Ryan Ahlwardt: Singer-songwriter, Voice Actor and Co-host of Indy Now

Singer-songwriter turned voice actor and lifestyle show co-host, Ryan Ahlwardt shares how each phase of life has prepared him for what’s come, about life on a cruise ship to setting roots, and what makes Indy Now the lifestyle show you’ll want to watch.  

Follow Ryan’s life and work here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryanahlwardt 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanSongs   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryansongs

Indy Now: https://fox59.com/author/ryan-ahlwardt/ 

Presiquential Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-presiquential-podcast/id1548137274 

Straight No Chaser: https://sncmusic.com/ 

Ladies First: https://www.iuladiesfirst.com/ 

The Twelve Days of Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8&ab_channel=RandyofStraightNoChaser 

Young Life: https://hse.younglife.org/ 

Mixtape: https://www.facebook.com/mixtapeindy/ 

Footlite Musicals: https://footlite.org/ 

Civic Theatre:  https://www.civictheatre.org/ 

Feinstein’s: https://www.feinsteinshc.com/events/carmel/indy-nights-with-ryan-ahlwardt-friends 

Booklists on American Presidents: 

https://www.onmybooklist.com/best-books-on-us-presidents.html 

https://www.bookscrolling.com/the-best-books-about-every-us-president/ 

https://www.bookscrolling.com/category/best-us-president-books/ 

Book on American Vice Presidents: https://www.amazon.com/Vice-Presidents-Biographies-Second-Highest/dp/078642611X

Thank you for listening!  Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662  

Transcript

Angela Tuell: 0:05

Welcome to Media in Minutes. This is your host Angela Tuell. This podcast features in-depth interviews with those reports on the world around us. They share everything from their favorite stories to what happened behind the lens and give us a glimpse into their world. From our studio here at Communications Redefined, this is Media in Minutes. Today we are talking with Ryan Ahlwardt. He is an Emmy nominated host of central Indiana's popular lifestyle show Indy Now on Fox 59 and also an alumnus of the world renowned vocal group Straight No Chaser. As a Hoosier singer songwriter he has shared the stage and studio with such artists as the Beach Boys, Barry Manilow, Shania Twain, John McLaughlin, Take Six and many more. Ryan has released 11 independent albums and performed on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Today Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and historic stages across the world. He is also the host of The Presiquential Podcast that explores the life legacy and little known facts of every American president. Hi, Ryan, I am so excited to talk with you today.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 1:12

Hey, Angela, thanks for having me. I am excited to talk to you.

Angela Tuell: 1:15

Yeah. So I would love if you could start by sharing your journey from being a member of the vocal group Straight No Chaser to becoming the host of Indy Now on Fox 59.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 1:27

Sure thing, yeah, it's quite a journey. Many times it felt like, over the past 20 years, it didn't really make sense. But I'm realizing that every single job and role and chapter of my life has led me to this opportunity. And so I'm super grateful for it. Yeah, so I made Straight No Chaser as a senior in high school.

Angela Tuell: 1:47

Wow.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 1:48

My sister was three years ahead of me at IU. She saw the original guys singing at her sorority. And my mom brought home a CD from one of those dinners. And she said, Hey, you would really like this group and just fell in love with the music and had reached out to them for some sheet music and they said, Hey, if you are coming to IU in the fall, you should audition for the group because we're having for the first time, our our first round of auditions for new members because we want to leave this as a legacy group on campus. And so I went down there, my best friend, Mike from choir, and I got in. And so we were like 17 and 18. And like our final semester of high school was basically getting us ready to go to IU. So like we would go to school during the day drive, we would have musical rehearsal. And then three days a week, we would drive down to Bloomington, rehearse with the guys and drive home and then repeat, you know, like wake up at six the next day for high school. So -

Angela Tuell: 2:46

Wow.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 2:46

Totally wild life.

