814 Matters Podcast Hits High Note for Second Season Premiere
Focus on local change-makers builds robust new season
The 814 Matters podcast is amping up its production for a second season, and it has a lineup to match. "We're really excited about having Daniel Meyer, the music director for the Erie Philharmonic, as our opening season guest," said co-host Anthony Peyronel."No pun intended since he's in arts and entertainment, but we really think he's a blockbuster."
Last year, Peyronel and Mike Ruzzi launched the 814 Matters podcast thanks to help from their alma mater, PennWest Edinboro's Chris Lantinen and the Edinboro branch of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Beehive Network. They just dropped the eighth and last episode of the first season and the second season starts on Sept. 15 and is set to include 15 episodes.
Peyronel built a career in marketing while Ruzzi went into broadcast journalism, and now, drawing on the contacts they made, their mission is to showcase all the people who make it easy to be proud of Northwestern Pennsylvania.
The first season featured Saint Vincent Hospital President Chris Clark, Millcreek Police Chief Carter Mook and Erie Police Captain Tom Lenox, Infinite Erie Executive Director Kim Thomas, Hamot Health Foundation President Charles Haggerty, Erie Community Foundation President Karen Bilowith, United Way of Erie County President Mike Jaruszewicz, and Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership Director of Government Affairs Curtis Jones Jr.
In addition to Meyer, the second season will welcome a couple of Crawford County guests, including Jaroslav "Yoda" Botka, the founder, director, and head instructor of Good Karma Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Meadville.
"I think people will really be interested in hearing about not just his business, but him and his very unique life story," Peyronel said.
The Corry-based indie duo Slim & Red will continue to provide music for the podcast and Edinboro Hotel Bar will continue as the sponsor and as the location where the episodes are recorded live. Ron Raymond, who met Ruzzi and Peyronel in college when they worked at the radio station, will return to do voicework as well as editing and post-production, enabling the number of episodes to nearly double.
Currently, each episode gets at least 100 listeners, which Peyronel said is promising for a podcast that's just starting out. With more frequent episodes, the hope is that people can create a habit or routine of listening regularly.
They've also noticed that people seem to be going back and listening to older episodes once they start listening.
"They're sort of evergreen," Peyronel said of the episode content. "You drop them when they're new but they don't go away. It's interesting that people seem to be going back and listening to some of the episodes after a period of time has passed."
So far, the biggest success has been that the small group of alumni are having fun.
"We're having a lot of fun, and we just hope to continue to have fun, and to be able to book really great guests and have more and more people listen," Peyronel said.
Find 814 Matters on Spotify or stop by the Edinboro Hotel Bar to see one recorded live.
Chloe Forbes is a local journalist. Reach her at chloeforbes14@gmail.com.
