Patreon Newsletter #7: April!

Wow! March lasted, and this is not hyperbolic, 28 thousand days! What a month...now let’s move on to the good stuff!

SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS & MESSAGES!

Adal's April Playlist and message: 

Obviously Japan didn’t happen and neither did any other trip BUT Jemma and I have been trying to have as much fun as possible in quarantine and a huge part of that has been doing the live-streams for ya’ll to distract us and also quality time with Fries & Brisket. We’re planning on doing a bunch more content in April including live-streams, a podcast workshop/chat, another Netflix Party with chat and hopefully getting into the Twitch scene with Animal Crossing if we can figure out the set-up! We look forward to spending more time with ya’ll this month and thank you for all your kindness and support so far! Also Jemma thanks everyone for making her 30th birthday one to remember despite the circumstances! 

For recommendations this month: 

1. for tv - I watched Tiger King in one day and call be Natalie Imbrulia because I’m a little TORN on how I feel. It’s massively entertaining and the most bonkers shit you can imagine, but I get the sense that most of the people involved are pretty heinous and animal abuse is and underlying current of the whole series so while I found it fascinating I’m not really on anyone’s side and walked away from it all feeling pretty icky. That being said, everyone person in it is a character from our podcast so maybe that’s why I was disturbed. Jemma and I finished The Circle: Brazil and it’s just fantastic. Please check that out for a joyous time where the contestants literally can’t leave their apartments (topical!). We watched one episode of Below Deck because we heard that was good but it was pretty rough. Magic for Humans has been pretty entertaining on Netflix. If you have HBO, Last Week Tonight is a saving grace. The two most recent episodes are just fantastic. 

2. for film - I’ve seen 3 movies in the last week and they are:

A. Hobbs & Shaw. 10 out of 10. So dumb and so fun. The plot is about a man (Idris Elba) trying to release a virus that will wipe out a huge percentage of the population therefore leaving only the strong to survive. Fiction! Gotta love it! 

B. Planes, Trains & Automobiles. 10 out of 10. I had never seen it before and boy howdy am I bummed I didn’t grow up on this. So many laugh out loud moments and hands down the best ‘face acting’ of any movie I’ve seen. John Candy is running a fucking clinic on expressions. Sound off this movie still fucks. 

C. National Treasure. Yikes out of 10. Never seen this either and I watched with some of you all in a Netflix Party! The movie was awful and therefore super fun to watch. AM I A KNIGHT? (hello to all the other Adal’s out there!)

This week at some point Jemma and I are going to rent CATS so I’m looking….forward? To? That? I’ll probably live tweet it just so I don’t have to look directly at the screen. I’m also itching to rewatch Hot Rod as I remember that being very funny and I’m all about putting a smile on my face these days. If you have any hidden gem comedies I should check out please list them in the comments!

3. for video games -  ohhhhh boy. Here we go. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the most immersed I’ve ever been in a video game. In a lucky twist of fate my pre-ordered copy didn’t arrive so I ordered a digital copy and then a few days later my physical copy arrived and Jemma decided “hmmm I guess I’ll try it?” and now this is our entire life. Truly this game is the brightest spot of our days. It’s just a joy to just build an island and do simple tasks while collecting some weird ass items in world. If you have a Switch and have been on the fence please go ahead and buy this game. I think half the world is playing at any given moment so you won’t be alone. It’s also therapeutic to have friends come visit your island and show them around. Just something about being able to connect in a video game when not being able to leave the house. Heartwarming. My Switch Code is SW-6494-6835-9686 if anyone wants to friend me I think I’m going to start doing an hour a day of opening my airport and having guests! I’m working towards a tiki room/bar so hopefully we can all party in there soon. Minutes before writing this I took a Nook Flight ticket to a mystery island which turned out to be the elusive ‘Money Rock’ island where I mined 75,000 bells! Upon return to my home I was greeted by another shooting star shower and then I found WISP (my favorite character) and discovered GIANT ass moths on my trees! What a fucking ride. I love this game. This game is my life now. 

4. for board games - Jemma and I haven’t really played anything except for Sagrada recently, so if I haven’t mentioned how great that game is, check it out! You’re basically completing beautiful stained glass windows using colored die and a randomized board. Very relaxing, very satisfying, Jemma always wins but I still enjoy it! I might order some more Escape Rooms in a box to help pass the time. I feel like EXIT makes some decent ones so hopefully I can tear through a couple of those in April to scratch that Escape Room itch. 

