Something (rather than nothing)

Charles Payne is a Madison transplant, a certified teacher, and self-taught social artist, originally from Michigan. Payne is a Shop One Educator/Artist Residency Finalist and a 2022 TMT New Play Development Playwright. Their play ‘Da Classroom Ain’t Enuf’ was an American Players Theatre New Voices: Creating the Classics of Tomorrow semi-finalist and a Wisconsin Wrights 2022 New Play Development project finalist.

Payne is an Isthmus contributor, a Madison Magazine contributor and the Arts + Literature Lab’s inaugural ALL Originals Prize winner.Charles Payne - One Water MadisonSRTN Podcast Website

In a world dominated by overnight internet sensations and one-hit-wonders, emerging artist Ainsley Costello has her eyes set on creating a legacy that stands the test of time. A power house voice in the vain of Haley Williams or Pink, Ainsley's lyrics can also be delicately delivered. Costello's heartfelt and personal approach to lyricism translates into an easily digestible and heartwarming listening experience.At only 15, the Seattle native (now based in Nashville) released a strikingly diverse debut album titled ‘You Know I Am’ – on the surface, a collection of country pop songs, but dig deeper and you’ll unravel a multitude of diverse musical influences and lyrics that speak to all of the insecurities of today’s teenage girls.In February 2020, Ainsley and her family relocated to Nashville, just as the world and the music industry shut down due to the Pandemic. But that didn't stop Ainsley, throughout quarantine she used her time to write new material and connect with dozens of Nashville "row writers" to hone and perfect her craft. Creating a body of work that speaks volumes for her young age Ainsley already has a catalogue of nearly 200 unreleased, and 24 published works. In 2021 Ainsley released a song each month, the equivalent of her second studio album and in 2022 she has released 5 more songs.Ironically, after moving to Nashville (the country music capital of the world), Ainsley began to pivot away from the country music that had originally inspired her. Realizing that Nashville was more than just country music her creativity cracked open. Her newest songs clearly have a more pop-rock leaning vibe.  While many reviewers still hear elements of country tones in her voice, paired with the edgier music, some have started to describe her music as "country-punk" or "pretty pop." Inspired by Paramore, Kings of Leon and Caitlyn Smith (all hailing from Nashville) you clearly hear a unique sound emerging in her 2022 works. With a strong sense for live instrumentation others have described her music as a strain of LA/POP from the 90's and early 2000's. Another reviewer described it as acoustic college rock with a modern twist. With a dedicated and growing following it is clear that Ainsley is set on creating a career that stands the test of time.Ainsley began performing in school talent shows and musical theater productions at the age of 7. She has since gone on to study piano, guitar, vocal performance, and songwriting. She attended Tacoma School of the Arts as a freshman in high-school and shortly thereafter began traveling and touring the West Coast full-time. At just 15 Ainsley moved to online high-school (so she could tour) and simultaneously began taking classes at the prestigious Berklee College of Music Online. She graduated from high school at 16 and was formally accepted to the Berklee College of Music's Business Degree program shortly after. At just 19 years old, in May 2023 Ainsley graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelors of Art in Music Business.Ainsley began performing live shows with a full band of adult professional-level musicians at just 13 years old. By the time she was 14 she could regularly hold down a 3-hour cover set. At 13 & 14 she was involved with unaired episodes of "The Voice" and "American Idol." At 14, Ainsley became one of Breedlove Guitars youngest endorsed artists and has since been endorsed by Mackie Sound and has strategic partnerships with Taylor Guitars and Sennheiser Microphones. To date she has performed over 200 shows in 20 states on festival, fair, and bar states alike.Ainsley Costello WebsiteSRTN Website

Born in the sterile hills of Happy Valley Keddies Resort is breathing life into the bloated carcass of the rock world. With an ever changing sound they continue to find a unique position in the current musical landscape. Maintaining a foundation of punchy riffs, temple throbbing breakdowns and melodic intricacy, they have set themselves on a continuous crash course for musical explosion.Keddies Resort fans lodge here InstaSRTN Podcast Website

