Discovering New Artists and Building Your Own Path with Jason Kramer

Discovering New Artists and Building Your Own Path with Jason Kramer

by | Nov 20, 2023 | Blog, Creative Innovators Podcast

Jason Kramer shares his journey to being an EMT during the AIDS Epidemic, LA Riots, and Northridge Earthquake to Fox Sports to KLOS and KCRW. He talks about the magic of Sunday nights, how he created and drove his own luck through persistent work, asking for opportunities, and taking on new challenges. He shares a bit of his experience being present during the inception of Billie Eilish, including being in the opening scene of her documentary and playing himself in three movies. Jason discusses his various creative pursuits, including photography, directing videos, and teaching.

Guest: Jason Kramer, KCRW DJ, Music Supervisor, Photographer, and Educator

For the last 20 years, Jason Kramer has been in the field of music and radio. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Kramer worked as an EMT during the late 80s and early 90s; and through the 1992 Los Angeles riots. After changing his career as a medic in the hard streets of LA for ten years, he decided to work in radio starting in 1992 on KLOS, screening calls for the widely popular “Seventh Day.” From that point on, Jason realized that music and radio were his calling.

During his transition, he started off with a stint working with SoCal favorites Sublime and their label Skunk Records. In 1996, he moved on to Fox Sports TV as their full-time music supervisor for 6 years, leading him to become a show producer on Fox Sports Radio. He has also worked in various other aspects of music including management, radio DJ, publishing, creative consulting, music photography, education, and as a music supervisor.

Jason started off as a KCRW volunteer in the mid-90s and has been on air since 1997 during a show called The Lab. You can hear Jason on his weekly show on Sunday nights on KCRW and KCRW.com, and can be found playing himself on several films and TV shows in the past few years.

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Building VR Community through Learning with Dominique Wu

Building VR Community through Learning with Dominique Wu

by | Nov 6, 2023 | Blog, Creative Innovators Podcast

Dominique Wu is a real leader in bringing together education and VR for regular people. She’s created the XReality Pro program. She’ll talk about what it’s like to be an immigrant in the United States as a creative, a different story than we’ve had a lot of guests share. And she’ll also talk about how an early out-of-body experience in some ways set the table for her to come into the virtual reality space and why she’s so passionate about it. Sign up for XReality Prof if you’d like to connect with other people who are doing amazing things in VR.

Guest: Dominique Wu, Founder, XReality Pro

With over a decade of UX design experience for 3D spaces, I am the founder of Hummingbirdsday Design Studio and XReality Pro (xrealitypro.com), where I create immersive and engaging XR solutions for various industries and domains. As an XR specialist, I have expertise in developing VR Unity prototypes, designing XR user interfaces and interactions, and conducting XR user research and testing. As an XR education innovator and leader, I also run the XReality group on Meetup.com, host events for XR industry leaders and enthusiasts, and speak at notable conferences and universities. Through XReality Academy, I educate and mentor aspiring and experienced XR designers on XR experience design and prototype curriculums. My passion is to explore the possibilities and potentials of XR and to empower others to do the same.

What are you most passionate about with your current work? : Empowering 1 Billion XR Creators into Spatial Computing

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If I’m Going to Keep Evolving with Peter Kiesewalter, The Moth Project

If I’m Going to Keep Evolving with Peter Kiesewalter, The Moth Project

by | Oct 23, 2023 | Blog, Creative Innovators Podcast

Peter Kiesewalter creates at the divergent edge — at the intersection of art and science. In this case, he’s working at the edge of ecology and biology along with music and location-based entertainment with The Moth Project. It’s a live experience in beautiful places with the stories of moths and their lives to music. Over his varied career in music, he has worked to keep evolving . . . from clarinet to klezmer to ABC News music to all sorts of arranging and composing. He shares his journey and invites us to think more expansively about what it means to create music, take risks, and grow over time in a creative career.

Guest: Peter Kiesewalter, Artist and Instrumentalist, The Moth Project

Peter Kiesewalter studied clarinet and saxophone performance at Ottawa University. He moved to New York City in 1997 and has worked as a touring/recording musician, composer, arranger, Music Director, and producer ever since, most notably with his East Village Opera Company project which signed to Decca/Universal in 2005, garnered much acclaim (“highbrow and brilliant” – New York Magazine Approval Matrix) and a GRAMMY nomination for their modernist take on classic Opera repertoire. He splits his time between Brooklyn with his three children and an upstate NY 18th-century farmhouse that he bought and renovated with his partner Whitney La Grange.

What are you most passionate about with your current work? : The message that the simple act of “paying attention” to the natural world can have a profound impact on our planet.

