Kites and Strings

This episode feature a lovely chat with United Kingdom-based musician, guitar builder and Godfather of the cigar box guitar, Chickenbone John.  He brings an amazing amount of passion to his art, but where others may manifest their passion in details, finish and being technically spot on, John's passion is seen in the multiple ways that he makes music accessible to others (players and guitar builders).  In short, John is in full support of and prefers your learning three chords and letting the music come from the heart, rather than engaging in flashy, technically-perfect runs up and down the fretboard.  Similarly, no need for high polish and fine woodworking when you join the cast of thousands who have entered one of his guitar making workshops. It's totally DIY baby!

He's also made so many guitars himself, and of course they are beautiful instruments with style and functionality, which is what prompted show host, Steve, to make sure one was on his list for Christmas this year, and we are making sure to air this show in time for folks to maybe consider putting a very cool stomp box, a six-string cigar box guitar, and/or one of his most popular three-stringers, in a loved one's hands this holiday season.  Even those who are brand new will be able to learn the very easy open-string tuning approach to learning a whole host of holiday tunes.  Rest assured, John has ample tutorial videos  for one to soak in all that is needed to build and play cigar box guitars.

Chickenbone John's Website:  https://www.chickenbonejohn.com/
Chickenbone John's YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@ChickenboneJohn/videos

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and Strings' theme music is by Harrison Amer, and in this episode,  we featured several musicians playing the cigar box guitar which were found on YouTube playing songs that are in the public domain (see links below).  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

In the Pines:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llIq2WtOJ58
(performed by Jos Maesen)
St. Louis Blues:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKsZR086VTk
(performed by Red Dog Guitars)
House of the Rising Sun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S--9ru6wlo
(performed by Nando Mason)
John Henry:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUdAnM-_y0
(performed by Julien D) 

This episode of Kites and String's was produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  

Today, we chat with Ben Coe.  Impressively, he's a physicist who has worked with lasers and a huge super collider, where he smashes ions together, and  here we explore his tendency to see things in life as largely upgradeable. If something can be improved, made different, better, more consistent with his needs, whatever, he'll figure out a way to make it happen.

We specifically explore another if his life interests, that of being a musician, paying attention to how he's managed his evolving musical tastes. Essentially, he was a heavy rock and thrash metal dude who played electric guitar, loves to solo and who had an aptitude in and desire for messing with electrical currents to create new effects pedals for his guitars. Later, he fell into electronic music and found a way to make music using his talent and skills managing midi controllers and other computery elements. Later he found that get the same buzz he gets while playing electric guitar, something had to change. Enter the Keylluitine, and instrument that Ben invented. Yes, invented.

The Keylluitine is now in it's third incarnation and is, to say the least, impressive.  We discuss the evolution of the Keylluitine and the the creative process that Ben engages as he has improved the instrument over the last few years.  We're also lucky enough to hear a few samples of the Keylluitine. Pay attention to the second half of the episode.

To see Ben playing the Keylluitine, check out Ben's YouTube Channel: @BenCoeMusic https://www.youtube.com/c/BenCoeMusic/videos

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

This episode of Kites and String's was produced by Catherine Chinnock and  it was edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  

Kites and Strings' theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com , and in this episode, Ben Coe's music is also featured.  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

In this episode we talk with June Gervais, an author who makes her home on Long Island and who, as we learned in talking with her after the episode, was familiar with Kites and Strings and had listened to a number of episodes prior to our having any contact.  It also turns out before we were turned onto June, she was mentored by our S2 E22 guest and author, Alice Mattison, and after numerous pieces of her work being published in countless publications, June has recently released her debut novel, Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair.  Catherine and I both heap high praise on the book, but before we finished our respective reading, we sat down with June for this episode.

In short, this episode was a Joy!  We had such a good time talking with June and learned so much about her avid reading as a child, her start as a writer and her process, and what was so fun in this episode were the exchanges and comparisons we had around writing and providing therapy. 

