The State of the 20K Multiverse™

Summary

Twenty Thousand Hertz — "The State of the 20K Multiverse™"

Host: Dallas Taylor
Guest/Interviewer: Grace East
Date: February 9, 2026
Theme: Exploring the evolution of the 20,000 Hz podcast into video, the expanding “20K Multiverse,” and behind-the-scenes stories from creating content across new platforms.

---

Episode Overview

This special behind-the-scenes episode flips the script: producer Grace East interviews host Dallas Taylor about the recent and ambitious expansion of 20,000 Hz into video platforms. Dallas shares the motivations driving this shift, the challenges and rewards of venturing into visual storytelling, and recounts his experiences filming with audio teams at Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live, Walt Disney Imagineering, and with the creators of the beloved kids show Bluey. Throughout, Dallas speaks candidly about the show’s mission, the inherent differences between podcast and video storytelling, the audio community’s unique camaraderie, and what listeners can expect from the ever-growing “20K Multiverse.”

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of AI Voice Cloning (00:00–01:45)

• AI Clones Dallas’ Voice:
  Dallas opens by discussing the appearance of AI-generated narrator voices online that sound eerily similar to his own. He admits 20,000 Hz even uses an "AI Dallas" for internal episode drafts.

  "I have a hunch that my voice is ending up as training material for some of the AI voice programs that people are using. I want to make an episode about this, but I need your help." (Dallas, 00:22)

• Call for Listener Involvement:
  Asks listeners to send examples of these AI voice clones for a future episode.

2. State of the Show & the Move to Video (01:45–09:42)

• Behind the Curtain:
  Grace East seizes hosting duties to give listeners a rare peek into the show's evolution and the team’s expanding roles.

• Why Go Video?:
  Dallas views podcast, video, and social platforms as "highways" to reach more people with compelling stories about sound.

  "I simply use these highways... in order to reach people." (Dallas, 04:40)

• Data-Driven Decision:
  Dallas breaks down potential reach:

  • Podcasting: ~500–600 million monthly users, with highly-crafted shows like 20,000 Hz targeting a much smaller, niche segment.
  • YouTube: 2.5–3 billion monthly active users globally.
  • Instagram & TikTok: Billions more.

  "Am I true to my mission...if I only do it in the walled garden of podcasting?" (Dallas, 07:12)

• Algorithmic Frustration:
  Podcast discovery is limited; social/video platforms provide exposure to new, interested audiences through sophisticated algorithms.

3. Bringing Audio Stories to Life on Video

Jeopardy (09:42–12:27)

• Landing the Jeopardy Video:
  Brought about by a chain of fortuitous connections—Ken Jennings' publisher led to an introduction to Jeopardy's audio team.

  "Jeopardy just popped into my mind. I was just like, jeopardy. Is so wholesome." (Dallas, 10:57)

• Behind-the-Scenes Candidness:
  Gained exclusive access, shared trade secrets (with some friendly warnings from producers).

Saturday Night Live (SNL) (12:40–16:40)

• Entry to SNL’s Audio Team:
  Friendships with industry insiders like Fred Hedemark and mixer Bob Palladino opened doors.

• From Restricted Access to Backstage Tours:
  Originally confined to one room, Dallas befriended boom operator Eddie Rotolo, who "kidnapped" him onto the studio floor.

  "He like, he didn't give me a choice. He effectively, in kindness, basically said, get out of your seat. We're going in here now." (Dallas, 14:25)

• Highlighting the Unsung Heroes:
  Dallas’s approach: shine the spotlight on behind-the-scenes audio pros, celebrating their passion and fanhood for the podcast.

Walt Disney Imagineering (16:51–21:24)

• Path from Podcast to Video:
  An early Disney Parks podcast episode sowed the seeds for future access. Disney’s invitation to a press event led to collaboration with YouTuber Mark Brickey, providing a proof of concept.

• Magical Invitation:
  Received an exclusive physical invitation to visit Imagineering.

  "I get a card in the mail... Walt Disney Imagineering at the top. And it's like you're invited to a special event ... and I just melted." (Dallas, 19:47)

• Exclusive Access:
  Audio lead Greg Lahota offered a rare, candid behind-the-scenes tour, with PR staff at times reminding Dallas not to film never-before-seen rooms.

  "[Greg] started very professional, and you see him melt into giddiness over the course of that time. That is what's so magical about being in these places." (Dallas, 21:24)

4. Lessons from the Field & Reflections on Style (35:00–38:22)

• Distinct Mediums, Distinct Stories:
  Each platform—podcast, YouTube, Instagram/TikTok—requires unique storytelling and editing.

  "Over this journey, I've learned...what type of a story works as a podcast and what type of a story works as visuals." (Dallas, 35:19)

• Depth vs. Visual Flash:
  Podcast = deep, alliterative, imaginative stories;
  Video = visually dynamic, “show-don’t-tell” moments.
  Both require Dallas to be fully present and authentic for each medium.

• The Power of Reputation and Community:
  The podcast’s decade-long credibility gave Dallas access to exclusive places and the trust of tight-knit audio professionals.

  "I feel like I'm likely the only person in the world who could be making this very specific thing because of my passions, because of my focus, ... because of the podcast reputation, because of my expertise..." (Dallas, 36:49)

• The Audio Community’s Ethos:
  Despite competition, generosity and support are the norm.

