InsideThePassion.com Podcast Series

We all have a mind, a heart, and a soul. And, an Intuitive Voice. Quiet. Breathe into this open invitation to enter and listen. Be still inside it’s place of Birth. Can you hear it? Feel it? What is it telling you?

LISTEN

 

During the InsideThePassion.com “Music & Art” category episode, “Genesis,” photographer Caryn B. Davis shares her conviction that…

“When you are in the flow of your Life, wonderful things happen to you!”

Okay! That’s good stuff! I’m ready for wonderful things to come into my Life every single day! But, wait! Hold up a minute. How does one get into the rhythm and flow of one’s Life? Where does one begin? After all… One must begin somewhere.

Welcome to the “Rhythm & Voice” category of InsideThePassion.com

The “Music & Art” category travels along the paths that give birth to visionary works of art. This is the category where we explore how to ebb and flow with the natural Rhythm of Life, and creatively express one’s unique voice from that place.

LaMott Britto, the Creator of InsideThePassion.com, has been plagued for years by the following⎯”How does one make the distinction between the Mind, the Heart, the Soul, and the Intuitive Voice? How do you know who’s talking to you? Which part of you makes the best choices as you go about your day-to-day, practical decision-making? Which part of you serves all of you⎯best? And, what role does one’s Intuitive Voice play?”

In order to address these very questions, LaMott surrenders to his intuition to choose three intuitive women to participate in a podcast episode on the exploration of listening to one’s intuitive voice. In this episode, “Birth Of Intuition,” the four participants begin with shared memories of when their Intuitive Voices spoke the loudest to each of them, and the personal benefits of learning how to listen to one’s⎯

VOICE

 

Now, let’s take a closer look at where to begin to find one’s flow. YES! The beginning! Why that most certainly sounds like a splendid place to begin! And, in the beginning, there was⎯

LIGHT

 

Participant Camila Smith, basks in the glow of warm rays of light. Camila, the Creator of Elation Wellness LLC, lifts the human spirit through mental health and wellness counseling focused on helping children, adolescents, adults, and elders follow their inner voice, live a joyous life, increase self-worth, strengthen relationships, and find balance.

And, Light carries the Gift of Awareness. What can we do with this Gift? We can reach out to⎯

TOUCH

 

Nice! And what happens when we make contact?

We become…

TOUCHED

 

How Lovely! Goosebumps!

A descendent of a traditional barrel cooper family in Ireland follows an unconventional albeit scientific path to bourbon country, USA. The result? Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Craft Beer! Alltech’s Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company in Kentucky is making inroads into the Northeast craft beer producing corridor. And it’s flagship, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, leads the way⎯Becoming “the little engine that could.”

 

There is certainly no shortage of good craft beer brewed in the Northeast. But in a saturated marketplace, sometimes good is not good enough. Yes. There are hundreds of very good IPA’s that sell-in and sell-through the point of sale. Also, there are a few that are so difficult to come by, as soon as they appear⎯They’re gone! Case in point, Lawson’s Finest “Sip of Sunshine” IPA.

 

Today, retailers are looking for standout point-of-difference as craft breweries seeking expansion compete for limited tap lines and shelf space.

 

Shore Discount Retail Beer Manager, Nathan Howley and LaMott sit down for a podcast roundtable chat with Alltech’s Lexington Brewery and Distillery Company’s sales representative, Patrick Sullivan and Alex Foulkes, Owner and Operator of the famed Penny Lane Pub in Old Saybrook, CT.

 

“I’ve been in this business for a long time,” Patrick says. “You can be the most magical sales rep in the world, and know everybody! But if your beer isn’t good, you can’t do anything with it.

I’m old school. Before the craft beer explosion. When I first started out in the beer business with Harpoon Brewery, you didn’t just walk into a pub like Penny Lane and expect an audience. You had to work hard to develop relationships. This is not much different than it is today. The only difference is that, today⎯When you walk into a place with a craft beer, someone is gonna give you an audience.

They want to see what you have because they realize the popularity of what craft beer has become.”

 

Alex chimes in, “From my side, I get a lot of people coming in⎯Trying to sell everything. You have to have a point-of difference. Even still, I get so many IPA’s coming in.

Everybody’s like, ‘This is our great IPA! It’s a West Coast! It’s an East Coast!’

Whatever. I don’t have enough room for all of your IPA’s.

This is my process. First, I try to understand the concept of the beer. And, then the story. Then, I taste the beer. Okay! It’s really good! This is gonna sell!”

