Episode 40: Broadening Media Platforms with Nichole Chirico

Welcome to the 40th episode of the Freelance Remuda Podcast! You may notice a few changes starting with this episode, mainly a new format. We’re experimenting with recording several segments for one episode, and we’d sure love your feedback! Whether this is your first episode with us or your 40th, we’re glad you’re here, and we’re thankful you’re spending your valuable time with us. And we are now on Stitcher and Spotify, so you can listen in more places. Enjoy the show!

AHP Recap: 1:00

Interview with Nichole Chirico of Horse & Rider: 09:31

Discussion on Rebranding and our New Logo: 37:52

Holding our Second Place Freelance Equine-Related Podcast award!

This was Kate’s 7th American Horse Publications Equine Media Conference—but only her second time to take the tour. Seeing the feed mill and thoroughbred farm where we fan-girled over Triple Crown winners was a highlight.

Abigail has been to 10 AHP conferences, but not every tour either. She never thought she’d ever see a Triple Crown winner in her lifetime, so seeing TWO (American Pharaoh and Justify) was mind-blowing. Visiting Hallway Feeds—a company she does copywriting for—was neat. And going to Rood & Riddle, a legendary vet clinic that she’s also worked with, as another highlight.

Kate: I will give a little plug for the tour because it really does allow you to connect with those other members, and especially when they alternate coasts so that some members might not have to travel as far or some members can budget for it when it's closer to them. So it's kind of like when you're west coast or when you're east coast, you get a little bit of a different member base that attends. And it's so neat because you get to connect with other people, as well as your typical crew that you get to hang out with, but it really set a tone. I feel like for a great conference overall. I just remember this, this conference, the, the final impression for me was that it was one of the best that I've attended.

Kate: The sessions were great. I really loved the University of Kentucky speakers that they brought in to visit with us. Our keynote was Donna Barton Brothers. It was just a really special time. And I had a ton of takeaways for my workflow and things to remember from those sessions. Shelley(Paulson) did a great session on Lightroom workflow and that was wonderful for me cause I'm really starting to focus on using Lightroom more than, Photoshop when I'm editing photos. So, what was your favorite session or what were your takeaways from the education?

Abigail: Shelley's was probably one of my favorites as well. I am always trying to streamline my workflow. And so I didn't realize that there were some things that she has visited with me at over the years, we’re friends with her, but she's so talented and she has such a wealth of information that she loves to share, but Shelley Paulson's workflow was good for me. I wrote down some things that I immediately did when I came home to update my workflow. I enjoyed getting to speak, in the 45 ideas session on productivity and efficiency. I, took some tips from other panelists and it was a lot of fun with Pat Trowbridge as the facilitator.

Kate: There were so many great, takeaways and tips as far as gadgets or just programs that you can use. Your session was wonderful. Larri Jo (Starkey)’s grammar session was such a fun time. that was really fun. The UK speaker on photography and media gave me a lot of ideas on some gadgets to get, but you know, it's just kind of like this, this progression of oh wow. When you're on the tour and then, oh, Hey, that would be really useful when you're in the educational seminars. And then it's like, when we sat down at that awards dinner on Saturday night, it's like the wow factor kind of stepped up for me because I think in part, because of our Freelance Remuda connections, how many times were we like, oh wow, that's a Freelance Remuda mentee. Oh my gosh, that person's been on a podcast. It was wonderful to see how many freelancers, how many different titles, won awards. I feel like it was, it was not, overwhelmed by one title or, or one group, but there were so many people that got love at the awards ceremony, including us, which was fun.

Abigail: I feel like last year was kind of a transition, at Fort Worth. Because the pandemic was still kind of raging, it just kind of, it felt really like we're trying our best here, but we're still in the middle of a pandemic and this year felt a little bit more like on the other side where we could enjoy time with each other and have visiting. And the social time felt more like previous American Horse Publications conferences. And so it just kind of like felt like after two years of holing up and working by myself, getting to be with our horse people again, and then seeing so many people recognized at the awards just had so much fun and felt like, you know, reconnecting with people and then meeting new people or people that we didn't know very well. Getting to spend some time with people, face to face time, building relationships and friendships just was the best. It's the whole thing that AHP is about. And I felt like this conference really epitomized what you, what you join this organization for and what you go to the conference for.