Angela Tuell: 2:47

For those who don't know, it's about an hour and a half each way.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 2:49

Yeah, I'm just I mean, I'm amazed that our parents let us do it. But so that was basically I, you know, I sang for fun. I sang for free food. I sang to meet girls. And I never studied music. You know, IU has a world renowned music school, but my sister encouraged me to check out the Kelley School of Business and got my degree in marketing. And over that course of that time, I met my wife Lauren, who sang in the women's vocal group on campus called Ladies First. And so both groups were sponsored by the IU Alumni Association, everybody was friends. You know, we were always around each other singing it campus events and all that. Graduated in '03, saw the world singing on some cruise ships for about two years, which was really -

Angela Tuell: 3:35

That's awesome. We might have to talk about some stories there.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 3:38

It was, it was a paid vacation really, for about two years. Music was always a thread though, like whether I was you know, in advertising sales for a hot couple years, you know, in my mid 20s, to teaching guitar and voice lessons. You know, I got the call that Straight No Chaser was getting signed to Atlantic Records when Lauren and I were about three months into our marriage. So this was about like, 2007 / 2008.

Angela Tuell: 4:04

And you're still part of the group, right?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 4:06

Well, no. So we had all graduated and kind of like left it in the hands of you know, new members. And one of the original guys had posted footage of the group performing in college back in like 1998. I wasn't even in the group at that point. He had posted it on this little site called YouTube. And it just kept getting views and views and views. And basically one of the people who saw the video, it was a really clever arrangement of a bunch of Christmas carols mashed onto each other. It's called the 12 days of Christmas.

Angela Tuell: 4:34

I feel like I've seen that.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 4:36

Yeah, yeah, it's got Todo's Africa in it. It's just like this wild arrangement. Well, the wife of the chairman of Atlantic Records, got in her husband's ear and said, Hey, you should you should listen to these guys, you know. So he reached out. Long story short, we got signed to Atlantic. And that then launched a five year chapter for me, literally being a professional singer. Right out of the gate out of my Marriage. And so saw the world, recorded all over, got to sing and tour, and sell out venues and work our butts off getting it off the ground. It was around the time that like The Voice and the Sing Off, were really starting to take off. Right, right. You know, Pentatonix was like winning that competition. And so like, is this real resurgence of interest in vocal music. Anyway, did that. Lauren and I wanted to start a family, we knew that we didn't want to raise kids apart. And so I was really looking for an exit ramp. And I found one with an organization called Young Life that Lauren and I had volunteered with when we were engaged, and loved the ministry. It's an outreach ministry for high school kids all over the world. And, you know, they they were looking for, they had everything in place that it needs to succeed except a staff person. And found out about the opportunity through a friend. And we jumped. And so I think I might be the only person on the earth to go from professional acapella singer to like, professional youth ministry guy. But it was really cool because it was in my hometown of Fishers, Indiana. It was at my old high school. So it was an amazing way to come back home. But it was a real, like, it was a big adjustment, it took me about three solid years to really feel like I was in this new role. And like my feet were solid on the ground, because my head was just spinning, you know, and I had gone from being on the road for eight, nine months out of the year, to now being home all the time. And so it was this big adjustment for, for me and Lauren and, but it was a good one. And it was totally worthwhile. Now around that time, I was falling into voiceover work. I was always doing music performing. You know, whether it was solo acoustic gigs, or recording my own music. Lauren and I have been singing in a 90s cover band called Mixtape since about 2018 around then.

Angela Tuell: 7:01

That's awesome.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 7:02

Yeah, and so music for for both of us has always been this just great creative outlet. But it was also a great, you know, income stream for our family. And I was really active in voiceover and music around that time. And my friend Brandy Price, who, this is a really cool story about how I got to Fox 59. So Brandy Price is awesome. She is a style and beauty and branding expert she does, she wears a lot of different hats. And our daughters were in the same preschool together. And you know, we would see each other at pickup and all that.

Angela Tuell: 7:36

Right.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 7:37

She got me in the door at another news station here in Indy to help with some of their younger on air talent to help with like, just communication skills in front of a camera. You know, like I had been on stages for my entire life and just, you know, was was there to help them out like, Hey, you sound a little different when you're in the voiceover booth as opposed to when you're on camera. Let's work on that. And so, you know, that was kind of my first step into TV. I wasn't doing anything on air. But I did that over the pandemic kind of remotely, you know, working with with clients there and Brandy heard through the grapevine that Fox 59 was building up a lifestyle show. And so she encouraged me, she said, Hey, you really need to submit your, you know, your information into this, into this. You throw your throw your hat in the ring here for this, because it's got you written all over it. And so I did. I show up, I basically had one interview I then met the producer, Kerrigan Arnold, I got, you know, through that interview, and then I got a screen test with Jillian Deam is my co host, and she's amazing. And so for her, it was like a homecoming, like, she had been on Fox 59 as a reporter and an anchor for a while. And so she's, you know, meeting everybody, you know, again, and I'm meeting them for the first time. And literally, we met at our screen test. And so, and that's been almost two years ago. And so it really was that lightning in a bottle experience for both of us, because just the dynamic and the chemistry, and the ability to kind of take, you know, hey, if she's gonna throw me something, I'll catch it, and I'll throw it back.