  "Everyone is kind of pitted against each other in ... trying to get the same jobs. But everyone refuses to play the game, so we all just help each other." (Dallas, 38:03)

5. International Adventures: Australia & Bluey (25:50–34:13)

• A Childhood Dream Fulfilled:
  Dallas travels to Australia, meeting with the sound team behind Bluey and getting rare access to the Sydney Opera House.

• Deep Dives into Bluey:
  Visits with composer Joff Bush and sound designer Dan Brumm.

  "Every time I did an interview with Joff, he would just speak absolute brilliant poetry like he's Mozart... Because he's a genius, in my mind." (Dallas, 28:54)

• Recording at Real Bluey Locations:
  Real parks and city spaces inspiring Bluey’s animation—an “uncanny” experience for Dallas.

• Sydney Opera House Access:
  Gained by simply emailing and being recognized by a fan of the podcast—demonstrates the show's “quiet reach”.

  "All these logistics are like, the easiest logistics I've ever put together. It's like, I ask, they say, sure. ... one of the people who run the Opera House is a huge fan of 20,000 hertz." (Dallas, 33:16 and 33:58)

• Architectural Acoustics:
  Harrowing detail: acoustic wave shapes are carved into the walls, tied to the resonance of specific notes.

6. The Heart of 20,000 Hz (37:39–39:43)

• Mission Statement:
  At its core, 20,000 Hz exists to share the wonder of sound, especially with “normal people” not already passionate about audio.

• Community, Not Competition:
  Grace and Dallas emphasize the exceptional, supportive attitude of people in the audio industry, contrasting it with the cutthroat reputation of entertainment as a whole.

  "We are highlighting these lovely human beings being good to each other, being collaborators, being generous colleagues." (Grace, 38:22)

---

Memorable Quotes

• "I am not the star of 20,000 hertz. I know that it's my voice, but my voice's job is to set up the premise." (Dallas, 03:07)
• "Am I true to my mission...if I only do it in the walled garden of podcasting?" (Dallas, 07:12)
• "On YouTube or TikTok or Instagram, you can play the system to find the people who are interested in that." (Dallas, 08:01)
• "He effectively, in kindness, basically said, get out of your seat. We're going in here now." (Dallas on Eddie Rotolo at SNL, 14:25)
• "[Greg at Disney Imagineering] started very professional, and you see him melt into giddiness over the course of that time." (Dallas, 21:24)
• "Joff [Bluey composer] would just speak absolute brilliant poetry like he's Mozart." (Dallas, 28:54)
• "I feel like I'm likely the only person in the world who could be making this very specific thing because of my passions, because of my focus, ... because of the podcast reputation, because of my expertise..." (Dallas, 36:49)
• "Everyone is kind of pitted against each other in ... trying to get the same jobs. But everyone refuses to play the game, so we all just help each other." (Dallas, 38:03)
• "We are highlighting these lovely human beings being good to each other, being collaborators, being generous colleagues." (Grace, 38:22)

---

Notable Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamps | |---------------------------------------------|--------------| | AI Voice Clones & Call for Examples | 00:00–01:45 | | Why Expand into Video? | 04:08–07:45 | | The Problem with Podcast Discovery | 08:01–08:33 | | Jeopardy Video—How It Happened | 09:42–12:27 | | SNL: Gaining Unprecedented Access | 12:40–16:40 | | Disney Imagineering: Exclusive Invitation | 16:51–21:24 | | Lessons About Storytelling Mediums | 35:00–37:39 | | Bluey Team & Sydney Opera House | 25:50–34:13 | | Reflections on the Audio Community | 37:39–39:43 |

---

Takeaways for Listeners

• 20,000 Hz’s expansion into video isn’t a departure, but an evolution—each platform receives its own bespoke approach, always aiming to reveal the magic of sound.
• The podcast’s reputation and community roots have created a remarkable network of trust and access, allowing Dallas to open doors that would be shut for a typical video “outsider.”
• At the center, the show’s mission is unchanged: to highlight the unsung artisans of audio, showcase their passion, and invite everyone—whether “normal” listener or seasoned pro—into the world's fascinating sounds.

---

To see Dallas’s visual journeys with audio’s unsung heroes, search: Dallas Taylor MP3 on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.

Transcript

[Dallas Taylor]

Recently, a few listeners have sent me videos from YouTube and Instagram and TikTok that use these new AI narrator voices, and a few of them sound suspiciously like me. Now, I've been on the front line of this whole AI voice clone thing for a while. For our own testing and just my curiosity, we even use a AI Dallas voice when we're putting this very show together and then swap in my real voice once we have the story nailed down. But because of all this, I have a hunch that my voice is ending up as training material for some of the AI voice programs that people are using. I want to make an episode about this, but I need your help. I need tons of examples. So if you're on YouTube or Instagram or TikTok and come across any videos that sound like me, please send them over. You can email it at web0k.org, use the contact form on our website DM me on whatever platform you see it on or mention me and and I'm really easy to get in touch with. So wherever you find me, just send it over. If you like 20,000 hertz especially our music episodes, then there's another show I know you'll love called you'd'll hear it. It's an incredible music podcast where each episode breaks down a different jazz or jazz influenced album including John Coltrane, Stevie Wonder, d' Angelo and many more. It's hosted by two musicians who have great chemistry and they even perform songs from each album with their four piece band. You'll hear it as music explored. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or subscribe on YouTube. You're listening to 20,000 Hz the stories behind the world's most iconic and fascinating sounds.

