A Monkey on Your Back: Circus and Music Podcast

Gonzalo Santamaria is a Spanish circus artist, producer, director, and Kaotic Cirkus festival coordinator from Valencia who trained in Bristol, UK, at Circomedia. This interview took place end of September 2020, so it has taken us a while to get it out to you, but it is a lovely interview none-the-less, with music from Spandex Moose, La Trocamba Matanusca, and yet another fabulous tune from The Invisible Circus' house band The Carny Villains. 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness and please leave us a review, or a star-rating wherever you get your podcasts from: apple podcasts is the best place to leave a review for us, if possible.

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast instagram: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Gonzalo Santamaria: https://gonzalosantamaria.com/biography/artist/

The Invisible Circus: https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

The Carny Villains: http://www.thecarnyvillains.com/

La Trocamba Matanusca: http://latrocamba.com/

Educircation Project: http://www.educircation.eu/

Circomedia: https://www.circomedia.com/

L'espai de Circ: http://espaidecirc.com/

"Save the Temazo": https://savethetemazo.org/

Carampa Circus School, Madrid: http://carampa.com/

Mario Queen of the Circus: https://marioqueenofthecircus.com/

This is PART 2 of the interview with Francesca (Chez) Dunford. She sat down with Miss Radida last week to chat about life as a multi-disciplinarian, share some of her own stunning original music from her album 'Of Forest', and talk about a new show she is in with Bristol-based clowning/ improvisation company 'Beyond the Ridiculous'. Their show 'The New Normal' airs live online at 8pm TONIGHT 10th Oct, 2020, supported by Bristol's very own Wardrobe Theatre. You can watch the show by buying a ticket at https://thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/beyond-the-ridiculous/. In this episode we talk about working with Performers Without Borders in refugee camps and working with other social-circus organisations such as Bristol's Invisible Youth, Everybody Dance, and using circus as a tool for social change. 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness and please leave us a review, or a star-rating wherever you get your podcasts from.

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast instagram: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Chez Dunford music: https://chezdunford.bandcamp.com/album/of-forest, website: https://www.chezdunford.co.uk/

Holly Stoppit clowning: https://www.hollystoppit.com/, Beyond the Ridiculous: https://www.hollystoppit.com/beyond-the-ridiculous

The Invisible Circus: https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/

Invisible Youth: https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/invisible-youth/

Circus Montini: https://circusmontini.eu/

Performers Without Borders: https://www.pwb.ngo/

Refugee Youth Service: https://helprefugees.org/about-2/

Project Play: http://project-play.org/

Educircation/ Erasmus Project: http://www.educircation.eu/

Care 4 Calais: https://care4calais.org/about-us/

Wyldwood Arts/ Grief Notes: https://www.wyldwoodarts.co.uk/ourprojects/grief-notes

Everybody Dance: https://everybodydance.org.uk/

Kaotic Cirkus: https://www.facebook.com/HSandKC2018/

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

Francesca (Chez) Dunford is a clown, performance artist, musician, theatre-maker, acrobat and aerialist. She sat down with Miss Radida last week to chat about life as a multi-disciplinarian, share some of her own stunning original music from her album 'Of Forest', and talk about a new show she is in with Bristol-based clowning/ improvisation company 'Beyond the Ridiculous'. Their show 'The New Normal' airs live online at 8pm THIS SATURDAY 10th Oct, 2020, supported by Bristol's very own Wardrobe Theatre. You can watch the show online by buying a ticket at https://thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/beyond-the-ridiculous/. We also shoot the breeze about life online in current times, how she found herself wanting to entertain from a very young age, her lifelong love of music, and reimagining herself as an artist in the current world. The interview is fun and informative, and yet again too long to upload as one episode, so we present it to you in two halves. This is PART 1 of the interview, PART 2 will be out in the next few days we promise!  

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness and please leave us a review, or a star-rating wherever you get your podcasts from. 

