Getting Better Acquainted

Episode 2 of GBA Live: 5 conversations recorded as part of my Invisible Picture Palace (http://invisiblepicturepalace.com/) residency for In the Dark Radio (http://www.inthedarkradio.org/) that took place in November 2012. These episodes are going to come out daily in the week leading up to the GBA 100 two-part special. Each one has a different audience of people who came out to a greenhouse in Wapping to be a part of the conversation.

Today we get we get better acquainted with A Room Full of Friends.

This is the pilot of a new strand of the GBA podcast. The Getting Better Acquainted house band, A Room full of Friends, will play regular gigs in rooms full of different groups of friends. We play songs, we talk, we talk to the audience, and we have fun. In this episode the songs and the conversation take us to all sorts of places from Steven Seagal, to heart attacks, to Winnie the Pooh, to teenage goth memories, to eulogies to dead friends and much, much more.

The current line up of a room full of friends is:

Dave: Vox/Guitar/Uke

Asia: Vox

Sam: Drums: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-99-sam

George: Bass: http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-6-george

We plug:

Sams other projects:

Stark Dangerous: http://www.starkdangerous.com/

Hwan: http://soundcloud.com/indifference-engine

We mention:

Steven Seagal: http://stevenseagal.com/

Arnold Schwarzenegger: http://www.schwarzenegger.com/

Johnny Cash: http://www.johnnycash.com/

Where Wild Roses Grow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDpnjE1LUvE

Bruce Springsteen: http://brucespringsteen.net/

Winnie the Pooh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Episode 1 of GBA Live: 5 conversations recorded as part of my Invisible Picture Palace (http://invisiblepicturepalace.com/) residency for In the Dark Radio (http://www.inthedarkradio.org/) that took place in November 2012. These episodes are going to come out daily in the week leading up to the GBA 100 two-part special. Each one has a different audience of people who came out to a greenhouse in Wapping to be a part of the conversation.

Today we get we get even better acquainted with return guest Michael Fenton Stevens

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-79-micheal-fenton-stevens

Mike talks about acting for the radio, growing up in Bermondsey, his view of recent UK comedy history, putting pets down, his relationship with and to religion and in particular to his Catholic upbringing, and lots more. The conversation is engaging, fun and surprising. We also discuss the fate of my pet rats, reveal what was then a spoiler for The Archers, hear a passionate case for atheism from a former altar boy and consider the value of empathy and compassion in relationship to people who damage other people.

We plug:

I plug the two places you can currently find him:

Performing as the Prime Minister in Yes Prime Minister: http://www.yesprimeminister.co.uk/

Performing in The Archers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr

And then Mike plugs Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

We mention:

Stewart Lee: http://www.stewartlee.co.uk/

Keith Allen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Allen_(actor)

Leonard Cohen: http://www.leonardcohen.com/

Andy Hamilton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hamilton

This Episode of the Nerdist Podcast: http://www.nerdist.com/2012/11/nerdist-podcast-eric-idle-eddie-izzard-billy-connolly-and-sophie-winkleman/

Old Harry's Game: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/oldharrysgame/

Eddie Izzard: http://www.eddieizzard.com/

Ricky Gervais: http://www.rickygervais.com/

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

Episode 1 of GBA Live: 5 conversations recorded as part of my Invisible Picture Palace (http://invisiblepicturepalace.com/) residency for In the Dark Radio (http://www.inthedarkradio.org/) that took place in November 2012. These episodes are going to come out daily in the week leading up to the GBA 100 two-part special. Each one has a different audience of people who came out to a greenhouse in Wapping to be a part of the conversation.

Today we get we get even better acquainted with return guest Michael Fenton Stevens

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-79-micheal-fenton-stevens

Mike talks about acting for the radio, growing up in Bermondsey, his view of recent UK comedy history, putting pets down, his relationship with and to religion and in particular to his Catholic upbringing, and lots more. The conversation is engaging, fun and surprising. We also discuss the fate of my pet rats, reveal what was then a spoiler for The Archers, hear a passionate case for atheism from a former altar boy and consider the value of empathy and compassion in relationship to people who damage other people.

We plug:

I plug the two places you can currently find him:

Performing as the Prime Minister in Yes Prime Minister: http://www.yesprimeminister.co.uk/

Performing in The Archers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr

And then Mike plugs Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/

We mention:

Stewart Lee: http://www.stewartlee.co.uk/

Keith Allen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Allen_(actor)

Leonard Cohen: http://www.leonardcohen.com/

Andy Hamilton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hamilton

This Episode of the Nerdist Podcast: http://www.nerdist.com/2012/11/nerdist-podcast-eric-idle-eddie-izzard-billy-connolly-and-sophie-winkleman/

Old Harry's Game: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/oldharrysgame/

Eddie Izzard: http://www.eddieizzard.com/

Ricky Gervais: http://www.rickygervais.com/

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 99 we get better acquainted with Sam. He talks rhythm, SantaCon, Burning Man, chasing the pony of enlightenment and "that" gig.

He also turns the tables and grills me on my writing history and creative process.

Sam was the last drummer in my old band Apples for Everyone and we get into music, drumming, bands and whether being drunk on stage is always a good thing.

http://www.myspace.com/applesforeveryone

Sam doesn't plug anything because it would "tarnish this whole conversation."