Kate: I think the biggest takeaway for me was that, you know, equine media is evolving and titles are embracing it. Companies are embracing the evolution, the digital kind of steps that we all need to take. And the AHP categories for the awards, they were reflecting that with digital and podcast,options, but print is still going strong and it's still bringing the new talent. And it's just really fun to see this industry continue to evolve and grow, but maintain like a really solid foundation.

Abigail: That's a really good point. I noticed there's so many more, expanded categories for our podcasts. We were a finalist in the freelance podcast category, which is a new category. And so that was really cool because there's a bunch of other podcasts about horses these days. And so just being able to have our podcast all by itself in a freelancer category was really cool. And then, we even got to visit with Glenn from Horses in the Morning and we got some great tips from him and some great advice that you and I sat down and brainstormed about how we want to make our podcast better, starting with the microphones that we're on right now. And, you know, formatting changes that we wanna make and ways to make our podcast better. It's just, again, that's what AHP is all about. And I'm excited to take those takeaways and move forward.

Kate: Up next, we have another wonderful Q and A discussion with a face and a name that you guys know well in the horse industry. So sit back and get ready for the next segment.

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Interview with Nichole Chirico of Horse & Rider: 09:31

Nichole Chirico is the editor of Horse & Rider magazine and the producer of Horse & Rider On Demand online training portal. Nichole has risen through the ranks of this beloved Western publication to her current leadership role. She's also a photographer and an avid horsewoman herself. We so enjoyed talking with Nichole about how Horse & Rider’s content has evolved to reach readers across many platforms. And we think you will too. Nichole, welcome to the show.

Nichole: Hi, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here and tell you a little bit more about what we're doing and my history and how I got to where I am

Freelance Remuda: Nichole, you've been riding all your life. You were on the Oklahoma State University equestrian team. Can you tell us how horses shaped your career?

Nichole: Pretty much. I wouldn't be where I am today without horses. It's the only thing I knew. It's the only thing I do know. I have been riding my whole life. The first time I was on a horse's back. I was six months old and I've been riding ever since. I was really lucky as a kid to compete on the national Quarter Horse circuit. I did win a couple of things there and, and it was able to kind of bring me into my career at Oklahoma State. I was one of the first or second years of, of recruits when it was first, the NCAA, it was really new. Obviously the girls who are going into it now kind of have a little more knowledge of what to expect, but when I was going into it, it was kind of just like, you know, they're giving me a scholarship and I could either pay for school or, or I could have my school paid for and go ride horses.

So I chose, go ride horses because that's what I do. And I got a journalism degree there. I've always loved photography and horses literally got me to college. And then I was riding here and there for a couple of horse trainers after college and decided that maybe I wanted to keep my non-pro status and go get a real job with a 401k and benefits and the perks that horse trainers do not get. So that's kind of how I ended up at Horse & Rider. It was actually kind of out of nowhere. I was trying to leave the industry. I had moved to Denver. I had a degree in journalism and marketing and advertising and, and I wanted to work for an agency and, and kind of do all these fun things and, and leave the horse industry for a while because it is the only thing that I knew and it was the only thing I've ever done. And, and then Horse & Rider had an assistant editor positions show up and they were based in Boulder, Colorado, at the time. Now we work remotely, but that was where the headquarters were and it seemed like it was meant to be. So I applied and, and here we are six, some years later, and now I'm the editor.

FR: You’re not only the editor, you’re also handling Horse & Rider On Demand and you’re doing a podcast! I wanted to ask you, what was it like when you first started working for Horse & Rider? Did you read it before you worked there? Tell us about your first time traveling for an assignment—any lightbulb moment for you?

Nichole: I did grow up reading it, I think like most people, um, you guys probably remember when all the magazines were in the grocery stores and Barnes & Noble and you could go and flip through them. Obviously media has changed a little bit since then, but yeah, I grew up reading it and I remember making my mom buy it for me when we were at the supermarket and my mom grew up reading it. So it's weird how that works out. That was really cool because horse and rider is, is an older brand. I think we're 60-some years old. And so it's really cool to be part of that legacy.

