Something Rather Than Nothing

Liz Kiger is our guest for a deep discussion of Art, Philosophy, film, photography, teaching, trauma and resiliency, LGBTQIA+Opera, and their new filmed opera - a gorgeous, modern presentation (shot in Red - Komodo - 6K) of ORFEO. ORFEO is a dazzling, energetic, sensitive story that will amaze you visually and sonically. Its release is simultaneous to this podcast episode. Find ORFEO here ORFEO Li...

David Bellino began his career as a music video director-producer for various recording artists, management companies and record labels. During this time, Virgin Records selected Bellino to direct the Rolling Stones “Voodoo Lounge” interactive media title. He continued with Virgin as a production consultant on the band’s multimedia-enhanced ”Stripped” album.   Bellino then became the cre...

PCP aka Julienne Baptist e formerly known as the guitarist and vocalist in Dirty Princess band made the decision to step away from punk rock music and step into film making. After coming together in collaboration with videographer Chris-Diana Peebles 2020. PCP created a 3 part ‘Sonic Visual’ that intertwines atmosphere, style, sound and movement to tell a story of metamorphosis and unseen forces o...

“Sparkling” mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh has been praised for her “wondrously flexible voice,” “prodigious vocal skills,” and “richly textured and strong lower register” ( Vocedi Meche ). OperaWire has praised her “vocal power,” “enchanting voice,” “velvety mezzosoprano,” and “abundant vocal and dramatic technique, with no shortage of soaring high notes and flexible roulades.” She won The...

You can now listen to SRTN's interview with painter Gerald van Scyoc ! From GvS: "I work in a Photorealist/Surrealist style. I like to do work that provokes a strong response from the viewer. Most of my paintings consist of collaged public domain photos. I rarely use live-models. I like to combine well-known symbols and tropes in my paintings mixed together in new and not-well-known combinations....

It was an immense pleasure to meet and speak with Plains Cree/Filipinx activist, model and video creator Haley Robinson . Haley is from Treaty 7 territory and we spoke about art, creativity, identity and the immediacy of video content to explore questions of identity. You can also connect with Haley's work and causes here:  https://linktr.ee/og.robinson10

If you got your sweet hands on a copy of 'Santos Sisters' I know that you want to know where such a wonderful piece of art (a comic for 'Generation X') came from. I got the answer. Artists Greg Petre and Graham Smith join the show to chat about comics, art, philosophy, Taylor Swift, proclivities and predilections. They describe that "One day while combing the beach, the Santos Sisters discovered a...

Susie deVille is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build wildly successful businesses by rediscovering their creativity and leveraging the power of their true nature. An author, coach, and entrepreneur who built and sold a highly profitable real estate firm, she has been researching innovation and creativity since 2005. She is the founder and CEO of the Innovation & Creativity Institute and t...

In this episode, Ken Volante speaks with Kimberly Laberge and Cory Fitzsimmons from Wisconsin. This episode is a nice way to connect with two talented directors and actors as they create their version of Things I know to Be True for production in April 2022. Kimberly Laberge is a teacher, stage manager, director, and critic based out of the Milwaukee area. Kimberly has worked with area companies i...

Jeff Ostler is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Oregon. He is the author of The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground and Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas . This conversation delves into the Lakota Sioux, resilience, genocide, the art of teaching, responsibilities in teaching history and...

As a tenor specializing in 21st century repertoire, Jonathan Blalock created over a dozen roles in world premieres with companies including the Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, the Center for Contemporary Opera, Fort Worth Opera, the PROTOTYPE Festival, and UrbanArias. In 2019, he was featured in the new opera recordings of Paul’s Case (by Gregory Spears) and the Grammy Award winning Fanta...

Of the Suquamish Nation , Calina Lawrence was born and raised within her ancestral culture at a time during the reawakening of the teachings of the canoe and the Coast Salish way of life in the Pacific Northwest.  Her vocal journey began at a young age when she was first introduced to the songs of the canoe, the land, and the Lushootseed language. While lending her voice to the preservation o...

In this special episode, Melissa Oliveri guest hosts an All-Minnesota episode of Something (rather than nothing) with guest Sally Mars! Sally Mars is a writer and photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her work appears in numerous journals including Kalliope, Talking River, Elysian Fields, Illiterate, Scheme, Shots, Reflex, The Rake, Churn, Whistling Shade and in the hardbound collection Se...

