Conversations.buzz

MARK AUSTIN THOMAS retired after a long and distinguished career as a broadcast journalist. Here, he talks with Dave Williams about his radio experience and about race relations. This is an enlightening conversation. Highly recommended.

ELLEN JOVIN is a modern Joanie Appleseed, sowing vast groves of grammatical wisdom throughout the realm. Schlepping her folding table and library of reference books, Ellen and her husband, Brandt, have set up shop on the streets, at the malls and outside the libraries of America to spread the Word: 

"The rules of grammar are but guidelines, not commandments. Go forth and clarify!"

JIM DAVIES is an American/Canadian cognitive scientist and one of the leading authorities in the world on imagination. What is it? How does it work? In this episode, he explains the difference between imagination, creativity, and memory. And get this: he says ALL imagination is based on memory.

JOHN LEVEY has four primetime Emmy awards for casting major TV hits The West Wing, and E.R. The actors he cast in those two shows have more than 50. He was also Casting Director for Third Watch, China Beach, Southland, Torchwood, Animal Kingdom, SEAL Team, Shameless... The list goes on for decades. John loves his career and has written about it in a new book, RIGHT FOR THE ROLE, available soon.

I asked KENNY LEE LEWIS how he got so damned good. He told me, "It's a gift".  And, he continued, "It's what we in the industry call 'the curse'." Explanation straight ahead.

For 40 years he has played lead and bass while singing, writing, and producing for the legendary Steve Miller Band. Along the way, Kenny Lee has collaborated and performed with Bonnie Raitt, Eddie Money, Dave Mason, Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, Boz Scaggs, Brian Wilson, Steve Stills, and many, many others. 

Kenny is a family man and an avid fly fisherman. He speaks of the Bible and of the paranormal; he's written a novel steeped in both.

He is a fountain of great tales.

The dude is cool as they come.

TOMMY JOHN is a baseball legend. He was a four-time Major League All-Star and has the third-most wins (288) of any pitcher since 1900 not in the Hall of Fame. Ironically, that may be due to the fact that he is world-famous for the elbow surgery named for him that rescued his career. 

He has nothing to do with the underwear company of the same name and says he won't watch major league baseball these days.

Tommy is a motivational speaker now. He lives happily in Florida with his devoted wife, Cheryl.

ANITA FAYE GARNER grew up a gospel gypsy, traveling across the South with her Pentecostal preacher father, Brother Ray Jones, her famous singer-songwriting mother, Fern Jones, and her reluctant brother, Leslie Ray. Here, she tells their story and shares Fern’s original songs that changed the direction of American music.

To learn more about Anita's wonderful book, The Glory Road, visit her website: https://www.anitagarner.com/

Singer/songwriter, JD HINTON has composed songs and music for Hollywood films including Gloria, Tik Tok, and Mark Medoff’s film, Children on Their Birthdays, which features his song, I Have to Dream, sung by Celine Dion.

JD takes his original music into Los Angeles and New York clubs for sold-out shows at Rockwood Music Hall, Vitello’s, Rockwell, House of Blues, and the Viper Room.

A personal highlight was singing at the Vatican for the Pope.

As heartfelt as the late, great Hank Williams, Hinton’s music has been compared to everyone from Leonard Cohen to Peter Gabriel and Robbie Robertson.

Before his music work began, JD was the midnight to dawn disc jockey on a highly rated R&B radio station that kept L.A. dancing the night away. Hinton began using improvisational skills he developed as a disc jockey to land acting roles in television and films. His name continually popped up starring on TV shows like “Dynasty”, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”, “Mork and Mindy”, and recently in the hit show “Jane the Virgin” for CBS. Look for him soon in Reese Witherspoon’s new project “The Morning Show” for AppleTV.

JD Hinton never met a stranger and thinks any day is a good day for chili.

His original music is available everywhere Learn more here: http://jdhinton.com/