Who is the Last Podcaster Standing?

An angry ginger, a know-it-all, a sniper, and a man in a kilt walk into a recording studio…

The Last Podcaster Standing, a new podcast that comes straight out of Grand Rapids, is earning fans not just locally but globally with their off-kilter humor, crazy stories, wild discussions and occasional heated arguments.

Every week, four guys dubbed “The Angry Ginger” (Jason), “The Kilted One” (Grant), “Mr. Know-It-All” (Tom) and “The Sniper” (Joe), get together to “shoot the s—t” and discuss zany, serious, and shocking headlines from around the world – and they record every minute of it.

“We all agreed pretty quickly that the show should cover topics that are a bit off the wall and something that all of us can make fun of,” Jason says. “We tend to do well when mocking the strange world we live in.”

The guys of TLPS want to bring some of the wackiness of the world to their listeners, according to Grant.

“The Internet has open access to the whole world of crazy, off-the-wall, stupid, wild people, places and events,” he said. “Bringing that to people who enjoy that type of information and a bit of sarcastic humor is fun for us -- and hopefully for the people who listen.”

Though not all headlines make the cut, there is very little that these guys are not willing to make fun of, rant about, or argue over.

Each podcaster has his own style as far as what he will talk about.

“Some of us don't want to share too many personal things,” Jason says. “Others are standing in front of giant sheets of glass and we don't mind dancing naked in front of it for you to laugh at.”

Grant agrees.

“Ginger (Jason) and I are open books,” he said. “We like to connect to our audience with our personal stories and life experiences. Exposing ourselves to possible ridicule, embarrassment or blowback is worth it if it means being honest and true to who we are. Joe and Tom are altogether different when it comes to that.”

“I think this works well for the show,” Jason added. “All four of us are similar enough to get along well, but we are all truly different people. This can make for great entertainment!”

The members of TLPS have all worked with the same company for a couple of years.

“Grant and Tom were always bickering about something [at work], and Joe and I were always being pulled in to the arguments to settle them,” he says. “This is when Grant decided that our podcasts should be the four of us debating over really insane and crazy topics. The Last Podcaster Standing grew from that seed.”

Grant and Jason were all for doing the podcast, but Joe and Tom took a little convincing.

“Basically Grant decided that I was going to do a podcast with them,” Tom said. “After saying no again and again, I finally gave in.”

“I think the podcast was more of a way for him to try to find people that agree with him because he was tired of constantly being wrong,” he laughed.

Joe agreed to the podcast, but had to get used to the idea of being recorded, he said. “I was really critical of myself and how I thought I would sound recorded, but once we did a couple episodes, I became more comfortable not only hearing myself but also talking into the mic.”

When they’re not talking about, preparing for or recording the podcast, the guys lead pretty normal lives.

Jason and his wife have three daughters and also recently became a foster parent – “one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of!” he says. He also works two full-time jobs (yes, that’s 80 hours a week) here in Grand Rapids. He finds time occasionally to work on two comic books and a web series that he’s producing called “Between the Covers.”

Grant, while being a husband and helping raise his two children, works “a normal job” and enjoys playing on his XBox 360 and writing. One of his favorite things about Grand Rapids is “the way it supports the arts.”

Both Grant and Jason are self-proclaimed movie geeks.

Tom, who recently got engaged, says that when he’s not at work or with his fiancée, he’s “being a computer geek.” He moved to Grand Rapids after college, having lived in Grand Haven since he was three, and likes the city because it offers “big city features without the over-the-top traffic of Chicago or New York.”

Joe spends his free time outdoors. He says that he finds many different activities that keep him busy year-round, but appreciates the fact that Grand Rapids still offers the “conveniences of the big city.”

Grant and Jason also spend a lot of time using social media to promote the show, bringing in an ever-growing fan base via sites like Twitter and Facebook.

“We simply ask people who like it to pass it on to other people who listen to podcasts or have an interest in what we do,” Grant says. “Twitter has been a big help for us. Friends listen to other friends’ opinions…it gets viral pretty fast from there.”

The group gets together every Monday to record, and then Grant, who has become the show’s director, edits and adds music to the episodes. The recordings are often about two hours long to begin with. Grant says that he ends up cutting out long silences, “umms” and “ahhs,” personal information and bantering between himself and Tom that just goes on for too long. As time goes on, editing has gotten easier, he says.

Grant and Tom’s debates, along with the personal banter of the podcasters, have ended up in the backseat of a car driven by utterly ridiculous headlines.

The episodes so far have discussed everything from lion-meat tacos and venereal diseases to wedding proposals and stolen condoms. There is little the guys won’t talk about, and most of their podcasts may be deemed “not safe for work.”

They’ve recently added a segment that they call “The Mail Sack.” (Charming, no?)

Listeners are encouraged to Tweet, e-mail or send Facebook messages to TLPS. Often they’ll work the messages into their episodes, answering questions, commenting on personal issues or repeating jokes.

The Last Podcaster Standing episodes are posted every Monday on iTunes and on their blog. They are eager to hear feedback, questions, concerns, and want listeners to feel free to send some nutty news flashes their way.