JWN

Jerry Jacobs is a singer, songwriter, and audio engineer who hails from Music City, USA. Before planting himself in the heart of Nashville, he grew up right around the block from where I call home in Charleston, SC.

Jerry has been creating and performing music as far back as he can remember and posses a do-it-yourself work ethic that has enabled his non-stop passion for all aspects of the music business.

Whether it be mastering the ins and outs of audio engineering to commanding an audience with a powerful and energetic stage show, his love of the craft of songwriting has allowed him to adapt to any situation and find a way to use life’s struggles as opportunities to keep growing as a musician and explore the different sounds and styles that make up his career.

You can find Jerry at his website jerryjacobsmusic.com and on Instagram & Twitter at @jerryalanjacobs

This is a Solo/Bonus episode of the show. I talk about being happy due to another busy week of photography work and getting excited to go swimming at the new aquatics center in my town. I also talk about what Bandcamp.com has been doing for independent musicians, and how I found a new artist on there that I like called The Ophelias that you should check out. From there, I talk about how I started working at MTV and share a couple of stories from my time there. I have about 4 years of stories from there, so this is just a tease.

I reached out to Ashlee because I was curious about acupuncture and she was referred to me by multiple trusted friends. Ashlee is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Diplomate of Oriental Medicine, has a Master’s of Science, she’s a Licensed Massage Therapist, Yoga Teacher, and a Certified Holistic Birth Doula. She’s basically spent her whole adult life seeking for ways to make people feel better through the healing arts.

Ashlee is the daughter of an NFL football player and grew up in Georgia, so whatever stereotypical misconceptions you might have about an alternative practitioner can be put to rest. She has such a strong independent and caring spirit, and she’s used that passion to travel the world while seeking new ways to care for people.

I conducted the interview with Ashlee prior to seeing her for my first acupuncture session, and at the end of the episode I give an honest reaction to my treatment.

You can find out more about Ashlee's work & retreats at her website mahaholisticwellness.com and follow her on Instagram at @mahaholisticwellness.

Background music courtesy of https://www.fesliyanstudios.com

This is a bonus show where I talk about what’s been on my mind lately. On this episode I do make a phone call to my friend Shawnda, aka @PoySha to ask for some advice. I also talk about an embarrassing high school dance, Limoncello La Croix, & Stanley Kubrick. 

But wait, there’s more - I also beg! Well, sorta… 

If you could go give the podcast a rating and/or review on your preferred podcasting platform, that would really help this podcast. If you could share your favorite episode with your friends that would really help spread the word, and if you know someone that would be a good fit to be on the show, please contact me via JWNPod.com. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the show!

Carla Oakerson began her career in comedy while attending law school by working the door at The Comic Strip in New York, but her boss wouldn’t let her get on stage at the time. She was fully immersed in the world of stand-up comedy seeing every type of act imaginable - She even met her future husband at the Comic Strip. Years later, Carla would sneak off to take comedy classes and now her comedy career has become her passion (on top of being a defense attorney & a kick-ass mom).

You can find her on Instagram at @carlaoakerson, Facebook at facebook.com/carlaesq & Twitter at @carlaesq

A small group of my friends (four of us total) have been getting together weekly at a private pool at our friend’s condominium complex for dinner. It’s a safe place to be outside, socially distant, yet still be social. Tonight I decided to include Colleen, Shawnda, & Meghan (instead of just doing a solo show) as I feel out different ways to approach this podcast. There’s lots of bug sounds, birds, and general outdoor noise, but it helps paint the picture. I bring up a revelation about myself and put it out there in the world. We discuss the various things we’ve been adding to our new normalcy and I conclude with a story of not-so-instant Karma.

I started out naming the solo shows with half numbers, so this episode would have been episode #5.5, but some of the distribution channels for the podcast were getting confused and the shows were coming out out of order. So, since this is technically the 8th episode, I decided to number it accurately before it gets out of hand.

Actor Sondra James may be best known for her roles in movies like the 2019 Oscar winning film Joker, Woody Allen’s Crisis In Six Scenes, or her repeated guest spots on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but before that she spent over 35 years pioneering the world of voice acting doing ADR recording, which is the art of replacing background dialog in movies & TV.

After a long career in the business, she found out later in her career that not only do people think she’s naturally funny & “adorable”, but that she’s as natural on screen as she is in a sound booth. As she explains, she was kind of taken aback to be considered “adorable” at first as she still has a young spirit, but she uses that to her advantage and plays it up for the camera.

Sondra's a legend in the business and I hope you enjoy this insightful discussion into the world of professional acting.

You can find Sondra on Instagram at @jamessondra

Katie Thompson is an independent artist, author, creative consultant and public speaker. As a disabled mother of two, she's also the wife and partner to master woodworker and furniture maker Joseph Thompson. Recently she’s emerged as a fundraiser & advocate for the Charleston, SC chapter of Black Lives Matter. Katie is fierce and compassionate creator who has overcome the most difficult obstacles in her life by leaning into her creativity and using her skills and unwavering dedication to accomplish her goals. She has parlayed her communications superpowers to help others despite battling a host of medical issues stemming from a teenage spinal injury. I know you will enjoy this discussion.

You can check out her journey, including her “Women of Woodworking” project at https://ktthompson.com/ and follow her on social media at @ktkozar

A show in-between the shows where I reflect on the previous guests and elaborate on things that were said during those interviews about art and live performance. I discus my unplanned negative vision board & share stories about getting laughed at in a super market for not being able to walk and shouting inappropriate lines in an eighth grade school play. Please send me feedback at https://jwnpod.com or hit me up on Instagram & Twitter. Also, if you could leave a review of the podcast I'd truly appreciate it. Things are off to a great start so far and I'd love to keep it going, thank you for listening.

Acting saved Patrick Arnheim from flunking out of Princeton High School in New Jersey. He ended up studying acting at New York City’s esteemed Circle in The Square Theater School and went on to a successful career working in TV, movies, commercials & voice-over before taking a step back after over a decade to help care for his father down in Charleston, SC. Since his move down south, he’s reignited his passion for stage acting with the help of the Village Repertory Co. and has starred in dozens of productions, including plays such as Bent, Junk, & The Elephant Man. You can keep up with Patrick on Instagram at @patrickarnheim