SHARKBRAIN PODCAST JAKE NEWTON

This week we have indie band/married couple Anne Williamnson and Brandon Walters of MY NAME IS YOU. We talk about gear, required music lessons that kept them playing as kids, and the completely dizzying immigration system they were (finally) able to navigate. Check out their music (and instagram feed) Here:WEBSITE: http://hellomynameisyou.comINSTAGRAM: @MYNAME IS YOUFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/mynameisyouband 

This week we have actor James Babson on the program. We talk about navigating the murky waters on Hollywood, fighting obscurity, and staying sharp. Get it! 

Here's the anticipated follow up to last week's interview with David Hodges, we get even artier and more metaphysical on this one folks, two guys who write songs for a living getting all heady like they own the place. Check it out! 

Hey Friends,        This week in the SharkBrain Labs is David Hodges, songwriter and producer and founding member of Evanescence who has worked with numerous talented luminaries including Celine Dion, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri, and of course, Jake Newton. Boom. We talked for so long and had such a good conversation at that, it became necessary to cut this into a two parter (Kill Bill style). In this first half we discuss origins, what got him into music and more specifically the craft of songwriting, dropping out of college, being consumed by the muse, and of course 90's Christian Rock.  Dig on this. Part Two comes out next week.and be sure to check out David on the inter webs: WEBSITE: www.DavidHodgesMusic.comTWITTER:https://twitter.com/hodgesmusic 

Hey Everybody,          So the Oscar season came and went, and yet I find myself empty handed again. No reward for my wishing and hoping. No reward for my thinking I should start writing that script. I was not given a lifetime achievement for my perceived potential. What a bummer. Oh well.  What's on Hulu? Do we still have those cheese pretzel combos or did we eat them all? Right? Time to get off our duffs and call our bluffs (see what I did there? I'm a songwriter, I can DO that). Now I know there is the viewpoint that Hollywood is vapid with short attention spans, and that we only care about that which is immediately in front of us, like liberal elitist goldfish. But get off of my cloud, imaginary guy who said that. This show follows my brain down the rabbit hole to find out what it is to validate your work, to seize the opportunity to call yourself a full fledged artist. It also explores what it is to claim artistry, and to take the leap into the unknown. I talk to a friend and compatriot Jesse Thomas about taking the huge leap into depending on your art to keep you fed and clothed. It's worth the risk ladies and gentlemen. it certainly is. Be sure to check out Jesse's Tour dates at her website www.iamjessethomas.comas well as Marvel's Agents of Shield wherein I shoot at people with impunity. check out a clip of it here: http://youtu.be/OpBFL5mPKlo?t=1m42s

Hello All!      How goes it? This week’s mania hasn’t settled down and I’m stealing time to write you this highly pressurized tidy email. It’s funny when you schedule yourself within an inch of your life what your brain decides to focus on. For some reason when I have more responsibilities I worry less. Is that a thing? Is this just a fluke? Maybe I’ve got a massive breakdown right around the corner but for now I feel great. Not in a rested, “let’s go get waffles!” kind of way, but in a “1/2 way through a marathon and I just got over shin splints” kind of a way. My Brain has to prioritize and it can’t let itself get cannibalistic. Good for me I guess. 

 

In this week’s episode of SharkBrain I talk once more about the myth of the ordained artist. It’s something that’s been building up within me for a while, and I apologize if I keep on going down some of the same roads. But I guess it bears repeating if I keep thinking about it. The crux of the whole thing really is that it’s ok to be a blue collar artist.  Now what do I mean by that? I’ll tell you. 

 



Many times when when artists are written about or interviewed, they get portrayed by the writer (or worse, the artist THEMSELVES!) as these indelible forces of nature, floating on a golden cloud in favor of the Muse, songs and novels spewing forth from their pens. They need merely open their mouths and manna comes spewing forth 

in double album form, fully real

ized. The gods just smiled upon them and they farted out the poetry of our age. How Lucky we are to know them. 

 

Well I call shenanigans. This process merely takes the egalitarian nature away from the people trying to find their creative voices and puts it in this secret society of the accomplished. It’s creative hoarding. And It’s damaging. So how can we change it? 

 

Well for one thing we as artists in positions of accomplishment or power can stop with the “chosen one” syndrome. Yeah, sometimes art comes easy. You were at the right place and the right time holding a pen. But guess what? That same spirit that came to you comes to all of us. And it can leave as fast as it comes. So let’s not leave out the parts about us banging our heads against the wall. Let’s remember to tell people how we sat down in the chair to write/paint/rehearse/practice when we DIDN’T WANT TO. That it’s work, great work, rewarding work (sometimes), but all the same, a job. If we demystify creativity we become less precious about it when the road is bumpy, and in the end our unique voice shines clearer. 

 

ok. end of rant.  

This week on the show we’ve got musical renaissance man Bill Meyers. In his career as a session player and arranger he’s had the opportunity to work with Madonna, Lou Rawls, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Justin Timberlake, Destiny’s Child, Brian McKnight, Holy Crap the list goes on. We talk about the ever changing face of music, about avoiding the pitfalls of rock and roll, and a crazy story about Frank Sinatra. Dig in, this is a good one.