On My Own Dime

We are back for part 2 with MC, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and cultural organizer Coco Piela. If you didn't catch part 1 last week go back and hear what you missed first! Her new EP just dropped this month. It's Called "Confessions of a Black Feminist Rapper Part 3". 

She is probably best known right now for an amazing song about reproductive justice called "I Am Jane Roe". She weaves through pop culture and political history addressing the overturning of Roe V Wade. Coco was featured in an article by KQED in June discussing the song and the long history of hip-hop artists weighing in on the subject of reproductive rights. 

She is the founder of Black Gold Movement, a grassroots organization whose mission is to reverse the flow of resources from the West back to Africa along the transatlantic slave trade routes through Hip Hop, Storytelling, and music of the African Diaspora.

Links: 

My Guest today is MC, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and cultural organizer Coco Piela. Her new EP just dropped this month. It's Called "Confessions of a Black Feminist Rapper Part 3". 

She is probably best known right now for an amazing song about reproductive justice called "I Am Jane Roe". She weaves through pop culture and political history addressing the overturning of Roe V Wade. Coco was featured in an article by KQED in June discussing the song and the long history of hip-hop artists weighing in on the subject of reproductive rights. 

She is the founder of Black Gold Movement, a grassroots organization whose mission is to reverse the flow of resources from the West back to Africa along the transatlantic slave trade routes through Hip Hop, Storytelling, and music of the African Diaspora.

Links: 

Today I’m back with part 2 of the world of academia in music with my friend Sean Harold. Join us as we continue to discuss the illusion of meritocracy. I find it fascinating that both my most recent guests were graduate students and they both seemed to latch onto that idea. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. If you thought my outlook was too optimistic - you were kind of right. But seriously - does anybody really know what is best for the ecosystem of creators?

Links to Sean's Work:

This week the conversation continues with Brooklyn Based music producer Chris Camilleri. We are discussing the effect of growing up in a time when pensions were a foundational part of how people planned their life and careers. Particularly, how it influenced the way many freelancers operated in their formative years. We explore the idea of stewardship on social media and Chris shows us that to have an optimistic outlook about the development of social media and the modern internet we need to be good stewards of other people. Other subjects in this episode:

• The nature of freelance work
• Navigating instability
• Chris brings in a great idea called being a good steward of people.
• The good parts of social media
• The gap between global appeal and local authenticity
• What makes a story a marketing tactic and what makes it authentic?
• Laying out the different mentality between songwriters or artists and producers
• The impact of accessibility on authenticity
• The value of exclusivity in music in terms of delivering a song that is uniquely made for a purpose
• Chris’s history in music
• The magic of a studio
• Chris describes the feeling he had when he graduated college
• The nature of being in your formative years

Links to Chris:

Today I’m speaking with Brooklyn based Music Producer Chris Camilleri. This will be a 3 part interview discussing Chris’s career, some specific projects, and of course lessons learned over his long career in music. We get into his early trajectory in academics and graduating from the music technology masters program at NYU. Chris shares how things progressed differently than he expected and shares his view on how music technology is shaping the music we listen to. Other topics in this episode:

• Mixing a live performance by John Legend
• The importance of mastering a foundation of basic skills and practices
• How far technology has come for remote music production
• For better or worse, creative people are much more enabled now

Links to Chris: 

We are back with Rachel Harrison talking about some of the characters and inspirations behind her book “The Return”. Rachel talks about pitching the book to a competition called pit dark on social media. We also discuss how taking feedback is part of being an artist and why it is difficult to accept that without taking it personally.

Today I’m speaking with Author Rachel Harrison about life, getting published and her debut horror novel “The Return”. I want to preface this episode with some context around artistic integrity and financial stability.

Providing a safe home and a financial foundation to live on is an afterthought for a lot of young creators. It’s common for us to live at or below the poverty line for years before acting. Recently, I’ve noticed some have built separate earning careers from their creative work, alleviating the burden of financial stress that sometimes comes with retaining artistic integrity. I once believed artistic integrity and financial stability were mutually exclusive things, but they are not. It’s okay to want a future, and a safe home, and be an artist, writer, musician, designer.

Rachel is going to tell us what it looks like to recognize the tipping point that drives many creators away from their work. She demonstrates why it is important to be open to opportunities that could build a better foundation to work from.

Come back next week as we continue the conversation about some of the characters & inspirations for Rachel’s book “The Return”.  Thanks for joining me and have a great week out there on planet Earth.

-Jason

We are back with Xenia in our final episode of this discussion about music production, songwriting and sync licensing! We also talk about her work in Music Publishing and the lessons she learned working in that field that she was able to bring into her production planning and workflow. We discuss a big change that Xenia is making in her career. Very exciting stuff!

We are back with Xenia following a power outage in the middle of our call. Today we are talking about the effect of quarantine on Xenia’s productions and the influence of Greek culture on her writing.

Today I am talking with a friend I met in a sync licensing music production group called That Pitch. Her name is Xenia! Originally from Russia she now lives in Athens, Greece. We are talking about music production, songwriting, sync licensing. Why to keep unfinished ideas & keeping all of your sessions, samples, and other resources organized, ready to deliver, and backed up. 

Welcome back to our 3rd and final episode with Sri Lankan Illustrator Rey. Picking up where we left off, Rey explores his own definition of success & we discuss the way readers identify with characters from their favorite stories & comics.

