Ride Home Rants
Ride Home Rants
Celebrating Four Years of Ride Home Rants: Behind-the-Scenes Antics and Memorable Moments
Four years ago, my daily rants on the ride home sparked an idea that blossomed into the Ride Home Rants podcast. Join me, Mike Bono, and our trusty podcast manager, Johnny "Fiddy" Falconi, as we reminisce about our podcasting journey and share the hilarious moments and behind-the-scenes chaos that brought us here. From spontaneous episodes recorded mere days before airing to a more organized process, we’ve had our fair share of learning curves and triumphs. We even had a few furry interruptions who have added some unexpected charm to our recordings.
Our podcast isn’t just about us; it’s about the fascinating guests who’ve shared their stories with us. Remember when we had middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik and the legendary college football coach Hal Mumme on the show? Those were episodes that truly expanded our horizons and brought a richness to our discussions. We’ve also enjoyed the whimsical segment, "Fast Fiddy Five," where guests tackle five unpredictable questions, adding a lighthearted twist to our conversations. It’s a segment that’s become beloved by listeners and guests alike, bringing out laughter and surprising insights.
As we celebrate our anniversary, we’re excited about what’s next for the Ride Home Rants podcast. Whether it’s exploring new thematic shows, revisiting favorite towns, or adding more fun and thought-provoking content, there’s plenty to look forward to. With gratitude, we thank our listeners, co-hosts, and guests for being a part of this incredible journey. Your support has been invaluable, and we can’t wait to continue sharing more laughs, stories, and engaging episodes with all of you.
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Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is, as always, your host, mike Bono. This is a very special episode for me. This is actually the four-year anniversary show of the Ride Home Rants podcast and it is hard to believe that it's been four years since I started this show and we're going to talk all things about the show since I started this show. And we're going to talk all things about the show and with me today, as always, everybody knows and loves this man and he is the wonderful manager of the podcast. Johnny Fitty Falcone is going to sit here and he's going to help me talk all through the show, basically how it got started, how we got Johnny involved, and we're going to break down a couple of our favorite episodes and everything like that. So, figetti, what's going on, brother?
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, a lot of great information we're going to talk about today, kind of reflect back on, you know, the four years you've had the show and the little less than four years I've been on and you know, going into season five and going to kind of just give all the viewers and going into Season 5 and going to kind of just give all the viewers a little behind-the-scenes thing of how we truly work here at Ride Home Rants, not only releasing the shows, but what we're doing in the meantime behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot of people don't see what happens.
Speaker 2:They hear the show when it comes out on Wednesdays and special holidays and everything like that, but they don't see the work that we put in behind the scenes, and I think it's going to open up a lot of eyes to anybody who's interested in getting into podcasting yeah, you know for sure, when you think of like podcasts, you just think of like all the things that go on with the, with the show, when you're airing shows, but you don't really know about from what we do and we'll talk about finding guests and doing the roundtables and the topics, and you know what days we want to air this and you know, uh, just moving it around and what's the best days that we could try to get downloads, and how we market in this and all those cool things we're going to talk about today. So, yeah, a lot of behind the scenes stuff yeah, that's, that's always fun to talk about.
Speaker 1:That I know. Uh, up on my Patreon I do post a couple of videos basically every month where it's showing a lot of the behind the scenes, not necessarily getting the guest, but all the editing and everything that goes into making this show happen. I even know, up on my TikTok at Mike Bono underscore comedian I do every now and again we go live on TikTok and it's me recording a show and it's a lot of fun getting a lot of viewers and, as I can see, the newest I guess co-manager there Pickles is with you today. For those watching on Patreon, we got Johnny's dog Pickles with us today. Yeah, she's kind of with us today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's a kind of being rambunctious right now. It's all good.
Speaker 1:It's all good. Yeah, it's, but it's. You know, it's weird. Thinking back to as well you know starting this show four years ago and you know where we're at now. It's it's crazy to think that it doesn't feel like it's been four years for me. You know what I mean, but it's. Yeah, you brought this idea up to me and I was like holy crap, it's been.
Speaker 2:It's been four years since I've been doing this show yeah, you know, and I think you know really I we've talked about it and you talked about some of the episodes about ranting, you know, on your way home from work. But I guess really just kind of tell people truly you know, know what inspired you to start the show. But how did you really go from just screaming in your truck on a recording to, uh, you know, getting all the equipment and starting the podcast?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the um, the show started and a lot of my comic buddies they laugh at this every time I tell them. I'm like, well, what? Well, I know a lot of comics have podcasts, but why did you start one? And it was like you know, it was basically out of spite. I'm not going to lie. Like it was March of 2020, right before the world shut down with COVID, and I was talking with a record label out of Atlanta and I was about to sign a contract. You know the. The dream was coming true of becoming a full-time professional standup comedian. And then the world shut down and, like less than a week before, I was about to get on a plane and fly to Atlanta and sign the paperwork and I was talking with him and it was like, hey, man, it's 2020. I feel like you can email this stuff over to me, I can sign it and then I'll email it back and his exact response and I still have the picture saved on my phone of his text response and it was yeah, you don't really have that much of an online presence, so, unfortunately, we're going to pass now. Really have that much of an online presence, so unfortunately, we're gonna pass now.
Speaker 1:So you know months of talking to this man and working everything out and all the finer details that that go into the behind the scenes of being a comic. And I stood over it for a little bit and was still going to work at a day job uh, selling our fees at the time. And I don't know, one day I just I was on my way home and something just really irritated me that day at work and I just made a video on my way home in my truck and I just kind of ranted for the half hour drive that I had home and a buddy of mine reached out to me and he was like dude, these are, these are hysterical. You just complaining about customers and that people coming in and all, just all the stupid questions you hear as a sales professional. And he goes this would be a great podcast. And I thought about it for a little bit. I recorded some more uh, just audio, not, uh, any videos at that point time. And, lo and behold, in december I finally decided again you know what that's let's post this and let's see what happens.