Get a copy of her book and turn the pages, or listen on whatever platform you use, but rest assured you will love the story and the characters.  Feel free to check out June's website and you will find many favorable reviews from a whole host of critics, and still more from fellow authors who recognize an excellent storyteller when they see one.
https://www.junegervais.com/

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

This episode of Kites and String's was produced by Catherine Chinnock and  it was edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  

Kites and Strings' theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

Today's episode is with an old friend, Gregg Calpino.  In fact, earlier in the season when Catherine and I talked about the types of artists we wanted to get on the show in season 3, a landscape architect came up. A bit after that conversations, while actually editing the aforementioned episode, I was reminded that I know somebody who is one of the tops in that field.  Needless to say, it became a fairly easy box to check off as Gregg was very gracious with his time.  In addition, it was quite easy too because it was such a pleasant, informative episode.  I am confident that most people listening to this episodes will realize that the scope of a landscape architect's job goes well beyond what they imagined.

Gregg's page on the Smith Group website
https://www.smithgroup.com/people/gregg-calpino

Detroit's Riverwalk: https://www.smithgroup.com/projects/detroit-riverwalk
Chicago South Lakefront:  https://www.smithgroup.com/projects/chicago-south-lakefront-framework-plan
Hamilton County Coroner's Lab: https://www.smithgroup.com/projects/hamilton-county-coroners-office-and-crime-lab
Marquette Plan & Portage Lakefront: https://www.smithgroup.com/projects/marquette-plan-and-portage-lakefront-park
Carmel, Indiana: https://www.carmel.in.gov/

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by me, Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

Today's episode features Shea Boynton, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the Denver, Colorado-based country band, The Barlow, who released their third album, New Year, Old Me,  earlier this year.  In this episode we talk about how he balances his kids/wife, family, and his job in construction with his band,  band life, touring, writing,  fixing gear and fixing the band van.

We learn a bit about Denver and Colorado, what it means to be country band there, as opposed to being a country band in say, Nashville or Texas, and we'll discuss his songwriting practice and a sense of responsibility toward keeping people on the dancefloor.  We're also luck enough to be able to sample some of The Barlow's music in the episode alone with the string grabbing and kite flying of one Shea Boynton. 


The Barlow's Website:    https://www.thebarlowband.com/
The Barlow on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/thebarlowband
The Barlow's Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/thebarlowband
The Barlow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6RKw8LDet5R7MFkN4OWtR5?si=yWZ6k8bsTTaqrp9uHL1TyA

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum and Catherine Chinnock.  Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com , but this episode features the music of Shea Boynton and The Barlow. Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

In the spirit of Halloween, we bring another episode that explores taking on the persona of another being through dress-up. This week has more a fantasy vibe and features professional mermaid and storybook princess, Daniella Tiranno. She is co-founder/ and owner of Magical Aura Entertainment on New York's Long Island.  For her company, she also plays storybook princess characters and Marina the mermaid.

In this episode we learn of how Daniella saw mermaiding as an escape from a career in social work. However, don't fret as she did come back to it, sort-of.  We explore how her current work as a child therapist is really a "side-hustle" for the totally fun mermaid and storybook princess gig.  Listeners will get a sense of what it takes to build a character, you'll learn about some of the cool things that Magical Aura Entertainment is doing, and you'll learn about the preferred professional mermaid tail, not that Daniella's isn't real.

Website:  https://www.magicalauraent.com/
Instagram @magicalauraent
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/magicalauraent

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum and Catherine Chinnock at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.

In the spirit of Halloween, we're interviewing the haunted house actor,  Rick Basmagy, an actor with the premier NYC haunted house, Blood Manor.  Just looking at the image selected for this episode, you'll see that the Halloweening that Rick engages in is not child's play. We added a link to an article about Rick and a colleague below and by following that link, you'll see many more frightening images.

In this episode we learn of his unlikely path to haunted house actor, we learn some of of the pitfalls, and a bunch of valuable, behind-the-scene information about costume cleanliness, the user experience and finding inspirations for your next costume.  Oh, and there's a healthy shout out to cos-players who seem to have mastered some of these principles.

