Flow State with Harry Mack Harry Mack

In this episode, Harry explores some of the lessons he’s learned about sticking to goals, staying on track, and addressing what - if anything - he would change about his freestyle career. Harry also dives into his roots as a jazz musician with stories about coming up as a young jazz improviser, learning about how to really listen to the musical conversation, and offering recommendations for some of his favorite classic jazz musicians and albums. After fresh reactions to a multi-lingual freestyle submission and a classic Guerrilla Bars moment, Harry closes out the episode in his traditional way — through freestyle.

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Show Notes:
Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet
https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/relaxin-with-the-miles-davis-quintet/

Art Blakey
http://artblakey.com/

John Coltrane
https://www.johncoltrane.com/

Sounding Well Writ (Guerrilla Bars 7)
https://youtu.be/8JPdpyjwU7w?si=rl6sto-yJm6brJ0S&t=159

Prove it to Myself
https://www.harrymackofficial.com/prove-it-to-myself

Get Away From Everything
https://www.harrymackofficial.com/get-away-from-everything

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00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:09 Kobe Bryant and the Non-Negotiable Contract

00:09:49 Self-Compassion and Getting Back On Track

00:23:06 Question #1: If I could start over…

00:29:18 Question #2: Jazz Artist Recommendations

00:39:26 Question #3: The Jazz - Freestyle Connection

00:45:25 Freestyle Submission

01:00:01 Reacting to Guerrilla Bars 7

01:10:42 Closing Freestyle

Alright y’all— after 2 exhilarating improvisational explorations on his acclaimed podcast Take Your Shoes Off, it was time to bring the incomparable Rick Glassman into Flow State I knew it’d be a great pod, but I had no idea I’d get to reap the benefits of Rick’s PCS (Podcast Consulting Service) free of charge! I just genuinely love hanging out with this guy so much. It was awesome to hear about the parallels between my approach to doing improvised concerts and Rick’s approach to editing and animating his podcast. Also the narrative freestyle toward the end of this ep had my adrenaline soaring!!!! I think y’all are gonna dig this one— thanks so much for being here and enjoy



SHOW NOTES:
Sur Jazz’s Portra 400
https://youtu.be/YzLWJOloaTI?si=26AaljZ064nl8OqO
https://surjazz.bandcamp.com/album/portra-400

Harry Mack on TYSO - #195
https://youtu.be/Hs5LSHuseL8?si=4eUzeOSgNTmI9xxJ

Harry Mack & Lamorne Morris on TYSO - #243
https://youtu.be/A3mHjf6lt-w?si=Qmpj2uSeAdaeMRh-

I Am Phenomenal
https://youtu.be/pEZCTUymiUw?si=Gi4UA-5nxqCdLS2J

Rick Glassman’s Will Smith Monologue on TYSO
https://youtu.be/2GjobYxWAmk?si=ZzcvXoZNEYb0dXKB&t=4021

Jim Kwik
https://www.jimkwik.com/

Hypest Prom Ever (Guerrilla Bars 25)
https://youtu.be/fShjMXWu6kU?t=1122



New Music OUT NOW:
https://harrymackofficial.com/listen



Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:47 Podcasting Advice From Rick
00:11:03 Take Your Shoes Off
00:18:49 Struggles with Watching Yourself
00:21:16 Being Cool
00:28:08 Being Willing to Fail
00:31:03 Performance as Play
00:37:53 Focusing on Image vs Being Present (Smile and Be Ugly, Dude)
00:46:20 Visual Contextualization
01:03:34 Pee Break Freestyle
01:07:47 Long Form Freestyling
01:08:52 Three Girls At the Guggenheim Freestyle
01:18:00 Visualizing the Scene
01:22:59 Closing Conversation

What's going on, y'all? Welcome to another episode of Flow State. In this episode, I express my love for David Copperfield, we react to episode one of my Guerrilla Bars series, I answer some questions from the community, talk about my morning routine, react to a dope freestyle submitted from one of y'all, and close it out with the bars like we always do- Let's go!