Speaker 1:The show kind of took off a little bit at the start of it. Lo and behold, four years later it's changed and it's evolved over the years. It went from me ranting on my way home from work and talking about customers and the stupid questions that I would hear on a daily basis. Um, and it was that, and some of them like I have them wrote down they've become part of my, my stand-up act too as well, which always gets a big laugh because people can relate to that, because they hear it or they're the ones that ask it and they realize how dumb of a question it actually is.
Speaker 1:But then I believe you were the first guest that I ever brought onto the show. We were just, I think we were just shooting the shit one day via text and you had mentioned like hey, why don't you have guests come on from other areas and see if you can kind of grow the reach a little bit? I was like, well, let's start with you. I mean, no better way to start than with somebody that I went to college with, you know I'm friends with, and then it'd be an easy conversation.
Speaker 1:And we got to talking after that episode and that's kind of where you got involved with with the show and kind of had an idea and we kind of rolled with it from there and that was probably, oh hell, like five, six months into me doing, uh, just solo shows, with me propping my phone up on a mountain, my truck, and just kind of ranting about my day on my way home, and and that's, and I'm out in my truck and just kind of ranting about my day on my way home and that's, if my memory serves me correctly. That's kind of how you got involved with the show.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I actually remember the first time I was on was early January of 2021 because we previewed the wild card weekend, so you're about probably six weeks into the actual podcast itself. Um, but I remember you actually. I think you made a, made a post on social media and you were like hey, I'm looking for guests and I was like I'll be a guest. That's like after we, you know, a couple years after we reconnected, when I was living down in Jefferson County.
Speaker 2:So I was like yeah, I'll, I'll be your guest. And then I think you know you had maybe a couple other shows and I was like hey, you know, that's when I was like hey, man, like why don't you let me like I know some people, let me manage this and let me get some guests on, you know? And then you're like okay, and the next thing, you know, I had like four people lined up in the next month for you. I think the four first shows but I know it was aaron, taco, bob and phil were the first ones- yeah in february, you know.
Speaker 2:And then from there I was like well, I know more people, so then we just start reaching out to those people. Um, but you probably remember that we would for people that don't know. We of course pre-record the show, but we were only pre-recording these people like four or five days in advance of the show, like between thursday to that tuesday and you had air on wednesdays and then, as we got a little bit busier into the summer of 21, we started like really pre-recording out by a couple weeks. So, yes, everyone, the show is recorded a couple of weeks in advance sometimes, and sometimes we've even recorded like seven or eight weeks into the future, with the ebbs and flows of getting guests and stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a lot of times, you know, I mean I don't want this to sound like a bad thing, but a lot of times we are at the mercy of the guests. A lot of times we are at the mercy of the guests and you know when they can have some free time to sit and record with me for an hour. And you know, there's times when it's like, all right, well, I have this show coming up and there's some pressing here that I kind of need to get out and I want to get out for the guests to help them promote that, and all right, well, now we're running into a holiday, I have a holiday show I want to put out, and then, yeah, then you just kind of it's like three, four weeks later and it's like, oh, I still have this show that I've got to air and then you can finally get the show on. But yeah, it was. I'll say it was hectic in the beginning when we were recording three, four days before the show actually aired, uh, trying to get everything edited and cut down to about a half hour, 45 minutes at the time, and really making the show work and making sure the flow. Uh was good, because I'll'll tell you I was all over the place.
Speaker 1:Those first couple of recordings, like I feel like it was just like just all kind of jumbled together and just kind of like the way my mind worked and asking the questions and there was like it didn't seem like there was a lot of flow, like there is now. Like we really take the time now, you know behind the scenes and really work out the questions and you know, okay, how is this going to work? This sounds like this. We should ask this before this question. We should do this and we really break down an outline instead of just anywhere from like eight to ten questions that we want to ask the guest. And I think it shows throughout the shows that people are listening to. But my favorite thing that we started doing we were at the end of year one or beginning of year two when we started doing the roundtables yeah, I think those started I want to say more in in year two.
Speaker 2:But going back to what you're saying, like, so, for people that don't know, you know a lot of the, a lot of the guests in like the first season and most of the second season. Those are all people mike and I knew, like personally knew, yeah, and really it was just in first. The first couple of months it was more like hey, bono, like this is this person, this is their background, and then you know, you would just go with it and just talk to them kind of about whatever. But yes, as the shows went on, for people that don't know, now it's like okay, hey, like let's talk about where they're from, where they went to school. You know how long they've been in this career, you know, and we've really kind of learned that as we went along.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, because the one thing I would say and you know we've always talked about this it's it's not just having us on talking about these guests, it's also the guests promoting themselves and talking about where they've come from. You know, it's one thing we've really prided ourselves on here is having multiple guests who are very diverse in multiple fields, from all over the world, um, I remember we kind of said this. Saying at the beginning was like, let me help you, help me help you, um, and you know, for people who don't know what that means it's, you know, let me help you. You know, get yourself out there, but at the same time, you're helping us get our name out there as well. So you know, I think that's just stuff. We all really went through a trial and error and we learned and you know, we got into a really good structure. But, yeah, the round tables really came I want to say, probably more towards season two's ending, because that's when we started to get a little bit tight on guests and having those stand our horizon.
Speaker 1:We did get tight on guests there after the first year because you know a lot of people you know. You don't think about how many people you actually know, whether that be, you know, friends or even acquaintances that you met along the way but there's 52 weeks in a year and we're trying to find 52 people to be on the show and yeah. But yeah, it was probably coming up near the end of year two. You're probably right, it was probably season two and we were like all right, we're kind of out of people we know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because the other problem was we were not wasn't a problem, it was a good thing for us. But we were airing at the end of season two we were airing holiday episodes on top of our regular episodes. And in year three we did all almost all holiday episodes on top of our regular episodes. Not only do you have 52 weeks a year, you say you add in six or 12 holidays, between six and 12 holidays, so I'm like 64 shows. So you really think about we're on four years, you know you're over wherever we're at 200 and we're at like two, almost two 40 or something, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, think about that and there's only a couple of solo shows in there from the beginning. The rest are people around tables. So you know, you start to kind of run out of knowing people. I mean that's a lot of people for two people. But you know, it's been worth it, it's been fun and that's why we've really incorporated the round tables as well, though, to get some just different, fun other shows on there. And you know, I think for the most part people enjoy the the round tables that we do do yeah, I enjoy the round tables and you know, from those round tables too as well.
