Series 5 of the Sword of Ker Podcast began January 20th, 2018 with the
"Bork in Iceland" sketch, following the longest chronological season of any series ever. Series 4 lasted for approximately 18 months and composed 8 full-length episodes. It was convoluted and left many questions unanswered. This was mostly intentional as I like to surprise my regular listeners with answers from earlier episodes and make "inside" jokes that only regular listeners would pick up on.
In the "Bork in Iceland" episode, Bork McGonkin takes a short round trip to Iceland in search of Bjork - for reasons that are explained earlier in Series 4.
It was first suggested that Bork McGonkin make this voyage on this particular day (January 20th, 2018) in search of Bjork in the series 4 sketch
"The Bjork Sketch." And true to form, I began the new season with this short sketch on that day. The weather forecast for that day in Reykjavik was accurate in the "Bork in Iceland" sketch - it was really 22 degrees Fahrenheit. The most fun I had with it was when I discovered a sound clip that was actually recorded in Iceland and you can hear people speaking Icelandic in the background after Bork gets off the bus.
There have been many references to Bjork in the podcast and that's due to my utter amazement of her art, music, lyrics and personality. I hope she's a good sport. I have a great deal of respect for her.
Following the first "mini" episode I compiled a small group of sketches and labeled it the
"All Time Best of the Sword of Ker Podcast" - which it wasn't. I could have found a better variety of much better and funnier sketches but it didn't pan out that way. Still, if you're new to the podcast, listening to that "Best of" episode might fill in some blanks.
Then I turned to a sketch idea that I have been working on for quite some time, which brought about the 2nd episode of the 5th series,
"The Jello Biafra Episode"
I've been a fan of these guys in various bands for all of my adult life. I had on a few occasions met the lead guitar player Ralph Spight in person. Actually, it was through him and his band Victim's Family that I gained a greater respect for loud, obnoxious, often chaotic music. Their "Voltage and Violets" LP actually inspired me greatly. It was like nothing I had ever heard - because nothing else was like it.
I had heard Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedy's before and was mostly impressed with one of their few televised performances - the one where they had "S" printed on their shirts and suddenly swiveled their ties around to make dollar signs. I believe Eric Clapton gave them a thumbs up for that. I wasn't a fan at first - being more of a ska, mod, techno, "new wave" geek from the start.
I always saw Jello Biafra as sarcastic, poignant, and obnoxiously blunt. Blended with the heavy guitar and caustic beats, Dead Kennedys ruled the San Francisco Bay Area punk scene - and still do. I like all kinds of music but Jello, Ralph & Larry have a special place in my heart. I had to mess with them.
I had been throwing ideas around for the "Jello Biafra Episode" for months. Not everything I wanted to get into that episode made it into the finished product but I enjoyed producing it and I really hope they took it the right way and got a good laugh out of it. I actually base the Sword of Ker Podcast after one of Jello Biafra's most famous quotes: "You've got a lot of nerve to call yourself a pioneer if you're to goddamn conservative to take real chances." Actually, I think this little dog's gonna stay on the porch from now on, but thanks, Jello.
"The Moon Landing Episode" - I had been working on this sketch for quite some time. Actually, it was originally supposed to appear in Series 3 of the Sword of Ker Podcast and was going to feature my former co-star Mike Mielke but he was always pressed with other affairs and, even though he was penciled in to co-star in this episode right up to the very end, I decided to go ahead without him & take Bork McGonkin to the moon.
I have always been a big cosmology nut, I love physics, I'm interested in space exploration and the whole sha-bang, so another space-oriented sketch was inevitable. The SoK Podcast originally went to space in Series 2 when Mike & I visited the International Space Station. The Moon Landing sketch is pretty much a sequel.
When producing this episode I was a bit frustrated with President Kennedy's May 25th 1961 speech about going to the moon. It was rather long-winded and he took his time getting to the point. But as I listened to his words I felt the need to include as much of the speech as I could, as his sagacious vision of space exploration needs to be reiterated at this time. Many countries are now exploring space, also commercial space flight is here. The world now faces new challenges to securing the perpetuity of peace and cooperation in the final frontier.
Originally I wanted to maintain as much scientific accuracy as I could in this episode but I decided simply to have fun with it - and I did. I had a good time acting this one out and I wish I could have done more. Perhaps we'll go back and do everything we wanted to do.
As a serious note to this episode, I wanted to point out that with all this commercial space travel and exploration that is about to happen, average people are going to end up in space and average people do dumb things. Morons using the Luna 2 explorer - which is a sacred and unique piece of space history - as a garbage can is an example of what we can expect in the near future with commercial space travel. No offense was intended and in retrospect that scene should have been recorded differently.
So, that's the Sword of Ker Podcast Series 5 so far - new episodes are in the works. I hope you all enjoy the podcast and get a few chuckles out of it.
Be good to each other.
It was great to bypass all the horrible rubbish that was prevalent in the actual "Potato Power" book and be able to present the Potato Dimension as it was originally intended: a playful romp through a ludicrous concept where nobody actually gets brutally murdered through animalistic dismemberment. Quite a treat!
