Is it Ironic? with comedian Benny Feldman

A conversation about irony, platforms, evil comedy, and how the sounds we make matter and move through the world. You can find Benny Feldman at https://bennyfeld.com/ Episode Transcript To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

The first full length album from radio show and audio artist The Wind, "Field Recordings of Fast Food Restaurants in Western North America" is a catalogue of new western sound, recorded from the hearpoint of a hard plastic seat.  Set in a variety of public facing corporate grey spaces (for purchasing and eating food in), this album takes a moment to listen to the sound of the places directly in between--far from the the lush, wild recordings of Gordon Hempton or Bernie Krauss, and on the heavily paved, fraying edge of the lively and cacophonous city soundscapes that John Cage loved and wrote about. Recorded over 7 years, and spanning from Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada to Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico, and California, Nevada, Montana, Utah and more, the 11 tracks paint a painfully realistic picture of the current built world that occupies the sweeping landscapes of the North American west. Available for purchase at: https://www.subvert.fm/thewind/ Or free to members of the Patreon -- sign up at https://patreon.com/thewind and you'll see instructions on how to get a free download code. To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Photos, links, and more at https://thewind.org Become a supporter at: https://patreon.com/thewind When storms blow in from the coast, the tall, jagged Sierra Nevada act as a sharp fence, ripping open the bellies of the clouds and extracting the water from inside. Much of that rain lands on the western slopes, and joins creeks and rivers to run back through California and into the Pacific. But this side, the eastern side, of the mountains is in the rain shadow. The mountains above Gardnerville, Nevada are big, and the high desert flows from the East to butt up against them. Sage, Rabbit, Bitterbrush. Some of the rain that falls on the mountains, and especially the snow that drapes the range all winter, some of that lands on the Eastern side of the ridge, over the divide, and instead of flowing back to the sea—it flows inland. This is the Great Basin and all water flows in, not out. Here, wet places are rare and coveted and often appear as a vein of green quaking leaves in the crease of the hills where a creek has formed. These creeks eventually run into the sagebrush and dissipate in a desert sink or a terminal lake but first they feed the aspen groves and the meadows and the grass. From the main street of Gardnerville, I can see those green creases of aspen on the Sierra, and then… I duck into the JT.   //   Thanks to Marie Louise, Etienne, J.B. and Anna Lekumberry along with Ryan Lamb and the whole staff at the JT for keepin it real. Thanks to Chris Barkley at Casale’s Halfway Club and Joe Canella at Ferino Distillery. There is a new documentary called PiconLand by friend of the show Mark Maynard and Richard Bednarski. Mark helped out with some of the research and I highly recommend the film which talks to folks all over the region. Thanks to Gage Smith (Picon Drinkers of the American West) and Mike Higdon (The origin of the Picon Punch, Reno Gazette Journal) who spoke with me for the 2017 version, Ravenna Koenig, Sydney Martinez (with more Picon information in her book Finding Nevada Wild), Luka Starmer, Sierra Jickling, Mark Nesbitt and everybody who’s ever picked up a round. Thank you for being here, Cheers! To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