*Hypest Prom Ever (Guerrilla Bars 25)*
https://youtu.be/fShjMXWu6kU?t=1122

*Guerrilla Bars Episode 1*
https://youtu.be/zqSNeMxCWq8

*Di3sel Optics on Omegle Bars 18*
https://youtu.be/VBBMfHGMs7I?t=786

*Limitless* by Jim Kwik
https://bookshop.org/p/books/limitless-expanded-edition-upgrade-your-brain-learn-anything-faster-and-unlock-your-exceptional-life-jim-kwik/20284792?ean=9781401968717

*The Artist’s Way* by Julia Cameron
https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-artist-s-way-30th-anniversary-edition-julia-cameron/6665657?ean=9780143129257

*Atomic Habits* by James Clear
https://bookshop.org/p/books/atomic-habits-an-easy-proven-way-to-build-good-habits-break-bad-ones-james-clear/12117739?ean=9780735211292

0:00 Intro
2:31 Shooting Guerrilla Bars
7:17 The Busking Experience
12:43 Seeing David Copperfield
24:47 Reacting to Guerrilla Bars 1
34:10 Q1: Unforgettable Content Moments
41:07 Q2: Is Flow State Contagious?
48:37 Q3: Dealing With Stress
1:02:26 Freestyle Submission
1:09:20 Closing Freestyle

Josh Harmon is one of the most unique and entertaining content creators out there today and it was a pleasure to have him as a guest on Flow State! Josh is best known for his Rhythms of Comedy series and for creating live sound effects for scenes from some of your favorite cartoons, TV episodes, and movies. Part of what was so cool about getting to meet him in person and learning about his story was seeing how many parallels we share! From a childhood passion for drumming to forging his own path in online content creation during lockdown, this is definitely a man after my own heart. Hope y’all enjoy and be sure to check out his amazing work!

Follow Josh on Socials:
https://beacons.ai/joshharmon/

MonoNeon

David Dockery

MITCH HEDBERG // Rhythms of Comedy: Ep. 2

KEY & PEELE: Rhythms of Comedy (part 2)

The Moth

Josh Harmon Business Insider interview


Creating the sounds of “Ratatouille”


Timestamps:

1:51 What Does Josh Do?
7:36 Getting Into Character
11:52 Keeping It Authentic
15:57 Learning How To Drum
22:38 Mitch Hedburg Video
26:15 Find Your Interest
28:12 Rhythm and Language
33:17 Key & Peele Video
34:20 Seeing The Rhythmic Matrix
37:00 Before Content
38:57 Relationship with Social Media
44:32 NBC and The Today Show
47:05 Taking The Leap + Ratatouille Video
54:24 Mental Health Aspects of Being A Creator
1:03:54 Closing Freestyle

What’s goin on y’all? We’re back with another episode of Flow State. You probably noticed by now that I’ve been going in hard on new written tracks, and I wanted to take the chance to talk a bit about where that creative impulse came from and how it’s been going. Y’all keep submitting fantastic questions, so this episode we’re also talking about meditation, overcoming self doubt, and how exactly I remember all those random words during freestyles — including during one of the most exciting, high-pressure freestyles of my life… when I got to spit a flow for Ice Cube and the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so pop in those ear buds and LET’S GOOOOO!


*Wherever You Go, There You Are* by Jon Kabat-Zinn
https://bookshop.org/p/books/wherever-you-go-there-you-are-mindfulness-meditation-in-everyday-life-jon-kabat-zinn/19968905?ean=9780306832017

*Contents Under Pressure*
https://www.harrymackofficial.com/contents-under-pressure

*‘Bounce House’ Car Freestyle*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqGThHzAilw

*TMNT Freestyle*
https://youtu.be/VH80FTveM_4?si=664RXSvFtDx77ieP



0:55 Releasing Music
8:30 Facing The Pressure
17:35 The Voice Of The Writer
21:00 The Turning Point
24:39 Q1: Mindfulness Practices
33:33 Q2: How To Go From Thinking To Doing
39:59 Importance of Putting Things Out
47:32 Ice Cube Freestyle Reaction
1:05:35 Fan Freestyle
1:11:00 Closing Freestyle

It’s only right that the first official Flow State guest is not only one of my closest musical collaborators, but also someone I feel very privileged to call a friend… the incomparable Sur Jazz!!!! The two of us only really started working together consistently a couple years back, but in that short window of time we’ve managed to live SO MUCH life together— traveling the world, doing shows, and making lifelong memories both on and off the stage. There isn’t a room on earth that Jazz can’t light up with his energy. His musical knowledge is DEEP and ever expanding. Beyond DJing, Jazz’s production skills are top notch (as evidenced by the banger we dropped a few months back called “2024”— y’all know what’s up). The two of us have talked for hundreds of hours off camera but it was awesome to finally sit down and chop it up with Jazz for the pod. Hope y’all enjoy!!



06:40 Life After Tour
09:06 Favorite Things To Cook
11:49 How did we meet?
20:25 The First Show
27:46 Being on the Road
37:21 Living In New York
47:20 Jazz’s dad
53:21 Jazz’s Musical taste
55:39 Producer Influences
58:19 Jazz asking about Harry’s different formats and the energy
1:01:05 Our 4DX Experience
1:07:55 Señor Jazz
1:12:19 Freestyle submission: Throwed Genji
1:18:00 Closing Out
1:19:19 Recap Freestyle