Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

PODCASTS 'Feast' duo still having fun after 13 years
by Jerry Nunn, Windy City Times
2017-12-27

This article shared 2238 times since Wed Dec 27, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


The popular podcast Feast of Fun are still making it work after all of these years thanks to the dynamically gay duo Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion. In January 2018 they begin their 14th year of producing podcasts with an average of 200 shows a year.

The two have taken on additional endeavors recently such as filming on video for Cooking with Drag Queens, and a new second podcast called Star Trek: Discovery, focusing on science fiction.

Apple honored Feast of Fun in 2006 as one of 50 pioneering podcast shows. They are also five-time winners of the People's Choice Podcast Awards.

The talkative twosome sat down to discuss their roots and the success of the show.

Windy City Times: Where are you both originally from?

Marc Felion: I was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, but was raised in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Fausto Fernos: I was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I lived there until the age of 16. I went University of Texas at Austin to get my undergraduate. I came to Chicago to get my graduate degree.

WCT: What did you study in school?

MF: I have my undergraduate study in international studies, foreign languages and political science. I have an MBA from Loyola University Chicago.

FF: As an undergraduate, I studied as a metal worker, and pre-med my first semester. I didn't want to memorize all of that so I got into art and theater. I majored in photography and performance art. As a graduate I studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for graphic design, performance art and audio engineering.

WCT: When did you start performing?

FF: When I was 19 years old, me and a group of friends did something called The Soft Men Show, which was in the spirit of Irma Vep. We would have a bunch of costumes and improvise a soap opera on the second floor of a clothing store in Downtown Texas. I then started a group called The Performance Art Church and was one of the first drag queens on cable access television back in 1992 called El Show de Faustina.

WCT: When did you two meet?

MF: We met in 1999 at The Eagle bar. he came up to me and thought he knew me.

FF: I had been chatting with someone on AOL who used stock photography that looked like Marc. I proposed to him a week later.

WCT: That soon?

FF: I have never had a hard time talking to Marc. We instantly clicked.

WCT: How did you get into radio?

FF: Because I was a drag queen and I wanted to perform. I began running audio excerpts and short videos as a blog called Feast of Fools to promote a live show.

WCT: When was this?

FF: Back in 2003. We didn't even know what to call it. We called it the Feast of Fools Live Internet Radio Show. I was excited about doing it on the internet. Back then you could have unlimited bandwidth with a dot Mac account. Our first specific show was Feb. 8, 2005. We were frustrated because there were 50 other podcasts out there. We felt we were too late to the game!

There are millions now and almost all of our guests have started their own podcasts. Within a year Apple recognized our podcast as one that was paving the way for future podcasts.

WCT: When did the name change come?

FF: Feast of Fools is based on an essay by Harry Hay, founder of the Radical Fairies. He had a book called Radically Queer. In it was the essay about the power of art to transform people's hearts and lives by having fun.

Feast of Fools was about not taking ourselves too seriously. I felt it didn't explain what we do. I am attracted to titles that explains the concept fast so we can put it aside and have fun.

MF: We had trouble booking people when it was called Fools.

FF: Feast of Fun at its core is about telling a story to make art in this world that is harsh and unloving.

MF: We do tackle some serious subjects on the show, but with Fun in the title we have to move on to something else. It is not Feast of Responsibility, so we focus on the fun.

WCT: Has one moment stood out in the podcast?

FF: I was really proud of our work with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. We covered the studies that led to the rise of PrEP and the using of Truvada that could possibly eradicate the virus in our lifetimes.

Right when the PrEP study was released, we said, "Just in time for Christmas a pill that prevents HIV." People thought we were tabloid journalists!

At the core of what we do, I am an artist first and a journalist second. I am ultimately a media creator. I want to make interesting shows to listen to the same way a musician wants to make songs.

WCT: How much time do you spend making one podcast?

FF: It depends on the project. We spent half a year working on the Just a Gigolo podcast. It was an analysis of the history of the song "Just a Gigolo" and how it evolved through the decades.

MF: People look to us for relationship advice or we will talk about building a community. We will just go to the internet, look up some things, and put a show together.

When we have a guest we will study their story and what they want to talk about.

FF: Generally we spend about four hours a show researching and preparing a show, then recording and engineering it. There is photography and graphic design with every episode. There is a lot of writing involved and sometimes we work with comedy writers.

It can be an elaborate experience or it can be quick, and easy.

WCT: What is the new Star Trek series you are working on?

