Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar

It is a privilege to welcome actor John Hickman to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

John had always been interested in acting, but it wasn’t until he won the opportunity to play a part in True Blood that he realized it was a path for him. His first scene on the HBO series turned into several more, and soon he became a part of Joe Manganiello’s “wolf pack,” which included the opportunity to work with live wolves in Season Five.  

John Hickman also worked on shows like The Originals and The Vampire Diaries on the CW. As a go-to character actor, John worked alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names, such as Bruce Willis, Ed Harris, James Franco, Nikki Glaser, Peter Facinelli, and Pierce Brosnan.  

While his acting career was taking off, he was secretly battling an alcohol addiction. After filming four films back-to-back, John wound up in the hospital due to his drinking. However, it was an on-set meeting with Al Pacino that led him to get clean and sober. While detoxing on his next set, the Emmy and Oscar-winning actor pulled him aside one day and told him he needed to improve. John took that life-changing advice to heart and went to rehab, returning later to finish the film.    

In addition to acting, John is dedicated to philanthropy. In 2011, he established the John Herman Hickman Foundation to aid victims of natural disasters and provide scholarships to the children of Peco Foods employees. His charitable efforts also extend to the West Alabama Humane Society and other organizations.  

On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, John Hickman discussed how he got into acting later in life, how an encounter with legendary actor Al Pacino changed his life, and his work on GUNNER (starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth) and Barron’s Cove (starring Garrett Hedlund, Hamish Linklater, and Brittany Snow).

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It is a privilege to welcome SWMRS (Max, Cade, and Cole Becker) to the Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

SWMRS is not just a band—it's a California-born brotherhood fueled by punk energy, catchy hooks, and electrifying performances. Max and Cole Becker kicked off this wild journey as teenagers, and for the past 15 years, they have been building a fiercely loyal, ride-or-die fanbase while evolving their sound.  

But in 2022, with the addition of younger brother Cade on bass, their dynamic took a decisive turn: the family bond became the band's heartbeat. For SWMRS, brotherhood isn't just a connection—it's their driving force. And now, they're inviting you to be part of the family too.  

On this episode of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, SWMRS spoke about their latest record, BECKER, and shared the stories behind their songs. Plus, Cade exclusively shared how he has grown as a musician since joining his brothers on stage.

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It is a privilege to welcome Saturday Night Network founder and host Jon Schneider to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

In September 2020, Jon launched the Saturday Night Network (SNN), offering insight into NBC’s long-running live show  Saturday Night Live (SNL).  SNN  has become a top-charting North American TV Review podcast network that features rotating roundtables starring critically acclaimed journalists from top media publications and superfans.  

In addition to hosting, Jon Schneider recruits the panelists and manages the day-to-day administrative duties, marketing, and distribution of the podcasts. He also manages a team of interns who create social media content daily for their community. As a result, SNN has become the most followed SNL podcast on social media.   He also manages the logistics of booking guests and panelists for all their podcasts and making sure they are fully prepared with show notes before each recording. The Saturday Night Network charts weekly in the top 40 TV Review podcasts in the United States and Canada and is watched by thousands of SNL fans each week on YouTube and all podcast platforms.  

SNN’s content includes its Hot Takes, where they go LIVE right after the action wraps up at Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York. To commemorate SNL’s fiftieth anniversary season, Jon teamed up with James Stephens on the historical mini-series Everything You NEED to Know About SNL, which breaks down the series season-by-season and reveals insights into the show’s cast members, sketches, memorable characters, and backstage stories.  

SNN also welcomed a plethora of guests with ties to the long-running NBC show. Current cast members Andrew Dismukes, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, along with previous cast members Bobby Moynihan, Chris Redd, Darrell Hammond, Denny Dillion, and Punkie Johnson, all visited the podcast’s SNL Stories.  

On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Jon Schneider shared SNN’s origin story, discussed their in-depth dives into several of the show’s early seasons, and expressed his hopes for SNL 50.

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Five years ago, I launched a new venture: The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast. The podcast welcomed guests from across the entertainment and lifestyle industries.  

The guests have ranged from Emmy-winning journalists such as Anne Trujillo, Elex Michaelson, and Michael Mackie and best-selling authors Barbara Jo Jenkins and fit2fat2fit’s Drew Manning to reality TV legends such as Beth Stolarczyk, Derrick Kosinski, Ethan Zohn, Jon Brennan, Rachel Reilly, Rob Cesternino. and Syrus Yarbrough and social media influencers including Ana Saia, Brandon Farris, Deni Sunderly, Drew the Disney Dude, Hyphonix, Jay Starrett, Jennifer West, Joss Mooney, and Sloan Hooks. I am incredibly grateful to all the publicists and talent management teams who trusted me with their clients.  

 I am also profoundly thankful for the friendships that I built along the way with my podcasting colleagues. They include AGT Time Pod’s Cody, Stephen, and Ryan, Brent Wolgamott (who was the very first guest), Blake Thomas Morgan, Challenge Mania’s Scott and Derrick, Drew Angelman, Dylan Deckard, Jacob of Challenge Historian, Josh Skinner, Matt Cohen, Mike Lewis, Paige of Most Likely & TikTok, Tony Berardo, and Wes of Thinking Critical, I am looking forward to continuing to build our friendships.  