Angela Tuell: 9:17

You guys are great at that.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 9:19

Thank you. And she's such a seasoned veteran, professional journalist. You know, and I've got like, in she does have onstage performance as well from her dance days and all that, but it's just this really cool blend of her having the roots at the station. Both of us having roots in Central Indiana. I mean, I've called the Fisher's home since 92 basically; she went to Butler. So both of us love the community, but we didn't know each other from Adam, you know, getting into this role. And it just, it just took off. But yeah, it's been amazing. And so what I've learned looking back is that even in the first grade, you know, being onstage in elementary school, or making up silly voices to entertain my family on road trips as a kid, or being in show choir and learning from an amazing choir teacher, or you know, selling out venues across the world with Straight No Chaser, writing my own music, being in studios, being around other artists, co hosting a radio show for a while, starting a podcast, like doing all this voice work. I was I was getting reps for things that I didn't really know was to come. And I think that's what I would encourage like maybe younger people or other people who are like, trying to figure out like, what's the next step to take is, look, look back. I love nostalgia. Like I love looking back. I'm a weird guy, and I know other people are like, looking a mile into the future. I just, I just love looking back. It's just who I am. And it's, it's in those moments where it felt chaotic. It really was me being primed for the next chapter. I just wasn't ready yet. I just had to develop certain skills, set, set my mind to it and learned a lot and failed a lot. And just kind of was saying yes to this opportunity. And it's been amazing ever since.

Angela Tuell: 11:04

And you never thought you'd be a TV host.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 11:06

No. And people were like, how long have you been doing TV? And I'm like, Well, you know, anytime Straight No Chaser was doing, you know, local TV. Or we had, we had a couple PBS national specials. We were on the Today Show. Anytime the group needed, like, Hey, give me give me someone vocal who can, you know, talk about what we're here in town for. I was one of probably like three or four guys that were like the main spokespeople for the group on, on TV shows and all that. And so I was used to being in front of the camera, but it's a totally different world. You know, performing for, you know, a house full of people at a venue, then is totally different than being on set where maybe there's, you know, 10 guests at any time. You know, you've got crew, you have a producer in your ear, you've got a co host, you have a prompter, you got about five different cameras, and -

Angela Tuell: 11:59

Yeah, and you're live.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 12:00

And so the live element is, is really the cohesive factor from from my old days of performing on stage is there. But I think I've just learned lately, you know, fairly recently just to like, hey, just relax. It's live TV. It's live local, it's fun, it's positive, it's laid back, it's casual. If something happens, just, you know, just embrace it. My high school choir teacher said, Hey, if you screw up on stage, don't let the audience know that you did. You know, like, don't do a face like, oh, you know, I just messed up, or whatever. Just go with it. And the thing about having a co host like Jillian and great guests that we have, and crew, like I played to the crew, if I can make the crew laugh, hopefully that the audience at home is feeling like they're on set with us. You know, that's what we've heard a lot from our viewers is, you know, you guys seem like you have such a fun dynamic. And it's 100% sincere. Like, we strive, Jillian and I, we strive to be the same people on camera, who we are off camera. There's even moments - Thanks, it's, it's a joy to be able to do it

Angela Tuell: 13:07

That comes through. alongside each other. And, you know, there are days where she'll be out in the field on a live shot, or vice versa. Or we'll have a guest co host. And it's it's just a little bit of added pressure to feel like, hey, you know, this is different. It's okay, the show must go on. Right, right.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 13:26

But we've both been very spoiled, I think to have this experience, you know, presented for us and to be able to walk in it. So we're super grateful. We're just really excited that we get to do what we do. But also we have to kind of like temper that excitement when we not when we walk through the newsroom. Because we know that like, there's some really heavy stuff that other colleagues of ours are dealing with. And so we kind of, we laugh that we're like the kids table of the station because we do get to have so much fun. But we know when to turn that off a little bit too.