[Grace East]

I'm Grace East. You might recognize my voice from the credits or from some of our game show episodes. Today we're doing things a little differently. I'm taking the mic to interview Dallas for a special behind the scenes episode. There's been some monumental changes at 20,000 hertz lately, including a new video series that we launched last summer. If you haven't seen these videos yet, you should because they're awesome. But basically Dallas meets with audio experts in their spaces where they break down what they do and how they do it. I wanted to get Dallas take on how these videos came about, how he feels about them, and how the different pieces of the 20K Extended Universe all fit together. I hope you enjoy it.

[Dallas Taylor]

Well gosh, my editorial brain is on and I'm like wait a second, we need to set up this whole premise. Who are you, Grace? Like, what do you. What do you do all day?

[Grace East]

Who am I? What do I do all day? So I am Grace. I am the producer at Defacto Sound and occasionally at 20,000 hertz, I wear many hats, including project managing and managing our ads for the podcast and helping manage our social media and clients and, you know, a little bit of everything. So I have like a little mini intro. But is there anything specifically that you wanted to lead off with?

[Dallas Taylor]

You know, I. There's so many things that I want to express the way that I imagine 20,000 hertz. I am not the star of 20,000 hertz. I know that it's my voice, but my voice's job is to set up the premise. And then throughout the story we're plugging my voice in to get from point A to point B. But I think that's why I don't talk about myself, because it's not about me. And I don't really give opinions and I don't really give fourth wall breaks and I don't really talk about the behind the scenes. So this whole conversation is one that I would love for people to be interested in, to get a little peek behind the curtain. But everything in my brain and body is like, this is not what 20,000.

[Grace East]

Hertz is about, but it's worth a try. And I also think people do appreciate sort of state of the show updates. You know, like when there are big changes, people wonder why and what the decision making process was and what the future of the show is. So I feel like people will be interested.

[Dallas Taylor]

What the hey? Let's try this.

[Grace East]

What the hey? So last summer we launched our video series on YouTube, which was a huge deal and we didn't know how it would go or what it would become. But now sort of looking back six months ago, we have some perspective. So I wanted to ask, why did you decide that it was important for the mission of 20,000 hertz to extend into video?

[Dallas Taylor]

So I consider 20,000 hertz de facto sound and this new Dallas Taylor MP3, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn video effort, all one in the same. They all just kind of hold hands. They're all from the same people. And truth be told, back when I started the podcast, I spent many years to kind of decide should 20,000 hertz be a podcast or a YouTube channel. But for me, I felt like the best way to communicate sound was through the medium itself. I just wanted to meaningfully tell stories about sound through sound. It is not that my Idea of storytelling is podcast exclusive, and I've felt that way my entire career. So I've never really identified as a podcaster. I also don't identify as a YouTuber. I don't identify as an Instagrammer or a tiktoker. I identify myself as an expert in sound, like that's who I see myself as. And I simply use these highways, if you will, in order to reach people. And even way back When I started 20,000 Hz, the mission of 20,000 Hz was to get, quote, unquote, normal people into how cool sound is. So as I started thinking about, should I go into video? And as I started studying it, would this be worth my while trying to get over the fact that I don't want to put myself on a camera, I started looking at numbers. So to give you some hard numbers. Yeah, Podcasting as an entire whole, meaning everyone who's listened to a podcast worldwide in a month is roughly 500 to 600 million people worldwide. And that's a ton of people. But I have to be realistic about this. How many of these people are listening to a highly crafted podcast like this American Life Radio Lab, 99% invisible, or kind of the likes of the ones that I listen to or do the majority of people listen to chit chat podcasts or celebrity driven podcasts. And I think it's very likely that that's the case. So really, our bucket might be, who knows, 50 million, if we're lucky, of the total number of people who this could reach. So expanding beyond that, I started looking at the monthly active users of other platforms. So we've got TikTok, which is in the range of 1.6 billion monthly active users.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

Then you move on to Instagram. Those averages are between 2 and 3 billion monthly active users globally. And then finally, you get to YouTube, which is somewhere in the two and a half, 3 billion monthly active users and growing.

[Grace East]

Wow.

[Dallas Taylor]

So when I saw those numbers, I went, am I true to my mission of trying to get quote, unquote, normal people into sound if I only do it in the walled garden of podcasting? Don't get me wrong, I love podcasting. I love being able to create stories entirely in the sense of hearing. So I still plan on doing that using this medium. But it became very clear that I had to move this mission into these formats. They're just so incredibly powerful at reaching people.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

We have a podcast that I think people think is humongous and it is big, but it's one tenth the size of 99% invisible. It's probably 1/20 the size of Radiolab. It's probably, I don't know, 1/50 the size of this American life. Even though it sounds like it.

