Kites and Strings

Happy Spring and Earth week - Today's episode features London-based Topiary artist, Darren Lerigo.  He speaks candidly about the evolution of his creative process from when he was in his 20's to more recently when he feels the need to balance creative endeavors with paying the mortgage.  He's been "editing" shubbery for 20+ years but he also has a history of writing plays and more recently poetry,  not only because he has found a way to weave his writing shorter works into his schedule but because it provides a much needed friction and he quite simply enjoys the lusciousness of words.  Darren speaks eloquently about being in tune with one's surroundings, working with what you've got and blowing things up from time to time to get the juices flowing and to arrive at a new idea.  He teaches topiary and he has grand ideas about opening a creativity school. 

Darren's Website, Modern Mint -  https://modernmint.co.uk/topiary-artist-darren-lerigo/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

Today’s guest is Kenya McGuire Johnson - who’s music has charted in the US's Billboard Urban Adult Contemporary charts, the Top 50 Smooth Jazz independent charts and top 10 on the independent UK Soul Chart in which her previous album My Own Skin (2015) reached the #1 spot for four consecutive weeks.  Steve has known Kenya now for over 10 years as he has booked her for a music festival or two, but he shares having learned an interesting fact that he learned from the stage while introducing her the last time.  Kenya  shares candidly about having considered herself depressed as she looked for meaning.  She shared how counseling helped and how she looked to her spirituality and God to get her back into the music game.  We wonder aloud about what we believe live music will be like after the pandemic.  We learn about Kenya's work in helping other artists develop and we are treated to a few of her songs in this episode.

Kenya's website. https://kenyamjmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/kenyamjmusic
Kenya's Youtube Channel
Kenya's Podcast on Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/makingmoneyinthemusicbiz
Twitter @Kenyamjmusic
Instagram @kenyamjmusic

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

In this episode we meet award-winning Canadian musician, singer/songwriter, Ed Roman.  It was a true joy meeting and talking with Ed and we learned a great deal about his upbringing, being the child of a elected official or public servant, which we learn is the preferred and more accurate descriptor.  You'll also hear about how he came to be in possession of the pope's license plates, how it is that Richard Nixon ate his mother's potatoes and how his uncle sold the Japenese a super-cow for $1.6M.  Regarding his music and his path to playing music, we learn about how he writes his songs but we also discover how one particular instrument really spoke to him on a gut level, which is fascinating given his learning disabilities. He speaks passionately about learning styles and recognizing that those  diagnosed with things like dyslexia and autism bring so much in the way of other intelligences and gifts that simply are overlooked because too many people are too busy looking at the disability.  He puts his money where his mouth is too, as the profits from his song, "Red Omen" and it's video, which is winning short film awards around the world, are being donated to the Whole Dyslexic Society.  The WSD is working to get a specific  dyslexia curriculum used in the States and Canada,   

In sum, it's way-cool how we learned so much and had so much fun in this interview.
 

Ed's website - www. edroman.net
Ed's facebook - @edromanmusic
Too many awards to list for his Red Omen Video -https://vimeo.com/446785293
Twitter - @SpecialEdRoman
Instagram- @SpecialEdRoman

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

 

Today’s guest is Adriana Gravazonni - she from Brazil, she’s a lawyer, a law professor and she has a series of best selling novels- Her most recent is called Sketches of Live, and her previous series of three is called Hidden Motives.  I this episode she shares her love of travel, her zest for reading, learning new languagewitters, being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder as an adult, and she shares about her writing process, which is juggled with her active law practice.   She's been practicing law for over 30 years and it was through her work as a lawyer that she discovered a knack for writing and engaged in a friendly bet that had her seriously dusting off an old interest; writing romance novels.

This has since morphed into erotic thrillers  spawning a three part series called Hidden Motives, with the titles, Behind the Door, Lara's Journey, and Brilliant Games.   Her most recent novel, Sketches of Life,  we learn in this interview has a character inspired by her grandmother and a erotic dancer turned spy.  Her novels are available on Amazon and recipients of mutiple awards and recognitions by entities like the Golden Book Awards, the Paris Book Festival, the American Fiction Awards, and the Indie Book Awards, to name a few.   Adrianna is a joy to talk with and to hear of her inspirations and the manners by which she harnesses her muses in order to grab her string and to fly her kite.

