📚 Extra(ordinary) Tales to Tell & a BIG month for SMALL Audio Art [ATB June]
ATB partner's up with Read to Me and Audio Club has Phoebe McIndoe as host!
🗓 Your monthly dose of Aussie audio content, events & news 🗓
Howdy Folks!
Many of you might be asking: “This ain’t Pat writing this. Where is Pat? What have you done with Pat?”. Well, to clarify the suspicions, yes this isn’t Pat. He has gone on an expansive trip to Europe and has decided in his humble wisdom to grant me the responsibility of sharing you the latest in All the Best news.
So, who am I? Glad you asked. I’m Lindsey Vassallo. A fellow volunteer of the ATB Team. Whilst I’ve only been here for just half a year, I’ve definitely made a full impact with my efforts. Whether it’s with making the visuals for each episode or Instagram posts as well as creating my own stories for this very show. Pssst, you’ll get to know about one of my stories a little later in this newsletter 😉.
Outside of my volunteer hours, I love to draw, cook, info dump and collect a mass amount of analogue media. VHS tapes in particular with over 600 of them in my collection. But enough about me. What are the events and opportunities as we head into Pride Month?
It appears that a running theme in this month’s newsletter is the exploration of found joy from the minute and unlikely.
As of recent, we’ve seen the release of fantastic audio corpses comprised of bite sized stories thanks to the 75 people participating in the Audio Corpse Challenge. Plus, we’ve showcased stories telling personal journeys to find prismatic joy, a whodunit mystery about serial burglaries at an Op Shop and the investigative rabbit hole of a forgotten yet surreal Sydney landmark. All fascinating stories that might make you feel the love of things commonly overlooked.
Not to mention, this month’s online session at Audio Club will see the appearance of an accomplished guest as she shares her project centered on audio stories inspired by everyday items.
Finally, the great folks at Read to Me will partner up with us to hear submitted stories from folks like you. Stories centering on the ordinary with just the “extra” added at the front.
Also, if you’ve come across any interesting audio opportunities or resources you think are worth sharing, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at chernyat86@gmail.com, and they can be disseminated widely!
📼 Rewind & Shine 📼
To think that one could find a lost relic for just 50 cents at Salvos. Well, that’s exactly what happened to me when picking up this analogue beauty. Tuff Turf is definitely a forgotten relic of 80s glam and counter culture. This energetic teen drama explores rebellious highschoolers played by Brat Pack affliates James Spader, Robert Downey Jr and Kim Richards. All suited up in their 80s new wave best.
It’s by all accounts a cheesy and preditable movie. But it stands as a guilty pleasure of mine, filled with a lively soundtrack and carismatic performances. For the longest time that’s all it ever was to me. Until I encountered an online inquiry that informed me to the true value my VHS copy has.
When scrolling through the Lostwave forums on Reddit, I viewed a post by one user who was looking to find an original 1985 copy of Tuff Turf. This copy contained the original theatrical cut of the movie. Exclusively released on ‘85 VHS and Beta releases. To ID such a copy, one would feature an early version of the song Breakin the Rules as performed by American composer Jonathan Elias. All subsequent cuts of the film would have this take of the song replaced by a later recording from singer Lene Lovich. No known recording of the original song had made its way online by this point.
This minor request greatly peaked my curiosity. That same night, I slipped the tape into my VCR waiting in anticipation to confirm if my bargin bin priced copy really was that old.
As I queded up to the 40 minute mark with my phone on record, I had to hold my gasp of atonishment as I heard Elias rocking out to drive-by montages of the Beverly Hills suburbs.
After sending the phone recording to the thankful Redditor, it became apparent how paramount, collecting media like this was for archival preservation. This incident greatly inspired my pursuit for lost media years later.
As of writing, the phone recording is all I have to give to the online sphere. However, plans are on the horion to assure that this 80s romp finds extended life in the digital world.
🎙 This month on All The Best 🎙
#639 - Prismatic Joy: The kind folks at Debris Magazine share with us two compelling stories from Issue V - Prismatic Joy. Tales that explore joy in the face of hardship. Not just as an emotion, but as a weapon of resistance. All co-edited by Mariam Ella Arcilla and Jazz Money.
From our first story (Acidic Cuts) Kiera returns to Ukraine to rekindle her connection with the people and culture she grew up with. But finding this cultural connectivity in a country facing an invasion can be a challenge. Nonetheless, she attempts to defy the fear of warfare through her and her homeland’s communal expression of joy.
Our closing story (St Elaine) takes us on the mischievous escapades conducted by Elaine. A Sydney woman who seeks joy from the destruction of poker machines. An act that the law would define as criminal whilst Elaine sees it as justice.
#640 - The Second Hand Bandit: A journey to the thrift store can be a treasure hunt. An adventure through the troves of second hand objects filled with history and displayed thoughtfully by the volunteers that gives these old items a new home.
