“It wasn’t the year of the Squirrel…”
The was how our first protagonist began his tale on January 3, 2019. While it was told in the past tense, the story was an unpredictable walk into the unknown. Both Jas and I had podcasts prior to this, but nothing like this. An interactive story, allowing listeners to move the story? Was it going to work? Would people even like this?
We uploaded the first episode to Soundcloud, and, after creating its web presence in a matter of hours, we sent it out to Facebook. And the first couple of votes for our story were done on Facebook polls and not on Witchever Path’s own page.
Then we waited… and votes came in with such alacrity, that I was surprised. Jas was less so, they’ve often been a proponent of my own creative work, and they got behind the first story with such vim and vigor. And with “Squirrels” we had succeeded in ways I never imagined. It succeeded to entertain folks, even with the gross, mucousy-sounding, creepy voice I was going for as the unnamed “host” in those early days.
“Colick,” it’s spelling a play on the magic vs. magick distinction, was next. This story was the first we had conceived, and the one that Jas took a large hand in crafting. Jas is an amazingly empathetic organizer, advocate of the marginalized, and decent person. But I knew them first as a writer and performer, and seeing this return to my partner’s roots made this project even more special.
And we got more ambitious. We began recruiting friends and fans to do voice acting work. The diversity of the voices brought us more listeners, great reviews, and saved me from having to use audio filters over and over to make myself into different people.
And you kept coming back, and you’re still coming back. Maybe it’s because you love the folklore from other cultures. Maybe its because some of you finally saw folks who looked or felt like you as leads in a story. Maybe it’s just fun.
The morning of our anniversary, we hit 10,081 listens. Our Patreon added three new people in the last three weeks. And we’ve been able to team up with the voices behind our favorite shows! Unlike Darren, we try to feed you guys what you ask for, and keep the emotional meatballs and milk on your plates.
I am fortunate that so many people listen to us. And as we go into what is to be a chaotic year for many, we are going to keep to our pathways and offer you choices and stories that we hope bring you a sense of agency and inclusivity.
What’s next?
- New stories
- A live show, at last!
- Art and new merch
Our first twelve months were the year of the Squirrel. Let’s see what marks this year.
Love,
Steven
