Alumnus shines light on local music with podcast

Noah Wotring
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 05:12:41 +0000
Arts & Life, Music, News, april kulscar, columbus local music scene, earwig, in the record store, mel milkman, new thousand, podcast, soundcloud, vince tornero

OSU alumnus Vince Tornero hosts the “In the Record Store” podcast. Credit: Courtesy of Vince Tornero

An Ohio State alumnus hopes to share music outside of the Billboard Top 40 through his podcast.

Vince Tornero, a 2012 OSU communications alum, started “In the Record Store” in 2015. He said he noticed an uphill battle faced by talented local musicians looking to increase their visibility and the difficulty for local music fans to discover these acts. The podcast aims to shed light on Columbus’ music by making local music more accessible to listeners. ?

“The problem is (Columbus music fans) don’t have the knowledge of just how vibrant Columbus’ music scene is. This podcast exists to make local music easily accessible and discoverable,” Tornero said. “We want people to discover better music. That better music is being born all up and down High Street and across Columbus. We want people to be that person who discovers that next hot band.”

Tornero hosts the show along with Grant Gundlach and April Kulcsar, with Mel Milliman serving as show producer.

Milliman, who has been working with the show since April, is the unsung hero of “In the Record Store,” Tornero said. Milliman said his primary contribution to the podcast is the deep web of connections he shares to musicians within the Columbus music scene.

“In the Record Store” has explored a range of genres with its library of 46 episodes to date, featuring rock groups like Dave Buker and the Historians, the folksy Angela Perley and the southern growls of the Phillip Fox Band.

Tornero said the show’s to their 24th podcast is the one he’s most proud of. Titled “Classic Rock Throwbacks with Joe Show,” the episode featured Columbus radio personality “Joe Show” from QFM 96.

“He shared so many memories and much of his life with us on that podcast,” Tornero said. “So, when he suddenly passed away earlier this year, it became a precious episode to me for obvious reasons. It is also one of our highest-rated shows.”

Milliman said he found his most memorable moments while producing “In the Record Store” were not of the guests featured each episode, but rather the reactions they received from their fans.

He recalled their 45th podcast, which featured hip-hop jam band New Thousand.

“There was a group of hip-hop fans in a studio next to the one we were using, and the whole group ended up in the hallway gawking through the window at the band jamming.” Milliman said. “Everyone was blown away and I was like, ‘Yeah, I know, right?’”

“In the Record Store” has new episodes on Mondays bi-monthly. In mid-December, the podcast will be celebrating it’s 50th episode, which will feature local band Earwig. The podcast is available to stream via Soundcloud.

Editor’s note: Arts&Life Editor Hannah Herner interns with “In the Record Store.”

The in the record store hosts meet with local artist Mary Lynn and her backing band. Credit: Courtesy of Vince Tornero.