In our first story (The Second Hand Bandit), a Sydney Op Shop Team must put their investigative skills to the test when they’re the subject to frequent burglaries. Even with the strain of adversity put upon them, this passionate group of volunteers band together to crack this case.
Following this whodunit saga is a trip to The Glebe Community Op Shop. A place seen by its passionate volunteers and frequent customs as more than a shop. But a thriving heart of a community.
#641 - The Audio Corpse: Welcome to a very special episode of All The Best. Today, we delve into the surreal and cinematic world of Corpse 5—a dark, sci-fi-tinged journey through sound, story, and imagination.
This piece is part of The Exquisite Audio Corpse, an ambitious international collaboration between 75 audio makers from around the globe run by Audio Club, creating a series of seven sonic “corpses” inspired by the surrealist game exquisite corpse. Each contributor only hears a sliver of what came before them, crafting their own piece in response—leading to unpredictable, haunting, and often beautiful results.
Special thanks to Cristina Marras, who suggested that we do a corpse in the first place and whose amazing story kicked everything off; to Aswathi Matthew for coordinating half-a-dozen time-zones, and to Ray Vo for the amazing artwork for the challenge.
The amazing audio makers who participated in the corpse we featured today are: Lezak, Pierre & Florence, Yhane, Ali, Darien, Arielle, Valdez & Hazel, Ellie and Cole & Claudia.
Discover SIX more audio corpses on the All The Best Substack.
#642 - The Travelator: This episode will take you on a journey to the urban underground. Specifically, a local landmark not a lot of locals know about.
Hidden right under the grounds of Hyde Park, is Sydney’s forgotten and strangest place. A travelator, spanning a near 700ft and accompanied by an equally long mural. It’s a place surreal enough to feel like it can only appear in dreams.
But for Lindsey, there’s a real fascinating story she aims to uncover in this mechanical oddity. One complete with world records, controversy, mystery, love and a court drama in between.
📅 Events to Look Out For! 📅
🎇 Extra(ordinary) Tales Pitch - SUBMISSIONS OPEN! 🎇
In life there our things, topics or incidents that seem benign to others. Whilst you see the extraordinary beyond its ordinary veneer. We all have stories like these waiting to be told and the collaborative folks at All the Best and Read to Me want to hear them.
Tell us about when your fridge was running and you caught it, dramatise walking to the shops to buy a loaf of bread, tell us about stranger things that happen at your local cinema - anything that screams Extra(ordinary)!
You can pitch as either an audio or visual artist. You'll then be matched with someone of the other skillset and supported in developing your story together. This will include a development workshop in the lead-up to the performance.
Each storyteller will receive $200, receive support from the teams at fbi.radio and Read To Me and the performance of the final work will be broadcast on the radio!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Phoebe at phoebe@allthebestradio.com.
DEADLINE: 11:59pm, Wednesday July 9, 2025.
🖼 June 23: Phoebe McIndoe’s Small Audio Art project 🖼
On June 23, Audio Club’s Online Session will be a featuring rising talent in the podcasting sphere. Radio producer and sound artist Phoebe McIndoe has made a huge impact in UK radio and podcasts with her series County Lines and Lights Out being featured programs on the BBC. Additionally, she has been nominated multiple times for her work in ceremonies like The Audio Production Awards and DIG Awards.
Phoebe will be joining us at our online workshop to discuss her Small Audio Art project, a creative space where makers explore themes of identity and belonging through everyday objects found in our homes.
So far, the project has published pieces exploring doorways, windows, and wooden spoons. The current creative theme is "Clocks". Submitted works must adhere to the following.
Phoebe’s workshop will involve how to pitch for future iterations of the project.
Each round of Small Audio Art ends with a listening party, where participants celebrate each other's work, offer feedback, and build connections.
There is no fee to submit material, and all work remains the property of its creator.
ICYMI, you can hear an interview with Phoebe and some of the works produced for the prompt ‘Windows’ in our Small Audio Art episode!
🧠 June 30: In-person Audio Club 🧠
Not only is the June 30, the birthday of this humble writer 😊, it is also the day that Audio Club hosts its in-person event. From 6:30pm to 7:30pm, catchup with fellow audio storytellers by bringing along new ideas, works in progress and lots of questions!
To be part of the experience, be sure to come down to FBi Radio at Botany Rd, Alexandria.
🗣 THE ECCO 🗣
Audio creator initiative ‘THE ECCO’, are accepting 3-minute long audio submissions in response to the creative prompt ‘Slippery Memory’ until June 22, 11:59PM CEST.
This is part of their second edition that brings together audio documentarians from throughout Europe to collaborate, experiment, and push the boundaries of audio storytelling.
Learn more about the program and this month’s theme below.
All The Best,
Lindsey