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Discover the connection between art and living as seen through the eyes of the artist. Join us for conversations with creatives in various disciplines.
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Jack T. Leyton has been a lot of things in his life: an Air Force serviceman, a set-construction worker for motion pictures, a postal carrier, a delivery driver, he even attended multiple acting schools for a time. But none of these actually describe who Jack is at heart: a writer, wordsmith, poet and hopeless romantic.We delve into a pivotal moment in Jack's artistic journey, marked by a daring decision in 2018 to transform a manageable fraction of his vast collection of lyrics and melodies into a tangible musical legacy. This endeavor, fueled by a yearning to bring his creative visions to life, almost faced a halt due to a life-threatening heart attack. Fortunately after he recovered, he and Steve were able to put together a remarkable assembly of talent in Burbank, California, where eight session musicians and five singers, amidst a flurry of cameras, breathed life into Leyton's compositions. The session culminated in 'The Clearlake Sessions,' an album that notably features the showstopping vocal group The Satin Dollz on 'Sparky’s Burgers' — a spirited homage to the 1940s-50s era, echoing the essence of The Andrews Sisters.
Jack and Steve note the difficulty inherent in bringing musical visions to life when one relies on others for expression — a reality Jack faces, being a lyricist without the ability to play an instrument, and Steve shares about how he only recently overcame his difficulty expressing himself through lyrics. On the importance of writing, Jack discovered a vital avenue for expression in poetry circles. Reflecting on the fundamental drive that propels their artistic pursuits, Jack encapsulates this shared sentiment with poignant clarity: “We do this because we can’t not write.”
Guest Jack T. Leyton
Website: http://www.jaxsongs.com/
The Clearlake Sessions https://jaxsongs.bandcamp.com/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thesoundtrackofmydreams
I Create Sound Artist Creative Services
https://icreatesound.com/
Episode References
Richard Widmark - Wikipedia link
Chris Elchico - episode 9 link, Boston Symphony members link
The Satin Dollz - Official website
The Andrews Sisters - Wikipedia link
Alan Kaplan trombonist - Official website
Bob’s Big Boy - history
The Draft and Vietnam - myretrospect.com
Borders Books, Thousand Oaks - Conejo Valley Guide link
David Allen Foster poet - Official website
Mike Frankovich, producer - Wikipedia link
John Ford - IMDB link
Winning (racing movie with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robert Wagner) - IMDB link
Runaway Production - Wikipedia link
“We Were Once” music video - YouTube link
“Longings” music video - YouTube link
Budapest, Hungary - Wikipedia link
The Realms of Mindrin board game - Kickstarter link
Demotivational Posters (despair.com)
The “Gore” Point, impact barriers - Wikipedia link
PBS | FRONTLINE: The Power Of Big Oil - pbs.org
Jim Jeffrey - Official website
Greenpeace - greenpeace.org/usa
The Last Generation on Earth music video - earthsongs.world
“Gateway of Heartache” song - Apple Music
Episode Credits
https://www.vrindamedialab.com/ - Directed by Steven Leavitt
Editorial support by Sam Levine
About the Host
Personal website and music portfolio - StevenLeavitt.com
Music and media production company, creative consulting - I Create Sound
Featured Art
All songs and poetry used courtesy of Jack T. Leyton and Solemint Publishing
Please review this podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Spotify and Stitcher to help other creatives find their tribe!
Tags:
#writing #lyrics #songwriting #crooner #karaoke #postmodernjukebox #Sinatra #TonyBennett #Jazz #war #airforce #Vietnam #TheDuke #JohnWayne #BurbankStudios #The Valley #JohnnyCarson #BobsBigBoy #MontyPythonsFlyingCircus #FlorenzZiegfeld #ZoeyDeschanel #Doomsday #pinkfloyd #ledzepplin #JohnCleese #MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail #purityculture #zodiac #birthorder #GroundhogsDay #divorce #playingittoosafe #regret #GreenPeace #globalwarming #reiki #homelessness #StChristophersmedal #NatKingCole #Frank Sinatra #DeanMartin
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Our guest today has a unique window into the vast creative potential contained in the world of dreams. Della Burford has recorded her dreams as “dream mandalas” for the past 40 years!
Della Burford is an award-winning painter and best selling author of 7 books, she is based on Vancouver Island, Canada. She studied the Mische Technique of painting in Vienna and showed in many of the Society of Art of Imagination shows in Montreal, Ottawa, New York, London, and Peru. She won a prize as the best Graphic Art in an Art Show in Moscow and spoke on Art and Dreams. Her artistic stories have been performed in New York at the Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Citycorp, in Washington at the Smithsonian Institute, Korea, Guatemala, and Bali. Her play, Magical Earth Secrets has been performed for seven years in Japan, and Miracle Galaxy is now being performed. Her book “Journey to Dodoland” was turned into an e-zine and a website that was sponsored by Switfshire and has had more than 22 million views worldwide.
Della was mentored by a shaman who studied with Carl Jung and also studied dreams with Robert Moss and Dream Yoga with Tenzin Wagyal Rinpoche. She started painting her dream wheels in 1975, creating one complete wheel for every year. The dream wheels have 3 rings: the center ring is for important everyday events following the seasons; the outer ring is dreams that are creative, inspirational and wise dreams (you can write a title for the dream); and the middle is small drawings which are symbols and like the title reminds you of the dream and is a portal to return.
Her work is for the World, Humanity, and Spirit.
For full show-notes and photos (Apple users), go to https://languageofcreativity.substack.com/p/paintingyourdreams-dellaburford
Guest: Della Burford
Websites - dellaburford.com, dellaburfordartist.ca
Dodoland - dodoland.com, on Facebook
Dream Wheels book (Amazon, Canada)
Della Burford on Wikipedia
Social Media: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN
ArtStarts Eductational workshops (ArtStarts)
Topia (virtual) Worlds:
https://www.topia.io/dodoland
https://www.topia.io/stargalaxyfortheworld
Episode Music
Sagpipa, Double Flute, Kou Xian (with piano by Steven Leavitt), Atabaque and Bansuri by Richard Struppi Pohl (From Star Galaxy For the World).
