The Sheep ladies recently got the chance to sit down with our Nerdy brothers across the sea Following the Nerd. To find everything and anything you could possibly need in the nerd world make sure to check out their site. Stay tuned till the end for a fun giveaway!
Ireland. Nerd Headquarters. 2 Sheep and 3 Nerds meet.
Katie: How long have you all known each other?
Michael Bashford: I've known Marc for about a year through work. Dicky who I've never met but spoken to several times on Skype.
Marc-Nerd daddy: Actually ladies, we haven’t all even met! I probably know Dicky longest, although I’ve never met him. I had a radio show before FTN and Dicky found us through a mutual friend. He used to come on the page and give us random abuse and we eventually became mates.
Michael I only know about six months. He came to the office I work in as a sub-editor and one day, when he realized we share the passion that is Star Wars, we got chatting… the rest, as they say, is history. I now consider him one of my best and most trusted mates.
Dicky Clark: I became a fan and some time ago in the early stages of FTN and became known to the guys by posting the first "fan Photo" which was me at a shooting range in Los Angeles. From there, the messages flew and then I was adopted as one of the Nerds.
Sharon: How did Following The Nerd come about?
Michael Bashford: I sent a text to Marc one morning moaning about work. I told him about an idea I had for a website. To cut a long story short, we met that lunchtime. I told him my idea. He said it sounded ok but he had a better one. So we kinda integrated a little of what I was looking at into his grand vision. He is the Emperor when it comes to FTN were as I see myself as Tarkin. All in a good way though lol
Sharon: Tarkin? Is that a nerd thing? (looks to Katie for help)
Katie: It's a Star Wars character.
Marc-Nerd daddy: I had just come of a moderately successful radio show that had come to a premature end when myself and my co-host parted ways. I had considered quitting radio altogether… then, as cliché as it sounds, one morning I woke up and said to my wife ‘I’m going to do a show called Following the Nerd!’ she looked at me with that apprehensive look and asked if I wasn’t done with radio, like I said. But I assured her that, even though I had no idea what FTN was, I knew it needed pursuing. A few days later, Michael, who I had literally talked to a half dozen times, approached me about an idea he had for a website. He said he didn’t know why, but he thought I was the man to talk to. We married the ideas together… and here we are.
Katie: What was one of the funniest interviews you ever did?
Sharon: She means other than ours.
Katie: Obviously.
Michael Bashford: Marc and I met Julian Glover (Donovon in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and General Veers in Empire Strikes Back) in Dublin recently. We were so afraid of approaching him for an interview at the Invasion Dublin event a few months back. He looked so grumpy sitting alone actually counting his wads of cash from his wallet. But, in fact, when we met him he was the nicest man.
Marc-Nerd daddy: That’s an easy one, a few weeks back we interviewed Clone Wars actor Stephen Stanton on the show. He’s a great guy with a very serious outlook on fandom and what it means to people, but when he starts impersonating Christopher Walken or George W it’s hysterical. The saddest part is that the best stuff was off-air! He called us back after the show and we were just chatting like a few geeky mates. Then he started rolling out the impersonations and cracking jokes. It was immense!
:::NERD MAGIC:::
Katie: If you each could meet any actor/character from any movie who would it be and why?
Michael Bashford: Tough one. I suppose it would be Harrison Ford, Sylvestor Stallone and Sacha Baron Cohen who will be playing Freddie Mercury in a biopic soon. Love all Ford's work, am a huge Rocky fan and as for Queen....you could say I'm their biggest fan.
Sharon: Queen rocks!
Marc-Nerd daddy: I think, over any actor, I’d have to say Christopher Walken. Or Sam Rockwell. Or… actually, I’ll stick with Walken. He’s an absolute legend and idol of mine. He has a style and presence that no-one can rival and the best thing is that he doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously most of the time. I love the man a little. But, alas, it isn’t returned
Sharon: I love it when Walken goes on Saturday Night Live.
Katie: We need more cow bell! Classic.
Dicky Clarke: I have met many celeb's in my time, but the one I would still like to sit down and chat to is Clint Eastwood. I have seen him at the Cannes Film Festival but he was a little bit busy at the time.
