Last updated June 27, 2024 – 9:43am
“Even If It Kills Me” is a documentary podcast that follows the lives of John, Mac, Ryan and Pete as they travelled across America trying to become rock stars in the 2000s.
Written and narrated by band partner Aaron Joy, the podcast features new interviews and archival recordings that offer an inside look at life on the road at a time when the music industry is in decline as massive technological change upends decades-old business models.
Produced by Fang Workshop, “Even If It Kills Me” combines elements of “Almost Famous,” “Bad News Bears” and “This American Life.”
From the joys of early hometown gigs to the soul-crushing rock bottom of endless tours with few audiences, Even If It Kills Me is an honest portrayal of what it's really like trying to make it as a musician, and what happens when it doesn't work out.
“This is a universal story for anyone who's always wanted to be in a band,” Joy says, “but even more than that, this is a universal story for anyone who had audacious dreams and then entered adulthood.”
In the end, it may have been too much: seven years later, the band collapsed from the exhaustion of trying to keep going.
“Even If It Kills Me” isn't just the story of every band that didn't make it, it's the story of every person who had audacious dreams that fell flat into adulthood. The first two episodes are available on most podcast platforms.