First time traveling. We did these things called Win a Day’s where we have a sponsor a contest where somebody can enter to win a day where a horse trainer. It could be a really famous cow horse guy, reiner, we've done stuff with like Ken McNabb. People had to write an essay about why they deserve to win. And they, they, and nine of their friends get to win this contest and, and get, do it all day at clinic. And they were like, all right, you're gonna go produce this. So I had to learn how to know, schedule an event center. So you had to figure that out. You had to figure out travel, accommodations for me, for the clinician, my videographer. And, so that was kind of a sink or swim kind of moment. It could have gone one of two ways. Thankfully it went really well, but that totally stressed me out. Cause I'm kind of a control freak, perfectionist kind of person and going into something that I don't know scares me.

FR: You had like the ultimate early-on career moment when you realized you're not just there to write or take pictures. Like there's always more to the, to the assignment, to the job.

Nichole: Totally. And you know, I'm really thankful I had Jen Paulson, she was my editor and I was really thankful for her guidance, but you're there on location by yourself and you can only refer back to the people in the office so much when you're out there. So yeah, that was definitely, probably like my big ‘oh my God’ what am I gonna do? Kind of moment.

And I knew nothing about video. I knew nothing about producing video. Now looking back, it probably set me up for success with the, all the video content that we're now doing. But at the time I was sitting there just like I write, I, I do photos. Like I don't, I don't do event management.

How would you describe Horse & Rider, its audience, and what makes the publication and the brand unique?

Nichole: The way that I describe Horse & Rider to everybody is that we're your friend at the barn who has a little more experience, knows a little bit more about horse keeping, horse care, horse training, and we're here to help. We have a friendly tone. We want people to look at us as their friend and, and help guide them in the right direction. Our tagline is “Today's Western Horse Life.” We went through a redesign probably four years ago and that's the tagline we came up with. And I think that really sets us apart from everybody else, because we're not focused so much on the history aspect in, in the old cowboy history, which I love. And I think there's a place for it. And I love reading the articles that come out for it, but I don't think that's Horse & Rider.

Our audience wants to know how they can be the best horseman. They might never step in an arena to show, but they wanna be able to ride the best they can. And they want to learn how to do those things from the top professionals in the country, whether that's a cow horse guy, reiner, a ranch rider, that kind of thing. So I, that's kind of the way I like to describe it. And that's kind of what makes us unique too, is that we're really focused on the modern aspect of the Western industry.

FR: You've shifted in your career to not only producing written articles, but producing and managing Horse & Rider On Demand, which is digital training platform, subscription based. So tell me a little bit about the goal of On Demand and what is it like for you managing that video-centric platform?

Nichole: The way of the future is very much digital video, as much as my love is in print, I love love print. It'll always be my favorite. I have a special place in my heart for it. I wanted to be a journalist for a newspaper when I was a kid and then newspapers, weren't a thing. And , so I love the print aspect, but you know, a lot of most people are getting their information on their phones these days. I'm just as guilty of that when I'm trying to find an answer to something, I go to Google and I'm just like, how do I find this? Or how do I solve this problem? So we knew that, and we've always done the horse training, how-to stuff in the magazine.

So it made a lot of sense for us to go and do the, the video subscription route. Instead of just a print subscription. Now we have a video subscription. So instead of just reading about how Brad Barkmeyer sets a horse up to go down the fence, now you can see it in person and he can show you all the mistakes that happen, all the things that he has to fix before he does that. And, and so it really elevates the training aspect of what we offer and it it's available at your fingertips. You can be at the barn and, I have a two-year-old Reiner myself and I don't know how many times I've gone on my phone at the barn to, to figure out like, okay, I got myself stuck and my horse is not stopping anymore because I love to break stuff, two-year-olds, you know, how it is. I'm like, okay, how do I fix this?

So I'm able to just go online and go to that video and watch it for 10 minutes, get in the saddle and go do it. And I think that's the really special part about it is that you have resources from the top people in any kind of discipline and they're right at your fingertips. So if you ever get stuck, I can just go on to On Demand and look up all of our articles on how to turn a horse and, and see, okay, this is how this person does it, this how this person does it, this how this person does it. And I can take away what I want and use it to my own advantage. And a lot of our readers and viewers, they don't have horse trainers. They're like me, I board at a barn.