In This Together, A Quiet Place, and Place courtesy of Descript Library.
Episode References
Della Burford on The Spaceship Earth Mission Log podcast (with Steven Leavitt), (YouTube)
Robert Moss - The Way of the Dreamer
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (Ligmincha Community)
Carl Jung’s book “Man and His Symbols” (Goodreads)
Sergio Magaña
Rights of Nature (Columbia.edu)
Design Science Studio
Buckminster Fuller Institute
The Vision Train (Join the 24/7 Art Jam!)
Amanda Sage
Earnest Fuchs
Mischtechnik (Wikipedia)
Jack Shadbolt (National Gallery of Canada)
Dream Journaling
The Hero's Journey (Wikipedia)
Don Oscar Mira de Quesada (heartofthehealer.org)
Andrew Gonzales
Cynthia Re Robbins
Irene Vincent
Kuba Ambrose
Roland Proulx (Galarie Molinas)
The Spirit of Writing and Art (YouTube)
Dale Bertrand (bio on DodoLand)
Druidical Quest (website | Facebook Page)
John Hugh Roberts (Thrift Books)
Western Canada Wilderness Committee
Della’s Collaborators
Merian Soto – who danced and choreographed for Dodoland in New York.
I Made Sidia – who collaborated on dances of Dodoland and Magical Earth in Bali and wants to do Star Galaxy for the World.
Wayan Karja (Life As Art Asia) – collaborated in art shows of Dream Wheels, Dream Gifts, workshops.
Kazuko Asaba – who created many art projects around Della’s books in Japan and co-produced “Magical Rainbow” and Magical Earth Secrets.
Ruu Ruu (Amazon books) – Costume Designer & Producer of Magical Earth Secrets and Miracle Galaxy.
Julie Lyon Lieberman – Musical Director of Dodoland in New York.
David Walsh – always supported Della's work. He has made major commitments to Community.
Vern Harper (The Canadian Encyclopedia, Article: Indigenous Toronto) – Della did many projects at the Wander Spirit Survival School.
Pauline Shirt (aabaakwad) – co-Founder at Wandering Spirit in Toronto. Cultural Keeper.
Aaron Zerah – collaborated in the Spirit Storybooks in British Columbia.
Paul Vrenken – created a video of Magical Earth Secrets in Holland. Marijke translation.
Julian Ramirez – worked in co-designing with Della/Dale Star Galaxy for the World (YouTube), and making a 3-D animation for the immersive environment of New Art City.
Thanks to Tom & Sal Williams family & the Burford family: Murray, Glen and Warren. Sister Norah Burford – for organizing Bali workshops. Thanks Glen Burford for media advice. Russell Coull for being there and giving support.
About the host
Language of Creativity’s host Steven Leavitt enjoys discussing the ins and outs of all aspects of creating, creativity, and life with his fellow creators: artists, inventors, designers, producers and more. Along the way he hopes to gain perspective and multiply our understanding of what we share in common while creating, living, and learning.
Steven is also an accomplished music producer (website) and helps others learn music production and podcasting through his company I Create Sound.
Please review this podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Spotify and Stitcher to help other creatives find their tribe!
Tags:
dreams, creativity, storytelling, painting, mandalas, lucid dreaming, dream journaling, healing journey, dream work, dream yoga, milam, Nyingma, dream symbols, dream interpretation, archetypes creative expression, artistic journey, dream shamanism, symbolism, power animals, nature inspiration, environmental art, transformational art, mythology, ancestral wisdom, Aborigines, inner journey, spiritual art, visionary art, dream collaboration, dream guidance, magic, art, non-local consciousness, dream visitations, intuition, peaceful art, creativity in storytelling, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, ancient wisdom, ogham stones, druids, healing the world, life balance, creative process, inspired by nature, inner balance, sacredness, ancestral connections, spiritual journey, artistic expression, dream narratives, cultural wisdom, environmental protection, dream collage, divine creativity, dream magic, dream teachers, dream manifestation, co-creation
Thursday Sep 14, 2023
Thursday Sep 14, 2023
“Artists and healers have a lot in common, actively venturing into the Numinous (unknown spaces, unknown territory) and listening in order to generate and co-create with that which is beyond the earthly apparent.”
So says Clare Hedin, a remarkable musician, educator and artist who integrates the study of consciousness with a passion for healing social systems. Renowned as a sound healer, she employs her ethereal voice and music to create profound and transformative experiences for groups in beautiful spaces like churches and spiritual centers.
Clare moved to the United States from her birthplace in England for her undergrad in Fine Art and Humanities until she finally found her fit at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, “a place for people like myself who tend to butterfly around, so I could finally finish.”
Early in her career Clare worked in the music business (record labels and publishing) before ultimately performing as a singer/songwriter, and then a sound healer with a profound instinct for connecting with the elemental and natural. A true polymath in every sense of the word, Clare has taught Creativity & Innovation to business students at San Francisco State University, guest lectured and advised at St. Martin's Art College in London, and she is also the visionary behind "Dynamic Emergence," a concept she eloquently describes as "the phenomena of novelty arising when two or more elements meet."
“There’s not enough in the world validating… us. As human beings we are not invited to be the whole of who we are… to be in our Living-System-ness.” says Clare. Having crossed paths with many emergent thinkers while living in the Oakland/bay area for 30 years, she got to spend time with Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics), a source of her inspiration for Dynamic Emergence, Clare was introduced to the work of R. Buckminster Fuller, and became introduced to the Buckminster Fuller Institute through friends like Mark Smith (who worked in the 70s on the earliest version of what would become “email”) and Amanda Joy Ravenhill. Bucky was famous for suggesting that rather than fight existing systems, essentially “Just create a better party.”