Angela Tuell: 13:58

Yeah, what have been some of your favorite segments on the show?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 14:02

Oh my gosh, I mean, as an artist, I absolutely love the music segments. You know, getting to bring some of my talented friends on the show or just discovering new talent. That's that's like the lowest hanging fruit for me. It's just like, you know, oh my gosh, there's music or theater that's on the show. I absolutely love it. I love that we get to share the platform with up and coming artists or even like we've had literally like grade school, junior high performers from like, places like Footlight Musicals or Civic Theatre here in town, you know, where they've come on, and they they may not realize it, but they're performing for multiple 1000s of people, you know. And so I'm like, Man, I wish that I have that opportunity when I was, you know, 16 years old or younger even in some of these performance cases, but those are really fun. We both love to eat. We both you know, there's there's rarely a day goes by that we're not eating or drinking something on the show. Whether it's coffee or an adult beverage or something. But it's great, I think the joy that we find is that we're able to share the platform and help elevate local small business owners, local artists, local nonprofits, local events that might not have the bigger marketing budget that some of our other guests do. Mom and Pop, you know, it's the backbone of the local economy. And they have struggled so much through COVID, and the pandemic, and it's really cool to see that progression of growth in some of our repeat guests, which makes us feel good at the end of the day, like, man, we're, we're doing something helpful. And we're having a great time while we do it.

Angela Tuell: 15:38

Yes, I love that. And, you know, lifestyle shows like Indy Now are becoming very popular across the country and other local television stations. What were you surprised to learn as you entered that industry, as you went into to it?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 15:50

You know, there's two sides to it. It's like the performance side, the entertainment side, the on camera side, the, you know, we're just obsessed with a viewer benefit. Like, what what does this mean to the viewer. Let's do something as much as we can, in every segment, whether it's about, you know, the newest coffee shop, or the newest fun martini bar to open up or a gutter company. Like, let's be as engaging as possible for the viewer at home. You know, I've come to learn over the short time that I've been working for our parent organization, you know, there's a lot of, you know, we care a lot about viewer benefit. There's a lot on the other side of ratings and revenue, you know. And that's just the nature of the industry. And I get that. So sometimes, you know, it is really cool that I've got the business and marketing degree, and also just years of experience of essentially being my own product, and being my own team for my self employed life, music and artistry and all that. So I can really, you know, from in this kind of what I was talking about before of leading that organization, leading the nonprofit, I can wear those hats at different times. Or if I'm talking to a nonprofit leader on the air, I'm asking them questions that I wish someone asked me when I was in their shoes running a non profit. So there's a lot of different things, you know, but honestly, like, so many of those decisions, Angela are like way over our pay grade. You know, at the beginning of the day, in the end of the day, we're like, Hey, are we trying our best to put on not just the most informative, and entertaining, but the most sincere and positive show that we can? And we really do, we've worked hard to really kind of create this persona of who is watching us at home. What you know, our demographic is largely female, 25-54 in Central Indiana. And so we're constantly asking, like, why would she care? What is going to make her, what's going to break through the noise of her morning and inform her, positively delight her and keep her engaged, and what's also in it for her. So the only reason why it's not the Ryan and Jillian show. You know what I mean? It's like, that's central Indiana, like we just happen to be the hosts. And so we see it really from a servant leadership perspective of like, we're not just hosting a show kind of keeping it on the rails on the air. Literally, when our guests show up in the green or in the in the from security when they check into security when they check out. What is their experience like? So we're obsessed with guest experience and viewer experience.

Angela Tuell: 18:31

Any advice to PR professionals as they pitch lifestyle shows like yours or, or advice for the on air guests or pet peeves?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 18:39

