District Sound Wave is a podcast created by Hattiesburg locals trying to take a snapshot of the region by talking with artists, musicians and anyone else with a story to tell.
Co-hosts of District Sound Wave Jake Stevens and Thomas Pittman said the idea came for a podcast after a friendly lunch a T-Bones. Both are musicians and have been DJs. The original concept was to recapture their time DJing, but it quickly transformed into something completely different.
“The idea of the show is to bring in the unknown musician,” Stevens said. “Most people on a personal level don’t get to know musicians, so [the podcast] is to help get to know the musicians.”
The two started their podcast in Nov. 2018 and had one to eight listeners, but now they proudly boast a listenership of 500 and growing. Stevens said they went to get coffee when Pittman suggested a podcast, and Stevens loved the idea. Stevens said three days after they discussed starting a podcast, they were recording their first episode.
“Talk Monday and [record] Thursday,” Pittman said. “That was just two days to release. You still don’t know what you are doing.”
The podcast is released every Monday with the most recent release being Brotha Josh and the Quickness.
Recent Southern Miss alum and frontman of Brotha Josh and the Quickness Joshua Holt said being on the podcast was an enjoyable experience.
“[Being on the podcast] was wonderful,” Holt said. “It was like talking to best friends and just having a chill conversation.”
The two record the podcast in a historic home in Downtown Hattiesburg that they have been renovating with the help of their friend and Hattiesburg local Dominic Haberman. Pittman said the home can be traced back to the early 1900s but believes it is even older. Holt said recording in their studio was extremely homey.
“[The house] has a strange vibration in it,” Pittman said. “I feel like it has a great creative energy in here. It’s the right kind of place, and I think that helps, spiritually thinking.”
Stevens said the atmosphere of the podcast comes from the home they are recording in. He said the home has a personality that bleeds into the show, and its guests feel that.
“[The home] sets the tone when you come in,” Stevens said. “It is not too serious. It’s pretty and comfortable.”
Pittman and Stevens both expressed their excitement for the creation of their podcast. Stevens said Pittman talks more than he does during the recording process, but that is due to the excitement and genuine curiosity Pittman feels for the guests’ work.
“I just love to talk, and I love to hear about the creative process,” Pittman said.
Pittman said the podcast has become more structured than his original idea. He originally planned for the show to be live and unedited, but they settled on recording the show because of the ease of editing. The hosts plan to expand the show to have live events dlike Pittman originally envisioned.
Pittman said they started by wanting to highlight local musicians but felt it would benefit more to think regionally and expand from just musicians to artists of all kinds. Both hosts are a part of the music scene in Hattiesburg; Stevens was a bartender and played in a band named Shagnolia, and Pittman worked as a doorman in multiple venues and plays in a band named Lil’ Detroit.
The podcast can be found online on Spotify or their website district.libsyn.com
photo courtesy Spotify
