“This podcast is an exercise in not being perfect” says recovering perfectionist Ken Calcaterra. Amen brother.

Fresh off his documentary Emmy, video storyteller, podcast host and my buddy Ken Calcaterra and I interviewed each other just for kicks.

We determine: Larry deserves as much as Bono – Old guys still want to rock – Creative’s wouldn’t be hurt by taking some basic business classes - Never give up and try new shit – Which metal track works for a beer commercial - recovering perfectionism is manifesting itself, The band The Death, Javier Mendoza and our respective start ups. Enjoy!

The Documentary that won the Emmy

http://kencalcaterra.com/pedaling-to-stop-pushing-winner-mid-america-emmy-2016/

The Hard Rock Life

http://kencalcaterra.com/its-a-hard-rock-life-teaser-2015/

McAnallen and Son.

When you meet Ray McAnallen, he’s one of those guys you don’t forget. Cigar, beard, Hawaiian shirt, that certain swagger – is he a private eye in a Carl Hiasson book? A Lost Jimmy Buffet keyboardist who missed the tour bus? Nope, Ray is a St. Louis Ad man.

And what you see is what you get with Ray - he’s been part of the St. Louis ad scene for 30 plus years. From his days as an art director at the height of D’Arcy to his current run with Ad Savants, Ray possesses that always enthusiastic vibe and quick laugh that you can tell brings real fun to insanity of the ad biz.

His son Max not only joined him for the cast, but also has started his own career in the scene, coming up in HR none the less, but now has found his way into the new St. Louis creative endeavor, Startups.

The guys talk about their father/son relationship, what it was like growing up in a household run by a “creative”, advice on keeping it real, and getting ready for the upcoming Agency Jam. Enjoy.

Content, motion, sound and swagger. Antidote is the remedy to rock.

Michael Francis and Ryan Bury started their production studio 8 years ago. It was small and scrappy and defined by a peculiar little space and very good work.

They’ve since grown up and grown out. With a vast and beautiful new space, new look and feel and a fresh sensibility they’ve made their bones and are now comfortably occupying the “Heavy Hitter” category in town. Simply put, they’ve arrived. I caught up with the duo to talk about their current state of creation and reflect a little on what they’ve built together and where they are headed in the future.

They’re feeling so plucky in fact that they’ve decided to bring the Agency Jam back – The one where every agency in town puts a band together, designs posters and t-shirts and then battles it out for supreme bragging rights of rock and design chops. September 14th – mark your calendars.

The Reel

https://vimeo.com/219936318

Music by Flaming Death Trap

Fathers Day Special – Cbabi Bayoc takes on the art of being a dad.

Cbabi Bayoc's artistic work mixes caricature, realism, portraiture, and compassionate observation to create an important and remarkable narrative of the African American family experience. In fact, a few years ago he painted a finished work every day for a year on the subject of fatherhood. Throw in the fact that he and his wife run an incredibly successful and delicious bakery, café and studio called Sweet Art, and Cbabi is an artist who has harnessed his creativity for social change and sweet commerce.

Jeff sat down with Cbabi to talk about where he learned his craft, his Prince album cover experience, and how his name change to Cbabi (Creative Black Artist Battling Ignorance)in college gave him his life’s mission.

Have a listen and enjoy!

http://sweetartstl.com/index.php/about/meet-cbabi

Recovering Creative Director. Chris Aguirre leads the Recovery Revolution.

After nearly 20 years of sobriety and a few years out of the ad business, Chris Aguirre found himself at the point in his life where something had to give. His own battle with depression and social anxiety mixed with a creative’s dark cynicism had pushed him out of the ad business. Worse, it kept him out of ‘the rooms’ as it were, so there was no where to take this sudden desire to give back to those still battling their demons.

So he started Since Right Now (sincerightnow.com/), a highly evolved brand that has become one of the authoritative voices (and by far the best looking) in challenging the old thinking that stigmatized those in recovery.

Since it’s inception 3 years ago, the site has featured interviews, musings, articles, poetry, art, music, comics, merch and wisdom from a venerable who’s who in the space and one theme is woven throughout – the link between getting sober and finding your creativity.

