Taste Test Live

Lj Holloway (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 5th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary on August 18, 2020. She stopped to discuss her campaign, and candidly shared the importance of voting and offers a really understandable, relatable message on civic engagement and why she began a career in politics.

About Lashonda Holloway

LaShonda "Lj" HOLLOWAY has launched a People Powered Campaign to Rise Up against the status quo of Underachieving Politicians in Florida's Fifth Congressional District.  She is the ONLY Candidate who resides in Duval County and is a former Capitol Hill staffer. LaShonda knows firsthand how Members kowtow to Lobbyists. Frustrated with a Congress that offers thoughts and prayers rather than Gun Sense Legislation, Holloway plans to return to the Hill to more effectively REPRESENT the People of the Fifth Congressional District.   As a Government professional in Corporate America, she sold the largest deal in History to United States Customs as an Executive at Lexis Nexis, to wit, then--4 Star General Colin Powell after 9/11 said, "Thanks to Lexis Nexis we were able to track down Al-Qaeda."   LaShonda J. HOLLOWAY is the Founder of All About HealthCARE Advocates and is the host of the LJ Holloway Show. She is the ONLY candidate in the race who resides in Duval County and is determined to bring the seat back to Jacksonville. She started All About HealthCARE Advocates after overcoming a Brain tumor and has awarded more than 40 Scholarships through The Celebration of Life Annual Benefit to Students who major in Health or Science.    Holloway has always spoken TRUTH to POWER as she helped form a group at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called "NO FEAR" that resulted in the NO FEAR ACT that provided Whistle Blower protections to Scientists that has since been repealed.  QUOTE: Holloway said, “we’re going into a new decade and can't have the same old Members of Congress afraid to effectuate change in the best interest of the People. After all, Schools should be a safe haven, not a place for mass shootings.

To learn more about LJ Holloway, visit her website at http://lj4congress.com/

Heralded as a “powerhouse of a showman” (Glide Magazine), a “legitimate jazz triple threat” (Critical Jazz) and a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one” (The New York Times), performer, producer, and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. goes the limit in the jazz world and beyond.

One of the most sought-after drummers of his generation, Owens sets the mark. From GRAMMY award-winning performances with Christian McBride’s acclaimed Trio and Big Band to world tours with Kurt Elling and Joey Alexander, Owens’s artistic command of percussion has earned him positions in some of the most successful jazz ensembles of the 21st century. Owens’s reverence for tradition distinctly manifests in his straight-away playing style, but it is the versatility of his talent— his unique ability to manipulate texture and create penetrating musical shapes— that attracts the attention of jazz’s heavy hitters. His performance catalog includes collaborations with Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, Dianne Schurr, Renee Fleming, and Mulgrew Miller, just to name a few.

Owens is Artistic Director for Don’t Miss a Beat, Inc., a youth-empowerment nonprofit organization founded by his family in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. To find out more about Ulysses's work, projects and performance schedule, visit his website, usojazzy.com.

Check out this quick example of Ulysses teaching in this Open Studio video on playing with brushes.

We're back with a show we taped on January 14th, but just in time for our guest's birthday! Happy Birthday, Babs!

We started off the show with our "Put This in Your Mouth" segment where Blue Franswa admitted that he's starting to realize his worth and the crew along with our guest discusses the when Meghan Markle And Prince Harry announced they are leaving The Royal Family.

About Barbara Colaciello

Multi-faceted artist and educator, Communication Coach, Dramatic Arts Educator, and Producer-Director Barbara Colaciello teaches the art of improvisation, guiding students to discover their voices, tell their stories, create collaboratively, and grow as leaders.

Barbara brings a unique perspective and skill set to her teaching and writing utilizing her eclectic experiences and interests.

Based on her extensive theater background, sales, and marketing experience and on Bab’s artistic journey as an actress, director, playwright, and educator, she has developed a process that promotes success through authenticity, focus, improvisation, and collaboration.

