Marc and Tommy Mac


RichardA

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   PBS aired the Rough Cut show with our leader Marc today in Tennessee/Nashville"right" I guess Tommy's okay, it's just the word "right" that drives me crazy..... Marc did good, and Marc, please don't invite Tommy to any of your weekly shows "right"!   It's a shame that Tommy has to put so much into such a  little time span.  If he could do an hour, those that don't have much experience could get more out of it... Fortunately for those of us with some experience, it's easy to follow his wild antics...   All in all, it's a decent show, and our buddy Marc did what he does best with the time allotted him... He taught!

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Tommy has some speech habits that are mildly annoying, "right guys!" but I like his enthusiasm. I also like that he doesn't shy away from complex projects and seems open and honest about mistakes and receiving help off-camera. I've never met him in person but have participated in an online chat where he was equally enthusiastic and laser focused on woodworking. If they would drop the road trips, that would leave more needed time for projects.

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He definitely runs on premium octane, and it can be a bit...exhausting?  But I'm not gonna give him a hard time about it, because if I had to squeeze a 60 hour project into 22 minutes of TV, I'm pretty sure everyone would hate me, too.  He does the best he can with the time he's given.  Now shut up about it and be thankful there's still woodworking on television, because before too long, there won't be. :(

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There was a guy at the table behind us last night at the restaurant. I promise, every third word was "like". I wanted so bad to tell him to shut the heck up.
But he was like, bigger than me

 


There are a couple others that get my goat "Know what I mean?" "I mean, ya know".

(They are usually spelled "KnowwhatImean" and Imeanyaknow")

I just want to yell "No, I don't know what you mean! Just exactly do you mean?"

Rog

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The "like" word is also very popular with under 25s in the UK too as is "totally".

I've not seen the Rough Cut episode with Marc yet. I can only wait until it is available on download from PBS website.

The only woodworking show on TV in the UK that is relatively recent (last 5 years) and made in the UK is about a guy who gets reclaimed wood. He then cuts it down with an unguarded table saw with no dust extraction. He uses a towel around his mouth and nose as his personal protection and then nails the boards together. Then he sands the resulting "thing" with a belt sander, slaps on some wax and calls it finished. I've seen him produce shelving units, cupboards, tables all with the same crude methods. It is cringeworthy to watch and not at all good woodworking.

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I only started, within the past month or two, searching for the RC episodes, and recording them. I watched the pencil post project 2 weeks ago and I have to say it gave me a little bit of a headache the first run through. Way too fast paced for casual watching. I found that by pausing and replaying certain sections again and thinking through what he just did, it makes a little more sense. Unfortunately that's the price of fitting it all into a very short time slot and dealing with the format required for television.

I have a few episodes queued up on my dvr, and it looks like the latest one is the episode with Marc so I'm excited to watch that one.

I've met Tommy a couple times - he's local to me, so I've bumped into him a few times at the local woodcraft, and I went to an Open House at his shop. He's very nice, extremely personable, and almost overly enthusiastic (in a good way).

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Thanks Marc for the insight on how TV and podcasts push to amplify personality. I personally really like Tommy's show and he seems like a great guy to kick back and have a beer with as well. I do enjoy his enthusiasm and attitude towards the craft. I also like how he brings in guests like his former teacher and widely shares credit. I personally have greatly benefited by both your videos on both the free site and in the guild and with the knowledge I've gained there I can watch a show like Tommy's or Woodworks and feel that I can do some of those projects.

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Thanks for the kind words RichardA. I'm glad you enjoyed the episode. While it was a little strange wearing makeup and an unfamiliar shirt while taking orders from a director, the process isn't all that different than what I do at home. So I hope I came off comfortable and like "me." 

 

*soapbox mode ON*

On the topic of Tommy, everyone is certainly entitled to an opinion. There are plenty of folks on the internet (and even this forum) who don't like my personality either. But that's what makes the world an interesting place, right? I honestly don't envy Tommy's job and if I were in his shoes, I'd hate to see what kind of crap would be said about me in woodworking forums. 

 

Keep in mind that TV shows and podcasts truly amplify one's personality. The people behind the cameras constantly push you to be MORE animated and MORE energetic. Even after 4 Dr. Peppers I was repeatedly told to increase my energy to unnatural levels. So if you take Tommy's pure Boston personality and speech habits and put him into that sort of situation, you get an unnaturally amplified version of his true self. 

 

After the show recording I spent some time with Tommy back at his house. His wife cooked an incredible meal and they were both gracious hosts. We shot the breeze, ate ice cream, and talked about all kinds of things like business, woodworking, family, and even dogs. He was as laid-back as can be and for the first time I felt like I got to see who Tommy Mac really is.

 

Those who have been around for a while probably remember that Tommy and I didn't have the friendliest relationship at first. I won't go into any detail on that but let's just say that even in 2007, the internet was pretty good at creating rivalries where non truly exist. But in spite of that rocky history he was nice enough to invite me on his show. Tommy owes me nothing and I am grateful for the opportunity to be seen on TV.

 

Anyway, the whole point of this that if Tommy ever stops by this forum, I don't want him to see folks belittling the show because of his speech habits and quirks. He's a hard-working guy and a human being with feelings just like anyone else. As others have said, even if you don't like the show we should all support it to some extent since there really isn't much woodworking programming on TV these days. And remember, TV is for the masses. The producers of the show make content and pacing decisions based on that. That's the core reason I started The Wood Whisperer in the first place: to get into the nitty gritty details that would never see the light of day on television. 

 

I don't mean to stop anyone from expressing their feelings about Tommy or his show. I just hope you'll keep my comments in mind when you do. And write your comments knowing that there's a real good chance Tommy will read them.

 

I had to go back and forth about responding at all, because I don't want to seem like I am too overly critical. Anything that promotes woodworking (in safe methods) has to be a positive, right? Tommy's personality is probably an acquired taste, and I don't doubt he's more relaxed in person. I think his producers do a disservice by trying to amp up that side of him. It looks like the website side is trying to do a better job of dialing things back and showing steps that you can follow along with. When you take a field trip AND have a guest in some (?) episodes, it further compresses what's being shown. I had a similar complaint with Norm, but the pace there was still more relaxed.

 

I just watched his video for DMT and I have to say THAT is what I want to see more of. Way more relaxed, more talking to the audience instead of...trying to get through a script? I suppose that is part of the compromise one makes with partnering with established TV instead of being online. I also can't say, perhaps things are a bit different in the last season or so, I've had my access eliminated by programming decisions at GPB. I would guess the DVDs are the verbatim episodes, with no additional content. It would be cool if they could put additional content elsewhere to supplement. If he does, that's great.

 

I have nothing but the greatest respect for the guys who get in front of a camera and share their work and their knowledge. It's not something I think I'll ever do, because I'm not photogenic, I hate talking, and I'm not much good at woodworking. I do know what I like to watch though. I think if he weren't constrained by the TV format he could be really fantastic. It's one of the things I like best about your site and your content - it takes how long it takes, and you have the capability to slow down or detour to really get to the heart of something.

 

I'll watch Tommy again if he can orchestrate more pull with GPB than I can. #8 TV Market can't watch, and that's a shame. Even with the 'suggestions' I raised, it's still good TV.

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