[Grace East]

Right.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I'm proud of it. And the whole reason is that we're telling these world class stories over here. But there is no algorithm to push this content to people. So, for example, if we make a podcast about Wicked, the only people who are going to hear it are people who are subscribed to 20,000 hertz. There is no algorithm pushing our podcast to people who like Wicked, who then get introduced to the podcast. So that has been a frustration point is that it is purely word of mouth, but on YouTube or TikTok or Instagram, you can play the system to find the people who are interested in that.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so I decided to jump into those lanes and started practicing like a vlogger. I went, I would go. I was going on trips, talking to camera, trying to get that relationship, try to become, you know, get through that discomfort. So there are videos that I've made that I will not publish because it was me practicing right. Again, like, once I've figured all of this stuff out, I am not the star of the YouTube channels or the Instagram or TikTok. It's the person that I'm speaking to. You gotta remember, like, every storytelling technique in my life, I've learned from podcasting, from the likes of Ira Glass or Jad Abumrad or Roman Mars or Starlykine or, you know, that is my whole storytelling world.

[Grace East]

Right.

[Dallas Taylor]

So now I'm bringing everything I know about storytelling to this visual medium. But I'm not doing it with two people sitting around a table with SM7Bs pointed at themselves. Because that just doesn't feel right for what I even want to consume. Anyway. I like getting out there, seeing the real world, definitely getting real access.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

So if I even, I could keep going and going and going. But rein me in here, Grace. You're, you're, you're driving the ship.

[Grace East]

The first video I wanted to ask Dallas about was the very first one we posted, which he filmed on the set of Jeopardy. In the video production, sound mixer Carlos Torres walks Dallas through the show's audio setup and introduces other members of the sound crew. So I wanted to ask first how you landed that recording.

[Dallas Taylor]

So a few years prior to even thinking about video, I was approached by a book publisher about writing a book about sound. But during that process, I saw that Ken Jennings, the current host of Jeopardy. Shared this same book publisher who reached out to me and so I wrote him and I said, hey, is this person legit? Ken wrote me back instantaneously going, oh, no, this person's amazing. I want to write more books because I want to work with this person.

[Grace East]

Oh my God.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so that was a huge relief and super kind, very authentic and genuine. And I knew that going into video, I was trying to make a statement that like, this is about the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds here. So I thought what would be just the most delightful, warm, joy filled things I could cover. And Jeopardy. Just popped into my mind. I was just like, jeopardy. Is so wholesome.

[Grace East]

It is, it's great.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so I effectively just wrote Ken again on that chain and said, hey, Ken, how's it going? It's been years. Gave a little bio of what 20,000 hertz is and I'm moving into video and I'd like to highlight your sound team. And once again he wrote me back and he was like, oh, it's Carlos and here's his information and I've passed it along and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then I don't know Carlos at the time. I don't know if he's cool or not cool. I just have faith that anybody in the audio community is cool because pretty much everyone is.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And then now we see Carlos as just the most delightful human being on the planet.

[Grace East]

Yep.

[Dallas Taylor]

And yeah, so I. That's how it all started. And then I met him at Sony Pictures in an alleyway with the camera. I was so nervous and just like immediately being swept into from parking garage to meeting Carlos to walking in a side door. And then I'm standing on the Jeopardy. Set just like, here we go on video.

[Grace East]

Yeah, it's happening.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I go behind click the buzzers. I stand behind everything. He's, he's telling me stuff about Jeopardy. That literally the Jeopardy. Producers after we post this were like, hey, hey, let's cool it on this level of detail. Like you're cool with everything you posted, but can you just like pump the brakes a little bit? Very kindly.

[Grace East]

We can't reveal all our trade secrets. The next set of videos I wanted to know about was Dallas Mind blowing trip to Saturday Night Live where he spent three days filming with their audio team. He was technically there to profile mixer Bob Palladino for his final show with SNL after 40 years. But Dallas ended up filming with over 10 other people. So tell me a little bit about that. How did you land the recording? Who was your sort of way in to that huge, amazing, and also like, exclusive club.

[Dallas Taylor]

I have a hunch it probably had to do with Fred Hedemark. We did a whole show on him when he was the mixer on Late Night with Seth Meyers. And we've just become friends over the years. He was the one that took over for Bobby after 40 years.

[Grace East]

Right.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I think that I was just like, wait, the mixer for Saturday night live for 40 years is having his final mix on, you know, May 16th. This is a moment in audio history that I need to document. So it felt like I need to pitch this. So that's what led me in. And then I got connected with the SNL producers and I'm just so intimidated by anyone who is an SNL producer. So I went in the final three days of the season 50 finale. It was the Scarlett Johansson Bad Bunny episode.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And when I got there, they were like, your only access is this one room. And Bobby Palladino, because no one gets access to snl. There was no one there that was not on staff.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

It is a locked down situation. Room situation.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so I get in there and I'm just like, okay, I can't believe I'm here. I don't want to step on anybody's toes. I don't want to get in trouble. I don't want Lauren Michaels to even see that I'm here with a camera. So, Bobby, we're starting to warm up to each other. He was starting to open up, tell me some stories. A lot of that hit in the podcast version. And then the first kind of yoink in this entire plan was someone was like, you've got to meet Eddie Rotolo. And I'm like, who's Eddie Rotolo? And they were like, he's one of our boom operators. And I was like, oh, cool. I don't have access to go onto the floor. I can't even walk out. The floor is so close to me. And I cannot. I'm not even allowed to walk on it. Right. And so at some point, Eddie walks in. He was just like, you wanna see what I do? And I was like, I would love to. And he's like, let's go. And he, like, he didn't give me a choice. He effectively, in kindness, basically said, get out of your seat. We're going in here now.