I want to thank my dear friends and family who supported my podcasting journey, especially my mom Gloria, dad Matthew, brother Aaron, sister-in-law Whitney, nephew Nash, niece Emory, and doggy nephew Maxwell.  

 Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank you—the listeners from over 80 countries—for taking time out of your schedule to watch and listen to my content! I am grateful for your continuous support.  

 I am thrilled to welcome my long-time friend—Australia-based creative, entrepreneur, musician, and storyteller James Sismanes—as the guest for the Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast’s fifth anniversary episode. James, who previously went by the SIMMY moniker, was among the first guests I welcomed onto my platform.  

James Sismanes is an award-winning audio and visual storyteller from Melbourne, Australia. A small business owner by day (ImagiWorks Agency, Vision One Technologies) and a full-time creative by night, James is a multi-dimensional make-believer and dreamer of the (almost!) impossible.

With over 500+ sales on the acclaimed AudioJungle marketplace, a debut children’s book (The Marvellous Mullabaloos Only Wear Blue), and a diverse and unique business/branding portfolio, James is always on the hunt for the next “big idea.”   James’ screenplays (“Dr. Claus,” “The Ballad of Bam Barlow,” “Bliss Inc.,” and “Tilt”) have consistently ranked on Coverfly‘s “The Red List,” and he has placed as a finalist or semi-finalist in various screenwriting competitions (including the Emerging Screenwriters, Screencraft, So Cal Screenplay, and New York International Screenplay Awards).

Behind a MIDI controller, James has collaborated on records with award-winning and globally recognized artists like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Josh Levi, B2K, Pretty Ricky (Emanuel Deanda), Gabe Lustman, Minus Gravity, K Major, and Giulietta.  

When he’s not writing, producing, designing, sales pitching, and daydreaming like a world-saving superhero, James Sismanes enjoys eating cheeseburgers and chicken parmigiana, conquering Xbox tournaments, watching Friends re-runs, catching Pokémon, and dealing with the heartache of being a Barça and Cleveland sports fan.  

On this milestone episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, James Sismanes spoke about his debut children’s book, The Marvellous Mullabaloos Only Wear Blue, award-winning screenplays, and his latest collaboration with Emnauel Deanda’s “Body.”

Let's connect on social media! Visit my channels on:
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E) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JacobElyachar

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It is a thrill to welcome alternative pop artist Demi the Daredevil to Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

Hailing from El Paso, Texas, Jeff Azar, AKA Demi the Daredevil, went from being the drummer to being a singer after the original lead singer, Jovan Ortiz, suddenly passed away. With this loss and his mental health struggles as a catalyst, Jeff reimagined the band’s identity into an evocative blend of theatrical alt-pop, haunting soundscapes, and dark, introspective lyrics, creating anthems for other misfits who feel lost, misunderstood, and searching for their unique voice.  

With influences ranging from Tim Burton to Edgar Allan Poe, Demi the Daredevil’s music delves into themes of identity, mental illness, existentialism, and the complexities of the human experience. This gives the listener deep, relatable meaning, creating a safe space and community for the underdog. Not only does the brand avatar reflect the audience’s identity, but it also offers a signature allure for collaborations and partnerships.  

He has garnered over 13 million Spotify streams and over 800 fan art pieces from the “devilins” (his fanbase). Buzzfeed and CBS have profiled Demi, while several songs, such as “Call in Dead,” have been featured on Trebel’s homepage and Pandora’s “AMP Fresh Cuts” playlist.  

 On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Demi the Daredevil spoke about his moniker’s origin story, songwriting, and his latest single: “American Zombie,” which featured his tourmates TikTok powerhouse RudyWade, Filipino-American Ethan Gander, and Nashville’s alternative hip-hop darling Mitchel Dae.

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It is a privilege to welcome Jacob Hollabaugh to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

Jacob is known as The Challenge Historian, and since 2021, he has kept track of MTV’s long-running Reality TV competition, The Challenge. If it’s happening in The Challenge universe, Jacob will be discussing it on his platform, whether it's past, present, or future. Fans can find episode recaps, cast interviews, historical debates, and Hall of Fame tribute videos.  It may be TJ Lavin’s final, but Jacob oversees the record books.  

On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Jacob Hollabaugh revealed his favorite seasons, sitting down with TJ Lavin for an interview, and his thoughts on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras so far.

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It is a privilege to welcome news personality Bill Hurrelbrink to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

Bill got his start as the Program Director for the Manhattan Broadcasting Company in Manhattan, Kansas from 2002 to 2006 before moving to Kansas City to become the Traffic Producer and Reporter at WDAF-TV FOX 4 News in 2008, where he worked there until 2013.   

He left television to work as the part-time Director of Communications for Mayor Mark Holland from 2013 to 2015 before joining iHeartMedia as a Traffic Reporter in July 2016. In 2018, Bill returned to Kansas City television, when he joined the KCTV CBS 5 family in March.   Since joining, Bill’s assignments included – Traffic Reporter, Lifestyle Show Reporter and Host, Election Reporter, Consumer Reporter, and Home Improvement Reporter.  This past May, KCTV5 announced that Bill would be a co-anchor on KCTV5’s morning newscast.   After he was assigned to the weather department, Bill went back to school and earned a forecasting certificate from Penn State in addition to his Bachelor of Science from Kansas State University. 