Links:

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Ask the Right Questions with Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

Ask the Right Questions with Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

by | Oct 16, 2023 | Blog, Creative Innovators Podcast

Isaac Saldana leans on two core values: asking the right questions and humility. Along with a good friend, he launched several companies. And several failed — until he launched SendGrid in 2009. After learning to hire up with strong CEOs, the company went public in 2018. Since then, he has gotten an Executive MBA, launched Joy Labs, and now is a few years into Memo, which launches with its first 200 users soon. He shares his stories of discovery of his passion through a nudge from his high school guidance counselor and all that he has learned along the way.

Guest: Isaac Saldana, CEO, Memo

Isaac Saldana is an impressive entrepreneur who co-founded SendGrid—a venture acquired for $3 billion in 2018. He is passionate about discussing some unique challenges he had to overcome in order to find success as an entrepreneur, and his advice for others who are dealing with the same issues. Born in the U.S. but raised in Mexico from a young age, Isaac possessed all the traits that could have made him a natural leader – intelligent, decisive, creative – but he struggled with shyness, introversion, and the complexities of self-promotion, which made building a personal brand an uphill battle. Isaac’s immigrant background also meant that he had to confront these challenges without a safety net. This led him to experience firsthand the common struggles faced by countless entrepreneurs and creatives: not knowing how to effectively showcase their talents, lacking the time and resources to navigate the intricacies of personal branding, and feeling that their natural personalities may not fit the mold of traditional influencers. Despite these challenges, Isaac excelled academically and was able to find success, but his story sheds light on an intriguing aspect of entrepreneurship—the current methods of personal branding don’t work for everyone, resulting in exceptional individuals like him remaining relatively unknown, even to this day. Now he’s determined to address this issue with his next venture and find a way to level the playing field for those facing similar struggles. By tackling the barriers of knowledge, time, resources, and natural charisma that often hinder self-promotion, his goal is to help entrepreneurs and creatives who truly deserve recognition navigate the obstacles of personal branding and empower them to leverage their unique talents and expertise.

Mentioned Links:

Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Ariano

About Creative Innovators Podcast

In the Creative Innovators podcast, innovators and creators share stories of how they create and reimagine.

In each episode, host and change agent Gigi Johnson interviews a different changemaker from a wide range of industries, including creative industries, software, education, sciences, and social innovation. The guests share their stories of how they became passionate about innovation and how they have transformed their businesses and communities.

Https://creativeinnovatorspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Markets, Bold Choices with Miki Agrawal,

New Markets, Bold Choices with Miki Agrawal,

by | Oct 9, 2023 | Blog, Creative Innovators Podcast

Some guests have a LOT of gumption and energy to create new. Miki is releasing her first album now. But over time, she has launched new companies and created new spaces. Some of the road has been bumpy and some has developed whole new categories that help people’s lives.

Guest: Miki Agrawal, Co-founder and former CEO of THINX and founder of TUSHY and WILD

Miki Agrawal is a serial entrepreneur, social innovator, and author. Renowned for her disruptive ventures in taboo categories, Agrawal challenges the status quo and drives cultural change. She is the founder of acclaimed social enterprises TUSHY, THINX, and WILD. Agrawal is also the author of the best-selling books ‘Do Cool Sh*t’ and ‘Disrupt-Her.’ Her innovative approach and impact on business and culture have earned her recognition as one of Fast Company’s “Most Creative People” and a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Agrawal’s ventures have been featured in prominent media outlets, and she is a sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship and creative marketing.

What are you most passionate about with your current work? Music has become a potent outlet for me during my transition out of my marriage. It allowed me to express my deepest yearnings, desires, frustrations, and realizations about love. Collaborating with Happie Hoffman and Gene Evaro Jr. was an incredible journey of trust and vulnerability. We explored the fusion of dance music and heartfelt lyrics to create an album that shifts energy and promotes healing. Links:

  • Her new album: “It All Exists” by Soul Gaze – https://open.spotify.com/album/5QEuZWv6WTXrtWAJDp6xtS
  • TUSHY Bidets – https://hellotushy.com/
  • Thinx Period Underwear – https://www.thinx.com/
  • WILD 100% gluten-free Italian restaurant – http://eatdrinkwildbk.com/
  • Book, “Do Cool Sh*t: Quit Your Day Job, Start Your Own Business & Live Happily Ever After” (2013)- https://www.amazon.com/Do-Cool-Sh-Business-Happily/dp/0062366858
  • Book, “Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman” (2019) – https://www.amazon.com/Disrupt-Her-Manifesto-Modern-Miki-Agrawal-ebook/dp/B079P32W22
  • Medium: https://medium.com/@mikiagrawal
  • Contact: Jon Bleicher, jon@prospectpr.com

About Creative Innovators Podcast

In the Creative Innovators podcast, innovators and creators share stories of how they create and reimagine. In each episode, host and change agent Gigi Johnson interviews a different changemaker from a wide range of industries, including creative industries, software, education, sciences, and social innovation. The guests share their stories of how they became passionate about innovation and how they have transformed their businesses and communities. Https://creativeinnovatorspodcast.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.