I am a do it yourselfer. I think a lot of us are probably in that kind of same boat. I'm on a budget. I can't afford to keep my horse in training. I can't haul across the country like I did as a kid. I'm very thankful my parents gave me that opportunity, but I don't have that ability now. And, and so this is their way of continuing their education, you know, because before we were either having to wait until a clinician came to town, or you had the money saved up and you could trailer over to somebody's house for an hour lesson, and now you don't have to do that. Now. I totally recommend having a horse trainer that you can go to, especially if you're a novice rider, you've never done something before. Um, obviously having a professional on site is huge, but this kind of helps you get by until the next lesson or until you can go to a clinic.

FR: You said that you always wanted to work for newspaper and they're kind of phasing out. And now you're really focused on this video on demand, video subscription. Some of our freelancer media followers and fellow freelancers started, working with equine media when it was newspapers, and then it was magazines. And now they're having to make that shift and navigate a change from thinking about how it's going to work in print to thinking about how it could work in print and what could be a digital component to go with it. So do you have any words of advice for people that are struggling to kind of make that connection and, and be able to present an article or an idea in both realms?

Nichole: There's so many ways that you can look at it. I think the biggest thing is get out of your comfort zone. I'm a creature of habit. I hate changing the way that I work and my workflow. But the way of the future is that digital. Video. On Instagram, it used to be a photo platform. Now it's all about the reels and the videos and TikTok. And it's constantly changing and you have to be able to change with it. I know I've started creating videos of my, like, we have a videographer when we do these shoots, but now I'm learning how to do video on my personal camera so that I can use that content for other ways, whether it's on TikTok or Instagram, or I have a little clip for an article that I'm doing digitally or something along those lines.

Nichole: And what works in print doesn't always transition over to digital. I love writing really fun print headlines and they're creative and they catch your attention when you're reading. But when you're scrolling on Facebook, those articles don't necessarily grab your attention like they would in a magazine. Relearning, how you write for digital content is, is huge. And, and I think also focusing more on the quality than the quantity, especially with digital, people have such a short attention span. How often do you scroll through a 2000 word article? Unless it's on somebody that's really just engaging and interesting, I'm scrolling through cuz I'm like, all right, let's get to the point. Whereas like in a magazine, I'm looking at the photos, I have it in my hand, I'm touching the paper. Like I'm invested in the content. So I think readjusting how you write is huge because the way you write for print isn't necessarily the way you're gonna write for digital.

I think another thing is becoming a Jack of all trades, which I hate because I wanna be really good at one thing. Like wouldn't we all in a perfect world, but, but in equine media, especially it's such a small group and obviously we're stuck dealing with budgets and having to do more, so learning how to do photography and learning how to do TikToks or Instagram reels,, all of that stuff is gonna help you because that the way the future is TikTok. I love TikTok, by the way, I'm a huge supporter of TikTok. I will tell anybody and everybody that it is the best social media platform out there. Cause the algorithm is amazing, but I had to teach myself how to create content for it because I didn no idea how to do that.

When you're working for brands, now people wanna know who the face is of the brand. We're all into that influencer lifestyle. When I first started, when I grew up, I always wanted to be behind the camera. I wanted to be behind the lens. I wanted to be the behind the scenes writing this content. And now it's like, no, no, no, they don't want it to be a brand. They want to know more about you and why like you are capable of, of leading this brand and, and why you can do this and you know, what is your horse experience? Cause people care about that.

FR: Can you talk to us about the podcast and how it fits with the Horse & Rider brand?

Nichole: Our podcast is called The Ride, and it started out as just an interview Q & A kind of thing. I turned it more into an informal conversation cause I feel like there's a lot of Q & A podcasts out there with really great horse trainers and we've learned a lot of really great stuff from those podcasts. So I wanted to turn it into more of a conversation while learning about these professional horsemen and women and I think the really cool thing about our brand is that our audience doesn't necessarily care about if you're the best rider in the world. They care about it when it comes to the training content, but they care just as much about who, the number one reiner is versus somebody who rescued a horse and then took it to a world show, you know, like they wanna know that story just as much as they wanna know about the top rider in the world, how they got there, you know, what they learned along the way.

So we're able to interview a really large group of people. We've interviewed people who do liiberty work, people who horses have saved their life. People have gone through disease and were told they would never ride again and then won a world championship. People who have really fascinating stories to tell, but they're not necessarily like the, and Andrea Fappanis or the Bud Lyons or the Brad Barkmeyers out there, and we interview plenty of those people too, because we love knowing how these horse trainers got to where they are. And it's really fascinating when you learn about horse trainers and how a lot of 'em don't have a horse background, their families didn't come from horses. And they somehow ended up in this horse industry. And, and not only just ended up there, but became the best of the best.