This episode was created entirely by Matt Bunk. You can find Matt’s work at @AllAroundCowboy_Loops on Instagram, and at https://bit.ly/MattBunkArtist  To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Part of a series featuring recordings of Aeolian Harps. Each will occupy it’s own place in the Wind RSS feed for 5 consecutive posts.Photos and videos: https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harp•••Name: Snake of Truth Wind HarpRecording: Recorded on dry lake bed, Summer 2021Construction: Designed and Built by Eleanor Qull. Large rectangular design of heavy scrap wood. Snake carved into face, intersecting circular hole. Rebar support through center, large bridge, unique hardware and ceramic bowl/bulb built into back panel.Mix: EQ for wind noise, Hint of Reverb. Second recording same, but at half speed with slight panned phaser.Notes: This harp was built by Eleanor Qull at the beginning of my fascination with Aeolian Harps. It originally was strung with steel, but would not sing easily. We replaced the steel string with nylon and it now is sensitive to wind, with a rich and rounded tone. It’s also quite heavy, which keeps it from blowing over.•••This is the final Aeolian Harp in the series. Thank you for listening. To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Part of a series featuring recordings of Aeolian Harps. Each will occupy it’s own place in the Wind RSS feed for 5 consecutive posts.Link for photos and videos: https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harp•••Name: Mary Blair Harp (Alt: Sunflower Harp)Recording: Recorded on the edge of Snake Valley, near Baker and Great Basin National Park.Construction: Built by Michael Corbitt. Rectangular design, larger than Eureka Harp. Sunflower shaped hole on face. Single String.Mix: Heavily Effected - 2 additional tracks run through saturation, reverb, Pre-amp, compressionNotes: This harp featured a large interior resonating body, and is fairly sensitive. Current location: Salt Lake City, Utah.••• To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Part of a series featuring recordings of Aeolian Harps. Each will occupy it’s own place in the Wind RSS feed for 5 consecutive posts.Link for photos and videos: https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harp•••Name: Eureka HarpRecording: Recorded at New Pass Road, Nevada, off of Highway 50.Construction: Rectangular with clover hole on face. Pine wood. Two Strings. Constructed with Michael Corbitt.Mix: EQ for wind noise, Hint of Reverb.Notes: This harp was built for my friends Luka Starmer and Michelle Rebaleati. It features a pyramidal black rock on its crown, collected from a deposit on the edge of Eureka, Nevada. Takes a decent gust to sing, but I enjoyed the 2-string tone. Current location: Reno, Nevada.••• To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Part of a series featuring recordings of Aeolian Harps. Each will occupy it’s own place in the Wind RSS feed for 5 consecutive posts.Link for photos and videos: https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harp•••Name: Obsidian Sky Wind Harp (alt: Mountain Lion Harp)Recording: Recorded in Sierra Nevada, Summer 2025Construction: Triangular prism design with 3 holes in face. Pine wood. Single String. Constructed with Michael Corbitt and Eleanor Qull.Mix: EQ for wind noise, hint of reverb.Notes: This harp was built specifically for the episode “Those Who Feast with the Mountain Lion”. It is a fairly small body with a small interior chamber which I believe is why this harp is so quiet. It needs a strong wind to start singing, and does not resonate long when the wind ends. Stained black, referencing the dark desert skies in remote northern Nevada and the obsidian found around Peehee mu’huh.••• To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

This is part of a series featuring recordings of my Aeolian Harps. Each will occupy it’s own place in the Wind RSS feed, for 5 consecutive posts. Link for photos and videos: https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harp•••Name: Stovepipe Wind HarpRecording: Recorded on dry lake bed, Fall 2025.Construction: Made of a metal stovepipe: 4 strings, diamond shaped hole cut into face. Stovepipe salvaged from house fire.Mix: Mostly Dry. EQ for wind noise, Hint of ReverbNotes: This was my 2nd harp, and first to work well. I built it at the end of the episode “How to Build an Aeolian Harp.” Since initial construction, I added a string and have experimented with tunings. I’ve found that the sound has mellowed out over 3-4 years, sounding less distorted or ‘buzzy’. I hand cut aspen plugs to place inside the stovepipe, which is how the hardware is fastened to the body. Will sing pretty easily with a light breeze.••• To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org

Pictures and videos will be available here:https://thewind.org/episodes/how-to-make-an-aeolian-harpFor the next 5 episodes, I’ll be playing audio of Aeolian harps (built by myself, Eleanor Qull and/or Michael Corbitt). The episodes will not include introductions or narration, so they’ll just be harp sound, with detailed information in the episode descriptions.•The first harp sound will drop tomorrow, and then they’ll drop in every day this week.Thanks for being here, and I hope you enjoy listening to the wind harps. To support The Wind, become a patron at www.patreon.com/thewindSubscribe at thewind.org