Aaron Mader aka Lazerbeak is a Minneapolis based music producer and the CEO of Doomtree Records . His music career spans a quarter of a century and has amounted to producing over 600 songs that are all available to stream on Spotify anywhere in the world.

Lazerbeak is mostly known as a hip hop music producer, but he actually got his start by playing the guitar as a kid. In fact his high school band was so successful that they got signed by a label and were touring before they even graduated. At that point, he thought he was going to be a rockstar.

Life happens though, and instead of being a rich and famous rockstar he found himself working at a movie theater and borrowing money from his mom to buy a beat machine from Guitar Center so that he could make rap music with his friends. Those friends eventually became Doomtree and changed the culture of hip hop music in the Midwest forever.

Lazerbeak has had a long career full of highs and lows, but still manages to make a living from music to this day. In this episode we discuss his experience making Lizzo's first album, forming Doomtree with his friends, working for free, producing a song for Doja Cat in 3 hours, making albums for each of his 3 kids, running a record label from his living room, delivering pizzas until he was 30, his new solo album that's coming this Spring, and much more.

Bryan Munar is a musical theatre actor who currently plays the role of Orpheus in the National Tour of Hadestown. We recorded this episode at The Pablo Center before their performance on Thursday, January 23rd.

Bryan was on the "regular" path for success in America. He graduated from college, moved to San Fransisco, and got a desk job making the most money he ever made in his life. The only problem was that it didn't make him happy. After a couple of years working at his desk he told me his "soul felt rotten" and that he knew something had to change. He began taking acting classes and got involved with his local theatre. As his skill progressed so did the opportunities that came his way.

Then one fateful day he got laid off from his job and the choice of where to take his life became clear. He got a job as a server at a sushi restaurant and worked his butt off pursuing his dream to become a full time actor. It took years of auditioning and being turned down before he was offered his current role of Orpheus on the National Tour of Hadestown, but he finally made his dreams come true.

In this episode we discuss the challenges of tour life, developing relationships with cast members, being real on social media, peanut M&Ms, personal and professional development, being an independent music artist, making music videos with friends, and much more.

Mitch Wachtendonk aka "mawdoods" is a mixed media artist based in Green Bay, Wisconsin known for his unique approach to creating art from recycled shoe boxes. This "Kixed Media" approach began with simple ink doodles on the tops of shoe boxes and has evolved into something that really has to be seen to be believed. Mitch has worked with huge companies including Spotify and Nike, but still spends the majority of his time creating work in his small studio after he gets home from his 9-5 day job.

In this episode we discuss the origins of his shoebox art, doing commission work for huge brands, inspiring kids to create, valuing your work, investing in your craft, loving what you do, learning how to become a pro, favorite sneakers, thinking outside the box, and much more.

Ike Wynter is a true environmentalist known for creating one of a kind art pieces exclusively using wood found on the side of the road and in dumpsters. Not only is all the wood he uses found, but he also doesn't paint, stain, or alter the color of the wood he uses in any way. Over the last year his art has been featured on NBC, CBS, The Today Show, and more. He's worked with the NHL, MLB, NBA, Crayola, the New York Stock Exchange, Mike Tyson, and countless others.

Ike has lived a very full life from touring the country with his band, to making dreams come true with the Dream Machine Foundation, to becoming a full time woodworking artist, and more. Despite how incredible his life looks like from the outside, he's battled with serious mental health struggles and speaks openly about his experience to help others feel less alone.

In this episode we discuss connecting with fans through music, meeting his heroes, building a multi million dollar junk removal business, dropping everything and moving to California for a dream job opportunity, battling depression, creating meaningful connections, making art with purpose, and much more.

Darnell "Speedy" Artis is an official member of the World Famous Harlem Globetrotters who wears the number 3. He's known as the "fastest man on Earth" for his incredible dribbling abilities, but is also revered for his amazing accuracy as a long range shooter. Darnell made the Globetrotters team right after he graduated from Gywnedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. After a short stint playing professionally in Brazil, and leading the country in scoring I might add, he decided that he wanted to focus on his career as a Harlem Globetrotter.

Speedy has played 9 seasons with the Globetrotters and slowly worked his way up the ranks within the organization to his current place as a team leader, 3rd quarter showmen, court general, and PR representative. He even has his official jersey for sale at all their games as well as online.