Her Website - http://www.agavazzoni.com/
https://www.facebook.com/authoragavazzoni/
Twitter - @a_gavazzoni
Instagram - @a_gavazzoni

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

Today’s guest is Johnny Crowder, who at 19 seemed to have what any kid in a metal band could dream of.  He just got signed to a major record deal and was embarking on a career of recording and touring with a band he helped form and who'se name was tattooed on the body of many of his fans.  But celebration was not in the cards.   Johnny, who is an abuse and suicide surviver, with a mounting list of mental health diagnoses started to look at the business, the pressures, and the priorities of those who managed his career to  make some sense of it all. From there, despite continuuning as a heavy metal singer (or was it death metal or black metal?), Johnny has found new ways to define himself and finds another, equally compelling path. 

Johnny has subsequently become a mental health and sobriety advocate, who has graced the TEDx stage and who founded and is CEO of Cope Notes, which uses daily text messages that combine peer support and positive psychology to help improve mental and emotional health. In this episode he opens up about his journey and provides some really powerful messages that help us explore what it's really all about and how to keep our priorities focused on what is important.

COPE NOTES:  https://copenotes.com/

Johnny Crowder on TEDx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Zb_TLhPOw

The Forbes article about Cope Notes:
 https://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2021/01/19/the-next-evolution-of-digital-mental-health-support/?sh=2b469af758f8

Twitter - @copenotes
Instagram - @johnnycrowderlovesyou
Facebook - @copenotes

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

Happy St' Patrick's day and International Women's month - Today's guest is Gráinne Hunt, who is a singer/songwriter from Dublin Ireland. For those who have listened lately, you may know that Gráinne is one of the artists Kites and Strings interviewed from cities in which we seem to have a following.  She's a musician who has played with Glen Hansard, among others, and it's apparent that she cannot wait to get back to her busy schedule touring and playing her beautiful originals as well as the the traditional Irish music (often sung in the Irish mother-tongue), that she plays with her college best-mate and guitarist, Brendan.  So when things go live again, you can expect to find her touring all around Europe, in the Unites States when she can, and in her own back yard of Ireland, which has a tremendous amount of "gra" for the music .  In this episode, we have a way-enjoyable chat about the Irish culture, Irish music music, Ireland's support of the arts, and a bit about the famine just to balance things out and to understand how important story and song are.  Gráinne is gracious as she discusses her inspirations as well as her writing process, and we think you will truly enjoy this episode of Kites and Strings.

Gráinne's website:   http://www.grainnehunt.com/
Gráinne on Spotifty: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7BCD2hkYfZj2y454dFSgpC?autoplay=true
Gráinne on  on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/grainnehunt
Gráinne and Brendan Celtic MKE Trad Fest concert, 2021 https://www.facebook.com/CelticMKE/videos/183671689925637
Twitter: @grainnehunt
Facebook: GrainneHuntMusic

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

Today’s guest is Jamie Alcroft. He was the Jamie part of the Mack and Jamie comedy duo who were once considered the funniest comedy duo in America.  He’s appeared multiple times on the Tonight show with Johnny Carson and then Jay Leno  in the 1980’s which lead to their hosting the syndicated television series called Comedy Break.  We learn essential points about writing comedy and about his ascent with his comedy team, Mack and Jamie, taking us through Ohio and war protests, Opera, Colorado and learning to smith silver, to being the morning deejay in Key West, to New York and declining Saturday Night Live and ultimately to LA. Throw in a some ice choreography and super talented kids and that's a big chunk of this episode.

