An enormous thank you to Amanda Mackenzie, whose honest and vulnerable conversation has created a fantastic first episode of Artists of Camberville. I cannot thank her enough for sharing with me.
"Don't Let The Great Get In The Way Of The Good"
It almost didn’t happen. Sorting through hundreds of papers and cleaning up the studio took much longer than anticipated so I wasn’t able to install my acoustic sound panels or my DIY sound dampening materials yet. You can hear it in the recording. Also, the morning of Amanda’s interview my youngest woke up with a fever and an attitude. No daycare for him. Luckily L was able to adjust his schedule so I could still make this interview happen. Hussle baby.
And while the first episode is far from perfect, I’m so proud to be sharing it with you. The entire point of this endeavor is to fail in the right direction. And to learn. Man, I am learning. A lot. Mostly that there’s a shit ton I need to learn about sound design.
But let me talk about my conversation with Amanda. We talked about why she wrote her book, “The Do-Over: A Memoir of Work and Love,” and also how she got it published. The steps she took and what she’d do differently this time around. We also discussed the practical considerations of living as an artist. But my favorite part of our conversation centered around the difference between Soul Culture and Success Culture, a topic inspired by none other than Jerry Seinfield.
The first episode is just over 20 minutes, but Amanda and I talked for close to an hour. I hope to update this post with some of the extra material I had to cut. Mostly about the artist’s responsibility to the truth and when that responsibility affects our friends and family. But mostly, I’m glad it’s out. While I’ve discussed this project with a few friends, the unveiling of the first episode feels somewhat of a Coming Out. Here I am. Fully me for the first time in too long. I hope you listen and I hope you enjoy.