It's July 15, 2026. We're live at the Poduty Live Podcast Theater.
I'm your host, Jeff Revilla. It's Poduty in the news. I've got an
amazing guest from a podcast that I adore. It's Paul
Pape from Gamify Business. Paul, do you know what time
it is? Yeah, it's Morbin time. What
time is it?
What time is.
Oh, it's time for
Poduty and the
News. The only live
news podcast about podcasting from the
stage.
Poduty and the News of the only
live news podcast about podcasting from
the stage.
Oh, the only live news podcast about podcasting from the stage this
side of the Mississippi in Tarentum, Pennsylvania. It's Poduty and the
News. And my special guest today, Paul Pape. Paul,
welcome to the show. Thanks for having me, Jeff. This is going to be a
good time. Oh, we had so much fun together. I was on Gamify Business,
your podcast, and it just came out, I think, at the end of June, June
26th. I saw and I had so much fun. I was
so impressed with the level, with details, with the storytelling,
with the whole concept. Can you kind of frame it for us? You know,
tell us how you put this together? It's almost like an rpg, like you're in
the middle of a video game, you know, and it's. It's just an incredible experience.
I loved it so much. Gamify Business. Tell us a little bit about that,
Paul. Yeah, so the podcast is called Gamify Business Tavern Tales. And
what it is, is Gamified business is business.
But instead of being complicated using business terms, we turned it into
a live action role playing game where you are the hero of your
own adventure and so on. Gamify Business Tavern Tales, I
play the barkeep or the game master, where I bring in other
adventurers to talk to them about how they've succeeded in
their own adventure. But the little twist that I like to put on it is
every adventurer comes in here and has to live within the world of
gamified business. And so every adventurer that comes in
here, regardless of what they do in the real world, come in and they're giving
us a backstory. And the backstory has to do with their life and what they've
actually accomplished. But I always pit them against either a monster or a trap that
they've had to overcome. And every single one of those is
included in the upcoming book that I'm selling, which is the monster
Manual for Business. And so that's the gist of Gamify Business
Tapper tales. Yeah, check it
out. Gamify business.com. and the whole point of this,
you do a nice consulting job too. You really help people. You'll
find out what their purpose is, how to you simplify that for
them and tell us a little bit about your approach to consulting.
So what we like to do is I work with a lot of creative minded
individuals, entrepreneurs, small businesses, solopreneurs. But what I found
through my 20 years of doing my own art style business
is that creative minded people don't think linearly. No. A, B, C and D,
they are cloud thinkers. A, B, F, G, squirrel grass, you
know, that kind of thing. And so what I found is that traditional business
approaches does not work for them. It's too complicated or too boring. And so
what I realized was that everybody understands gaming. We've
all gamed since we were kids, be it board games, video games, live
action, tabletop, doesn't matter, we've all played games, so we understand that
every single game we play has a specific rule set that we have to play
by. And so with Gamify business, the consulting business that I run,
what I actually do is I come into your business and I ask you a
series of questions and we get to learn who you are as the adventurer.
And it sounds like we're going to play a game, but the reality is we're
working with you in real life so that you can earn real money. It's just,
it's a translation service that you understand how business operates
and we make it fun. That's the whole point of this. And so I come
in, I look through all your stuff, we create your character sheet which allows you
to understand exactly why it is that you're doing the business that you're doing and
what you got into it for and why you want to progress into it. And
then I create a series of quests, you're given a map
which is basically your five or ten year plan. And we build everything
up as quests with rewards because we are reward driven people. And so the
whole thing plays out as a game that makes it more fun so that business
doesn't feel like a drag anymore. And I do that all from this
position as the barkeep. Even when I'm doing my consulting business,
I am the barkeep. I come in there and it's a place of service so
that we can talk level to level. I don't like to approach coaching or consulting
where I'm on high and you have to look up to me. It's all about
service to you so that you become the best hero of your own
adventure. You have to check out the website
gamify business.com I mean even the website
is so well themed. You have the cards, the players, the
characters, the, the roles that people play. Even some of the people
that you've. I forget, I forget your wording on it. But you
know the stories that you've told for certain businesses. You have to see the clientele
and, and the people that Paul has worked with. Gamify
business.com the the link is in the show notes. Check it out. This.