Speaker 1:I mean, we've gotten a lot more guests to come on, or, as we call them, the solo shows. Uh, with the solo guests and not the round tables, but from other guests being like, hey, I know this person, they, they probably want to be on. Let me reach out to them and I'll get you guys in contact with them and that's definitely helped, um, getting a bunch of people together and it really helps grow. But yeah, we, we always started with the help me, help you. You know what I mean. Like I, I love helping anybody in any way I can. That's kind of where this show has evolved to. It's not just me, you know, sitting behind a microphone and complaining about my day anymore, it's me trying to help as many people as possible. The show's getting a, you know, pretty decent reach.
Speaker 2:For two guys who just didn't know, jack squad, about podcasting when we first started and when I first started and just kind of diving head first into it, uh, but yeah, and and I think too, like and this isn't trying to toot our own horn or anything like that but if you look at the people that have been on, you know the people that have wanted to be involved with, like sponsors and round tables and you know co-hosts and all that stuff. You know people just I think they enjoy being on because we keep it fun, we keep it lighthearted, you know, but we do have our serious moments and our shows and things like that. But I think people just enjoy that because you know this isn't a political podcast. This, this isn't anything we try to make serious.
Speaker 2:You know we, we love everybody that comes on here, from every background and all that, and I think that's just something that makes people a lot, a lot more willing to come back on because we're it's a comfortable show. You know we really try to cater to everybody anybody on that. So, yeah, I mean it was just a lot of trial and error, but I think we've had a lot of good trials and a few errors looking back at it, so you know some things you live and learn with, but yeah, we've definitely had more good than than I'd say errors, on this one for for sure uh, yeah oh, go ahead.
Speaker 1:I would say one thing that that has become a big hit and we kind of didn't know it and we just kind of like said we do talk about some serious topics on the show, but when we have just that solo guest, we have the fun way that we end the show now and the Fast, fitty Five and the five random, fun, silly questions that we ask the guests and these are all for everyone out there and these are all for everyone out there. These are all fitting. He sends them to me like the day we record and he's been asking these questions to people by himself since I've known him in college. And this is just the way your mind works and those random questions and they get a laugh every time but every guest you could see them chuckle and so I'm reading the questions and it's just a fun, light hearted way that we we have found to end the show. But one thing I think everybody wants to know is so fanny how do you come up with these questions?
Speaker 2:you know, honestly, a lot of them, just like I was just thinking about my driving in my car to work. Or I'm at home and I'm like man, how bad would it hurt to like get hit in the face with that pillow right there? Or, like you know, if I ran outside and tried to like run into that bush, would that hurt? Or, man, this pen's out of ink, I'd rather write with a pencil. It's just like random things like that I think about. Or, like you know, is Pepsi or Coke better? It's just things that pop into my mind. And I'm glad we started that because, like when we started that in the summer of 21, I want to say like maybe it was right around the time, like I don't know, mr askew was on for the first time, or like ricky stansy, like one of those guys was on and we started. We started and I think it just was been a lot of, a lot of fun since.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I really just come up with them like at random, just around the house or driving to work, or you know something like that. But uh, sometimes they're a little bit more uh, a little bit more, I would say, critical thinking involved and some of them, you just kind of let the answers fly, you know, uh, right away when you hear it. So, um, just kind of depends, I guess, on how I'm feeling for today, when I, uh, when I make them for the, for the, for the guest, you know, and sometimes if I don't really know the guest really well, I try to take it a little bit easier, because then I want them to be like who, who is this fitty guy? That's like making these questions and when? Why would it? Why would a kangaroo fight 12 giraffes? Like?
Speaker 2:you know, or just something like like you think I'm like crazy, or like you know I saw something like hey, would you rather like have it be day or night, you know, just like simple things like that. So I I try to, I I try to not intimidate the people that really don't know me too well with those questions.
Speaker 1:I'll say it was, you know, a recent recording with Lucas and she was. She listened to a couple of shows, so she was already like mentally preparing herself for the fast five and after we were done she was just like I was really expecting a lot of the animal questions, like the kangaroo fighting six cats or stuff like that, and she's like I feel like he took it easy on me. She's like I'm going to have to come back on later on and let him just really go for it. So I think people are looking more forward to those off-the-wall, really crazy questions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think she was looking forward to that. I know when you and Joe recorded with Coach Garvey, he even said I was expecting harder questions than that. So people do want them. I think people like them. I think it's like what, uh, tim weaver said coach weaver when he was on like those are things like 21 year olds and 22 year olds like argue about at football practice and they're they're at brown university, like you know, one of the highest academic schools in the country, and they're talking about like animals fighting and getting locked in cages with like animals and fighting WWF wrestlers and you know all that crazy stuff that kids talk about. That I talked about in college and I just continued it almost 20 years later. So you know, here we are at the fast 55 now.
Speaker 1:I think I really got the idea because you used to post those questions on, like your Instagram story, just, or something like that. I did I used to.
Speaker 2:I used to do do that, especially when I was like really bored during covid. I'd be like is east or west better? And people would just vote. I'm like, if people don't vote on your poll, do they think you're better or do they think they're better than you?
Speaker 1:it's just like I would do those just nonsense like that for questions and yeah, I remember seeing those and you were a part of the show and I was just like you know what, let's try this on the show, like see what people actually think when they're not just kind of bored scrolling through Instagram and they see, you know, johnny Fitty Falcone story is like, oh well, it's funny, but I'm not going to answer the poll because I'm kind of like that I'll see it and I'll answer it in my head, but I won't actually answer it on social media. I don't know why, but it's fun to me now, like if I see somebody posting something like that, it's like, well, now I have to answer it. I make I've been making people for damn near three years now on the show answer questions, but yeah, it's a lot of fun and it's something we definitely are going to be continuing doing. So don't think this is the end of that segment yet.
