About Us
What is idol board?
"idol board" is a podcast from Fourth Strike Records, covering music centered around the Blaseball music collective "the garages". Every Wednesday we interview members of the garages about their songs, the creation process, and possible inspirations - with a special focus on a specific song from their catalog!
The show is driven entirely by members of the Fourth Strike community, which is made possible by supporters on our Patreon. If you're a fan of the band or a fan of the show, come check it out!
You can also find us on Twitter @idolboard.
Who are "the garages"?
I'm glad you asked! the garages are a internet-based music collective creating songs centered around the video game Blaseball. Under the name of the popular Blaseball team the "Seattle Garages", they've released a mountain of songs and albums since their founding in July of 2020.
Since then they've played multiple live shows via Twitch and Youtube Live, released albums under the Fourth Strike banner with solo and collaborative non-Blaseball music, and been featured in an article on Bandcamp itself.
Wait, what is Blaseball?
That's... complicated. In short, Blaseball is an online simulation of fantasy baseball in a hypercapitalist, dystopian, eldritch-adjacent fantasy setting. Fans bet on games and vote on Elections to add new rules to the game, while pitchers and batters burst into flames or get attacked by interdimensional sharks. And "the garages" are a collective of musicians and artists that make music about it, centered around one of the teams!
Still confused? Well... I don't blame you, but Rebekah Valentine's article on IGN did a pretty good job of explaining it! Learn more here.
Meet the Team
Aoife (she/her)
Hi, I’m Aoife! I’m the former host of idol board, creator of the show, and also a co-writer. I’m pretty new to blaseball & the garages, but I’m loving being a part of the fandom and the band, and it’s been so much fun talking to everybody! You can find me nowhere except the Fourth Strike discord because social media scares me, but if you shout into the wind on a moonlit night, maybe I’ll hear it. Maybe.
Tangereen Velveteen (they/them)
Tangereen Velveteen Bailey Claringbold is a theoretical nuclear physicist and the producer of idol board. They like spreadsheets and to-do lists and organizing and not having to talk on the podcast. Between playing in the garages and getting their PhD, Tangereen is immeasurably proud to be part of idol board. Working with the crew and learning for the guests has brought so much joy and excitement to their life and they hope you’re enjoying it as much as they are. Tangereen’s goal for this podcast is to get you to join the garages. Yes, you. Whoever you are. You’re welcome here. If you want to be here, they want you to be here too. Find Tangereen on twitter at @TVBClaringbold, on discord as tangereen (they/them)#7929, or in the void of space, doodling on graph paper.
Jennifer Cat
Jennifer Cat enjoys warm sunbeams, following laser pointers, things with bells on, and falling asleep literally wherever. She is definitely a human. She also likes playing bass, guitar, and singing, and editing idol board! Jennifer is so proud to be a part of this beautiful, international, wonderful, constantly evolving band, and hopes you enjoy hearing about it (enough to join us maybe?…) You can find her on twitter @CattiferJen.
Sigilcrafter Aya (they/them)
Sigilcrafter Aya is a Magic fan who accidentally ended up in the fictional location of Seattle after offering a video sacrifice to the Desert Bus For Hope. While traveling between Seattle and the Parkpark, they work behind the scenes on transcripts, frantically taking down words instead of only scribbling sigils. They are also slowly learning how to sing in public, as opposed to just in the Parkpark’s wilderness. You can reach them on discord at ayalaventus#3671, on Twitter @SigilCrafterAya, or by shaking a conch shell filled with acorns under a full moon.
zack.ry (he/they)
zack.ry is allegedly an adult with alleged responsibilities who allegedly enjoys spending his time making music and pondering life’s greater mysteries. Their history is in theological studies and they’re always ready to dive into deep conversation, but more often you can find him perpetrating meme crimes. Ultimately, his goal is to make everyone feel seen, welcomed, and supported, and if they can make you cry with some song lyrics along the way then that’s a lovely little bonus. Their main gig with idol board is editing, but you might occasionally hear their voice on an episode. You can find him on Twitter @zackleston.
BONES (they/she/it)
BONES is an editor for idol board, and a skeleton masquerading in human clothes. They have worked on many multimedia projects in and out of the garages, including Blaseball: The Musical, the retro game documentary Mother to Earth, and limited podcast series Blase Closed with Fitzgerald Blackburn. Once they have edited 13 podcast episodes for the garages they will unleash horrors upon the Earth, like getting Phil Collins’ Sussudio stuck in your head. They can be found on Twitter @squaredbones.
Merry (they/them)
Merry is a theater artist, an alternative educator, and a lover of words. They consider themselves very lucky to have found the garages, and since they lack much musical talent, they’re very pleased to be able to help out by contributing some transcripts. They enjoy taking extremely long walks, talking about mythology and Shakespeare, and playing queer games. They think the world needs more hope. They’re difficult to find on social media, but their Discord is thatmerrywanderer#2581.
Ada Quinn (she/her)
Ada Quinn is a structural biologist with the Seattle Garages. Her research interests include the use of non-canonical protein synthesis to facilitate structural elucidation by nuclear magnetic resonance, symbolic representation and interiority in collaborative narrative play, and killing the gods. You can find her on Twitter @recombinatrix and you can see the art she makes at https://recombinatrix.itch.io/.
Nuclear Tourist (they/them)
Nuclear Tourist is a media production student, musician, and editor for Idol Board. They are a proud Seattle Garages fan despite being from Chicago and living in Boston. When not mixing sound, they’re usually playing D&D, ignoring their homework, or desperately begging their roommates to listen to them ramble about Blaseball. You can find them on Twitter @Nuclear_Tourist and on Tumblr @nucleartourist.