Joe Maldonado is a poet and mental health professional, author of the poetry collections Subterranean Summer and Skeleton American. His work has also appeared in numerous anthologies, including Remembering Jack Kerouac (National Beat Poetry Foundation, 2022). He served on the council of the Transformative Language Arts Network from 2017-2020 and hosts monthly open mics in New York.. You can follow him on social media, @joemaldonado81 SRTN Website

SRTN is happy to have THE Dakota Noot back on the show!Dakota Noot is a Los Angeles-based artist and curator. He uses drawings, paintings, and installations to create animal-human hybrids that explore rural yet fantastical, queer identities. Originally from Bismarck, North Dakota, he continues to show in both North Dakota and Los Angeles, including solo and two-person shows at Highways Performance Space, MuzeuMM, and PØST. Noot has exhibited in group shows at Charlie James Gallery, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Torrance Art Museum, and LAST Projects. His series of cutout drawing-installations have been shown at LA Freewaves, Cerritos College Art Gallery, and Otis College. His work has been featured in Hi-Fructose. Noot graduated with a BFA in Visual Arts from the University of North Dakota (2015) and an MFA from Claremont Graduate University (2017).First SRTN appearance on Episode 92 DakotaSRTN

Talking storytelling, music, publishing, PR, art and philosophy with Lilian SueAs a PR coach and publicist, Lilian Sue is in the storytelling and relationship building business. She empowers creative entrepreneurs to push past limiting beliefs and gain the confidence to learn how to build strong PR and marketing mindsets and learn how to build and launch successful PR campaigns.Why? Because she believes that inside every entrepreneur is the potential to become a global industry leader and it is her goal to make sure that entrepreneurs feel empowered, and have the confidence to advocate for their goals when working with a publicist or PR agency as well as the tools and knowledge to launch their own strategies.Lilian Sue SRTN Website

Wag your tail to this one! Listen thru for the addicting pleasure of the song "WAG IT!"Cissi Efraimsson is a Swedish LA-based artist and director working in the fields of stop motion animation, sculpture, painting and music.Efraimsson graduated the MFA program in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts in May 2022. She received a BFA in Fine Arts from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 2018.Efraimsson works at the borderline between reality and the surreal/supernatural. She often uses elements from folklore and places them in the real world, within a contemporary context inspired by pop culture. Efraimsson works on the border between the ordered and near-perfect and the skew and absurd. The atmosphere she creates is often a balance between the ugly and beautiful, and Efraimsson mines events and dialog from her own life – with a certain degree of twisting and turning. Recurring themes include fantasy, escapism, magic, and the subconscious, while humor and a playful energy course throughout everything Efraimsson creates.Her musical output is vast, and Efraimsson currently sings and drums in punk-pop trio Vulkano, having previously drummed in Those Dancing Days.VULKANO CissiSRTN PodcastWag it, gonna wag it, gonna wag it, 4u . . .

Nick Malster is the co-founder of Fountain, a podcast app that helps creators get discovered, build a community and get paid for their work.Recorded between Albany, Oregon and London, England.We talk Podcasting 2.0, the movement, bitcoin, sats, value for value (v4v), direct support for podcasts and musical artists, art, creativity, the Fountain app and the podcasting industry at present.Fountain App SRTN

Special Episode!Recording artist Blair Borax returns with a touching live SRTN set in Eugene, Oregon.  This episode is guest hosted by the lovely Jenny Jo Peterson and features four Borax tracks:Tender LatelyWink or WorseCall me LazyLike the WeatherAfter releasing her debut album “Keep Walking” in June 2022, she is working on her sophomore record, “Tender Lately” and plans to release it in Fall 2023.This episode, as always, is crafted by Editor and Producer, Peter Bauer.Blair BoraxSRTN Podcast

Meruzhan Mazmanyan is an Armenian-American artist from the Portland, Oregon Metro area.In a variety of mediums, Meruzhan uses his artwork as a way to send a message; from political propaganda posters, to sci-fi comics, to still life paintings. He feels that the purpose of art is to make a statement, and he makes that clear with pieces commenting on the American dream, consumerism, genocide, and more.Meruzh on InstaSRTN Website