Podcast Spotlight: Battle of the Bald
Created during the coronavirus pandemic, Tyler Eaton wrote and produced this six-part scripted comedy podcast featuring a story that could only happen in modern times. Meet Sean Applewhite, an immature man who ‘found’ a miraculous cure for hair loss and sells this product to millions as Revitalize. His fill-in assistant Francine has doubts about Sean, and the story begins with her inquisition. From there, listeners are introduced to many more people, places, and personalities. With so much going on, listeners should pay attention as it’s easy to get lost in the narrative. Battle of the Bald takes place in Houston, Texas, and Eaton makes that clear through specific accents and genuine characters. The show is well-produced, featuring ads and testimonials for Revitalize, spot-on sound effects, and interesting background music. It was mostly recorded from people’s closets, which makes the characters feel that much closer to you. This fascinating show is recommended for anyone looking to escape into a modern story.
We were fortunate to talk with Eaton about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.
DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?
EATON: Like a lot of people, I started as a listener, obsessing over interview shows hosted by stand ups like WTF with Marc Maron and You Made It Weird. I created a show called “I Read A Book!” where I would talk to friends and comedians about their favorite book. That went for about 20 episodes that are still floating out there somewhere. Then I started getting into limited serialized shows like S Town, The Dropout, and scripted series like Homecoming and Bubble. My new podcast Battle of the Bald is a 6-episode scripted series that’s basically a satirical take on something like The Dropout. It starts as a deep dive investigation before turning into an action-adventure show centered around hair loss and male insecurity.
DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to Battle of the Bald?
EATON: People should tune in to Battle of the Bald if they’re looking for a new dark comedy series that is accidentally very timely. While it’s mostly about insecure balding men and a wildly unqualified CEO, it’s also about online extremist groups and how things can quickly bubble over from “Look at these hilarious lunatics on the internet” to “Oh god, this group isn’t kidding around and are a real-life threat”. But besides the political side of things, I think anyone who has experienced hair loss will find something to relate to in the series and will come out the other side hopefully feeling a bit more optimistic about their situation.
DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners?
EATON: It’s been great so far. A lot of people have told me they like the documentary-style and that it feels like an absurd version of an NPR show. Comedy fans have loved hearing stand-up comedians in the series like Jackie Kashian, Eddie Pepitone, and Kyle Kinane.
DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using?
EATON: We recorded the whole series during COVID lockdown so it was a mix of meeting voice actors at PingCroft Loft (the studio was sanitized and everyone but the actors wore masks the whole time) and me driving my little lav mic over to people’s homes and then using Google Meet or Zoom to direct them through their lines.
DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster?
EATON: Building an audience beyond friends and family. This is a big issue in every medium, but now that famous people who already have talk shows on TV also feel the need to have a weekly podcast, it absorbs a big chunk of the audience. Breaking through when you aren’t a part of an established podcast network is tough as well. You have to just love to make this stuff. However, if someone has discovered the secret shortcut to amassing a huge fanbase, please email me.
DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast?
EATON: Since Battle of the Bald is a six-episode limited series, the whole project is out there now on all major podcast platforms. At this point I just want more people to hear it. Especially if one of those people wants to make it into a movie.
DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now?
EATON: I just finished Lolita Podcast which is amazing. I love the podcast Dead Eyes. As for other scripted shows, Wooden Overcoats is a great comedy series that’s been around for a few seasons and This Is Branchburg is insanely funny.
DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add?
EATON: I had some illustrations done for the series by some really talented artists like Ethan Marler (the main thumbnail), Ryan Gajda (episodic artwork), and Katelyn Colman (our talking squirrel artwork for the final episode). You can check those out on TylerEaton.net to get a sense for the tone of the series and see what these characters are supposed to look like.
Previous Story
Seen and Not Heard: On Hearing, On Listening
Next Story
Podcast Spotlight: The Pod Spotter
Comments
Comments are closed.