Yeah. So for PR, I would say watch the show. Try to think about it from not just your client perspective, but the viewer perspective. If there is overlap between you know, who your client is trying to reach, and the viewer at home, we can help you create a fun and engaging segment and I shouldn't say not all segments are fun, like we you know, some you have to go, Hey, this is a little bit heavier of a topic, but just just yesterday, we had a new local hospice service that's on and it's like, wow, we're talking about end of life care. How can we, you know, and that's where it's like an immature, you know, entertainer performer on air personality might just try to make it you know, oh, it's the same thing. Just copy and paste. It's like, No, you have to match the, the emotional quotient of that guest, that topic for those four minutes. And you have to do it sincerely. Becuase people can read, people can read through the smokescreen of fake. Oh, absolutely. So if you can tug someone's heart piece as well, and you can say what is my, what's my connection to this? So when I go okay, we got a hospice center on. Okay, what was it like for me and my family when my grandfather was in hospice? Okay, cool. Let's try to pull from that a little bit, and find that connection. And so from the PR perspective, I would say you're working with really creative people, let us help you create an engaging segment. Like, also, just watch the show, like tighten up your first couple lines, you know. It's like, it's kind of selfish, but it's like, hey, what do you know about the show? Before you dive into about the thing that you want us to consider, like, tell us in a way that you know what we're doing, that you've watched a segment or two. Ask a question, like, how could we work together on this, as opposed to, here's 90% information. And then, hey, like, when can we book? I would also say, brevity usually wins. Like, we don't need 17 bullet points about your client.

Angela Tuell: 20:39

Right? Two pages.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 20:39

Because in the moment, it's like, you got to distill this down to about four minutes. And so that's some advice I would give to the PR side of things, is just help us help you. And, and really think about the viewer benefit. And also, once it's booked, it's not like we have about anywhere from 45 to 50 segments a week. Now, many of those are pre recorded packages, but the bulk of them are live. And so you got to think like we're handling a lot from an administrative standpoint, we're gonna bend over backwards to make the experience great for your client. But help us help you were like, the little things are the big things. And so the details when it's like, hey, arrive no later than 930 for the 10am live show. That's not because we're just, you know,

Angela Tuell: 21:30

Just trying to get you there earlier.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 21:32

Like, literally like it. This is a house of Right. They're just so good at it. And that's what the cards every day that we're on. And something as simple as, hey, I'm caught in traffic, and you're our first guest. Our newsrooms like, too, you know, when they're producing a show. producers, which we only have two of, they're amazing. Abby, Moving all that around and - Abby Peavey and Kerrigan Arnold like, I will sing their praises all day, like so much behind the scenes to make everything come off without a hitch. And you know, they are flying it, but it's kind of like little duck paddling upstream where it's like, oh, duck is just gliding. It's like, well, that ducks feet I can tell you story after story of the times where I've seen like the veteran journalist anchors, like get bits of are going a mile a minute right now, and you just don't see it. information, and it's like, Hey, you're on in two and a half minutes. Seeing them shift into that mode is mesmerizing to me. Now Jillian's more used to it, because she used to do that.

Angela Tuell: 22:28

Right.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 22:29

Oh, my gosh, how do you do that? And I'm asking them the same question that guests will ask us like, you guys make that look so easy. You know, some of the the highest compliments that we get from guests are nothing about ratings. It's nothing about, you know, the show it's your dynamic is so sincere that it puts us at ease, like you made us calm.

Angela Tuell: 22:50

Right.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 22:51

In a moment where you're walking into a new environment with bright lights and tons of cameras, people, and tons of activity. You know, we sometimes look like we're just crazy, because we're talking into the air. But really, we're talking to our producer, who's talking in our ear and the guests are kinda they're waiting to talk about their, you know, their product or their service. And so, I would tell guests, I always tell guests this in the green room, and we try to go out there every single day and meet guests before we were on air with them. You know, just talk to us. Just talk to us. Like, don't worry about what camera you're on. Don't worry about lights, like just breathe, smile, be yourself and be the guest, you know, be teach us something, show us how to do something.

Angela Tuell: 23:33

That's that's great and say and, you know, switching over a little bit to talking again, about being an independent artist and Straight No Chaser. You've had the opportunity and I said a little bit of this in the intro, but to perform and collaborate with numerous renowned artists like Shania Twain, Barry Manilow, The Beach Boys, John McLaughlin, and so many more. What are some of your most memorable experiences from that?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 23:57

