The Transportica Tapes
The Transportica Tapes is an absurdist musical mocumentary podcast about audio tapes from a parallel universe that were discovered inside a mysterious desert well by a grumpy middle aged Arizonan. This man grew obsessed with these recordings from another world and made it his mission to cut together the stories these tapes hold. Each episode takes place in this fictional parallel universe, and is set in what was the U.S.A, but after the nations cyclists went to war with the automotive industry and won, a new government was formed named Transportica. Some episodes are stand alone stories while others are a part of a larger arch. The current arch is about how a small Phoenician punk band was tasked with stopping a tech CEOs plans to sabotage the nations bike infrastructure. Episodes marked minisodes will either be their own mini arch or standalone stories set in the other world. Created by Ben Schifano Mixing Engineer is Dean Simpson Along with podcast, there is a companion zine made for each episode. It is called The Transportica File. https://substack.com/@thetransporticatapes?r=39ryln&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page
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Episodes
Wednesday Feb 05, 2025
Wednesday Feb 05, 2025
In The Transportica's Tapes first minisode we meet the last pigeon in Phoenix, named Igmy. In this episode we listen to the private tapes he recorded as he investigates what happened to all the pigeons. This episode was written and voiced by Ben Schifano and mixed and mastered by Dean Simpson
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
In the second episode of our podcast we get to see how Viola, the drummer of Vampire State Evacuation Plan (VSEP), spent her day leading up to the Lost Cat Show. Her day includes, banging on mailboxes, interviewing people to be her double, listening to interviews, and being interviewed herself!This episode is the second in a 5 episode arch that ends with the titular Lost Cat Show. Come along for a bizarre musical adventure!The Transportica Tapes are created and directed by Ben SchifanoSound mixing and mastering by Dean Simpson
Cast:
Camille Sacristan - Viola
Darian Lorrain - Lenny, Coquette
Connor Franklin Rey - Stickburt Drums, Mailbox "Owner"
Dylan Blank - Chaz Schrader
Ben Schifano - Narrator, random person, Interviewee 1, interviewee 2, Piper, The Kickflip, Lonnie Muscle the Muskrat, Dave, Blue
Kylo Gun - Cog in a Hotdog MachineMore from the cast:For more from Camille Sacristan check out this album they made with her mom!https://open.spotify.com/album/0PSvrvpBpnNpDZBHvSvCUe?si=97HtDBabSBeuKYomZ3FCpwFor more from Kylo Gun check out their artist pagehttps://open.spotify.com/artist/2SNRTDQkECXZZdaOkxlyyp?si=xGmtSY2nQM2cf7_Lp-C5GQ
For the companion Zine to this episode, see our substack:https://thetransporticatapes.substack.com/p/the-transportica-file
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
In this premiere episode of the Transportica Tapes, we meet Blue, the front person to local Phoenix band Vampire State Evacuation Plan, as they get everything in order for their bands show that night. A touring band from Texas is coming in, and if this show isn't a success the bad press will not be good for the band.
This episode is the first in a 5 episode arch that ends with the titular Lost Cat Show. Come along for a bizarre musical adventure!
The Transportica Tapes are created, written and directed by Ben Schifano
Sound mixing and mastering by Dean Simpson
Musical composition by Ben Schifano
Cast:
Ben Schifano - The narrator, Blue, Mr. Hardpress, JIF, Therapy Booth
Tessa Ramirez Keough - Vanessa
David Kaptur - drive thru attendant
Dean Simpson - Spitz
Connor Franklin Rey - Printco Employee
Ben Conley - Randy, Rick
Valerie Constantine - backing vocals on "The Theme To Superbikeway66"
For the companion Zine to this episode, see our substack: https://thetransporticatapes.substack.com/p/the-transportica-file