“Some products sit on the shelf and don’t go anywhere,” Nate adds.  “And others, constantly move all of the time. This (Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale) is one that does move. It’s a great beer, and⎯people keep coming back for it!”

And LaMott? He keeps coming back for the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Listen or download this podcast for a deeper dive inside Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Craft Beer!

It’s no secret inside the world of theater that the voices of Women Playwrights get little play on the theatrical stage of creative expression. One small professional Equity Theater steps up big time with a call out to Women Playwrights nationwide.

The response?

Hundreds of entries.

The result?

A Collaboration featuring Four One Act Plays from Four Fabulous Women Playwrights, and—Four Directors!

InsideThePassion.com meets with one Director who passionately believes that it’s a privilege, honor, and duty to help one of these Women Playwrights bring her story to life—From the page to the stage! Together, we share the celebration of process.

 

Let’s listen to what he has to say about his role in the Ivoryton Playhouse Women’s Playwrights Initiative:

Introducing…

Theatrical Director Sasha Brätt

First of all, what I’ve found here at the Ivoryton Playhouse is a theatrical, art producing family. From backstage to producing the talent they bring into the theater. Working with them has been one of the best experiences that I’ve ever had.

We were discussing main stage work. But I also have done a lot of work in new play development, and working with playwrights at different stages of development. So, when Ivoryton Playhouse announced that they were going to do this Women’s Playwright Initiative…

This news that the theater was going down the path of new works, when they work on musicals and other known quantities… To see them investing in that part of the process was very exciting to me!

And, while there are so many talented female playwrights, it is a known fact that there is a disproportionate amount of male playwrights produced on Broadway and off-Broadway. These opportunities coming up to hear women’s voices as playwrights, and the stories that they’re telling, are golden.

It was a nationwide call. Laura Copeland, who recently took over as the Director of New Works and New Play Initiatives at Ivoryton Playhouse, set up the structure. The call goes out. The submissions were read.

I believe that Laura and Jacqui Hubbard, the Artistic Director, went through the finalists to select the four plays to be produced in a Reading Production Workshop environment. This week the playwrights have arrived from inside and outside Connecticut for the workshop.

Four One Acts by Four Fabulous Women Playwrights

The other three directors and I auditioned and cast the one act plays a few weeks ago. This week the playwrights will enjoy seeing their pieces of work come to life. Speaking of casting, for all of the actors out there, I’d like to offer a few things to keep to mind before going into an audition:

One: Authenticity

Being your authentic self in the two-five minutes that you have with someone means a lot. Authenticity is huge, at least for me. Because I do care about who you are. I can see on a resume, places you’ve been and people you’ve worked with…

But when I know that I’m going to be asking so much of someone, and I’m going to ask them to trust me, I try to create an audition room that mirrors that trust. Warm and inviting. And that’s what I want to see because that is the team that I’m trying to put together.

 

Two: Present Yourself From Beginning to End

Present the best version of yourself from the moment you enter the door to sign in until the moment that you have walked back through that same door. Don’t give up mid-stream because you feel that you will not get the job.

 

Three: Be Nice and Human to People

You are not just auditioning for the Director. You are auditioning for every individual that is a part of t...

How to grow hops in CT. Once upon a time, hops were a viable crop for New England and New York farmers. And then suddenly, one year, mildews wiped out hop farming in the region. Today⎯they’re making a comeback!

The resurgence and boom of Connecticut craft beer breweries has created an opportunity for new and seasoned farmers alike, who seek to diversify their crops.

One man has a vision to resurrect hop growing in the state.

He’s a farmer first and foremost.

And secondly⎯A master home brewer.

 

 

Meet Alex DeFrancesco, a fourth generation farmer. The fifth generation is being raised now.

Let’s listen to what a seasoned farmer and home brewer says about hop growing in Connecticut. Alex?

Yes! The hop farming business was booming here back in the day! In the 1800’s, Connecticut farmers were able to produce enough to service local pubs.

And New York harvested a serious amount of acreage that was used to be shipped overseas. That was an exciting period for the farming community!

I got the idea as I started homebrewing, years ago.

 

 

Growing up as a farmer, I got the idea⎯Well, can we grow hops in Connecticut?

 

 

I did my research a couple of years ago. And then, I convinced my three older brothers to let me do a test yard.

“You can do a test yard,” they said. “On your own time, and⎯You’re not allowed to spend anything!”

So I wasn’t allowed to buy cables or anything like that, or the core wire. I had to jimmy-rig a test yard of fifty plants to show my brothers, and more so, my father, that they were going to grow. That we can do this!

I was also thinking that deer don’t like hops. And the yard might serve as a sound barrier to the other crop fields.