In this episode we discuss his life as a Harlem Globetrotter, traveling to over 40 countries around the world to play basketball, inspiring kids, donating hundreds of turkeys for Thanksgiving in his community, his coaching business Underdawgs Basketball, creating Lonnie Young Summer League basketball in his hometown, learning how to be a sidekick, being ready for opportunities when they present themselves, responding to every DM he gets, and much more.

Tommy Vext is a platinum selling singer songwriter that first rose to fame for his iconic cover of the Cranberries mega hit song Zombie with his former band Bad Wolves. Tommy left the band in January of 2021 and has since toured internationally with the band Ill Nino and has also released 2 cover albums and 2 solo albums on his own. Tommy's life and career has had plenty of controversial moments, but you can't deny the fact that he has always stayed true to himself and helped countless people through both his music and his philanthropy.

In this episode we discuss sober living, becoming an independent artist, surrounding yourself with the right people, writing honest music, being vulnerable with others, overcoming adversity, giving back, and much more.

Grace Reiter is a content creator, actress, and comedian from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Grace was a guest on the show back in the Spring of 2022, but she had so much fun that she decided to come back for a round two.

A lot has happened since our first interview. She's acted in her first feature film, performed for Saturday Night Live, joined the team at American High, graced the red carpet with Chelsea Peretti, and much more. Still only 23 years old, she's just getting started...

Aaron Hoffman, aka "SonReal", is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He took the music world by storm in 2013 when the music video for his song Everywhere We Go went viral on YouTube. His name became known internationally almost over night and within weeks he was signing a deal with a major record label in Los Angeles. The music video currently sits at over 44 million views, but his success certainly didn't stop there.

SonReal's earlier albums consisted mostly of rap songs, but as his career evolved so did his sound. In 2017 he released his first acoustic song "My Friend" which had initially underwhelming results across streaming platforms. However, as his career grew and he released more acoustic/folk music his audience continued to grow and to this day "My Friend" has become one of his biggest hits. Throughout his career SonReal has bent genres and released songs that could be considered, folk, rap, hip-hop, pop, and more.

Feeling the urge to write more rap music again, he created his first primarily rap album in years titled "All Things Aside" which released August 16th, 2024.

We first met and recorded an interview back in March of 2023. Since then we have both seen our careers grow and felt compelled to record this follow up interview the day after his show in St. Paul, Minnesota during his latest North American tour.

In this episode we discuss his latest album, performing on stage, writing new music, choosing to become an independent artist, collaborating with friends, staying true to your vision, not being too precious, connecting with fans, and much more.

Matt Ramage aka "that cross eyed Packers guy" is a content creator based in the Green Bay area. Matt went viral on Vine years ago and has consistently made content ever since growing his audience to hundreds of thousands across all the social media platforms. A lifelong Packers fan, he found his niche with fellow Green Bay fans when he started a Packers meme page. As fans started noticing, so did players like Tom Crabtree, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, and more.

After connecting with Ha Ha Clinton Dix on Twitter he started making content with him online. Then, when Matt started his podcast, The Matt Ramage Show, Ha Ha Clinton Dix drove to Matt's house to be the first ever guest and record it in person. From there Matt's show and online presence continued to grow and so did his relationship with the team. Since then he's had about a dozen players on as guests, gotten sponsored by midwest brands including Kwik Trip, and even was the celebrity umpire for the Packers annual fundraiser softball game. Don't say anything about him nearly crying when Aaron Rodgers yelled at him for making the wrong call though!

In this episode we discuss favorite Packers moments, life lessons from players, getting signed to an agency, interviewing Charlie Berens, making clothes he actually wants to wear, getting roasted online, playing to your strengths, and much more.

Brooke Brighton is a tv meteorologist for Spectrum News Wisconsin & Kansas City. Brooke grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago with parents that both worked in tv media. Weather has been an interest of hers since staring up at the clouds as a child.She attended college at Ohio State University before finding internships at ABC 7 Chicago and NBC 4 Columbus. After she graduated she worked her way up from smaller roles in smaller markets to being one of the top meteorologists in the midwest on a major tv network station in Milwaukee.

In this episode we discuss what schooling/qualifications you need to become a meteorologist, being a first round draft pick, building a brand new station, moving to where the job is, working at 2am, handling weather emergencies, growing with social media, a quickly evolving industry, combatting misinformation, spreading positivity, and much more.