Today, we’d like to introduce you to Paul Leslie.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been interested in backstories and the people behind great things since I was very young. I was the type that didn’t just know the song “Oh! Susanna,” but also that it was written by Stephen Foster. I’ve got a wide variety of interests: everything from authors, songwriters, history, icons, and politics. Above all, I’ve got a natural fascination about people.
More than 20 years I found the perfect venue for someone with disparate interests: the radio. I started out as a listener and extreme fan of Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville. It was the first online station to be picked up by satellite radio. Despite what you may think when you hear the name Jimmy Buffett, he wasn’t all beaches, boats, bars and beer. He was a very eclectic man. The radio station that bore his name was also pretty eclectic.
I got to know the program director and main personality on Radio Margaritaville: Steve Huntington. He was kind enough to allow me, a guy with zero experience on the radio, a weekly slot on the airwaves. That was a great place for me to get started: interviewing people who interested me: mostly connected to music and broadcasting those interviews along with tunes on the radio.
I went on to be heard on several other stations, including online and FM radio. People kept asking to hear the interview after it aired, and I no longer wanted to be limited by the geographic areas of terrestrial radio. Although I was a bit late to the party, I started a podcast called The Paul Leslie Hour. I’ve interviewed more than 1,000 people, and all of those interviews are available online. Now, people can hear my interviews if they want to look them up.
I’ve had the chance to speak with Woody Allen, Gene Wilder, Maya Angelou, Willie Nelson, Colbie Caillat, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, Paula Cole, Natalie Goldberg, Larry King and Dick Cavett. I feel like I’m just getting started.
I’ve also started writing reviews, which tend to get a more emotional reaction than my interviews. I review books, movies, albums and once in a while a restaurant.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road? If not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been a smooth road, but everything is relative. “Life is hard for all of us.” That’s my favorite thing an interview guest ever told me. Hollywood publicist Michael Levine said that. It’s very true. Everyone struggles with something, and almost everyone has something they’re good at.
Some of the biggest struggles? I try not to think about those things. I like to focus more on the pluses, but what I think has been a big struggle is that my interests are so varied.
Sometimes, I think about how I began in the Jimmy Buffett world. I bet that I’ve interviewed a couple hundred people connected to Jimmy Buffett, from his family to co-writers, band members, etc. When I say that there are probably hundreds and hundreds of other stories connected to Jimmy Buffett that I haven’t covered, I’m not exaggerating at all.
He packed a whole lot into the years of his life. Then I think, what if I had stuck to just that? Maybe my content would have been even more successful because all of it would be on-brand. But I had so many other things I was interested in.
Then I think, well maybe I could have just zoomed out a little and covered country music. I’ve interviewed so many country artists, but the fact of the matter is that I love blues, jazz, even calypso music. I’ve got so many things that interest me: which is a blessing. But the listeners, they may not be the same way.
I’m all over the place in terms of the types of people I want to talk to. I am fascinated with cinematography, authors, and the list goes on and on. It’s made life interesting, but it may have hurt me in some ways. Although I think about interviewers like Charlie Rose and Terry Gross and think that it worked for them, they’re exceptions.
The other struggle I’ve had is fighting as an independent content creator to get your content in front of people. It used to be that podcasts, and YouTube was great for independent media people. It’s still remarkable that everyday people can share videos and audio with the world, but. Nowadays, an independent content creator isn’t just competing with other independents. You’re also competing against giant media corporations with huge staffs and budgets.
If I get an interview with a big name, I will be competing against mainstream publications and television networks who undoubtedly also got an interview with said big name. That’s definitely a struggle to position your content where people can find it. The big companies know that the little guys like me are producing and releasing content. They’ll do their best to push their stuff in front of your stuff. That’s normal. It’s what they should do, but that’s been a struggle. You may get great guests, and I do.
It’s a blessing to interview such fascinating people, but securing such a guest doesn’t mean you’re home-free yet. Now that you have a great interview, how do you get it in front of people? Social media networks can do very little unless you want to pay them to boost your content. It makes sense. Why would they allow you to pull people off their site and onto yours?
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I interview fascinating and creative people so that you feel that you really know them. I get right down to the real stuff and give you an idea of what the person I’m interviewing is like. I am known for doing interviews that have a kind of intimacy to them. I share them in a very simple way. When you listen to one of my episodes, the entire episode is dedicated to that person, and you learn about them.
I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve gotten to talk to so many people all while remaining 100% independent. I book the interview guests, I do the research, I conduct the interview and I edit and produce every episode. There’s only one other person: Dan Gold is the announcer. It’s his stellar voice you hear at the beginning. Dan likes to say: “You write them, I read them,” referring to the intro you hear at the beginning.
What sets me apart from others? There are so many interviews on my show with people who have done absolutely wonderful things or created work known by people all around the world, but in many cases, the only interview of that person you’ll find is the one I did.
I’m dedicated to the art of the interview and won’t give up until I get it right. But now I’ve started delving more into reviews. I write reviews of things that affect my heart and mind, and then I read them in front of the microphone. I combine pictures with my recorded voice to make an audio/visual presentation. I’m planning to do more reviews throughout the rest of this year.
Before we let you go, we have to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
My best advice for anyone who is starting out with any kind of content creation, audio, or video production is to invest in yourself. Once you know that it’s what you want to do, spend as much money as you can and get the best equipment you possibly can afford.
What I wish I knew was that you can save so much time if you spend money on the necessary equipment and if you do it will allow you more time for creativity and coming up with new ideas. You’ve only got so much time, so try to find ways to get your work done faster and also improve the quality of what you produce.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepaulleslie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepaulleslie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepaulleslie
- Twitter: https://x.com/thepaulleslie
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepaulleslie
Image Credits
thepaulleslie.com