We mention:

SantaCon: http://santacon.info/

Burning Man: http://www.burningman.com/

Jojo Mayer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jojo_Mayer

Oblique Strategies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies

Phil Collins: http://www.philcollins.co.uk/

The Plural: http://soundcloud.com/the-plural

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 99 we get better acquainted with Sam. He talks rhythm, SantaCon, Burning Man, chasing the pony of enlightenment and "that" gig.

He also turns the tables and grills me on my writing history and creative process.

Sam was the last drummer in my old band Apples for Everyone and we get into music, drumming, bands and whether being drunk on stage is always a good thing.

http://www.myspace.com/applesforeveryone

Sam doesn't plug anything because it would "tarnish this whole conversation."

We mention:

SantaCon: http://santacon.info/

Burning Man: http://www.burningman.com/

Jojo Mayer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jojo_Mayer

Oblique Strategies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oblique_Strategies

Phil Collins: http://www.philcollins.co.uk/

The Plural: http://soundcloud.com/the-plural

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 98 we get better acquainted with Natti. She talks writing, leaving her job, race, identity, faith, class, gender, politics, change, being part of the early days of Occupy London Stock Exchange and more.

This is one of the conversations where I end up talking a lot. Some guests have referred to doing GBA as a therapeutic experience. I found this one a bit like therapy myself. We get into the big questions but in a really personal and human way.

This episode was recorded over a year ago; this is worth bearing in mind for two reasons:

1. Much of the conversation touches on events and movements that were current at the time but have evolved since then.

2. This is a conversation where both parties are feeling out their ideas about the world, both of us will have changed our positions in some ways based on new things we have learnt or thought.

Natti plugs:

Her writing (Here is some old stuff: http://illiterateiguana.blogspot.co.uk/)

and Occupy London Stock Exchange (now updated to Occupy London): http://occupylondon.org.uk/

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 98 we get better acquainted with Natti. She talks writing, leaving her job, race, identity, faith, class, gender, politics, change, being part of the early days of Occupy London Stock Exchange and more.

This is one of the conversations where I end up talking a lot. Some guests have referred to doing GBA as a therapeutic experience. I found this one a bit like therapy myself. We get into the big questions but in a really personal and human way.

This episode was recorded over a year ago; this is worth bearing in mind for two reasons:

1. Much of the conversation touches on events and movements that were current at the time but have evolved since then.

2. This is a conversation where both parties are feeling out their ideas about the world, both of us will have changed our positions in some ways based on new things we have learnt or thought.

Natti plugs:

Her writing (Here is some old stuff: http://illiterateiguana.blogspot.co.uk/)

and Occupy London Stock Exchange (now updated to Occupy London): http://occupylondon.org.uk/

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 97 we get even better acquainted with Angela and Sofia. I follow up with them both at our writers retreat in Ramsgate in August 2012, catching them both in very different moments of transition. We talk writing, work, happiness, balance, jungles, guns, bullying, breasts & more.

This episode does stand alone but you may want to listen to their previous GBA conversations either before or after. I think you can tell that by this conversation we all know each other much better as friends, and the changes in their lives from when I first talked to them are interesting.

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-95-sofia

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-96-angela

Angela gives a very specific plug for Birkbeck to accept her for a creative writing MA. This episode goes out much later and so it is my pleasure (but not my surprise) to tell you that she was indeed accepted to this course.

Sofia's plug is also very specific; she is looking for a more fulfilling job that pays more money. She is talented in many ways including but not limited to writing, photography and organisation. She is still looking so please contact [email protected] if you have any leads on potential jobs for her (in London).

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 97 we get even better acquainted with Angela and Sofia. I follow up with them both at our writers retreat in Ramsgate in August 2012, catching them both in very different moments of transition. We talk writing, work, happiness, balance, jungles, guns, bullying, breasts & more.

This episode does stand alone but you may want to listen to their previous GBA conversations either before or after. I think you can tell that by this conversation we all know each other much better as friends, and the changes in their lives from when I first talked to them are interesting.

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-95-sofia

http://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-96-angela

Angela gives a very specific plug for Birkbeck to accept her for a creative writing MA. This episode goes out much later and so it is my pleasure (but not my surprise) to tell you that she was indeed accepted to this course.

Sofia's plug is also very specific; she is looking for a more fulfilling job that pays more money. She is talented in many ways including but not limited to writing, photography and organisation. She is still looking so please contact [email protected] if you have any leads on potential jobs for her (in London).

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

In GBA 96 we get better acquainted with Angela. She talks about being a librarian, being a teenage Goth in Michigan, being a "start up wife", being someone who follows their wanderlust to New Zealand, being an A & R person for hair metal bands, being a writer with a flair for editing and lots more.

This is the first instalment of Angela this week. She returns with along with GBA 95 guest Sofia on Friday in an episode where I follow up with then both and delve into some of the areas I missed the first time.

She is the second Angela to have appeared on the show.

Angela plugs:

Her husband's internet start up company: http://www.bookingbug.com

You can hear Getting Better Acquainted on Stitcher SmartRadio, Stitcher allows you to listen to your favourite shows directly from your iPhone, Android Phone, Kindle Fire and beyond.

On-demand and on the go!

Don’t have Stitcher? Download it for free today at http://www.stitcher.com or in the app stores.

Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review?

Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!