The funniest Actor I have spent time with is Rick Mayall. You might not know who he is but us in the UK love him.
Katie: What movies/shows has Rick been in?
Marc-Nerd daddy: I guess he’s mostly famous for the TV series The Young Ones, Bottom and Grim Tales, though he was in the movie Drop Dead Fred among others…
Sharon: What do you guys do for fun?
Michael Bashford: Time with my wife and daughter, working on nerd stuff and annoying Marc.
Marc-Nerd daddy: I always complain that I never do anything fun. I work long hours and rarely go anywhere these days. It’s not helped by the current climate and the fact that I have a young family. But, if I’m honest, when I’m playing with my little boy (5) and girl (2), just listening to their banter and how they interact with each other, it is so much fun and I usually can’t stop smiling. It’s just brilliant watching them be mischievous and funny… I love them and wouldn’t change a thing
Sharon: I’ll check back with you in about 10 years and we will see how you feel then
Dicky Clarke: Ride Motorbikes, shoot and sail.
Katie: How do you think Irish nerds differ from nerds in other countries?
Michael Bashford: ooooh, probably the accent lol
Sharon: Smart ass. *winks*
Marc-Nerd daddy: Well, It’s more a case of how American nerds differ from the rest of the world, y’know? You guys embrace it and love it. But over here it’s still a little taboo. Myself and the guys have a circle of mates who embrace it and wear their Nerd colours with pride but the majority see Nerds as spotty, overweight virgins who play Warhammer and live with Mom. But it just ain’t true. Mostly.
I’ll give you an example… my brother is a real cool kid, but one day he told me ‘you’re such a geek!’ I looked at him and informed him so was he. Adamant that he wasn’t, I asked him what his favourite films of the last few years were… when he told me The Dark Knight and Iron Man, he looked at me as if he just had a revelation, ‘Oh,’ was all he could say.
Sharon: Snort! I got to send you a link to a comedian (Ron White) He has this same sort of conversation about all men being gay, it is just to what extent
Sharon: Finish this sentence, Three Nerds walk into a bar….
Michael Bashford: And get very drunk!
Marc-Nerd daddy: ‘And the tallest one says ‘Ow!’
Dicky Clarke: A Greek, an Italian and an Irishman. Each man orders a beer. Three flies fly into the tavern and one fly lands in each man's drink. The Italian man pulls the fly out of his beer, says "tutto 'e bene"
(all is well)" and drinks the beer down. The Greek man shows his beer with the fly still inside to the barman and asks for another beer.
The Irishman grabs the fly out of the beer, takes it by it's wings,
while yelling "Cough it up, you wee theivin' bastard!"
Sharon: How come we are getting the joke from the British guy?
Katie: Sharon! [busting up laughing at Sharon.]
Katie: What would you like to see your site grow into over the next 5 years?
Michael Bashford: Become the biggest site in the world for news, reviews and competitions for all things nerd. I'd also like to see us host interviews with stars of the biggest summer blockbusters at Comic Con. Perhaps our own little section...is that too much to ask.
Katie: Not at all. We hope it happens for you as well.
Marc-Nerd daddy: Wow. That’s a tough one. I want it to be THE place to go to for all the news, review, interviews for fans of movie, TV, comics, books, toys and the paranormal. There’s a lot of sites out there doing these things, but I call us a ‘hub’ I want to take everything together and be a one-stop Nerdy shop. And we’ll have video and podcasts too, so we want to share our love of these things with everyone else…
Dicky Clarke: Once the website is online, I believe we would like the Facebook page and website become 'THE' place for information and interesting "stuff" that will be visited for fun. I would also like FTN to be discussed by other sites and used as reference for particular information.
Katie: What's one thing people may not know about each of you?
Sharon: Remember boys, this is a PG-13 site.
Michael Bashford: I play Singstar on the PS3 on my own!
Sharon: ha! I sing on RockBand.
Marc-Nerd daddy: I am a big fan of The Hudson Hawk. In fact, I think it’s Willis’ best movie.