Speaker 1:Just because I call it roundtable season, it seems like as we get closer to the holidays, we seem to have more and more roundtables on rather than the individual guests, which I'm for, you know. I mean I love bringing a group of people together and, you know, just bouncing ideas or you know their different opinions off of each other and it really becomes more, I don't want to say of a debate show, but it becomes more of a debate between, if we're talking like the shows we got coming up, when we're going to be, you know, preview in um, the college football, uh, championship, and we're going to be, you know, talking about the playoff and then the super bowl show, those ones, you mean, you get sports guys together and it's just gonna be nonsense when, when you know, with everyone's opinions on everything, yeah, and you know the other ones for people that like don't know, like we've really added in new ones this year and we highly encourage you to check them out.
Speaker 2:Like we added all things movies, right, or you know, we never really thought about them. We're like well, people love movies. Let's like talk about get a bunch of people and talk about movies and we had one about vacations and actually one of the guests, nicole, was recording from the airport before she got on an airplane to go on vacation um, um, you know we, you know we've had on things about like small business round tables and retired college athletes, our story.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, uh, talking about towns like Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Willoughby. You know why those towns are great, you know all things about that. So now we're doing the sports shows, you know previewing the world series and you know baseball season We've always done and basketball and all that. But we're doing a lot of other things to not only promote these other towns but also have a little bit of fun too, about like vacations and movies. I think people can relate to a lot of that, of that stuff. And I think when we're previewing or talking about, or however you want to word it, these different areas like Pittsburgh and Cleveland and Willoughby and we did a Youngstown one, you know, for people that haven't been to those towns, that maybe are outside of that listening or viewing area, you know it makes them excited to maybe want to go to those places and check them out, right, because people may know cleveland and pittsburgh but they've never been there. Not everybody may know youngstown or willoughby.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, but we've done shows promoting them too. So, you know, I think we do a lot of light-hearted ones too. I'm really excited about um, and everybody is probably going to come out in january, so you can, you have a little bit of time to wait for it. But the, uh, the all things about no things, and that'll be recorded here in December and it'll literally be a show. I already have the topics about 12 or 13 things that are very random. We talk about all things but no things in particular. So it'll be a good time. I'm sure everybody will love that. It's going to be like an extended version of the Fast 55. So we'll have a little bit of fun when we do that.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so we try to have some fun on those round tables definitely looking forward to recording that show, like I can't wait to to record that show. And when you brought that idea up to me, it was just like it instantly brought me back to the show seinfeld. That's a show about nothing. That whole episode, that's basically what that podcast is going to be A show about nothing.
Speaker 1:That episode is going to be basically the Seinfeld show. It's a show about nothing but everything at the same time. I can't wait I don't want to give too much away now because I really want it to be a surprise when people actually get to listen to that in January but a lot more with getting back to the behind-the-scenes stuff. Not only has the show grown, with how we're breaking down the show, how we're preparing for the show. The equipment that I've used, that I use now is evolving. I'm actually even recording on a new microphone with a new mic stand. Never used to have a microphone at the start of the show it was literally either just my phone's microphone that it has in it. It was literally either just my phone's microphone that it has in it or when I finally broke down and bought a new laptop, a laptop microphone that it had in it. And then you know the show kept growing and growing and I was like you know what? I think I need to break down and get a new microphone and get a microphone actually and start recording with a microphone instead of just whatever's coming on my phone or on my computer. And you know people don't see that side of it. Really I don't think is that. You know there's a lot of research, not only for the shows that you're doing, depending on who you're doing a show for, but there's a thousand different microphones out there. There's a thousand different mic stands out there, switchboards, the to help with the audio and everything like that. There's. There's so much that goes into it and you know it helped out a little bit. You know, uh, bethany college being a communications major and working for the radio station there, when I was there working for the tv station there, when I was there working for the TV station, I had a little bit of an idea just from that. But just getting the mic and then setting it up and finding that sweet spot to where everything, it took me probably oh, I'll actually start using the microphone on episodes I'd probably say a good three months to get everything leveled out into where I didn't sound like a robot or it wasn't like squeaking when I was talking to it and the levels were right when guests were coming on, because that was a whole nother thing because started in COVID. So everything was done via zoom and the show is still done via zoom right now too as well. So that's another thing, you know getting on the computer and dealing with the. You know the technology issues, I think, with guests. You know the technology issues, I think, uh, with guests. You know losing internet connection and now I'm losing a guest, and now you know filling that time where it's like, all right, let them get their their stuff back together and get it back on and they'll be back in a minute or two. But you know it's it's it's a lot of like trial and error and it's a lot of trial and error. It's a lot of fun to figure it out. I'm on my second microphone that I've used. My wife actually bought me one a couple years ago for Christmas to help with the show.
Speaker 1:Another thing with other shows, for everyone out there who hears her in the background when we're asking questions and especially in the Fast 55, she loves answering those questions in the background. We're actually going to be having her on the show. I'm still we don't have a date for it yet. It's probably going to be more towards January as well. But everyone's going to get to meet Mrs Bono and you know her wonderful personality and everything like that too as well. But, uh, everyone's going to get to meet mrs bono and you know her wonderful personality and everything like that too as well.
Speaker 1:Uh, so she won't just be in the background. It's a little bit more work with her, uh, coming on as a guest, because one she hates the sound of her own voice always fuck, as my cats are running around like crazy. But yeah, so it's a lot of fun. You're going to get to meet her too as well. So I think that'll be a very interesting show and just our dynamic is people don't see, they hear her in the background and they hear our interactions at a very brief minute level with just the few interactions that we have. But now we're going to have a whole show about it and I think it's going to be eye-opening to a lot of people.
Speaker 1:And a lot of people are going to see why I don't need the right material, uh, for my comedy career. So that's also another thing that people are going to get a behind the scenes thing too. The nice thing that has come about with the technology, and especially when we're breaking down and making the outline for the questions, is you can send them to me and then I can put them in my notes on my phone and I have it to where it goes to my computer so I don't have to be sitting here reading off my phone trying to remember the questions and everything. I can have everything all in one spot, which it's come a long way from. Just hey bono, here's so, and so here's what they do. Go ahead and have a good show to now breaking it down and yeah, the the equipment. It's just something I don't think people think about with podcasting at all.
