Gearing Up For More Shoots

Next Wednesday we'll be getting the ol' crew together to shoot two more episodes of The Pedal Powered Talk Show. And these will be fancy episodes with rockin' guests!

First we'll be talking to Blitzen Trapper just back from their national tour and Letterman appearance. And is it just me or does Dave seem strangely obsessed with Portland and Mount Hood?

Then we'll be chatting with Craig Thompson, the incredible artist/author behind graphic novels like Blankets, Carnet de Voyage, and most recently Habibi.

Next week is also premiere week here at PPTS! We'll be rolling out our very first episode on Tuesday, January 3rd. And we'll be making a few TV appearances to mark the occasion as well. Stay tuned for details!

Note to Zooey Deschanel: I can imagine you're already quite familiar with our quest to have you as a guest on the show but for some reason I'm yet to receive an email/call/text. I even checked my spam folder. Just wanted to let you know that I'll be around today if you want to get in touch. Talk soon!

Pedal Powered Extras: Laura Veirs

I had a great chat with Laura Veirs about her new album. Unfortunately, our chat was so great that not all of it is going to make it into the final interview (which will be released in a few short weeks) so here's a little bonus snippet for your enjoyment:

PPTS in the News

It's been exciting to see The Pedal Powered Talk Show get covered by a wide array of blogs/sites/tweets over the past few weeks. Meagan Williams over at Portland Pulp wrote about the show last week and had a few suggestions for guests that she'd like to see on upcoming episodes. Here are Meaghan's ideas and accompanying notes:

Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Sweet Dee is from Lake O and is bound to be back in the city at some point to visit family. Also, she is literally one degree from Danny DeVito, soo… there's that. 

Kristen Wiig of SNL: She’s on this season of Portlandia, and though some of us are just overwhelmed with Armisen, there’s not enough Wiig. There’s never enough Wiig. 

Megan Amram of … Twitter?: Do you know who she is? You should. Megan is a comedy writer in Los Angeles who, at her young age, is making a huge name for herself. She graduated from Catlin Gabel (in Beaverton) in 2006. And her Twitter feed is the thing dreams are made of.

Thanks for the recommendations Meagan! I'd be up for any of those guests - especially Kaitlin Olson who I've been trying to get in touch with for a few months. In fact, Kaitlin and I even went to the same arts camp. Someone out there must be related to her? Or her parents' neighbors? Anyone?

And speaking of Kristen Wiig and Portlandia we're still waiting to hear back from Carrie and Fred. Though their 'people' have expressed interest in the show we're yet to schedule an interview. Maybe once we talk to Fred he can introduce us to the rest of the SNL gang? And I hadn't heard of Megan Amram but I now see that she's one heck of a prolific tweeter. And it looks like she may be in Portland for the holidays. So Megan Amram: if you're reading this you should come on The Pedal Powered Talk Show.

Anyone else have requests for folks they want to see on The Pedal Powered Talk Show?

What I Want for Hannukah

You know what the best Hannukah present ever would be? If Zooey Deschanel agreed to sit down for an interview at The Pedal Powered Talk Show. But there's more than one day of Hannukah left - we've got six whole nights to go - so I'm going to ask for more than just Zooey. I won't be greedy and ask for a guest a night but I will share my top five dream guests for The Pedal Powered Talk Show. Most of them are Oregonians - either currently or previously - and all they have to do is say 'yes' to make my Hannukah dreams come true. But instead of just asking for these guests I'm going to do a visualization exercise. Isn't that what The Secret was about? So, here goes...

Can you picture it now?

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons was born and raised in Portland (and went to my rival high school) and although he doesn't do too many talk show interviews I'm hoping he makes an exception for us. I met him once in Colorado and he handed me a sketch of Bart. I never got to thank him properly so maybe I'll finally get the chance now.

Already seated behind the desk is Gonzo, my favorite Muppet, who may not have an Oregon connection but he's probably into this urban chicken trend. I was something of a strange kid so I always identified strongly with Gonzo. And maybe if we're really lucky he'll bring Rizzo the Rat along (who was strangely silent in this last Muppet movie).

Then there's Zooey Deschanel, who's got a number of Oregon connections, but I've probably blogged enough about Zooey already - I don't want it to get too weird. Or did it already get weird? Zooey?

Next up is Ann Curry, a proud Oregonian, (we discussed it back when I was an intern at NBC) who once worked at KGW (our local NBC affiliate) before moving on up to NBC's Today show. Although Ann grew up in southern Oregon she seems to pop up in Portland at least a few times a year.

And next to Ann is acclaimed director and longtime Portlander Gus Van Sant. He made a cameo on Portlandia last year so hopefully he'll be game for another TV appearance. His most recent film, Restless, is coming out on DVD at the end of January so this seems like the perfect time to make an appearance - right?

Wouldn't we make a fun rag tag team? Maybe we could even pull off a bank heist or something? So are any of you neighbors with Gus? Or old pals of Matt? Or cousins with Gonzo? This is the time to call 'em up. Let's make a Hannukah miracle happen!

