Michael Loves Indy

Comedian and Writer Scott Long has entertained audiences and written for television for nearly three decades. He has made national TV appearances on NBC, FOX (he wrote Frank Caliendo’s NFL sketches for 13 seasons), appeared on Bob & Tom, and tours constantly as a standup comedian. Scott has made his home in Indianapolis for many years, where he lives with his wife and three children.

Earlier this year, Scott and his family were the subject of an inspiring story in the Indianapolis Star, chronicling Scott’s relationship with his daughter Maddie (who has autism along with other developmental conditions) and how Maddie experiences the world.

Scott has spoken openly about how his relationship with his daughter has changed not only his life, but his approach to comedy and creativity. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Los Angeles-based pianist and composer Paul Cornish is a finalist for the 2023 American Pianists Awards. Hailing from Houston where he was a student at the prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Cornish was one of seven jazz prodigies worldwide selected to be awarded a full fellowship to attend the esteemed Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz at UCLA. Here, he completed his master’s degree and studied and performed with such renowned artists as Carl Allen, Jerry Bergonzi, Billy Childs, Herbie Hancock, Bob Hurst, Geoffrey Keezer, Dick Oatts, Chris Potter, Walter Smith and Terell Stafford.

Cornish received the Los Angeles Jazz Society’s 2020 New Note Commission and recently was awarded First Place in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition and the 18th Street Arts Center’s 2021 Make Jazz Fellowship. Cornish was also awarded the Grand Prize in the 2018 American Jazz Piano Competition. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Cornish has performed extensively across the globe with such notable artists as Herbie Hancock, Mary Stallings, Louis Cole, Theo Croker, Snoh Aalegra, Terrace Martin, John Legend and HAIM.

I was inspired by this conversation with Paul, both by his thoughtful, contemplative approach to music, and his artistic range and experiences spanning so many genres of music. We are honored to have him here in Indianapolis as a finalist in the American Pianists Awards.

Esteban Castro is a 20 year old pianist and composer who is on his way to becoming one of America’s most accomplished jazz artists. He is a finalist for the American Pianists Awards (APA) competition, hosted here in Indianapolis, and I had the chance to interview him the day before his Premiere Series jazz trio concert at the Jazz Kitchen!

Esteban attends the Juilliard School on a full-tuition scholarship, studying with Ted Rosenthal, and he also studies privately with Fred Hersch.

At age thirteen, Esteban was the First Prize Winner in the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition in 2016, making him the youngest ever to receive this prestigious award. At fourteen, he was the youngest First Prize recipient at the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition.

With over forty compositions to his name, Esteban has garnered three ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards and has won fifteen Downbeat Student Music Awards. He was selected as a pianist for the Grammy Band in 2017 and 2018, as a 2019 YoungArts Finalist, and as a member of the 2019 Next Generation Jazz Orchestra. In addition, Esteban has won a variety of classical piano competitions(!).

Esteban has played to sold-out audiences in venues such as The Blue Note, The Montreux Jazz Club, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Dizzy's Club, and at a number of international venues.

I was honored to get the chance to speak with Esteban, to hear about his life in music, his approach to improvisation and composition, and what winning the APA jazz competition would mean to him. I was inspired by the conversation, and I hope you enjoy it.

Lou Gerig is one of Indiana’s most visible civic leaders, and continues to have a significant influence on public, private, and philanthropic sectors in our state and city. Lou is president of Sease, Gerig & Associates (SGA), an Indianapolis-based consultancy focused on management, communications and public relations.

From 1981 to 1982, Lou served in President Ronald Reagan’s Administration as an assistant to White House Press Secretary James Brady.

Before serving in the White House, Lou first went to Washington, D.C., in 1978 to be press secretary for U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.). He is a former teacher and newspaper reporter, hailing from Elwood, Indiana.

Lou has a unique perspective on the growth and evolution of Indianapolis, informed by the different roles he has played over the past five decades, and I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Author Maurice Broaddus is based in Indianapolis, but over the past two decades, his prolific work (in genres including science fiction and horror) has built an international audience. Maurice wears many hats: he is resident Afrofuturist at the Khewprw Institute, editor at Apex Magazine, his work has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, and many others. His books include Unfadeable, Pimp My Airship, Buffalo Soldier, and The Usual Suspects. (MauriceBroaddus.com.) His most recent novel, Sweep of Stars, is book one of an epic science-fiction trilogy, Astra Black.

He is a teacher (at the Oaks Academy Middle School), a librarian (the School Library Manager which part of the IndyPL Shared System), and a purposeful community organizer As an editor, he’s worked on Dark Faith, Fireside Magazine, and Apex Magazine. His gaming work includes writing for the Marvel Super-Heroes, Leverage, and Firefly role-playing games as well as working as a consultant on Watch Dogs 2.

This conversation is one of my favorite interviews ever, as Maurice discusses his life, his creative process, and how he integrates his many roles (writer, community organizer, teacher) into his creative life. Please go read Sweep of Stars(!) and learn more about Maurice at mauricebroaddus.com.

I really enjoyed this conversation with David Becker, about how his curiosity and passion for problem-solving led to the creation of First Internet Bank. David Becker is the Chairman and CEO of First Internet Bancorp, a bank holding company with assets of approximately $4.2 billion as of March 31, 2022. He founded and serves as Chairman and CEO of First Internet Bancorp’s subsidiary, First Internet Bank, which opened for business in 1999 as an industry pioneer in the branchless delivery of banking services.

David has a 40-year career of creating successful entrepreneurial companies in financial services technology (“fintech”) and software-as-a-service (“SaaS), having created and sold five Inc. 500 companies.

He has held numerous community leadership roles, including board service for TechPoint, Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. I took away many business and life lessons from this conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Lesley Weidenbener is one of my favorite people whom I have met in the political/media community, and her career spans more than two decades covering local & state politics, and now business, as the Editor of the Indianapolis Business Journal. In this conversation, Lesley shares what drew her to journalism as a career, what covering politics taught her about people and community, and how journalism is changing at a rapid pace.

I spend a lot of my time discovering new music, but my friend Dave takes it to another level, and the breadth of his interests is on display every year in the year-end compilation he produces, featuring his favorite tracks across rock, roots, R&B, jazz, classical, and other genres. In this episode, Dave and I talk through our favorite tracks of 2021 and early 2022. Just FYI: if you like this episode, check out Episode 6, which featured Dave’s favorite tracks of 2020.

Julie Goodman (CEO of Indy Arts Council) and her team demonstrated inspiring leadership in 2020-2021, providing advocacy and millions of dollars in financial support to keep literally thousands of artists in Indianapolis working during the height of the pandemic. In this interview, we hear about Julie’s background as a musician and as a communications/PR professional, and how her path led her to leadership positions with organizations including the Cincinnati Opera, ArtWorks (which oversees Cincinnati’s public art program), and many others. Julie returned to her native Indianapolis in 2017, and she became CEO of Indy Arts Council in 2019. Julie believes that Indianapolis in 2022 is primed to fully embrace a more inclusive, creative economy and you hear it in our conversation, which I hope you enjoy.

Owen Thomas has worn many hats in the past two decades: rock star, music producer, visual artist, video director, entrepreneur. After years of recording and touring with his band The Elms, and releasing a solo album (2012’s Languages) Owen shifted to focus on running Indianapolis-based Absorb, the creative agency and record label he co-founded with Jared Sparkman. Owen is responsible for some of my favorite music of the past 15+ years, and we talk about his life in music, the commitment to the creative process, and how the act of helping others achieve their visions just makes our lives better. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.