Be mighty, and keep your axes sharp!
I will freely admit that I indulged my inner twelve-year-old with the sound design for “Booger.”
In this look behind the story, I discuss its inspiration and…its rather vile sounds…
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A kid makes a monster in his bathtub for a very specific reason…
(What could go wrong?)
Content Advisory: Swearing, bullying. Mention of masturbation. A father who cheats on his wife. Overbearing mother. Violence: young boys fighting. Gross sound effects. (Seriously, I received more feedback about “Booger” than any other story…all about how disgusting the sound design is. It is a story about a vile monster, after all.)
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Yung Kartz. Additional song: Whip Yo Head,” by Dollar Boyz.
Story: Christopher Gronlund.
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“Alone in HQ” is a satire, but maybe just barely.
Some thoughts about the illness permeating many corporations and those working for them…and the effect that had on this story. (Also, a bit about Ayn Rand and the framing device of Anthem as it pertains to “Alone in HQ.”)
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Femurs were wielded, and CEOs fell…
After the apocalypse, a lowly office worker is alive and alone in headquarters…keeping an old way of life going in the hope that things will one day return to normal…
Content Advisory: Death of a rabbit from blunt-force trauma. Violence (mention of a CEO bludgeoning someone with a cow femur). Suspense (the general creepiness of living in an empty corporate headquarters). Overtime and the stresses of work coming before life. Loneliness.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel.
Story: Christopher Gronlund.
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“Taller than the Moon” is the first serious short story I ever wrote. It is roughly thirty years old.
Some thoughts about those early writing days — and literary fiction in general.
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A trip home to visit his parents brings with it a flood of memories for Michael Stokowski.
[Random side notes: I believe this is the first true short story I ever wrote. Also, it is the only story I can think of inspired by one of my dreams…]
Content Advisory: A family deals with the fallout of a suicide. Mention of drug addiction following serving in the Vietnam War.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Kai Engel.
Story: Christopher Gronlund.
Moon Image: Luca Huter.
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Most stories you’ve listened to, here, are polished first drafts.
Especially where short stories are concerned, I do not subscribe to the notion that the first draft of everything is shit.
Some thoughts about that, and how it worked with the recent Christmas episode.
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Last year’s holiday-ish 7-Stories episode, featuring a handful of micro-fiction, was well received. So this year, it’s another handful of stories:
Content Advisory: “The Crock”: Swearing and family rivalry (mother in law vs. daughter in law). “Greetings”: Job loss and swearing. “Naughty”: Swearing and cigar smoking. Child torture.
Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Chad Crouch
Stories: Christopher Gronlund
Narration: Cynthia Griffith, Patrick K. Walsh, and Christopher Gronlund.
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Waking the Lumberjack is the first one-shot audiodrama I’ve done with multiple voice actors for Not About Lumberjacks. Anchoring the story is Tim Czarnecki, starring as the Narrator.
I sat down with Tim and chatted about what it was like narrating this story…
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In honor of another year of Not About Lumberjacks, it’s a wrasslin’ story I swear has nothing to do with lumberjacks!
The funeral service of “Big Papa” Howe, the Ontario Lumberjack, does not go as planned. It’s up to his two sons, Big Mike and Little Mike, to put an old rivalry to rest.
Content Advisory: Swearing. Cartoonish violence (professional wrestling). Death of a parent and a funeral.
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Credits:
Music: Ergo Phizmiz and Power and Beauty.
Story: Christopher Gronlund
Starring: Tim Czarnecki as the Narrator.
Michael Howie as Big Mike Howe.
Christopher Gronlund as Little Mike Howe…doing a really bad Canadian accent.
Rocky Westbrook as The Wrestling Fan.
Cynthia Griffith as Mama Howe.
Shawn Kupfer as Dicky Coffee Guy and Father Kupfer.
Rick Coste as Big Rick Coaster.
Additional wrestlers and grunting provided by various talent listed above.
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