It's an incredible site structured the whole way around. It's. It's
10 out of 10 for sure. Thanks.
Well, that only means one more thing. Are you ready for
our stories, Paul? Oh absolutely. Love a good story.
Are you ready to see me struggle through reading without my glasses?
Absolutely. Here we go for your fest will debut November
14th and 15th at Great park in Irvine, California.
Produced by C3 Presents and Live Nation, the two day
event is built around creator culture and will feature three
programming stages dedicated to podcasts and comedy,
music and beauty and fashion. The lineup includes live
podcast recordings with Quinlan Blackwell, Tana
Mongu and Owen Thiel, comedy performances by
Caitlin Huron, Drew Alfalo and Meg
Stout, Stout Staatler, Stantler
Stouter, music performances by DJ Trixie Mattel
and Trisha Pytus and beauty and fashion
masterclasses led by Patrick Ta and Wisdom K.
Attendees can also purchase add ons like culinary and beauty
workshops, meet and greet experiences, VIP packages
and premium ticket options. The presale just started and the
festival is taking place at the end of November and
one of the things I love is these the way that the
events are really moving towards this experiential experience like
they are all in on meeting and greeting with the
talent, having these add ons, these bonuses, having
these immersive experiences. And we're seeing so much of
that now as people start to return back to conferences, return back to
events. I think the public's hungry for this
type of entertainment. Absolutely. I think that
it's interesting because after the COVID years,
as you mentioned, we're slowly starting to come back to it and my background is
in live theater and so we're seeing the resurgence there as well.
Even though people are on Broadway bemoaning that their show closed and
that it's the death of Broadway. But the reality is people are starting to head
back because we're kind of tired of watching the screen, our tiny
screen in our home movies, ticket sales are going through the roof
again, and everybody's really excited to get out there. But I think the one thing
that is covered, especially in this event here, is that people are excited
to rub elbows and be in the same hemisphere,
atmosphere, location as some of these celebrities, or even
just people that they're minor, minor celebrities. But just
to really get that live feeling and to be around these people and to
really exude that energy, I think is excellent. Yeah, we're just seeing
it more and more. And not only that, we're seeing podcasts as
part of these event experiences. Where 10 years ago,
it would be a panel with four people who are from the
corporation that foot the bill for the whole event, and you'd have to listen to
their sales pitch for 45 minutes. But the event organizers have
realized that podcasting is so dynamic, it's so immersive.
When you're in the room and you're seeing how the host reacts with the
guest, you're seeing how the host interacts with the audience, how they
field questions in real time, it's an exponentially better
experience than a panel of four suits telling you about
their environmental mission. You get something that you
can't get when you bring a podcast in and you
have that live experience. The one thing I tell people, that's a once in
a lifetime experience. It's different than comedy, it's different than
music, where you can go town to town and do the same act or the
same routine. But a live podcast, if you can catch it at an event,
that's the only time in the history of the world that you're going to see
that performance. Yep, absolutely. It's the best
unscripted, scripted show that you can go see. Like,
you have an expectation as to who's going to be there, but you have no
expectation of what's going to come out of the mouth. And I think that's great.
And I think it's great for these events too, because those panels, like you said,
are live reacting. It's in that unscriptedness
is really. That's not a word. But it is now that unscriptedness is
really what people are excited about. And, like, not only are the
presenters, like, recognizing that it's going to be more
entertaining for their people, but the hosts and their
guests bring their people as well. So it's a way to put butts in seats.
It's just a really brilliant way of approaching,
approaching these outcomes because I've sat through both versions of it,
the suits version and, and you've never seen more people on their phone, like
scrolling more lights in the audience because they're bored. But when you bring on the
people, they're live every, everybody's literally on the edge of their seat waiting to hear
what's going to happen next. I think it's brilliant. Yeah. The suits are like, I
don't know what happened. We thought this was a great idea, that they'd want to
hear all about our initiatives on maximizing
profitability. And they're like, no, no, no. They're
waiting for five o' clock when the bar opens up in the
concourse area. And that's, and that's part of this. And
to be able to take your show on a road and go
where your audience is. This is an event for entertainers. And if
you're in that, if you're in the, your purpose of your podcast is
entertain and you're in some sort of arts or music or
some sort of industry that's parallel to an event that's going on.
