also great - if you've not tried it, I'd well recommend it. As for other shows that aren't game related, I'd say The Dice Tower (which is about boardgaming) and Hardcore History - the presenters on both are just so into their topics, it's great to hear them talk. From becoming bedroom podcast hosts to a part on an online radio network (Play Radio) is quite a substantial leap. How did this all come about?That'll be elmo again. He sent an email apropos of nothing to Tommy Boyd telling him about us, expecting absolutely nothing. It was a shock when Tommy got back in touch with us asking if we could go down and record a demo show, and we nearly bit his hand off. It was like being back to square one again and we were crapping ourselves. It went alright though, and Tommy seemed to like it - we were given a weekly hour slot. After a few weeks, that switched to the two-hour show we have now. And we're both constantly amazed that that happened. What was the first show in the studio like? Is it anything like you expected?We were really hyper and really nervous. We started a thread on rllmuk to let people know we were on, asked a couple of mates to call in so it wouldn't just be us talking, and just waited to see what happened. We arrived at the studio in the middle of nowhere, walked in, introduced ourselves to Tommy and got on with it. I'd worked in radio before and knew my way round a desk, so pushed a few buttons and off we went. The hour flew by, and we left the place shaking with adrenaline. Still feels the same!It always amazes us when we listen to Joypod and you somehow manage to get wrangle quite a big guest. Youve had Iain Lee, someone from the Inbetweeners and even Gamestyles former editor Garnett Lee. Is it hard to get guests of this calibre?I'm still utterly amazed when anyone comes on to the show. We still see ourselves as two idiots just talking crap, but when someone is kind enough to guest on Joypod, we always appreciate it. We really have no fear in just asking people to come on - for us, a quick 10 minute interview is as good as coming on for the whole show, so whatever people are available for, we'll take. Sending off a quick email costs nothing, and people are usually happy to respond yes or no. It's a much more chilled out show in comparison to other stuff out there, and we seem to be building a reputation as a place where people can come on and have a laugh. Garnett was great, he really got into the spirit of the show, and Iain's been on a few times. We've got a few more great guests lined up, and have a list of others we'd like to get on - if we ever snag Cliffy B, I want Capone in the studio as well.Can a member of Gamestyle ever make an appearance on your show? We'll have anyone, man. If you're free, and can talk rubbish for a couple of hours, you're on.You can tune into to Joypod every Tuesday at 7pm on PlayTalk UK (www.playradiouk.com) or download the latest show from the iTunes store.