Jamie remains very funny, He continues to flash his silversmithing skills, do voice-acting in cartoons and video games and he authored the book the "Tin Man Diaries: A Sudden Change of Heart," which has received wonderful reviews as he talks about another chapter in his life, that of a surviver of a massive heart attack, and ultimately being the recipient of a donor heart.  As a comedian he took the opportunity to mine some good material and is understandably very appreciative of life and his compassionate heart donor who demonstrated ultimate creativity when he signed his donor card. We hear about this part of his life in this episode along with very humorous stories, a few impersonations, and some ideas to turn a book that is dear to his heart into a television series.   Such a fun episode!

The Tin Man Diaries on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Tin-Man-Diaries-Loosely-tightly-ebook/dp/B07MXTPRQ4
Silver By Jamie: https://www.silverbyjamie.com/

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/​
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

"Go Paint, just Go Paint."  That  was the message our guest, Jodie King, received from an artist friend back when she was 35.  At that time Jodie was a mom with two young kids and she had a job that paid the bills, but in this episode you're gonna hear just how amazing a message that was for Jodie.   Fast forward 18 years to today and Jodie King's website says she's keeping it real and slinging paint on the regular.  She also commits to the process of helping other artists, either just beginning or seasoned with years of experience by helping them create "honest art" or to learn the business of art. And although COVID posponed some adventures, she will be traveling to Sedona and Tuscany soon to teach honest art and to help people have a blast "turning themselves inside out" and making "fugly art.   We have so much fun in this episode as we learn Jodie’s methods for getting a community of artists to grab their strings and to fly their kites, all while dancing and swearing in the splash zone.

Note: there are some adult words in this episode.

Jodie's Website: https://jodieking.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodie.g.king
Jodie's Instagram:  @jodie_king_

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/
​Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings

Kites and String's is produced and edited by Steve Ploum at Turning Stones Counseling, Inc.
Our theme music is by Harrison Amir, and all other original music by purple planet music at https://www.purple-planet.com

As some may know, Kites and Strings has been pleasantly surprised when learning that the podcast has found success in varous cities and locales.  Ashburn, which is situated in Loudon County, Virginia is one example. This sent use exploring those areas to find creative types and  in and around Ashburn.

We found Tracy Hamlin and  both Catherine and Steve have since, spent time listening to her music and getting a sense of who she is.  First, Tracy is a singer with an amazing resume and we learned in our discussion that she started singing and touring at a bery very young age, and that she was a backup singer for the disco queen, Gloria Gaynor.  SInce, as a solo performer she's has honed her songwriting chops, has produced, and even started her own record label in addition to touring the world.  Most impressively, she still takes time to inspire and assist at-risk youth and to mentor young musicians.  She’s a joy and you will soon find that regardless of obstacles and barriers, grabbing her string and flying her kite is just what she does. 

Cory Graham: Artist, Designer, Hillbilly; and he has the right to claim that last title.  Yes he has been featured in the Outsider Art Magazine,  and Artist Portfolio Magazine  as well as at the Bauhaus Prairie Art Gallery,   and even though there are some who would want him to be the stereotypicaly "hillbilly," respecting where he is from and those around him remains a primary driving force in much of what he does, including the art that he makes.  Yes, he could have been half of the art craze coming out of the hills a while back known as rooster art, but know now that he’s not creating quaint, crafty pieces carved from sticks and stones gathered from his counryside.  Those pieces are beautiful and they are made by beautiful people, but Cory’s work is  different, unexpected, is largely digital, funny, politically charged, sometimes in your face and very much "Avant Appalachian."   You will soon learn that Cory has utter respect for his community, it's history and its capacity to take care of itself, but you will also see just how insightful and witty he is as he shares on topics like bartering, the need to reject Tyler Childers, poverty porn and Hillbilly Ellegy.  There is also some discussion of  knee caps on stick people and you will hear how Cory met Tanya Harding and actually the answer to the question that almost everybody woul ask of her. 

NOTE:  This episode has some explicit language


Cory Graham's Website: http://www.cory-graham.com/
Twitter: @corygraham
Instagram: @corygraham79

Kites and Strings Website: https://www.kitesandstrings.com/
Twitter:   @Kitesandstrings
Instagram:  @Kites_and_strings
Facebook: @kitesandstringspodcast

Referenced in this episode:  Ellen Dissanayake