5. for books - boy oh boy. I haven’t read anything since the mid-month newsletter we sent BUT I’m hoping to start reading Gaiman’s SANDMAN series soon as I have never read it! I hope it’s as good as everyone says! Also recent HRR live show guest Jeffrey Cranor sent us a copy of his new book The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home and I’m saving it for when I’m needing a break and want to relax and be terrified. 

6. for podcasts - just the other day I started listening to Comedy Bang Bang from the beginning since I haven’t heard any pre-2017 episodes. I’m listening on Stitcher Premium and plowed through the first 8 episodes so far (at the moment it’s Comedy Death Ray, not sure when the switch happened). I will say, woof, there’s a toooon of content that does not hold up in the slightest, but I’m going to keep going to hear the full history of the show and watch it grow! So please be warned it’s a real bumpy ride in terms of content if you decide to listen to any. My favorite bit I’ve heard from this era is by Brett Gellman and I’ll post that here if anyone wants to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtV80ZdpTY0

My friend Mark McConville has a new podcast called MASCOTS that I’m excited to start so please check that out and we can discuss together!

7. Music - there’s only ONE SONG I wanted to talk about and that’s a newly released single by Bob Dylan called Murder Most Foul. ITS A 17 MINUTE SONG BASED ON THE ASSASINATION OF JFK AND ITS A GODDAMN JOURNEY. I listened to it the first time while very high and guffawed at 30% of the lyrics. I can’t stress enough everyone should listen and just let it wash over you. After my first listen I immediately sent a text to one of my best friends, Joey Romain, who is obsessed with and very knowledgable about the entire JFK conspiracy, and asked him if he would do a 4 part mini-series podcast with me, dissecting the lyrics and trying to wrap our heads around it all. I pray to (there is no) God that we get to record that soon and put it out into the world. 

Upcoming Content I’m excited for! 

Here’s what I’m most excited for coming up in April!

• What We Do In The Shadows season 2 starts April 5th
• The Circle: France on Netflix April 9th! Quiiiii!
• Final Fantasy 7 remake/remaster out April 10th
• Killing Eve season 3 starts April 12th
• Fargo season 4 starts April 19th (if you haven’t watched the first 3 seasons, now is the time. Each one is a masterpiece)
• The 10 party ESPN documentary on Michael Jordan is also out April 19th
• *Fingers Crossed* Fiona Apple releases her new album this month

Promotions!

Recently I recorded with The Zyxx Fancast to talk about the episode of Mission to Zyxx I had guested on a bit ago (where I played a petulant teenage robot full of bees….not a real stretch for me). Also my guest spot (along with the other Magic Tavern hosts) on Voyage To The Stars podcast just got released (in which I play a robot dog assassin named Crash Mastiff. What the fuck is my thing with robots??), so please check out all these podcasts!

If you have the interest/means to support, here are some artists I’d love to give a signal boost to this month: 

My friend Anne Kirn makes incredible plush art and just recently created a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/houseofdarkly  She also hosts a wonderful podcast called Guilty Treasures with our own Emily Kardamis!

Speaking of Emily, you can find her Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/corruptedgem

Jasmin Darnell has made some of my favorite commissioned HRR art and has a Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/jdarnell

Darcy Dee has made some fantastic Magic Tavern art over the years and is just an outright amazing lady. You can find her work at: www.darcydee.com and her Ko-fi page at: www.ko-fi.com/darcydee

If you’re an artist please feel free to post any links in the comments here as it’s a wonderful time to support creatives (again if you have the means. I recognize the current hardships).   

Adal's Gourmet Corner!

1. Twinings Lapsang Souchong tea - we should all be drinking more tea these days to calm us and soothe our terrified throats and boy howdy this is the best one out there. It’s basically drinking a campfire. You’re welcome.
2. Sesame Honey Almonds from Trader Joes - the best way to eat an almond (even though cashews are king)
3. Netflix & Chilll’d ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s - hate the name. Love the taste. True pro’s will chop up a Reese’s cup and sprinkle it on top of their scoops. 
4. Jemma and I have been making scrambled eggs in the morning with garlic herb butter, minced garlic, green onions and shaved parmesan. It’s delicious. Give it a whirl!

