Aside from the recent controversy with TAPS, most likely one of the other major issues being discussed in the paranormal field has been the alleged fakery going on at the A&E Network program "Paranormal State."
In a recent blog called "Eye on the Paranormal," Kirby Robinson broke a story of a former client of PRS and Paranormal State's named Kelli Ryan. Kelli Ryan, who claims to be a psychic, charged the cast and crew of the show with forgery of evidence as well as making the allegation that alleged psychic/medium Chip Coffey, another cast member, had foreknowledge of her case and, therefore, lied about his "gift" and performance on the show.
The episode in question, called "The Messenger," was the focus of Mr. Robinson's column, as was an open challenge to any so-called "paracelebrity" who claims to conduct solid, truthful investigations. It was this, as well as Kirby's own claims of being a psychic/demonologist/exorcist, that brought about us inviting him on the show.
While the majority of the interview involved our discussion of his demonology and exorcism work, we did get into various questionable episodes of Paranormal State and the exploits of Chip Coffey. It was a very pleasant interview, as Kirby does not hold back his opinions. If you ask him a question, you'll get his answer - like it or not.
Our next interview was supposed to be with Kelli Ryan herself. Unfortunately, try though we did, we could not get a hold of her. Bobby called her number probably 10 times over the course of the final hour of our program, but it was met only by a busy signal each and every time.
Knowing that this type of this is unfortunate, yet expected in this internet radio enterprise, we proceeded to fill time as best we could. Comic books, movies, where to get decent Mexican food; it was all discussed ad nauseum. And Bobby even chimed in with an interesting nugget of his own - he heard Chip Coffey purchased the name of psychic Beatrice Marot as domains and held them hostage at the cost of $3000. In Bobby's words, "Chip Coffey is a prick." And I agreed that, if that is indeed what happened, you simply do not buy someone's name as a domain. Especially not someone like Beatrice who, apparently, was once a friend of Mr. Coffey's. As I said on the show, it's a dick move.
Well, this was a fun show and I can feel us getting better at filling time when we need to and providing damn good interviews for our listeners to enjoy. If you'd like to check this show out, head on over to our Myspace page or, as always, listen to the podcast at Strange Frequencies Radio Online.
Happy holidays!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Episode #004 - Nick f'n Redfern!!!
To date, there is no episode of Strange Frequencies Radio I've looked forward to more than this. We booked cryptozoologist Nick Redfern. I've followed the guy's work and he is outstanding. And not only that, but a HUGE Ramones fan. So, suffice it to say, I was thrilled.
At the end of last week's taping, I made a promise - to myself, the our show crew, and to the listeners - my first real question to him would not be about cryptozoology, or UFO's, or anything like that. My first question was going to be about the Ramones. And, I delivered! Technically, at least.
See, my first actual question to him was really, "How are you doing?" But after that, it was all about the Ramones, baby! "Nick, the Ramones are my favorite band. Are they, in fact, the greatest band in the world?" And the answer, like sweet butter, was: "Yes. Indeed they are, the greatest band in the world." I was thrilled! I knew it! So, being the cunning journalist that I am, I asked a remarkably silly follow-up. "Nick, would you agree with me that people who love the Ramones are in a sort of brotherhood?" He again said yes, and continued by postulating that Ramones fans have a general sort of weirdness in common. Haha! I love Nick Redfern. But, we couldn't talk about the Ramones all day, as much as I would have loved it. So, we talked about cryptozoology!!
Mostly, we focused on how he got interested in the field, his latest book which is, most like his blog, entitled "There's Something in the Woods" (which I've read and it's great! Read my review here, and do yourself a favor and buy the frickin thing by clicking on this bitch) and the theories between "flesh and blood" type animals and the notion that cryptids may be more apparitional and paranormal in nature.
We ended the interview by asking Nick his favorite Ramones song. Bobby surprised us by offering up a copy of Redfern's latest book to the first person to email in the correct answer. You see, it is edited out of the final broadcast. But the answer is ---------. Ha! Yes, this blog may be for inside information into Strange Frequencies. But, it's not THAT insider!! You want the book? Figure out the answer for yourself, cretin!!
