So I’ve decided to take a sabbatical from making the podcast Center Stage, some of you may remember it as Abandoned Albums.
Over the past 3+ years, I’ve been blessed to collaborate with many people who have helped shape the show, and I will be forever grateful to them. I’ve also had the good fortune to speak with tremendously talented musicians who graciously gave up their time to talk about their careers and music. To say that it’s been rewarding, exciting, and fun would be an understatement.
The fact of the matter is that the podcasting landscape has changed, and even though Center Stage was seriously niche, I could feel the crunch. And it’s not that I don’t feel what we do has value, quite the contrary.
The truth is, I am burned out, and the show has gotten away from me a bit, so I need to regroup and rethink what I want it to be in this next phase.
We’ve produced over 150 episodes of good, sometimes excellent, content, and I am proud of that. I want to think there have been more bangers than not.
What does it look like moving forward? Picture me shrugging my shoulders as I say, “I dunno.”
How long will this sabbatical be? Picture me shrugging my shoulders again and saying, “I dunno.”
Life has gotten a bit busier in the last few weeks, and I suspect it will continue to get busier and a touch more unpredictable. Since that’s the stuff that keeps the lights on at Thunderlove Manor, it has to take precedence.
But the fact is, Center Stage will remain a living, breathing thing. In the past, I’ve done a few episodes where I’ve used interviews of artists to shape a particular episode (Buffalo Tom and Bill Hicks), so I might do a one-off like that, but as far as a week-to-week show, that’s on ice for the time being.
I feel there is value in highlighting forgotten, overlooked, or newer artists and bringing them into the cultural conversation. While I am certain we weren’t the only podcast to do this, Center Stage was the only one I was aware of that worked with the artists we did.
I’m a big advocate for podcasting. I think it is genuinely the last bastion of unrestricted free speech.
For better or worse, you can find a podcast about just about anything if you look hard enough. I’m not saying that’s great, only great that it exists.
For me, most of my information comes from various podcasts because they can go deeper into a story than any newscast can. And I like to think that’s what we did, took things a little deeper from time to time.
Do I think we’ve reached peak podcast? No, but the market is saturated with people who have built-in audiences and/or significant financial backing. It’s getting harder and harder to rise above the noise, leaving little room for us scrappy indie podcasts that want to make something informative and cool.
And then there is this push for video, which I don’t fully understand. I don’t get it for reasons I won’t bore you with. More than a few artists we spoke to appreciated that Center Stage was audio only (we did have video on to make it friendlier).
If I had my druthers and an endless bankroll, I’d turn the Center Stage video podcast into an animated series. That would be more interesting than three or four talking heads. For me, audio and video are two separate media and should be treated as such.
I would be remiss if I didn’t thank
and Geoff Calhoun, who split mic duty with me. Their contributions were what made the machine move. And I have to give a proper shout-out to , who has been an incredible stalwart of the show. He helped keep the show going when I seriously considered hanging it up. A special hat tip to for his consistent championing and support.So what do the next 150 episodes of the Center Stage podcast look like? I dunno, but gird your loins, it’ll happen.
With a name like Center Stage, I have more latitude in the types of guests I can welcome. They do not need to be a musician, which opens up more opportunities.
Thank you to everyone who has listened to and/or read these missives on Substack. I’ll continue to write about an abandoned album from time to time and other music-related things here (and maybe try to figure out how Notes works) until the podcast picks back up.
I can only echo what SW and Kevin said. You’ve built something incredible which will never go away. Taking stock and recharging batteries is so underrated and yet essential in any creative process. Take as much time as you need. We’ll be ready when you are 🙏🏻
You did and do great work. I'm proud of the many times our paths crossed. Nothing wrong with hitting pause to reset, reconsider...or even resign all together. I was a podcaster once upon a time—until it was time to walk away completely. Thanks for all you have done to shine the spotlight on under-appreciated and under-examined artists. Onward!