Speaker 2:No, and you're right on that. And like, if you think about it right, anyone can really zoom in from a phone or a computer, like that's easy, but it's, you know, is holding their internet right Because the show being, so you know, global I mean we've had people from other countries on and all over time zones and stuff like that so it's we have no choice but to be on zoom for everybody that you know, doesn't know that. So, because we are happy, people from Iceland and Turkey, we've had people from Finland on, you know, and and then all across the country. So you know it's their internet as well you have to worry about, and there has been times when people have dropped or it's been really choppy and things like that. And then you know the behind the scenes about saving it to zoom and then you have to edit it with, like garage band. I know you use dad and the microphones and your mouth, too close to the microphone, is a far away. You know what's the lighting, like, you know things like that.
Speaker 2:And um, also, I think like people don't realize that we didn't also always have an intro. You just went into the show at the beginning and then, when we had um speedo sheldon on as a guest. You know, speedo uh was gracious enough to make the the intro. So shout out speedo on that. So the ride home rants, uh intro was done, done by him, you know, as a favor of being on the show. So, um, you know there's it's come a long way with uh, with the intro and the technology and, yeah, the notes.
Speaker 2:And you know, another thing people probably don't realize is, as the shows went on here, you know, and we've had more guests, or even the roundtables, and we come up with the topics and send those in. But, like, for the people that are on now that we don't know, like that, and I personally don't know, we have to do research on those people. So if somebody's like, hey, I got such and such, you know they're interested in being on, or hey, I recommend, like these four people and I'm like cool, now I need to go google these people and ask these people about themselves, because I need material for the show to send over to mike. Um, about themselves, because I need material for the show to send over to Mike. So for, like, people that I don't really know, most of the time it's unless Mike has a guest now, it's usually me just coming up with the most, most of the topics and then the fast five, sending over to to Bono, who then does, you know, the recording, and then all the editing of the show, and then we figure out what day we're going to post it if not wednesday.
Speaker 2:So that's kind of how you know we do things too. I do more of the reach out in the the topics is what a manager should do, and then mike, being the the owner and the host, really owns it and hosts it and does all the behind the scenes things. So yeah, it's really come a long way to technology and the setup, that's for sure yeah, the editing too as well.
Speaker 1:You know, garage band has been, uh, my go-to uh for editing and you know it it's been been a ride figuring out. Like you said, you know, never had an intro and then we had speedo on and you know he was like, oh, I could write you guys an intro, like that would be awesome, because now it's literally just me just starting into the show and there was no buildup to it. And you know, now I, you know, edit into each episode every week, which at the beginning, that's what I was having to do. I was having to take the audio clip that he sent me, put it before the recording and then have the recording right after it so that everything lined up and that it, it flew, flew, flowed with the show. Um, and now you know, a lot of people you know, you know, have the hosting site uh buzzsprout. Uh buzzsprout, you know, has a lot of features that help out with stuff like that. I just saved now the audio file of the music and the intro to the show and it automatically adds it in at the perfect time whenever the show starts and it blends it in nicely. So it's cut out a lot of the a lot of the editing work on that aspect. So you know it's gotten a lot easier and I know we've thought about it for a while. They're getting away from buzzsprout.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure why we we thought that but went right back to it because it's just. It's probably the best hosting site that I've tried out. Shout out to them for allowing us to keep hosting our show and allowing it to go to Apple and Google and Spotify and iHeartRadio Anywhere you get a podcast. Now you can find us now. At the start it was just Apple and Spotify were the only two where you could hear the show and now it's heard on every platform and it's a lot of things like that that having a host site makes life a little easier for podcasters. Makes life a little easier for podcasters Mainly the distribution to all the other platforms and the intros and the post rolls where we have sponsorship reads in there. Now that's another thing. We're going to talk about the sponsors here a little later in the show, but first we're almost up to 250 episodes 50. So did you have any two guests that you thought were like the biggest guests that we've had on?
Speaker 2:Man, we've had so many good guests. But I would probably say if we had to go with name, the name only, I would say yes, you know, that would have been probably Kelly Pavlik, former WBO WBC ring and lineal middleweight champion of the world right out of Youngstown. Middleweight champion of the world right out of youngstown, um, you know he boxed in the 2000s people pretty much from all over ohio and pennsylvania. You know new jersey. He fought a lot like we talked about this on the boxing show at atlanta in atlantic city, for like donald or not four, but at donald trump's um casinos, um, and like hotels there, and it's in the atlantic city boardwalk hall of fame. So kelly pavlik, probably name wise, and then, honestly, probably how mummy, uh, legendary college football coach, um, especially during his time at kentucky. Uh, was great.
Speaker 2:Shout out ernest wilson for hooking us up with the legend how mummy and having him on half a dozen times and probably should check in with how and see how things are going. Um, but uh, you know, yeah, it'd be probably the two biggest people. I'd probably say were those two. We've had a lot of good names. We've had guys in the nfl and you know major college football players and coaches and all these wonderful people. You know other podcasters, writers and everything, but probably name wise, those are probably the biggest two names. Would you agree on that?
Speaker 1:I would agree, and you know I it's a tough one for me because there's really three that come to mind. It's those two and then Ricky Stansy would would be, I say, a close third. I don't think I would put him above Howe or Kelly Pavlik. Kelly Pavlik is definitely up there. You're a middleweight boxing champion through the 2000s in what four different divisions?
Speaker 2:Four different championships.