It was absolutely fantastic. Leading up to this show, we were a little bummed because we only had one guest booked. But, ya know, we filled 2 hours without much problem. I was very proud of us. Not just for filling time well, but also for delivering one helluva good show altogether. I know I'm biased, but our interview with Redfern, I feel, was pretty damn badass.
We also welcomed in a special guest, investigator and friend Jeremy Dunbar, into the studio to listen-in and occasionally shout a few things out. He only stayed for the first hour, but it was still a good time.
Check out this episode over at Strange Frequencies Radio Online, or by checking out our Myspace page. Thank you everyone!
PS: Nick Redfern was nice enough to post an entry about it on several of his blogs. But instead of providing you a link to the usual blog of his I plug, check it out on another one of his fantastic blogs HERE. Check it out!
At the end of last week's taping, I made a promise - to myself, the our show crew, and to the listeners - my first real question to him would not be about cryptozoology, or UFO's, or anything like that. My first question was going to be about the Ramones. And, I delivered! Technically, at least.
See, my first actual question to him was really, "How are you doing?" But after that, it was all about the Ramones, baby! "Nick, the Ramones are my favorite band. Are they, in fact, the greatest band in the world?" And the answer, like sweet butter, was: "Yes. Indeed they are, the greatest band in the world." I was thrilled! I knew it! So, being the cunning journalist that I am, I asked a remarkably silly follow-up. "Nick, would you agree with me that people who love the Ramones are in a sort of brotherhood?" He again said yes, and continued by postulating that Ramones fans have a general sort of weirdness in common. Haha! I love Nick Redfern. But, we couldn't talk about the Ramones all day, as much as I would have loved it. So, we talked about cryptozoology!!
Mostly, we focused on how he got interested in the field, his latest book which is, most like his blog, entitled "There's Something in the Woods" (which I've read and it's great! Read my review here, and do yourself a favor and buy the frickin thing by clicking on this bitch) and the theories between "flesh and blood" type animals and the notion that cryptids may be more apparitional and paranormal in nature.
We ended the interview by asking Nick his favorite Ramones song. Bobby surprised us by offering up a copy of Redfern's latest book to the first person to email in the correct answer. You see, it is edited out of the final broadcast. But the answer is ---------. Ha! Yes, this blog may be for inside information into Strange Frequencies. But, it's not THAT insider!! You want the book? Figure out the answer for yourself, cretin!!
It was absolutely fantastic. Leading up to this show, we were a little bummed because we only had one guest booked. But, ya know, we filled 2 hours without much problem. I was very proud of us. Not just for filling time well, but also for delivering one helluva good show altogether. I know I'm biased, but our interview with Redfern, I feel, was pretty damn badass.
We also welcomed in a special guest, investigator and friend Jeremy Dunbar, into the studio to listen-in and occasionally shout a few things out. He only stayed for the first hour, but it was still a good time.
Check out this episode over at Strange Frequencies Radio Online, or by checking out our Myspace page. Thank you everyone!
PS: Nick Redfern was nice enough to post an entry about it on several of his blogs. But instead of providing you a link to the usual blog of his I plug, check it out on another one of his fantastic blogs HERE. Check it out!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Episode #003 - Things go haywire!!
Today was an amusing show, to say the least. For one thing, our first guest was Stanford Physicist Dr. Robert Cooper. This was quite interesting to us because it allowed us to get outside the typical "ghost theory" discussion for a while, even though we did talk about ghosts. But, see, we also wanted to talk to someone who didn't believe in the paranormal - and who better than a physicist?