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast instagram: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Chez Dunford music: https://chezdunford.bandcamp.com/album/of-forest, website: https://www.chezdunford.co.uk/ 

Holly Stoppit clowning: https://www.hollystoppit.com/, Beyond the Ridiculous: https://www.hollystoppit.com/beyond-the-ridiculous

Take Art: https://takeart.org/

Horse and Bamboo Theatre: https://www.horseandbamboo.org/

Pif Paf Theatre: http://www.pif-paf.co.uk/

The Invisible Circus: https://invisiblecircus.co.uk/

Desperate Men/ Battle for the Winds: https://www.desperatemen.com/battle-for-the-winds-2/

The Original Spinners: https://www.theoriginalspinners.com/

Bullzini Family Circus: https://www.bullzinifamily.com/

Circus Montini: https://circusmontini.eu/

Nicole Pearson aerialist: http://www.nicolepearson.co.uk/

Robert Foxall straps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os_A3Upyb2w&ab_channel=RobertFoxall

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

PART 2: Mike Finch, founding member of Australia's Circus Monoxide and ex-CEO/ co-Artistic Director of Circus Oz, sits down with Miss Radida for a nice long chat. Here is Part 2 of the  interview, took a bit longer than a week to get this out to you all as work has been pretty hectic lately. We suggest going all the way back to EPISODE 6 to listen to the first half of the interview first. In this episode we ask Mike about his addiction to working in circus, how he views circus life moving forward in the current pandemic crisis, and of course once again we have some more brilliant music from the Circus Oz Band and Sarah Ward, aka Yana Alana (and the Paranas). 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Mike Finch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefinch1/

Circus Oz: https://www.circusoz.com/

Circus Monoxide: https://www.circusmonoxide.com.au/

Yana Alana and the Paranas/ Sarah Ward music: http://www.yanaalana.com/

Smoking Hot Productions: http://smokinghotproductions.co.uk/

Captain Frodo, The Amazing Rubber Man: https://www.facebook.com/Captain-Frodo-182882739832/, 

Frodo's Podcast 'The Way of The Showman': https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-way-of-the-showman

Strut 'N Fret Productions House: https://www.strutnfret.com/

Fraser Hooper: https://fraserhooper.com/

Matt Wilson: https://www.circusoz.com/circus-oz/cast-and-crew/details/168/matt-wilson.html?catid=10016

Bangarra Dance Company: https://www.bangarra.com.au/

Frank Woodley (Lano and Woodley): https://www.facebook.com/frankwoodley/

Flip Kammerer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BJQG9c47Ig

The Pitts Family Circus: https://www.thepitts.com.au/

Daniel Oldaker: https://danieloldaker.com/

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

Here is the second part of the Interview GracieB did with the incredible Swedish performing artist David Eriksson.  In this episode David talks about his award winning show; Pink on the Inside, authenticity as an artist and he shares reflective stories about being onstage that also highlight the amazing colourful career he has.   We suggest if you haven’t already go back an listen to Episode 8: David Eriksson (part 1).  This episode will make more sense!

We have a wickid track off the new Father Funk album (thanks Will!)

David also shares a piece of music he did the vocals on a few years back and its AWESOME!

Thanks so much David for the wonderful chats!

www.baldwithballs.com

insta: @baldwithballs

Thanks Will (aka Father Funk) for your tunes and ongoing support with this project!

You can purchase his new album from here:  fatherfunk.bandcamp.com

A Monkey on your back is an independent production!

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB:

https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb, website: www.flameoz.com

In this episode GracieB chatted with incredible Swedish performing artist David Eriksson.  David mixes circus, juggling and acrobatics with absurd comedy making shows with characters that are bizarre yet wonderfully funny!  He has won awards, travelled the globe for the past 22yrs,  worked for some of the most renowned circuses and cabarets and made work that is deep and thought-provoking.  This was a long interview so we have decided to release it in two parts.  In this first part we chat about what it's like performing in the current climate, the need to address and adapt shows.  We speak about David growing up in Sweden and how this shaped who he is today.  We also spoke about his experiences training at Circomedia in Bristol, and how pivotal that was to his life and career.

Thanks so much David for sharing your stories!   

www.baldwithballs.com

insta: @baldwithballs

We have some amazing music by local Bristol based group @binbagwisdom  (Thanks Jack Wisdom!)

www.binbagwisdom.co.uk

binbagwisdom.bandcamp.com

and a beautiful song by another Bristol artist The Undercover Hippy.  (Thanks Billy!)

www.undercoverhippy.com

https://undercoverhippy.bandcamp.com/

A Monkey on your back is an independent production!

