Look Behind the Curtain

If you listen to The Sideliners Show each week you might wonder how the show happens with Chris living in Michigan and Matt living in Nebraska.  Some would question if living in Nebraska is really living at all but that’s another blog for another time.  To give you an idea of how we pull off the show each week we’re going to give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the show.

Because we host the show through BlogTalkRadio all we have to do is call into the host website each week, log-on and host the show with from the phone.  No mics needed, no special equipment, etc.  This is what allows the guys to do the show from anywhere.
There is an online switchboard that allows us to take live calls on the Firm Franks Hotline (347/637.2657) during the show.  Chris usually runs the switchboard, although no one ever calls in.  The switchboard also has all the shows music, sound fxs, and audio clips.  If you’ve ever heard the guys talking about the intern screwing up the audio, it’s probably Chris.

During the show the guys can see each other on their computer screens through video chat.  This is supposed to be help the guys have a better idea of when the other person is going to talk or is finished talking.  It doesn’t always work but it’s better than nothing.

Show prep for the next show usually starts right after one show ends but in reality much of the work is done Monday and Tuesday.  The guys search online to find stories and features that sound interesting.  Headlines are written out while features may consist of only some thoughts scribbled on paper.

Now for the good stuff – some of the funny things that have happened during the show.  Back in Episode 11, Matt was in Florida on business and was downstairs printing his final show notes when the show went live.  He thought he could at least get to the stairway before Chris kicked it to him but found himself right in the middle of the hotel lobby surrounded by people when he found himself saying, “And I’m Matt Orian here at the great studios in Orlando Florida”

And last week (Episode 14) Chris got a surprise when he looked at the video chat only to see Matt motioning that he was going to leave and to keep going.  Apparently, one of the twins was awake and needed Daddy so Matt had to split for a few minutes.  What was supposed to be a two-way conversation about McDonald’s Monopoly game, turned into a quasi-rant on Chris’ part.  Thankfully Matt came back before the segment was over and all was well.

Ok so that’s a brief look at how we do the show and a couple of the funny things you may not have picked up on by listening to the show.  Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes looks at the show later on.