See how can you tie into that event? Because guess who's in that
audience? Your audience. New people who can find out about
your show and tag along and join you on future episodes.
Go where the audience is, go where the people who are interested in what you're
doing and see how you can get into there. See how you can be a
part of those types of events. And this is a great one to try to
attach to. Absolutely, absolutely. And trying
to attach to. How about this little building? I love this little. It's
a little museum in Provincetown. And the Art Gallery association
is going to host a live recording of the Art colony podcast on
July 24th at the Provincetown Commons in
Provincetown, Massachusetts. Drink every time I say Provincetown.
The event celebrates podcast's one year anniversary and
will feature a panel discussion about the future of Provincetown's
creative community. Host Gaston Lacombe will
be joined by Christy McCarthy, CEO of
Provincetown Art association and Museum Gavin Kennedy
of Emergent Art Advisory and gallery owner Jill
Rothenberg Simmons. Attendees are invited to listen to the
discussion and participate in a live audience. Q and A.
Seating is limited and advance registration is
required. And you know, here's a great way to.
You're in Provincetown, obviously, and you're going to have this podcast
live at this art gallery. And it's, it's a way to bring in the
community, the local community, talk about Provincetown. I'm sure that's all
they're going to talk about is, you know, Provincetown, the Provincetown Bakery, the
Provincetown municipality, the Provincetown taxes, right? It's
all Provincetown all the time. But it's this cute little building where
you wouldn't expect to have a live event, to have a live
podcast. And I just love these ideas of that.
These are happening in little communities all across the country, all across
the world. These events are happening and they're becoming bigger and
bigger. I love P Town. I was there with my wife.
We walked it. We loved, is an arts
culture center and we loved every bit of it. Saw a
great drag version of Schitt's Creek.
It was fabulous. I mean, this is a natural tie in
and the atmosphere and the people there are, are just super
wired. It is going to be a great time. And it sounds on
paper, especially with that picture of that one kind of, kind of
dinky little building. It doesn't sound very exciting, but let me tell you, I've been
there. It's going to be exciting. It's going to, it's going to be very interesting.
And the art, I'm sure, is just going to blow your mind. So if you
have the opportunity to head there, head to P Town, go to Provincetown and
enjoy it. I'm going to say P Town because I don't want to take any
more shots, but that's definitely, it's going to be a
happening place and it's really smart because you're tying in not just
a podcast audience, but you're tying in an arts community as well,
as well as all of B Town is going to be there as well. So
I think it's really smart marketing on their part.
It's going to boost the podcast because now they're going to bring in people
and have that live show because, you know, as a person who does a podcast
from a bar in my basement, there's not a lot of live
representation here. This is their one year anniversary. So they're like, let's throw out the
live show. And I think that the turnout is going to be great. I think
the energy is going to be really happening. It's going to be, it's, it's going
to be a good time and it's a smart move for people. Throw it out
on an anniversary, bring in local people, get that live
energy, feel that you, that you're very familiar with, Jeff, and you know, just
really experience it. So if you're running a podcast and you've got some kind of
anniversary, be it a, a year or even a number coming up here,
you know, it's our 60th episode or whatever, throw out some live audience. And
let me tell you, I've done live audiences of two people, but it was enough
chuckle from the audience to like land the jokes that it ended up being a
really good time. So I think this is going to be a great event. Yeah.
And think about, you know, your hometown, your community. If you don't have a P
town arts gallery in your neighborhood, there are
ways to do things like this in your hometown. Maybe you don't have the
theater like we have here, or you don't have the art gallery who's already putting
something together, but you could be the person in your town
that puts something together for local community members. You know, like
Paul and I said, people are hungry for in person events and
these little, little like boutique events are popping up
all over the place. And if they're not happening in your town, maybe
it's your turn to step up and make it happen.
Absolutely. Well, you know what else is happening?
