avrilfansgermany.de: Where are you from and what do you love most about your home?

Andrea: I’m from the United States and love that we get to experience all 4 seasons of weather where I’m from.

avrilfansgermany.de: How did you become an Avril Fan? 

Andrea: I’ve been a fan since hearing „Complicated“ on the radio in 2002. I saw her perform on TV and just loved everything about her. My dad bought Let Go for me and the rest is history!

avrilfansgermany.de: Why did you choose to do an Avril Lavigne Podcast?

Andrea: In 2020, I really got into podcasts and thought it would be fun to do one, but wasn’t sure what I would ever make a podcast about. I knew that I loved Avril and had a great deal of knowledge about her career, and I was surprised to see that there were not many podcasts about her, so I decided to start one!

avrilfansgermany.de: How did you come up with the intro of the podcast?

Andrea: I knew the music had to be something that sounded reminiscent of Avril, so I was able to find a pop punk instrumental called „HD“ by a very talented artist named J Pow Flicks, who was very kind in allowing me to use it. I then thought it would be fun to insert some clips of some of Avril’s most iconic sayings.

avrilfansgermany.de: Whats your personal vision for your podcast?

Andrea: I just want to share my love and passion for Avril’s music with other fans, and maybe pass on some of my knowledge for people who are new to the fandom. I’ve always liked to say it’s a podcast by Avril fans, for Avril fans.

avrilfansgermany.de: Do you have any help with your podcast?

Andrea: I’m currently just a team of one! Sometimes my fiance gives me input on editing choices though.

avrilfansgermany.de: It’s probably a lot of time that goes into the whole process. How do you organize producing this podcast as a hobby besides your personal life?

Andrea: Yes, it does take a lot of time and energy to produce just one episode. For that reason, I am not able to commit to making an episode each week, but I have done my best to produce them maybe every other week or monthly. I decided early on to operate on the principle of quality over quantity, and would rather produce good quality episodes less often than several poor quality episodes.

avrilfansgermany.de: How do you usually proceed? Can you take us through the whole process of making an episode?

Andrea: I have a list of episode ideas I browse through to see what would make sense at any given time, or I will do a „bonus“ episode if there’s lots of current events to discuss. Then I do tons of research if the topic calls for it, and write up a script or general talking points, and record the episode. Then I spend a good couple of hours editing out all of my mistakes! Haha. And generally cleaning it up for a smoother listen. Add on the music and of course make up the artwork. Post the finished episode to the hosting site so it appears in your feed. But it doesn’t end there! I also pull a couple clips to post to my Instagram page @bestdamnavrilpod for each episode as a little teaser. I have never counted, but the whole process from start to finish probably takes a good 10-12 hours, maybe even more, per episode!

avrilfansgermany.de: Where do you get your inspiration for the topics?

Andrea: I think honestly simply from my love and passion for Avril’s music and her career in general. I’ve been a fan for 20 years and have followed her eras so closely, watched almost all of her interviews and performances over the years, that I have a great deal of familiarity with it by now. I just think of things that would be interesting to me as a fan, and I assume lots of other fans would find it interesting as well.

avrilfansgermany.de: Your podcast sounds so professional to me. Do you have a journalistic background or how would you say does that come?

Andrea: I do work in broadcast media professionally so I did learn some tips and tricks for how to record and edit. I use a professional quality mic to get the cleanest and clearest sound possible.

avrilfansgermany.de: Do you have a favorite episode that we should absolutely listen to?

Andrea: There are many episodes I’m proud of, but the episode about the infamous conspiracy theory about Avril („Is Avril Lavigne Really Dead?“) is one I worked particularly hard on. It took tons of research, and while many figures in the media have covered this topic, I think I might have hit on some areas others didn’t. It’s a topic that has fascinated people, fans and non-fans alike, that I thought would be interesting and maybe even necessary to cover, and wanted to do it with tact and care, while also being informative and thorough. 

avrilfansgermany.de: You also did an episode about the Avril controversies. How was this episode different to others?

Andrea: This was a tricky episode because feuds and controversies are a part of Avril’s story as they are with any other famous person. It was not something I wanted to shy away from talking about, but it was also something I wanted to approach with sensitivity. I felt it was important to discuss it and tell the full story of some of these things that have happened in her career, because many times there was so much more to it than what we had just heard about in the media. I’ve always strived to do my research and keep it about the facts as much as possible, and I thought it was important to cover this topic so fans could get the full story of what happened.

avrilfansgermany.de: Which episode was the most fun for you so far and why?