From the Cutting Room Floor

Episodes of The Pedal Powered Talk Show are only a few minutes long, but the interviews we film are around twenty minutes long. That means there are lot of juicy tidbits that don't make the actual show. But don't worry - we're keeping those juicy tidbits around and releasing them right here on this website! First up, here's a quick story from Daniel Baldwin about the time Billy Baldwin lost his bike to a neighborhood bully:

Stay tuned for more fun-filled nuggets coming soon! And for full-length episodes coming in January!

P.S. For those of you wondering, we still haven't heard from Zooey Deschanel. But we're not giving up. Even if Boaz has been unconscious for the past 48 hours.

The Quest for Zooey: Day 2

Still no word from Zooey and Boaz is currently passed out on the floor. Even though we haven't heard from Zooey Deschanel directly we have heard from some people who know people who know Zooey. So we think that's a step in the right direction. In case you've already forgotten about our quest, here's that video again:



Zooey - are you reading this? Feel free to get in touch via twitter, email, or elaborate fireworks display.

Are you there Zooey Deschanel? It's me Boaz.

Back in my 'entertainment journalism' days I used to cover a lot of press junkets. Basically, you wait around in a hotel room for a few hours so that you can talk to an actor for a few minutes. It's a pretty lousy wait to get an interview - for the journalist and the actor.

One of the early junkets I did - about eight years ago - was for the movie Elf. I talked to James Caan, Will Ferrell, and Jon Favreau but I was especially excited about talking to Zooey Deschanel. I guess I had a bit of a crush on her. Excited or not, the interview was a pretty awkward experience. So I think it's time for a re-do:



Zooey - are you reading this? Feel free to get in touch via twitter, email, or pigeon.

Capturing Every Moment of PPTS

We're not only filming The Pedal Powered Talk Show - we're also photographing the entire process. And for that task we've turned to one of my favorite picture-takers, Daniel Stark. I sat down with Daniel over a steaming cup o' tea to ask him some questions about his experiences photographing the show. You can read his responses over at his awesome blog.

Our Very First Promo

Last Friday we spent a sunny morning on the Springwater Corridor filming some promos for the PPTS. We lucked out with the weather and with Phillip pedaling and Daniel filming it was a pretty fun shoot. Talk a look:

Behind the Scenes at OMSI

Filming at OMSI After Dark was especially fun as it was the first episode we shot with a sort of audience. There were tons of people at the museum that night and it definitely infused the shoot with a new energy. And to make it even better we had awesome guests too! I've been following Emi Lenox and Natalie Nourigat online for a while - they're both talented Portland artists who've had great success with their diary comics. They also both have books coming out in February!

But enough words - now it's time for some photos care of Official PPTS Photographer Daniel Stark:

This is what it looks like when I'm preparing for an interview.
See - I have notes and everything!

They're still not sure what they've gotten themselves into.

We had a pretty prime shooting location - right outside the Planetarium!

Why are Emi and Natalie so intrigued?
You'll have to watch the episode to find out.

It wasn't quite a journey to the stars, but it was a journey to SE Portland.

Emi and Natalie are preparing for the drawing challenge.

Emi shows off her completed creation.

Are you super excited to watch the video now? Well, hold your horses, because it will be a few weeks. But don't worry - I'll keep posting things here while you wait.

A Sneak Peak of Our OMSI Show

We were quite the hit at OMSI After Dark, or rather, Emi Lenox and Natalie Nourigat were the hits. We proposed a drawing challenge and they accepted enthusiastically (and drew a crowd in the process). What did they draw? And what did they win? And who killed Professor Plum with the lead pipe? Stay tuned to find out!

As always, the awesome photos are care of official PPTS photographer, Daniel Stark.

Behind the Scenes with Daniel Baldwin

I first contacted Daniel Baldwin via twitter and he graciously agreed to be one of the first guests on the Pedal Powered Talk Show. So yesterday afternoon we met up on the roof of the Hotel Deluxe for a chat. We were ready to set up a tent to protect our gear from the (always present) rain, but somehow it turned out to be one of the sunniest days in recent memory. As always, Chief PPTS* Photographer Daniel Stark was there to document the shoot:

The first step to filming the Pedal Powered Talk Show: Tying my Keens

Turns out that Daniel Baldwin is a fan of Steven Smith Teamaker!

Can we pretend that Portland is always this sunny in November?

It may look like he's about to punch me, but he's just telling a story - I promise.

A Pedal Powered Talk Show built for two...

*PPTS is the abbreviation for Pedal Powered Talk Show. Cause it gets exhausting writing Pedal Powered Talk Show every time. See? I just did it again. Now I'm exhausted.

A Sneak Peak of Day Two

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was asleep before 10PM last night. I was pretty exhausted from two action-packed days of shooting. And I wasn't even the one pedaling the bike. Daniel Stark's got some sweet photos from our interviews with Daniel Baldwin, Emi Lenox and Natalie Nourigat, but for now here are some twitpics to hold you over...