Highland Vintage Rock Pod podcast which has featured the likes of rock stars from bands like Dire Straits, The Who, The Faces and Big Country, is recorded in a converted garden shed in Geddes
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Looking at the sleepy hamlet of Geddes, just a few miles from Cawdor, little would you suspect it to be the source of a series of podcasts featuring a number of world famous rock musicians – which are broadcast to a worldwide audience.
During the coronavirus lockdown 39-year-old Paul Stephenson, who is originally from Cleethorpes in north-east Lincolnshire and moved to the Highlands in 2003, decided to use the time constructively – by converting his neglected garden shed into a vintage rock-themed pub.
And now it is the location where he records his podcast series – called the Vintage Rock Pod – which has so far featured interviews with world-renowned rock stars from bands like Dire Straits, The Who, The Faces and Big Country.
He said as he had converted the shed it was the obvious thing to do and added: “I love listening to podcasts, I love classic rock music, I’d just turn my shed into a vintage rock themed pub so thought why not make my own?”
It was quite straightforward to set up the podcasts as all it took was buying a podcasting microphone and downloading the Zoom application, as well as editing software, onto his laptop to put it all together. He said: “I used another free video editing programme to make the social media and YouTube videos so it’s pretty inexpensive.
“It took a bit of perseverance, I kept emailing the contacts on band websites and messaging on Facebook. Once I got one confirmed it helped to get others rolling and I have lots recorded and ready to go for future episodes.
“I officially launched the podcast on October 5 and have had listeners from 18 countries around the world. I’ve been lucky to get some great interviews so far and managed to get some great contributors.” Each episode is released on a Monday and at least three of his guests have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
He said: “It can be a juggling act trying to coordinate guests from America, with some interviews taking place as late in the evening as 11pm.”
He said each interview had its own highlights, adding: “They have all been good for different reasons. Kenney Jones has played with Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, The Who and, more so, he has great stories.
“Mitch Murray was a great laugh, he’s a songwriter that has written and produced songs that have sold half-a-billion copies worldwide, he had great stories about the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Tom Jones and more.”
The free podcast series is available to download, stream and listen to on all the usual podcast directories including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Vintage Rock Pod is also on social media.
