Kevin Smith and the Rise of Smodcast Internet Radio

Earlier this year, Kevin Smith shocked the world  raised some eyebrows  announced to those of us who care that his next film, the hockey comedy Hit Somebody, would be his last. For my Mutant brethren and I, who have always held a special place in our hearts for the foul-mouthed prince of slackerdom, the news was something of a blow. Clerks was the first cult movie I ever saw (on a double bill with Iron Monkey), and the idea that the man behind Chasing Amy, Dogma, and the unfairly maligned Zack and Miri Make A Porno was hanging up his raunchy spurs was more than a little depressing.

Of course, maybe burnout is to be expected.  In the past ten years, Kevin Smith has written six films, directed seven, made cameos in at least a dozen others, has continuously toured the country through his Evening With… Q&A sessions, and written both miniseries and monthly comics for Daredevil, Spider-Man, Batman, and The Green Hornet. I’m not sure I can name another director working with that level of output over that length of time.

You Want A Podcast?  I Got A SModcast!

In his spare time (ha ha), Smith has also managed another feat: since 2007, he has slowly and quietly become king of podcasting through the SModcast Podcast Network. Originally broadcast on February 5, 2007, SModcast is a weekly conversation between Kevin Smith and his longtime producer and compatriot, Scott Mosier. There was no set topic or agenda for each episode; it is instead the sort of meandering, hilarious and reliably perverse banter of which only two very good friends are capable.

Our heroes offer neither pretension nor any claim of competence about their subject matter—witness their infamous debate on whether or not Helen Keller was faking it (Episode 15: The Pretty Good Worker) and their hopeless mangling of Middle East politics (Episode 93: Bar SMitzvah)—but wherever their ramblings may take them, they are dependably filthy and undeniably hysterical. Weekly subjects range from the mundane to the fantastic, including Kevin’s hidden past in the high school drama department (Episode 12: A Fat Kenickie), the reveal of Scott’s inner Harry Potter nerd (Episode 90: Forgeticus!), and the all-important question of whether it’s considered gay to have sex with a future version of yourself sent back to the past (Episode 101: Hot for Scott the Sex Astronaut).

Over the years, guest co-hosts have included Jason Mewes; Jeff Anderson; childhood friends Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan; Kevin’s wife, Jen; mother, Grace; and daughter, Harley-Quinn.  These guest spots proved popular, and in February 2010, Johnson and Flanagan launched their own podcast, Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave!, recorded out of Kevin’s New Jersey comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.  Steve-Dave proved another hit, and, throughout 2010, nearly a dozen other SModcast Podcasts debuted, ensuring that a new episode of *something* was available for listeners every day of the week, including my favorites, Hollywood Babble-On with Kevin and Ralph Garman—in-depth discussion of Hollywood films, gossip, and the bikini area of Liam Neeson and Anne Heche—and Jay and Silent Bob Get Old with Kevin and Jason Mewes, which chronicles Mewes’ past and battle against drug addiction.

Yes, S.I.R.!

So, thirteen podcasts, a full-size tour bus, three live tours, a black-box theater, and a prime time slot weekends at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club later, Kevin Smith has decided that he’s done with the movies, but it doesn’t mean he’s shutting up. On February 23rd, it was announced that SModcast was slated to transform into their very own, 24/7 radio station, dubbed Smodcast Internet Radio.  S.I.R. premiered on May 9, 2011 with two 2-hour live programs—Plus 1 Per Diem with Jen and Kev from 8am-11am PST, and Jay and Silent Bob Get Jobs from 11am-2pm PST.  As more live programming is developed, the remaining 20 hours every day will be streaming from the SModcast archives, including each day’s newest podcast.

S.I.R. is ad-based like an earthbound radio station, but available for free to you and me by visiting http://www.smodcast.com or by downloading the mobile app Stitcher at http://www.stitcher.com.  Reading back over this, it sounds a whole lot like a paid advertisement, but I am really, truly excited about 24-hour SModcast radio, and if you have a Kevin Smith sense of humor, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

Programs in the SModcast Podcast Network

SModcast
Airing Sundays
The undeniable original.  Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier’s weekly discussion of weird news, eternal questions, and penis jokes.

Hollywood Babble-On
Airing Mondays
Kevin and Ralph Garman scrutinize the Hollywood box office, the lives of the rich and famous, and penis jokes.

Blow Hard
Airing Tuesdays
Malcolm Ingram on being gay in L.A. Also: penis jokes.

Plus One
Airing Tuesdays
Kevin and wife Jennifer Schwalbach lay bare the details of their relationship and family life, as Kevin repeatedly attempts to have sex on-air.

Jay and Silent Bob Get Old
Airing Wednesdays
Kev and Jason Mewes discuss Mewes’ battle again heroin, his unusual *cough* upbringing, and the addiction he has replaced it with—Dungeons and Dragons.

Puck Nuts
Airing Thursdays
Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Ming Chen, and Sunday Jeff discuss hockey, the Devils, the NHL, and how badly Ming has screwed up this week (and, believe me, it’s every week).  Recorded at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Tell ‘Em Steve Dave
Airing Friday
Money grubbing merchant Walter, manic depressive Bryan, and chronic Staten-Islander Brian Quinn bicker about… well, whatever they feel like, and compete to see how much abuse they can heap on frequent guest star Ming Chen. Recorded at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Live at Smodcastle!
Airing Saturdays
This is a smorgasbord of occasional podcasts, including Bagged and Boarded with Matt Cohen, Highlands: A Peephole History, SMoviemakers, SMinterview, SMarriage at Smodcastle, Crimson Mystical Mages, and Red State of the Union.