Andrea: There have been many episodes that were fun to make. One episode that was really different was an episode where I had my first ever guest, an author named Angelina Singer, and we discussed the „punk“ label Avril’s been given („Is Avril Lavigne Punk?“). She was fantastic and it was a lot of fun to get to talk with another fan and share our thoughts on something we both love, it brought such a different dynamic to the podcast. I also loved making my Halloween episode („Happy Hallo-vigne“) and making a special playlist of Avril songs just for that episode!

avrilfansgermany.de: What challenges you about podcasting?

Andrea: A lot! My main goal with it has always been to just do it justice the best I can. Avril is a very special and important figure, not just in music, but to all of her fans. I wanted to make sure if I was calling myself „The Best Damn Avril Lavigne Podcast,“ I better live up to the name! I always try to make sure my episodes are well researched and fact checked, and that the topics discussed are worthwhile and ultimately add value to the scope of Avril content that’s out there. Perhaps something that future generations can look to who weren’t there when Avril was active in music, as a sort of time capsule.

avrilfansgermany.de: Whats the best part about it?

Andrea: I love when people tell me they listen to the show and that they enjoy it. It makes all the hard work that goes into it so worth it. I love getting to see the episode appear in my feed and listen to it, to hear the final product of all my hard work.

avrilfansgermany.de: What would be your advice for someone thinking about starting a podcast?

Andrea: Think about what topic interests you and see if others are already doing it. If so, see if you can find a new angle that nobody else is talking about. Ask yourself what value your podcast would add to the world – would it help someone, or tell a story, or be entertaining? Would it help educate people on a particular subject? When you have a goal in mind of what you want your podcast to accomplish, it makes the whole process so much more streamlined when figuring out where to start.

avrilfansgermany.de: Which podcasts are you regularly listening to yourself?

Andrea: I am a big fan of The Office, and the Office Ladies podcast was the first podcast I ever started listening to. I also love a Taylor Swift podcast called Swiftly Spoken where the hosts analyze Taylor’s music and lyrics. And as a practicing Catholic, every single day I listen to The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year, hosted by an amazing Catholic priest named Fr. Mike Schmitz, who does such a wonderful job helping people better understand the Christian faith. It’s been truly life changing for me, which just goes to show how powerful a simple podcast can be, whether it is purely for entertainment, humor, or something much more!

avrilfansgermany.de: Whats your favorite Avril lyric and why?

Andrea: I’ve always really loved the lyric from „Nobody’s Fool“: „If you wanna bring me down, go ahead and try.“

avrilfansgermany.de: Which Avril Lavigne Album would you choose for a road trip?

Andrea: You really can’t go wrong with Let Go, it’s my all time favorite album! But I think Love Sux would also be really fun and get you amped up.

avrilfansgermany.de: What does being an Avril Fan mean to you?

Andrea: Avril’s message has always been about being proud of who you are and not being afraid of being different. I have a rare growth disorder that’s made me very short (4’10“) and I used to be very discouraged about that. Then seeing Avril talk about being proud of who you are and not being afraid to stand out was a huge help to me in getting to accept myself, as I’m sure it’s been for many of her fans.

avrilfansgermany.de: What do you think is special about Avril or her music?

Andrea: There is just no one like her. There’s been many who have tried to imitate her sound or style, but no one will ever be able to match it exactly. Her voice is so unique, you just know it’s her from the moment you hear it. Her lyrics have always been straightforward and honest. She’s never been about saying things in the most poetic or complex way, just the most raw and real.

avrilfansgermany.de: What do you think do you have in common with Avril? And what’s the biggest difference?

Andrea: I’ve always loved music and started playing guitar at 14 because of her („Things I’ll Never Say“ was the first song I ever learned!) I love to sing and write songs as well. We have pretty similar taste in fashion too. But I think we’re different in the sense she loves to drink, party, and live for today, whereas I’ve never been a big drinker or party animal, and really like to plan things out carefully. No tattoos for me either! Haha

avrilfansgermany.de: Have you met or seen Avril live and what’s your best memory about it? 

Andrea: I have not had the privilege to meet her yet, but I have been lucky enough to see her twice in concert, once in 2014 and once in 2019. They were the best nights of my whole life! There’s just nothing like getting to rock out with your favorite artist right in front of you. For the show in 2014 specifically, she brought out Chad Kroeger as a surprise to sing „Let Me Go“ together – it was such a special treat and super cool!

avrilfansgermany.de: Do you have a big life dream that you would like to fulfill?

Andrea: It’d be amazing to get to be on a big stage in front of thousands of people and just sing with my guitar. Almost kind of like Ed Sheeran does, when he’s in these big stadiums and it’s just him and his guitar, no band or anything. I imagine the feeling of getting to sing and perform for thousands of people is just like nothing else in the world.