With a possible printed magazine on the horizon, SRN has helped shape the dialogue, soundtrack and visual sensibility of recovering out loud. It’s a place for anyone who may have a problem to go and identify with others who’ve been there before.

It’s been my pleasure to be along for the ride as a co-host the SRN podcast. Check them all out here.

http://sincerightnow.com/pdcst/

http://sincerightnow.com/srn-ntwrk/

Thanks Antidote STL! http://www.antidotestl.com/

Music by Flaming Death Trap.

Check out the Schwinn Varsity Trailer here. NSFW.

https://vimeo.com/213769266

Summer, 1977. Two teenage boys set out on a bicycle journey in an epic search for freedom, America, and a dumpster full of discarded Porno mags.

A little "Stand By Me", a little "Dazed and Confused" and a Whole Lotta Love, writer/producer Richard Eschenroeder has had "Schwinn Varsity" in some stage of development for 15 years.

Jen and I caught up with him and got the story behind the project and the passion it took to keep it alive over time and distance. The idea is an homage to the classic film "Easy Rider", and the trailer was made right here in STL. It's a beautiful piece of work. Put the Pedal to the Metal and check it out.

Music by Flaming Death Trap.

“There’s these two knuckleheads on the couch telling the editors what to do, that’s when I realized I wanted to be one of those guys," says Joe Bishop on the moment he realized he wanted to be an agency creative. Since then he and his compadres have been creating some of the more famous and infamous (Quadracorn!) work to come out of the St. Louis agency scene.

Joe talks to Jeff and Jen about getting his start doing memorial videos for the recently deceased, being asked to find his own way out during his first interview and the advanced metrics of casino barge level in judging the effectiveness of a campaign. And we offer our opinion on when exactly agency creatives will be replaced by artificial intelligence (next Thursday). Enjoy!

Quadracorn Spot: http://www.welovead.com/en/works/details/4e1DirrC

Shoutouts: AntidoteSTL! and Flaming Death Trap!

Talent Plus turns 40.

“I still love doing this,” says Sharon Tucci, which is not at all surprising if you've spent any time around her. Her daily enthusiasm, real generosity and natural ability to listen and connect have made her one of the true cultural icons of our city. In every era since she opened her doors in 1977, Sharon has been on trend and totally relevant across the creative and artistic scene in St. Louis.

Jen and I have been trying to get her to agree to an interview for over a year and we finally cajoled her. After all, she’s much more comfortable behind the scenes, making deals for her clients.

We talk about her start and the early days of Talent Plus, the 70’s CWE scene, and then a little music, models, film, fashion, super souling and the TP future. Enjoy!

http://www.talentpl.us/

Thanks to Antidote for partnering on the Podcast - Go see the new space - http://www.antidotestl.com/

Music by Flaming Death Trap

Keep Fast Company. Jon Maurice has the Need for Speed.

With the new show, Speed is the New Black, coming to Velocity in May and Fast N’ Loud roaring into it’s 10th season, Jon Maurice and his No Coast cohorts have made plenty of noise in reality TV. Now they’ve turned their sights into using this model to creates hits and build audiences for brands.

As part of our Badass series, Jon drops by to talk with Jeff and Jen about having success from learning to fail, making commerce with your art and using St. Louis as the backdrop for the new show.

This podcast sponsored by Creative Circle.

http://nocoastoriginals.com

A bit on the new show

http://artofgears.com/2016/12/31/speed-is-the-new-black-to-air-in-2017-on-velocity/

Music by Jon's son Anthony of Flaming Death Trap

This podcast sponsored by Creative Circle!

Kicking off our Badass series, Jen and I wanted to interview creative types who are in their prime and knocking it out of the park. Leslie Bogosian fits that bill. Sharp, fearless, the consummate idea driven art director, we talk to Leslie about the workings of the modern creative team, badass women in the creative department and her recent dive into motherhood.

Check her out:

https://www.schadbogo.com/

https://www.instagram.com/schadbogo/

Music by Flaming Death Trap