Barbara provides us first-hand insight on improv, the importance of “showing up” and ultimately having fun. Her home base, known as BABS’LAB is a place for experimentation, training, and performance. It’s a place inside the CoRK Arts District in Jacksonville, Florida that hosts readings, dinners, improv jams, listening parties, film screenings, concerts, and private parties. It is a place where the community comes together to witness work that uplifts, breaks barriers, and crosses lines. Babara Colaciello created Story Slams, a live storytelling friendly competition similar to poetry slams. Storytellers have 5 minutes each to tell a TRUE personal story based on a THEME chosen for the event without the use of notes.

Back for our third show with the most interesting black woman in Jacksonville, Shawana Brooks. She joined the Taste Test Live crew to discuss her recent career change and starting a new chapter with JAMS (JAMS - Jacksonville Arts & Music School) a 17,000 square feet campus for the arts and leadership development.  Shawana Brooks is the new Development Director for the organization whose mission is to inspire Jacksonville’s talented innercity youth and young professionals to become their wildest dreams. 

"Shawana radiates creativity. She is a poet, storyteller, and devout advocate for the arts. As an advocate, Shawana passionately campaigns for progression of not only the arts and culture sector but the city at large, by way of inclusion of both women and minorities." - Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville

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New episodes available every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple & Google podcasts, YouTube, the Anchor app and more!

Listen here - https://anchor.fm/tastetestliveSubmit any episode ideas or suggestions to [email protected]!

Happy New Year! The Taste Test Live crew is back! Taste Test Live features in-depth music discussion, passion-filled opinions, along with interviews by creatives, change-makers, and artisans. This week, we welcome guest Michael Murphy discussing being a full-time independent musician, working with dancers at Jacksonville University and why he loves music so much. Michael also gave us a Taste Test exclusive - first listen of his newest song, "Act Like You've Scored"

About Michael Murphy

Michael Murphy started playing piano at the age of 3. He attended Douglas Anderson School Of The Arts and was awarded the prestigious Chopin award for composition and improvisation. Michael graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelors in Business Management. He is a producer, performer and teacher with students all over the country, original music on iTunes and plays all over North East Florida. With his loving wife, Michael has an 8-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. He has been the Dance Musician at Jacksonville University since 2008; and has played at such northeast Florida venues as Seasons 52, Rhetts Piano Bar, The Tree Steakhouse, Enza’s, Vito’s, Santioni’s, Plantation at Ponte Vedra, San Jose Country Club and now River Club. Michael does special events such as the Florida/Georgia Tailgate party at Daily’s Place, Dueling Pianos at Dickens on Centre Street in Amelia Island, Jacksonville Art Walk and was one of the featured local entertainers for the 2005 Super Bowl.

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New episodes available every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple & Google podcasts, YouTube, the Anchor app and more!

Listen here - https://anchor.fm/tastetestlive

Submit any episode ideas or suggestions to [email protected]!

Happy New Year! The Taste Test Live crew is back! Taste Test Live features in-depth music discussion, passion-filled opinions, along with interviews by creatives, change-makers, and artisans. We have a new opening show and theme music and are glad to kick things off with two new segments. The crew discussed their New Year's Eve happenings and not-so-happenings, MJbaker breaks down why the "b" in her name is lowercase, and everyone's favorite segment, "Put This In Your Mouth" where Blue led with The Top 5 Music Moments of 2019 [source spectrumnews1.com]:  

 "Have A Taste" segment Damien Lamar reviewed the January 5th 2020 show where he produced the radio show and invited guest curator and soul singer Chris Williams to the studio to share some of his hand-picked tunes. Here's the Spotify playlist in case you missed the radio show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/69keZOKXyGPmkwEqKkwtgo?si=Ge-UFl-eRxWTf3GZnHMQIQ

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New episodes available every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple & Google podcasts, YouTube, the Anchor app and more!

Listen here - https://anchor.fm/tastetestlive

Submit any episode ideas or suggestions to [email protected]!

Our good friend Chris Williams - @chrissoulsinger joined us to spill his new single “Come and Get Your Man” dropping on 01/01/2020 and teases his sophomore album "Soul Power Revolution". We were graced with a #TasteTestLive exclusive, y’all and it’s good!