Podcasting is we're hearing it's a big thing. And I'm also
a little biased on this next article because,
hey, look where this is. This was just in the paper and it looks
very familiar. The local paper
was talking about how podcasting is really up and coming and
Pittsburgh has a really great scene. There's a lot of things happening here
and they reached out to me for a comment, which I
appreciate. And they also use the picture from the theater to represent
podcasting in Pittsburgh. So of course I picked this article.
The Trip Live recently published a feature highlighting the continued growth of
podcasting in the Pittsburgh region. The article references
Pew Research center data showing that more than half of
US Adults listen to a podcast during the past year. It
spotlights several local shows, including Yin's Are Good
Trivia with Jeff, Ya Jagoff and Werewolf
Ambulance. The story also features Padootie Podcast Theater in
Torenham, where Trivia with Jeff is filmed and recorded with a live
audience, and where other independent podcasters can host live
podcast events. In addition, the article highlights the area's
growing podcast community and the regular networking
meetups for local creators, which I also planted that
because I am the one who hosts the monthly podcast meetup and
we have one coming up Sunday. Joel July 19 if you're in the
Pittsburgh area, but this is proof like
this is catching on. This is a form of entertainment
is becoming a mainstream form of entertainment. We had an article already
about a conference that's showcasing podcasting.
Provincetown is having a podcast at their art gallery.
The local paper, the biggest paper in Pittsburgh is talking about the rise
of podcasting and giving these examples. This is becoming a form
of entertainment. The same way comedy clubs popped up in the 80s
to support comedians wanting places to perform that weren't just
the backs of Chinese restaurants or bowling alleys. That's where
they used to perform comedy before there were comedy clubs. And even bars and
restaurants grew into venues that were dedicated to music. And this is
the time. This is the time where this is happening for podcasting. And the
paper's picking it up, the news outlets are picking it up. The research
is starting to show that, hey, podcasting is so much more
than just an audio file. It's an experience. It can be. It
could be something more than just something you listen to on your
morning commute. Absolutely. And what I
love about this is, you know, the genre. And I think one
of your next stories is going to really dig into this a little bit more.
But, like, the whole point of the podcast is that somebody has
a point of view that they want to express. They have a gimmick that they're
trying to sell, or they're talking about either comedy or the new
news or something like that, and everybody has got a take. But the thing
is, we used to watch broadcast news on three channels, and now
we've got millions of podcasts where if you want a very
specific take, the riches are in the niches. That niche is out there, and you
can go and look at that very specific podcast and not just hear it, but
you can actually watch it and engage with those people. And then if you have
the opportunity to go see it live, it's even more entertaining. So I think it's
really neat that we're taking, like, the news and we're having these
independent, like. Like, news people. Just go out there, like, really dig
into this, and then ask the audience for a genuine opinion on it. You
know, ask your audience, you know, hey, is this. What do you guys think about
this? And then there's that live feedback that we can get, especially in, like, a
live atmosphere, or even if they're just putting it out online live so that
they get some feedback as well. I think it's just a brilliant way of doing
that. And I'm glad that the paper is picking it up and, you know, not
that you on the back, but, you know, I'm glad that they put east front
and center on that one because it's a brilliant. And we were talking about before
this even aired. This is a brilliant way of approaching
podcasting, because I know there's A lot of smaller people who, smaller
podcasts that think, I can't bring in the audience, I don't have the audience.
But, but you're proven them wrong. And you're like, yes, you can do this
and you can do it live. And then to give those podcasts that are used
to recording in a small studio in a basement whatever, the opportunity to hear
it live, to get the feedback instantaneously from their audience,
it's choice. So congratulations on that shout
out there, Jeff. I think that's brilliant. Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm
very bullish on live events, but all we hear in the media,
at least from podcast news sources, is audio
was dominant from 2005 to 2020,
but now video is the future, Video is now, video is the future.
Video is all podcasting is going to be. And I'm really offering
another perspective that beyond video is live
is in person is having these electric moments with
a theater full of people that you just can't, you'll never
capture that in a home studio or, you know,
you have to really experience a live podcast. It's a whole different game. And
until you really experience it, until you go see maybe a
touring podcast that's coming to your town or you host one
yourself, you'll never know like how far you can take this
and how big podcasting can be. And live is just
exponentially better than video. You'll get the video at the end of it.