Fractal alert! This episode weaves together a wide range of topics, from quantum entanglement to healing to what humanity’s emerging intelligence is doing, and how when we interface together new dots are connected. “We are an emergent phenomenon” says Clare, “Each of us is a collective.” “I am the inherited knowledge of all my ancestors and what they left behind, as well as the container (or meeting point) of my immediate and extended environment… trajectories of story intersecting… the web of life.” “I come from the earth. I am the earth. I return to the earth.”
“I think there’s something really beautiful about being able to listen with our senses, to listen with our intuition and to really be open and available.” Clare says. “Reconciliation is not something you make happen, it is something you must allow, and our healing is a part of that journey, it’s not instead of, it’s a part of.”
Please join us on Substack, languageofcreativity.substack.com
Guest: Clare Hedin
Website: clarehedin.com
Dynamic Emergence
YouTube, Instagram, Facebook Page
Clare’s Energy Paintings (on Etsy)
Grief and Praise, album (ClareHedin.com Shop)
Featured Audio: The Mountains Breathe by Clare Hedin (YouTube)
Other music in the podcast:
“The Crash” by Josh Dobrowner
“Nothing Wrong” by Lobate Scarp
Episode References:
The Buckminster Fuller Institute
The Design Science Studio
Vision train
Mark Smith
California Institute of Integral Studies
shruti box (Wikipedia)
Fr. Richard Mapplebeckpalmer (Richard the Monk, A Dane at Heart - YouTube)
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (Very Well Mind)
The biggest benefit of pre-K might not be education (Vox)
The best of Brian Green (YouTube playlist)
Alan Watts (YouTube playlist)
Joseph Campbell (Bill Moyers interview: YouTube)
Buckminster Fuller (The World of R. Buckminster Fuller [1974]: YouTube)
holobiont (The Economist)
Stephen Bau on the holobiont (Imaginaxiom)
The Butterfly Effect (Farnam Street Media Blog/The Thinking Project)
Michael Jackson popcorn meme
Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 (Wikipedia)
Host: Steven Leavitt
Business: https://www.icreatesound.com/
Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/
The Spaceship Earth Mission Log podcast
Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes, Amazon and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe!
https://thelanguageofcreativity.com/
Tags: systems thinking, Predictably Irrational, Marin, social equality, Freakonomics, inversion theory, masculinity, a balance of opposites, security, scarcity, thriving, communities, Buckminster Fuller, connection, humanity, emerging intelligence, the internet, San Francisco State, Ticht Nacht Han, connecting to the earth, The Artist’s Way, walking, universal preschool, myopic thinking, embodiment, metaphysics, energy, physiology, sensory awareness, hypersensitivity, empath, vibration, conflict, triggers, karma, interconnectedness, emergent phenomenon, quantum physics, multidimensionality, holobiont, systems, the butterfly effect, ancestors, family systems, society, fears, inherited story, resonance, consonance, dissonance, healing, entanglement, reconciliation, presence, interconnectedness, music, sound, plant consciousness, parallel lives, the language of creativity, compassion, forgiveness, experiencing, relationships, childhood, elements, earth, sound healing, meditation, the numinous,artists, healers, forerunners, explorers
Monday May 29, 2023
Monday May 29, 2023
Steve just hits publish! Where have you been? ... More episodes to come!
Mentioned in the episode:
https://www.youtube.com/@spaceshipeearthmissionlog
https://lobatescarp.bandcamp.com/album/you-have-it-all
https://www.youtube.com/@languageofcreativity
#hopepunk #systemschange #podcasting #dailycreativepractice #business #digitalmarketing #burnout #algorithm #sideprojects #economics #regeneration
Please share and subscribe!
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Instagram: @gray_emery_grove
Twitter: @GrayEmeryGrove
More Language of Creativity episodes coming soon!
Wednesday Jan 11, 2023
Wednesday Jan 11, 2023
Art project Open Heart is an ambitious public art installation intended to explore the connection between the physical and emotional heart. A mixed media experience aimed at encouraging the question: “Are you listening to your heart?”
(for full show notes on Apple Podcasts go to https://languageofcreativity.podbean.com/e/openheart)
Linda Riber is a Danish artist, originally from Greenland. A painter and photographer who has been an exhibited artist around the world for over 20 years and has published an art book about Greenland. Her project consists of 6 large pillars, which stimulate both the body, the senses, and the intellect using art portraits and statements from participants of different ages, children’s drawings of “This is what my Heart looks like” combined with children’s interpretations of well-known proverbs, fact boxes exploring science and theories about what the heart is capable of besides it’s physical role and the changing sounds of a calm heartbeat, the composition “Human Divine” by musician and sound healer Davor Božič, and poems read by the artist.
In this episode Steve and Linda relate about a mutual inspiration, The Heart Math Institute, which conducts peer-reviewed research in psychophysiology about interaction between heart and brain. In addition to research, they have developed technologies that promote optimal health in the balance between heart, brain, body, thoughts and emotions. Linda shares about the work in her Atelier, her love of Greenland and it’s native people. And did you know that heart transplant patients can report experiencing new feelings, inclinations and cravings after their transplants? Linda and Steve talk about intuition and how they met in an unusually heart-centered business class called Own Your Value, hosted by Lee Harris.
This episode highlights the desperate need for humanity to reconnect with our hearts, at this time… not just for better lives but for a better world.