Blood Manor
https://www.bloodmanor.com/
An article featuring Rick and his work at Blood Manor (with some great pics)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60f85fdfd190c33556c5e84c/t/610862f11c6a61146c6df4ef/1627939570429/press_mag.pdf

The Haunting on Virginia Avenue
https://www.thehauntingonvirginiaavenue.com/
The Haunting in Virginia Avenue - Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075603590570
Statesville Haunted Prison
https://hauntedprison.com/

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.  Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative

In this episode we meet Molly Van Kley, a photographer who is currently located in Augusta Georgia.  Her initial dream and career protectory was in fashion editorial photography, and she found success having been published in over 20 magazines. In that process she developed mad collaboration skills  as she connected with other up-and-coming artists, including make-up artists, models, hair stylist and others who were looking to build their own portfolios. 

We learn that even though she has settled down and is figuring out the young mom thing with a toddler and twins, she aspires to do more in fashion editorial work.  We also learn that she has adapted and has brought her portfolio and her skills and experience to her current clientele, made up of corporate customers,. and most-explored in this episode, fabulous high-school seniors looking for an amazing  portrait experience.  As you might have guessed, these are not your typical high-school portraits. Molly goes all out with her seniors providing them with an extensive five-hour photo-shoot experience with professional make-up, wardrobe, hair styling and extended sessions which are informed by mood-boards born our of intense pre-shoot collaborations between Molly and her high-school senior model.

In addition to learning about light, shadows, the best way to take a selfie and branding one's work, we learn about Molly's creative process and the way her drive and experience as a fashion photographer has pushed her to fulfilling work away from the fashion scene and runways in Augusta, Georgia, a full two hours outside of Atlanta.

We think you will enjoy this way-fun episode of Kites and Strings.  Have fun.

Molly's website:   https://www.mvkphoto.com/
Facebook - @MVKPhotography - https://www.facebook.com/MVKPhotography
Pinterest - @mvkphoto  https://www.pinterest.com/mvkphoto/
Instagram - @mvk_photo

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative

Today's episode features two fine music educators, Tim Placher, who just retired from the Plainfield School District in Plainfield Illinois and Rob Calhoon, a long-time music educator at  the Flossmoor School District about 45 miles east of Plainfield.   Tim and rob are fine teachers and have  positively impacted a countless number of students over the years, but we brought these fine human beings to the show also because  of the amazing stuff they do with their talents outside of the school setting, whether it be event planning and musican wrangling or directing a vibrant church music program or raising funds so that disadvantaged people have the same access to music resources as those that live in more privileged communities.

We have a great talk about what has motivated them, about their teaching philosophies and approaches, and we learn about their approaches to the student who is lacking in the talent category, but are totally in love with the process,

We hope you enjoy this episode of Kites and Strings and the string grabbing and kite flying of two usic eduactors who also  find time to satisfy their own

Robs, Non-profit
https://ilcmc.org/about-us/

Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative

In this episode, Steve and Catherine talk with Nashville-based musician, Phoebe Hunt, who Steve met at the artist's hospitality tent at the Frankfort Bluegrass Fest in Frankfort Illinois.  Truth be told, Steve and his band, Butterfield Creek, were there because there was a cancellation, they're kind-of local, and Steve could pull the band together within 24 hours. They found that they could hang ok, but a quick search and listen to Phoebe on all the social media and music-source sites, will tell even the most casual listener that Phoebe can more than just hang in that setting with world-renowned musicians. 

We dig deep into multiple ideas in this episode, exploring the difference between fiddle and violin, flow state,  the totally-creative and amazing adaption on the part of Phoebe as a result of COVID, and how creating/sustaining a business is just as creative as art or music-making.  Phoebe shares about how she has collaborated to write songs and about other her side-projects that are amazing in their goal and mission aimed directly at the task of helping everybody bring music into their life.   

Phoebe's website - https://phoebehuntmusic.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/phoebehuntmusic/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Phoebe_Hunt
YouTube Channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSgKSBzo1-H39tdqR-ZH0qg
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/1wE9ZF6TT2O3XyYTmPLQ5x


Here's how you can find Kites and Strings out there in the interwebs.
Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
email: [email protected]

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amer and  all other original music is from Purple Planet Music and PurplePlanet.com  Our logo-design is by Cole Monroe at Blue Stag Creative.