Niche is Nice – Johnny Nicholson (The Sonic Surfer)

Team

Exploring podcasting’s backwater eddies

One of the reasons we love podcasting is its ability to connect with specific audiences in various corners of the internet and the world. Unlike broadcasting, podcasting can be as niche as you like.

ICYDK: What’s an eddy?

The biodiversity of the podcasting ecosystem is astounding.

There is literally something for everyone. No topic too small, no hobby too arcane. To illustrate this, JAR Audio has challenged its talented employees to bring their current obsessions – their secret passions and interests – out into the light, and blog about them. And just for fun, we’re making a podcast recommendation to go along with each hobby.

This installment comes from Johnny Nicholson – our vagabonding, yurt-dwelling, surf-loving multi-talented producer and audio artist – who produces our Amazon, Lush, and upcoming Cirque Du Soleil Podcasts.

The Sonic Surfer:

My name is Johnny Nicholson and I come from Northern California. I work at JAR Audio as a writer, producer, composer, sound-designer, and audio-engineer. My background is in the music/entertainment/live-event industry where I worked as a songwriter, composer, touring musician, and event producer.

I love podcasts because they can invite you to immerse yourself in a soundscape or story world or allow you to learn, expand your mind, or just keep you going in a way that other mediums don’t always allow.

When I think about my favorite hobbies, or passions, I’d have to say crawling up a creek or catching a wave! The reason I love a good creek-crawl or a surf session is that being in the water helps me feel free as if I’m coming home somehow, even though I may be thousands of miles away from where I’m from. When surfing, you enter a sort of flow-state where you simultaneously forget about everything except for the moment, and you focus-in on what’s in front of you. Plus, the cocktail of adrenaline and endorphins is great 🙂

Podcast recommendation:

There’s an episode from Radio Lab called ‘Animal Minds’ that I love. It has nothing to do with surfing, but it does have an amazing story about human interaction with a whale, begging the question: don’t animals have emotions? Whenever I’m in the ocean and see a whale breech, I think about this episode.

Also, here’s a song I wrote that some friends decided to produce into a beautiful dance video during the pandemic: – it’s a little dark, maybe like the ocean on a stormy day, but I hope you enjoy it!