Featured Art:
https://linda-riber.dk/en/projekt/open-heart/
Music scored by Steven Leavitt
Hosted by Steven Leavitt
Website: www.stevenleavitt.com
Guest: Linda Riber
Website: www.linda-riber.dk
Atelier Linda Riber Facebook Page (Facebook)
Open Heart Facebook Group (Facebook)
LinkedIN
Purchase Linda’s Book:
https://linda-riber.dk/en/contact/
https://shop.sumut.dk/products/9788799283552
Episode References:
Heart Math Institute
Linda on local TV (YouTube)
Linda on local radio (YouTube)
Human Divine by Davor Božič (purchase)
Lee Harris (Music | Change-Making Work)
Davor Božič (Sound As Medicine Podcast)
Mentioned:
Spaceship Earth Mission Log podcast (YouTube | Substack)
Tags:
heart, art, artist, Denmark, people, project, connect, exhibited, feel, energy, world, nature, science, linda, Heart Math Institute, paintings, public artwork, Greenland, inuit, shaman, spirituality, meditation experience, world, happiness, sound healing, music, art books, exhibits, traveling
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Fast and Furious action unit director Spiro Razatos shares rags to riches story and how seeing the movie Shaft at age 11 inspired him on his path to becoming a Hollywood Stuntman.
Apple Podcasts users full show notes here: https://languageofcreativity.podbean.com/e/spiro-razatos-friendslikefamily-fastandfurious-action
Spiro Razatos began his career as a stunt man and quickly worked his way into the Directors Guild of America just by asking. Somehow, on the spot producers gave him his very first sequence directing a car chase! Since then Razatos has 2nd Unit Directed major films such as Venom, Bad Boys II and Bad Boys For Life, films in The Fast and The Furious franchise (Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, Fate of the Furious, F9), and Captain America Winter Soldier, to name a few. From Denver, Colorado and the son of Greek immigrants, young Spiro began training himself to be a stuntman after a fateful day when his dad took him on a Greyhound to visit the zoo. His father, who was also blind had saved for six months for the trip, but they never made it to the zoo. Eleven year old Razatos saw the marquee for the movie Shaq and begged his father to take him to see it… that day. “I started crying and said I don't know, I just need to see it now.” He practiced jumping off of roofs (don’t try this at home) and crashing his own bicycles until he was finally able to get a Super Eight movie camera. He’d managed to get his home-made stunt reel onto the set of Heart to Heart, when legendary stunt coordinators Mike Vendrell and Greg Barnett finally called him and told him they would help him come to Hollywood.
In this episode we talk about the magic of visual storytelling, the importance of shooting practical stunts and how CG (computer generated elements) can totally ruin the believability of a sequence, why Spiro always hires his own editor (the one he’s had his whole career) spending hours at the end of every shooting day to present the sequence to the studio. We talk about his work/life balance and yearly trips to the “ashram” to detox. But most importantly Spiro highlights the importance of having a team of people you know and trust with your life. His stunt team, Team Malaka has been with him for over 30 years, oh yeah, and of course we talk about his favorite “team building activity” playing Call of Duty 2.
Guest: Spiro Razatos
On My Radar - Spiro Razatos
ShootOnline.com Bullitt Signs Director Spiro Razatos for branded content spots
CineMovie.tv F9 Car Stunt Coordinator says movie ran out of cars to crash
Host: Steven Leavitt
Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/
Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/
Featured Music
“Haunting Me” by Testing Tomorrow
Episode References
Fast 5 Vault Sequence (YouTube)
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell (GoodReads)
Vantage Point (IMDB)
'Star Wars: Episode VII' Producer Talks Story, Characters, and Practical Effects vs. CGI (Interview: ScreenRant) correction: I said Deborah Winger it was actually Kathleen Kennedy
Shaft (IMDB)
Buzz Bundy (Memoriam JamesBond007.se)
Paul Walker death (The Guardian)
Wiz Khalifa - See You Again ft. Charlie Puth (Music Video - YouTube)
Stunt Coordinator (Wikipedia)
Squib hit (Wikipedia)
Ashram (Wikipedia)
Call of Duty 2 (Wikipedia)
Captain America Winter Soldier (IMDB)
The Russo Brothers (Wikipedia)
Fast Getaway (IMDB)
Midnight Run (IMDB)
The Goonies (IMDB)
The Goonies - ‘Slick Shoes’’ scene (YouTube)
Gainer (gymnastics) (Wikipedia)
Hook (IMDB)
Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes, Amazon and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe!
Website: https://thelanguageofcreativity.com/
Facebook Group: The Language of Creativity Discussion Group - Facebook
Tags
Fast & Furious, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Bad Boys for Life, Crash, Taurus World Stunt Awards, Justin Lin, second unit director, action unit, cannon rolls, visual effects, VFX, Man of Steel, Debra Winger, Star Wars, practical effects, video game industry, editing, film, first unit, making choices, what the audience feels, mastering, mixing, speed, driving, cars, 100mph, focal length, background, foreground, location, big break, DGA, Directors Guild of America, The Bourne Identity, Denver, Greyhound, Greg Barnett, Michael M. Vendrell, Super 8, Greek American, Buzz Bundy, The Fall Guy, The Dukes of Hazzard, Ronnie Rondell Jr., hiring your heroes, Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, luck, stunt coordinating, stunt coordinator, Robert Blake, taking a chance, long hours, work-life balance, prep, time off, Rome, dog parent, luxurious home, staycation, game-room, spa, travel, enjoy while you can, The Ashram, clean slate, Henry Kingi, Justin Sundquist, clarity of mind, lifestyle, stress, big budgets, expensive mistakes, producers, movie producers, Malaka Stunt Team, playbook, football, experience, the Subi, Subaru, The Bay Bomber, Michael Bay, Bad Boys II, custom camera cars, remote camera heads, camera operator, playground, Xbox, Call of Duty, Phil Culotta, Jon Escobar, caring, loving heart, capture the flag, strategy, people skills, tax write-offs, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel, email, be who you are, filmmaker, The Gray Man, 21 Bridges, Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, fun, storytelling, Corey Haim, home theater, home renovation, Prada, Gucci, dog collars, Robert De Niro, Steven Spielberg, 20 takes, Prince, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
“Creativity is a base element of the human soul.” So says Steven Leavitt, the host of the Language of Creativity podcast. In this very special episode, Steve’s very first guest on the podcast flips the tables in this tell-all reverse interview guest-hosted by his long-time collaborator Adam Sears!
As a music producer, Steve has helped Sears craft his last 3 projects with Progressive Rock band Lobate Scarp. Their 2016 recording of Beautiful Light has won awards and recognition as “a masterpiece” and in 2022 Steve Co-Executive Produced Lobate Scarp’s latest album You Have It All. The ambitious full-length album has received high praise from reviewers and fans alike.
But it wasn’t always easy… Steven was born into a family of motion-picture stunt performers but always felt way more at home in front of a microphone, piano or a mixing console. Steve began learning the piano at 8 years old “to express what I was feeling when I couldn’t express it in words.” Lyrically blocked, bullied as a kid and extremely sensitive as a boy he was certainly an odd fit in a family that worked in such a rough and tumble industry. But he stuck with it, choosing to pursue audio engineering in college at Musician’s Institute in Hollywood after realizing that there was an ideal career path for using his skills and talents: music producer. Steve graduated in 2000, unfortunately right as Napster was crashing the music industry. The dot-com bust made it hard to enter the job market (thanks Enron) so he began to freelance making websites, editing video demo-reels for stunt-people, and started working on films as a background precision driver. He recorded for independent musicians to build experience, joined a band, and edited videos for his dad’s stunt-company producing “featurettes” with celebrity talent and assisted with MTV shoots. Steve kept a “web journal” before blogging got big and considered himself a multimedia artist a whole five years before the advent of YouTube. When he started Don’t Call Us Tori in 2004, a music showcase he co-founded with with singer-songwriter Shannon Hurley, in Hollywood, Steve’s music network really began to grow leading to a fateful introduction to Adam who approached Steve to produce his band’s debut album Time and Space in 2008. The album’s production coincided with what Steve describes as “an unexpected spiritual awakening” during the lead up to the album’s 2012 release “that felt like I was coming home to myself.”
Adam talks with Steve about their very fruitful creative partnership and Steve’s relentlessly perfectionistic work ethic in the studio. They discuss starting this podcast and how it has been a major creative outlet for Steve (he probably could have pursued a career in Radio). They talk about what it was like growing up attending “backflips down the aisles churches” and discovering hit singles on KIIS FM while coming of age thinking it’s only okay to listen to Christian music but finding Christian grunge, loving Weird Al… about dropping out, burnout, ptsd, and… Just why the heck did Steve choose not to go into the stunt business? Steve shares about learning the importance of infusing joy into your work, finding your inner creative spark, and how sometimes we can be doing the right thing while going about it the wrong way!
Could Future-Steve have somehow been sending messages back in time to himself?
** if show-notes cut off click here
Guest: Steven Leavitt
Producer Website: stevenleavitt.com
Artist Coaching: icreatesound.com
Podcast: thelanguageofcreativity.com (please subscribe and review!)
Steven Leavitt (filmography: IMDB)
Guest-Host: Adam Sears
adamsears.com
Lobate Scarp: website | BandCamp
@lobatescarp Twitter | Instagram
@adamsears32 Twitter | Instagram
Adam Sears on Ep.1 of The Language of Creativity Podcast “Naming The Podcast”
Featured Music
The Mirror by Lobate Scarp
Safe With You by Skillet
The Dime by performed (and re-recorded) by Steven Leavitt, lyrics by Steven Leavitt and Tony Khan a parody of Sign (originally performed by Ace of Base) written by Jenny Cecilia Berggren (STIM), Jonas Petter Berggren (STIM), Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (STIM), and Ulf Gunnar Ekberg (STIM) published by Megasong Publishing (KODA) and Warner-Tamarlane Publishing Group (BMI) Copyright 1992.
Episode References
Ender’s Game (IMDB)
Nat Magnuson (episode 4 and 5)
The Artist’s Way by Juilia Cameron (theartistswaybook.com)
Serendipity & Synchronicity (Dr. Carder Stout for Goop)
Synchronicity by The Police (Wikipedia)
“Prog” = Progressive Rock (music genre: Wikipedia)
Time and Space by Lobate Scarp
Interstellar (movie: Rotten Tomatoes)
Rich Mouser (discogs.com)
Spock's Beard V (Album: Wikipedia)
The Mouse House Studio
The Highly Sensitive Person (hsperson.com)
Debbie Evans (Steve’s mom, professional stuntwoman)
Precision Driving
The Truman Show (Rotten Tomatoes)
Bruce Almighty (IMDB)
Toni Koch on The Language of Creativity Ep. 11 “The Times They Are a Changin
Matthew 5:15 (BibleGateway.com)
Episode 26 with Physical Therapist Elizabeth Makous
Amy Grant album Lead Me On (title track: YouTube | Wikipedia)
KIIS FM, Los Angeles (Wikipedia)
Pentecostalism (BBC Religions)
Church scene from The Blues Brothers (feat. James Brown! YouTube)
35 Best 90s Christian Alternative Rock Bands (Ranker.com)
Poor Old Lu (BandCamp)
Skillet (rateyourmusic.com)
Jonie Blinman (Apple Music)
Radiohead: Kid A (besteveralbums.com)
World Music in Newhall (Yelp.com)
Yes! (official website)
Roger Waters - Amused to Death (Wikipedia | Last 3 tracks: YouTube)
KLOS Jim Ladd (LAist.com)
Hammond B3 (Wikipedia)
Agnosticism (Wikipedia)
Weird Al work ethic in the studio (Behind the Scenes on the making of Strait Outta Lynwood)
(Weird Al and Steve share a birthday!)
