The Dennaissance Podcast with Dennis Quaid

LOS ANGELES, CA (Wednesday, April 8th, 2020) – Hollywood icon Dennis Quaid can now add interview talk show host to his long list of accolades. Defining the modern day renaissance man, the actor, producer, director, singer and songwriter has partnered with Audio Up founder/CEO Jared Gutstadt to release his first podcast interview series appropriately titled, The Dennissance - a raw, unfiltered and in-depth podcast series that will have Quaid interviewing a long list of high profile actors, politicians, personalities, musicians, and innovative business leaders. The show’s first guest is country music-superstar, Billy Ray Cyrus. Listen to the podcast HERE.

“I’m just as excited about what Audio Up is doing in the audio and podcast space as I was when I first moved to California to pursue acting” said Quaid. “What we are doing brings together so many of the things I love, blending stories, music, and insightful conversations across all genres. We are going to bring back the concept album by telling stories around records, much like the albums, Red Headed Stranger or Sgt. Pepper. Great ideas always come back around.”

Audio Up founder and CEO Jared Gutstadt added, “I do believe that we are living in a renaissance of Dennis right now. 2019 was a such a strong year for him with multiple films, television shows and his own Esurance ads. Podcasting is just another level that we are stacking on top. At this moment, a lot of people are struggling with connecting to the outside world. We hope that Dennis’s voice will just be another beacon for people to look to during these dark times.”

Last week, Quaid introduced the podcast in the form of a hilarious, nearly two-minute promo video, timed appropriately to April Fool’s Day. Explaining to viewers why the podcast will only be available via cassette tape, Quaid reveals the perfect way to listen – via Walkman - and tests it out himself while working out shirtless. A phone number appears on the screen, which Quaid encourages fans to text in order to receive eight cassette tapes (matching eight episodes) in the mail, a testament to the quirky nature of the show as well as Audio Up’s innovative marketing strategies. Billboard online premiered the trailer last week which can be viewed HERE.

The Dennissance marks the first official release from Audio Up, and the second time Quaid and Gutstadt have worked together, the first being 2019’s critically-acclaimed podcast, Bear and a Banjo, which was hailed by Variety as one of the best music podcasts of 2019. Through Audio Up, Gutstadt has created an arsenal of innovative podcast properties including Uncle Drank, Make It Up As We Go with Scarlett Burke and other huge country entertainment names, Ego System, S’ad Land and Hero The Band. "Make it Up As We Go” will mark Audio Up’s first scripted podcast and will also feature episodes directed by Quaid.

The Dennissance is available today through all podcast streaming platforms. Listen to the podcast HERE.

About Dennis Quaid:

Dennis Quaid is renowned for his distinct portrayals in both comedic and dramatic roles over the past forty years. Quaid began to gain attention in the late 1970s for roles in such films as “Breaking Away” before gaining public and critical acclaim for is role in the 1983 release “The Right Stuff.” Other notable credits include “The Rookie,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Traffic,” “Vantage Point,” “Frequency,” “The Parent Trap,” and “Soul Surfer.” For his role in Todd Haynes’ “Far from Heaven” he won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. In 2010 he was nominated for numerous awards including a SAG Award®, an Emmy©, and a Golden Globe© for his portrayal of Bill Clinton in the TV Movie, “A Special Relationship.” Quaid recently wrapped up production on the Netflix holiday-themed multi-camera comedy series “Merry Happy Whatever” for which he also serves as a producer. Quaid plays Don Quinn, a strong-willed patriarch who must balance the demands of his complicated family with the stress of the Christmas season when his youngest daughter comes home for the holidays with a new boyfriend. Additionally, Quaid starred in the third season of Amazon’s “Goliath” opposite Billy Bob Thornton which premiered in 2019. Quaid’s recent big-screen credits include starring roles in Sony’s thriller THE INTRUDER, Universal’s A DOG’S JOURNEY and A DOG’S PURPOSE as well as Roadside Attraction’s faith-based film “I Can Only Imagine,” which was released to wide critical acclaim. On the small screen, Quaid starred in Crackle’s auctioneering drama “The Art of More” on which he also served as an executive producer as well as in the BAFTA award-nominated series “Fortitude. Quaid also narrated iHeart Media’s “Bear and a Banjo,” an eight-episode podcast show. Along with being an accomplished actor, Quaid is also a singer-songwriter with hundreds of thousands of miles under his belt as a touring musician. Quaid, who’s been playing music since his grandfather bought him his first guitar at a Texas Kmart, continues to receive stellar reviews displaying equal ease with both originals and country standards with his all-star band, Dennis Quaid & The Sharks. Among Quaid’s musical heroes are Buddy Holly, Hank Williams, Willie & Waylon, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Doors and James Brown. After years of playing clubs with his band, Quaid released his debut album, Out of the Box, in November 2018. He continues to perform to sold-out crowds when he’s not on set or recording The Dennissance.

About Audio Up:

Audio Up is a podcast content production studio, housing a world of infinite, audio based properties. Ran by founder and CEO Jared Gutstadt (formerly of the Jingle Punks), Audio Up is building an ecosystem of premium entertainment content within the music and audio space. From fictional scripted podcasts, which include a Marvel-like universe of musicals, where the records themselves become the story foundation, to Dennis Quaid’s unfiltered interview series, The Dennissance, Audio Up’s goal is to create a new and innovative form of IP. They are bringing audio blockbusters to life and taking this media from black and white, into technicolor. Their upcoming slate of projects include Uncle Drank, Make It Up As We Go with Scarlett Burke and other huge country entertainment names, Ego System, S’ad Land and Hero The Band.