But live is an experience that you just can't get anywhere else.
There's something to be said about the ability to read
micro expressions, the twitch of a foot or whatever. I mean, there's just something
that we get from, from seeing the full person
that you don't necessarily get with just the crop that you know, like what you
don't know. Right now I'm wearing shorts because it's 90
degrees outside. Here I am in three piece suit, but shorts, it's those
types of things that you just don't get when you're doing these on video. And,
and I, I hope I guessed on a lot of podcasts as well. And
the last time I was on one that was audio only, it felt half
there. You know, it's like this we're missing, I know it's a podcast,
but we're missing something. And then to do it live like this, this is great.
And I see myself up on the screen, but let me tell you, I'd rather
be sitting in that chair next to you because there's something better for
it, for being there live. And in person, there's a lot more that you can
play off of. And so it's, if you have that
opportunity, 100% grab by the reins, go for it.
Well, as soon as you're in Pittsburgh, the stage is yours. Because I know
you were excited, I believe, about the next story. Hey, Jonas.
Yeah, that's right.
The Jonas Brothers will record a live episode of their podcast hey
Jonas during D23, the Ultimate Disney Fan
Event on Sunday, August 16th at the Anaheim
Convention Center. The live recording will feature Disney stories,
behind the scenes memories, and special guests as
Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas celebrate being named Disney
Legends later that evening. The podcast launched in May and
gives fans an inside look at the brothers lives on and off stage.
Previous guests have included Seth Meyers, Millie Bobby Brown, William
Shatner, and Bill Nye The Science Guy.
D23, the ultimate Disney fan experience, takes place
August 14th through the 16th in
Anaheim. Paul, you want to take this one? You were excited to get to
it. I really was. This is one of those opportunities.
I'm from the entertainment industry and I do a lot of conventions,
and nothing packs a stage like the audience
for a stage than having a celebrity coming into a panel. Now
what we want to know is we want to know the ins and outs. We
want to know the secrets that happen behind it. And that's why we rely on
those panels. Like, if you ever go to San Diego Comic Con, you know, those
panels sell out. And what's interesting is the Jonas Brothers are giving you not
only that experience, but they're giving, like, behind the scenes of what they're
doing, but they're also bringing in other celebrities or other guests to kind of give
you a little bit of behind that, because the audience craves that
the, the information to make the celebrities feel more
real. And so if you ever want to experience, you
know, that celebrity, and when you're recording these little, little things like D2,
D23 with this event, it's not going to be a 6,000 person house. It's not
Madison Square Garden. It's going to be an intimate engagement. I mean, it might be
intimate like 700 people, but it's still intimate in that regard. And that's going to
be so much more exciting to be person in that
audience, to be able to get that live. And when you're recording
podcasts like this, as I'm sure you're aware, Jeff, not all of it ends up
on the air. Some of it ends up on the floor for time
or for, you know, cursing whatever you want to be. So I'm sure that there's
going to be some bits of it that, you know, being there, live, experience it,
you're going to get more out of that. You're going to have this literal, like,
behind the scenes look at the behind the scenes information that they're
giving you. It's. It's an experience that I think you could really get a lot
out of if you're a fan of the Jonas Brothers. Well, you
touched on something very important. The Jonas Brothers, celebrities in their own right. They
paved their own way. Global sensation, the
Jonas Brothers. And so people go to see them, but when they're
there, you're also finding out what they're interested in. You're hearing
about their stories, their tour stories coming up through the
Disney system. But then they're bringing in
their fan people that they're fans of the celebrities,
different musicians, and they're telling other stories. So you're hearing
firsthand from the people you're interested in about the things that they're
interested in. It really creates this ripple effect and builds this
ecosystem all around the Jonas Brothers of who
they are and the things that they're interested in. But that also
trickles down to, like, me, if I'm hosting my trivia show and I'm doing
goofy things with goofy guests, and those goofy guests become part of
the show. And it works on a micro level, too. So if you're hosting
your show, you know, people are coming to see you, but they're also coming
because of you and who you are and what you're interested in. And. And that's.