And so those stories are really cool, but we do those twice a month. And you mentioned the repurposing of the video content. We had a demand for more podcasts and unfortunately Jillian and I, Jillian's my assistant editor, we’re pretty busy. We're running a magazine, we're running On Demand we're running a digital brand and a podcast. And so there was more demand for more podcasts. And we thought what if we took some of the training content that you don't necessarily have to see on video to understand and turn those into mini episodes. So we call those The Rides Winning Insights. We just grab video audio and turn it into a podcast and explain what it is that we're focusing on. And that also gives people a taste for On Demand and, maybe they enjoyed listening to that episode and they want to watch the video and they want to learn more and see some of the newer content that we're coming out with.

We have five videos a week go live for the On Demand. And then we have Horse & Rider On Demand +, which has even more content. So you can pay a higher package and get eight videos a week, And they also get a subscription to the print magazine, which is kind of our way of tying everything together.

I was a little concerned because this is so different from our interviews, but they do just as well, if not better, I think it's just the length. People can easily listen to them and then go on with their day. I don't know why it works, but it works.

FR: What does Horse & Rider look for in freelance work, because you obviously work with a lot of top trainers already. So what are you looking for from freelancers that would like to work with Horse & Rider at the digital or written level? What advice do you have for them on story ideas to bring to you?

Nichole: My biggest piece of advice would be, first of all, have experience working for a magazine. That's the biggest way to get my attention is understanding format, understanding layout, understanding how magazines work, you know, understanding our voice

Nichole: We speak a lot in first person. So understanding how we like to do our training content— our readers love training content. They love horse keeping advice. They love horse health Then they love those really cool stories. I think one that did really well was when I worked with Alex Bauwens who is a social media influencer and she just does cool stuff with her horses. I've known her since I was 12. And I reconnected with her and I was like, let's do an article. She's not out there winning the world or winning the futurity, she's just posting really cool stuff on social media and kind of promoting this authentic, not everything's posed. Sometimes I fall off. Sometimes I cut my hand on my drone in the middle of the desert because I grabbed it the wrong way, and it's realistic.

And that article did really well. I think it ended up winning an AHP award too. Those kinds of stories I love. So if there's a cool story that has nothing to do with a famous person winning, but it's about taking this horse that somebody was given and then taking it to a world show or teaching it how to do something or somebody who's a DIY non pro and has managed to make it into the national level, you know? People like us. I want to know. I want to hear those stories. I want to be motivated to know that I can do it even though I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars backing me in my riding career. Those stories give you the motivation that you need to keep on trucking through in your career.

FR: Horse & Rider has just been such a force in the equine media world for a really long time. Do you have a star horse or a special horse that you were able to write about or photograph during your time with Horse & Rider that really made an impression on you?

Nichole: There's so many. Even the non-famous horses that I get to work with, they’re so special and some of 'em have such special stories. I would say one that really grabbed my attention. I was at the World Equestrian Games. I was actually at the qualifiers. I wasn't even at the event yet. And Dan Huss came running in on Ms. Dreamy and that changed my life.

I love that mare. I have so much respect for Dan and Wendy Huss and seeing that mare come in and I am also like a big mare power kind of person. I just wrote my last editor's column on like, give me a mare any day of the week. And I had some people that got kind of grumpy with me on Facebook and they were like, you should be open to all horses. And I was like, yeah, but mares have this, like reputation of being stubborn and not as good . And I'm over here saying no, mares are just as good. If not better. Like those horses will give you your heart. And Ms Drreamy was that horse that gave you her heart.

Here is Dan Huss and Ms Dreamy’s memorable (accidentally) bridleless run at the AQHA World Show later that year as her final ride in competition.

I'm sure you guys remember when Dan lost his bridle at the World Show. And we wrote a little article about that because he was the only one that really knew that she was retiring at the time she was retiring. She's come out of retirement since, but she should have gotten more credit and she should have won. I mean, equipment and failure or not. I mean, come on. So that one, that one for sure changed my life.