The Sign (song: Wikipedia) – Ace of Base (Music Video: YouTube)
Cakewalk for DOS (WinWorld), SMPTE (Old School Tape Sync, How Did It Work? YouTube)
Amish Paradise by “Weird” Al Yankovic (Video: YouTube)
Episode 165 - Top Ten “Weird” Al Songs w/ Steven Leavitt on All Time Top Ten with Ben Eisen
Parody vs. Pastiche (Masterclass)
Christianne Kinney (Entertainment Attorney) The Language of Creativity Ep. 14
Callin’ in Sick by “Weird” Al Yankovic (YouTube)
Beautiful Light by Lobate Scarp (Lyric Video: YouTube)
Lobate Scarp Choir Session (Making-of: YouTube)
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Connectors”: People Who Spread Ideas (ShortForm.com)
Adrienne Woods (official website)
Friendster (Article: Vice)
Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (GoodReads)
The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (Wikipedia)
Sony Pictures Harrison MPC4-D mixing console
The Musician’s Institute mi.edu
Victor Wooten (official website)
Vital Techtones (Henderson, Smith, Wooten) VTT2 album info: guitar9.com
The (2000) Dot-com Collapse (internationalbanker.com)
How NAPSTER crashed the music industry (The Guardian | BBC)
YouTube launched in 2005 (Business Insider)
Geoff Downes (Wikipedia)
The Macaroni Grill (Blog: Thrillist)
PYT (Pretty Young Thing) - Michael Jackson (YouTube)
Drake Bell (IMDB)
The Amanda Show (IMDB)
Talyn Edelson on Language of Creativity Ep. 25 “Someone Else’s Dream”
Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes, Amazon and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe!
Website: https://thelanguageofcreativity.com/
Facebook Group: The Language of Creativity Discussion Group - Facebook
Tags
Creativity, art, spirituality, music, identity, self-identify, podcasting, passion, artforms, songwriting, process, record producing, media, YouTube, videography, student films, business, podcasting, radio, expression, art, spirituality, transformation, inner development, soul growth, mysteries of the universe, life, philosophy, passion, burnout, ptsd, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron, process, albums, records, music producer, demonstration recordings, mixing, tone, Christian music, Jon Anderson, Yes!, transformation, spiritual awakening, Universe, synchronicity, synchronicity, repeating number sequences, 11:11, vibration, alignment, angels, watchers, epiphany, Interstellar, Altadena, Southern California, motorcycles, camping, glamping, emotional, “manhood,” sensitive male, family expectations, chronic pain, parents, perfectionism, balance, procrastination, depression, nurture, value, rhythm, cycle, father, husband, sleep, sacrifice, focused, in the zone, support, mindset, freelance, unemployment, “normal,” society, “real job,” stunts, insight, commonalities, opening, multidimensionality, upbringing, secular, religious, Bible, soul, human, FM radio, Wham, Tears For Fears, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Ozzy Osborne, Metal, Iron Maiden, Pentecostal, church music, the devil, judgment, bullying, Christian school, agnostic, love, kindness, God, ideals, Nirvana, Weezer, Silver Chair, DC Talk, Newsboys, piano, conservative, The Exorcist, Terminator 2, Friday the 13th, violence in media, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Nashville, lyrics, self-expression, self-editing, ex christian, ACDC, Dark Side of the Moon, Radiohead, Vanilla Sky, Everything in its Right Place, 80’s synth pop, Depeche Mode, Transfiguration, environmentalism, The Amazon Rainforest, Captain Planet, From the Fourth Side, Yamaha DX-7, electronic music, keyboard, conformist, Delirious?, Thom Yorke, OK Computer, haunted, dystopia, Disturbed, Led Zepplein, Smashing Pumpkins,The Ludivico, classic rock, beer, Rick Wakeman, beards, Abraham Lincoln, Brandon Kennedy, KLOS, band, B3, Tom Petty, Weird Al, Ace of Bass, parodies, Bad Hair Day, Blurred Lines, Billy Joel, celebrity birthdays, astrology, Sean Phelan, Stone Temple Pilots, No Doubt, Justin Timberlake, waiter, Macaroni Grill, opera singer, choir, electric cello, Indie, Friendster, MySpace, Latin, recording engineer, Radio Shack, Steve Smith, Jars of Clay, Pepperdine University, baroque, college professors, real world experience, Enron, Y2K, 9/11, financial collapse, 2000, Enron, Circuit City, religious deconstruction, PTSD, depression, religious trauma, grades, tuition, dropping out, burnout, priorities, unlearning, 2021, elevator pitch, business cards, actor, composer, networking, waiter, ASIA (band), The Buggles, Geoff Downes, John Payne, John Wooten, NAMM, celebrity sightings, intent, attraction, healing, dream job, lifestyle design, discovering, experimentation, exploration, world-creation, magic
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
OwnTrail is a social platform that helps people visualize and achieve their next milestone in life and work through offering tools and community that fuel a more authentic definition of success.
Kt McBratney is co-founder and chief community officer of OwnTrail, founded in 2020 (just three weeks before the pandemic hit). After meeting her co-founder Rebekah Bastian in Seattle she moved across the country to a new home, sight-unseen, and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Before that she’s been a chief marketing officer, a brand marketer, production director, worked at a zoo, and in higher education (all while secretly wearing a superhero t-shirt under her business suit). Kt seeks to “disrupt the status-bro” by helping people reclaim their stories and loves building strong, inclusive communities. “The status-bro tricks us into focusing on a mythical one ‘right’ path through life, instead of focusing on OUR path. It makes us feel like we're only as good as our resumes and social media.”
