Inside Blamo!

This week, Jeremy Kirkland came on Tasteland to discuss St. Louis style, the challenges of the podcast business, and not checking a bag.

Read an excerpt of our interview below or keep scrolling to listen to the full episode.

Francis Zierer: So Blamo! is a network of these podcasts, right? The Patreon funds not just Blamo!, but the JJJ show, and then you also work with Derek Guy and Peter Zottolo.

Jeremy Kirkland: Correct. Derek Guy, whom I've known for eons, is a very, very good friend. We met in 2010, 2011 or so. And we just stayed in touch and I was like, “Dude, you need to do a podcast.” A few years later, he's finally like, “Okay, let's do it.” And then Peter Zottolo and Derek started doing it together and that kind of popped off around the same time as the Twitter stuff.

But it's interesting because for me, the Patreon is not the core goal. It's not even our core listenership, it's basically just more nerdy fans. There's a little Slack community where everyone's talking about where to eat in Florence or if some watch is cool. And it's awesome. It's an extremely positive vibe. There's a homesteading one where people are talking about home renovation, and there's a parenting one and it's super wholesome.

It's strange because things like this don't really exist on the internet. And so I don't want to try to monetize this so much. But also at the same time, I have to pay daycare bills and health insurance. I'm not exactly sure how we do this. But Derek comes in and it's a completely different type of audience, a very transactional audience, because his audience is so big. 

FZ: Because they want him to rip them a new one or tell them how they should wear a suit or something? 

JK: If you are in this—this sounds pejorative—the creative economy, right? I mean, what a tacky fucking phrase. But if people are essentially paying you for your opinion or for something that they think they could easily do themselves, like talking or writing, there is this, “You owe me, I pay your bills” mentality.

So it's funny because I'll read the exit notes of Patreon and they're crazy. It's like, “I messaged Derek and he didn't respond to me. So for that reason, I'm out.” At least some of these folks come in wanting this deeper relationship with Derek. And so the audience that's in there, these more core people that are just Blamo! folks, they'll see people ask, “Hey, rate my fit,” and be like, “You look great.” And they're like, “Well, don't you want to nitpick it more?” And they're like, “No. Are you happy? You're good.” You see these two roads diverge in a wood. 

FZ: You said on the Garmology pod that a lot of times people are just trying to find a way to be comfortable with themselves by sharing a picture publicly. If the criticism is fair, and you're inviting that criticism, then you should entertain it. But if you don't want it, don't share it.

The way you're describing Blamo! culture is people who have figured it out and are less worried about the competition. 

JK: I don't ever care what anyone wears. I will make jokes about everything I wear. I will make jokes about my opinion and how I used to like this brand and now I don't. But I don't care what you wear. I want people to be happy and I want people to know that they can be involved in this world and community if they want. That's it. And I think that sounds a little too Mr. Rogers for people because they want the anonymity of the internet to be this cloak and dagger situation where you just talk shit and make jokes at other people's expense. But like, dude, that was fucking high school. Who cares about that now? 

FZ: Being a style guy and not living in New York, how has that changed things for you? 

JK: I'm so much happier. I don't have the stress and the agony of wondering what someone thought about me. And I think some of that I attribute to age, I'll be 40 next month. And I'm like, “Okay, maybe I don't need to impress this random person on the C train.” I've gotten lazy, so a lot of times I catch myself in my gym clothes all day, like I've just been wearing Patagonia baggies for five or six days straight. 🩳

Gentle-parenting your audience ft. Jeremy Kirkland