Original Release Date: Dec. 14, 2014
Did you know there is a radio frequency where you can pick up programs that are created BY monsters and FOR monsters? We do. Of course we do. And we’re sharing our favorite episode with you – this one is called This Monstrous Life. We’re in the midst of the holiday season, right? We hear a lot of people complain about how stressful the holiday season is, but if you think you have it bad – try being a monster. Take a listen to this one, it’ll really give you a new perspective on things. Oh and have a very happy holiday, unless you’re a monster in which case, we’re so very sorry.
This Monstrous Life remains one of our favorite episodes. It’s why we trot it out every year. We have yet to get Ira Glass to listen to it, much less comment on it, but now that’s become part of the fun. Every year we try to get him to check it out and every year, nothing. So in honor of a future quote from Mr. Glass himself, we’ll leave this space blank:
According to Ira Glass “______”
We have also started a tradition with TML where every year we ask for a new piece of art to accompany the program. Upon it’s first release we had Kevin McKee Shaw do the title art (a riff on a certain NPR program). And then we had Liz Bartucci of Tuccicursive do a sketch of host Ira Slash!
“I’m Ira Slash, host of This Monstrous Life… Stay with us…”Last year we had the amazing Simeon Wilkins do Santa Claus and Jonathan Moldstein for us:
And we were so blown away we asked him to come back this year and do The Anti-Claus for us. He more than delivered, don’t you think?
We’re really lucky to have Simeon help us out, the dude’s got credits up the wazoo. He’s done storyboard illustrations for Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy, A Cabin in the Woods, Trick ‘r Treat, Poltergeist, Krampus, Smurfs 1&2, Monster House, and Ted 1&2. He was also fortunate enough to have co-written an unproduced screenplay for Disney, Calling All Robots! Most recently, he has contributed storyboards to the upcoming films- Power Rangers, Fast & Furious 8, the IT remake (funny, that book gets a little shoutout in this episode), and Marvel’s Black Panther. In what spare time he has left, he dabbles in comic books, trading cards, video games and the occasional raising of giant monsters.
AND FINALLY CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!
This production wouldn’t exist without the help of Aaron Drown, Nicholas Thurkettle, and Branon Coluccio who assisted in production, and Mac Torluccio who wrangled several volunteer students from the University of Texas at Austin and the Semester in Los Angeles Program to assist in acting, production and sound! Big props go to sound creation, mixing and editing:
Soundscapes created by Ethan Lewis, Joels Strubhar and John Costello. Production assistance Vincent Brown.
Editing and Mixing by Craig Good
And of course the cast of wonderful performers! (In order of appearance) Matt Hill, Cornell Reid, Daniel Bush, Terry Scannell, Matthew Henerson, Romi Dames, Ashley Russo and Nicholas Thurkettle.***
From WZMB, Monroeville, it’s This Monstrous Life with your host Ira Slash. The intrepid reporters of This Monstrous Life travel far and wide to investigate the peculiar human oddity known as ‘The Holiday Season.’ From the North Pole to a parallel dimension, Ira, Sara Disembowel and Jonathan Moldstein put their reporting (and killing) skills to use as only they know how. See what they unearthed right here on This Monstrous Life.***This Monstrous Life stars, in order of appearance Matt Hill, Cornell Reid, Daniel Bush, Terry Scannell, Matthew Henerson, Romi Dames, Ashley Russo and Nicholas Thurkettle.
Soundscapes created by Ethan Lewis, Joels Strubhar and John Costello. Production assistance Vincent Brown.
Editing and Mixing by Craig Good
We had a tremendous amount of help excising this show from the crystal cave. Special thanks to The University of Texas at Austin Semester in Los Angeles Program!