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Kaptin Barrett, aka AAA Badboy, head of music at Boomtown Fair, DJ and self-confessed music addict joins Miss Radida and Gracie B for a chat about music, Boomtown Fair, and how festivals are coping during these uncertain times. We also play a bunch of great music of course, including the Invisible Circus's fabulous house band The Carny Villains, The Allergies featuring Andy Cooper, Gardna, and a track produced by Kaptin himself for the Big Swing Sound System. This episode was produced by Miss Radida and The Amazing Gracie B, and Gracie did the editing.

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Kaptin/ AAA Badboy: https://aaabadboy.wordpress.com/about/

AAA Badboy on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/axaxx6ndw2opzzwztz5xs5me9

Boomtown Fair: https://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/

The Carny Villains: http://www.thecarnyvillains.com/

The Allergies: https://theallergies.bandcamp.com/

Gardna: https://gardnaman.bandcamp.com/

Big Swing Sound System: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2DtWOFKSKRGcUPsV1dOEOC

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

Mike Finch, founding member of Australia's Circus Monoxide and ex-CEO/ co-Artistic Director of Circus Oz, sits down with Miss Radida for a nice long chat. It was such an entertaining conversation that once again we have split the interview into two halves for your listening pleasure. Here is Part 1, where we chat about how Mike got into working in the performing arts industry, life on outback Australian roads with a fledgling circus in the 80s, having meetings rudely interrupted by Australian fauna, and finding himself applying to be artistic director of Circus Oz- by ACCIDENT. As usual, we intersperse the episode with brilliant music, this time of course from the Circus Oz Band's extensive back catalogue. Have a listen, and join us next week for Part 2 of this interview. 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Mike Finch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefinch1/

Circus Oz: https://www.circusoz.com/

Circus Monoxide: https://www.circusmonoxide.com.au/

Varietyville Productions: https://www.varietyville.net/shows.html

Yana Alana and the Paranas/ Sarah Ward music: http://www.yanaalana.com/

Julian Bracey, co-artistic director of Bristol-based performance company Cirque Bijou Ltd, sits down for a chat with Miss Radida and The Amazing Gracie B. We talk about his life as an artist and director, being known as the guy who can achieve huge things in a short amount of time, and how he sees the future of the arts industry given the current Covid-19 crisis. We talk about what it was like to build spaceships and 7 metre robots for rock-band Muse's tours, working with Taylor Swift and Take That, as well as featuring brilliant tracks by female world beatboxing champion Bellatrix, the soulful voice of Bristol-based artist Lady Nade, and a stunning instrumental cello piece by Rob Lewis. Of course, we also play our intro theme once again by Aussie duo Spandex Moose. This episode was produced by Miss Radida and The Amazing Gracie B, and Gracie did the editing. 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Julian Bracey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-bracey-2083b244/

Cirque Bijou: https://www.cirquebijou.co.uk/

Bellatrix: https://www.bellatrixmusic.co.uk/, https://bellatrixmusic.bandcamp.com/

The Boxettes: https://theboxettes.bandcamp.com/

Lady Nade: https://ladynade.co.uk/, https://ladynade.bandcamp.com/

Rob Lewis: https://roblewiscomposer.com/, https://roblewiscomposer.bandcamp.com/

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose

The World is Listening: http://www.theworldislistening.co.uk/

Artistic Director and performing artist Chelsea McGuffin from world-renowned Australian circus company, Company 2, joins Miss Radida to talk about life as an artist, running a circus company, and what that looks like in the current world climate- including yet another tale of a circus company stuck on the other side of the world when the Covid-19 lockdown came into effect. This time, they were stuck in Berlin with the full cast and crew of their current touring show "Le Coup". We also talk about past shows, including 2012's London South Bank Spiegeltent hit "Cantina" and finding herself on stage in front of Madonna! This episode features music from Australian duo Spandex Moose, alongside music featured in "Le Coup" by Father Grant and the Blunt Objects and Bonnie Stewart.  This Episode was produced by me, Miss Radida, and Gracie B, and edited by me. 

Support us: ko-fi.com/monkeybusiness

Links:

Podcast FB: https://www.facebook.com/amonkeyonyourback/

Podcast insta: @amonkeyonyourback

Miss Radida insta: @missradida, website: www.missradida.com

Gracie B insta: @theamazinggracieb

Company 2: https://circuscompany2.com/

Bonnie Stewart: https://bonniesongs.bandcamp.com/

Spandex Moose: https://soundcloud.com/spandexmoose