In this episode we explore being authentic to yourself and why LinkedIn is great for job-hunting but not really great at helping you figure out what you really want to do. We talk about the rising feminine, burnout, frogs, pagers (143 anyone?), and the power of help-beacons; how OwnTrail is designed to be a totally different kind of social platform. Kt explains finding themselves fascinated by people who do many things… people she calls “ANDs.” We also talk about the crucial importance of play (Spoiler alert: the job is never done!) and why Steve is a Mokey sun with a Janice moon and a Scooter rising.
There was one social media quote that I couldn’t find for the episode that I think sums everything up perfectly: “Be a Kermit the Frog. Have a creative vision and no ego. Recognize the unique talents of those around you. Attract weirdos. Manage chaos. Show kindness. Be sincere.” – Richard R. Penner (@timescanner)
Guest: Kt McBratney
Kt’s Trail
Twitter: @k_to_the_t
References
Jennifer Fischer (Language of Creativity Ep. 2 | Medium | Twitter | Think Ten Media)
Seed&Spark
Proposals for a Feminine Economy – Jennifer Armbrust (sister.is | book | short video)
Kiss The Ground (documentary)
The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music – Victor L. Wootin (GoodReads)
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future – Daniel Pink (GoodReads)
The “Bad Vegan” Scandal (TastingTable)
AuthenTech: (from Rebekah Bastian’s Trail) “Once OwnTrail has a liquidity event, I plan to take that money and re-invest it into the startup ecosystem, focusing on under-estimated founders that are building AuthenTech companies. In the meantime, I'm starting to dabble in some small investments, as an angel and LP, so I can build up my experience and portfolio.”
Short Circuit (IMDB)
Weird Al Yankovic (Washington Post | New York Times)
Weird Al work ethic in the studio (Behind the Scenes on the making of Strait Outta Lynwood)
(Weird Al and Steve share a birthday!)
Scorpio/Libra cusp astrology
Mokey Fraggle
Steven’s Trail
Host: Steven Leavitt
Steven’s Trail
Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/
Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/
Featured Music
“Boom Cat” by Raul Hernandez
“Nothing Wrong” by Lobate Scarp
Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes, Amazon and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe!
Website: https://thelanguageofcreativity.com/
Facebook Group: The Language of Creativity Discussion Group - Facebook
Tags
Founders, startups, saas, online community, values, woman-owned, LinkedIN, CMO, marketing, board-room, careers, zoo, higher education, employment, indie film, motherhood, book hoarder, moving across-country, Atlanta, home buying, Seattle, pandemic, dad jokes, Jennifer Fischer, health insurance coverage, social media, algorithms, gamified, #winning, safety, milestones, marriage, getting a job, miscarriage, burnout, community, help-beacon, tools, pagers, payphones, fax-machines, starting a podcast, TED talks, life path, questions, artists, square peg in a round hole, creatives, creative careers, environment, sharing stories, non-binary, feminine spaces, abundance, representation, race, disconnection, loneliness, compartmentalization, Los Angeles, individualism, collectivism, John D. Liu, Kiss The Ground, Ecosystem Restoration Camps, mycelium networks, cross-polination, nature, ecology, support, pivot, authenticity, inclusion, curiosity, Muppet astrology
Monday Sep 26, 2022
Monday Sep 26, 2022
“You have pain where?!” People have often asked why a healthy person like me would need physical therapy. They are quite surprised to learn about pelvic-floor therapy… and it’s not long before I hear “I have pain there too.”
What was once a specialty that not even many obstetricians or urologists knew about, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy is now a rapidly growing field with an outsized demand for new therapists. Treating conditions like urinary and fecal urgency, incontinence, prolapse, nerve entrapment, surgical scarring, pre and postpartum issues, visceral restrictions and sexual dysfunction, it’s not hard to see why.
When Elizabeth Makous became a physical therapist over 30 years ago there were only a couple of classes teaching pelvic floor therapy. When seeing a patient complaining of vaginal pain “deep inside” she donned a pair of gloves and began treating patients internally. Elizabeth has continued to innovate new treatments in the field applying her unique kind of creativity to the world of medicine. After the home birth of her son she figured out a way to treat her own bathroom issues without surgery. She’s developed protocols for successfully treating issues previously thought untreatable (even with surgery). She even approached a company called TheraWand to ask if she could make improvements to an existing vaginal wand product to more efficiently treat the pelvic floor rectally. After spending a year with a heat lamp sculpting plastic into the curves she felt would be more safe and effective… she'd created a brand new trigger wand that can be used to treat both men and women.
Maybe it was the way she was raised… spending time in the clinic with her father, a doctor, and her mother, a nurse. Her grandfather was also a doctor in this small-town community who treated blacks for free during the segregation era in the South. Their passion spilled over in such a way that when meeting a patient with a need, Elizabeth says “there is a gift inside me that just looks for a way to treat it.”
In this episode we talk about the importance of being your own medical advocate, how sitting for a living can be an occupational hazard, treating patients with lymphedema, pain management (without opioids), and how Covid restrictions didn’t stop humans from needing touch. We also speak about being a highly-sensitive (HSP), the need for major reform in the emergency mental healthcare system, and how Elizabeth leans on her Catholic Chrisitan faith (for example: she took two medical mission-trips to Kenya in 2019 and 2021 helping to empower African men and women to alleviate pelvic pain and to treat female victims of female genital mutilation). Finally, chronic pain if left untreated can leave people feeling very desperate… and it doesn’t have to be that way!