Man, that's a great question. I love being in the studio with Straight No Chaser. Now granted, I love being on stage too. But if someone asked me, you know, probably year four, maybe year three when I was in a group out of five. They're like, hey, what's what's your ideal work scenario, and I was like, I could live in a recording studio all day long. Why I didn't realize is this new environment that I'm in was, you know, what I was being drawn to over there in that chapter and being led to was is now what I get to do. It's like, oh, you're on a team. Like I've literally Angela, I've like done the math. And I'm like, I have been behind hundreds of microphones, 1000s of stages, like under tons of lights, and in front of multiple 1000s of people. And sometimes even like if you if you think about the the broadcast platform capability of being on a show, like, you know, Jimmy Fallon or Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, it's like literally millions of people. But my favorite part of being in the group and my favorite part, I think of being in the show now is really the one on one connection that I get to have with my fellow entertainer performers, personalities, whatever you want to call it. And our guests because, you know, there have been moments one, one really, really powerful moment for me on in Straight No Chaser was we got to open for Barry Manilow several times and his management was our management at the time. And he invited us to be part of his concerts in London at The O2 Arena, which I think there's about 20,000 seats in there. And we hadn't played anything that big. You know, we were used to probably five to 7000 seaters, you know, where based on where we were. But I just looked out and there was a sea of people just like you couldn't even fathom the scope of how many people were out there. You can see the you know, the first orchestra section, okay, you can make eye contact with people. But it was just this moment of this, it was awe - it was awe of just wow, I get to be up here doing what I love to do with my best friends and I get to get paid to do it. And rubbing elbows with you know, a world class legend.

Angela Tuell: 26:05

I love it. And you know, when you're talking about traveling the world, I have to know if you have any favorite places or ones that surprised you.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 26:12

Probably for like, you know, just picturesque scenery, I would have to go back to my cruise ship days. I absolutely love like British Columbia, Vancouver area, it's just unbelievable out there. Scandinavia was really cool, like on the cruise ship days. You know, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen. I grew up in a military family. So I traveled a lot as a kid. I lived for three years in Newport, Rhode Island, and I'm a real sucker for New England. And so I love Boston, Massachusetts. But honestly, like you, you couldn't pay me to go back to that lifestyle. Like people are like, Hey, do you miss being in a group? And it's like, you know what, I miss the guys, because I don't always see him as much as I did. And when we do we pick up right where we left off and say the same stupid jokes. And share the same stories. But I do not miss the lifestyle. In this season of life -

Angela Tuell: 27:09

But that time in your life. Right?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 27:10

Yeah, it's like for then, it was great. But now, you know, our kids are soon to be nine and six. And it's just, it is a real blessing. Because I so I so was a kind of like Vagabond migrants, you know, hopping all over, you know, growing up. And now literally, I live on the same street that I grew up on. I have now put down roots for my kids that I didn't really have, I had very shallow roots. And so to be able to give them that gift, and also to be able to put bread on the table doing things that I'm really grateful for, really good at and getting better at, and get paid to do that. Like what?

Angela Tuell: 27:53

This is real life, right?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 27:54

Yeah, seriously. So it's been such a joy. And honestly, the best chapter of life is right now.

Angela Tuell: 28:02

That's amazing.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 28:03

Yeah.

Angela Tuell: 28:03

What do you hope is next for you?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 28:05

I hope that the show continues to grow. I hope that we can see. And this would be kind of a creative challenge of like, okay, where do we go from Central Indiana? Do we go the entire state of Indiana? Do we go beyond and go into the Midwest? Do we go national? How do we keep that local tie as we grow, I think is one of our most, you know, probably the biggest challenge that we've got right now is just growth. And I want our team to grow. I would love to see a handful more people to be brought onto our team and really specialized in certain areas that we can delegate to them to really drill down into those efficiencies and make the show even better.

Angela Tuell: 28:40

Yeah.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 28:41

I'd love us to win an Emmy one day. We were nominated this year, which was great. We literally bought last to a bowl of noodles. It was a it was a it was a package. It was a package that someone put together. In like, I think Dayton, Ohio on like a new ramen restaurant. It was like a pre produced and edited package. I'm like, man, we're a live show. Like that's kind of apples and oranges. But like, you know what, more powered to you, ramen restaurant. Like the guy who won it wasn't even there.

Angela Tuell: 29:10

Maybe to bring your ego down, right? Like, make sure you don't have a -

Ryan Ahlwardt: 29:13

Oh my God, it was so humbling. It was so humbling. And then it's like, okay, we lost to a bowl of noodles. All right, great. I think you know, I'm continually releasing music. Lauren and I, and my wife, are working on a new stage show at a venue here in town called Feinstein's at Hotel Carmichael in Carmel. And there there's always going to be that creative edge to be in front of an audience and perform and entertain and inspire and connect. And so for us I think that's a new chapter for the two of us is really creating this show together as opposed to performing together. It's like, wow, we're really creating a show from scratch together to entertain and bring all the theater experience and improv experience and comedic experience that my wife has, and musical experience and then blended with what I've got. And it's kind of like, you know, one plus one equals three in this sense. And so I'm excited to see where that goes. Beyond that, I just, you know, one of my favorite writers said this, and it just stuck to me one time, he said, the only time I'm really trying to be or the only place that I'm trying to be the most famous is within my own home. And as a dad, that really, really resonated with me of like, I, I want to be famous within my home to my kids, to my wife to, like, that's the legacy I want to leave. Like great. Tons of 1000s and people, you know, are plugged into the show every day. That's fantastic. But if hear at home, that's not on lock, then nothing else matters.

