Life, Music, and the Pursuit of Answers

In late 2019, I was asked to give a keynote and performance for the United Nations International Day of Peace at the Hostelling International in downtown Chicago. They asked if I could talk about the relationship between music and world peace. I responded, "Absolutely!" and got to work.

For that event, I had to fill about 40 minutes with talking and any question and answer. Two years later, while visiting my wife, Megan Corse, in Los Angeles, I cut the "script" down to about 20 minutes. Then, the two of us went out to one of our favorite places, the Pacific Palisades in Santa Monica, and recorded me sharing the trimmed down speech. I added some of my music and stock video footage, and released the video.

Here's my take on the relationship between music and peace. I hope it spurs some dialogue, some deep dives, and a nice pause to consider the depths of human connections across the planet.

I decided to add this video, and its audio, to my limited podcast series, to round out the number of episodes and give something positive to follow my last couple episodes that were recorded during COVID lockdowns in the US and UK.

Phil Circle brings back three previous guests to discuss how they're dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Actress Megan Corse, Chris Bell, owner of Flatts & Sharpe Music, and actress and coach Mary Reynard Liss came back to visit Phil for a Zoom Meeting that was also broadcast live on Facebook.

With a goal of finding the positive in the midst of so much negative, they spend about an hour addressing the issues facing their worlds and all of humanity during this unprecedented modern pandemic.

Visit Phil's YouTube page and check out the video of Phil's conversation with Mary, Megan, and Chris, via a secure Zoom meeting.

This episode was recorded April 6th, 2020 from Phil Circle's home in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Dave Arcari is a Scottish alt blues musician based outside of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Phil Circle and Dave Arcari have known each other for years and shared the stage together in Chicago, USA.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to reach out "across the pond" and talk about how it's affecting their worlds. With additional discussion of Dave's work, they also cover some aspects of how to monetize your music in a way that's comfortable and that doesn't compromise one's creative integrity.

At the end of this episode is a recording by Dave Arcari, Devil's Lefthand.

The explicit listing is for language.

Visit Phil's YouTube page and check out the video of Phil and Dave recording this podcast via a secure Zoom meeting.

This episode was recorded March 31st, 2020 from Phil Circle's home in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Pulling from a blog written at the start of 2020, Phil Circle discusses how he's come to embrace gratitude. Through his struggle with finding and maintaining it, he shares tips on making gratitude a part of one's life and gives real life and scientific reasons for pursuing this powerful emotion.

Read the blog that led to this podcast.

Visit Phil's YouTube page and check out a few videos in his Hey Coach! playlist that deal with gratitude and mission.

This episode was recorded February 10, 2020 at Phil Circle's home in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Greg Burlet, founder and designer of the A.I. music app Frettable, joins Phil Circle from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for this great discussion about music, A.I.'s potential affect on the world and our future, and how he came to create his astounding app.

Check out Phil Circle's video about music as a universal language from his Hey Coach playlist on his YouTube page.

This was recorded remotely between Chicago and Edmonton.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Yuri Naumov is a Russian poet, composer, guitarist and singer. While visiting Chicago for a show, Phil Circle caught up with him at the home of mutual friends from the Russian music group Chai Key. 

Yuri shares his story about growing up in Soviet Russia and what it was like for musicians like himself. He also gives some tremendous insights into music and how it resonates in our lives, and talks about why he didn't sign a major record deal.

Check out this short video of Phil Circle talking about how music is a world unifying device from the Hey Coach playlist of his YouTube page.

This was recorded in Morton Grove, Illinois (suburban Chicago) on August 22nd.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Why We Create, Why Stage Fright is Good, and the Truth About Marketing, with Bob Baker.

Bob Baker is a music and arts marketing guru and coach who has been ahead of most every trend for the last 25 years. Also a singer-songwriter, visual artist, and improv comedy teacher, he brings his wide understanding of the arts to his work. Phil Circle and Bob cover the 4 reasons people create, why stage fright is good, and the truth about marketing for the creative.

Have a look at Phil Circle's video about stage fright from the Hey Coach playlist of his YouTube page.

This was recorded at the 2019 CD Baby DIY Musicians Conference in Austin, Texas on Sunday, August 18th at the Austin Hilton.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Megan Corse is a Chicago-based actress.

Phil Circle is her husband.

They take walks and talk about stuff. This time, they recorded their conversation.

They talk about the need to never stop learning and what it means to be entrepreneurs in the arts. They talk about collaboration. 

Then Megan shares her experience as a woman of mixed race. She relates some stories about bartending in a small town in Wisconsin near where she grew up. She relates the insights she gained related to opening dialogue where there was real potential for greater rifts and even hatred. 

If you care about creating dialogue as a pathway to healing rifts and bringing people closer together, please listen to this episode carefully.

Here are Phil and Megan having a little fun with a box-opening video for Phil's book.

This was recorded while walking through Chicago's Rogers Park and West Ridge neighborhoods, ending up in Indian Boundary Park.

It was Saturday, August 3rd, 2019.

Have a look at Phil Circle's video What's Your ID? about the identity of the artist, from the Hey Coach playlist of his YouTube page.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book,

The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.

Songwriters Darin Jellison and Shenendoah Thompson join Phil Circle to discuss what fascinates them and the conversation goes down many paths. Darin shares his experience with the creative process as an architect, they talk about Guilt By Association Records' place as a disruptor in the music industry, how cultural evolution changes what's considered right among humans, the exponential effect of collaboration and open dialogue, and how they'd each like to change the world.

This was recorded at Phil Circle Music/Guilt By Association Records in Rogers Park, Chicago on the evening of 7-14-2019.

This podcast completed a weekend of GBA Records events, including live shows, radio appearances, and a boat tour down the Chicago River that was filmed for the short video Building Banter. July 12-14th, 2019 is considered the official launch of the cooperative efforts GBA is making to replace and refit the ailing record industry in America. Shenendoah and Darin are the first two artists to join Phil Circle in this Patron-funded co-op.

You can learn more about Guilt By Association Records and the Patreon Campaign that funds the label by clicking their links or looking over the playlist on Phil Circle's YouTube page. Artists pay nothing to the label.

If you're enjoying Phil Circle's discussions, check out his award-winning book, The Outback Musician's Survival Guide: One Guy's Story of Surviving as an Independent Musician, available in all formats.