[Grace East]

I love it.

[Dallas Taylor]

This guy had been waiting for this moment for someone to walk in who is super interested in audio to where he can tell everything he can possibly tell about that boom mic. And he did it and he crushed it. So when you watch that, it's the second episode on the YouTube series, you gotta realize, like, I'm brand new at SNL. I'm going from zero to Eddie Rotolo.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

In no time flat.

[Grace East]

Yes.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I'm on the floor within seconds of him pulling me in there. And I'm not supposed to be there. So basically, I took Eddie Rotolo and now I went from only go to this room to literally standing in the heartbeat of the stage.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

Really, you know, I'm here. I can't not capture as much as I possibly can, for sure. So it was a kind of a push and pull because it wasn't like me asserting myself to people. But you also have to realize these are people who do not get highlighted, and they are 20ft from stardom. They are the people who make people stars, and they are part of that support team that does that. And so my thought process was like, if anyone wants to tell me about their job, I will ask for forgiveness later than permission, because I am here in the center point of some of the most brilliant audio minds in the world, and I'm going to take every opportunity. So I just started meeting people and I was like, hey, do you want to tell me about what you do? And then they're like, yeah, sure, let me take you over here. But they would do it really enthusiastically. I remember somebody saying, oh, Jeff next door, kind of our sound designer, sound effects person. He's like a huge fan of the podcast and would love to meet you. Oh, and then I made a whole video about him, and I'm such a huge fan of him now.

[Grace East]

Yeah, that interview is fantastic, too.

[Dallas Taylor]

So it's like, I can't stress enough that none of the video would happen without these rabid podcast fans who are perfectly placed in a lot of these organizations. Yes, that go. Wait, that's the host of 20,000 hertz. Yes. He can come in here with a camera. Because it's been 10 years of trust.

[Grace East]

Exactly.

[Dallas Taylor]

And win, win and good vibes and not throwing anybody under the bus and not hurting anybody. It's just like Rising tide lifts all ships. Like, that's been my whole thing from the beginning.

[Grace East]

Next, I asked Dallas about filming with the audio team at Walt Disney Imagineering. That's Disney's research and development department, where they craft all of the attractions for their parks. In the video, imagineer, Greg Lahota leads Dallas on a tour through their audio archives and even puts sounds from Haunted Mansion inside his head. So I wanted to talk about that Adventure. Because that was another, like SNL sort of interesting, exclusive place that I don't know that any of us would have guessed you would be able to highlight.

[Dallas Taylor]

Yeah. So I'll give you the lead up to this too, because there's a whole backstory that leads to the invite. But first we have to go back. Years ago, we did a podcast, one of my favorite, called Disney Parks.

[Grace East]

Yep.

[Dallas Taylor]

Again, all roads lead back to the podcast. Back then, I talked to two people about music and sound design, but audio only. I was not invited in. I recorded it remotely. So I was not an insider by any means. And I think I re upped that years later saying, hey, we worked with you before with this team at Imagineering, but if there's ever an opportunity, I'm starting to think about doing this video or maybe we do a different angle for the podcast or something and I would just occasionally ping them and, you know, maybe nothing would happen. And then I get an email saying, hey, we'd like to invite you to this press only event where we want to show you all of the new cool foods and drinks and stuff that we're going to have for the upcoming season. It's just for press. You go to Galaxy's Edge, they're going to take you through a back door and then you're going to see all the cool stuff to where you can highlight it. And I'm like, I don't do that. That's not what I do. I'm not like a Disney YouTuber. And they're like, no, that's fine. Just enjoy the day. But going into it, I hit up my favorite YouTuber about Disney design, which is this guy named Mark Brickey that runs a YouTube channel called he bricky. But I used that day and I reached out to Bricky, just totally cold, and said, hey, I love your videos. Can I just follow you around while you tell me all the cool sound stuff? And in just cool fashion, he's just like, yeah, let's do it.

[Grace East]

Awesome.

[Dallas Taylor]

And yeah, so I meet him, we spend like four hours together filming. I ended up making two videos out of it. One that's just on Disneyland, proper, like the sound design of it. And then he took me to Galaxy's Edge. I did a whole different thing over there. And then I think I sent that off to Disney and I was like, hey, while I was there, I did this with this youtuber that is not affiliated with you. So I effectively just did exactly what I asked without your permission on your dime when you sent me there. Thanks for that. And I think they were like, whoa, okay. But I think that signaled to them that, no, I'm serious about this. It was, like, proof of concept. They go, oh, he's super into the design aspect. So months go by, but I remember I got an email saying, like, hey, what's your address? And I was like, that's weird. But, okay, you seem legitimate. So I get a card in the mail that's just super minimal. It says, like, Walt Disney Imagineering at the top. And it's like you're invited to a special event on this exact day.

[Grace East]

Oh, my gosh.

[Dallas Taylor]

We are really excited to open our campus to you and share a magical day with you. And I just melted.

[Grace East]

That is so, like, Hogwartsian, you know, Like, a mysterious letter appears in the mail. So cool.

[Dallas Taylor]

So basically, I get there and I discover, oh, I'm in a pod of, like, four YouTubers. We're all kind of just doing our thing, but they're just kind of shuffling us into all of this stuff that I've kind of seen other YouTubers do. And I was like, ah, okay, I'm filming it, but there's really not any sound. It's just kind of. It's very visual. And. But they had planned. It was like an hour and a half of tour, and then it was like an hour and a half of mystery with the sound people. Ooh. I did know that I was going to do a podcast recording, though. So we get in there and we did a podcast recording with two people. One was ahead of sound, one was ahead of music. And then I think I only had, like, 45 minutes left. But in again, audio community fashion, Greg takes me on the most epic visual tour on the planet. Greg is just the foremost center point of Disney Imagineering sound.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And he gives me a tour of every single room that they do. And literally, there's times where PR is behind me saying, like, hey, no one has ever seen this on camera before, so please don't show that.

[Grace East]

You know, so funny.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I think we go, like, two hours long, obnoxiously. Way past. All the other YouTubers are long gone. It's not like I was pushing him to go hours over. I think he started realizing, wait a second, I can tell this guy's into this. And again, kind of like Eddie Rotolo at Saturday Night Live, he's just like, oh, yeah, let's do this.

[Grace East]

And he so clearly loves his job.

[Dallas Taylor]

He loves it. And I don't know if you can see it, but if you watch with a really sharp eye, you can see him start very professional, and you see him melt into giddiness over the course of that time. And that is what's so magical about being in these places. It's like everyone kind of starts, they're a little bit professional, a little bit like who are you? And then on every video you see everyone kind of melt into who they really are and they're just delightful, kind, creative, curiosity driven kids underneath.

[Grace East]

After the break, Dallas meets the sound and music geniuses behind one of his favorite TV shows. Plus the biggest lesson he's learned from filming these videos.

[Dallas Taylor]

I've been listening to jazz music since I was a kid, but I think a lot of people are actually jazz fans and they don't even realize it because jazz goes so far beyond just Bebop and Miles Davis. It's in everything from Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson to Radiohead and the Roots. And that's what's so brilliant about yout'll Hear It, A podcast about the expansive world of jazz music. The show is hosted by two jazz musicians, Peter Martin and Adam Mannis. In each episode they break down an iconic album from the historical context to what makes the songs work so well. But they don't just talk, they also start and end each episode by performing a song from the album with their four piece band. For instance, they recently made an episode about Prince's 1987 masterpiece Sign of the Times on YouTube. The episode is called if youf've Never Really Got Start Here and whether you watch it or listen to it, it's the perfect introduction to the genius of Prince's music. You'll hear it is music explored. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or subscribe on YouTube. Congratulations to Benjamin Schaub for getting last episode's mystery sound right. That's the sound of Neo being pulled out of the Matrix for the first time. For that scene, sound designer Dane Davis started with the high resolution sound of Neo's scream, then gradually broke it down into more granular, digital sounding bits to simulate the virtual world breaking down around him. And here's this episode's mystery sound. If you know that sound, submit your guess at the web address mystery.2000. Anyone who guesses it right will be entered to win a super soft 20,000Hz t shirt. Running a small business means figuring lots of things out on your own, but with Gusto, you don't have to spend your evenings guessing at tax forms or tracking down onboarding documentation. Gusto handles all of that for you so you can Spend your time on parts of your business you actually love. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all in one remote, friendly, and incredibly easy to use, so you can pay, hire onboard, and support your team from anywhere. I can tell you from experience that switching to Gusto is quick and simple. You just transfer your existing data and you're up and running. Once you do, you'll get unlimited payroll runs at one flat monthly price, meaning no hidden fees. And if complications ever come up with an employee, you'll get direct access to certified HR experts to help you navigate the situation. Try gusto [e-mail] 20k and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free [e-mail] 20K. Once again, that's gusto.com 20K ready to relax in your dream bath retreat without the stress of figuring out every detail yourself? At the Home Depot, your bath upgrade is covered shop, fully designed rooms and curated bath collections to go from inspiration to transformation fast. Savings of up to 40% will make it easier on your budget and find everything you need, from tubs to toilets and all the tile in between to bring your vision to life. The Home Depot Dream Baths built here.

[Grace East]

Finally, I asked Dallas about his trip to Australia. In Brisbane, he he filmed four Bluey videos, three with the show's composer, Joff Bush, and another with sound designer Dan Brumm. Then, in Sydney, he shot a video inside the Sydney Opera House about the building's acoustics.