Speaker 1:Four different champions yeah, that's a tough thing to do and just being from Youngstown, ohio, that's another thing why we wanted to do these city episodes. We have people that are from these little smaller towns, people I don't think think that because they see him fighting in Atlantic City and they just kind of probably assume, oh, he's from Atlantic City, he's fighting there a lot. So you know him and definitely how mommy and his work that he's done with the Spring League football now too as well, and going back to his Kentucky, yeah, those would definitely be. You know my, my top two just names alone. You know my top two Just names alone, if we're going off of that. But before we get to the sponsors, I want to hear your top 10 episodes that you think out of the 250 that we've done. Do you have a top 10? It doesn't have to be names, it could just be your top 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I think that's interesting right, and I know we were kind of thinking about this and there's been so many episodes and roundtables and individuals. And you know, the thing with, like people know I've listened to the show and been loyal listeners is, you know I do sometimes co-host with you. I've done more hosting now over the past, like a little bit over what a year, and then I've also been on as a guest and then also I just listen. You know, I just I just get the guests and I did this for my original one year anniversary show. I did a top 10, but yeah, I think I got a top 10 and looking back and reflecting on four years of this, I think it's um pretty interesting. So I'd say probably top so number 10, I would say, and I would encourage everybody to listen to all the episodes. But it's probably especially listening to these top 10, probably listening to college football round table that we had last year for the national championship semi-finals. I mean you championship semifinals. I mean you got guys on there like Hal Mummey, jonas Jackson, you had on Dave Bolson, so you had on guys that were involved with major college football and major universities, right, not just in coaching, but like in fundraising and the money behind it. So I think that was a great one. Looking back, I mean, you know, reconnecting with him and getting him on, and he's been probably been on the most roundtables, as you know, mr Askew, you know. So having him back on that's like, I think, the first show I co-hosted, you know.
Speaker 2:Then I'd say Ricky Stanzi. Number eight, former NFL quarterback living up here in Lake County right now suburbs of Cleveland. Seven, you know, suburbs of Cleveland. Um, seven, um, you know how mommy probably right, right there, you know, again, shout out Ernest Wilson for hooking us up. Uh, number six is probably the vacation show. I think the vacation show was really, really great. Uh, I think that's a lot of fun for people. Five definitely would say Kelly Pavlik, who we just talked about. Four, because he was my number one on my individual show anniversary show, but just because he talked about the economy and all things behind it. Dave Wiley was super great that time during the COVID crisis and the pandemic and how we rebounded with, you know, a curve that was K-shaped more than like a bell curve or anything. Probably number three, probably the All Things Cleveland show, which was great with, like, jordan and Wendy and Tony and Steve and myself and we did predict the Browns were leaving to go to Brook Park and we said that in the summer and they definitely did it.
Speaker 2:So you heard it first on the ride home rants podcast, um, probably number two, the all things will be show that was. That was so much fun having all those people on um and all the banner back and forth on that. And then probably number one, even though my audio came out kind of bad on it we still don't know why. But the Retired College Athlete podcast. You know we talked about things that are real and raw with college sports and Mister was on there and you know, like Lauren and you know I know we had a couple other people Dan. You know I know that was a real and raw show for people and I think that was something that a lot of people can relate to.
Speaker 1:So I think it was probably my top ten there, mike for sure. Yeah, I, I've been thinking about this. You know my, my top 10 for for the show in the four years and you know I'm a little bit more biased, you know, because you know it's for lack of a better term. You know my show and everything like that, but you know the I'd have to say 10. I'm right there with you with the roundtables for the college playoffs last year and the national championship, that comes in number 10 for me. Number eight or number nine I have Number eight or number nine. I have. It was. I had Hal there at number nine for me Just getting to talk to a legendary coach like that. That was huge and loved it and I love having him on every time we can get them on a round table. Number eight for me was the Halloween round table that we did this past year. I'd love the banter with those guys back and forth with you know who's the, who's the better movie killer and everything like that. You know that was just. It was a lot of fun to do that one and I'm a big Halloween fan. I do love Halloween as a holiday, which is weird because my wife hates it Number seven for me.
Speaker 1:This is going to sound weird but it's a little bit biased, but it's my first show that I did. The first one I uploaded from my truck, just because it's kind of what got the show rolling and I put it there. I didn't want to be like, okay, well, it's number one because it was the first show that I ever did and I ever uploaded and I put it ahead of those guys for that reason, because it was the first show, but I put it down there too as well, because there's so many more guests that came on. Ricky Stanzi comes in at six for me, just getting to talk to somebody who played in the NFL, played quarterback in the NFL. You know a huge football fan, so that helped. Five is Kelly Pavlik getting to talk to you know, a boxing champion.
Speaker 1:Mister comes in at four for me. Um, and it's mainly because you know we just miss each other at Bethany College, uh, when he was there and coaching and when I was there. So we we just like we just miss each other with getting to know each other there, but just getting to talk to him and he's been a big supporter of the show. He still texts me out of the blue. Hey, mike just listened to that episode. It was great. And then he bounces joke ideas off me that he comes up with himself for comedy too as well. So I got Mr at number four and my wife absolutely loves it when we have him on the show. She thinks he's hysterical. She has said he has become her favorite guest of the show. So we got him at number four.
Speaker 1:Number three this is where it gets tough for me is my top three, I'd have to say. The vacation show comes in at number three for me Getting to hear people's travel plans and the fact that Nicole was at an airport while we were recording that show, getting ready to go on a vacation. She wasn't traveling for work, she was literally leaving for a vacation as we were recording the vacation show. Um, the pittsburgh show comes in at number two for me. I grew up an hour outside of pittsburgh, uh, in west virginia. I visited pittsburgh a lot. I actually wish I would have been able to to record that show. My schedule did not let me host that show, but you know, getting to hear a little bit more about a town that I grew up near and still learning stuff about that, and I love all things Pittsburgh, so I love that show.
Speaker 1:And my number one show, god, this is tough. My number one show God, this is tough. My number one show for me. It's really it's. It's really a toss up between the town shows.
Speaker 1:Uh, with Youngstown, the Youngstown show, um, and the Cleveland show. It's really kind of a tie at number one for me. Uh, mainly because I started doing comedy and really wanting to make it a career in Youngstown, I started doing shows in Youngstown and that was kind of a buddy of mine that got me into comedy. He called it my first away game, to use a sports reference, when I finally went out of my hometown to do comedy and I absolutely crushed it there my first time there. And I've done a ton of shows in Cleveland too as well. So those two getting to know more about them in more places that I can now reach out to and maybe try to get more shows there and try to bring more entertainment to those towns For the past 12 years I've done probably over 100 shows in each city. So, yeah, that one. I can't decide between which one it is, so I've got to go with a tie at number one between Youngstown and Cleveland.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you know it's all going to be too what people enjoy, right, and that's something great about our shows.
