Introducing CLS KnockBack, A New Podcast Series (Patreon)

Hello.

Surprise! CLS is launching a new, weekly podcast series called KnockBack, and Episode 1 goes live next week here on Patreon.

CLS: KnockBack is a show dedicated to all of the deeply nostalgic stuff from our past, the entertainment that diverted our time, money, and attention during those good old days, whether that means last year, last decade, or last century. Movies. Games. TV shows. Books. Toys. Cartoons. You name it. And I’ve tapped the perfect co-pilot to steer this retro-fueled ship with me: My brother, Dagan.

Today, Dagan is Lead Designer at the illustrious Sesame Workshop in New York City, but back in the day, he was the person who infused in me a true and everlasting love of nerdom. This is the guy who would wake me up after everyone went to bed so I could watch him play the latest NES or SNES game. This is the guy who used to bring me to the movies to see everything from TMNT to Fire in the Sky, who would put me in the car and take me to the arcade, and who turned me onto JRR Tolkien and Ray Bradbury. The man who used to go to shady shops in New York City’s Chinatown to procure the latest crudely-recorded anime from Japan, who paid $100 for a Street Fighter II cart at launch out of desperation, who went over his GI Joe collection with me in meticulous detail, and then gifted me the entire thing. This is the guy who can’t stop drawing on his Instagram, who is raising his son to be the biggest Mega Man nerd the world has ever known, and who named his car Shinobi.

I guess what I’m saying is: Dagan is the man for the job. I am honored and excited to be able to finally collaborate with someone I love more than anything in this world, and who I know you’re all going to fall in love with, too.

With KnockBack, Dagan and I want to create a catalog of topical podcasts that have legs. It’s not to say that some podcasts won’t ebb with time, but our primary focus is to celebrate and/or criticize and/or discuss what’s already happened, maybe a year ago, or maybe a decade or century ago. Each show will revolve around a specific topic, and will involve your input (more on that in a minute). In short, we want to both entertain and inform. I’m confident that we will.

Since you asked nicely, here are the topics we’re going to cover in the first eight episodes:

• The Empire Strikes Back
• Ranking the Nintendo Consoles
• The Retro Gaming Scene
• The Best War Movies
• The Twilight Zone
• When Anime Was Underground
• The Most Underrated NES Games
• GI Joe

I feel like I could write a novel about this show, but an FAQ will be most effective from here.

What is CLS: KnockBack?

CLS KnockBack is a new, weekly podcast starring Colin and Dagan Moriarty that focuses on topics in nerd culture, topics that span time, place, and format.

Why Call it KnockBack?

I think Dagan nailed it when, once we settled on this name, he described it as kinetic. I think he's right. A Buy-Now, New-Is-Best, What's Next? culture permeates every aspect of our lives, especially when it comes to video games, movies, and the like. KnockBack's name represents this need within all of us to sometimes force a look backwards, even if we can't help but keep our eyes on what's to come. Let's study, enjoy, and remember what came before.

When and where will the show be posted?

Each episode of KnockBack will be posted on Patreon on Thursday for $5+/month subscribers, six days earlier than the public. The following Wednesday, each show will go live for all audiences on CLS: KnockBack’s SoundCloud, as well as podcast services, and then the day after that, a new episode goes live on Patreon, and so on. This is an audio-only show; there is no video component, and individual episodes will not be posted on YouTube.*

The reason we're revealing the show before we go live is because we want you to be involved in each and every episode. In a few hours, a thread will go live here on Patreon soliciting questions and comments for each topic that may be used in the coming episodes. (This is for $2+/month subs; more on that below.)

Dagan lives in Philadelphia. How are you going to record?

In person. Duh! Dagan is coming to Santa Monica for four days (beginning tomorrow) to record the first batch of episodes. I will then be heading to Pennsylvania in May-ish to record the next group. And so on.

I hate recording podcasts from afar, not only from a quality standpoint, but from an engagement standpoint. The only way this show could work is in person, so we’re making the time and spending the money to ensure that happens. We’re dead serious about making this show great.

How does this affect Colin’s Last Stand?

As an entity, CLS currently produces three shows a week: Colin’s Last Stand (or what I often refer to as CLS Prime), CLS: Fireside Chats, and CLS: Side Quest. To make room for KnockBack, CLS Prime is going to be put on hiatus for an indefinite period of time. I’m sad about that, but it’s a logistically necessary move. There’s simply no way around it.

It’s hard enough to manage three shows at a time, so four shows would have been impossible. CLS Prime has the least viewer and Patron demand, and I think it’s a show that needs a break. The last episode about Donald Trump will be the last episode for awhile. When the show comes back, I suspect it’ll be a bit different, and frankly, if and when it does will be determined by if there’s demand to return to that format and subject matter. I’m listening!