The Jonas Brothers are just doing that on a much bigger scale,
right? Absolutely. And that's. That's really one of the things that I think a lot
of people overlook is that people love stories, and especially
stories that have got a little bit of, you know, a little bit of dirt
in them or got a little bit, you know, that lived experience because
they're all just humans, even celebrities. And so I've sat on many
stages where I've been able to tell, like, I've got pocket stories we
all bring out, and I get people like, screaming at me, tell this story again.
Because people just love hearing it live, love hearing the nuance in
seeing and getting to know a little bit more of, like, how things work, you
know, because, you know, we want to be able to relate to
some degree to those people. And whether it's a celebrity of the Jonas
Brothers levels or even, you know, you or I, if we went there, they want
to know what's behind it because we've had, you know, the bravery to go and
put ourselves on something in front of a lot of a live audience. And
so to get that insight is something that people clamor for. So
do it. Speaking of going live in front of a
live audience, you got Kurt
Braunholler Brings Stand Up
Comedy to a Live Bananas Podcast at Comedy Works
Kurt Braun Oller performed at Comedy Works Larimer
Square in Denver from July 9th through the 11th, a three day
tour with a weekend that included both stand up comedy and a live
podcast recording along with multiple comedy performances.
Braun Ohler and host Scotty Lands recorded the
live episode of their comedy podcast Bananas on Saturday,
July 11th at 3pm the show featured unusual
news stories, audience participation, and the offbeat
humor the podcast is known for. Tickets for the performances
range from 25 to 32 dollars. And
one of the things I want to touch on on this story is whenever we're
talking about going out and having a night out, these podcasts
aren't breaking the bank. A lot of them are. 20,
$25. The max ticket here was 32, probably for like a
front row reserve seat. And it's a you
probably got 90 minutes and two hours of entertainment. You had a
great time, you laughed. And they're not bank
breaking experiences, they're immersive. If this is a
fan, you're a fan of his comedy, you're going to enjoy this
in a way that you would enjoy way more than you would enjoy just hearing
a stand up special or normal routine. This kind of
expands what the performance can be.
Absolutely. I'm a fan of Bananas. I listen to that
podcast. It's a great one for the road, great stories. But I can
guarantee you seeing it live is going to add to that experience. And
you're absolutely correct when you said those pricing, I was like, that's a steal.
That's an absolute steal to go and be entertained for two hours. I
mean $32 for a seat. I mean movies are that much these days.
You're not even getting that much, you know, that much time out of it.
And again, you're capturing a moment that will never be repeated
again. So you know, yeah, I can go pay 35 bucks to go see a
movie, but everybody else is seeing the exact same movie. Doesn't matter when they go,
but you're paying $32 at most to go see this live performance. That
will never happen again. It's just, yeah, it's mind
boggling to not take advantage of something like that. And that show
in Particular is a hoot and the stories that they tell.
Yeah, they've done some stuff. So yeah, if you have a chance to ever catch
Bananas live, definitely do that, you know,
once in a lifetime. Once in a lifetime performance for 30 bucks.
Never be repeated again. Yeah. Crazy. Yeah. And
we, and this is a great model. We see a lot of touring comics start
to bring their podcasts on the road. One of the most famous ones that does
this is Doug Loves Movies with Doug Benson, comedian for
30 plus years, has been touring and I think Doug Loves movies. Has to
be 15, 20 years. I mean it's an, it's an original
podcast and he started going around and
at 4:20, it's his thing, he will do an
episode of his podcast, Doug Loves Movies while he's on the road touring
these comedy clubs. And what he found out is nobody's at the comedy club at
4 in the afternoon. But he could add a third show that
day. Do a podcast at 4 o', clock, do the 7 o', clock,
do the 9 o', clock, and if there's a time, do 11 o'. Clock. But
you're able to add an extra rep, an extra show
while you're on tour. And why not take your podcast on the road,
utilize that downtime of the comedy club and squeeze
in an extra opportunity to sell some tickets and perform
in a different way for your audience. Absolutely. It's
probably one of the best warm ups that you could have too if you're going
to go on and later on do that show. Because a lot of
comedy shows you've got the opening act and they're priming the
audience for you, but it's also priming the comedian who's going to go out there
and do their thing to be able to go out there, do your own podcast
to an audience who's expecting you to be you. It's a great
warm up for you. It gives you that energy. Like when I do a great
podcast, my day is set and so then I could go on and do whatever
so to have that opportunity. So if you are a pod, if you're doing a
tour, whatever, find those golden times in the space that you're at.