Angela Tuell: 30:42

Before we go, we need to talk really quickly about your podcast, you're also a podcast host, among all of the other things that we talked about.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 30:50

Yeah, so my friend Blaine and I started right before I think this was before the pandemic. The idea came over pancakes at a local restaurant here in Indy. And he had just seen Hamilton. And he's like, you know, I think I'm gonna read the book that inspired Lin Manuel Miranda, to write the show. And then I think I want to get myself like three years to read a biography of every president, you know, Washington to Trump. We had found a list of this like academic guy who had literally read every book possible on every president. And then he ranked and reviewed all of them. And so Blaine had found that list and I was like, Well, dude, let's just pull from his list. And let's find something that we can read. And you know what, we should probably do a podcast if we're going to do all this reading. We did not know what we're getting into. Like, we read literally, Angela, like 21,000 pages of presidential biographies.

Angela Tuell: 31:40

Wow. How did you have time for that?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 31:42

Yeah. I honestly don't know. But the whole vibe was, you know, the guys on Mount Rushmore, the guys with the monuments and memorials, it's, you know, we know their names. We know maybe a couple of things that they did, but are their legacy. But like, what about the guys that no one's really heard of, you know, or maybe some of the the lesser knowns that still did something that is in practice today or inspired something that happened today. And so for me, soaking up all that knowledge, and then being able to share it through the podcast, or just conversations with fellow history nerds, it's really cool to be able to kind of learn the stuff that we didn't really have time to learn about in school. And share that and so the whole vibe is we we discuss the lives legacies and little known facts about every American president. And during each episode, we drink a cocktail that that specific President really liked. But that was kind of a fun, little creative, you know, spin on it. But and it's just three, you know, Blaine, myself and our producer Russ and our friend Ross, who he read one book on vice presidents. And so he was like the vice presidential expert, he read one book, we read 40 Plus, but it's it's fun. It's just three friends, talking and laughing and making each other laugh and then being really nerdy. It's great. It's, we're still we've gone through all the presidents minus Trump and Biden. But we're now doing episodes where each of us brings a kind of America adjacent historical story, figure or an event. And the other two guys don't know what they're hearing the story for the first time. And so it's kind of like a round robin, you know, who who can top the craziest, wildest, most intriguing story. And we still do have the cocktails, which is fun, but yeah, so it's called the Presidential podcast. It's, you know, up on Apple, Spotify, wherever you listen to your stuff.

Angela Tuell: 33:36

Yes, I will link to it in our show notes as well.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 33:38

Thank you.

Angela Tuell: 33:39

Yeah. So how can listeners connect with you online?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 33:42

Yeah, so I'm@RyanSongs on everything. Instagram, I spent a lot of time on their Twitter. I used to not so much.

Angela Tuell: 33:49

And Threads?

Ryan Ahlwardt: 33:51

I just sign up for Threads like two days ago. You can find all my music through Ryansongs.com or RyanSongs is a lot easier than my last name. It's a very German last name, so it's a lot easier to spell. But if you just go to Ryansongs.com all my music is there. You can find it on all the streaming platforms and buy some merch, whatever you want to do. I am working on a new album with my producer here in town. Don't have a release date on it, don't even have a name for the album. But right now I'm just writing and recording and yeah, it's it's gonna be out eventually.

Angela Tuell: 34:23

We'll be watching. Thank you so much Ryan.

Ryan Ahlwardt: 34:26

Yeah, Angela, this was a lot of fun. Thanks so much.

Angela Tuell: 34:30

That's all for this episode of Media in Minutes, a podcast by Communications Redefined. Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to our show. We'd love to hear what you think. You can find more at CommunicationsRedefined.com/podcast. I'm your host, Angela Tuell. Talk to you next time.