[Dallas Taylor]

Since I was a child, I've wanted to visit Australia. It feels like a place that you can't get to it quite literally, like in my human bones, it's like, that's too far. You can't make it there.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And then being somebody who spent a huge portion of my life playing the trumpet in symphonies and wind bands and spending most of my childhood thinking that's what I wanted to do with my life, the Sydney Opera House felt like that is the perfect venue. It is stunning. It's in an exterior that actually does justice to the majesty of sound and music.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so flew out there. Started with the. Oh gosh. The Bluey trip was just unbelievable. So we did two episodes with Dan Brumm, who's the sound designer and the voice of Uncle Stripe on Bluey. As the father of three kids who have all hit the Bluey phase, I'm also a huge fan of Bluey, and I featured Dan. I kind of got to know Dan in that process. He's super thoughtful. He's very deeply embedded. His brother created the show. And so I hit up Dan, hey, would you be interested if I literally flew all the way around the world to profile you? No pressure, and don't feel, like, awkward or anything about it, but I'm gonna come all the way to Australia to Prof. And he was like, oh, gosh me. I mean, very humble, very cool. And he was like, sure, I guess. And through that process, I also hit up the composer, Joff Bush. He was also so gracious, and he was like, sure, that sounds great. But I get to Brisbane, fall in love instantaneously with this town. And I got together with Joff, just having coffee, and then we walked the river for, like an hour, just talking about life and normal things. And this. None of this is on camera. None of this is recorded. I think this might be a good time to say that. Like, I almost feel like the video effort, it is so beautiful what I'm able to share with the world, but it is kind of a selfish effort because. And here's what I mean by this. This camera and the legacy of 20,000 hertz, it has become a key to every influential person I have ever wanted to meet.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so what this key has allowed me to do is go, hey, I want to show the world just what your vibe is. But inevitably, when that camera goes off, we're talking about life, we're talking about family, we're talking about hard things. Like, I become genuine friends with every person that I've featured, and that camera has become that key that has unlocked that friendship. So spending, you know, an hour talking with Joff, we're just hanging out. We're just talking about normal stuff that we're both going through, whatever. And then I would ask a question about music, and then literally, he would just speak absolute brilliant poetry like he's Mozart.

[Grace East]

Yeah. Just casually.

[Dallas Taylor]

Just casually. Just the most thoughtful, kind, beautiful explanation that no person could ever sit down and write.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

Because he's a genius in my mind. And then I believe it was the next day or the following day. The first thing I did with him was I got to go into a small orchestral recording. I mean, it's 1820 people, so it was more like a very large chamber ensemble or a very small symphony that he was recording for an upcoming album. What was cool is I would bounce back and forth between the tracking room and the actual orchestra room. So this is for a video down the road, but it's literally me standing next to the conductor while they're playing, and Then going into the room and watching Joffrey give notes and the orchestrators, and it was just the most wholesome, sweet, kindness overload. Everyone was just so happy. And it just. Everything about the behind the scenes of this recording session was just beautiful. Just like the show.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

So that was my first time with him. The second time I went in the next day when everyone had left, and I was trying to just pin down Joff for a walkthrough of his room. Yeah, kind of. Just show me your room. Why is that mandolin on the wall? Like, why is that instrument sitting over there? And I love that format because everyone has in their offices trinkets that have stories. And so he just went around pulling things off the wall, playing them, kind of reminiscing about certain episodes and what they meant and what the instrument meant.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

So that was that entire episode, which you can find on YouTube. But during that exact recording, that's not where it stopped. I have another episode coming where he deconstructs the final episode of Bluey, which is called the Sign. And there's a beautiful piece of music in it called We'll See. And so we spent another hour after that initial walkthrough just deconstructing one of the most beautiful moments, or arguably the most beautiful moment in the entire show. Yeah, that hasn't come out yet. And so I've been just sitting in all of this, knowing what's coming. And it's just. It's really weird in my situation right now how I'm having these unbelievably magical experiences completely alone, and then I have to just wait for months for all of it to come out. And then Dan's video is one of my favorites.

[Grace East]

Oh, it's so great.

[Dallas Taylor]

He was really. The reason I wanted to go all the way to Brisbane is I knew that the sound and visuals of Brisbane was wrapped up in this show, Bluey. So when I got with him, we met up at a park, which I didn't know anything about what the significance of this park was until he would be like, here it is on the show. I'm like, this looks exactly the same. And then this is me recording the playground that's literally in the show, animated. And then he took me to a field, which is in the show, but animated. And it started to make me realize that, I think, to a foreign audience, like an American audience, or maybe anyone outside of Brisbane, I think cartoons are just kind of made up places.

[Grace East]

Right.

[Dallas Taylor]

But I kept telling him repeatedly, it is so bizarre to be in the real Location of an animated cartoon with dogs that are the characters. It's like, I'm standing here, and I literally go, oh, wait, this is the scene from this iconic show that I'm standing in. So just the care and the love that this team shows for their own city is beautiful, and it's a beautiful city with beautiful people, and I want to go back.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

So Sydney Opera House. So I'm like, I'm in Australia. I've got to go to Sydney. And so I was like, gosh, I wonder if I can get into the Sydney Opera House. You know, nowadays I just say it out loud and I go, can I just try it? Like, why don't I just write the Opera House on their website and say, hey, I just started a YouTube channel. I have almost no social proof, but I do have social proof on this podcast called 20,000 Hz. And I heard you did an acoustic renovation a couple years ago, and maybe you could just give me a tour of the Opera House acoustics. You know, just as someone says, hey, I want you to shut down the Opera House and give me an hour, to where you just tell me everything about it privately.

[Grace East]

That's cool, right? Yeah, yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And so they just are immediately like, yes, this is perfect.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And I'm like, great. Okay, that's amazing. And they're like, you know, do you want the stage with this or with that? Or how do you want the configurations? And I'm like, I'm directing the Opera House right now.

