Soft Opening

Catherine Skinner
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Soft Opening features intimate interviews with songwriters, poets, comedians, performers and visual artists who speak candidly about their personal experiences with creativity and resilience. Themes of recovery, grief, spirituality, wellness, sensuality, darkness, and the erotic unfold in each episode and safe space is created for artists to cultivate and showcase new work. 

  1. 12/09/2025

    Artist, Alchemist, Advocate with Paje Honor

    In this episode I sit in conversation with my dear friend, Paje Honor. Paje is a makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer, Human design and tarot consultant, and entrepreneur extraordinaire. Creativity just oozes out of her, and she is one of the most generous humans I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.  We talk about single motherhood, using authenticity and creativity to pay the bills, giving back to community, and the empowering practice of claiming one’s unique beauty. Settle in and get cozy for this final full length episode of season one. I hope you can carry Paje’s whimsy into your winter months.  You can find Paje's work here: Honor Beauty - Hair and Makeup The Place Between - Tarot and Human Design Embodied by Honor - Intimate Portraits Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    42 min

  2. 11/18/2025

    A Myriad of Ways to be Human with moon

    moon is a multi-disciplinary artist and creator living in the Niagara Region with roots in the Caribbean. In this episode, we dive into spirituality and the sacred as sources of healing and inspiration, the notion of divinity, the power words wield, good old magic, identity, binaries, and barriers.  There’s so much synergy and enthusiasm in this conversation, I’m excited for you to hear how it all unfolds. Find moon's creations here: https://www.earthandmoon.net/ Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    1h 1m

  3. 11/04/2025

    Finding Voice, Speaking Truth with Maja Bannerman

    In the following episode, I have the pleasure of a deep dive with Maja Bannerman, a published writer, poet, songwriter and performance artist who lives here in the Niagara Region. Maja shares her passion for stepping into the lives of characters she creates to raise awareness, explore and process emotion, advocate, and tell story. We also talk about ancestors, the healing beauty of gratitude and simplicity, and the random surprises and serendipity of the universe. You can find Maja's work here: https://www.majabannerman.ca/ https://majabannerman.bandcamp.com/  Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    45 min
  4. Looking to Others As Teachers with Steve Goldberger

    10/14/2025

    Looking to Others As Teachers with Steve Goldberger

    Steve Goldberger is a Genie award winning bandleader, producer, songwriter, and musician whose career has spanned over 50 years. In this episode, Steve shares his Musical origins within his Jewish Culture, learning by watching  his legendary bass playing uncle.  We also talk about his 2025 Autobiography In a Life, a wonderful collection of stories from the span of his musical career, full of personal photographs and rock and roll ephemera. There’s an album of original music with the same name. Steve’s openness and curiosity guide his creative life where he’s formed countless Friendships, some of them decades long, and community built around music and collaboration.  Steve also talks about Humility and gratitude as tools for balance and values upon which to create a lifelong artistic career, and how writing has been a tool that to create meaning and perspective through life, especially during some close brushes with mortality. Find Steve, his books, his music, and tickets to upcoming shows here: https://www.stevegoldberger.com/ https://stevegoldberger.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ts4rYMKFVCAEoVbSvCyty https://music.apple.com/us/artist/steve-goldberger/348745520 https://www.youtube.com/user/SteveGoldberger Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    42 min
  5. Heart to Heart with C.D. Onofrio

    10/03/2025

    Heart to Heart with C.D. Onofrio

    Carl David Onofrio, or C.D. as he is more commonly known, is a prolific Niagara Falls, Canada based poet, performer, and songwriter in his creative life and a spiritual care provider in his professional life. I’m a long-time admirer of both his written and musical work and was so excited to sit down with him. I’m equally excited to share the result with you.  In this episode we talk about attention and intention, consumption and creation, flow experience as a tool for happiness, and C.D.’s tools for processing painful and difficult emotion.  You can find the music of C.D. Onofrio here: https://cdonofrio.bandcamp.com/  A Sea of Gold and Burgundy: https://aseaofgoldandburgundy1.bandcamp.com/ The Peace Projectors: https://thepeaceprojectors.bandcamp.com/album/heart-to-heart C.D.'s collections of poetry can be found here: https://greybordersbooks.jigsy.com/carl-david-onofrio  Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    51 min

  6. 09/16/2025

    Staying Here with Joe Lapinski

    Joe Lapinski is a songwriter, producer, performer, and soundscape designer based in St. Catharine’s, Ontario. His fourth full length album ‘New Day’ was released earlier in 2025 and we sit down to talk about music and mental health. This open-hearted conversation covers finding deep, lasting love, building a family, and confronting trauma to show up better for yourself and the people you love the most. Joe is integral to the arts scene here in the Region, and it was a real joy getting to know him and hear about his self care practice and his creative process. He also shares an amazing resource for mental health support for musicians at the end of the episode. You can find Joe at https://joelapinski.ca/ And on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7znLCQibxksjYZ9rxT9fLE Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/joe-lapinski/722296436 Bandcamp: https://joelapinski.bandcamp.com/ The Musician's Clinic of Canada: https://www.musiciansclinicsofcanada.com/ Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    56 min
  7. Embracing the Unexpected with Eve Atoms

    09/02/2025

    Embracing the Unexpected with Eve Atoms

    Eve Atoms is a Niagara Region poet, songwriter, spoken word, and experiential artist. In this soul-connected conversation, we visit so many topics that resonate deeply; motherhood and the necessity of self-care, balancing a demanding career and creative life, spiritual agency, integrating Jedi wisdom, and the healing power of the forest. Eve asks tough questions about disability, spiritual and healing charlatans, and how to engage community in creativity and uses open-hearted curiosity to explore the answers.  Find Eve on Instagram @eveatoms Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    59 min
  8. The Leadership of Helping with Rick McLean

    08/19/2025

    The Leadership of Helping with Rick McLean

    Rick McLean is singer/songwriter who lives in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. He is Anishinaabe, Odawa Wolf Clan, with roots in Wikwemikong Manitoulin Island. Rick is also a professor of Indigenous Studies at Mohawk College, a traditional knowledge keeper, sweat lodge conductor and pipe carrier who graduated from Brock University.  His facilitation and counselling work has been ongoing for 35 years and through McLean Consulting Group, Rick leads a team who bring diversity, equality, and cultural safety training to businesses and organizations across Turtle Island. In this episode, Rick and I talk about our theatrical roots, how fatherhood has shaped his healing and creative paths, the responsibility of sharing Indigenous wisdom, and the power of music to educate, unify and heal. Find Rick at https://mcleanconsultinggroup.com/  Season one of Soft Opening is made possible with the support of the Niagara Falls Cultural Development Fund. Co-Produced and Engineered By: Peter Haverkamp Co-Produced and Hosted By: Catherine Skinner Soft Opening Website

    53 min
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About

Soft Opening features intimate interviews with songwriters, poets, comedians, performers and visual artists who speak candidly about their personal experiences with creativity and resilience. Themes of recovery, grief, spirituality, wellness, sensuality, darkness, and the erotic unfold in each episode and safe space is created for artists to cultivate and showcase new work. 

Information

  • Creator
    Catherine Skinner
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Soft Opening
  • Show Website
    Soft Opening