However, there is really no research that supports the success of hop yards as barriers to other fields. But I’m working with some of the local agricultural centers and universities to see if it’s an actual deterrent.

Those individuals, who are just getting into the farm business, may not have the edge of seasoned farmers. But that’s where the agricultural centers are helpful. They’re leading the research on hop growing in this area.

When any of us farmers have questions, we just give them a call, send pictures, and they’ll come down to check it out. And then, you can easily remedy whatever issues you might be having.

 

What I always tell people that are interested in how to grow hops in Connecticut, or just hops in general wherever you are, is to talk to your local breweries. This is the first step.

These are the people that you’re going to be working with when you harvest your crop. See what they want, and make a list of those varieties. Use that list as your main reference sheet.

Which ones have the least resistance to pests, mildews, and disease? They’re not immune to those things but this information will give you an edge in the farming aspect.

 

How To Grow Hops in CT?

Top Three Things to Consider for Potential Hops Growers

Number One: Time and Money

Time. Hop yards take a lot of time as a commercial cash crop. From setting up a hop yard, to waiting three to five years for hops to mature, to your bread and butter tasks of a growing season.

Do not expect to take a vacation during the growing season, as you may return to insect infestation that has overrun your hop yard.

Money, money, money. Initial hop yard setups can range from 10,000 to 12,000 dollars per acre according to studies in 2012. Factor in material cost increases, sources of material, and current economy, and you could be looking at even more cost per set up.

Also, do not forget to factor in your maintenance cost fo...

The road to mastering one’s craft begins with a keen sense of Oneness. One sculptor with a lump of clay. One painter with a sketch pad. Two voices. One labor of Love.

 

GIL

I can do one of something.

 

GIL

If you look at two things together, it doesn’t look right.

GIL

I can do three. I have three pieces in my new Musical Masterworks series.

Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds

ADI

Asymmetry is great in any form.

Ashlawn Farm Coffee

LaMOTT

Adi, at your exhibit⎯

ADI

Yes! That was essentially my first real body

of work on display. The work I had created

in the little “incubator” that was my studio

at Gil’s, with the support of my family,

friends, and community. It was about me

finding a direction, learning to love paint,

and pushing myself to grow.

LaMOTT

I⎯I fell in love with your self-portrait.

GIL

You’re not the only ONE!

LaMOTT

That’s my Mona Lisa right there!

ADI

Hahaha! I don’t believe you!

ADI

Dialogue with visual art. With self. With your work.

With the human experience. Learn to love it!

And, don’t be afraid of it.

 

Fun with Luke and Christa!

Doing that craft beer “thang!”

(flanked by Small State Great Beer’s John Michael on the left and Pedro on the right)

Small State Great Beer

 

Making it happen!

Keeping it going!

And…

Keeping it real! Oh, yeah! BABY, BABY!

Hey, Luke! You got any messages you wanna get out to the people?

“Drink beer! Drink⎯30 Mile craft beer!”

Christa! And what would you follow that up with?

“I don’t even know if I could top that… Thank you to everyone! All of our friends. Our family. All of our new friends that we’re making in this community. We really appreciate it because if you guys don’t drink our beer, then we don’t make beer, and we don’t make money, and⎯we don’t feed our babies!”

30 Mile

Introducing “baby” Miley, the Great Dane, waiting on Papa Luke to bring home the bacon!

 

Hmmmm… Now, let’s see. What happens when we create this, and then⎯that? Then, let’s say, we mix a little of this with a little of that, add a l’il somethin’ else, and then⎯SHAKE IT UP! Like THIS!

Shahiyd FX

Photo Credit: Sara McIngvale

Let’s experiment⎯and see what happens!

The wilding of youth in a bar room brawl spills outdoors and leads to one bone crunching punch on a concrete pavement⎯paving the way to golden opportunities for growth, achievement, and a wee bit of wisdom.

 

Sometimes, a wee bit⎯goes a long way.

Last year, LaMott fell in love with three self portraits. One from each of this website’s three contributing launch artists. This is one.

 

LaMott finds the ideal photographer to capture the spirit of the local craft beer explosion. Tracey Kroll nails IT!

He removes a mythical symbol of creativity, rebirth, and Esoteric Knowledge from the deep pocket of his trench coat. This symbol can unknowingly lead one into the depths of subconscious so one can see what’s up. This place, LaMott calls – CZechMate.

An American musician is beckoned to Prague by his love for a Czech poet, and a longing to be immersed in a rich culture that embraces the arts. One night in this magical city, after the debut concert performance of his new band, Supercool…