It worked out well because Dr. Cooper is a personal friend of Matt, our announcer, as they went to school together. It was terrific listening to him talk about scientific method, the boundaries of science, as well as discussing a couple different aspects of the paranormal that he could help shine some light on as far as investigating goes. For instance, he stressed the importance of having a lab type environment for use in recreation of different anomalous situations we may come across. It was kind of funny, because Bobby and I were a little intimidated at how smart this guy was. We were afraid to ask questions at first, for fear of coming across as morons. As the interview went on, though, I opened up. Well, for one question, haha. But it was a long question! Bobby kept his trap shut. And, after the show, Matt chided us both for being such weaklings, haha. All in all, though, it was very intriguing and I hope we can talk to him again sometime.
Our second guest was author and investigator John Kachuba. A few months back we actually had the pleasure of attending a lecture at the Maumee Branch Library given by Mr. Kachuba on his investigations, methodology, and his books "Ghost Hunting Ohio" and "Ghosthunters," in particular. Afterward, the show crew, as well as fellow investigator and friend Jeremy Dunbar were standing out in the parking lot having a discussion and saying our goodbyes to each other when I noticed John Kachuba walking out. He was heading for his car which was, as a matter of fact, the one we were standing behind. Out of fear of looking like a stalker, I asked everyone to move aside. The last thing we wanted to do was to make Mr. Kachuba think he had to start carrying pepper spray!
Anyway, these are the things we also focused the interview on. John, who calls himself "The Ghosthunter," had quite a few interesting stories from his casework at places around Ohio, particularly The Ridges and Toledo's own Collingwood Arts Center. Of course, things went haywire when, just about 10 minutes into the interview when I looked over at Bobby and seen his ashen face and his mouth muttering the words, "What the fuck?"
I could tell something was wrong because he was looking right at the computer. He could see that, for whatever reason, the sound board and the computer weren't connecting. Everything we were talking about with John wasn't being recorded! I didn't know what else to do so I just kept him talking. In hindsight, it was probably a dumb move. On the one hand, it kept the guest comfortable, but on the other, no one else would ever get to hear what he was saying!
I kept that up for about 10-15 minutes or so when Bobby told me to just have him hold the line. So I let him finish his latest thought and I asked him if he would please hold on for a moment. He said he would. Bobby then hung up on him and restarted the computer and was trying everything he knew in order to get the show back online. He was asking us to check cables, check connections, make sure this was plugged into that and that was plugged into this. Nothing was working! Then, out of nowhere...it began recording again. It was completely inexplicable. At least, we couldn't figure it out. In the meantime, though, John Kachuba was probably sitting at home wondering what the heck was going on. He was asked to hold on, then he had a dead line. What the hell?!?!
As scared as I was (it seems I'm always scared on this show, huh?) I called John back and explained what happened. He was very understanding. As Bobby and Matt kept telling me, "this type of thing happens all the time." Anyway, we got him back and he picked up where he left off, but about 30 minutes of his interview time was gone, never to be replaced. So, shittily, we had to post a podcast with about 20-25 minutes or so of John Kachuba's interview. Pretty horrible.
It was a crazy experience. My first in paranormal radio, and hopefully my last. My nerves were wrecked. My heart can't take this!!!
It worked out well because Dr. Cooper is a personal friend of Matt, our announcer, as they went to school together. It was terrific listening to him talk about scientific method, the boundaries of science, as well as discussing a couple different aspects of the paranormal that he could help shine some light on as far as investigating goes. For instance, he stressed the importance of having a lab type environment for use in recreation of different anomalous situations we may come across. It was kind of funny, because Bobby and I were a little intimidated at how smart this guy was. We were afraid to ask questions at first, for fear of coming across as morons. As the interview went on, though, I opened up. Well, for one question, haha. But it was a long question! Bobby kept his trap shut. And, after the show, Matt chided us both for being such weaklings, haha. All in all, though, it was very intriguing and I hope we can talk to him again sometime.