Bill still lives in hometown of Kansas City, Kansas with his wife Missy, two kids (Gavin and Ellison) and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (Scout and Sailor).  

On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Bill Hurrelbrink spoke about being versatile in the broadcast media industry and the most memorable stories that he covered throughout his career.

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It is a privilege to welcome Emmy award-winning filmmaker Kristi Jacobson to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.    

Kristi’s films have premiered at the Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals, have been released in theaters worldwide, and screened on platforms including ABC, CBS, Discovery, ESPN, HBO, Hulu, MAX, Netflix, and PBS.   Her 2016 HBO film Solitary, an unflinching exploration of life inside one of America’s most notorious supermax prisons, was nominated for two Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Investigative Documentary award. It also received nominations for Independent Spirit’s Truer Than Fiction Award and Cinema Honors Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Nonfiction Film.  
In 2021, Kristi directed Homefront, part of the HBO/Max and Sesame Workshop series Through Our Eyes, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and the film was a Columbia-DuPont Finalist. That same year, she also directed an episode, “The Protectors,” on the Netflix original series Dogs. Media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, Vanity Fair, and The Wall Street Journal have featured her work.  

Kristi Jacobson’s latest project is Louder: The Soundtrack of Change. The documentary takes audiences on a journey across generations, eras, and genres, anchored by a female chorus of musical icons whose songs, voices, and activism inspired the past and current fight for equality for all.  While Kristi directed the film, actress and singer Selena Gomez and New York Times best-selling author and activist Stacey Abrams were among the producers. The film features interviews with Selena, Stacey, H.E.R., Mickey Guyton, Rhiannon Giddens, and music legends Chaka Khan, Linda Ronstadt, and Melissa Etheridge.  

On this special edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Kristi Jacobson spoke about her most memorable moments working with Selena Gomez and Stacey Abrams, assembling the all-star cast, and the lessons that she hopes that the audience takes away from Louder: The Soundtrack of Change.  

Louder: The Soundtrack of Change will debut on October 17 on MAX.

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It is the 325th episode of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast!  

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each one of you who have downloaded or streamed this podcast. Your support means the world to me.  And to the incredible guests who have shared their stories, and the publicists and teams who have trusted my brand, I am truly grateful.  

I am beyond thrilled to welcome one of my favorite Disney content creators, Drew the Disney Dude, as my guest for this monumental episode. His insights and passion for all things Disney are sure to make this a memorable conversation.  

Drew Smith is an Orlando, Florida-based content creator. He specializes in creating content on Disney Parks, The Walt Disney Company, and more. He was born next to Disneyland Resort, and that's where his love for Disney began. Drew started creating content in 2017 on arcades and taught people how to win jackpots before moving to Orlando in 2018. He has since called the Walt Disney World Resort his second home.  

On this episode of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Drew shared his favorite Disney Parks attraction, his take on the 2024 Disney D23 Expo's announcement regarding Villains Land, and whether these new additions could counter the Universal Orlando Resort's Epic Universe theme park.

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It is a privilege to welcome legendary composer, producer, and saxophonist Boney James to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  

Boney’s musical journey began when he picked up the clarinet at eight and switched to the saxophone at 10.  His family moved from New Rochelle, New York, to Los Angeles when he was 14.  In the City of Angels, Boney James joined his first band and attended the University of California at Los Angeles. After he graduated with a history degree, he turned his attention to music full-time and learned to play keyboards.  

In 1985, he joined Morris Day’s band and spent seven years as a sideman and touring musician for Bobby Caldwell, the Isley Brothers, Randy Crawford, and Teena Marie. In 1992, Boney released his debut album, Trust, and has released 15 solo studio albums and a collaborative record, Shake It Up, with Rick Braun in 2000.   Boney James also recorded many legendary recording artists such as Al Jarreau, Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, Faith Evans, George Benson, and Kenny Lattimore.

In 2014, Boney produced two songs on Al Jarreau’s tribute record to George Duke, My Old Friend: “Bring Me Joy” (with George Duke) and “No Rhyme, No Reason” (with Kelly Price). The following year, he first appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.   Earlier this year, Boney James made history as he became the first recording artist to hit 20 number one singles on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart. In addition to his Billboard milestone, he is a four-time Grammy Award nominee and a Soul Train Award winner. Boney also received three NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Jazz Album.  

On October 18, Boney will release his nineteenth studio album, Slow Burn. The record’s first single, “All I Want is You,”  is a collaboration with rising R&B star October London. The song was Boney’s fastest-reaching single on Adult Urban Radio, reaching the Top 30 in three weeks and crossing the 1 million streams milestone within two weeks on Pandora.  

On this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Boney James discussed the lessons he learned from Bobby Caldwell, Morris Day, and Teena Marie, Slow Burn’s recording process, and “All I Want is You’s” viral success.

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