The Writer's Block Podcast

On today’s episode I’m chatting with my Chasing Ghosts bandmate Chris O’Neil. When thinking of people to have as guests on the show Chris was definitely at the top of that list. He’s seriously one of the most creative and talented people I know. He’s one of those guys that can do everything… really well. An excellent pianist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and we get into all that in our conversation.. but what I was really interested in is his business FrostFire Audio and his studio setup in South Melbourne. This is where he records soundtracks, audio, voice-overs and sound effects for video games, television commercials, film etc.. and has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands like Google, Panasonic, Yamaha, Honda, BBC, Konami, UNIQLO and heaps more. And as I record this he is trekking through Nepal with a group of fundraisers to help build a school. So, not only is he a super talented guy, he’s another absolute legend of a human being. Links to everything can be found in the show notes at thewritersblock.co and don’t forget to check Chris out on Instagram at @chrisoneilffa or on his website at frostfireaudio.com.au

On today’s episode I sit down with the amazing Alabama Blonde, who is a Melbourne based fashion designer, creative director, musician and artist. You can find her on Instagram at @alabamablonde, spelled exactly as it sounds, and I highly recommend you check out her website at www.alabamablonde.com .

Now, if you’re anything like me and know absolutely nothing about fashion design then you probably already have this image concocted in your brain of what it is, what it’s about and what it looks like.. but trust me when I say Alabama Blonde as a brand is the complete opposite…and you only need to check out her social media or the introduction video on her website to see exactly what I’m talking about.

She’s an incredibly talented artist who, as she puts it, has lived many lives like a cat…and I really really enjoyed our conversation. As per usual, any links to stuff we talk about you can find on the show notes at www.thewritersblock.co .

Hope you enjoy it!

On today’s show I chat with my good friend Michael Donahue.

Michael is the National Services Manager at the Drug and Alcohol Education Specialists. Taken from their website, their aim is "to further increase individuals, families and communities understanding of alcohol, drugs & well-being to reduce harm". Michael goes into detail a little further into what it is exactly that he does, but I wanted to mention the name of the company because not once during our conversation did we mention it! Now if I was better at these conversations that would’ve been the first thing I asked. All part of the learning experience I guess. 

So you’ve probably guessed by now that this is not the typical Writer’s Block episode today. In fact, we recorded this in an office at the Goodlife Gym in Sandringham, which is where Michael and I both train out of. 

Now I wanted to have Michael on for a number of reasons, firstly he’s just one of those dudes that instantly makes you feel good.. just from being around him. You know those people. He just oozes positivity. He’s a great bloke, he’s a sick musician, he’s had a pretty open battle with depression and now he travels around the country spreading the word and making the world a better place. Check him out @michaeldonahue on IG and look him up on Facebook under the same name. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do to.

 This episode is with my new friend Jayszun Vanderwerff… but most people call him Jay.. for simplicity’s sake. Australian born to a Dutch immigrant family Jay is a luthier residing in Lara, which is just outside of Geelong here in Victoria. For those that don’t know what a luthier is… it’s someone who builds guitars. 

Jay first came onto my radar after discovering his Instagram profile last year and, being a guitarist myself, I quickly became a fan of his work. Jay was nice enough to put together a rad looking (and even better sounding) guitar for me to use on a run of shows I'm doing with Melbourne band Area-7 and it has been a dream to play! You can find clips of the Teletron on his Instagram or my personal one, @azbce .

He's got an incredible story which I KNOW you're going to love and appreciate... everything from growing up in a rough area of NZ, failing every subject at school and being thrown in and out of detention centres. 

After finding his way as a guitar technician and session guitarist he has toured and worked with some of the world's biggest rock and pop acts including U2, Bon Jovi, ACDC, Blink-182, Hillary Duff, Avril Lavigne and more.

Then there was the high level security work... serving as personal security to nearly every rapper you can imagine.. Mos Def, Phaeroh Monch, and even Henry Rollins. 

This conversation was full of highlights and some extremely low points and I found it incredibly inspiring. Not only is Jay an amazing luthier, gaining the respect and appreciation from some of the world's elite, he's also an entrepreneur, a wealth of knowledge and an incredible human being. If you're a guitarist, a fan of music, or any type of creative artist, you are going to pull a lot of value from this episode. 

The only place you can reach out to Jay is on his Instagram, @templeguitars but he's very active on there, posting great videos and pictures of his builds. Definitely worth checking out! 

And as per usual links to other things we cover in the episode can be found on the show notes at thewritersblock.co

Enjoy!