[Grace East]

I'm like, what's happening?

[Dallas Taylor]

What is happening? And all these logistics are like, the easiest logistics I've ever put together. It's like, I ask, they say, sure. So before I go down there, I'm like, hey, I just have to ask, why has this been so easy? And they said, well, because one of the people who run the Opera House is a huge fan of 20,000 hertz. And I was just like, gosh, the reach on this thing is just so amazing. So it was one of the account managers, JK Power, who was behind the scenes pulling all the strings.

[Grace East]

Incredible.

[Dallas Taylor]

And you can now watch him on YouTube. Give me a tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was just breathtaking, even flying in. It was just butterflies. Looking at this building that I'd only seen in photos my entire life.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

That place is just a work of art. From the highest level to the most minute level, Literally, the walls have sound waves impress on them.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

I believe the way that JK said it was like, if you strike a middle C in the middle of the stage on a piano. They carved into the wood the shape it would make by the time it hit that part in the auditorium. So throughout the entire place is just a beautiful sound wave just carved right into the wood. So we kind of go through the whole thing. I get the tour of the opera house, and every time I turned off the camera, he would bring up a podcast episode and we'd talk about it. It was just the best.

[Grace East]

Oh, my go gosh. What do you think our podcast listeners should know about the video series that they might not fully understand?

[Dallas Taylor]

It is not the same thing. The podcast is perfectly designed for your ears and has almost no crossover with the YouTube. YouTube is designed entirely for YouTube and not as a bulletin board for the podcast. Instagram has its own editing style that is entirely designed for Instagram and TikTok and LinkedIn and YouTube shorts. So we are effectively making three different pieces of work. And over this journey, I've learned very clearly what type of a story works as a podcast and what type of a story works as visuals. Because I've noticed if we just stop and somebody starts telling me this fascinating story in the past, and they're very alliterative, that is a podcast story. Sometimes we go and sit for an hour and a half. I'm still pointing the camera at them, but we're just sitting in two seats. I can't use this for YouTube because there's no motion. It's not flashy enough. But that's the depth. And I've pulled that audio and we have made podcasts out of that, because that's where you get depth, where then everything around it. When we're kind of touring, seeing things, we've plucked it and we've made videos of it. Because when people are showing things, humans just naturally communicate differently. When they know you can see it, it's true. Versus if you're just taking a journey in their mind with them. So everything is designed to put me in a situation where I can be my best self, be completely present with this human to where then when I put that footage to this very capable team, I know they are set up with every single tool to make it compelling for each individual place. And we think about each individual place as their own pillars where we have a podcast that's very much rooted in our decade of audio storytelling. And it will always remain that as long as we can pay for it. And over the course of the past 10 years, the podcast audience is incredibly loyal, and it is so special, and it is what's built my entire reputation and what has led to all of the access I've been given in video. And so I would say that YouTube and the video effort is. I feel like I'm likely the only person in the world who could be making this very specific thing because of my passions, because of my focus, because of the people that I know, because of the podcast reputation, because of my expertise, because of the sound company that's respected in the industry. I know that I have been given an opportunity that is so large that I have to do it.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

And what is at the heart of this is the audio community, which is the most delightful set of people I've ever met.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

They're generous, they're kind. It is such a sweet, amazing community. And it's this weird world where everyone is kind of pitted against each other in service of trying to get the same jobs.

[Grace East]

Yeah.

[Dallas Taylor]

But everyone refuses to play the game, so we all just help each other. And so that's where I just have inherent faith that no matter where I go, this is a proud member of the audio community. And for anyone in the audio community hearing this right now, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Grace East]

Yeah. And as someone who did not come from the audio industry myself and then diving into it, I just kept meeting these, like, wonderful, humble, creative, talented folks. And I think especially in industries like entertainment, which can be very cutthroat, very competitive, we are highlighting these lovely human beings being good to each other, being collaborators, being generous colleagues. So I think it's a really fitting testament to that. 20,000 Hz is produced by our sound agency, Defacto Sound. Hear [e-mail] or by following Defacto Sound on Instagram. This episode was written and produced by.

[Dallas Taylor]

Grace east and Casey Emerling. It was sound designed and mixed by Joel Boyder.

[Grace East]

Thanks to our guest, Dallas Taylor, for stepping outside of his comfort zone on this one. To see Dallas's trips to all of these incredible places, subscribe to our YouTube channel, Dallas Taylor MP3. You can also find short videos on Instagram and TikTok under that same name. Dallas Taylor MP3. I'm Grace East. Thanks for listening.

[Dallas Taylor]

Before we go, a quick reminder that supporting our sponsors is one of the best ways to support our show directly. With that in mind, get three months of free payroll with Gusto by visiting Gusto.com 20k. Follow the fantastic music podcast. You'll hear it right here in your podcast player. You can also watch the show on YouTube. And if you'd like to support 20,000Hz directly. You can sign up for our premium feed and get the entire catalog past, present and future ad free. To sign up, just head to 20k.org/ or tap subscribe in Apple Podcasts. Don't worry, you'll still get the Mystery sound and new for 2026. You'll even get new episodes three days early. Again, that's 20k.org/ or tap subscribe in Apple Podcasts Thanks.