Here’s my Spotify playlist! In celebration of this being posted on April 1st I thought to just post some of my favorite comedic songs or at least songs that make me laugh. Gotta get some laughs in ya’ll. Songs you think I'd like? Send. Them. My. Way!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4hxutyg4JjSGSMlviqvfDK?si=qc0qOWfyR2y-mRsbhxmdQQ

Stay safe and let me know if there’s anything I can ever do to help

Love and Riddles, Adal

Erin's April message: 

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re ok. I know everyone’s pretty traumatized. I’m here for you!

Nothing to recommend! I ordered a bunch of puzzles, have been watching jeopardy, and putting ice cubes on my face a couple of times a day. That’s been helping me.

Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see on a live stream from me or Sean!

Also, my therapist is on the app Talkspace. It’s a therapy app. I wouldn’t recommend it for full time therapy but I’ve transferred over to that for the time being and it helps a lot because you can text your therapist any time of the day and the get back to you twice a day 5 days a week. It’s been very helpful for me to not have to wait for my allotted hour! It’s super expensive but if you can swing it and you think it might help you it’s been a game changer for me.

Also some people have been sending me pictures of their pets and babies and that helps too! Send me your pets and babies (photos)

Sending you so much love and peace.

-Erin

JPC's April Playlist and message: 

Hey dudes, 

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and listening to a ton of Cake, so I decided to curate a playlist as an introductory guide if you aren't a fan of the band or want to find a good jumping in point. This is mostly an exercise in nostalgia for me, but feel free to come along. I'll be going chronologically through all their albums to give you a sampling and show a little bit of the evolution of their sound. Here's my breakdown and playlist: 

https://open.spotify.com/user/128384526/playlist/7bwcavRm2qWWr4hKxvl1Nc?si=hCcyfMJIRZaVoAEMW3_ikg

I'm only including 1 song from Motorcade. For the record, I love this album, but it doesn't have a ton of "hits" on it. If you dig their sound, it's a fun listen, but if you are tentative about Cake, it's not the best entry point. Jolene is an absolute banger. It's 5 minutes long and has a really fun breakdown at the end. The line "creme rinse and tobacco smoke" is so vivid. Really good stuff. Fashion Nugget is a great album and I've got four picks for you. This is probably my second favorite Cake album. They are a lot more polished here. The Distance is pretty classic speak-poetry that's representative of Cake. I included Daria because it's a love song and they are at their best when they are doing love songs. Nugget is an absolute banger and Friend Is a Four Letter Word is one that Mariah was shocked I didn't include (so I included it, of course). I have 7 songs from Prolonging the Magic because it's by far their best album. If I could recommend an entire album, this would be it, but instead I'll just pick some of my favorites. This is a good mix of up-beat and sad songs. Favorite from this album, and it's very close, is Where Would I Be? Okay, only one song from Comfort Eagle because it's their best song. Again, this is a great album, but Love You Madly is a hands-down all-time favorite. Enjoy. All the dishes rattle in the cupboard when the elephants arrive. They followed Comfort Eagle (probably the peak of their popularity) with Pressure Chief which is a fine album. I only included Take It All Away because it's a sad song and a love song. I'll also give an honorable mention to their cover of Guitar Man because I had never heard that song before this version and I remember loving it when the album came out. I'll end with Long Time from Showroom of Compassion. This album is...their last album. I'll be honest, it's not my favorite, but Long Time is a really fun song. 

Hope you enjoy! 

- JPC

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

1. We have episodes already banked through the end of April and we’re currently looking into setting up some home ‘studios’ so we can record remotely if needed!

2. With regards to all currently scheduled live shows, we have yet to hear from the venues in terms of what will happen and obviously we’re all moving a day at a time in terms of what the rest of this year will even be. As soon as we have any word about what’s happening with those shows we will pass info along. 

3. We’re looking into how to do our monthly collective live-stream for April and have discussed possibly doing a Jackbox live-stream with friends or something along those lines, so we’re looking forward to that. 

4. We’ll continue to create bonus content at home for the $5 and $8 tiers and will try and keep everyone informed with dates/times. 

5. Our Review Crew episode of the Mary Kate and Ashley Oslen Mysteries will be coming out shortly! 

In the comments here please let us know what YOU have been up to and what’s been bringing you joy! We can take all the recommendations we can get!

As always please let us know if there's anything you'd like to see included in these by either emailing us at hrrpodcast@gmail.com, putting it in the comments here on Patreon or posting in the Discord channel: patreon-newsletter. 

love,

Adal, Erin & JPC aka The Clue Crew