And you know it takes nothing to ask them if you could add a little
bit more time because you're the one filling the seats. And let me tell you,
they're taking a part of the door so they're going to be okay. Making a
little bit of extra money for them to open the door a little bit earlier
for you. So take advantage of that if you have the opportunity. Yeah, I've always
loved that model. I think it's a genius idea to utilize downtime.
And we talk about this theater here. If I'm not here or I don't have
an event, I got downtime. If I only have two or three events that
week, I've got four days where I'm still paying rent, I'm
still paying electricity, I'm still paying the bills, but there's no money coming in.
So if you have an idea and you know that, okay, the coffee shop
in our town is dead at three o' clock on, on Sunday
afternoons. Or this pizza shop has a banquet room they
never use and you can bring in 10, 15 people and you talk to that
business owner. Well, utilize that downtime. You'll figure out
how can I add something to my community, add something to this
business, and in turn get a free space to perform and record
my podcast. Oh, it's live from Donnie Bonaduce's
Pizzeria from the back room. That's a story
that goes along with your podcast. And you're building this, this legacy.
You're building. What do they call, like, Sasquatch? Like, what's that
called when you're the mythology to it? Urban legend. Yeah, there you go. Yeah,
you're building this, building this mystery around your podcast.
And it's all because you're trying to build something and
being resourceful and utilizing the community,
finding those down times, finding those down spaces and building
them up, building them into something. When you bring in an audience, that pizza
shop wins, you win because you got a space to record a show. And,
you know, it really uplifts the community. And it also
makes the podcast seem more solid to be able to say this
episode sponsored by. When we get that
sponsorship kind of locked into there, that. That adds a level
of authority to your podcast. Instead of saying, hey, brought to you from
my basement. It doesn't ring the same as brought to you by Bonaduce
Pizza from the back room. You know, come out here and try a slice that.
And also that opportunity can
outlast the space that you borrowed for an evening. You know, if they
really enjoy what you're doing, all you got to do is have a simple conversation,
be like, would you like to sponsor this going forward? It's a huge opportunity for
you, so take advantage of those places and get to know. And get to know
your community. Absolutely. Well, you mentioned
basement. Kind of half the name of the next story is the
basement Yard podcast. Well, will bring its national tour to The New
Jersey Performing Arts center in newark on Friday, January
15, 2027. We're already booking into next year.
Hosted by longtime friends Joe
Santigado and Frank Alvarez, the comedy
podcast is known for its unscripted conversations,
audience interaction, and humorous debates. The show has
previously sold out venues including Radio City Music Hall, Madison
Square Garden, and earlier this year, the Basement Yard received the
best overall ensemble award at the 2026 I Heart
podcast Awards. The newer performance takes place at
8pm in Prudential Hall.
How upset do you think that Frank is that they misspelled his name at least
once? Somewhere in there is either in the byline or in the
paragraph, they left out a letter like, oh, he's gonna be
mad. But no publicity. You know,
any publicity is good publicity. Right? So, you know. Absolutely. If you go back to
the article that they spelled my name three different ways
in the article. I was like, it's R E V I, L O A. They
had R A, V E, R I, V E. I was like,
you had it right the first time. Just copy it. But yeah, I mean,
it happens. It's part of, you know, part of the journalism and
to be able to build something. The Basement Yard podcast. I'd love to know the
backstory. Did this start in the backyard in the basement where these two
friends that just started recording for fun, and now it's
grown to something where they've sold out Radio City Music Hall.
They're at the New Jersey Performing Arts center in Newark. They're
taking this show on the road. It's a passion that they love to talk
about. They love performing, performing for people. And people are
responding to it. They're showing up, they're. They're part of these live
shows. And, you know, they're coming, they're buying. Those audience
members are buying tickets to come see the Basement Yard.