MF: I am very excited about it, because I feel Star Trek is such a mirror to what is happening in this world. It gives us hope for a better future. Brian Sweeney is a straight ally who is on it with us along with comedian Collette Gregory who had been on our podcast before. Her mother went to school with Avery Brooks on Deep Space Nine. She brings what it is like to be Black in America during these times.

The first couple of episodes were about being that outsider. It goes hand in hand with Feast of Fun and in some ways is an art project.

WCT: Talk about the Cooking with Drag Queens experience.

FF: We have somehow managed to strike lightning twice. It began when artists came over and we would feed them before or after a show recording. We first made a video cooking tostones, or fried plantains, with a friend trying out drag. Following that we had RuPaul's Drag Race personalities insisting on doing videos. We didn't ask them, they asked us. Now it has inspired about 25 different web series that have drag queens cooking in the kitchen.

We started a Kickstarter to have lighting and production to make 15 episodes of the show. We have done that every year including this one. Through the miracle of Julia Child looking at us from heaven, we are able to do a third season of this series!

Visit FeastOfFun.com for links to past, present and upcoming episodes .


This article shared 2238 times since Wed Dec 27, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill 2024-03-27
- On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Chicago alder proposes renaming street after Obama 2024-03-22
- Openly gay Black Chicago Ald. Lamont Robinson has proposed renaming Columbus Drive after former U.S. President and city resident Barack Obama, media outlets noted. The street stretches through the Loop from East Grand Avenue to DuSable ...


Gay News

Oprah, Niecy Nash-Betts honored at GLAAD Media Awards 2024-03-15
- Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts were honored at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards that took place in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton on March 14. Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, introduced by iconic Chicago ...


Gay News

UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds 2024-03-13
- A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...


Gay News

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy attacked on social media, allegedly by backers of Burke 2024-02-26
- Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy—a supporter of Cook County state's attorney Democratic candidate Clayton Harris III—posted on social media that a backer of Eileen O'Neill Burke, who's running against Harris ...


Gay News

Chicago Bears hire first woman assistant coach 2024-02-21
- The Chicago Bears are hiring Jennifer King as an offensive assistant, according to The Chicago Sun-Times and other media outlets. She will be an assistant running backs coach. King—who will become the first female assistant coach ...


Gay News

Oprah Winfrey, Niecy Nash-Betts to be honored at the 35 annual GLAAD Media Awards in LA March 14 2024-02-20
--From a press release - Los Angeles, CA -Feb. 20, 2024 - GLAAD announced that global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author Oprah Winfrey will receive GLAAD'sVanguard Award and Emmy-winning actress and producer Niecy ...


Gay News

GLAAD releases report on LGBTQ+ inclusion in video games 2024-02-19
- LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD has released a report on queer inclusion in the world of video games. Among the key findings in "Gaming: The State of LGBTQ Inclusion in Video Games" is that 17%—nearly one in ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

GLAAD finds missed chances for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Super Bowl ads 2024-02-12
--From a press release - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 — GLAAD is reacting to a lack of LGBTQ storytelling in ads that aired duringSuper Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 and is reminding brands, corporations and advertising agencies why including the LGBTQ ...


Gay News

GLAAD, NFL host third annual pre-Super Bowl event 'A Night of Pride' 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD, along with The National Football League (NFL), hosted the third annual "A Night of Pride" at Caesar's Palace in Super Bowl LVIII's host city of Las Vegas, a press ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


Gay News

GLAAD remembers Cecilia Gentili, transgender Latina, actress, activist, health care activist, journalist 2024-02-06
--From a press release - (New York, NY - February 6, 2024) GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is responding to the death of transgender actress and advocate Cecilia Gentili and elevating voices of transgender and political leaders honoring ...


Gay News

Comcast NBCUniversal partners with News is Out, Word In Black on fellowship program highlighting Black, LGBTQ+ issues 2024-02-06
--From a press release - Digital Equity Local Voices Lab Fellows to be placed at 16 local publications to receive training and create content Philadelphia (Feb. 6, 2024) — News is Out [ https://newsisout.com ] , a queer media collaborative of ...


Gay News

Tara VanDerveer becomes winningest coach in college basketball 2024-01-22
- Stanford University women's basketball coach and gender-rights advocate Tara VanDerveer became the college-basketball coach with the most wins ever on Jan. 21, media outlets reported. After her team defeated Oregon State 65-56, VanDerveer has 1,203 ca ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.