Speaker 2:We have something for everybody, whether it's all it's all going to be, too, what people enjoy, right, and that's something great about our shows. We have something for everybody, whether it's roundtables and time, all the shows. Um, you know we did another roundtable was on restaurants and patios. You know we've had on animals and you know we've had all types of stuff right and got on teachers and fitness warriors and coaches, and you know everyone's going to have whatever their preferences on shows. So, you know, just cause you know you and I named, you know 20 shows and we're in there really not even 20 cause we had some overlap there Other people may find different ones. So just go through the show and you know, see what you think there's a lot of descriptions in there and that's something else you, you know I think it's been great too, mike, is that when you got the ai um wrapped up with the show, the making making the actual, the actual breakdown of the show, so we didn't have to keep typing it out.
Speaker 2:Was was pretty great too. So encourage all the guests to go check out the shows, um, from the early stages to now, I mean, they're a lot, a lot of fun to check out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that goes back to the technology piece that we talked about earlier, with the AI kind of helping me out with the descriptions of the show and really filling it in for me, and it puts great descriptions in and it really highlights everything about the show. A lot better than me sitting here typing it out which seemed to be the longest process at the beginning, you know, was trying to type out those descriptions highlights everything about the show. A lot better than me sitting here typing it out which seemed to be the longest process at the beginning, you know, was trying to type out those descriptions and make sure I didn't miss something from the show. Uh, that was, you know, important to the guests or you know, about their background or something like that. So, yeah, and it's kind of the the world we live in we're kind of like ai is kind of like taking over everything when it comes to technology and that, and I fought it at first. I'm so glad I decided not to because it's great and it definitely, you know, puts a nice light on, you know, not only the show itself but the guest itself and now the sponsors that we've been bringing on to the show, and we have a lot of help with Buzzsprout. There they have people that reach out that want to join the show. You hear those at the middle of every episode where we can land a sponsor, and usually it's another show, another podcast, which I'm for helping other podcasters out and, you know, getting their show out there on a different platform like ours. Maybe it's not something that you know is comedy related or sports related, which I love putting those ones on there for people because it gives them another chance to listen to somebody else's show or a different type of show that maybe they're not used to.
Speaker 1:But I'm actually wearing the first sponsor hat that came onto the show in Reaper Apparel. I've found a lot of the sponsors mainly by reaching out to companies, but a lot of them have their affiliate programs that a lot of people don't know about. That it's, you know I'm basically, you know, the brand ambassador for these companies and Reaper Apparel was the first one to accept the offer. And you know they've been with the show for, oh, two and a half seasons now. I think is when they really came on through almost three seasons. I think they came on at the beginning to middle of season two and they've been a great supporter of the show. They've sent me a lot of swag, I'll tell you that. So I have a lot of Reaper apparel gear that I, you know, I wear around town and you know a lot of people don't see this side of it too as well.
Speaker 1:Is that, you know, not every sponsor is going to be a paid sponsorship. We've had a lot of people Lando is one of them, uh, with his company sweet hand sports. Um, he sent me golf glove, he said both of us a hat, and you know we keep them in there and we do have, you know, an agreement where we're trading other things back and forth for the read that we have playing at the beginning of every show for lando. And you know, you know, just things like that, you know, I think, are more, I don't want to say beneficial, because obviously you know I'm not going to turn down money if somebody offers me money for a sponsorship but at the same time, if I can help somebody by, you know, rocking their gear, whether that be when I go out golfing with Lando's Golf Club or when I'm on stage, I try to find out, you know, picky new sponsors hat, and because I always wear a hat when I'm on stage and I try to wear that hat whenever I'm on stage. I'm having a real hard time because, you know this is near the holiday season. So I do gear back my shows and any shows that I will have this time of year Comedy shows, not podcasting shows but, you know, because you know I do have, you know, a son and you know, a wife, so I try to spend as much time with them during the holidays as I can and I actually, you know, am starting the bookings for 2025. I'll get this out here now. I do have a show lined up on January, the 18th in Cambridge, ohio, at the Downtown Arena. Anybody that's going to be in that area show is from 8 to 10. I'm with the former guest of the show, destin Richardson.
Speaker 1:It's not only writing jokes for me now it's trying to figure out which sponsor I'm going to wear to these shows, because I don't just promote them when it's on the show. I try to get them out any way that I can. Especially like Tactical Brotherhood is another one that really helps. Part of every Proceed goes to helping veterans. That's a big cause for me. I try to align myself with causes that I can get behind, deemed Fit. The newest one, the newest sponsor to the show, part of every Proceed going to helping first responders, especially the ones that work during COVID, with their mental and physical health. So you know it's it's causes like that.
Speaker 1:But finding sponsors is not as easy and I know we have a decent amount of sponsors that get read on the beginning and the end of the show. So for those of you that don't wait till the end, you know we do have some more great sponsors, so make sure you hang out till after the show to hear about them and all their great causes and everything like that. But you know we've done a lot with, like former guest Wendy, guest Wendy helping her reality company. She sent both of us hats and stuff like that. There's a lot of trading for promo, reads with materials and that I think, is more beneficial for me. Do you have any thoughts on that with what we've had with the sponsors on the show?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think for us know we are open to trades, right, we will rock. If you want to send us your apparel, we will wear it. Um, you know I just wore um the hat wendy gave us a couple years ago, you know today. So like, for example, when she sent us those hats or gave one to me and I think I mailed it. You know we did a free month of promos for her. Um, when Nick Tomba was on uh, he owns um coaches dry rub business. You know he, I think, sent us a couple of free dry rubs and you know we did a uh, we did a month and then he sponsored a month and he sent um, I think that was like maybe may of 22 yeah, I believe it's may 22. You know he sent all those guests a free sample of his dry rub. So you know we've done things like that. Um, I know dana, uh, when she was on time on her candle business, I know she did a paid promotion, but I know, you know it's like lando sent us stuff. So you know we're really open to to all that with people. You know, if we can wear your stuff, I wear my hat from lando and I wear my hat from wendy and um, you know, use nick's dry rub from again coach's dry rub um, here in lake county. Uh, if anybody wants to check that out, that's nick tomba. He's a defensive coordinator and teacher at willoughby south middle and high school. Uh, you know, so we're, we're open to that stuff. You know stuff Mike's got from Reaper, apparel and Dean Fit. So we're definitely open to do all that.
