Dreams Not Memes Podcast

I spoke to my friend Anika Pyle, a queer musician, poet, yogi, and artist from Philadelphia. Pyle is a queer poet, songwriter and artist from Philadelphia who centers shame-resilience and empathy in her work. Her latest record - Wild River - is a genre bending album of poetry and spoken word making sense of grief, failure and finding joy after the death of her father. Pyle and I discuss the value...

I spoke with Leela Gilday, an Northwest Territory native and songwriter who speaks and sings from the heart and about the people and land that created her.  The power in her voice conveys the depth of her feelings of love and life in a rugged environment and vibrant culture, as if it comes straight from that earth. Leela’s family is from Délįne on the shore of Great Bear Lake and her rich vocals d...

I spoke to my friend Christian Caanen the brother of Leona Francoise ( Episode 263). Christiaan is the co-founder and managing director of Global Young Leaders (GYL), an organization created for young people by young people. They work with young people from around the world to assist them in creating life by their own design from a place of connection, authenticity, and through developing the tool...

I spoke to my friend Lahaina, a storyteller and writer from the islands of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. Lahaina is a friend of Chellette Mina ( Episode 254).  She proudly acknowledges her roots reviving from Tunnuk, the village of the notorious Chuukese musicians, and Uman Fonuweisomw, island of the legendary Chuukese warriors. Lahaina is currently expanding her ventures...

I spoke to my friend Ashley Virginia, a musician I met on Tik Tok who is childhood friends with Taylor Wafford ( Episode 102).  Virginia hails from from Greensboro, North Carolina. Ashley Virginia’s style has been described to as bold, unapologetic, and critically vulnerable. Sharing the deeply intimate and terrifying pieces of herself is an important part of her creative process. Ashley star...

I spoke to  Bronx-based musician/animator Jhariah Clare about his creative journey. The multi-disciplinary artist has a compulsion for writing larger than life songs, stacked high with strings, horns, keys, and broadway-esque vocal arrangements. Jhariah is also studying at Pratt Institute and is studying 2D animation. In our conversation Jhariah and I take a deep dive to Jhariah's approaches towar...

I spoke to Wendi Jensen a prominent stakeholder in the Philadelphia music industry. Wendi Jensen is the Director of Touring Operations for the Music Experiences division of On Location (formerly CID Entertainment), and the Chapter Chair of Women in Music Philly. Wendi is as passionate about fan experiences and gender parity as she is about cultivating meaningful relationships with individuals...

I spoke to my friend Youssef Khiari, a friend of Summer Alicia ( Episode 257). Hailing from Tunis, Tunisia, Youssef Khiari is a guitarist, composer, and producer. Drawing inspiration in Jazz, hiphop, R&B, funk, and traditional North African music, he is a true visionary of how the music is going to sound like in the years to come. In 2017 Youssef left his home town Tunis to San Francisco Bay Area...

I spoke with Birdman the founder of Foreign Bands on Tour and a friend of Mobina Galore (Episode 217). Foreign Bands on Tour is a worldwide booking agency for independent bands. We sell tour packages for small/medium size bands all over the world. They are based in Brazil and also operate a hostel that is available for travelers, artists and bands. Birdman also plays in a band called End of P...

I spoke with Moisty Atsushi a ska musician based in Vietnam who is originally from Japan. He is friends with Monica Welander ( Episode 251) which is how we connected. Moisty traveled from the UK to Singapore as a touring musician without the use of an airplane. After playing countless gigs, events and festivals, he gained a reptuation of being a person of interest in Reggae in New Zealand. Atsushi...

I spoke to Leona Francoise, Leona and I connected via Instagram through a mutual friend who interviewed me on the Brauns and Brains Podcast ( Thank you Rachel). Leona is an international traveler with a passion for life, love, and a human connection. Francoise works as an author, an editor, a blogger, a communications specialist, but most of all, she is a person enjoying the rollercoaster ride of...

I spoke to my friend Sarry Ibrahim, a Financial Consultant, Health and Life Agent based in Chicago. Sarry Ibrahim is financial planner and member of the Bank On Yourself Organization. He helps real estate investors, business owners, and full time employees grow safe and predictable wealth regardless of market conditions using a financial strategy that has been around for over 160 years. Sarry star...

I spoke to Nargis Shabbir Hassanli, we connected over a zoom poetry open mic. She is a 22 year old poet from Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. She has a degree in Marketing and is a poet/writer . Hassanli started writing poetry in 2013 and picked up a pen one day to write her thoughts that she typically kept inside. Writing served as a way to express healing throughout her life In 2017 Nargis started to sh...

I spoke with my friend Joe Vickers, who lives across the worlds largest dinosaur fossil and is friends with Mobina Galore ( Episode 217) and Gunnar of Gunner Records ( Episode 240) Joe Vickers lives in seasonal rotation. In the summer he is an Alberta grain farmer and when the snow falls he hits the road as a storytelling folk singer. The travelling troubadour has logged countless miles touring ac...

I spoke with my friend Erik Pinkerton, a professional photographer and entrepreneur based in Yukon. Erik Pinkerton works mainly as a commercial photographer creating high-end photos for all marketing needs. His diverse body of work is based primarily around product, interior and exterior architecture, and environmental/portrait photography. Erik is a fervent supporter of the arts and can often be...

I spoke to Paris Pick a musician based in Whitehouse, Yukon Territory , Canada. Pick has traveled from Port Hardy, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia busking and hitch hiking. Paris found her way from busking and wearing pirate outfits while singing with her ukulele in towns and cities in Canada. In our conversation we talk about Paris' travels as an artist, her life in the Yukon and her fut...

I spoke with my friend Summer Alicia, a musician and dancer based in New York who recently moved from Utah as a Wilderness Therapist. Alicia transitioned from living in her car to "pulling a 180" and living in a Brooklyn Apartment. Currently she is working on her own self discovery and creative works while living in Brooklyn. In our conversation we discuss creative diversity, her future ambitions,...

I spoke to my friend Paula Bialski, Paula is the sister to Rosa Loess ( Episode 241) and is currently living in Switzerland. Paula is an Associate Professor for Digital Sociology at the University of St. Gallen. She is an ethnographer of digital technologies, and has authored many books and articles around the topic. She is also a professional musician with the Warsaw-based band Paula & Karol....

I spoke to my friend Ren who is based in Spain and is studying linguistics and literary analysis in Spain. We connected through Machalek ( Episode 243).  Ren is from Hawaii and has lived in Italy, prior to moving to Spain for her University studies. Ren speaks English, Italian and Spanish, in her past she has studied Arabic and is currently pursuing Persian and Pashto a language of Afghanista...

I spoke with a friend of Machalek ( Episode 243) , Chellette Mina (she/her). Chellette is an educator in the Marianas and has taught in Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. Chellette is a Chamorro from the Marianas Islands, which means she is an Indigenous Micronesian Pacific Islander whose home islands are Saipan and Tinian in the Northern Marianas Islands. Mina is currently based on the island of Guahan, t...

I spoke to my friend Manny Cruz who is currently based in Aotearoa ( New Zealand),and is indigenous to Guam. Cruz is currently pursuing his Phd in Communication Studies. As an academic and practitioner he is curious about how Western Ideology plays a part in the media and how it effects marginalized communities, primarily those in Guam. Cruz is not only an activist and academic, but also leads the...

I spoke to my friend Guilhem Banc- Prandi a marine biologist and researcher based in Israel who is from France. Guilhem is friends with Kristen Fellows ( Episode 142).   Guilhem is the founder of WeSea a French based international non profit organization. The mission of the organization is dedicated to preserving marine reserves through action and sharing scientific knowledge to the public. C...

I spoke to Monica Welander of Monica and the Explosion, an act based in Sweden. Welander has been touring and recording since 2007 across Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, and India. Monica is also an author of a songwriting book that shares the stories behind her discography. In our conversation Monica and I discuss her experiences as a creative over the past 14 years. Find out more on Dr...

I spoke to my friend Charles Megino who is based in Guam and is friends with Machalek ( Episode 243). Megino is the vocalist, main musical composer and founder of Guam-based metalcore act Surrender The Thief. Surrender the Thief has toured in Japan and other areas across the world. In our conversation we talk about mixed bills, touring internationally,  discrimination in music, and the importance...

I spoke to my friend Edward , a friend of Machalek ( Episode 243) and activist based in Guam. Edward is a child of the Marianas. He has a passion to spread free and digestible information about the Marianas, Micronesia and fino’ CHamoru to the community. His passion was realized through PulanSpeaks, an educational channel found on YouTube. Edward is also a CHamoru political rights activist wh...