Episode 8: The Geography of Geographer and the Bay Area

Hey, casual (and probably some) serious listeners of the Casual (and somewhat serious) Geographer. This week's episode was special for a number of reasons, the main one being, of course, an appearance by the up-and-coming Bay Area indie rockers Geographer. We couldn't not interview a band with that name. Anyway, they ventured down the Cali Coast on tour with Miniature Tigers and took some time to chat about their name (of course), some tour stories, and how one of them grew up outside of Tokyo and still speaks pretty solid Japanese! You have to listen to find out which one. Though, there are only three of them, so it shouldn't take too long to guess.

It was awesome getting the trio on board, since by the time they hit the stage at the Troubador on Sunday night, the second band on a bill of four, the crowd was already at full capacity and going crazy in anticipation of their set. With lovable indie-pop jams like "Verona" and "Kites" and their new album Myth selling as well as it has been, it shouldn't be long before these dudes are playing to packed houses of pogo-ing fans all over.

In another fortunate turn for this week, the interview with Geographer inspired us to take on The Bay Area as our topic. It's practically impossible to visit San Francisco and not love it (or at least return from there to your less-utopian place of residence without interesting stories about it). We hope you enjoy hearing us go on about the City by the Bay and wondering just why it is the way it is. At least, maybe it will help you better understand why Tony Bennett left his heart there.

Listen right here, or get it on iTunes.



Produced by Tyler S. for TDC Productions
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music Included:
American Music Club - "All the Lost Souls Welcome You to San Francisco"
Red House Painters - "Mistress"
Geographer - "Verona", "Each Others' Ghosts," & "Kaleidoscope"
Moby Grape - "Hey Grandma"
Thee Oh Sees - "Block of Ice"
Jawbreaker - "Accident Prone"

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Episode 7 - "Peru" Posted!

What's going on, everyone? Now that we finally have this "live" thing under control, we invited a couple of our good friends to join us and talk about the South American country of their heritage - Peru! Listen right here, or download that 'cast on iTunes!

Peru's a lot more than just Machu Picchu, a convicted ex-President, and Anticuchos, but we definitely had quality conversations about all of those things with Kat and Gina. Thanks to Kat, in fact, for these quality photos of Lima and Tumbes you're about to lay your eyes on. That there map to the right via LonelyPlanet.com.

Produced by Tyler S. for TDC Productions
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music Included:
American Football - "Never Meant"
Resplandor - "Downfall"
Autonomia - "Luchar y Resistir"

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Premiere Episode 6: BEER!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we at The Casual Geographer are proud to present our brand new, longest (gee, I wonder why) episode yet: Beer! I included that exclamation point to reflect the fascination we shared over the subject of brewing and how geography makes its mark on the craft. Download it free on iTunes or listen to the episode right here!

We did our best to spill (heyoooo) our knowledge about brewing, lagers, ales, IPAs, and more before being joined by a pair of beer damn-near-experts and home-brewing enthusiasts: political geographer-by-day David Schwartz, and lighting designer-by-day (well...night) Steph Smith.


Photo and quality photoshopping job of our esteemed guests (right) by Dennis Hernandez. Remember that guy?



We had a blast making this installment, and we think you'll enjoy listening, whether or not you're a "beer person." There is so much to learn, regardless of taste. And if you do, be so kind as to pass this along! Details on how you could kindly do that below. Thanks for stopping through and listening. - TCG

Produced by Tyler S. for TDC Productions
Theme Song: "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music Included:
Reel Big Fish - "Beer"
Black Flag - "Six Pack" (early version)
Flogging Molly - "Drunken Lullabies"

And don't forget to hit up THE CASUAL GEOGRAPHER ON...
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New episode coming soon! Here's a preview for all yalls

Dearest Fellow Geographers, casual and no-so-casual: we finished recording our new episode (finally, am I right?) and we will be premiering it this MONDAY. So, tune in (by today's technological standards). It's pretty easy to ascertain the topic from this clip that Tyler, Bret, and Abel sent over, but here's a preview of what you can expect from the new episode. Hopefully it leaves you THIRSTY for more. (I'm so clever! Surely you agree!)...ahem.