Speaker 2:With the sponsorships, I think people here before and after the show are different than what Mike was talking about that we have in the middle of the show. Those are sponsorships from Buzzsprout that you know we approve or they approve, and that is a small monetary gain that we get so many cents per the download that we have when those are on. So some of them may only be like 12 cents. Other ones I think we made maybe made like ten dollars off of that one, but you know they. They are different, um, but we try to.
Speaker 2:Again, let me help you, help me, help you. Uh, with the sponsors, so I know we're in a works with a couple other um ones right now and we're going to continue with some stuff. So you know, for anybody as interesting and collaborating, uh, you know we are down to rock your apparel. Um. You know Mike and I live in different areas, but you know we are down to to rock your apparel. Um, you know mike and I live in in different areas but you know we're close to big cities so we're happy to wear your stuff out, whether it's a hat or a shirt or whatever you want to send. Um, you know, so we are always good with that. So they sponsors have been great.
Speaker 1:Um, they've just been really awesome to work with yeah, you know, and I love talking with the sponsors and again, I I do this out on my Patreon page. I actually have a whole show where I'm talking about the sponsors the whole time. It's getting a lot of good feedback. I'm hoping that a lot of these sponsors are small businesses Helping them out to as well, but I am, I am down for pretty much anything. Uh, buddy's beard care, uh, that the other sponsor here that you know, he sends me a complimentary beard bomb every month and we continue to do his read. So, yeah, it's just you know, and the connections that I think that we've made, you know, just with knowing these sponsors and you know, glad to have them on the show, glad to have them be a part of it. But, yeah, for anybody out there you got a small business, a company, anything like that, reach out to us. There's a link in every episode now where you can send us a text directly and it'll come right to me and we can, we can break everything down and we can talk back and forth about, you know, sponsorships for the show and you know, helping each other grow. Help me, help you, help you, help me. And you know it's it show and you know, helping each other grow, help me, help you, help you, help me. And you know it's. It's a lot of fun and but it goes back to again, do I think, people not knowing the behind the scenes? And you know, reaching out to these sponsors and trying to, to make the good sales pitch, to, to get them to come on board, and you know, but it's been a lot of fun finding them. It's been a lot of fun finding them. It's been a lot of fun. It's been a wild ride with you on the show since you came on and helping the show grow to where it is.
Speaker 1:I haven't looked lately I know you're the numbers guru out there with where the show is at. I think the last I looked, I mean you talked about it. You know we've had guests from from. Last I looked I mean you talked about it We've had guests from other countries and we were actually heard in. I think it was like 20 different countries. The last time I looked I could be way off on that. I know you're the numbers guy.
Speaker 2:I will tell you what they are in actually one second. We'll let everybody know, as we record this, where the numbers officially stand. But I can tell you what they are in actually one second. We'll let everybody know, as we record this, where the numbers officially stand. But I can tell everybody that we did get 232 downloads of the show today, which was really great for us.
Speaker 2:Right now, ride Home Rants is heard in drum roll, drum roll as all the stats load. We are heard in 60 countries or territories across the world, with the United States coming in at one, germany, two, brazil, three, canada, four, singapore, five, united Kingdom six, norway, seven, ireland, eight, australia, nine and a tie at 10 with Finland and Turkey and India. So that's where we are with the countries, which was great. And we are heard in 1,368 cities worldwide, with Zanesville, ohio, coming in at number one, cleveland, ohio, at number two, columbus, ohio. At number three, pittsburgh, pennsylvania. At number four, youngstown, ohio. At number five, mentor, ohio. At number six, guajara, marahano. At number seven, which is in, I believe, south america towards brazil, ashburn, virginia. At number eight, wilmington, delaware at number nine and then washington, pa, at number 10. So that's kind of where we're at with that, and that's surprising because I haven't looked at those numbers in a while and that's interesting, that washington's kind of where we're at with that, and that's surprising because I haven't looked at those numbers in a while and that's interesting that.
Speaker 2:Washington PA kind of came out of that. But that's definitely great. So you know, as far as we stand today, when this episode is, you know, a couple of days pre-recorded, that's kind of where we are with our download numbers.
Speaker 1:To most people that are seeing these huge podcasts up there on the charts at number one, number two, all the way through number ten, getting tens of thousands of downloads. They probably didn't see the shows at year four and they probably were just as pumped as we get have a 242 download day. You know, like that's, that's another thing. It's the little victories that you kind of hang on to in podcasting and you know having a a 200 download day is a good day.
Speaker 2:And as we stand at, you know, with year four, um, right now we have a total of all of our, say, 250 episodes. We have, uh, 14,226 total downloads across. So you know, we we do sometimes list our top 10, uh, which we'll probably list here, probably as new year changes. I like to always post where we're at with that. So stay tuned, um, you know, for uh, for that um, on our social media and then, uh, yeah, we'll release kind of where they are. But there definitely was some movement with the 232 downloads today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely always pumped for that, uh, but we are down near, you know, the end of the episode here. I feel like I could sit here and talk about this all day, but don't want to run on about ourselves in that. So we're actually going to wrap up this four-year anniversary of the Ride Home Rants podcast show. Thanks for coming on and talking with it, fetty. I've been a part of the show so glad you've been a part of the show and helping it grow and everything like that. That is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. I want to thank everybody for listening. I want to thank everybody again for your added support throughout the show throughout the years, for many years to come. As always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend, tell a friend. If you didn't tell them anyways, they might like it just because you didn't. That's going to do it for me and I will see y'all next week.