Yeah. And you could get there. I mean, that's. And that's the thing is we
all think, you know, there are a ton of podcasts out there. And you're like,
well, you know, I'll never be that big. But, you know, you could literally be
the backyard Basement people and be like, this show will never get anywhere. But, you
know, if you. If you set it up correctly and, you know, start small, go
ahead and go into your theater here and just do it in front of a
smaller audience, and you'll know it'll grow bigger and bigger and bigger, and it doesn't
take as long. And it's not as mysterious as we think it is. Like, there
is no golden ticket that you need to win. It's about working it and
you know, getting into the smaller rooms first and then medium rooms and then getting
into larger rooms. But it's absolutely possible for even
the, the, the weirdest podcast who get that kind of a following
and have them perform live to, to your adoring fans.
And they're not just buying tickets, they're buying merch as well, which
is always going to be great. So this is, this becomes a living as opposed
to that, that passion project that you're doing on the side. Yeah,
when we start talking about monetization, I'll go crazy.
We'll, we'll do, we'll go on a 10 minute tangent. But you can start to
add in so many more layers to your podcast. You know,
it's not just about reading host red ads for me undies or purple
mattress or Sherry's berries. There are so many more ways to
monetize a podcast. And when you incorporate live those
ticket sales, sponsorships, advertising posters, merchandise,
pins, T shirts, there are so many VIP experiences,
meet and greets, there are so BYOB tickets, there's so many ways
to tease up the ticket and the value that you can deliver to the audience.
And these just, these small little ways can add so many different
streams of income. And I will talk for hours about
the benefits of going live and why to do it.
I just see it as so much potential for 90% of
podcasters who are never going to be able to do a host
red ad because they don't have the volume. Those 90% of
podcasters can walk out on their first night with money in their pocket
doing a live podcast. So that's my spiel. I'm not gonna, not gonna go
into it because we'll go on a 45 minute tangent
and apologize. I warned you. It goes by super quick. We did
our six stories already. The Gamify business.
The website is incredible. I encourage everybody to go check it
out. But before you do that one last time, I turned
the entire stage back over to Paul. Paul, you can plug,
promote, talk about anything you'd like. The floor is
yours. Thank you so much, Jeff. So yeah, if
you guys have an opportunity or you're just a little bit curious about what Gamify
Business actually does, I encourage you to go over to the website
gamify business.com that's G A M I F Y
business.com quiz. Because
what would Gamify Business be without a game that you can play immediately?
So what you'll learn is your business personality.
You're going to be awarded one of six different classes, be it a wizard, a
warrior, a sage, arranger, artificer,
you get to be told what you are in your business thinking. And the
important thing to take away from that is not only do you get this cool
little card, this digital little avatar for yourself, but you'll get a free 11
to 14 page deep dive into how you personally approach
business. And not only that, I'll even throw in absolutely free
of charge, your ideal partner. Because
no person can do it alone. And so you need to find a
person who has the a personality that works best with you,
is a great compliment, but is not you. And so that's also
included free. So again, that's Gamify Business
Forward/GamifyBusiness.com quiz.
And while I've got you here, I'd like to talk about all books that I
sell here. So if this is something that you're interested in, I sell the
Creative Players Handbook to Business, which is basically the
character creation process. When you finish this book and it is a
game, it's filled with a lot of things that you can do in here to
keep yourself entertained. It's made for the ADHD and
neurospicy people. Even though you can be like a normie, that's
fine, but it's made for that. So it'll keep your interest. When you're done with
this, you have a business plan with a 90 day plan of action where you
can start earning real world money the day you're done with the book. I also
sell all sorts of other books that go along with it, but please go check
it out at gamifybusiness.com thanks Jeff.
Absolutely. And we have a thing called Poduty and the Crew. Or after
your episode drops, you will be inducted into the crew. And it's
all the links from all my guests. We'll have Gamify Business in there.
We'll have all the social profiles, we'll have all the ways to connect with Paul.
So go to news.poduty.com the
crew and check out Paul Pape in the Crew.
Paul, do you remember what time it was?
Yeah, it's Morbin time. What time is it?
The news.
The only live news podcast about
podcasting from the stage.
The only live news podcast about
podcasting from the stage.