The final podcast of season 1. I talk about some of the creative things I’ve been doing over the last three months, the highs and the lows, what I’ve learned along the way, and what I plan to do differently in the coming months.

Random notes:

Attempts at live standup comedy.

Thanks for listening to the podcast! Email any feedback or comments to [email protected] and I’ll get back to you.

In this episode I chat with Ibarionex Perello, a photographer, writer, teacher and podcaster. He hosts one of my favorite podcasts ever, The Candid Frame, and was a big inspiration for this very podcast project.

Notes:

A professional photographer who writes and teaches, or a professional writer and teacher of photographer?

Worked out how to make a living doing exactly the kind of photography he enjoys the most, despite it not being obviously commercial.

Find the interesting light first. Then find the subject.

Luke talks about a recent photograph in the park. Not a great photograph, but illustrative:

Capturing what we felt at the time of the photograph.

What interests me most in this scene? Then remove everything else.

People watching my juggling show don’t ask what equipment I’m using.

Taking risks as a juggler.

Finding a personal style through a personal subject.

I say: Finding a new style by finding a unique subject. Photographing jugglers gives me a distinct style, photographing the same old travel shots makes me the same as someone else.

Ibarionex says: Find a new style with the mundane, and when the unique comes along your photograph will really shine.

The Candid Frame Podcast – conversations about photography, not about gear.

Using magazine credentials to secure first interviews. And then using the interviews so far to secure later big names.

If you want to be a good interviewer, learn how to listen.

A list of questions is a questionnaire, not an interview.

Studs Turkul – interviewed everyday people for his books.

Interviewing is hard, and very personal.

Want to get something out of the subject that they didn’t know they wanted to share.

The discussion nature of this project is so I get things out of myself that I didn’t know I knew.

Is this a selfish project?

The gems fill only 60 seconds per episode, but everyone will have a different set of gems.

Becoming a blank canvass for the listeners, so everyone can find their own specific appeal.

Interviewing people who have never been interviewed vs old hands.

Interviewing as a conversation, not just soft-ball questions and press releases.

“Wommack!”

Cringing for and alongside the guests.

Pass a humanity test. People crave human connections.

As I becoming more personal in my podcast, more people care. And listen.

The legacy of non-technical content. People will remember the personal connection even 10 years later.

In this episode I talk to a fellow juggler and entertainer John Nations. We touch on street shows, but concentrate mostly on our ideas about comedy and juggling, and our comedic influences, and we rant quite a bit about the things we hate about other professional comedians.

Random notes:

In this episode I have no guest, just my guitar and a midi keyboard. I write a song from scratch, called “By The End (song for Abdi Bile)” and I take you along for the ride.

Warning! This is an experimental podcast, which may or may not be entertaining or exciting. But it’s something new, and was a lot of fun for me!

Gregg Margarite is creative in many different fields, and so am I. We didn’t get into the specifics of any creative field, but had a great discussion about being someone trying to make their way in a world that likes to put people in boxes.

Links:

As he said in the podcast, Gregg is the one with the beard:

More random notes:

Only one thing, but manifests in many different aspects.

This is the first recording I made for this podcast project. I had a good time chatting with Bram, just like always, and of course I talked a lot more than I first planned during the discussion. The reason I didn’t put this episode out first is that the sound quality isn’t great. We recorded it in a gym, where people were juggling. Sorry about the background noise.

Here’s Bram and Sander performing at the same festival last August:

Links:

Pol and Freddy.

End the show with eating yoghurt.

First aid!

Club juggling is popular!

Getting annoyed.

Bram sulks in the car.

Compagnie Ea Eo.

The bit with the hoods.

The stage comes apart and gets smaller…

… and smaller.

Luke and Pola with the Art of Juggling.

More random notes:

Working on a show with a group of people. The role of a director. Financial considerations of working with a group. Creative control as a director. Where ideas come from in a group.

Inspiration comes in phases. Writing ideas down. Or not writing them down. Bad ideas. Ideas from dreams.

Genius creating anger. Definition of creative genius: “I could have never come up with that idea!” Anger fueling creativity. Writing the show “Powercut”.

Creating new material to keep your job fresh. Old material feeling stale. Avoiding repetition, and being spontaneous.

Using negative emotions to affect the audience. Getting out of your comfort zone. Dancing alone on stage is way harder than five clubs. Breaking expectations n regards to emotional journeys. Visceral non-reactions to shows can almost be valid as positive reactions?

In this episode I chat with Brandon Palas, a professional comic book artist. I asked him to draw a self-portrait sketch to include in this blog post (see above).

I’ve not got much to add here, except that Brandon’s dreamed-of web comic project is starting slowly. He said in the podcast “I don’t have the time!” but in a recent email he said “I’m never going to have more time, so I might as well try to work on it now.”

Note’s and links:

“It’s not about the best illustration or the greatest art, it’s about telling the story.”

“Faces and heads are the most important part.”

Windows and windows and windows (learning shortcuts):

This is a warmup sketch before he settles down to real work:

“How many pages per day?”

More random notes:

In this episode I have a long conversation with Nat Osborn, a musician living and working in New York. I hung out with him a few times last year, as explained in the podcast, and wanted to get his thoughts and views and ideas on record.

Here’s a music video of his from last year showcasing one of his bands (and it looks like they all had a lot of fun making this crazy video!):

We talk about quite a few other musicians in this episode, so check out:

We also talk about: The songwriting group. Inspiration and motivation from being in a group. Surrounding yourself with more talented people. Song writing. Changing choruses throughout the song. Not being able to play your own music. Being in a band: good! Being in a band: bad! Production setup at home. Different software. Different equipment leading to more creativity.

I mentioned some of my own music in the episode too. For example: