Thomversations

Dave Potter

Today I chat with David Potter who is fantastic jazz musician and drummer. He is a studied musician and can talk about all kinds of music, and his love of music, including pop, which his album Retro Groove 2 is all about. Creating jazz versions of popular music from the 80’s. Songs such as License To Kill by Gladys Knight, Tom Sawyer by Rush, and Rosanna by Toto, to name a few. I like Dave. I think you will too. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Jazz Drummer, and all around cool cat, Dave Potter. 

Mark Pickerel

You never know where your skills will take you, even if you grow up in a small town that has no real outlet for your creativity. You could start a band that is part of the founding of a movement called Grunge. Mark Pickerel talks about starting The Screaming Trees, drumming with Nirvana, and how life and wisdom has changed him from trying to force the direction of life, to producing his own music and being okay with where his creativity lands, but still doing his best to get the word out about it. Give a listen to one of the founders of Grunge Rock to now a maker of Americana Music. It's a great talk. 

This is part 2 of the conversation with Wanz. He'll tell you bout what happened after someone screamed, "We're all gonna die!", to his life after college and the bands he played in, and yes he'll talk about the truly fun and awesome experiences he had singing the hook to the song Thrift Shop all over the world.

Wanz

Great stories, great conversation. 

If you missed part one, check it out here: https://www.thomversations.com/e/the-story-of-wanz-part-1/ 

This Thomversation is with Wanz, Michael Wansley, of Thrift Shop fame and his hook of popping tags and only having $20.

This is the first of a two part conversation with the man where he will tell you about his life from his first memory, which seems appropriate, of him singing, to the morning after his first gig fronting a funk band in college at Central Washington University (Go Wildcats!). In part 2 he'll talk about what happened after that, to his different bands, to the amazing happenings of Thrift Shop to today.

He's a man of many stories, and he good at telling them. Give a listen and subscribe so you'll get a notice when part 2 comes out. 

Art, and specifically street art is a way of life for Jason Clifton. He's also been in the Hip-Hop and skateboarding scene for decades and is making his living as an artist in Ellensburg, WA. His art varies, but portraits are his specialty. Take a listen to this wide ranging Thomversation that goes from Banksy to Black Lives Matter. 

How do you go from learning to play music, to becoming a master of an instrument? Today you will hear from Ben Price. He is/was a graduate student at the University of Idaho getting his masters degree in Orchestral Tuba Performance. I put the is/was in there because when we recorded this he was still a student and was supposed to graduate this May, 2020, but he is waiting to give his recital for the final check to earn his degree. Now, when you think of important parts of an orchestra the tuba may be down your list, but you'll hear how if the tubist is off time, or off key, the rest of the orchestra is off. It's not just the oompahs in the background, it's the foundation. Come along and enjoy Ben's story from how a joke of being a little kid playing a huge instrument, became a life's passion.

Back in March of 2019 Zack Dekker came in to talk about growing and selling marijuana in Washington State. He returns to give us an update on how his marijuana farm and operation is doing and we talk about the state of the legal pot business. Plus we get into other topics like waking up early and the importance of a good Bud Tender. Give it a listen. Be well.

This Coronavirus pandemic is hard on us all. It's stressful and it's not easy to keep a "social distance" since we are all social creatures, in some way. This podcast is just a quick check-in with you to see how you are doing, how I am doing, and a little about what we can do to help others. Be well my friend.

This Thomversation is with Benjamin James and it's mainly about movies. The process of making one from the script, to getting the best “Best Boy”, and you'll learn what a person with that job title does, as well as why there so many producers on a movies. Plus you'll get a look at a dark period in Benjamin's life when his parents were kidnapped. Yeah. Wonder why he likes horror movies? This is a really good talk and another one I think you will enjoy. Thanks for checking it out. Listen, you will like.

Would you put your life in danger to study a bird? Jordan Boersma has and will likely do it again. He is a biology PhD candidate at Washington State University and has done some courageous work in Papua New Guinea in order to study the interplay between ornamentation, hormones, and behavior, in, namely, the White-shouldered Fairywren. He has some great stories: how some people there have never seen a white man. The past New Guinea culture of eating people. The real struggle he goes through in order to do his field work. This is a really good talk, and very informative about people, and how to manage your way around an unfamiliar culture and country. You'll learn a lot from him. Good stuff. Give it a listen.