Thanks for visiting and checking out this little side project of mine. I hope you enjoy it. Before I dig in and release my first episode, I thought it might be helpful to provide a little context of what this whole thing is about.
I’ve been creating things my whole life. In first grade, the music teacher at my elementary school was also the choir director at my family’s church. This meant that I started singing on stage before I knew enough to get stage fright. Pretty soon I was doing church plays, solos, and acting in school productions before my age hit double digits.
As I got older and took an interest in writing, my natural abilities led me to become a teen journalist for our town’s newspaper, and by the time I turned 12, was hosting a kids news show every Saturday morning on the local ABC affiliate. All the while, I continued writing, singing and performing.
This continued on through high school and into college, where I originally majored in music while still taking loads of English classes and writing fiction. On weekends and during summers, I led a group of college kids who performed at an amusement park as cartoon characters. Yep, a group of paid mascots, essentially, and we were surrounded by actors, musicians, and other performers. It was insanely fun.
I spent nights and weekends writing plays and novels while continuing my friendships with performers and artists. Although I eventually ended up in Corporate America, many of my oldest friends today work in the arts or have some connection to artistic endeavors. They may live in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, or Seattle, but there’s a common thread that connects us.
That thread is what this podcast is about.
I’ve always looked forward to visiting my creative pals, to hearing about their projects and getting encouragement to keep working on my own. The energy of those conversations was palpable. But eventually, I returned home, days turned into weeks, and that energy faded as I struggled to keep my creative motivation. My mojo to get shit done always seemed to disappear, especially as an adult.
Earlier this year, I was in Los Angeles visiting two of these old friends from our amusement park days. As I listened to them share the newest chapters of their lives, an idea struck. Why not record these conversations and share them with others? Maybe you can capture lightning in a bottle.
So this time, I came back to Philly and buckled down. What you’ll hear in Head, Heart & Hustle are conversations with real working creatives. Discussions about how to keep the creative fire burning, how to balance creativity with the demands of everyday life, lessons we’ve learned, and advice we have for each other. You’ll hear from a variety of creatives doing a multitude of things. TV and comedy writers, producers and filmmakers, painters, photographers, writers, bloggers, podcasters, image consultants, the list goes on.
But no matter who I interview in each episode, you’ll hear that spark, that passion to create. Maybe you’ll feel a bit of creative encouragement, too. (And if you like the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, as well.)
So thank you, Brian. And thank you, CeCe. Whatever happens with this little experiment, you were the spark.