Our second guest was author and investigator John Kachuba. A few months back we actually had the pleasure of attending a lecture at the Maumee Branch Library given by Mr. Kachuba on his investigations, methodology, and his books "Ghost Hunting Ohio" and "Ghosthunters," in particular. Afterward, the show crew, as well as fellow investigator and friend Jeremy Dunbar were standing out in the parking lot having a discussion and saying our goodbyes to each other when I noticed John Kachuba walking out. He was heading for his car which was, as a matter of fact, the one we were standing behind. Out of fear of looking like a stalker, I asked everyone to move aside. The last thing we wanted to do was to make Mr. Kachuba think he had to start carrying pepper spray!
Anyway, these are the things we also focused the interview on. John, who calls himself "The Ghosthunter," had quite a few interesting stories from his casework at places around Ohio, particularly The Ridges and Toledo's own Collingwood Arts Center. Of course, things went haywire when, just about 10 minutes into the interview when I looked over at Bobby and seen his ashen face and his mouth muttering the words, "What the fuck?"
I could tell something was wrong because he was looking right at the computer. He could see that, for whatever reason, the sound board and the computer weren't connecting. Everything we were talking about with John wasn't being recorded! I didn't know what else to do so I just kept him talking. In hindsight, it was probably a dumb move. On the one hand, it kept the guest comfortable, but on the other, no one else would ever get to hear what he was saying!
I kept that up for about 10-15 minutes or so when Bobby told me to just have him hold the line. So I let him finish his latest thought and I asked him if he would please hold on for a moment. He said he would. Bobby then hung up on him and restarted the computer and was trying everything he knew in order to get the show back online. He was asking us to check cables, check connections, make sure this was plugged into that and that was plugged into this. Nothing was working! Then, out of nowhere...it began recording again. It was completely inexplicable. At least, we couldn't figure it out. In the meantime, though, John Kachuba was probably sitting at home wondering what the heck was going on. He was asked to hold on, then he had a dead line. What the hell?!?!
As scared as I was (it seems I'm always scared on this show, huh?) I called John back and explained what happened. He was very understanding. As Bobby and Matt kept telling me, "this type of thing happens all the time." Anyway, we got him back and he picked up where he left off, but about 30 minutes of his interview time was gone, never to be replaced. So, shittily, we had to post a podcast with about 20-25 minutes or so of John Kachuba's interview. Pretty horrible.
It was a crazy experience. My first in paranormal radio, and hopefully my last. My nerves were wrecked. My heart can't take this!!!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Episode #002 - The Sequel
Fresh off Thanksgiving, we were back today to delve deep into the world of the paranormal. Exploring the topic of Demonology and Exorcisms, we welcomed in the presiding Bishop of the Old Catholic Church, Arch Bishop James Long.
But first, of course, we had to get back into the controversy surrounding TAPS lately in the wake of their most recent live investigation special. Simply put, thousands upon thousands of fans of theirs are downright angry. They feel like they are being lied to. And, unfortunately, as of yet, neither Jason Hawes or Grant Wilson has done much to ease their fears. Instead, they seem to be stonewalling a bit.
Our first guest wanted to remain anonymous, but does go by the handle of "FORMERGHFAN" on YouTube. And the reason we had him on is because his recent videos, especially the ones that seem to debunk the now infamous Grant Wilson "jacket tug," have created a bit of a sensation; not just on the video sharing site itself, but around the internet and on various paranormal message boards. He talked about how he made the videos, especially the one he created in 3D and why: namely, because he used to be a fan and is now positive they are faking evidence.
Our second guest was Monica Crimmins, known professionally as the Anaesthetic Witch. Ms. Crimmins calls herself an empathic medium, specializing in personal readings and communication with the spirit world. Though all of us on the crew have a healthy skepticism toward such claims, we did want to have her on as she is a very nice young woman whom we took the time to meet some months back at a local coffee shop. And plus, we are open minded enough not to simply dismiss a claim off-hand.
The conversation started off as how she learned she had a gift, then progressed into how she uses it today, services she provides, and some misconceptions about the nature of mediumship. She even tried her hand at giving a reading over the phone to our studio tech, affectionately known as "Egon."
