Mr. Nice Guy

I sat down w Jeff Skullman AKA DJ Goodboi. Previously in several local bands, he's picked up DJing over the last few years and has been entertaining crowds in various spots around Milwaukee. We discussed Jeff's old bands such as Sick Jump, getting heavy into DJing during quarantine, binging TV shows, getting weird ads on Facebook, and what Jeff loves to play.

I sat down w some folks from Midcoast Collective - Dahlia, DJ Megadon, .Wav and DizzyRandoms - to talk about their newly formed record label, Midcoast Records. Dahlia's album "Sounds Of My Soul" dropped last summer. DJ Megadon's latest mix "A Mix For The Groovy Children" dropped last month. .Wav's new album "Ruminate" dropped two days after Christmas. DizzyRandoms' latest EP "Dyskinesia" dropped in October. Each of them is on the record label as well. Everyone went around to chat about how they got into making music, their latest projects, what they're working on now, Midcoast's model of putting art and social justice in one space, and their goals with the label to come.

I sat down w reporter and journalist Ali Shana, who specializes in mental health and drug related news. He currently works as a school counselor and just finished his Master's in educational psychology. We discussed Ali's beginnings as a music journalist evolving into drug and mental health journalism, working w kids, the systemic and material conditions surrounding mental health, uniting the working class, and always being a student in life. Follow him on Twitter - @AliReporting

I sat down w multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Kevin Topel, who has been involved w the Milwaukee music scene for over a decade. He's played in bands The Cavewives, The Delta Routine and The Ragadors plus several tribute groups. We discussed Kevin's origins playing guitar and getting into rock music as a preteen, infiltrating the Milwaukee scene via The Delta Routine, originality and authenticity, bringing a creative edge to tributes, and solo material he's been working on.

I sat down w artist, community organizer, model and teacher Annia Leonard, who runs the online metaphysical shop Enchanted Werk. Their products and services include tarot, visual art, resin pieces, chess and domino sets, clothing and more. As a model they represented Milwaukee County for the Mixx Wisconsin USA pageant. They have also worked as coordinator for orgs MKE Good Food Bus and Priceless Incite. We discussed Annia's spiritual journey leading them into Enchanted Werk, their life path number 7, their modeling career and pageantry, Priceless Incite's upcoming pilot program, and the mysticism of time. Annia will be at LA Fashion Week in March!

I sat down w hip hop artist Juxt Dame, who's dropped two singles this year already - "BACKGROUND" and "EASIER" Ft. Canel. His last EP "FAR AS I'M CONCERNED" with DizzyRandoms dropped in September. We discussed Dame's exposure to music and poetry from a young age, breaking into the Milwaukee scene, the music he dropped in 2022, having gratitude, and working w his partner on her music.

I sat down w artist, promoter, singer-songwriter and movie buff Jake Hess, who was last on Mr. Nice Guy a couple years ago as part of heavy metal band Ahabs Ghost. He's currently focusing on his solo acoustic project Wylie Jakobs, promoting/hosting events at Bremen Cafe and creating art/flyers. In fact, Jake created my current Mr. Nice Guy logo. We had a few drinks and discussed the dissolving of Ahabs Ghost, AI art and the emotion behind creating, hosting the monthly burlesque variety show BremSin, Wylie Jakobs' 2020 album "Unmarked Graves", and Jake's top 10 movies of 2022! BremSin's next edition will be Saturday, January 14th.

I sat down w DJ and entertainer Bryan Gorelik AKA BG Good, who runs the booking company Eventspark. He's got residencies at RWB (Thursday), Lucid (Saturday) and The Sofie (Monday). We discussed Bryan's beginnings as a rapper evolving into DJing, his gigs, owning what you play as a DJ, weddings and private events w Eventspark, and some original EDM he's working on.

I sat down w reiki practitioner and artist Beth Ann, who coaches under the name Ebb & Flow Integrations. We discussed the art of reiki and how it can be used to heal, overcoming trauma and addiction, Beth's new podcast Ebb & Flow Sessions, art as a meditative process, and we play a language game - check it out!