'Fire & Ice' podcaster calls Firebirds season a 'communal phenomenon'

Local sports media personality and Minnesota native Judd Spicer was "enthusiastic" when the Coachella Valley Firebirds were announced in 2019.

"There's a lot of people here who are transplants from different places and there's never been something we can coalesce, gather around the fire and say, 'This is ours!' That excited me, and (I think) it could unite our valley," Spicer said.

Since November, he's hosted the official Coachella Valley Firebirds podcast, "Fire & Ice," and contributes two articles a month to the team's website as the "Firebirds insider." Despite Wednesday's Calder Cup Finals loss to the Hershey Bears, Spicer described the excitement of the local American Hockey League team's inaugural season as "incalculable."

"I don't think anyone could have foreseen this, it's something that has gone from lighting in a bottle to once-in-a-lifetime and a communal phenomenon," Spicer said.

Anyone who listens to the podcast gets an insider look at the team. Spicer goes beyond hockey to connect fans to the personalities that comprise the Firebirds, such as players, coaches, staff and executives. He does extensive research, asks out-of-the-ordinary questions and opens his subjects up to casual conversation.

"For me, you're going to make the greatest connection when you talk about people and when you talk with athletes that people can connect with, and people can empathize with hockey players more so than any other professional athlete," Spicer said. "What I've tried to do is introduce the community to who these guys are, or in some cases, who these women are, such as the assistant coach Jessica Campbell."

Evan Pivnick, the team's broadcaster, said Spicer's interview style and knack for making players and staff comfortable to discuss different topics is good for fans and the team.

"The AHL is a developmental league, and we're not going to have the same guys every year, but we want the fans to have a connection with the players on the ice, and they do that by learning more about them, their interests, skills and hobbies outside of hockey," Pivnick said. "I think Judd does a fantastic job of encapsulating that and bringing it to the forefront."

He also hosts the 'Spicer Report'

Spicer had a stint in radio broadcasting as the cohost of the local sports show “The Press Box” on EPSN 103.9 FM. He said the show was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic and declined to discuss any further details, but the show’s cancellation led to him expanding his brand to podcasts.

He started his first podcast, “Spicer Speaking,” in 2020.

“’Spicer Speaking’ was born out of (‘The Press Box’). I knew we built something and an audience, and I didn’t want to let that go. I thought I would carry over what my cohost and I did into the podcast realm,” Spicer said.

"The Press Box" was a live show, which Spicer said came with "adrenaline, excitement and timeliness," but he doesn't miss live radio after three years of podcasting because in his new realm of storytelling, he can organize and prepare for each show.

"You can ask any radio show host in the history of the medium and they will tell you they have a regret for every show. 'I should have said this, I should have said that,'" Spicer said. "In podcasting, you have the opportunity to go back and change some of those things. I've gotten good enough at that process where I feel like I can do a seamless recording and production of the show."

Spicer is in his element when writing about and discussing golf. He described the "different tentacles" of the game and the different avenues he explores aside from scores and results of local PGA events such as the American Express and Galleri Classic. He's done deep dives on golf apparel, the economy of the sport and thousands of people it employs, and alludes to the fact that some of the greatest moments in golf history happened in the local area.

"Sometimes it might be a player that appears as a guest, someone else who covers golf, like Desert Sun Larry Bohannan or other writers I've had on from around the world to talk about the environment and the agronomy as it pertains to grass. We could talk about architecture and golf course design. I've also had caddies on the show," Spicer said.

But aside from his stint in radio broadcasting, Spicer had no experience in audio production for podcasting and describes himself as a "technical idiot" who taught himself the process through trial and error. He records from his home office with a high-quality microphone he received as a gift, edits every episode himself using a free software program called Audacity, and estimates six hours of editing goes into each 40-minute episode.

"It's not the sound of radio, which I would describe as a welcoming, comforting sound. Podcast sound can somethings be a little too echoey for my taste. When I ask from friends and colleagues for honest assessment, I think they share the sound could be better. I hear that with a lot of podcasts," Spicer said.

"I’ve gone back to listen to some of my first couple of shows from three years ago and they sound like crap. What I have now is far from an A+ and I could invest more, hire someone to do it, rent space at one of the local radio stations, but to me that belies the convenience and coziness of doing it in a home office. I've gotten better, timely and smarter with using reporting, editing and mixing tools."

Looking to the 2023-24 Coachella Valley Firebirds season, Spicer said the team's performance during its inaugural year sets the bar "extremely high" and referenced his conversation with head coach Dan Bylsma when the two discussed the importance of creating a "winning culture."

"Some franchises have it and some don't. To create that culture from the opening gates is something I feel sets the standard for a long time. Yes, it's a minor league sport, and faces will change, but the standard will be there, nonetheless," Spicer said.

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Podcaster calls Coachella Valley Firebirds season a 'phenomenon'