Then it was on to the main course, so to speak, of the evening's show: Arch Bishop James Long. Here we discussed just what the Old Catholic Church is and how if differs from the Roman Catholic Church. We also talked at length as to why there seem to be so many so-called "demonologists" on the staff of paranormal groups these days, and how they aren'e legitimate because they've not only never seriously studied the subject, but haven't even been trained, much less ordained, in the Catholic ministry!
A funny thing happened during this interview that the listeners weren't aware of at the time. I was kind of treading water, struggling to come up with a question when I looked to my friend and fellow host, Bobby Nelson, across the table. Trying to get his attention so he could help bail me out, I saw that he was busy...drawing doodles on a piece of notebook paper! It is a weakness of mine that I must do extensive prep work for the show before I feel comfortable. Bobby has the ability to mostly wing it and sound good. But it was at this moment that I realized just how much he's able to wing it and still sound prepared - because I now playfully call him "doodlemaker" from time to time.
Bishop Long has published a book entitled, "Through the Eyes of an Exorcist" and maintains an affiliation with a group he founded called the Paranormal Clergy Insitute - a collection of priests, etc. who offer their assistance to serious minded paranormal research and investigation teams with serious questions.
It was an excellent show, and we couldn't have been more proud to speak with Bishop Long and get our questions answered. If you'd like to hear the podcast, or get more information about Strange Frequencies, head on over to our home page, or visit us through Myspace.
Thanks, everyone. See ya next week!
But first, of course, we had to get back into the controversy surrounding TAPS lately in the wake of their most recent live investigation special. Simply put, thousands upon thousands of fans of theirs are downright angry. They feel like they are being lied to. And, unfortunately, as of yet, neither Jason Hawes or Grant Wilson has done much to ease their fears. Instead, they seem to be stonewalling a bit.
Our first guest wanted to remain anonymous, but does go by the handle of "FORMERGHFAN" on YouTube. And the reason we had him on is because his recent videos, especially the ones that seem to debunk the now infamous Grant Wilson "jacket tug," have created a bit of a sensation; not just on the video sharing site itself, but around the internet and on various paranormal message boards. He talked about how he made the videos, especially the one he created in 3D and why: namely, because he used to be a fan and is now positive they are faking evidence.
Our second guest was Monica Crimmins, known professionally as the Anaesthetic Witch. Ms. Crimmins calls herself an empathic medium, specializing in personal readings and communication with the spirit world. Though all of us on the crew have a healthy skepticism toward such claims, we did want to have her on as she is a very nice young woman whom we took the time to meet some months back at a local coffee shop. And plus, we are open minded enough not to simply dismiss a claim off-hand.
The conversation started off as how she learned she had a gift, then progressed into how she uses it today, services she provides, and some misconceptions about the nature of mediumship. She even tried her hand at giving a reading over the phone to our studio tech, affectionately known as "Egon."
Then it was on to the main course, so to speak, of the evening's show: Arch Bishop James Long. Here we discussed just what the Old Catholic Church is and how if differs from the Roman Catholic Church. We also talked at length as to why there seem to be so many so-called "demonologists" on the staff of paranormal groups these days, and how they aren'e legitimate because they've not only never seriously studied the subject, but haven't even been trained, much less ordained, in the Catholic ministry!
A funny thing happened during this interview that the listeners weren't aware of at the time. I was kind of treading water, struggling to come up with a question when I looked to my friend and fellow host, Bobby Nelson, across the table. Trying to get his attention so he could help bail me out, I saw that he was busy...drawing doodles on a piece of notebook paper! It is a weakness of mine that I must do extensive prep work for the show before I feel comfortable. Bobby has the ability to mostly wing it and sound good. But it was at this moment that I realized just how much he's able to wing it and still sound prepared - because I now playfully call him "doodlemaker" from time to time.
Bishop Long has published a book entitled, "Through the Eyes of an Exorcist" and maintains an affiliation with a group he founded called the Paranormal Clergy Insitute - a collection of priests, etc. who offer their assistance to serious minded paranormal research and investigation teams with serious questions.
It was an excellent show, and we couldn't have been more proud to speak with Bishop Long and get our questions answered. If you'd like to hear the podcast, or get more information about Strange Frequencies, head on over to our home page, or visit us through Myspace.
Thanks, everyone. See ya next week!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Episode #001 - The beginning...
After nearly a year of talking, planning, and synchronizing, "Strange Frequencies Radio" is finally here. And, wouldn't you know it? There were snags.
While we are very happy with the way the show turned out, our very first guest was unable to appear because of illness. But it's okay! We filled the time just fine. We got to discuss what our hopes for the show will be and what we'll be discussing. Basically, not only the world of ghosts and hauntings, but also cryptozoology, psychics, myths and legends, conspiracy theories, and on and on.
Aside from things of this nature, we also want to give our thoughts and opinion on the paranormal community in general. And one of the biggest hot button issues in the field as of late has been the most recent live Halloween special presented by TAPS on the Sci-Fi show "Ghost Hunters." Having recently reviewed the "jacket tug" and disembodied voice fiasco for ourselves, we all pretty much came to the determination that the show is being put on, and headed in the wrong direction at a seriously rapid pace.
After this, however, we did get to interview Robyn McKinney, the creator of MyGhostNetwork, a paranormal networking site. And one of our favorite places online! We talked about the webpage, her own paranormal investigation group, and theories about ghosts.
Of course, our announcer Matt couldn't quite make it through the opening of the interview because he had hit the bathroom. Hilarity ensued as Bobby and I looked over at him and he was grimacing, face crimson, pointing his stomach and mouthing words like, "I have to crap." He got up, snuck out and into the bathroom. Bobby looked at the notes Matt had in front of him. There, plain as day, he had scrawled in agony, "I hate my stomach." Oh good times!
So, ladies and gentleman, these are the kind of things that go on during interviews at Strange Frequencies that no one knows about. Except for us, of course. And now you.
All in all, it was a great show. Fun, informative and opinionated. And, maybe, just a little bit controversial. But, hey, that's how we like it. Check it out online at Strange Frequencies Radio, or by going to our Myspace page.
Stay tuned!
Jason
While we are very happy with the way the show turned out, our very first guest was unable to appear because of illness. But it's okay! We filled the time just fine. We got to discuss what our hopes for the show will be and what we'll be discussing. Basically, not only the world of ghosts and hauntings, but also cryptozoology, psychics, myths and legends, conspiracy theories, and on and on.
Aside from things of this nature, we also want to give our thoughts and opinion on the paranormal community in general. And one of the biggest hot button issues in the field as of late has been the most recent live Halloween special presented by TAPS on the Sci-Fi show "Ghost Hunters." Having recently reviewed the "jacket tug" and disembodied voice fiasco for ourselves, we all pretty much came to the determination that the show is being put on, and headed in the wrong direction at a seriously rapid pace.
After this, however, we did get to interview Robyn McKinney, the creator of MyGhostNetwork, a paranormal networking site. And one of our favorite places online! We talked about the webpage, her own paranormal investigation group, and theories about ghosts.
Of course, our announcer Matt couldn't quite make it through the opening of the interview because he had hit the bathroom. Hilarity ensued as Bobby and I looked over at him and he was grimacing, face crimson, pointing his stomach and mouthing words like, "I have to crap." He got up, snuck out and into the bathroom. Bobby looked at the notes Matt had in front of him. There, plain as day, he had scrawled in agony, "I hate my stomach." Oh good times!
So, ladies and gentleman, these are the kind of things that go on during interviews at Strange Frequencies that no one knows about. Except for us, of course. And now you.
All in all, it was a great show. Fun, informative and opinionated. And, maybe, just a little bit controversial. But, hey, that's how we like it. Check it out online at Strange Frequencies Radio, or by going to our Myspace page.
Stay tuned!
Jason
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