To read our comic book “The Synapse Factory” purchase a copy from my web store here:

Today we are continuing our talk with Rey about his work as an illustrator in Sri Lanka. We are discussing the creation of our comic book “The Synapse Factory” and the importance of authenticity in media arts. Rey brings creativity into perspective as a life long pursuit recognizing Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin as an example of 50 years of creative perseverance. With this in mind we consider the importance of persevering through challenging times in order to hone our craft. 

To read our comic book “The Synapse Factory” purchase a copy from my web store here: 

Jon & I met as interns at Dubway Studios in NYC. His recent work includes running mix rigs for film composer John Powell. Powell composed music for ”Call of the Wild”, “How to Train Your Dragons” & the original Bourne Trilogy. 

This episode contains a tech talk session for the audio nerds out there. I share a story about digidesign tech support for bug I found in sound replacer back in 2011. We also dive into the competitive world of audio internships in NYC. 

Thanks for listening to on my own dime. Come on back for part 2 soon! Remember to subscribe so you automatically get the latest episode on your podcast app! 

Links:

John Michael Caldwell 

Today I'm talking with the singer/songwriter behind Frankie and His Fingers, Frank McGinnis about what makes a small music scene special. We unpack the gratitude he has developed for the people who support his music now and over the past 20+ as he performed all over the Hudson Valley with the band and also in musical theater. We discuss the influence his dad had on his pursuit of music and discuss his new adventure into the world of Fiver. Most importantly, I am pumped for the upcoming release of the new Frankie & His Fingers album, "Universal Hurt" on March  26th. Be ready to rock March 26th for the release of "Universal Hurt" and let's all give thanks for the return of Frankie & His Fingers! Thanks for listening to OMOD.

Today I'm talking with Josh Hampton about being a dad, being active duty, owning a home, and staying sharp on the mat. Josh is a good friend of mine who picked up Brazilian Jui Jitsui a few years ago when we both were reporting to different ships which is just about the worst time to start something new. 

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Today I'm talking with Producer, Author, & Entrepreneur London Elixir. London is going to share her approach to producing and managing her catalog of music and we are both sharing lessons learned through getting involved in sync with That Pitch. London has just launched an online course to compliment her book "Prayed Time Off" which focuses on preparing to succeed without your day job and we will hear a little about that. London also shares some experiences that helped her develop a positive & resilient mentality.

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Today, I'm talking with music producer Carlton Reese, AKA "Boom-I-Aye". In this episode, we talk about balancing fatherhood with a full time career, his musical discipline, and personal fitness. Carlton helps unpack how to balance the invasive presence of social media. On the back half of this episode Carlton generously shares some insight on the unique aspects of life that black fathers and black musicians are  considering every day. I was nervous to breach these subjects but I'm so glad I did because he really welcomed my curiousity and shared his perspective and outlook on these complex cultural & societal landscapes. Thanks for listening to On My Own Dime! 

Links: 

Carlton's Music: 

Today I'm talking with Ambient Composer and Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Mothers.  

Daniel has played Trumpet, Drums, and Guitar for a multitude of reputable acts in the UK since 2005. My favorite is a math rock project he performed with called "Degrasse". Currently, he is working with Franko Fraize & composing for sync.  

In this episode, Daniel shares what it takes to keep a band on the road and how they made it work. If you didn't know, it takes a lot of faith in your group and everyone is frequently covering expenses out of pocket. During this interview, we experienced a poor connection from California to the UK. I'm working on improving our resources to remedy this in future episodes but for now, bear with us because Daniel has a great story to share.

Thanks for listening to On My Own Dime!

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Today I'm talking with music producer Emilio John. We are discussing his approach to maintaining consistent income using his own system that focuses on a 3-month projection. Considering the challenges of earning a bachelor's degree that honed your creative skills but did not educate you on the bigger picture of implementing those skills in the real world to earn a living wage. Emilio talks about how conservatory programs are an example of a hyper-focused curriculum and it wasn't until he started branching out into other fields of study on his own that he started to gain a lot of traction for his business. Feilds like marketing, financial planning, and other industries like technology.

Links are below. Thanks for listening to On My Own Dime!

Welcome back to On My Own Dime! This is part 2 of my talk with Adventure Photographer & Machinery Technician Mark Landsfeld.  

We are going to unpack more details on his trip across the National Parklands and share some stories about our adventures mountain biking the east bay, and surfing Pavones which is the second-largest left-hand break in the world (located in Costa Rica).  

We talk about the similarities between Ansel Adams's "pure" approach to photography and Phil Specter’s “Wall of Sound” approach to music production.  

We talk about putting your art in a box, defining it in a single category, and finally, the effect that Mark’s active duty career has had on his photography.  

To see Mark's photography check out @landmark.photography on Instagram.Thanks for listening to "On My Own Dime"!  

Welcome to On My Own Dime!

Today I'm talking with the President of the Houston Punk Festival, Jeremy Estes.  

We are talking about how Jeremy managed to book the festival at Fitzgerald's - Houston's oldest and most recognized punk music venue. For my East Coast people, this is the Houston equivalent of NY's CBGBs. 
  
Jeremy and I were stationed on a ship together and we used to play shows for the crew so he is a good friend of mine. He currently plays guitar for a new band called Rooftop Boxer. We also talk about the importance of charity and finding a way to serve others. For him, it's all about the music and keeping the scene thriving

We unpack the challenges of organizing the event remotely while he was deployed at sea and his approach to being a dad who encourages his daughter to realize her dream of becoming a literal rock star while also convincing her that science is cool too.  

I'm your host Jason McCormack. Thanks for listening to "On My Own Dime"!  

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