Dicky Clarke: I'm English!
Sharon: Grab your iPods and hit shuffle…(we’ll wait) Each of you give us the first 3 songs that come up.
Michael Bashford: Anything by Queen...probably Innuendo, Bohemian Rhapsody and March of the Black Queen.
Marc-Nerd daddy: Chemical Brothers: The Devil is in the Details (Hanna OST)
Daft Punk: Sunrise Prelude (Tron: Legacy OST)
The Tasmanian Symphony: Wild Swans Concert Suite
Katie: LOVE these Marc.
Dicky Clarke: LOL, I really did this and WOW! 1. Robbie Williams Most of the remixes….mixed by 2 many Dj's. 2. Leftfield - Ministry of Sound Anthems II 1991- 2009. 3. Outkast - The Love below.
Katie: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
Michael Bashford: Seychelles....I fancy a life of luxury
Marc-Nerd daddy: New York. I’ve been there twice and I love it so much. I’d live there in the morning if I could. It’s constantly alive and there’s always somewhere to go. If I want a burger at 5am there’s a place for that. And I’ve found there’s nothing that can’t be found somewhere in NY. I love it.
Sharon: It is a great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Dicky Clarke: South Island New Zealand. Not for the obvious geek reasons, but because of the beauty of the place. Such fantastic Geology as well as great wine.
Katie: Shut up! I want to go there too and for the geology as well! We'll talk more about this later Dicky. *winks*
Katie: Where can folks find you?
Michael Bashford: At home
Marc-Nerd daddy: I’m always Following the Nerd on FB
Sharon: Where won’t we find you
Michael Bashford: On holiday
Marc-Nerd daddy: On a LOTR forum. Actually, I might start trolling! lol
Katie: A little nerds test for you, I am going to give you three different lines from Sci-Fi movies/shows. Let's see how good you are.
"Admiral. There be whales!"
Michael Bashford: Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Marc-Nerd daddy: Star Trek (28 or something) the Voyage home
Dicky Clarke: Easy Star Trek IV
Katie: Okay, well done.
"I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well though, I have a mighty roar."
Michael Bashford: Wizard of Oz?
Katie: What?! Really?! lol
Marc-Nerd daddy: I know it’s an episode of Firefly… does that count?
Dicky Clarke: Firefly
Katie: The rest of you boys got it right, good job.
"When a woman, whether she's a wife, a lover, or a slave you've purchased to be a wife or lover, leaves you repeatedly... take the hint."
Michael Bashford: No idea lol...I could have googled but that would be cheating!
Dicky Clarke: Farscape……
Marc-Nerd daddy: I had to Google this one… I never watched Farscape
Katie: Boooooo Cheater! Your answer doesn't count. lol Yes. It was said by Rygel XVI from Farscape.
Katie: When I was growing up the word "nerd" meant you were a total dork who lived in your parents basement and just played D&D all day long. lol But todays term is a bit more broad. What are your thoughts on all this?
Michael Bashford: Yesterday's nerd is today's norm. Those kids are now running multi-million pound (dollar) corporations and creating the next blockbuster movie.
Marc-Nerd daddy: Here’s the thing. As I said above, it’s still like that a bit. But it’s changing. When I see FCUK tees with Optimus Prime on it, or Adidas hoodies with The Death Star, it makes me smirk. Doctor Who is THE hot thing in the UK on TV – yet it used to be for sad people to an extent. When Batman, Thor, Iron Man etc rule the box-office, I realize things are changing. But here’s the thing… I was a kid who got a lot of grief for liking these things from the ‘cool’ kids. So when I see them at these movies, with these tops on or talking Who, it bugs me a little… It was all mine first! Lol… But it is changing and there’s plenty of room at the Nerd table for everyone.
Dicky Clarke: Have never been a proper nerd, maybe I am “out” now! I guess it has evolved since those days and now Nerds are cool!
Katie: And now we move on to the ever famous Rapid Fire Round. We will just go around the horn here so Marc you can start, answer with the first thing that pops okay? Ready?…..Set…..Go!