HERE YOU GO

Episode 5: Catalina Island

Ho Ho Ho, fellow casual geographers. Merry Christmas. We trust that you've all been good this year, and because you have, we've got an extra special, extra serene episode here for you. We think you'll enjoy it! And even if you don't, I think anyone would agree it's better than coal.

What's it about? We're glad you asked. About twenty-five miles off the shore of Los Angeles County, there exists a majestic island, full of breathtaking views, amazing beaches, tiny isolated towns, extraordinarily rich people, and buffalo (yes, that kind of buffalo). Our guests this week, our good friends Robert Cisneros and Julia Urcis, joined us to chat about their unforgettable experiences with this island. Robert is, in fact, one of the finest cartographers we know. Evidence below:

That's right: he charted his own hike across the island and mapped it so you don't have to. But that doesn't mean you should deprive yourself of experiencing this wonderful place. If you're in the LA area, head down to the Port of Los Angeles and hop on a ferry, or if you're a hardcore ironman, swim out (it's been done a bunch of times). But don't just take the Descendents' advice, tune in to this week's episode and hear what our guest have to say about it. You may learn more about it than you bargained for. And that, my friends, is the greatest Christmas gift of all. Hope you enjoy it, and have a safe, fun, happy New Year!

Love,
The Casual Geographer

Episode Info
Produced by Tyler
Theme Song by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Music includes
"Swimming in Sand" by Buck-o-Nine
and "Catalina" by The Descendents (of course)
All Photos and Maps here by Rob A. Cisneros

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Episode 4 Posted! Motorcycle Ride!

This week on the show, Tyler, Bret, and Abel are joined by renowned (some day...) anthropologist Ryan Moritz, who cast it all to the wind, joined his good friend on a cross-country motorcycle trip, and lived to tell the stories. And he's got great ones, too!

Listen to it right here or download it via iTunes right HERE.



Don't forget to check out their site for more information and photos from their trip, including a podcast they did during the journey, hitting all 50 states (f'real)...

... meeting tons of amazing people all over the USA, and narrowly avoiding serious injury on multiple occasions! And then coming back home to SoCal, and in Ryan's case, getting seriously injured! (Spoiler alert: he didn't die).

We hope you love the show, and learn a little something about life on the road, how to dig into local cultures, and above all, safety! See you next time with a special episode about Catalina Island (oooooooooh...aaaaaahhhhh).

CREDITS
Produced by Tyler S. for TDC
Theme Song is "The Face of the Earth" by The Dismemberment Plan
Other Featured Music: "Kickstart my Heart" by Motley Crue (damn American keyboard with no umlaut key!), and "Motorcycle Ride" by Rancid.

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Episode 3 Posted! INTERSECTION SONGS

Well, hello there, thanks for being here once again, and thanks for being you. But mostly, thanks for being here, with the full intent of listening to episode 3: Intersection Songs!

This week, we took a handful of great songs by some great artists that describe particular intersections and talk about their individual stories, and how those intersections have evolved since the songs were published. Sounds neat, huh?
Have a listen here, and it should be on iTunes very soon!



Songs in today's show.
1. The Ramones - "53rd & 3rd" - City: NEW YORK - Street View
2. Tom Waits - "9th & Hennepin" (1985) - City: MINNEAPOLIS/TOM'S BRAIN - Street View
3. Good Riddance - "Queen & John" (1999) - City: TORONTO - Street View
4. The Afghan Whigs - "Fountain & Fairfax" (1993) - City: LOS ANGELES - Street View
5. The Dismemberment Plan - "13th & Euclid" (1993) - City: WASHINGTON DC - Street View

We hope you enjoy it! Once again, The Casual Geographer in socialmedialand:
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Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and to our friends abroad, a great rest of the week. It's almost December!