How does this affect Colin’s Last Stand’s Patreon?

Colin’s Last Stand’s Patreon has been totally reworked, and has more value than ever across all of the tiers:

• $1/month subs: Supporting CLS at this tier gets you an exclusive podcast each month that will only be for Patrons. One month, you might get an exclusive episode of Fireside Chats. The next, perhaps an episode of KnockBack. In Rapture, they call this a Circus of Values!

• $2/month subs: At this level, you already get to vote in a two-part (primary/general) election each month to determine a topic for an episode of Side Quest. Now, you’ll get to vote in a parallel two-part election each month to determine a topic for KnockBack. Additionally, you’ll also get a chance to know what KnockBack’s upcoming topics are and submit questions and comments that could be used on episodes of the show. Oh, and you get the free podcast for $1/month subs, too!

• $5/month subs: In addition to the $1 and $2/month perks, those at this level are basically getting three podcasts a week, two of them early, and one of them totally exclusive, all ad-free.** Each episode of Fireside Chats goes out to those at this level three days early. Each episode of KnockBack goes out to those at this level six days early. And, as icing on the cake, those at this support level get exclusive, audio-only versions of Side Quest not available publicly.

• $10/month subs: Not only does this level get you everything from the $1, $2, and $5/month levels, but you’ll get access to a monthly, video Q&A that solicits questions from the audience and answers each and every one of them. So long as the questions are reasonable and appropriate, they can be about anything, and we typically talk about politics, history, gaming, sports, movies, TV shows, and much more each month. I love recording these Q&As, and the feedback from those who participate is overwhelmingly positive. Perhaps you want to jump on in?

• $25/month subs: This is the so-called Producer tier, if you really want to show CLS some love. Typically, this meant that your name would be in the credits at the end of each video I did, but as only one video a week will now be occurring, I want to make up for that. So, credits at the end of Side Quest won’t change, but I’ll now be reading through the producers at the end of each episode of Fireside Chats and KnockBack. So, basically, you’re getting a text shoutout and two spoken shoutouts each week!

• $50/month subs: For supporting CLS at this level, you will get something new and unique in the mail each and every month, so long as you’re still subbed. Typically, I’d send out hand-written postcards, but we’re gonna change it up. One month, you may get a drawing from Dagan. Another month, perhaps I’ll handwrite a letter to you. The following month, maybe I’ll get a cool new piece of art printed up. Oh, and each and every month, one random person will be selected from this tier to receive an exclusive, one-of-a-kind painting from Dagan. Pretty cool, right?!

• $100/month subs: Supporting CLS at this level for three months (consecutively or non-consecutively) gets you a personalized Thank You animation video from Dagan, with custom VO from yours truly. You know, for posterity!

• $300/month subs: This is the highest tier available for Colin’s Last Stand’s Patreon, and it nets you a 20 minute Skype (or phone) call each month. There are something like a half-dozen people that support me at this level, and I’ve built an incredible rapport with them and gotten to know them better than I thought imaginable. A few of them are even going to be guests on Fireside Chats this year!

Okay, so I think that just about covers it.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I’ll be reading and answering below. You can also reach out to me privately here on Patreon, in case you wanna talk that way, instead.

I truly hope that you’re excited about this new show. I certainly am. And I hope that, if you’re not here on Patreon yet, that you come and join me on this wild, strange, and hopefully entertaining ride. Your support allows CLS to exist and evolve, and without you, none of it would be possible. Your kindness and generosity is appreciated, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you’ve allowed me to do.

See you Monday for Side Quest, Tuesday for Fireside Chats, and Thursday for the first-ever episode of Knockback!

Your friend, -Colin

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* - I will, however, be bundling together episodes five at a time and posting them on Side Quest’s YouTube channel, similarly to how I bundle together episodes of Fireside Chats and post them on CLS’ YouTube channel.

** - When I made the ad-free declaration, CLS was a video-only show with one product that had a built-in advertising mechanism on YouTube, should it ever be needed. CLS is now four shows, and three of them are podcasts. It’s a different world. While I’m not sure what I’m going to do on the monetization front with KnockBack and Fireside Chats yet, what I can tell you is that anything video-oriented (like Side Quest) will continue to be free of baked-in ads, and that, should I ever go down the ad route with the podcasts, early-access Patrons will never, ever have ads in their shows, and, once those podcasts are free for all, the version on Patreon will remain ad-free for everyone, so you’ll always have an ad-free option, whether you’re a sub or not.