Brianna Matzke - Pianist, Collaborator, and Educator

Regardless of what she’ll tell you, self-described pianist, collaborator, and educator, Brianna Matzke really does it all. We discuss how working on her ongoing series The Response Project during Covid expanded her roles and experience beyond anything she’d originally planned. We also talk about letting your work be derivative of whatever the thing is you can’t get out of your head whether it’s 1960s German experimental electronic composition or late 90s Japanese power-pop. Just go for it. Check out more of Briana’s work and connect to the projects discussed in the episode at her website: briannamatzke.com

Want to come on the podcast? Have a friend I should talk to? Want to just say what’s up? Get in touch!

Support the show: Venmo or CashApp

Lindsay Nehls - Visual Artist

Is it okay to explore joy and beauty through art in a world that feels so dismal all around us? I get to explore this question and so much more in my chat with visual artist, Lindsay Nehls. We also enjoy getting pretty nitty-gritty about the details of the life sustaining natural world around us and how to better tune into it. To follow along with some of her visual work we discuss, check out Lindsay’s website: ldnehls.com

Want to come on the podcast? Have a friend I should talk to? Want to just say what’s up? Get in touch!

Support the show: Venmo or CashApp

Ronny Salerno - Photojournalist, Writer, and Blogger

About a year ago I pitched a concept for a podcast to this guy and he told me I absolutely needed to run with it. So here we are! Finally sitting down on my porch to chat and hash things out about the dichotomy of American beauty and decline as he sees it through his camera lens and writing. Ronny Salerno is a treasure trove of local histories with a sharp sense of what stories from communities’ past matter and why. Check out his photo and writing work at ronnysalerno.com and find him on Twitter (@queencitydisco)

Want to come on the podcast? Have a friend I should talk to? Want to just say what’s up? Get in touch!

Support the show: Venmo or CashApp

Leyla Shokoohe - Journalist and Writer

Leyla Shokoohe - Journalist and Writer

For the inaugural episode of this new endeavor, I start off in my comfort zone speaking with one of my longest, closest friends who I’ve spent hours and hours already speaking on a mic with on previous podcast projects (Bellwether and Still Trying) to warm things up. Leyla’s dedication to her writing over the years has landed her published works in some of our regions top publications such as Cincinnati Magazine, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and CityBeat. We discuss how she goes from idea to byline and much more.

Get Better - A New Podcast to Inspire You to Make the Stuff You Want to Make!

Get Better is a podcast of conversations with independently creative people exploring how and why they do what they do in a world and culture that tries to convince us our greatest value is the work we do for an employer. The show digs deep into what jump starts peoples’ independent creative processes and how they stay motivated to follow through. Society demands for most of us, our productive and creative energy will be directed towards someone else's goals or vision in order to pay our bills and our rent; oftentimes contributing to a culture of consumption young people are growing less and less fond of. So finding the motivation to do and make things for just ourselves or our communities can be a small seed of resistance; and dare I say it #SelfCare. By sharing a collective of voices uplifting each other's work and discussing how we can keep growing together, I hope we will inspire more of those seeds to be planted and bloom. That is to say, in a sea of podcasts asking “how much worse can things get?” I want to flip the narrative and ask “how can we all get better together?”

Each episode features a one on one conversation with people whose personal creative endeavors have placed them at all different levels on the ladder of social or financial success. I have just as much to learn talking to someone who sets aside time every week to do needlepoint of birds they see in their yard as I do from someone who got rich and famous selling their own music. I explore what sparked their interest in their creative outlet, what drives them to do it regardless of financial reward, and how they discipline and hone their skill to get better. I’d also love to have discussions with activists and mutual aid workers in different fields… but I’m taking this one step at a time. If you think you or someone you know might be interested in coming on the podcast, tell me! Get in touch here!

Subscribe

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Or search your favorite Podcast listening App!

Support the show: Venmo or CashApp