This episode features guest host Rachel Lally (SRTN Episode 41 and Guest Host on SRTN 67) and Artist Daryl Parson. Embracing an eclectic existence across Europe and beyond, Daryl Parson has taken to countless creative endeavours over the years. Most notably tackling bass duties for epic doom metal veterans Solstice (UK). A band whose bludgeoning riffs and astute lyrics have inspired both musical p...

I hope you enjoy this short episode featuring spoken word pieces by  Greg Clifford (Episode 81 guest) and Geoff Finan (Episode 66 guest) and listen to a teaser/reminder to catch The Skylark Bell Season 2 by Melissa Oliveri (Episode 94 guest) Thank you for supporting the show, its artists and their creations. https://www.youtube.com/@gregcliffordmusic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XHpH57TSB...

SRTN's visiting Philosopher, Jakub Ferencik is back! We first heard from Jakub in Episode 60. Since then, Jakub has written another book (!) entitled Beyond Reason: Why We Fail at Understanding Each Other.   Our discussion here ranged through many issues but focused on the primacy of reason as an arbiter of truth. Jakub and Ken engage in a lively conversation that is timely but steeped i...

Steph Littlebird is an artist, writer, curator, and registered member of Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes. Steph earned her degree in Painting and Printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College in Portland, Oregon, she currently lives and works in Las Vegas.  Her work frequently touches upon issues of contemporary tribal identity, cultural survivance, and responsible land stewardship....

Ellen Adair is best known as Bess McTeer in "The Sinner" and Janet Bayne in "Homeland," but they have additional recurring roles on "Bull," "Billions," the NBC miniseries "The Slap," "Veep," "The Family," and "As The World Turns." Other television credits include guest-star appearances on "The Good Fight," "NCIS: New Orleans," "Chicago Fire," and "Brotherhood."  Ellen also starred opposite Om...

Nancy Houser-Bluhm has lived in the foothills west of Denver, Colorado for over 20 years with her husband and miscellaneous pets. She hails from Michigan but always had a longing for the mountains after growing up watching Bonanza. Their current piece of heaven is called the Bluhmerosa.  For some years she and her husband, Jon traversed the country moving from Michigan to Oregon, back to Mich...

Matt Hall grew up on a small farm in rural southern Oregon where he spent his time drawing dinosaurs and shoveling snow. He moved to Portland in 1997 to attend The Pacific Northwest College of Art as a painting major. His current work is an assemblage of rebuilt found objects and processed natural history ephemera. Exploring themes of loss, memory, mending, re-use and magical thinking. His work ha...

Eleanor Wells was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a writer and filmmaker with an avid interest in history, art, fashion, and nature. She has written and directed two short films, Feature Presentation (2017) and Eagle Rock (2019), as well as writing the screenplay for The Harpist (2014). She lives in Milwaukee and loves Grace Kelly, Diana Rigg and Disney. https://www.rollingstone.co...

There are many great bass players in the world, and many that reside in the Pacific Northwest.  One bass player that stands out in particular is Portland, Oregon’s Matt Brewster . Sometimes known as Phunky Brewster, he has been called for countless studio sessions and has played for many bands throughout his time in PDX with no end in sight.  He has toured through several states and has...

Caitlynn Abdow Velasquez was born and raised in the rolling hills of Western Massachusetts and spent her childhood exploring the outdoors, dusty old art history books, and illustrated dictionaries. In 2008 she achieved a degree in Painting and Art History at the University of Massachusetts. That same year she moved to Portland, Oregon where she now resides and works. Caitlynn Abdow is an award win...

Heather Dean is a self-taught artist living and working in her hometown in the San Fernando Valley with her dog Jimi Hendrix.  Her work deals chronically with subversion, the dreamworld and the absurdity of life and death. https://www.instagram.com/heatherdeaner/

Kola Shippentower-Thompson is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. She has co-founded and is the Director of The Wisáwca Project - Enough Iz Enough, a non-profit organization working together for change, for better communication and involvement.  Kola has developed a Safety Plan to be utilized by anyone in identifying safety methods, contacts, and...