I fangirled when I went to Dan and Wendy's and they let me pose with her and take pictures with her. And I looked like such a little fan girl because I was just freaking out, because I love this mare. You know, some of the others that I photographed that were really cool, Xtra New Pal Voodoo was a reining horse that Trevor Dare showed at the beginning of his open career when he went out on his own. I had grown up riding with Trevor. So I had contacted him and I was like, Hey, let's do some content together. I'm gonna be in Purcell. I don't know if you guys remember this horse, but he had this insane Maine and he was beautiful. And so that was probably one of my favorites to photograph. Cause that horse was so stunning.

FR: I think it's so cool. I've had the opportunity to hang out with some cool horses. And you said you were such a fan girl, but you did it anyway. And I remember one time that when Russell Dilday said, Hey, go ahead and hop on Slider (Topsails Rein Maker) and ride him around. And I was like, no, no, because I was trying to be cool. Like not fan girl, Well then he passed away and like I still to this day, Russell has come up to me a couple times and been like, so you just never rode him. And I was like, I know. And so I think that even though we're trying to make like such a good impression as professionals, we should take the picture with the horse that we love. That’s what inspires our whole career. These awesome horses that give us their hearts.

Nichole: Totally. We're horse girls. Right? We wouldn't be here if we weren't horse girls. Anytime a horse trainer's like come back and ride with me. I'm like, you're gonna regret it because I actually show up and I do it. Brad Barkmeyer knows this because one day I was like, Hey, guess what, Brad, you're gonna teach me how to go down the fence. And he was like, okay, sounds good. Thankfully, the first cow horse I ever rode was, Shining Lil Nic. And he is a two time world champion cow horse. So he took care of me really well. Well then a year later I show up at Brad's house with this nice bridle horse that I was riding at the time. And we boxed for two seconds. He's like, are you bored? And I'm like, yeah, a little bit. Let's go down the fence. This is all because one day Brad was like, yeah, sometime, you know, come on down and we'll ride and you'll learn how to work cattle. And, and then sure enough, now I call Brad.

FR: Brad and Mindy are such great people and so much fun. And I think that's one of the things that is so great about our industry, the horses and the wonderful people. So it has just been so great visiting with you, Nichole, and I really appreciate the advice you gave. Be sure to tell everyone, listening, how they can get in touch with you, whether they wanna send you a pitch or just follow along with your adventures.

Nichole: Well, if you want to send us a pitch, you know, our website has information on how you can send it, where you can send, the advice of, what we're looking for when it comes to pitches. But you can also email me: nchirico@equinenetwork.com That's the best way to get in touch with me, especially when it comes to Horse & Rider content. Obviously we're on all the, the social media platforms and most of the time I'm usually doing the behind the scenes stuff there. So you can kind of see what I'm up to and we're on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok and all of those.

FR: Well, I feel like we've all given each other permission to take the selfie with the, the horse that we fan girl over, cuz we all have those horses that we just absolutely love. So I love that to hear that you do the same thing, cuz I always feel silly, but regretful, if I don't take the picture, ride the horse.

Nichole: Fan girl, do it. You’re there. When are you going to have the opportunity again? And you know, most of the time those guys are honored that you have so much respect for a horse that they've trained that's their pride and joy and you're over here freaking out over it because it’s so cool.

Discussion on Rebranding and our New Logo: 37:52

We unveiled out new logo at the AHP Equine Media Conference—we literally were updating our content at the airport on the way to Lexington!

We needed a fresh face. Kate has recently become a full-time freelancer again after working in a communications role at NRCHA. So reinvesting in time and energy and ideas into the Freelance Remuda, a new logo made sense.
We discussed what we wanted in a logo and each wanted different things, but graphic designer Jody Johnson** helped bring them together.
We knew we wanted a simpler design, something that looked like a livestock brand, and the color turquoise that we have used as our brand since we launched in 2017. Kate wanted to incorporate a horse head.
Our new logo has a typewriter font as the brand, and contains all the elements we wanted. We look forward to incorporating it into logged merchandise soon so fellow Freelance Remuda community members can spot each other at horse events.

We’re still offering advice on freelancing, and interviews with industry professionals. Some other changes you can look for this year:

Alternating content each month with blog posts and podcast episodes, meaning six episodes in all instead of quarterly episodes.
Segments of content within each episode
New mics for hopefully elevated sound.