Plus, our Put This in Your Mouth Segment features the latest music and entertainment news spotlighting The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, news about Lizzo, Nick Cannon's diss track "outing" Eminem, the passing of 21-year-old artist Juice Wrld, and Keyshia Cole's unexpected reaction to the new single from O.T. Genasis

Chris Williams is a Soul/R&B singer/musician/producer from Jacksonville Florida. A self-taught instrumentalist, Chris plays 4 instruments fluently, allowing him to have accompanied several local and nationwide acts in both Florida and New York. Also known for his vocal range and falsetto, he’s drawn comparisons to both Prince and D’Angelo. He is best known for his 2013 debut album, “Vintage Soul”, in which he wrote and co-produced. He is also known for performing at several local music venues as well as multiple local and regional music festivals, such as the Oyster Jam Music Fest, Jacksonville Jazz Fest & the Funk Fest. With a background ranging from Soul, Funk, Jazz and even traditional gospel, Chris Williams has been able to combine all of these influences and create his own style of playing and singing. He is rumored to have a single scheduled for release in early 2020.

Social media platforms:

Join Damien Lamar and his co-host MJbaker who were joined in the studio with 19-year old, Spoken Word Artist, Speaker, Writer and Poet and Yoga Instructor, Trinity Estelle. She dropped by during her mid-term week to share some words for young speakers, poets, and artists. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Trinity Estelle found her way to Jacksonville, FL after seeing a warmer climate and attend an HBCU, Edward Waters College. She was a Tedx Youth Speaker, scholarship recipient and guest speaker at the African American Community Fund 25th Anniversary and has also received a Skyscrapers Commissioned Poem for the MLK & Paul Laurence Dunbar-inspired Art Gallery Showcase. Trinity was the District Winner for the Rotary 4 Way Test Oratorical Contest and was the recipient of the Scholastics Silver Key Award for Poetry. She teaches campus yoga and hopes to inspire other young adults through the gift of her words. 

Learn more at www.tastetest.live

Follow her on Instagram: @trinity.estelle

We're back for another solid week of tasty interviews with a brand new post-Thanksgiving music digestion session with Artist Advocate and Educator, Robert Arleigh White. MJbaker discussed the alternative music set she provided for her family on Turkey Day, Damien Lamar had his first "White Thanksgiving" and BlueFranswa offered tons of laughs on this episode.

About Robert Arleigh White

Robert Arleigh White, Principal with Robert Arleigh White + Associates, has over twenty-five years’ experience overseeing and advising nonprofit arts organizations in North Florida where he has also been active in promoting a host of arts-related, community and civil rights initiatives.  In recognition of over 20 years of successful legislative and community advocacy, the City of Jacksonville named August 12 “Robert Arleigh White Day” and Jacksonville’s City Council similarly authorized a resolution in his honor.  Additionally, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville, where he served as executive director from 2000 to 2013, named its most prestigious award, The Robert Arleigh White Award for Advocacy.  Previously, Bob served as the Executive and Artistic Director for Theatre Jacksonville where he was directly responsible for the artistic direction of fifty plays and worked to produce dozens more.  A recognized artist in his own right, Bob has received numerous awards for his performances and directorial undertakings. He continues to collaborate with Charlotte Mabrey, until recently the Principal Percussionist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, in performance and story-telling events. He has also collaborated with Barbara Colaciello, first as Director of her one-woman performance piece, Life on the Diagonal, and also as a storyteller. Bob began his career in Northeast Florida as a teacher, first at Wolfson and later at Fletcher High School, where he loved learning from his students.

We went LIVE at Have a taste of “captured essence!” We popped open the cork and decided to spontaneously record a few conversations and interview a handful of our favorite “movers and shakers.” 

The atmosphere at CoRK Open Studios - Year 7 was lit! Among the hundreds of creatives and supporters who attended, we had conversations with founder and creator of Mister Peterson's Neighborhood/The Groove Suite podcast, Mr. Al Pete, artist, and arts educator Erin Kendrick, plus meet videographer and promoter Javaris “westmcfly” Weston,  Founder & Director of Yellow House, Hope McMath, and Pastor Jay Harris, owner and creative director at Strght & Nrrw and his collaborator Amy Donofrio founder of the EVAC Movement, a crusade of hope co-led by young men.

Put this in your mouth!