Guest: Elizabeth Mackous, MSPT, CLT, PRPC, CES “The Pelvic Whisperer”
Website: https://www.pelvicwhisperer.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PelvicWhisperer
Instagram: @pelvicwhisperer
The Makous Protocol practitioner and patient classes (Teachable)
Information for cancer patients and to find a therapist
Academy of Oncologic Physical Therapy
Episode References:
Henry Mayo Hospital Outpatient Therapy Center Valencia, California
Debbie Evans (Steve’s mom)
Dr. David Wise (pelvicpainhelp.com)
A Headache in the Pelvis (GoodReads)
“Pelvic floor massage for Prostatitis and CPPS with a TheraWand” (The Pelvic Pain Clinic)
Currently available TheraWand products (some products have become unavailable)
My Pelvic Floor Muscle | Elizabeth’s class on “An Innovative Way To Use Electrical Stimulation For Severe Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
U.S. Olympic Team Sexual Abuse lawsuit (The Denver Post)
Neptune Beach, Florida (Wikipedia)
Elaine Aron: The Highly Sensitive Person
Steven Bau: BLDRS Collective
Mycelial Networks: The National Forest Foundation
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Center (Dr. Wu)
750 N Hill St J, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-8782
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk (GoodReads)
Somatic Experiencing International (traumahealing.org / IG: @somaticexperiencingint)
Matthew Sanford interview “The Body’s Grace”: On Being
Dr. Andrew Goldstein: Sexual Medicine Courses for Pelvic Health Practitioners
Additional Resources:
Fascia & The Mystery of Chronic Pain | Dana Sterling | LIFE TALK (YouTube)
Language of Creativity’s host Steven Leavitt enjoys discussing the ins and outs of all aspects of creating, creativity, and life with his fellow creators, artists, inventors, designers, and producers. Along the way, he gains perspective and multiplies his understanding of our universal potential for creating, living, and learning,
Host: Steven Leavitt
Site: https://www.icreatesound.com/
Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/
Intro Music: CHEF (music.joshgeenen.com)
Midroll piano score: Steven Leavitt
Outro music: “Nothing Wrong” by Lobate Scarp
Please review this podcast on Google Play, iTunes, and Stitcher and help other creatives find their tribe!
Website: https://thelanguageofcreativity.com/
Facebook Group: The Language of Creativity Discussion Group - Facebook
Tags: lymphedema, hiring, stunt people, pelvic floor therapy, injury, stunt-people, orthopedic, recovery, soft-tissue, connective tissue, compression therapy, fracture, preventing blood-clots, circulation, preventing infection, healing, vagina, rectum, testicle, testicular surgery, adema, doctors, nurses, embarrassment, The Stanford Protocol, enlarged prostate, men, women, pain, discomfort, relief, urologist, insurance, wellbeing, release, ischial tuberosity, abdominal tension, blocked, knotted, massage, nerves, surgery, hospital, pandemic, Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, commuters, drive to work, sitting jobs, computer work, gaming, workout culture, lifting, pudendal nerves, spasm, muscles, making people feel at-ease, pelvis, gut, nerves, abdominal pain, GERD, diverticulitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hernia, crazy, intuition, fascia, varicocele, vasectomy, nerve entrapment, nerve pathway, ilioinguinal genitofemoral nerve, interconnected, suffering, confusion, radiating pain, driving, audio, editing, movies, sitting, long workdays, tension, chronic pain, long hours, paper-work, desk jobs, ergonomics, standing desks, chairs, back, tension, Googleing, classes, anal release trigger wand, LA, video games, tendons, lumbar spine, hydrocele, Africa, Kenya, creativity, purpose, self-educate, autodidact, gifts, talents, coccyx, tailbone, piriformis, sciatic nerve, internal electrical stim protocol, urinary and bowel incontinence, overactive bladder, medication, accurate diagnosis, healthy, nerve damage, cancer, childbirth, pregnancy, baby, c-section, scars, c section scars, prostate surgery, abdomen, viscera, stomach, release, releasing, embarrasment, diaper, high impact, scar tissue, dead muscle, prolapse, homebirth, son, daughter, pinched, leaking, probe, doctor, kinesthetic learning, professional, teaching, nurse, patient, medical problems, faith, bravery, confidence, Catholicism, Christian, Jesus, service, live your faith, heritage, heal the sick, ministry, sexual abuse, victims, ritual abuse, fracture, bone, PT, stretching, kegels, wrong information, jaw, evaluate, House M.D., nerve pain, surgery, oxycontin, nerve blocks, opioids, opioid epidemic, narcotic, drugs, constipation, constitution, visceral, pain, inflammation, dad-bod, gamer body, severe injuries, adrenaline junkie, broken foot, manual therapy, sensitivity, pee, nervous system, jacked up, ramped up, Princess and the Pea, chronic pain, special sock, socks, fibromyalgia, lipedema, fat cells, massage, touch, big hips, hypermobility, CPS, chronic pain syndrome, hyperactive, downregulate, clinicians, highly sensitive person, HSP, psychologist, The Princess and The Pea, not a disorder, emotional, spiritually sensitive, emotionally sensitive, sensitivity, hear, listen, open, ramped up, spiritual experiences, imagination, electromagnetically sensitive, electromagnet, MRI, depression, lack of exercise, hurts to exercise, neuroplasticity, amblyopia, science, sexual dysfunctions, innnovation, fascia, mycelial networks, soil, permaculture, fungus, soil nerve network, design-scientist, release scar tissue, abdominal surgery, pelvic surgery, visceral work, CT scan, underdiagnosed, be your own advocate, patient advocacy, episodes, Chinese Medicine, iridology, gastroenterologist, GI, ultrasound, gallstones, cholecystectomy, hopelessness, childbirth pain, suicide stigma, suffering, psych ward, jail, disabled, disability, mental illness, multiple personalities, multiple personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder, psychology, feelings, treatment, psychologist, dissociation, trauma, abuse victim, touch, rape, touch triggers, somatic experiencing, paraplegic, yoga, car accident, release, cry, safe healing touch, trust, cross-body communication, EMDR, pain management, Dr. Goldstein in New York, vulvar dermatology, continuing education, grandbabies, adult children, fitness center, COVID, high-strung, give love, give help, holistic medicine, autoimmune disease, Vitamin D, obese, dark skin, body, bodies, miracle, artists, sitting professions, energy, COVID safe, health