Katie: Dogs or Cats
MB: Dogs
MND: Dogs
DC: Dogs
Sharon: Once Upon A Time… or In The Beginning…
MB:Once upon a time
MND: In The Beginning…
DC: Once Upon a Time
Katie: Rainbow Bright or Strawberry Short Cake
MB: Neither
MND: Huh?
DC: Neither
Sharon: Apple pie or Shepard’s pie
MB: Neither...yuck
MND: Apple pie
DC: Shepards Pie
Katie: Star Trek or Star Wars
MB: Star Wars, although I love Trek too
MND: Star Wars!
DC: Star Trek
Sharon: One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong…
Sharon: Beer or Lager
MB: Neither...vodka
MND: Neither, I don’t drink
DC: Beer
Katie: Vodka all the way!!! *high fives Michael*
Katie: Classy or Crappy
MB: Classy
MND: Can’t I have both? Oh, please let me have both ladies… lol
Katie: lol. You can only pick one...
DC: Classy
Sharon: Peacocks or Peahens
MB: Eh?!
MND: Em… Peacocks?
DC: Peacocks
Katie: Cheesy Western or Cheesy Ninja
MB: Ninja
MND: Western every time!
DC: Cheesy Western
Katie: Night in or Night out
MB: Night in
MND: Night in
DC: Both
Katie: Vampires or Werewolfs
MB: Vampires
MND: Vamps
DC: Vampiers
Sharon: Must be something in the water
Katie: Oh, they just know how awesome my people are. *winks*
Sharon: Greek Mythology or Celtic Mythology
MB: Greek
MND: Celtic
DC: Greek
Katie: Lion King or Madagascar
MB: Haven't seen first one and hated latter. I'll go with Lion King
MND: Madagascar
DC: Madagascar
Sharon: Coke or Pepsi
MB: Coke
MND: Pepsi
DC: Coke
Sharon: I knew you were my favourite nerd Marc
Katie: Oh stuff it Sharon! lol. I got TWO on MY team! Woot!
Katie: Sword or Gun
MB: Gun
MND: Aghhhhhhh…. Em, sword.
DC: Gun
Katie: Thank you guys so much for taking the time to sit down and chat with us today. Would you like to add anything before we wrap up?
Michael Bashford: Although I'm the silent nerd sitting in the background at FTN I'm very aware of you guys and appreciate your support as we grow this nerd monster.
Katie: Thank you Michael, we do what we can.
Sharon: Snort! He said Nerd Monster…
Marc-Nerd Daddy: Whatever FTN becomes, whether we become the next Mark Zuckerberg or go quietly into the night, we have met the best people – like you guys, and made friends on the other side of the planet who we may never meet but nonetheless hold dear. And in a world where social media and the internet makes us distant and alien to each other, I take that as a win. For every person who follows the Nerd we are grateful and count you all among our friends and, more importantly, our Nerdy family.
Katie: That was sappy sweet, you guys are real softies. *hugs the boys*
Sharon: I look forward to your watching your Nerd Magic grow
We want to thank the boys again for putting up with our random questions and overall girl antics. The boys were good sports and we love what they have going on. Now time for the giveaway!
The boys at FTN are giving away 2 graphic novels!
1) Batman: Joker's Asylum2) Arkham Asylum: Madness
Click on the Facebook link HERE and like their page.
Make sure to leave a comment that says "The flock sent me to rock!" and you'll be entered for a chance to win!
Contest runs until August 8th at midnight.
Good Luck!
Brilliant interview folks, I love all of my fellow Nerds and Nerdettes:)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview and great taste in comics!
ReplyDeleteI'll be sending my owner over to enter this giveaway.
Awesome! xoxoxo to our fav pig!!!
ReplyDeleteLove our Nerd Buddies! Did you check out their cute Irish accents? . check out their website to get a link to their radio show every Thursday at 4:00 PM EST.
ReplyDeleteI posted the comment on their wall.
ReplyDeleteaikychien at yahoo dot com
This boys are a hoot :) Thanks fellas for taking the time to share with us sheeps.
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I liked them FB
ReplyDeletemarlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com